Crossroad of the past and future prologue-Birth of the virtuous god

''Finally...''

Grid sighed as he fell to the ground. His task of reviving the 4 auspicious beasts took more time than he expected, he had failed to revive the Blue Dragon twice after being beaten by Mir who had become a wall standing between him and the Blue Dragon's revival. Unlike what he thought he was still far from being able to call himself the strongest on Pluto and the encounter with Mir solidified this fact. Four years of hard training and grinding were needed until he was finally able to surpass and defeat Mir, the strongest yangban. However, even then he wasn't able to kill him , if it wasn't for Mir admitting his defeat and letting him pass he might have failed due to his fatal injuries.

Lightning started scattering in the sky and clouds gathered at an abnormally fast rate, from there, descended a majestic dragon , different from all the dragons he had seen before. In particular, this dragon possessed a similar appearance to the Asian myths' dragons. The dragon landed on the ground and stared at Grid for a long time without uttering a word , his silence came to an end shortly after Grid completely healed.

'' Are you the one who revived me?''

''That's indeed the case''

'' A human god with that much faith ...It's been a while since I have seen one, what's your name, fledgling god?''

Grid was surprised by the Blue Dragon who could measure the faith of the people in him with a glance , he then showed a warm smile and answered.

''Overgeared king...er no, Overgeared god, Grid''

'' I see, I will call you Grid then. I can feel the energy of my brothers on the continent, it seems they have already been revived by you as well , for that i show my sincere gratitude.''

''It's nothing, it is my duty, after all, we are both born from people's wish for peace.''

''It seems your journey has made you mature, Overgeared god.''

''Huh?''

Grid was dazing, it was a voice he had not expected to hear that suddenly popped up in the conversation, it was Chiyou's voice.

''You did a good job by reviving the 4 beasts. Like you, they are allies of humanity who will help you in your fight against the sinful gods.''

'' Ho? it's been a while since we last met but it seems your habits never change, martial god.''

''It's been a while, but welcome again Blue Dragon.''

''Mhm, it seems you had your eyes on that child for quite some time.''

Grid continued to listen to the conversation between the two gods. Although he was a god too, Chiyou and the Blue Dragon were beings he couldn't hope to match yet. On one side was the strongest being, the martial god born from humanity's wish for strength and on the other side was the Blue Dragon the one who fatally wounded the absolute god, Hanul.

''So it seems I should give you a fitting reward for reviving me and my brothers in such a short time.''

' Oh it seems i am finally getting the quest reward'

[ You have completed the quest 'Blue Dragon's revival']

[ Your achievements impressed the Blue Dragon and the martial god ,Chiyou]

[ Additional rewards will be provided]

'Huh?'

''Huma...No , Overgeared god , Grid , to show my sincere thanks to you I shall offer something special, i hope it will help you grow while walking your own path. You seem to have understood the essence of my strength a bit by merely seeing a memory of my fight , with such enormous talent , i am sure what i will show you now will make you grow beyond your current limits.''

'Wait, the essence of his strength? Does he mean Pagma's 'Dragon' sword dance? Then...No way!!'

''Lightning is a single strike, so fast you only realize it's there once it hits, sharper than any blade and wilder than any beast''

After he finished those words, the Blue Dragon flew up and black clouds started gathering above him while he was ascending in a spiral trajectory.

'' Watch it well, this is the full power that could have pierced Hanul that day''

The black clouds turned blue as a flash of massive lightning descended and warped the Blue Dragon's body. Grid activated 'Storm of the fire god' in a hurry, he remembered the day he fought the draconian Helena and how he was able to shape the essence of her breath into a sword dance , if the same could be done with the Blue Dragon then...

Suddenly with a thundering roar, the Blue Dragon descended to the ground, in an instant he reached it and his sharp claws pierced the hard earth as if it were cotton. It was then that lightning was released from the end of his claws and split the whole region into two.

[ You have witnessed the true power of the Blue Dragon and gained significant enlightenment]

[ Grid's sword dance has grown to level 3]

[ Grid's combat techniques have considerably improved!]

[ Grid's combat techniques has reached the advanced stage]

[ All sword dances have been updated]

[ You have gained a complete understanding of the concept of space]

[ The information about Shunpo has been updated]

[You have witnessed and understood the true essence behind the Blue Dragon's attack]

[The sword dance 'Dragon' has been removed from 'Pagma's Sword dances' subcategory]

['Dragon' level 3 has been added to 'Grid's sword dance']

[You have already witnessed and partially understood the essence behind another dragon's power]

[ The 2 'Dragon' sword dances have been merged]

[ The information about 'Dragon' has been updated]

[Grid's sword dance Level 3]

[Swordsmanship containing the narratives of Overgeared god Grid. The enlightenment gained through Chiyou's secret technique and the bleu dragon's power has made it much more powerful.

Swordsmanship and magic are united, increasing physical attack power by 100%, magic attack power by 50%, critical hit probability by 100%, and critical hit attack power by 150%. speed will increase by 40%. All values will triple when using cooperative skills with a person you have a bond with.

Due to witnessing the power of the Blue Dragon your senses have reached a new stage, 'transcendent senses' is maintained at all times without causing a burden on the body.

* This effect is only fully applied when a sword type weapon is equipped.

* Physical attack power isn't applied when staves or orbs are equipped.

* Heart and lightning Damage proportional to the willpower stat will be dealt if a weapon isn't equipped.

* Can be used without the footwork. However, the power of the sword dance will increase with every step taken. (Each additional stride will increase the damage of the sword dance by 100%, 200%, 400%, and 800%)

*If Braham's 'lightning' is used, a 'lightning cloak' will be generated until you're hit, enemies within 5 meters will receive continuous damage equal to 5000/second and your speed will increase by 15%. When an attack hits you while this effect is maintained, you will reflect damage equal to 50% of the received damage.

* The number of fusion sword dances that can be created is fifteen. (9/15)

* Every time the skill level rises, the number of fusion sword dances that can be created will increase.

* You can also create a five fusion sword dance. However, the number of five fusion sword dances created is proportional to the level of divinity.

* If you gain more enlightenment you will be able to create six fusion sword dance. the number of six fusion sword dances that can be created depends on transcendence and divinity.

★ Whenever a sword dance is used, one of Braham's enhanced spells will be revealed.

★ The spells that are expressed are limited to basic spells and each sword dance has a different spell.

★ In the case of a fusion sword dance, several spells are overlapped.

★ Lightning damage will be applied passively to all sword dances without any additional consumption, the lightning damage is equal to 20% of the total damage dealt by the dance

★ Lightning damage is increased by 100% and has a high probability of causing a stun between 0.3-3 seconds.

★ Mana is consumed so you can activate/deactivate it.]

[Grid's Combat Techniques]

[ Stage: advanced Level: 3

When equipped with weapons, physical attack power and magic attack power are increased by 50% and the hit rate of all attacks is increased by 25%. Additionally, magic casting time is reduced by 25% while your speed increases by 25%.

★ You can choose to further increase physical attack power or magic attack power.

★ lightning damage is increased by 30%, all basic attacks will deliver lightning damage equal to 50% of the attack's damage

★ your speed will increase by an additional amount equal to: time since the start of battle x 0.5 % ( time in seconds) up to 100%

★ If you choose to increase physical attack power, then the magic attack power increase effect, hit rate increase effect, and casting shortening effect are reduced by 70%. Meanwhile, physical attack power is increased by an additional 40%.

★ If you choose to increase magic attack power, then the physical attack power increase effect, hit rate increase effect, and speed buff effect is reduced by 70%. Meanwhile, magic attack power is increased by an additional 40%.

* Current Status: No specific increase/Increase magic attack power/Increase physical attack power.]

[Dragon Lv. 3]

[A sword dance that reproduces the true power of the breath of the revived Blue Dragon who once pierced the chest of the absolute god, Hanul.

Charge at a target within 100 meters, the charge avoids all incoming attacks and status effects by default, dealing 10,000% physical and magical damage. the attack will penetrate the target and release 'Divine lightning', stunning the enemy for 2 seconds and ignoring status effects resistance.

Penetration will generate internal wounds, causing continuous bleeding as well as an unconditional critical hit and leaving the wounds incurable for 30 seconds. There is a very small chance of causing a 'cursed wound', the wound will be incurable by any means , target's maximum HP is reduced permanently by an amount equal to the damage received, and HP regeneration is reduced permanently by dmg/(total HP) % . Attacking the wound area will deal an unconditional critical hit that ignores the status.

Skill Sword Energy Cost: 1000

Skill Cooldown Time: 15 minute

★ 'Dragon' is an incomplete sword dance, the current dragon is able to reproduce the power of the Blue Dragon , acquire more enlightenment while experiencing the essence and power of other dragons in order to improve and evolve the sword dance. as of now the known possible evolutions are :

-Bunhelier's power: reach complete enlightenment in order to integrate Bunhelier's power in 'Dragon']

[Divine lightning]

[ The lightning of divine judgment.

*The target's lightning resistance will decrease by 50%

*The target will receive lightning and heart damage equivalent to the sum of your magical and physical damage and defense

*Each point of 'Deity' will increase the damage dealt by 10%

*The target's defense will decrease by divinity level x 10 %

** If divinity reaches level 10, divine lightning will deal damage proportional to the enemy's HP and will generate a status effect ]

[Shunpo lvl max]

[The power to transcend the concept of space, the world converges towards a single point. you have reached a complete understanding of the concept of space by watching the Blue Dragon.

* You can move to anywhere in your field of view or somewhere you have been to before instantly.

*Resources will not be consumed if it is used in a range of 100m

*Resources are not consumed if the cooldown has passed.

* You will need to consume stamina equal to cooldown time % if the cooldown has not passed yet. Cooldown will be reset if such action is taken.

*You can deal instantaneous strikes by consuming (distance(meters) %) more stamina to targets within 100m, the attack will ignore space and speed and will be delivered instantaneously regardless of the distance between you and your enemy.The attack will ignore dodge rate and hit unconditionally unless the opponent has 'foresight'.

*Multiple instantaneous strikes can be delivered at once

Cooldown: 30 minutes ]

Grid, who read the new descriptions with explosive enthusiasm, could not contain his curiosity anymore.

''Shunpo.''

Grid used 'Shunpo' while gazing at the mountain in the horizon. In an instant he reached the top of the mountain , he then used it again to go back to where the Blue Dragon was.

'' Ho... you know it's disrespectful to suddenly vanish in front of your elders' eyes''

''Ah... sorry, I could not contain my excitement to test the knowledge that I had gained...''

''Hahaha, do not worry, rather I am intrigued by your skills and experiences which made you able to grasp the essence of space that easily by watching it in detail.''

Grid, who listened to the Blue Dragon's words recalled the sight of death knight 'Madra', using 'Shunpo' at will and moving as swiftly as the wind.

' Just what kind of monstrous talent did he have ... to be able to grasp such concepts on his own.'

Grid once again admired 'Madra' 's talent, a genius among geniuses who reached transcendence and understood the concept of space while living in solitude for hundreds of years. He wondered what kind of memories he'll witness once he goes through the remaining chapters of his diary.

''It is nothing great really... I am still far from being able to fight my true enemies...''

Grid frowned as he recalled the memory from 4 years ago, the world message that declared Hexetia's betrayal and his punishment.

'I will save you, I promise that I will do anything to save you.'

''Hmm... The gods aren't as almighty as you think.''

''What??''

the Blue Dragon muttered words that Grid couldn't understand clearly, despite being a god too, Grid could not even compare to the gods of Asgard and the 5 seniors even now. Even though humanity's faith in him is great, the gap between a human and a god was something he was still far from overcoming.

''Unlike you, one who has built power with his own efforts and transcended his limits and potential. The gods received power since birth and barely honed it, it is impossible to compare the potential of one who has received power and one who overcame his own limits.''

'Could it be...'

Dragons were beings that could be compared to gods, however, unlike gods, dragons spent thousands of years analyzing the knowledge they have received at birth and spent a lot of effort to reach the pinnacle of their potential to become adults. Grid suddenly remembered nefelina's words.

'Dragons can use 100% of their potential'

''Are gods unable to use the full potential of their powers?''

the Blue Dragon nodded with satisfaction.

''Indeed, aside from the 3 absolute gods and Chiyou, none of the gods are able to awaken the full potential of the power they have and thus never meet the wall they need to cross. However transcendents meet the wall called potential and use effort to break it apart and keep moving , in theory a transcendent can use more than 100% of their original potential by increasing the potential itself, that's why becoming a transcendent is very hard. On the other hand, the more walls you meet, the easier it is to break the future walls.''

''What about absolutes? Didn't they reach their maximum potential that can't be increased anymore?''

''No, that is not the case. Once one steps into the realm of absolutes, each step of growth they take is essentially breaking a wall.''

'' Are you saying absolutes have infinite potential?''

Grid remembered Hayate, the only absolute human, humanity's first legend, a dragonslayer, however despite all his achievements he was unable to deny the power of the dragon years even after all these years, if he really had infinite potential why couldn't he grow strong enough to remove the curse?

''That is essentially true, however in order to break the walls in the realm of absolutes one needs important enlightenment and challenges.Perhaps even ones that surpass the one they needed to become an 'absolute' .''

'ah...'

It all made sense now, although Hayate was an 'absolute', he was weakened and forced into seclusion just after becoming one , he could not travel the world and hone his skills or challenge his limits.

''But how does that make the gods any less powerful?''

''Isn't it obvious to you? The realm you reached right now is something the gods can only dream of. They can not understand the essence behind their powers.''

''Unlike you, who reached enlightenment and became a transcendent by understanding your flaws, gods do not know their flaws.''

the martial god, Chiyou, spoke just after the Blue Dragon.

'' If you can understand them better than themselves and see their flaws, you will be the one with the upper hand''

''I see...''

it was something that Grid has never thought of, using the opponent's ignorance in order to bind them.

' If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. Is essentially what they are saying'

''Thank you for your guidance, I will do my best to grow stronger and protect humanity together with you.''

''Hoho, I will be looking forward to that day, before I forget, I shall hand you a special token of gratitude for bringing life back to this old dragon.''

[Affinity with 'Blue Dragon' has reached the maximum]

[You have acquired the 'Blue Dragon's scale']

'hmm?!!'

A dragon scale, Grid was familiar with it, after all, it was a rare reward he got from the tower of wisdom, a part of a dragon , an absolute species. However what he was receiving right now was not a normal scale, but the scale of a dragon-shaped god, Grid hurriedly examined the scale.

[Blue Dragon's scale]

[rating: Myth

The scale of the Blue Dragon, one of the 4 auspicious beasts. It is given to the ones he respects the most.

*The scale will be attached to the body, the passive skill 'dragon skin' can be activated, once activated your skin will turn into a scaled one.

* All stats increase by 15%

*All lightning attacks' damage increase by 75%, the owner is immune to lightning attacks

*Attack power increases by 30%, receiving lightning attacks will further increase the attack power up to 200% until the end of the fight.

*Speed is increased by 30% and the maximum speed limit is removed

*The skills, 'God of lightning' and 'True Incarnation of lightning' will be generated]

[God of lightning (passive)]

[ One who can control the power of lightning and bring out its full potential.

*Once you exceed the maximum speed limit you leave behind a current which deals twenty times your movement speed as lightning damage , the current lasts 10 seconds.

*Once you reach your maximum speed you will gain 'intuition', you can see the flow of the battle and anticipate future attacks , if the final hit rate (which is - the dodge rate) is inferior to 90%, the attack will be dodged.

*You can summon lightning by gathering clouds in the sky, the summoning will consume mana, in exchange for 50% of your mana , 'Divine lightning' can be summoned. All lightning summoned will cause shock between 0.5-5 seconds

*You can reflect all lightning damage received on the enemy.

*Using your willpower you can create a 'lightning god's tempest', a mental world that belongs to the Blue Dragon , the enemies' attack power will be reduced by 50% and their lightning defense will be reduced by 100%, you can convert all your attacks to lightning attribute attacks.]

[True Incarnation of lightning (active)]

[You have become one with lightning, and lightning has become a part of you.

*All physical damage will be ignored, magic damage will be reduced by 25%.

*Stamina won't be consumed when flying. Magic power and skill resources consumed when flying are reduced by 50%. In cloudy or rainy weather, resource consumption is reduced by an additional 25% and in thunderstorms, an additional 50%.

*Attacks with a lightning attribute property will recover your mana, stamina, and increase your stats slightly for 1 minute , the effect can be applied every 3 seconds. The recovery rate is at least 1% and at most 100%, the rate depends on the attack's damage.

All your attacks will ignite the target's mana, causing them to lose 1% of their mana and receiving heart damage equal to 10% of their mana.

Duration: 10 minutes

Cooldown: 2 hours]

'That's insane!'

Grid couldn't help but open his mouth wide after seeing the new benefits he had received. However, the last shock had yet to come

[ Dragon skin( passive)]

[ Your skin is akin to that of a dragon, you will gain some of the properties of the dragon race's skin.

* All physical and magical damage is reduced by 30%

* Magical attacks have a normal chance of being 'negated', you will not receive any magical damage in that case.

* Magical attacks have a low chance of being 'reflected' or 'absorbed', in the first case, the attack will be applied to the enemy instead while in the second case you will not be damaged and will regenerate mana equal to the spell's mana cost.

* If the physical damage is caused by a sharp weapon, the damage will be further reduced by 20%

*Your defense will increase by current mana/ max mana x100% ]

''Thank you, I will be sure not to disappoint you.''

''Hoho, well I have a feeling that our next meeting will arrive soon.''

''I hope so haha.''

[You have revived all of the 4 auspicious beasts by yourself]

[ This is an amazing achievement!]

[You have completed the hidden quest 'Firm Branch of the Old Gods']

'Huh? Firm Branch of the Old Gods? Isn't that the name of my epic...?'

[ Congratulations you have revealed the hidden effect of the 'epics' system]

[ Each epic you write represents your story, however, if the epic's end is ambiguous it is possible to complete an epic and change its ending by writing an epilogue for it]

[Once the epilogue is completed the epic's benefits will be strengthened]

[ The 'epilogue' system would be revealed to player 'Grid' if his class advanced to myth rating]

[ The benefits of the current epilogue will be further strengthened due to revealing the hidden system before the class upgrade]

[ A random skill, title, or effect connected to the epic will be strengthened.]

[Due to your achievement, the associated effect,title, or skill will be chosen among all epics you've written so far to give you the biggest benefit, the benefit will not overwrite the possible future epilogue of the chosen epic]

[ ...!!]

['Guardian of the land of old gods' has been chosen!!]

[ the title 'Duke of virtue' has been upgraded to 'God of virtue'!]

[ Although your status is that of a god, you were not a fully-fledged god because your achievements and power were lacking compared to the people's faith in you ]

[ You are the first human in history to become an official god, representing a concept, with your own efforts]

[ You have transcended the possibilities and have grown to the level of a god in all aspects despite being a human]

[ Transcendence has increased significantly]

[Divinity has reached level 8]

[ The 'God of virtue' aspect has been added to your existence as a god]

[ You have proved your worth as the god of virtue, some of the 'god' race beneficial effects will be received while your race remains 'human']

[ All existing effects and skills that derive from 'Duke of virtue' will be kept and strengthened]

[You are the Overgeared god, one that represents virtue, martial prowess, hope, and many other concepts in the eyes of the people.]

[However, your achievements and powers are still lacking for you to officially represent some of those concepts]

[ Prove your ability and worth by building up achievements and power that make you worthy of inheriting the representation of the remaining concepts.]

[Warning: you will now need to continuously prove the authenticity of your godhood by staying true to the concepts you represent, if you fail to do so , you will lose your qualifications as a 'god']

'It is amazing ...it really is, but somehow, the weight on my shoulders also feels heavier...For now, let's try our best.'

[God of Virtue]

* The most benevolent of all. People worship you due to the generosity and good deeds bestowed with your whole heart. Hoping their hearts will be cleansed of the sins they carry.

* Stamina and health are increased by 100%.

*All 'evil' beings and those who possess demonic powers will be oppressed by your aura, all their stats will decrease by 50% and skills can be sealed depending on the level of divinity.

*You are a being who judges and purifies the evil in the hearts of all, however you are also merciful, if a being is not completely consumed by evil you can purify the evil within them and bring them back to the right path.

* You can use ' the sinful's redemption' on beings who can absolutely not be forgiven and that refuse your mercy , if the target's status is lower than yours you can seal their status and skills and apply the 'curse of redemption'. Target will not be able to attack any person who has not intentionally harmed them and their souls will be cursed for eternity to suffer never-ending pain. If the target is a god, the god will lose deity depending on the number of evil acts they have done and your status.

* ​The skill 'Virtue of Mercy' has been created.

* ​The skill 'Virtue of Determination' has been created.

* The skill 'Request to Stand With Me' has been created.

*Additional Virtues can be acquired once certain conditions are met.]

[Virtue of Mercy]

[Category: Passive

You are a merciful person who hopes to save all those who can be saved and cleanse the evil in all beings' hearts.

*When facing any sentient being, you will be able to purify the evil in them once their health is low enough , beings that are influenced by the virtue of mercy will have max affinity with you and will deify you unconditionally.

*you can use 'sacrifice' to receive the damage dealt to another person in their place]

[Virtue of Determination]

[Category: Passive

You are unwavering in the face of all hardships. It is not recklessness or stupidity but willingness to sacrifice one's self for others.

*When you are focused on a task your willpower is multiplied by 2.5 and the stats related to the task increase by 30%.

*You won't be overwhelmed by anyone, status difference is ignored when it's detrimental to you.

*All your stats increase by :

-20% when defending someone dear to you

-no. of followers/500000 % at all times

*Fighting energy and the virtue of determination are closely connected, when facing an enemy stronger than you, the effects of fighting energy will be doubled.]

[Request to Stand With Me]

[Ask for help from those who have been given virtue.

You can ask for help from the battle gears you produced or the people associated with you.

* Effect when asking the battle gears for help:

Summon all the weapons you have produced so far.

The weapons that respond to the call will attack the target you specify according to the attack power when the weapon's owner uses the weapon. The number of attacks can go up to at least ten times depending on item rating and it will be returned to its original owner once the number of attacks is consumed.

The durability consumed will be replaced by resources such as your health and mana.

* Effect when asking a person for help:

Ask for help from someone who is within your force or who has goodwill with you. the effect of the borrowed help will be increased by (bond level)*10%]

''Well, it should be about time to do that anyway...''

Grid finished reading the new titles' and skills' descriptions and decided to start his long-awaited journey . Hell's second raid-visit.

''I think I should go talk to Marie rose now.''

Grid had already visited Marie rose after raider's gourmet cycle was over, and tried using roundaway methods to ask her for her blood , however she turned him away and told him to come back once he's strong enough to fight one of the top 10 GD and she'll judge if he's worthy of it with her own eyes. It was at this moment that...

[Baal's contractor 'Agnus' has overtaken you in the unified rankings]

[Your rank drops to 2nd]

[ Reminder: the pioneer title can be taken at any moment, please be careful]

Grid examined his level.

'495...no way...'

' But why would he reveal his ranking now of all times, he could have done it after reaching level 500...'

He then opened the unified rankings.

[Agnus : 498

Grid :495

Chris : 467

Kraugel: 459

...]

'3 levels...??!'

Grid then realized the lurking danger he had ignored for a long time.

'If Agnus becomes the pioneer...it shouldn't be possible but the system would recognize him as one...'

Ignoring the benefits that Agnus would reap by taking the tower of wisdom away from Grid , if Baal's eyes were to reach the tower , countless other people would be put in danger. Judging by Agnus growth it may be possible for him to reach level 500 at any moment, Grid realized what he had to do , he examined a quest he had ignored for some time.

'I wanted to delay it as much as possible because the level reward gets more beneficial the higher level i am, but the time has come to put an end to it.'

[Tailoring technique Training]

[Class Quest

The possibilities for your development have become greater after learning the Tailoring Technique.

If you get to the point where you can combine blacksmithing and tailoring, your foundation as a blacksmith will expand exponentially.

But it is still difficult to utilize the tailoring technique.

The gap between the intermediate tailoring skill and legendary blacksmith skill is too large.

The intermediate tailoring technique is likely to degrade the quality of the legendary blacksmith's work.

Raise the level of your tailoring skill to the point where it can be combined with blacksmithing.

Quest Clear Conditions: Master the Advanced Tailoring Technique.

Quest Clear Reward: Level +6. The opening of craftsman level Tailoring Technique.]

His current tailoring technique was at advanced level 9.

'It should be possible... within a week I need to do it'

With the needle he received from raiders it might be possible, no, he had to make it possible.

'Time to make some underwear.'