Changes started happening.
"You want a job? Aren’t you a necromancer? Tsk, find a job elsewhere.”
"Are you joking? Where on earth would a Necromancer’s Guild reject a necromancer?”
“Where? Here! Get lost!”
“This is crazy...!”
The Fold Kingdom. The little kingdom currently belonged to the Overgeared Kingdom, but was formerly a tributary of the Saharan Empire. It had a terrible history as every time the king was replaced in a civil war, tens of thousands of casualties would occur. The reason was the intervention of the Saharan Empire. The empire would confuse the succession to the throne by supporting and inciting princes lacking intelligence. Therefore, the Fold Kingdom had a bloody history whenever the kingship was changed.
Was that the reason? The Fold Kingdom was a bleak land where dozens of ghosts filled with grudges roamed. Undead monsters and ghosts could be found all over the place. This was why necromancers called Fold Kingdom a treasure island. For necromancers who could make undead, the Fold Kingdom was close to an ideal residence.
At least until yesterday.
“I’m going crazy. No NPCs are giving quests.”
“It’s happening to me as well. The attitude of the NPCs has changed overnight. The intimacy that we have accumulated so far is useless.”
“Is it a bug? Does it make sense that the Necromancer’s Guild doesn’t give quests to necromancers?”
"It isn’t a bug. I have already contacted customer service.”
Three days after the end of the 3rd National Competition. The necromancers couldn’t receive quests anywhere in Fold Kingdom. Even the basic facilities such as restaurants and inns couldn’t be used. They were treated with outright hostility by the people. The necromancers were assaulted or deported after being questioned. The necromancers seemed to be persecuted on a kingdom level.
The water clan people in the Siren Kingdom was even worse.
“A necromancer? Clarify your affiliation.”
“Huh? Why?"
“Just do it! Ah! This guy is from Immortal! Arrest him immediately!”
"H-Hik!"
The soldiers forced the necromancers visiting Siren to reveal their affiliation. If they found a necromancer belonging to Immortal, the necromancer was arrested immediately and locked in prison for a week. There were a few necromancers killed while resisting arrest.
Why did this happen overnight? The confusion of the necromancers grew.
『 I strongly condemn Immortal, who invaded the Overgeared Kingdom during the National Competition and caused enormous damage. We will never forgive those who caused material and personal damage to us, causing us to suffer a great deal of emotional suffering. I ask for many people to support us. 』
Grid held a press conference in Seoul, Korea and attracted worldwide attention. Immortal found out that Grid was behind this, while ordinary necromancer players blamed Immortal. Immortal was split into factions. There was a suggestion that Veradin and his followers should take responsibility.
Veradin calmed his furious colleagues.
"The impact on us is actually very minimal. We’ll be safe if we avoid working in the range of influence of the Overgeared Kingdom, such as the Fold Kingdom and Siren.”
"Isn’t the biggest problem the fact that we can’t act in the Fold Kingdom?”
“There are many hunting grounds on the continent that are more ideal than the Fold Kingdom. Have you neglected to collect information?”
“Ick...! Ignore the intimacy we have built up in the Fold Kingdom in the meantime? What the hell is this? Many people have suffered because of what you have done!”
"Do I have to apologize? Why? Aren’t we an organization created to help Agnus build the Kingdom of the Dead? The reason I invaded the Overgeared Kingdom is to weaken the power of the Overgeared Kingdom that might interfere with the construction of Agnus’ kingdom. It’s an action for the future of all of us. Why should I be blamed?”
“...”
“In the National Competition, Grid succeeded in attracting Panmir. At this time, the production of items in the Overgeared Kingdom will get out of the control. Therefore, we invaded the smithies and succeeded in hitting them. Is my behavior really worthy of criticism?”
“...”
Everyone became mute. The Immortal members could no longer blame Veradin. They struggled as a result, but his intentions couldn’t be blamed. Whatever the truth was, the justification was too good. Veradin confirmed that the atmosphere had calmed down and spoke.
“Once again, there’s no need to be afraid of the Overgeared Kingdom. We just need to move away from the influence of the Overgeared Kingdom. While the Overgeared Kingdom is trying to catch up, we will reserve our power and set up the foundations of our kingdom.”
Veradin was confident. There was a limit to the manpower Grid could invest to catch them. The Overgeared Kingdom searching for Immortal was no different from looking for a needle in the desert.
As everyone was relieved by Veradin’s idea, the 2nd ranked necromancer, Bullet, spoke. "How will the normal necromancers handle this?”
The innocent necromancers were receiving damage because of Immortal. Many necromancers were suppressed and lost their places in the Overgeared Kingdom. In particular, the Fold Kingdom was very important for low and medium level users.
"There is a possibility that they will vent their anger by cooperating with the Overgeared Kingdom.”
This was Bullet’s concern.
“No. The necromancers can’t be hostile to us. If they’re hostile to us, they know that Agnus won’t let them in his kingdom in the future. In the first place, they’re being suppressed by Grid., Their anger will naturally be directed towards Grid.” Veradin didn’t feel that this situation was very serious. In his head, the damage was only one person’s death.
But what happened was more catastrophic than he expected.
"Kukuk, you guys. What the hell did you do alone? Huh? Weaklings. Kukuk!”
The door of the meeting room opened without permission and a man appeared. It was Agnus. Veradin and everyone present jumped up and bowed. Agnus sat on the windowsill, leaving the table for Veradin.
"Grid has placed a bounty on Immortal for all players in the world.”
“Huh?”
“He will make an item for every Immortal member killed? Kukuk, kikikik!”
“What...?!!”
Veradin and the Immortal members paled. None of them imagined that Grid would extend his reach to the world, rather than staying in the Overgeared Kingdom. It was the same with the smart Veradin.
‘Giving items as a reward?’
There was a limit to the funds. Veradin thought that Grid was bluffing since the financial situation of the Overgeared Kingdom wasn’t very good. He couldn’t imagine the assets that Grid got from selling the Red Phoenix Bow to Jishuka.
"In the first place, will there be many people who respond to Grid? The reason for invading during the National Competition is purely Grid’s fault. He couldn’t fully defend himself and is now using other people to do his work. It must be seen negatively by the masses.”
Agnus explained to Veradin who was denying reality. "Have you forgotten that Grid defeated Kraugel?”
“...?”
“Kilkik! Don’t you know the power of a symbol? Right now, Grid is the best.”
“Ah...”
Veradin belatedly realized. The present Grid was a person who received the envy and longing of millions of people. There were countless people sending absolute favors to Grid and one word from Grid had a great deal of power. Grid could easily move the masses.
Agnus whispered in the ears of the pale Veradin. "I don’t know what mischief you are up to but... This time the opponent isn’t doing what you want. Right? Kukuk!”
Flinch.
Veradin was startled. He could perceive distrust in Agnus’ words. Agnus, who had showed absolute trust in Veradin so far, was actually distrustful? Agnus saw Veradin’s confusion and clicked his tongue.
“Do you think I am a fool? A few months ago, you told me to absolutely avoid conflicts with the Overgeared Kingdom. Now you suddenly changed your mind and invaded the Overgeared Kingdom. Did you think I would have no doubts? Huh?”
Agnus gripped Veradin’s thin shoulders with great strength. A necromancer wasn’t strength based so Agnus’ strong grip caused Veradin’s face to distort.
"You won against Faker? You? Kukuk! What’s your identity?”
"That, I think you are misunderstanding something...”
“Shut up.”
“...”
"I don’t care what you have in mind. I don’t care if you stab me in the back later. Why? You won’t be able to do anything to me anyway.”
“...”
Veradin faced Agnus’ golden eyes and realized.
“Keep one thing in mind. You can do what you like was long as you keep providing conveniences to me like a dog. Work like a dog in moderation. I won’t abandon you as long as you’re useful.”
Agnus wasn’t crazy. His emotions were just intense, sometimes making him seem crazy. In fact, Veradin was suspicious from the beginning. Agnus was acting with such a clear sense of purpose that he couldn’t be a simple madman. Thus, Veradin was interested and decided to observe from the side. But Veradin didn’t know he was such a bad guy.
‘I have been dancing on top of his palm?’
Veradin gritted his teeth.
"Then what will you do now? I don’t care what happens to Immortal, so should I just sit on the sidelines? Or should I fight Grid as you wish? Take your pick. I only want to have fun.”
"...For the moment, I think it is better to take shelter in the empire and receive the protection of the empress.”
The wicked Veradin came up with a realistic countermeasure. He was forced to abandon his first plan of pushing Agnus into a corner and seeing his madness amplify. It was highly likely that Agnus’ distrust would skyrocket if he was forced into a meaningless fight. Veradin believed that they should lay low until the public’s interest in Immortal eased.
But would they be safe with the empress? Like everyone else, he couldn’t measure the scale of two billion players. In addition, he didn’t know how persistent Grid was. Grid’s tenacity once he had a clear purpose was close to madness. It was more than Agnus’ insanity, which occurred when pursuing fun to forget reality.
“Gather the insane dragon iron.”
Grid gave an order after receiving information that Immortal was hiding in the empire.