Grid’s gameplay style was very unique. Unlike other people who liked to experience new content as soon as it appeared, Grid often left many situations alone. It was a type of habit. It was a habit sparked by too many failures when attempting to do new content. It was why Grid pa.s.sively approached new quests and systems.
The same was true for visiting the Tower of Wisdom. What type of privilege was it to be first in the unified rankings? Ordinary players would have visited the Tower of Wisdom excitedly the moment they knew of its existence. In fact, Kraugel immediately visited the Tower of Wisdom.
Meanwhile, Grid pushed the tower visit back. He didn’t feel the need to approach content that he could do at any time. The att.i.tude was completely different from the average player who tried to access new content in order to grow quicker.
“......”
At the S.A Group’s headquarters...
Director Yoon Sangmin watched the situation at the Tower of Wisdom and clicked his tongue. The Tower of Wisdom was clearly meant to be favorable to the Pioneer. It was because if there was a problem in the world like the insane dragon iron, the tower must solve it through the Pioneer. It was the tower’s inclination to cherish and teach the Pioneer. The former Pioneer, Kraugel, had increased his combat power a lot through the process of taking the tower’s tests.
Yes, this was it. The Tower of Wisdom wasn’t designed to just give and give. it was to give content that ‘properly helped’ the Pioneer. This time, the timing of Grid’s visit to the tower was simply breathtaking. Just as he was being blocked from the enlightenment system, he visited the tower and transformed the help he got from ‘appropriate’ to ‘something huge.’ Additionally, he gained great affinity with Hayate due to the presence of the red phoenix’s heart.
“Hayate’s liking for Grid has increased the overall favorability of the tower members. In particular, Biban’s fondness for Grid had increased dramatically.”
“It was due to the favorability that Biban was willing to allow the pa.s.sing on of the Matchless Heart Technique.”
“Yes, it was great luck that Grid delayed the visit to the Tower of Wisdom.”
“Hrmm...”
Director Yoon Sangmin listened to the explanation and his expression was a bit subtle. Clearly, the content attack speed of Grid was much slower than average. Strangely, quests were often neglected and as a result, new systems were encountered late. However, the Tower of Wisdom was an exclusive perk available solely to the 1st ranked player. Considering Grid’s usual tendencies, it was hard to understand why he delayed the visit to the Tower of Wisdom for no reason, especially when Grid was in a position to clear the insane dragon iron quest at any time.
“Perhaps... did he intentionally delay the timing of his visit?”
“Huh? Grid? Did he predict all of this? Aish, you’re too much.”
“No, it is credible enough. Focus on the fact that the Tower of Wisdom is an organization that fights for the protection of the world.”
“Ah...!”
Grid already knew that if he visited the tower after saving the East Continent, he would get more favors from the members of the tower. Of course, Grid couldn’t guess what the rewards would be but he must’ve known it wouldn’t be anything bad.
“Don’t you know? All of this luck comes from Grid’s intentions. He is a man that Chairman Lim Cheolho and I acknowledge.”
Director Yoon Sangmin had a smile on his face.
***
‘I should’ve visited sooner.’
Grid was given permission to pa.s.s on the Matchless Heart Technique and fell into belated regrets. He wondered how good it would’ve been if he had visited the tower a bit earlier.
‘I should’ve come to the tower before going to the East Continent.’
Then it would’ve been much easier to fight the yangbans. His level would be much higher than it was now.
“It is regrettable, regrettable.”
Grid sighed as he said farewell to Biban and walked down the corridor of the silent tower. He was going to meet with the other tower members. Given the helpful nature of the tower members, he was certain that meeting with the other members would be beneficial.
‘I will meet them one by one while I’m at the tower.’
They might be different from Hayate and Biban. They might show him favor but they most likely wouldn’t give him a gift. Still, Grid had to meet them. There was nothing to lose even if he just saw them.
On the third floor of the Tower of Wisdom...
Knock knock.
Grid carefully knocked on the door of the laboratory of the 8th Seat, Jessica.
“......”
There was no response. She seemed to be absent. He thought it would be very helpful to Zednos and Laella if he gained some insight into echo magic.
“Hrmm.”
The disappointed Grid turned his gaze to the other side of the corridor. According to Biban, the residences of the female tower members were on the third floor. The 4th Seat, Betty—she was surprisingly young and spoke very little. During their introduction, she didn’t even give a polite greeting and only stated her name.
‘What is her cla.s.s?’
She wasn’t a combat cla.s.s considering her delicate body without a single muscle. It seemed unlikely she would be a magician when there was already Jessica.
‘As expected, she is likely to be a production cla.s.s.’
His blacksmithing blood boiled. He was already excited to think about what he could learn from another craftsman.
Knock knock.
Grid stood in front of Betty’s residence and cautiously knocked. Fortunately, Betty was present.
“What brings you here?”
Betty’s eyes were very large as she stuck her head out through the gap of the slightly opened door. He felt it the first time he saw her but her round, dark eyes were beautiful. They didn’t sparkle so that looked a bit lonely, but this was what made them attractive. If she wasn’t a grandmother that was hundreds of years old, he would’ve wanted her to be his daughter-in-law.
“I wanted to greet you before leaving.”
“Yes... bye.”
“...?”
The door closed.
The 7th Seat, Abellio, came up from the second floor and laughed at the sight of the embarra.s.sed Grid in the corridor. “Betty is a very shy person. Please understand.”
“Ah? Yes...”
An old person who lived for hundreds of years was shy? It was a story no one would believe.
‘I guess Betty doesn’t like me.’
He hadn’t done anything wrong but sometimes a person was just disliked for no reason. Grid was accustomed to hate and didn’t mind it.
“By the way, Abellio, wasn’t your accommodation on the fourth floor?”
“I came here to meet you. The roads diverged.”
“Me?”
“I want to give you a gift.”
“This...!”
Grid’s eyes widened as Abellio handed him a painting. It was a portrait of Grid. The portrait depicted even his eyebrows delicately and it focused on Grid’s expression. Grid’s personality was perfectly expressed through his facial expression.
“Really... it is a great painting.”
Grid had produced dozens of legendary items. His growing discerning eyes instantly recognized that this portrait was more outstanding than any other famous painting he had ever seen.
“It is much better than Tarkai’s work.”
Tarkai’s work was a treasure coveted by all the royal families and n.o.bles. Yet it was hard to own Tarkai’s work unless you were the emperor of the Saharan Empire. It was because it was so precious. Over the pa.s.sage of time, all of Tarkai’s work had been owned by the imperial family and n.o.bles of the empire. Grid had visited the imperial palace many times. He had seen and admired Tarkai’s work every time but Abellio’s work felt even better.
Abellio shook his head. “There is no superiority in art.”
“Your humility...”
“It isn’t humility. In the first place, I am Tarkai.”
“...Huh?”
“If it isn’t seen, art loses its meaning. Every now and then, I would use a fictional ident.i.ty and release my works into the world. Haha, of course, it is something I did after getting permission from the other tower members.”
“I see.”
He heard that just one of Tarkai’s works could buy a castle. It would’ve been nice to receive Tarkai’s work instead of his portrait...
However, Grid didn’t express this. He smiled and thankfully received the portrait. Then his eyes widened.
[A new extremely honorable painting has been acquired.]
[The skill Protagonist of the Extremely Honorable Painting has been updated.]
[Protagonist of the Extremely Honorable Painting]
[*One time limited skill.
When used, your information will return to what it was when the extremely honorable painting was made.
However, it will only be the stats and skills information. Additional information such as t.i.tles, cla.s.s, status, race, age, and so on aren’t affected.]
“...!!”
It was easy to say that Protagonist of the Extremely Honorable Painting was a save point. It could be described as a cheat system that violated the rules of online gaming. However, Grid had no intention of using the extremely honorable painting. It was because the save point of the extremely honorable painting was too old. It was a million times better to die than to use the extremely honorable painting.
Now things have changed. Grid learned that the extremely honorable painting was a renewable system and he had to consider fostering it.
‘Every time I level up, I should ask Pica.s.so to draw a new one.’
Of course, it wasn"t that easy. Pica.s.so’s extremely honorable painting was the first one born in 177 years. This meant the probability of success was low. Still, there was nothing to lose by trying.
“Then I’ll be going. The next time you come to the tower, feel free to visit me anytime.”
“Thank you very much, Abellio.”
Grid separated from Abellio and met the 5th Seat, Ken and the 6th Seat, Jurene. They didn’t give Grid any gifts or instructions. Unlike Betty, Grid was satisfied because they showed enough goodwill.
“...Definitely, it is only this place that is different.”
Grid reached the seventh floor and checked the high ceilings. The height of the ceiling was a huge 12 meters. It was nearly three times higher than the other floors. At first, he couldn’t figure out the reason and didn’t think much about it. However, now it was different. Grid now knew why the seventh floor was exceptionally different.
‘A magic machine.’
The seventh floor was used entirely by the 3rd Seat, Radwolf. This was where the magic machine workshop was located. The confident Grid approached the giant iron gate and gulped.
Even the ancient magic machines named after dragons showed an overwhelming fighting capability. He wondered how well the latest magic machines would perform. (TL: Raiders and gourmet dragon Reiders were named before I knew that the magic machines were named after dragons. I named them separately to avoid confusion but since they’re the same, I’ve gone back to change the name of the dragon to Raiders.)
He had the expectation of receiving a magic machine as a gift and was already wondering if he had the talent to control the magic machines. It was equivalent to drinking kimchi soup properly. [1]
However, the value of the magic machine was so high that it was natural to drink kimchi soup.
“You can come in if you can open the door,” Radwolf’s voice came from beyond the iron door. It was an iron door that was over three meters thick. Then—
“Groan...!”
Grid gritted his teeth as he eventually pushed open the door that gave off an evil feeling.
Pant pant. As he panted breathlessly, a new world entered his vision. The sight of eight magic machines standing side by side overwhelmed him.
[1] There’s an idiom ‘don’t drink the kimchi soup before being offered rice cake’ and it basically means to don’t make a.s.sumptions/don’t count your chickens before they are hatched