“You chose your own destiny. Okay. If this is Your Majesty’s will, I won’t stop you. My king, I—Poriorderporonopitonojiodebe—will implant an evil eye in you.”
Why was it that ‘Evil Eyes’ King’ floating on top of the king’s head instead of his real name? Grid had been secretly wondering, and now he knew why.
‘Is there a character limit?’
It was also difficult to remember. Let’s assume he didn’t hear the real name. “Please implant it in my left eye.”
“I understand. Don’t let the weight of your new destiny crush your soul.”
It happened while Grid’s hands and feet were curling up, cringing at the line. The evil eyes king covered Grid’s left eye with his small hand.
‘What type of evil eye will it be?’
Grid’s heart thumped. Believing in his good luck, Grid was 80% expectant and 20% anxious. He hoped that the evil eye would be the best one for him.
[The evil eyes king has used his power!]
[The evil eyes king will try to transplant an evil eye into you!]
[The system will analyze your game history and patterns. The current progress is 3%, 4%, 7%, 11%...]
‘The evil eye’s ability is closely related to the nature of the person it is being transplanted into...?’
The system seemed to grasp the player’s tendencies based on an analysis of their history and patterns before giving them the evil eye that best suited them.
‘It is a very good sign.’ Grid was a legendary blacksmith who made more than 700 types of items and had a lot of combat experience. The evil eye given to him couldn’t be ordinary. ‘I will obviously get the best one.’
Grid’s expectations grew even greater. However, it was only for a moment.
[The current progress is 39%.]
‘...Wait.’
Grid’s expectations, which had soared to 90%, fell to the depths of hell. Looking back at old memories, he realized there were too many wrongs related to his ‘deeds.’ In particular, the early days before he became Pagma’s Descendant were a problem. Eating, acting, fraud, arson, violence, deception, cursing, and so on—the evil deeds he had committed during his immature days almost exceeded the capacity of his brain.
‘I have committed too many wrongs...!’
The most disturbing part was the massive amount of swearing directed toward the operators. If he listed all the profanity in print, it could fill 1,000 pages. It seemed to go beyond two volumes of books.
‘D-Don’t tell me there is something like a swearing eye?’
Dammit! What if he had to swear every time he used a skill? Would he have to shout it out? Just imagining it was terrible.
‘Still, the performance should be good.’
In his prime, Grid was a master of swearing who was even greater than Huroi. After all, Huroi used irony to ask about the parents of others, but Grid was different. It was possible for him to spit out a limitless amount of curses without being exhausted. If Grid had a swearing eye, the enemy’s mentality would quickly be devastated.
‘However, it is a bit wrong.’
No matter how good the performance, it was counterproductive if it ruined his image. It would have an adverse effect on the Overgeared Guild and Overgeared Kingdom if he obtained this type of evil eye.
‘I can’t get the swearing eye.’
[The current progress is 54%...]
Was it because his gameplay duration was too long? Or were there too many incidents in the game? The system’s analysis of Grid’s history and patterns was slower than expected. Despite this, Grid thought it was a good thing. He was able to calm his mind during this time.
‘As the saying goes, imagination can become reality. Let’s think positively, think positively.’
Grid had a close relationship with fire. He was always using fire when producing tens of thousands of items. It would be good if he got something like an ignition eye.
‘Pagma was said to be the Duke of Fire, and I am qualified as his descendant... Ugh.’ Grid stopped thinking and closed his eyes for a moment.
As the progress of the analysis exceeded 80%, a large number of notification windows started to emerge.
[Currently trying to grasp your essence based on your history and patterns but there are too many conflicting intentions.]
[Since it is judged that your essence can’t be determined with just history and patterns, an algorithm will guess your goals and desires.]
[You have too many goals and desires!]
[You aren’t suitable for many evil eyes!]
[The current progress is 95%... 100%.]
[It is concluded that you can’t be defined.]
[Potential system error. Your achievements needed to be reviewed in detail for reconfirmation. Understanding the type, contents, and process of your achievements.]
[You have too many achievements!]
[Morpheus’ main server needs to intervene to properly analyze you and decide what evil eye to implant in you.]
The evil eye was a force closely related to ‘essence.’ Due to its nature, Grid had to face the contents of terribly realistic notification windows.
‘What supercomputer can’t properly analyze the data of one player?’
It was such a ridiculous development that he was speechless! A new notification popped up as Grid was clicking his tongue.
[Completed the search for the evil eye closest to your essence.]
“...!” It was finally here. Grid was nervous. Then small sparks appeared around his left eye. The colour of the iris turned red. The shadows seemed to split in half around the small point of the pupil.
“Heok! T-This eye...!”
As Grid’s eye was changing, the evil eyes’ king grasped the identity of the evil eye and was astonished. Grid was also astonished.
[The evil eye transplant is successful!]
[You have obtained the castration eye due to your selfish greed!]
“Is this a joke?!”
Castration? Was this a 19+ game? Grid felt an instinctive reluctance and fear. He was so upset that he forgot to wear an eyepatch. Grid wanted to be sick. The fact that he could castrate the evil eyes’ king in front of him gave him goosebumps.
“I won’t allow your comfort.”
Grid was hurriedly putting on the eyepatch only to harden like ice. He was greatly embarrassed about the phrase spoken when the evil eye was activated, only to realize the evil eye didn’t affect the king.
‘It is impossible to damage the king of the evil eyes with an evil eye?’
Or was it that ‘castration’ wasn’t actually castration? As the evil eyes’ king looked confused, Grid sighed with relief and checked the detailed information of the castration eye.
[Castration Eye]
[-A type of evil eye.
Blocks some of the beneficial effects of the target watched.
There is a high chance of blocking the beneficial effects of an atrocious target.
However, the target must be within 12 metres.
Resource Consumption: 500 Mana.]
“...!?”
Grid was astonished. It was because he was well aware of the meaning of ‘beneficial effect.’ Beneficial effects were all phenomena related to ‘luck.’ In terms of combat, there was the critical hit rate, the evasion rate, the accuracy rate, the defense rate, resistance, and item acquisition rate. Non-combat related effects were item enhancement success rate, production success rate, hidden piece acquisition rate, quest acquisition rate, and so on.
Those were the only things that came to Grid’s mind right now. All phenomena related to beneficial effects were so diverse that it was difficult to manually mention them.
‘The power to block positive odds...!’
This was a big hit, a great jackpot. It might not have an immediate dramatic effect like weakening or strengthening the target, but it blocked the variables. Additionally, it was possible to ruin a particular target. For example, if a competitor was raiding a boss monster, he just had to watch them to lower their odds of succeeding.
‘Wait. Then will I do a team kill?’
Grid imagined raiding with his teammates only to be called a troll. He thought about it for a long time before his expression distorted.
‘I thought it was great, but the constraints during group activities are too big.’
It was too bad. He didn’t seem to have received the highest-grade evil eye. Grid was complaining when the trembling voice of the king entered his ears.
“I-If you can’t see how great the c-castration eye is...”
“...”
The evil eyes’ king was someone who understood the principle of the evil eyes. Grid felt like he was naked in front of the king. He was worried that the evil eyes’ king would see his lowly jealousy and be disappointed. However, there was no need to worry. The evil eyes’ king was a demonkin who wasn’t hostile to humans. He peeked at Grid’s essence and felt great joy. “The demon-like being whom I chose as my king! My king, who is only generous to me! I feel infinite respect and trust in your selfishness and greed!!”
“Y-Yes. It is great.” The praise caused Grid to sweat, and he went on to exit the smithy. He still had some things remaining on his schedule. Damian had tried to help Agnus at Lauel’s request but lost his way. Then Grid heard from Lauel that Damian was visiting the Overgeared Kingdom.
Regas applied for a duel with Damian, and the guild chat window was already in an uproar, causing Grid to rush to the training field. He couldn’t miss the opportunity to watch the duel between the top talents.
By the time he arrived, the duel was in full swing. Damian was wrapped with all types of buffs as his sword cracked the ground. Meanwhile, Regas’ splendid combos aimed at Damian’s loopholes. The two people smashed against each other in the air before falling apart. Damian fell toward Grid’s side.
“I won’t allow your comfort.”
“Huh?”
There was one part that Grid overlooked. The trigger of the evil eye was the ‘owner of the evil eye looking at the target.’ Even if he didn’t see the target’s eyes, the opponent was seen by the owner of the evil eye. Trying to hide the evil eye with the Slaughterer’s Eye Patch meant that nothing was blocking the evil eye’s view. Ether was also necessary for Grid.
[The castration eye has been activated.]
[Blocking all beneficial effects of the target!]
[This effect is retained while watching the target.]
“...!?” Grid was embarrassed, and Damian was astounded. Grid realized that his evil eye had blocked Damian’s ‘possibilities’ while Damian made a ghastly expression as he stiffened like a stone statue. Regas’ kick struck the back of Damian’s head like a thunderbolt. It was a rapid attack, but it couldn’t hurt Damian in his full buff state. Regas’ real damage came from the combo damage accumulating.
Then Damian collapsed from Regas’ kicks. He stretched out on the floor like a dead frog.
“...!?” Regas’ legs pierced the air at the unexpected reaction.
‘Is there a trick at this timing?’
Damian just used his buffs, so how could he suddenly be weak? The intentions were obvious, but the acting was perfect. The kicking damage was actually three times greater than expected.
‘Did he instantly release his equipment and lower his defenses? Did he pretend to release his buffs to lower my guard?’Regas recovered his fist and thought about it as he relaxed his shoulders. Damian was still lying on the floor. He was full of obvious loopholes. Regas could likely win right now if he rushed over and attacked. However, Pope Damian wouldn’t reveal such obvious loopholes.
‘He is inducing my carelessness. The damage will be reversed if I approach him.’
The acting was so blatant that it made him think more deeply.Regas raised his concentration to the maximum while maintaining his distance from Damian. He checked the cooldown of his skills while trying to predict Damian’s next move. This was called shadow boxing. Meanwhile, the Overgeared members didn’t notice the situation and were still cheering for Regas and Damian. Of course, Grid was among them.
“Damian, what are you doing? Get up and fight!!”
“...”
Grid was cheering for a person after turning him into this state? Damian was upset. He kept lying down like a dead frog and was convinced that he was hated by Grid. In a sense, the pope had greater authority than the king of a nation. He, who was respected by everyone, shed silent tears. Damian was very sad, like a five-year-old child whose mother refused to buy him a toy or a cow that had been castrated. Thinking he was hated by Grid, a huge sorrow and fear filled Damian, making him act as if he had lost the world.