Chapter 1964

A group of cultivators had invaded a rarely deserted place in Reinhardt. Zik had come across the enemies by pure chance, and fought for an entire day to defeat them. He'd done a great deed, because there would've been a lot of casualties had Zik not been there to stop the cultivators from overrunning the city, if that was what they had in mind.

Grid had assumed that Zik would use this good deed of his as an opportunity to confront Grid about the truth.

Why did you join forces with Rebecca?

Did you abandon me because I'm not as valuable as her?

Grid predicted a serious argument. Therefore, he waited patiently for Zik to bring it up. He was determined to understand what Zik wanted from him and clear up any misunderstandings.

Yet, when Zik returned, he said nothing, expressing no doubts or complaints. This was because he had come up with an answer on his own. He didn't wait for Grid to explain anything to him. Rather, he thanked Grid. He decided not to be burdened by vengeance any longer.

It was a joyful day.

After seeing off Zibal, who returned to work, Grid and Zik visited Piaro's mansion.

"Y-Your Majesty?"

"God!"

The emperor's unannounced visit caused an uproar in Piaro's family. Piaro's beautiful wife was at a loss for words, while her young daughter ran to Grid with shining eyes and hugged him.

Grid said, "Your husband makes great wine, so I came here to get some. Cecil, you have grown two centimeters taller."

"Wow! You could tell exactly how much I've grown? As people say, God is great."

Piaro belatedly heard the commotion and rushed over. "My Liege," he said. He looked helplessly at the girl in Grid's arms and led the guests to the garden in the backyard.

"...Since you live in such a grand house, shouldn't you entertain your guests in a nice way? Why did you bring us here, to smell the dirt?"

"You can only experience the true flavor and scent of my wine when it is served accompanied by the savory smell of soil. Trust me."

"Are you really here to drink...?" Zik asked, who was following Grid without thinking, belatedly understood where this conversation was going. He was no longer covered in blood in grime thanks to Grid's cleansing magic.

"You fought hard for an entire day. Of course, we are here to relax," Grid replied casually.

Piaro smiled awkwardly. "Thank you for the hard work, Sir Zik." He seemed to know that Zik had fought that battle on his own.

Zik laughed. "Everyone knew but no one bothered to help me..."

He thought how many times he'd almost fight during that fight. He found it ridiculous that no one bothered to lend him a hand and instead simply watched from afar.

Piaro picked up on Zik's annoyance. Grid simply shrugged, unbothered.

Zik stared at Grid, taking in his imposing aura, and spoke slowly, "...Well, if I concluded that battle with someone's help, I would've blamed myself for being useless. I would've recalled not being helpful to my old colleagues, causing me to forget the present and let myself be consumed by the desire for revenge."

"You also wouldn't have even looked me in the eye."

"That's not true... Haha."

Zik ended up laughing.

Sweet potatoes and potatoes were being cooked on the campfire. The beautiful rainbow potatoes turned several shades brighter as they were grilled. This made Cecil smile brightly.

Beniyaru, Piaro's wife, served them food. "I don't know if you will like it."

She had shown them a salad made of various types of wild grass that Grid didn't really care for, sprinkled with oil and ground sesame seeds.

Grid shoved some salad in his mouth. 'Don't they have anything like pork belly around here?' he complained in his head. He wasn't shameless enough to voice his complaints outloud after showing up to these people's home uninvited.

Cecil turned to him and asked cheerfully, "God, how are my mother's cooking skills?"

Grid grinned widely and gave her a thumbs up. "Absolutely delicious. I am happy that my subordinate has found a good wife."

Beniyaru replied with genuine delight, "Oh, I'm just a humble woman, I can't be compared to the likes of your wife, Your Majesty."

Piaro was struggling to hold back his laughter. He was extremely amused watching Grid force himself to eat the wild grasses he hated.

Zik's heart was warmed at the sight of their friendship, regardless of their master-subordinate relationship.

"This wine tastes better than the alcohol I had in the desert. Can I bring Zibal with me next time?'

"Sir Zibal is always welcome. Speaking of which, I can't tell you how pleased My Liege was when he heard that Sir Zibal was joining the Overgeared Guild. He also means a lot to me."

Grid wondered, "Was it like that...? I don't think I would've been happy to hear that someone who had just been killed by a hand plow became my colleague."

"At that time, even My Liege was no match for my hand plow during our sparring sessions. Sir Zik, please understand that the drunker My Liege is, the less honest he becomes."

Zik said, "Now that I see it, that is indeed the case. But I think things will change once he drinks with His Highness."

"Haha, My Liege tends to act particularly responsibly in front of His Highness. It is very satisfying and enjoyable to watch him try to be a great father."

"I completely agree."

"...Since when did you get along so well?" Grid wondered.

Before they knew it, they were on their third jar of alcohol. The liquor that had filled the jars to the brim was now almost gone.

Even if Grid became a Legend, a Transcendent, or even an Absolute, his 'drinking gauge' wasn't much different from that of an ordinary person. Therefore, he gradually approached his limit. He decided that if he didn't want to suffer from a hangover penalty, he would have to leave soon. He slowly got up.

"Speaking of which, I have to meet Irene tonight..."

Just then—

[You had a drinking party without me?]

Someone's intent was carved onto the space. Cecil looked around curiously, while Zik and Piaro rose from their seats to greet the new guest.

Overgeared Martial God Zeratul descended from the sky. Grid looked like he'd eaten something that had gone bad.

"Why are you interrupting without any notice?"

[You are the one drinking without me, the most important person in the Overgeared World...]

"Funny how someone who has nothing in Asgard claims to be the most important person around here."

Zeratul's proud expression stiffened as he realized that Grid was already drunk.

[You... Hexetia!]

Hexetia, who was known as one of the drinkers of Asgard, also showed up. Grid gasped when he spotted Khan behind him.

"This is bad..."

That day, everyone except for Khan passed out from the alcohol. Khan had been notorious as an alcoholic when he was human, therefore he could drink a lot more than everyone else present. Even the gods of Asgard, who used wine as their staple food, were no match for him.

"I never thought this day would come..."

Khan smiled warmly as he covered Grid, who was sleeping on his shoulder, with the blanket that Cecil brought him.

***

As Grid's group were having a drinking party, footage of Zik's battle against the cultivators was distributed to the Overgeared members and other organizations of the empire. This footage had been recorded by the magicians of the Magic Tower using a crystal ball.

"When it comes to treasures, it is more convenient to think that their offensive capabilities resemble Control Sword, while their defensive capabilities are more like an extension of the Mana Shield."

"The so-called mystical arts have a lot to do with magic. Spiritual energy is around 30% more efficient than mana. I think it's safe to assume that spiritual energy is stronger."

"All sacrificial techniques have something in common. They are particularly strong, but they don't last for long. If we keep this in mind, we will be able to deal with them without much difficulty. Of course, this only applies to the cultivators below the core formation realm. Those who have failed to attain transcendence should run away when encountering a cultivator above the nascent soul stage.

"Zik seems to fight really well... I thought Braham's skills as an apostle were unrivaled. But based on how he fights, he should be on par with Braham, right?"

"That is a bit of an exaggeration, but I think he can be considered the second most powerful apostle after Braham, who is the strongest. In any case, they are the most powerful people in the empire. I don't know how Grid got ahold of all these talented people..."

"It's all thanks to hard work. This time, he kidnapped eight thousand people from Siren... Uhm, I mean, he brought them here, yeah."

"In any case, he has never lost his initial determination. Make sure to pass this battle video to Valhalla and all our allies. Our ultimate goal should be to make every player understand what cultivators are and how to fight back against them. As everyone knows, there are a lot of people dying at the hands of these enemies, unable to do anything. Therefore, the situation is gradually becoming worse."

The Overgeared Guild's stance on helping out the growing population of players remained unwavering. The information distributed by the Guild spread throughout the continent via various routes. The majority of players became familiar with information about cultivators.

A few days later, a world message emerged.

[Powerful outsiders are preparing for an 'erosion ritual.']

[A common quest is given to players who are level 500 or higher.]

[Stop the Erosion Ritual]

Difficulty: Unmeasurable.

Some of the best outsiders are preparing for an erosion ceremony.

If their ritual is successful, a chunk of the outsiders' home world will be transplanted into this world. A large number of outsiders will appear all over the continent, and strange constellations will emerge in the night sky to aid them. Various restrictions that oppress outsiders will be lifted.

Find the ritual site and stop the erosion.

Quest Deadline: 40 days.

Quest Rewards: Unknown.]

The players were anxious.

Everyone was aware that this quest shouldn't be allowed to fail under any circumstances. The problem was that they had to find the ritual site within forty days. They had to search for a specific area on a planet larger than Earth without any clues. This was a perplexing task even for the Skunk expedition team.

"Let's investigate all the places nearby."

All the players moved with only one thing on their minds. They searched for the ritual site regardless of level, occupation or affiliation. They were cooperating similarly to how they did previously during the Great Human and Demon War. Even Youngwoo's parents were wandering around the nearby mountains alongside club members.

The notoriety of the cultivators knew no limits. Even at this moment, numerous players were dying at their hands. It was safe to say that no one wanted to grant the cultivators an environment where they could flourish even more than they did already.

Just then, Reinhardt had a visitor. It was Grid's long-awaited guest.

"I greet Only One God Grid."

The woman looked like she had just become an adult. Her eyes were as intense as a blazing flame and reminded Grid of someone from the past.

"You are Ifrit's daughter."

Ifrit was the great dragon who had allowed Grid to become a Dragon Knight.

Grid smiled graciously at the only flesh and blood she left behind.