Overgeared

He gained a huge 13 levels. As a result, Grid's current level was 760. It averaged more than 230 higher than the top 10 players in the unified rankings. It was equal to or higher than the level of named NPCs that rose in proportion to the growth of players and it was a level that chased after the level of super named NPCs, who were extremely rare.

'The growth rate will be faster for the time being. Baal is a good opponent even if we fight 100 times and I just win once.'

Of course, Grid's stats fell far short of Baal's. In order to threaten Baal, he would need to overlap all his enhancement skills and use the six fusion sword dance with a deceptive item. On the other hand, Baal's potential was endless. As an extreme example, Baal was likely to utilize his Hell Leap skill in the next battle. Today, he had suffered his second consecutive defeat thanks to Yura's Hell Leap, so he would naturally be conscious of it and try to pay it back.

'It is right to say that Yura's skills can also be used by Baal.'

Baal acquired the skills of humans who died and fell to hell. Furthermore, the soul of Demon Slayer Alex was in Baal's hands, as well as Pagma's soul.

'The good thing is that… he won't be able to take full advantage of the Demon Slayer's skills.'

A Demon Slayer's skill structure was mostly focused on weakening and purifying evil. If Baal used the skills, then it was equivalent to cutting at his own flesh. Therefore, he wouldn't be able to use all the skills. Even so, the fact that he could use Hell Leap was a big threat.

'I have to be prepared.'

There would be consecutive defeats for a while. Baal was superior to him in every way. Fighting and losing against him was a result that Grid should take for granted. No, let's go beyond the normal level and accept it happily. It wasn't an exaggeration to say it was a gain if he fought Baal 100 times and won once.

'It isn't a loss if I lose and it is a jackpot if I win once.'

Baal's level was too high and Grid had a fraudulent passive skill called enlightenment. Grid had passed on the position of Pioneer to Kraugel, but this didn't mean he had lost his rights. There was Hayate's favor behind Grid attaining the status of 10th Seat of the tower rather than Pioneer. The 10th Seat was a special status created by Hayate in order to benefit Grid without imposing any obligations on him.

"Yura, spar with me."

At the crystal castle...

Ironically, the hell branch of the Overgeared Guild was the safest place in hell. There was a sense of stability that calmed Grid's heart, which had been raging with tension and excitement all throughout the fight with Baal. Grid wanted to fight with Yura until the moment when the cooldown of his immortality, which was consumed at the last moment, ended. It was a judgment that it would be great research if he could experience how she used the Hell Leap skill from an enemy's point of view.

Yura calmed him down. "Let's go back to Reinhardt first."

The empire had a great deal of enemies. There were even enemies on a transcendent level. In particular, the celestial gods had the ability to observe the surface and they were unlikely to miss the gap when Grid was away.

Grid fully understood her, but he felt a bit reluctant. "I think it will be hard to come back to hell the moment I return to the surface..."

The enemy's invasion of Reinhardt was just a 'possibility.' Furthermore, Reinhardt's defense was close to perfection. The apostles might be away, but Asmophel and the Red Knights, powerful soldiers, and even Kraugel were prepared for an enemy invasion.

On the other hand, it was a predetermined fate that Baal would disrupt Grid. In fact, he had set up a trap at the place where Grid got off the hell elevator. It was hard to predict what type of terrible traps would lurk the next time he got out of the elevator.

Yura read his concerns and smiled widely. "Don't worry. You have me, right?"

'That's right...'

Grid recalled Yura's Hell Gate skill. It was a dimensional gate that moved between the surface and hell. He heard that the level had increased significantly since she used it frequently over the past year. The number of people she could take with her had increased to four and it was easier to specify the coordinates. It was said that it was very rare for her to fall to an unexpected place and become lost.

'The elevator is in a set position, so it is easy for Baal to place traps. Meanwhile, the hell gate is different.'

The hell gate opened near a point designated by Yura. Even Baal had no choice but to specify the location only after Grid's group arrived in hell. It was difficult to dig a trap in advance.

'There would be no answer if he leads an army to a trap or something.'

Baal was the master of the 1st Hell. He had an army of thousands of demons, each one said to be at the level of great demons in the 30s, and an entourage comparable to the single digit great demons. There were also the red chunk of flesh and Asura, who were as potentially as fearsome as Baal himself. The power of Bal's army wasn't at the level that Grid could handle.

However, Grid felt certain. There was no possibility that Baal would move the army unless it reached the point where Grid completely overwhelmed Baal. This guess was possible because he understood Baal's personality.

Baal was different from Chiyou. He wanted to 'realize' his death wish, but he didn't really intend to die. To Baal, the crisis of death was just a means to appease boredom and to obtain pleasure. His arrogance pierced the sky. Additionally, in most cases, one's arrogance was proportional to their pride.

He had to use an army to defeat just one god, especially one weaker than him? It was impossible.

"Okay... let's go back."

From this day on, Grid's schedule was the toughest it had ever been. He fought against Yura, who actively utilized her Hell Leap skill, until the cooldown of his immortality ended. Then as soon as his immortality was available, he broke into hell again and fought against Baal.

He was defeated in the second battle.

He was also defeated in the third battle.

He lost the fourth battle.

Unlike Yura's Hell Leap, which slightly increased the cooldown once it was used more than a certain number of times, Baal's Hell Leap skill maintained an extremely short cooldown. The demon sword he stabbed toward Grid's right side appeared from above Grid and the kick he aimed at Grid's abdomen came from behind Grid's back. He almost peed in his pants when the waves of the One Million Army Swordsmanship flying from in front suddenly disappeared and cut the back of his neck as they passed by him. The basic attack speed itself was fast enough that Grid could only react by relying on his artificial senses. Now that it was mixed in with some fakes, it wasn't at the level that Grid could respond to just by practicing.

"The God Hands are terribly useless."

"......"

Did they understand Grid's lament? The God Hands stopped moving in unison from where they were always hovering beside Grid. Grid felt somewhat guilty, but another sigh emerged. Ever since the old days, the God Hands had no power against enemies who were equal to or superior to Grid.

The God Hands themselves were an item that reproduced some of Grid's stats, so it was unavoidable that they were an inferior version of Grid. Against an opponent Grid couldn't handle, it was impossible for the God Hands' attack or defense to be effective unless a great deal of luck followed.

Tai Chi? There was no chance. Fortunately, they now played a big role through the artificial senses, but it was still a disappointment.

'I think I could've won if Meteor had hit at that time.'

The mass of Greed that floated at a certain altitude. Grid called it Meteor while Braham called it an ignorant piece of iron. It naturally didn't hit Baal. It was read and avoided every time. Grid felt the need to devise a completely different way of using Greed. Of course, he came to the same conclusion as always. The conclusion was that the most ideal form of supplementary items that could be made out of Greed was the God Hands.

'The God Hands are better than a magic machine against Baal. The God Hands reproduces my skills, while the magic machine has very few attack skills and the pattern is simple. Let's just increase the number of God Hands as much as possible.'

It was on the day of his 3rd defeat to Baal. Grid immediately returned to Reinhardt and split up some of the mass of Greed that had been accumulating for a long time. Then he started making hundreds of God Hands. He wasn't nervous. He might've been defeated three times, but his experience bar was full. It was enough as long as he didn't die. From Grid's perspective, it was at a level where he would unconditionally gain if he fought unconditionally.

[If your class rating is myth, then you can use up to 300 secondary weapons.]

[...It is an amazing achievement!"

[The restrictions on the use of secondary weapons have been found by a player for the first time.]

[You have received the title 'Do You Have a Conscience?' as a reward for the first achievement.]

[Do You Have a Conscience?]

[Number of secondary weapons simultaneously used +10.]

"......"

Yura, Nefelina, Noe, and Randy looked at Grid, who had a total of 310 God Hands floating around him. They were the ones who had struggled in hell with Grid for the past week. Their level had also risen significantly. Yura and Nefelina didn't have the enlightenment effect, but they escaped death thanks to Grid's efforts. They rose several levels based on the experience they gained on the first day they defeated Baal. Then after that, they hadn't lost any experience points. Noe and Randy shared a common destiny with Grid. Once they joined the battle, they shared a portion of the experience that Grid gained.

"Are you into Buddhism these days?" Kraugel was responsible for analyzing Baal's swordsmanship based on the scars left on Valhalla. He was deep in contemplation as he thought of a new notch to be engraved on Valhalla, only to belatedly grasp the situation and ask this question.

A body made up of a thousand hands and a thousand eyes that was said to be created by the Bodhisattva Guanyin to save all living things. Grid's appearance looked just like the Thousand Hands of Avalokite?vara. It was just that he looked to be ruling by might rather than divine.

"Haha, Kraugel. I respect and love all religions in the world, not just Buddhism."

"Why are you suddenly quoting a Korean textbook..."

"Haha, what are you saying?"

Grid was in a position where he had to be conscious that there were eyes and ears that saw and heard him at any time and any place. He was loved by so many people that he couldn't be seen as showing favoritism for a particular religion. This was why he alternately sponsored not just churches, temples, and cathedrals, but took turns supporting all religious organizations in South Korea such as Hindu temples, Myanmar temples, Cambodian temples, and Mongolian temples.

It was Sehee's advice and the effect was great. People from all walks of life sent special affection to Grid. It was safe to say that Grid's allied forces were spread out not only in South Korea, but also throughout the world.

'...Is he going to run for president some day?'

He was so diligent that he lived a very tiring life.

Kraugel shook his head and pulled out his sword.

Twilight—it was a dragon weapon that felt a bit more colorful and sharper than Grid's Twilight. Kraugel started to carve new notches on Xenon's scales that wrapped around Valhalla's gorget, chest, and thigh area. The effect appeared immediately.

[The 'favor of the Sword Saint' has added the 'immunity to same sword damage overlapping' effect to Valhalla of Infinite Affection.]

The biggest part of Baal's dominance over Grid was speed. The rapid swordsmanship had a permanent 'continuous attack' effect. The moment one attack was allowed, he inevitably suffered from several more damages overlapping. Now he became immune to it. Of course, the effect was limited only to damage received from swords, but as long as Baal insisted on swordsmanship, the burden on Grid would be greatly reduced in the future.

"Come back safely."

"Yes."

Grid shared a high five with Kraugel before taking Yura's hell gate to fight for revenge. Unfortunately, he was defeated again. Then in the sixth battle the next day, the battle became more intense. The day after that, he won the seventh battle. The help of Yura, Kraugel, and the God Hands that had increased to 310 became a strong support for Grid. Nefelina started to be more courageous and she was naturally the number one contributor to the victory.

Baal started to question it. What made this guy become stronger every day?

The lonely Absolute couldn't understand Grid.

"......!"

"......!"

Grid and Yura, who had turned around and fled as soon as they killed Baal, suddenly exchanged looks with wide eyes.

They heard the voices of souls. They were the souls of Pagma and Alex. They were the voices of the souls who regained their sense of reason while Baal was weakened.