Chapter 1959
Grid’s fist slammed into the middle-aged man’s face, and Laurel cried out in surprise. Grid withdrew his hand and tilted his head to the side. The man’s face looked like a dented pot.
“Why is he so weak?”
“How can a man not wearing any armor withstand Your Majesty’s fist?”
“Kraugel said they regenerate quickly even when their body is cut into pieces.”
“The regeneration power seems to vary greatly depending on the techniques they know and the treasures they have.”
“There are also items...”
Grid nodded and examined the chains that bound the middle-aged man’s limbs.
“You have taken away all his belongings, but you can’t detain him in the usual manner?”
“Yes. He used a technique called Soil Release to hide under the ground like a mole. We had a hard time catching him again. Right now, Braham’s magic chains have sealed away his spiritual power so he can’t pull off the same thing again.”
“You can interfere in spiritual power using magic... There are many tactics to deal with them. So what is his rank?”
Grid’s eyes were cold as he glanced at the middle-aged man. The prisoner was a maniacal outsider who dared to kill three civilians and fifty-one soldiers in the heart of Reinhardt. Fortunately, the nearby players had stepped in and put a stop to his ma.s.sacre. Had they stayed on the sidelines and did nothing, there could have been a lot more casualties.
Grid wanted to kill this person right that very second.
“A raid team of over eighty people and a party of nine with an average level of 400 was almost wiped out by him alone, right? Does he have the rank of a Great Person? Or is he a Saint?”
“U... Uh...”
“Can he not speak?”
“That might be because all his teeth were ripped out.”
“Tsk.”
Grid poured a potion on the middle-aged man’s face, who quickly recovered. He looked around in shock.
“I can’t believe that potion can exert such excellent medicinal properties even though I didn’t ingest it and turned it into spiritual energy...!”
“Talk in a way I can understand.”
“Gasp! Ah, that... The medicine that us cultivators use are usually in the form of a round pill. We have to swallow them so they can be effective. In order to obtain medicinal effects, we need to use spiritual energy to gradually dissolve the medicine in our bodies... The red liquid given by the elder is commendable because it has medicinal properties without any complicated processes.”
“So what is your rank?”
“...If you are asking me about my degree of cultivation, it is foundation building.”
“What the h.e.l.l is that?”
“Ah! You don’t seem to know that much about cultivators! Allow me to explain. A cultivator is someone who acc.u.mulates cultivation in order to attain the great dao. The realms of cultivation are divided into qi refining, foundation building, core formation, nascent soul, and soul transformation.”
The middle-aged man was very cooperative. He smiled good-naturedly, unlike a maniac serial killer, and explained in detail about the realms.
Qi refining was the realm of cultivating the spiritual root and learning how to use spiritual energy. To put it simply, it was the beginner realm.
The foundation building period was the realm of acc.u.mulating and stabilizing a certain amount of spiritual energy.
The core formation period was the realm of pure cultivation and purification. Cultivators mastered various techniques on a deeper level than before. Then they entered the nascent soul stage where they succeeded in forming a nascent soul.
It was difficult to understand what he was talking about when he started explaining that, starting from the nascent soul realm, a second self was created inside the body, effectively granting the cultivator two lives. They would have to see for themselves.
In any case, if the cultivator was well versed in numerous techniques and had managed to sharpen their spiritual energy to the extreme, they could challenge soul transformation. The probability of entering the soul transformation realm was very low. Starting from the soul transformation realm, some of the spiritual energy would be replaced with the heaven and earth origin energy. By manipulating energy other than spiritual energy, cultivators can gain enough power and endurance to crush hundreds of soul transformation cultivators.
Grid wasn’t very interested in this.
He had been immersed in cla.s.sic comics for a while, and he himself had reached the level of a Saiyan. Compared to the many different power levels that Saiyans have, the realms of the cultivators’ were few and they didn’t sound that powerful.
Grid’s eyes gradually became colder the longer the middle-aged man spoke.
“Cultivators who specialize in the art of body refining, like you, often overwhelm cultivators of the same realm because their spiritual energy possesses transcendent durability and immense strength. However, there are cases where people don’t have enough time to cultivate the technique of acc.u.mulating aura, so they often die at the end of their lifespan without being able to reach the next level. A cultivator like me who wanders without an affiliation is a rogue cultivator...”
“If you don’t make it to the next realm, you will die at the end of your lifespan? Could it be that when you reach the next realm, your lifespan will increase?”
“You are smart! Yes, if you achieve the foundation building realm, you will live for 200 years. If you reach the core formation realm, you will live for 400 years. If you achieve the nascent soul realm, you will live for 800 years. If you achieve the soul transformation realm, your lifespan will increase to 3,000 years. This makes cultivation very advantageous!”
Irene and Basara’s faces flashed through Grid’s mind. How long was the life expectancy of these two women after they acc.u.mulated divinity and became younger? Their aging had indeed slowed down, but it was unclear if this phenomenon would also increase their lifespan. There were limits, even if they were nourished by the golden walnut.
Grid thought, ‘This is an update for people like me.’
There was hope for extending the lifespan of his loved ones...
Grid relaxed.
The middle-aged man looked relieved. He added, “Even after the soul transformation period, there is the void refining period, the synthesis period and the great ascension period. Since this is a rare situation, people like me don’t know the details, but... It is said that starting from the void refining realm, you can dominate the heaven and earth origin energy. Theoretically, you can live forever. It is also said that when you reach the highest level of the great ascension realm, you will finally achieve the great dao and become an immortal.”
‘He isn’t talking about daoist immortals like Bentao or Yeoam.’
Grid recognized the disparity between the daoist immortals he had witnessed and the immortals that the middle-aged man was talking about. The level of power displayed by the daoist immortals he saw wasn’t even close to the soul transformation level that the middle-aged man was talking about.
He also didn’t seem to be exaggerating.
The middle-aged man was nothing more than a foundation building cultivator, but he had single-handedly destroyed a large-scale team and a high-level party. Knights, who arrived later, had to cooperate with the players in order to arrest him. This meant that the middle-aged man had the power of a high ranker.
“What are the Warrior, True Person, and Superhuman ranks?”
“Those terms are used by some cultivators to call each other. For example, a superior who doesn’t know my name will call me a True Person and I will also call him a True Person for convenience. If I’m calling someone by their t.i.tle, the other person’s status and realm are taken into consideration. So the t.i.tle doesn’t necessarily match their rank.”
Grid filtered through the information obtained and raised a new question. “Why did you kill those people?”
The middle-aged man paled. “I–I didn’t intend for that to happen. A few days ago, I woke up in a meadow. After wandering aimlessly on unfamiliar roads, I arrived in this city. However, I couldn’t communicate with people, so I tried to learn the language and get information. In the process, misunderstandings piled up and things got out of control. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone on purpose!”
“Does a method of extracting memories from the target’s soul exist?”
“T-That’s right.”
“Won’t it deal a big blow to the soul?”
“T-That... If you are very unlucky, you might become a cretin, but the chances of dying are low. I found myself in a strange world where I couldn’t even speak to anyone. I had no choice. Please try to understand my situation...”
Grid was no longer interested in what he had to say anymore. The middle-aged man’s eyes rolled until only the whites could be seen when he was. .h.i.t hard in the head by Lauel.
“I’m going to meet up with Lord. He should be here any minute now.”
“Yes. If I obtain any additional information, I will let you know.”
“Please do.”
The middle-aged man was relieved when Grid left. He lowered his head and smiled without Lauel seeing him.
‘Ridiculous. These people are so arrogant, though I guess they aren’t aware that they are going to die soon.’
In Lauel’s inventory, the silent spirit tablet confiscated from the middle-aged man’s possessions was flas.h.i.+ng intermittently.
***
“It seems there is a problem with Namgung Hae’s personal safety.”
“I know. Because of his personality, he didn’t know who the target he was facing was and ended up in trouble. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to be dead. Let’s call for reinforcements and wait.”
“I’m glad we happened to be nearby.”
“There must be more people of the sect nearby than we think. This is the largest city in this area, so it is natural to head here.”
Three people entered a snack store in Reinhardt and called an employee to order ramyun and kimbap. Their clothes and behavior were ordinary, so they didn’t stand out. However, they often used unfamiliar words.
The other guests couldn’t hear them due to the transparent protective s.h.i.+eld that surrounded them.
***
“Your Majesty!”
“I have returned after carrying out the orders of His Majesty.”
Hundreds of beautiful women bowed their heads down in unison. The prince in the lead saluted with a determined expression.
Grid, who was strolling along on the castle wall, disappeared in a blur and suddenly appeared next to Lord. He pulled Lord to his feet and tugged him tightly.
“Don’t act so formal. I’m sad because it feels like you are distancing yourself from me.”
He was proud of his child, all grown up and returned from his mission. He tried not to show it, but he was getting quite emotional.
He understood the concept of a cultivator. He envisioned a future where Lord could live happily with his family forever.
In fact, until this morning, Grid had been displeased about the time ratio being updated to 1:8. He was scared because the time gap between Satisfy and reality was getting worse. This meant that the time to separate from Irene would come even quicker. He tried his best to not think about it, but he had found a new hope.
‘Lord is clever. He will quickly form his spiritual roots and be a great teacher for Irene and Basara.’
Grid’s group moved to the palace.
“These were taken from Trauka’s storehouse, which was hidden outside of Talima.”
"...?"
Grid’s eyes were wide in shock as he checked the treasures within the wagon. In addition to the dazzling gold and jewels and the hundreds of unusual artifacts and treasures, there was also black dirt and yellow, withered gra.s.s. There were even dozens of jars filled with bubbling lava.
Lord noticed Grid’s doubtful look and started explaining, “These are materials that contain unquenchable heat, so I collected them just in case. During my adventure, I visited several villages and heard that everything in the world now has a use...”
“Well done. Really well done.”
It was only then that Grid remembered Lauel telling him that pretty much anything in the game could now be material for treasures. He smiled. He was proud of Lord, who was smarter than him.
Grid screened the artifacts. There were only two of them that he could use, so he took those and carefully considered who the remaining artifacts would be suitable for before deciding on the owners.
Along the way, Lord received five artifacts and Rebecca’s Daughters also received Rare weapons and armor.
“Rabbit, distribute the remaining supplies and materials where they are needed.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Administrator Rabbit was full of joy. The value of the treasures brought by the crown prince was so great, it was equivalent to the 100 year budget of the empire. The wealth that an old dragon had acc.u.mulated over the years was immense.
***
Zik’s expression darkened as he looked up at the silent tower. The tower, which was supposed to reach Asgard one day, had stopped being developed for a long time. It didn’t get higher any longer, and had been looking the same for days.
Everyone was indifferent to the tower because they were adapting to the changed world.
It was as if the world was speaking to him:
Zik, no one cares about your revenge. From the day you betrayed your comrades until now, you have been alone. Abandon the hope of salvation forever...
A strange old man’s voice spoke in Zik’s ears as he was standing there in a daze while clutching his rotten chest. “Huh? This is the place with the smallest number of people around, so that’s why I chose it as the rendezvous point. However, I seem to be unlucky after all. I blame myself for coming here. We are trying not to hurt mortals, but the situation is so chaotic that we can’t help it. It is better to think that I am just unlucky.”
A sharp awl flew toward Zik’s brow. Zik turned his head just in time to avoid the sneak attack. He glared coldly at the bewildered old man.
“I don’t care who you are. If you dare to pay the price for invading G.o.d’s land, that is enough.”
The suspicion that Judar had planted in Zik left him in quite a delicate situation. Despite this, Zik didn’t doubt or resent Grid. As always, he hated and cursed his own incompetence, but he was still Grid’s apostle.