Chapter 348
“I’m stuck at the last wall blocking my ultimate goal. I’m asking for a spar with you in order to break that wall.”
“Hoh, the ultimate goal you are aiming at. The goal must be…”
They were meaningful words.
Piaro asked carefully, “Is it becoming a sword saint?”
Kraugel didn’t deny it.
“That’s right.”
“Haha.”
Sword Saint. It meant a saint of the sword. A person who reached the extremes of swordsmanship and received enlightenment was always the strongest in history. Muller, who managed to suppress and seal the bodies of the great demons like Hell Gao, Drasion, Morax, Astaroth, and Purpu.
After Muller, no sword saint had been born in the last 100 years. Now Kraugel was close to reaching a level that even Piaro couldn’t achieve.
‘He has enough talent.’
Piaro had been very amazed when he first met Kraugel. It was because Kraugel’s talent was higher than the person who was praised as the strongest swordsman on the continent. Yes, Piaro had seen through him from the beginning. If there was a person who would surpass him one day, it would surely be Kraugel.
‘But.’
He felt strangely irritated after seeing Kraugel’s growth.
‘I never even saw the threshold…’
Duguen.
Duguen! Duguen!
His heart beat wildly. The fighting spirit that had been lost since becoming a farmer was currently wriggling. This uncontrollable fighting spirit made his blood become hot like lava.
“Are you qualified?”
Was he qualified to achieve something that even Piaro, a legend, couldn’t do? Kraugel read Piaro’s feelings from his provocative question and made a serious expression.
“Please check it for yourself.”
Just as Piaro was always the strongest, Kraugel was the same. He was always aware of his position as the peak of two billion users. He didn’t consider himself inferior to others, and was filled with passion and pride. For him, Piaro was a good friend as well as a mountain that must be surpassed.
“I will apply for a spar. Do you accept?”
“Of course.”
Piaro nodded. This would allow Kraugel to achieve the quest prerequisites.
[Sword Saint]
Difficulty: SSS
Win against a legend.
It was a simple and clear quest, assuming that he could meet a legend. But the degree of difficulty was high enough to be described as absurd. A person who wasn’t a legend had to win over a legend? This was indeed…
‘Interesting.’
That’s right. Rather than grumbling or being disgusted like a regular person, he felt delighted. New challenges were necessary to increase his passion. On the other hand, Hurent doubted his ears.
‘Sword saint? A sword saint! It can’t be!’
There were only one other person who was a candidate for a sword saint. Hurent stared at the man in the straw hat. He wanted to look at the skill of a sword saint candidate. He left the field and followed after Piaro and the man.
***
“Stab.”
“Hiyap!”
“Cut.”
“Haap!”
“Chop.”
“Huriyat~!”
The war 10 days ago had awakened Reidan’s soldiers. Reidan’s soldiers no longer wasted time complaining during the practical training. They needed strength to protect their family, home, lover, and friends!
They couldn’t be lazy because they felt the importance of it through the war. Now, even if Asmophel didn’t force them, the soldiers enthusiastically immersed themselves in training and wanted to increase its intensity.
Their grudge against Grid melted away. They felt greater loyalty than before.
He trained them in anticipation of the enemy’s invasion, showed them a great dance on the battlefield and gave them the most powerful ‘Mass Produced Grid Set,’ so the soldiers felt respect and thanks.
“How about it, young lord? These brave young men are soldiers of Duke Grid. Aren’t they really reliable?”
Asmophel asked with a confident expression. Lord sighed as he watched the soldiers’ training from within Ruby’s arms.
“Abu… Bububu.”
“…?”
Asmophel was stunned. Lord’s attitude and disgruntled expression seemed like he was saying, ‘The level of the soldiers is poor.’
‘What?’
The young lord could understand his words and answered them? Furthermore, he could see the strength of the trained soldiers? No, how could a baby sigh in the first place?
‘…Was I dreaming for a moment?’
Asmophel wasn’t convinced and felt confused in many ways. Ruby smiled at him.
“It hasn’t even been a month since my nephew was born. How can he understand your words? Don’t pay attention to the baby’s reactions.”
“…Yes.”
Yes, he was interpreting it in the wrong way. Asmophel nodded at Ruby’s words, while Lord pointed elsewhere with his fingers. It was the direction of the magic tower.
“Oh my, does this mean you want to see where the magicians are?”
Ruby asked and Lord nodded. Asmophel saw him and was terrified.
‘You really are aware of our words!’
He heard that Lord was a genius, but he thought it was exaggerated. Now it turned out that the rumor actually downplayed it.
‘Being able to communicate with adults less than a month after being born… There is no doubt that he will be an outstanding scholar or magician in the future.’
It was understandable that he should think so. Lord didn’t respond to the strong soldiers of Reidan because he didn’t have the knowledge.
‘He was born with intelligence, not the eyes to see martial arts.’
The moment Asmophel thought this.
“I want to use this place, so can you ask the soldiers to leave?”
Piaro, a long-time friend and commander of Reidan, visited and asked for help. He was supposed to be doing field work at this time, so Asmophel questioned him.
“What will you be doing?”
Piaro pointed to the man in the straw hat who came with him.
“I am going to spar with this friend.”
“Hoh.”
Asmophel detected Kraugel’s strength with one glance and expressed interest.
‘He’s difficult to measure.’
It was the first time he had seen this since Piaro. Asmophel checked the schedule and ordered the soldiers.
“Go around the desert once.”
The desert around Reidan was vast, but Asmophel spoke it easily. Frankly, it was a tall order. Yet the soldiers replied enthusiastically.
“Yes!”
They would run until they died. This was the current attitude of the Reidan soldiers. The soldiers got ready and left the training grounds at noon.
Then the huge training grounds that could accommodate thousands of people only contained Piaro, Kraugel, Asmophel, Ruby, and Lord. There was a total of six people if Hurent was included.
He thought he had gone unnoticed, but Hurent had been caught from the beginning. Asmophel approached him as he watched from behind a huge tree.
“Outsiders aren’t allowed in this place.”
“Heok?”
Hurent was startled. He hid himself as much as possible using aura, but he was still found in an instant? This person called Asmophel, he definitely had great skills like Piaro.
‘Where did Grid collect all these monsters?’
Hurent was a famous ranker, but he didn’t have much experience with named NPCs. Acquiring named NPCs as subordinates? He never even imagined it. Named NPCs had a strong influence on Satisfy’s world and each one had a distinct personality, making it hard to become friends with them.
Hurent was admiring Grid when Asmophel urged him.
“Aren’t you going to leave?”
“Hrmm.”
Hurent didn’t want to step back. He wanted to peek at the skills of the man in the straw hat.
“Can’t I just watch a little bit?”
Asmophel glanced coldly at Hurent.
“Why should I do such a favor for an outsider?”
He disliked repeating the same words. Hurent shrank back at his pressure. A heat spread through his body.
‘When did I become an aura master?’
After being defeated by Grid in the 1st National Competition in five seconds, he hunted and trained repeatedly, raising his aura to the unique rating. He believed he was the strongest. He was sure he could beat the famous Kraugel and Agnus. His confidence soared into the sky.
However, his confidence crashed down after he met Piaro. A legendary farmer had oppressed him with three blows from a hand plow, so he had to question his own abilities.
Therefore.
“I will back off…”
Hurent decided to retreat. This was the first time in his life that he had acted as a mild sheep. Hurent swallowed down his shame and left the training ground. He couldn’t help wondering. He had always reigned as the strongest except for the 5 second event, so why was he so weak here?
This Reidan, it was extraordinary. It felt like Alice in Wonderland.
***
Saintess Ruby.
Grid’s sister and a high school student. Her goal was to aim for a prestigious university, so there was little time to play the game. She played for 30 minutes a day. That’s why her level was still low, despite changing to a hidden class alongside Yerim. She was a real light user.
But she had changed recently. It was since Lord was born. He might be a child in the game, but he was her cute and pretty nephew. Ruby looked at Lord and became fascinated by him. She recently spent more than an hour a day connecting to Satisfy and spending time with Lord.
It was the same today. She was enjoying a peaceful time while holding Lord in her arms. Lord was very happy to spend time with his beautiful aunt. He enjoyed his aunt’s soft and nice scent. But there was a limit for babies.
“Hrmm.”
Lord started to yawn. It was the signal that it was nap time.
“I must go back now.”
It was time to return to reality. It happened when Ruby was about to leave the training ground and log out.
Chaaeng!
Kraugel and Piaro clashed with each other.
“Abu?”
The sleepiness suddenly fled from Lord’s eyes.
“Abu! Abuuuu!”
Lord shouted excitedly, waving his short arms. His blue eyes shone as he watched the confrontation between Kraugel and Piaro. Asmophel was astonished when he saw it.
‘The young lord…!’
He didn’t see Reidan’s soldiers as ‘poor’ because he didn’t have the ability to see martial arts.
‘It is because his vision was too high!’
The man in the straw hat wielded his sword at Piaro. And the legendary Piaro. The two people caught Lord’s interest. Asmophel trembled. It was difficult for him to figure out what Lord’s character would grow into later on.
“Abuoo-!”
Lord was touched by the confrontation between the two people and gradually grew. The child could instinctively feel it. The fact that one of his future seven mentors was in front of him.