Chapter 1958  

Zeratul was in the recovery period, resting after wrapping up the difficult battles against Trauka, Kubartos, and Judar. The people of the Overgeared World had heard about his accomplishments from Huroi. It was a different feeling from the vague worship he gained as the self-proclaimed Martial God. Every time he felt signs of people praying to Zeratul, and not to the Martial God, he smiled softly. He felt the growing desire to meet their aspirations, and he felt at peace.

[Hmm...]

Zeratul had taken an interest in studying treasures. Each and every one of them possessed interesting features. For example, in the case of weapon-like treasures, they weren’t held and swung like conventional weapons. Instead, specific invocation spells had to be chanted and mana was supplied to move them. At first glance, the way they functioned resembled the way Sword Saint’s Control Sword worked, but it was more accurate to understand them as a tool that amplified the power of one’s will.

[Peculiar. Originally, only a transcendent could use their will as a means of attacking. Even in the case of a transcendent, that was clumsy and weak. Now, anyone can easily do it. Depending on the function of the treasure, it can be used in various fields. Thanks to this mysterious invocation, civilization will develop quite considerably.]

Zeratul sensed his visitor’s aura and spoke while looking at the magical text floating in the air.

“With treasures, the will of an Absolute will be even stronger.”

[Correct. In fact, people like us are the ones who will benefit the most from these treasures. By the way, Grid, why have you come to my place? You didn’t come here just because you wanted to see what I’ve been up to, I assume?]

“Haha, isn’t it polite to check if the number one contributor of the last great battle is recovering well?”

[Number one contributor? Bah, I don't want to flatter myself in front of you, so get to the point.]

“I would like to learn some secret techniques.”

Zeratul arched an eyebrow curiously at Grid, who sat down.

[My secret techniques are of no use to you, right? You can fight with just the skills you have learned already. Plus, haven’t you recently learned Judar’s Multiple Weakening Barriers?]

“This body is different.”

[What does that mean?]

Even Zeratul couldn’t figure out he was speaking with a clone. That was how high quality the body smelted by Grid was.

Grid shrugged and pulled out Defying the Natural Order. Then he slammed it down on his wrist with all his might. Zeratul watched in shock, well aware of what that skill could do. Defying the Natural Order bounced off Grid’s wrist without cutting it.

[What?!]

Zeratul doubted what he was seeing.

The moment the blade of Defying the Natural Order pierced Grid’s skin, a black and gold light flashed, followed by a loud friction sound. There wasn’t a single scratch or drop of blood on Grid’s skin.

[A divine body! Is it a body made of Greed?!!]

“Judar told me how to make it. I took advantage of the nature of Greed, which can think and move on its own, and smelted a body using only that, no other materials.”

[This is amazing! I’ve known for a long time that Greed is a material that defies natural order. Isn’t it greater than the bones of an old dragon?]

“I think, once the status of my body completely surpasses that of an old dragon’s, that Greed will be considered even more powerful than an old dragon’s bones.”

[Indeed. Old dragons are comparable to the Gods of the beginning after all... The status of an old dragon is partly proportional to the number of years they have lived, but the achievements you have accumulated are beyond the value of time. It won't be long before you surpass the dragons’ status.]

Zeratul had complete confidence in Grid. After all, this was the man who had killed Judar and Trauka.

[Can your body only handle the sword dances?]

“For now. I plan to learn magic from Braham for a while and train really hard.”

[Learning magic and choosing to follow a different path than your main body’s… That is a good idea. You will learn spells and skills that your main body has no knowledge of, so your fighting style will become a lot more versatile. I’ll try to come up with a secret technique for you to make up for a magician’s shortcomings.]

“Thank you.”

[But it will take quite some time. This is a skill you will learn, so it has to be special. Keep training and accumulate as many achievements as you can until I contact you. Looking at you now, you definitely seem weak compared to your main body.]

“You guessed correctly.” Grid smiled, satisfied. He was happy because he felt like he and Zeratul had become true friends.

***

Braham was skeptical of Grid’s decision to train in magic. His emotionless voice echoed throughout the temple, “Why do you want to learn magic? You should just rely on the skills you already know and use them to the fullest.”

Grid told him, “I can make use of magic fully. It’s different from before.”

“Can you prove it to me?”

“Of course.”

Grid’s clone was an artificial intelligence created based on the data that Grid had accumulated. As an artificial intelligence, he always made the best choice in any situation. So, usually, he utilized his abilities better than Grid himself.

However, he was obsessed with safety and perceived variables as risks. Because of that, he wasn’t as strong as Grid. He simply became stronger by utilizing the magic he learned.

Braham’s attitude changed when Grid showed off magic he had picked up on. “...Then, I will formally accept you as my apprentice.”

“You have too many disciples. Are you going to build another tower?”

“Think of my disciples for a moment. I don’t just take anyone under my wing. They deserve it.”

“Whatever the case, I’m going to learn all the spells you know. Punishment as well.”

“Passing on the magic that was created during and after Punishment is impossible. Those spells are in my blood. Theoretically, only my siblings can learn them, but they don’t possess the knowledge to understand such magic. Marie Rose’s child might be different, but…”

Grid, who had been feeling disappointed, smiled widely. He was already happy imagining a future where the child, who would be born in a few months, would follow in Braham’s steps.

“By the way, are you a clone...? I can’t tell even though I’m looking straight at you.”

“I am really talking to you right now. Through the consciousness implanted in this body, I can monitor and control it at any time.”

“I envy you for that... Damn pavranium. I am technically its parent. Why doesn’t it acknowledge me as its master?” Braham complained.

“Find a solution. If you are accepted by Greed, you will also be able to refine a body.”

“I am always thinking about it. Isn’t it better to make a whole new pavranium? Can’t I make it with you like I did with Pagma?”

“Making a new one rather than changing Greed... Yeah, I like the sound of that too. It will take time, but it is possible. I’ll even lend you a hand.”

“...Let’s focus on training for now.”

The class began in earnest. Grid’s clone used his high Intelligence stat to absorb Braham’s magic like a sponge. He performed all the necessary spells correctly and got the title of Great Magician in just two days.

“You really are a genius!”

It was enough to elicit Braham’s delight. The more Grid got better at magic, the happier Braham became. It was as if he’d gained the most important achievement in the world.

‘I can’t believe I made Braham laugh... My clone is accomplishing what even I couldn’t do in my original body.’

Grid had complicated feelings, but under Braham’s enthusiastic guidance, he gradually learned more and more spells. He was stagnant for a while when it came to learning the highest level great magic, such as Meteor and Disintegrate, but he managed to meet the Intelligence requirement by creating items that instantly boosted that stat.

[Your Divine Incarnation has earned the title of ‘Greatest Magic Swordsman of All Time.’]

[Your Divine Incarnation has earned the title of ‘True Genius Magician.’]

***

“Isn’t it amazing? Irene is better than most farmers when it comes to growing flowers. Piaro personally asked her to take care of a few.”

“Irene has been tending to her flowers every day.”

At the garden of the Overgeared Palace…

All types of flowers were in full bloom, exuding a heavenly fragrance. Grid recognized many of them. The flowers had been cared for by Irene since the time of Reidan. Several were seedlings that Lord had obtained during his adventures for his mother. There were also many rare flowers collected from famous dangerous areas. It just felt strange because they were things that Grid had been trampling on like gravel on the side of the road.

“These things are used as ingredients for elixirs... I thought the flowers were just pretty.”

“It is safe to say that anything that was considered useless has disappeared since the update. Plants, insects, fish, ores, beasts, monsters, and even the water and soil that you can find all over the continent can be materials for treasures. There are so many different types of water and soil. That’s why people were so excited about this update—just about anyone can craft treasures.”

Grid and Lauel chatted as they strolled around the garden. The topics of their conversation changed every now and then. Every time, Grid acquired a large amount of important information.

“So... If you create a spiritual root in the place that was previously called the mana core or dantian, you can handle spirit energy. From then on, you are classified as a warrior. It seems that outsiders originally called this ‘qi refining.’ Is it possible to maximize the power of treasures by using spiritual energy from qi refining?”

“Yes. If you take a closer look, there are a lot of types of spiritual roots. If you have a water element spiritual root, you can use water attribute treasures and mystical arts with more power.”

“So, it’s better to carefully select the desired spiritual root before creating one. By the way, did the spiritual root appear on its own after the update?”

“I don’t think it’s possible to choose. It’s random.”

“Random? So the spiritual roots also have hidden types. I wonder what the attribute of my spiritual root is. I have no way of knowing.”

“Never mind. Players can handle treasures and mystical arts using other resources, they don’t necessarily need to have spiritual roots. Your Majesty, you have a variety of resources at your disposal. I don’t think you need to worry about trivial matters like the nature of your spiritual root.”

“Is there a penalty for using resources other than spiritual energy to deal with treasures and mystical arts? Would their power be weaker, for example?”

“Good catch. Using mana is around 30% less efficient than spiritual energy. I don’t think it’s that big of a difference considering the effort necessary to make the spiritual roots. There is a reason why outsiders revere mana by calling it the ‘heaven and earth origin energy.’ Plus, special resources such as blood, fighting energy, demonic energy, and killing energy can be more or less efficient than mana, it depends, really.”

“What about divinity?”

“I had Zeratul and Garion test it. It’s just like mana. It isn’t that much better when it comes to dealing with treasures.”

“What about Annihilation energy?”

“Check it out for yourself.”

Lauel handed him a fist-sized millstone.

“This is a defensive treasure. You can chant the invocation spell written in the description and inject it with Annihilation energy.” action

Grid did as he was told. The millstone expanded rapidly until it covered Grid completely.

Lauel’s eyes widened.

“It becomes more than twice as big compared to when casting with mana? I can’t tell if this is because Annihilation energy is superior to spiritual energy, or if it’s because Your Majesty has spiritual energy through which the Annihilation energy is amplified.”

Grid nodded and stopped infusing the treasure with energy. He switched to mana. The size of the millstone was greatly reduced.

Lauel was thoughtful. “It’s just as big as when I triggered it. It isn’t spiritual energy that’s making the Annihilation energy more efficient. The power of the Annihilation energy itself is better than spiritual energy.”

“Then I don't have to aim for the next rank after warrior?”

“If you want to gain access to the increased time ratio, you have to reach at least the rank of a true person. Moreover, I heard from prisoners that the more advanced you are, the more powerful techniques you can learn.”

“I can’t get used to this at all. No matter whether it is a spiritual root, a lotus root, a burdock root or something root, why is the S.A. Group doing this?”

“Who knows? Seeing how strangely realistic the depiction of how to make a spiritual root is, there must be martial arts enthusiasts among the top leaders...”

Lauel paused for a moment. A black flame dragon rose from his hand.

“Or they want players to know how to do this. It’s one of these two things.”

“...In a world with that damn asteroid, do we even have a need for spiritual roots?”

“Haha, it is all just speculation at this stage. However, it is true that the S.A. Group describes in detail how to condense the spiritual root, like they’re educating the players. Many people are trying to copy it in reality.”

Grid was dumbfounded but also strangely excited. “Are they also copying the breathing techniques to feel the dantian? Or is it the same as what I felt when learning Tai Chi...?”

He was happy to see that more and more people were starting to accept Satisfy as part of reality, not just a game.

After making a big lap around the castle, the two of them arrived at the dungeon. The chained outsider glared at them as if he was going to eat them.

“Why is he looking at us like that?”

“U-Uh? You can’t kill him.”