The children of Shizo Beriache had inherited one desire from her. Among them, Braham had inherited her desire for knowledge, endured the Curse of Idleness, and reached the truth of the world. Like his mother Beriache, he had peeked at the true nature of the gods.
That’s why in the past, he felt uneasy when Pagma confessed that he had met the war god. War God Zeratul—Braham had been convinced that this prideful and arrogant god wouldn’t pay attention to humans out of goodwill. It had been as he’d expected.
Pagma said he had gotten rejected by the war god. Then he confessed that he realized his shortcomings thanks to the war god and vowed to be more determined to gain the power to protect the world. This vow later returned to Braham as a terrible betrayal. Pagma killed Braham and took away his life span under the name of destroying evil.
-I still clearly remember Pagma’s eyes as he pierced my heart.There was no affection, regret, or pain in his eyes as he looked down at my dying self.He was only filled with a desire for strength.
-The followers aren’t noble truthseekers.They are just cursed slaves who will never reach the ultimate realm with their own talent, even if they are reborn several times.
-Don’t listen to the voice of the faithless.Those bullshit words will make a person crazy.Pagma who fought to destroy the great demons—he betrayed his friend using this pretext yet he ironically contracted with Great Demon Baal.
Braham’s voice continued ringing in Grid’s mind. Meanwhile, the words of the followers were entering his ears. “A demonkin is residing in your body. You have already gone beyond your limits, but you are still a weak blacksmith. Don’t be deceived by evil beings and face the truth.
“You are weak. You aren’t qualified to use the sword. Don’t be complacent and embrace a greater strength.
“Yes, how about absorbing the soul of the demonkin in your body? I will teach you how. I will give you a way to once again jump over your limits and become a master of absolute knowledge.”
The name of the follower changed to Zeratul again. Zeratul’s consciousness seemed to have temporarily descended by borrowing the body of his follower. It was called Receiving a Soul. However, Grid didn’t shrink back. He didn’t feel any more confusion. There was Braham by his side.
[Your affinity with Braham has already surpassed the maximum.]
[War God Zeratul is interested in you.]
[Braham is with you.]
[All conditions are met and the hidden piece has occurred.]
The name of the hidden piece was ‘Don’t Repeat the Mistake.’ It was a completely different name from the hidden pieces of Pagma’s Descendant. This was a hidden piece created purely through the relationship Grid had built up.
-I won’t repeat the same mistake.I won’t lose my only friend again.
Along with Braham’s declaration, Grid’s black hair started to fade. His tanned skin turned white like milk, and his eyes became red. Once the change in color was over, his body frame became thin and beautiful. Grid had assimilated with Braham. This was the event assimilation that he had experienced when he first met Braham, not the Assimilation skill. This was complete assimilation.
[Forced assimilation has been carried out under the influence of the hidden piece.]
[Your class will change.]
[Name: Braham Eshwald (Grid)
Class: Great Magician
Title: Duke of Wisdom
* The best intellectual of this time. The truth hasn’t been learned yet, so he is still obstinate. This pursuit of knowledge is very strong, sometimes acting as a poison.
* Intelligence has increased by 35%.
* There is a low probability of running wild.
Title: Title: One who Became a Legend
* Abnormal conditions don’t work well on you.
* You won’t die when health is at the minimum.
* Easily acknowledged.
Title: ???
*???
....
...
Level: 545
Health: 858,310/858,310 (Correction)
Mana: 13,964,000/13,965,000 (Correction)
Strength: 258 Stamina: 3,400
Agility: 1,009 Intelligence: 15,880+5,558
* In this human flesh, Braham Eshwald’s full strength can’t be drawn out. Most of his stats are sealed.]
A massive amount of magic power exploded.
“Mana Drain,” Braham said. Then the 53 frenzied waterfalls that were running wild as dragons, stopped in place. They lost their form and poured down like rain.
“...?”
The dukes, who were constantly beaten by the waterfalls, were lying on the ground in a bloody manner. The pain suddenly disappeared, and they slowly opened their eyes with wonder. Then they saw it. The arrogant war god follower was stepping back with a distorted expression.
“Bah, how lame,”the Overgeared King snorted while his arms were folded.
“W-What?” The dukes were stunned. Grid was overpowering the follower they couldn’t fight against. The dukes found it hard to distinguish between dreams and reality.
‘Braham!’ Grid was forcibly deprived of his physical body and cried out toward Braham. Rather, it was more like a scream. ‘Don’t overdo it! You are still weak!!’
He forgot to use honorifics as he expressed his worried heart. Braham just laughed as if he liked it. “Stupid. It is only this much because I am weak.”
This was the Red Sea. It was the original of the world where an infinite amount of mana gathered. Braham’s Mana Drain was like a cotton ball of infinite size. He continued to absorb mana, amplifying his strength and stimulating the fear of the follower. The follower kept shrinking back as Braham said, “Evaluate me once.”
“...” The follower was naturally silent. The opponent was a true legend. Braham was different from the still unfinished Grid and Yura. He wasn’t a target to be evaluated by a mere follower.
The follower wasn’t possessed by Zeratul anymore. He couldn’t stifle Braham if only part of his consciousness descended. In order to stop Braham, Zeratul had to descend directly, just as when he fooled Pagma.
“Grid, I was troubled for a long time.”
Braham pulled out the sword hanging from his waist.
[The conditions of use aren’t met.]
[This item can’t be equipped.]
[The characteristic inherent in the body’s original owner will alleviate the wearing conditions.]
The Sword Aiming at the Gods—the sword, which was able to produce an optimum efficiency, was reduced to a mere ornament in the white-haired man’s hand. Braham’s appearance was unrealistically beautiful as he raised the golden sword, making all the landscapes in the background look like a blur. Even the Gold Crown Basara, who always had her eyes closed, opened her eyes at the beauty.
“Is it right to give my magic to someone stupid like you?”
‘...’
“Will you be able to use my spells properly before you die?”
‘...’
“I admitted it in the end. Giving my magic to you won’t help you. It is pointless.”
‘What are you saying all of a sudden?’ Grid gulped. It felt like Braham was going to take back his magic. Was this a hidden piece that would cause him damage? Putting aside the spells that hadn’t been used yet because of his low intelligence, would he be deprived of Magic Missiles and the other spells that he had been using well?
Grid was filled with anxiety.
“Look.” Braham took out the formula of Pagma’s Swordsmanship. He held a perfect posture that was beyond greatness. It was easy for Braham who had watched the swordsmanship beside Pagma and Grid.
“I will refer to the pattern that Pagma used in each sword dance to imprint my magic formulas on the sword dances. In the future, you won’t need to use magic and swordsmanship separately. No matter how dumb you are, you can easily take advantage of my magic.”
Step.Step. Braham took a few steps closer to the follower while performing a dance. Flames reminiscent of the sun flashed around him.
“Don’t look down on me!” The follower noticed there was no more place he could withdraw to and flew straight forward. The person pursuing the ultimate martial arts chose to challenge Braham rather than run away. Some of the matter gathered by Braham scattered in the air as the follower shot forward like a ray of light.
The power of the follower was formidable. Grid couldn’t deal with it even when armed with Valhalla. Yet Braham handled it easily. A transparent shield appeared in front of him as he finished the sword dance. He spoke to Grid, who was admiring him,“The new swordsmanship will destroy your enemies and protect your body.”
Braham made a definite promise. He thrust the sword into the follower’s chest. Grid expected the follower to turn to ash. The brilliant picture of Braham defeating the enemy was naturally drawn in his mind. However, imagination and reality were very different.
“...”
Braham’s strength stat was only 258. It was a very weak strength that couldn’t be supplemented with items. Moreover, Braham wasn’t using Pagma’s Swordsmanship at the moment. He was just following the form.
“...”
“...”
There was an awkward silence! The follower became more uneasy after the sword didn’t hurt him, and Braham coughed.
“Haaap!” The first one to deal with the shock was the follower. He thought this was an opportunity and broke the awkward silence. Moving like a lightning bolt, he grabbed Braham’s arm. He threw Braham to the ground and was probably planning a rapid-fired bombardment, but Braham didn’t allow it. The hand of the follower holding Braham’s arm was cut off with Wind Cutter. The follower retreated with a groan. “...?!”
Meanwhile, Braham threatened, “You can’t touch my body without my permission.”
‘My body?!’ Grid cried out.
However, Braham ignored him. He threw his hand forward in an irritated manner and omitted the casting as he released Tornado, tearing the follower apart. Braham’s white hair slowly blackened again. He was returning the control back over to Grid.
“Keep this in mind. The war god reaches to the bottom of the target’s self-esteem and then extends the hand of salvation. In the end, it is corruption rather than salvation. His pride is no different from a machine. It is worse than the empty instincts of Yatan, who only repeats the destruction of the world.”
Braham had consumed a very large amount of power. He felt that he would fall into a deep sleep again.
“Please don’t fall into the temptation of the war god. Don’t forget that I am with you.”
‘Braham, you...’ Grid noticed something as Braham was talking. This person was saying goodbye for a while.
“I will repeat it if the war god approaches you again.”
The color of his hair, skin, and eyes completely returned back to their original states. Control of the body had returned to Grid. Braham barely held onto his consciousness and finished his last word with difficulty.
“...Fuck.”
‘...’
[Braham’s soul is in a deep sleep.]
[However, Braham will be watching you.]
[The information of Great Swordsman Pagma’s Swordsmanship has been updated thanks to the compensation of the hidden piece.]
[The reaction of the hidden piece has removed the possibility of Legendary Great Magician and opened the possibility of Braham’s Descendant.]
[(Braham’s Favor) Great Swordsman Pagma’s Swordsmanship Lv. 1]
[Increases physical attack by 40%, critical hit rate by 50%, and critical damage by 80%.
* This effect is only applied when a sword type weapon is equipped.
* Reduces the stride of the sword dance.
* The number of fusion sword dances you can create is five.
* Every time the skill level rises, the number of fusion sword dances that can be created will increase.
* With this skill effect, you can only create up to four linked sword dances.
★ 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.
★ Mana is consumed, so you can activate/deactivate it.
Currently active.]
“Braham...” Grid regained control of his body and grabbed his chest. The deep affection he received from Braham made him laugh and cry.