Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 369

[ Grid’s Guest ]

# Grid, known as the Great Demon of Greed, is insatiable. He seizes what he wants directly, but he also acquires it through deals.

# A Player who becomes Grid’s Guest can gain power through transactions with Grid.

A simple description.

Nowhere did it warn against trading too often.

'That’s exactly what the system is aiming for.'

The system treated the world like its playground—there was no way it would attach warning labels.

If anything, it wanted accidents to happen.

Dramatic ones.

Su-ho immediately activated the trait he had obtained.

[ Grid’s Guest activates. ]

[ Grid responds to your summons. ]

As the trait triggered, the space before him twisted slightly and a toad-like, greed-drenched head emerged.

Its form was half-human, half-beast.

About the size of a grown man’s hand, with a head and body in equal proportion.

Its name was Grid.

More precisely, a clone of Grid.

'So the real body isn’t descending yet.'

The first appearance of Grid. Slowly, its eyes opened.

Yellow, toad-like pupils gleamed, and it stared at Su-ho with an oddly unpleasant /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ gaze, grinning slyly.

- Heh heh, pleased to meet you. I am Grid, Great Demon of the Seven Deadly Villains.

A voice as rough as a middle-aged man’s.

Even its tone somehow oozed greed, making Su-ho chuckle.

“Nice to meet you. I’m An Su-ho.”

- An Su-ho! I’ll remember that name well. Yes, when I looked into you earlier, I saw your heart was overflowing with desire. A hunger for power, most of all.

“That’s right. I want to become stronger than anyone else. That’s why I think we’ll make excellent trading partners. I hear you’re the kind who’ll do anything if the calculation is right?”

- What? Hahaha!

Grid roared with laughter.

From a Great Demon’s perspective, a mere human’s audacity was almost adorable.

With a smirk, Grid replied:

- Correct. I, the Great Demon Grid, can do anything so long as the price adds up. My power, which enables trades with guests, expands infinitely based on what the guest offers in exchange. So tell me—what can you give me?

“I can give you what you want most.”

- What I want most?

“Yes. The one thing you crave above all else.”

- Kuahahaha!

Again, Grid burst into raucous laughter.

Then, smiling like an old man humoring a cheeky child, he asked:

- And what is it you think I desire most? I have so many desires that even I don’t know which one tops them all.

“I think I know exactly what it is.”

- What is it?

“The Demon King’s throne.”

- What?

“You may be a Great Demon with influence in the Demon Realm, but you’re not the Demon King, are you? There’s only one throne, and as far as I know, it’s vacant right now.”

- ......

Grid’s eyes narrowed.

His boisterous laughter faded into a hard stare.

But Su-ho pressed on unfazed.

“A Great Demon like you wouldn’t be satisfied with mere wealth. Born a demon, in the end power is what matters most. And the only proof of being the strongest among demons—among all demons—is the Demon King’s seat. Don’t you think?”

Su-ho grinned as he asked.

Grid no longer saw him as a cheeky child.

Rather, he recognized a kindred type.

- You’re a more interesting guest than I thought. Who exactly are you?

“If I borrow demon parlance, I could say I’m the Demon King of this world. With a level of dominance that’s overwhelming.”

- What? Hahaha!

Grid’s wariness collapsed at once.

From that reply alone, he knew—

The human before him was no ordinary being.

Su-ho said,

“It’s the truth. In the world I live in, I’m the strongest. Among all Players, I can say with certainty I stand above the rest.”

- Heh, I don’t doubt that. When I saw the desire inside you, I knew you weren’t an ordinary human.

Indeed.

The desire he’d seen in Su-ho was the fiercest of any guest he’d encountered.

That was why Grid had accepted him without hesitation.

Narrowing his eyes, Grid asked:

- Then tell me, why do you still crave more power? If you’ve already become Demon King?

“Because the standard is different.”

- Standard?

“The enemies I aim for aren’t other humans. Among humans I may be a Demon King, but in the system’s world I’m still far from it. You should understand that.”

- ......

Grid fell silent.

Or rather, he couldn’t answer.

He wasn’t a Player like Su-ho, but he wasn’t free of the system either.

Even as a Great Demon, he was a slave bound within the same framework.

And so, his lips curled upward.

- I see. Then if I deal with you, the Demon King’s throne will come easily into my hands.

“Of course. In that sense, how about we begin with a memorable first deal?”

- Heh heh, very well. As you say, let’s make it memorable. State your request.

The transaction began.

Su-ho spoke without hesitation.

“I want you to procure the Rune of Succession.”

- The Rune of Succession? If you mean that rune...

The Rune of Succession was an item that could record a target’s technique into itself like a skillbook.

In other words, it allowed one to steal and copy another’s powerful technique.

Of course, for all its seeming greatness, it came with harsh limitations.

'The target had to be human, and the target had to die.'

For that reason, upon its appearance it had sparked a string of murders, eventually landing on the banned list—like Gi Seung-hwan.

But right now, it could still be used.

Because it hadn’t yet appeared in the world.

The Rune of Succession would only become available in the mid-stage of the Great Upheaval.

Narrowing his eyes, Grid asked:

- How do you know of the Rune of Succession? At this time, Players shouldn’t even be aware of it.

“If you’re curious, pay the price. Intellectual curiosity counts as desire too, doesn’t it?”

- Hah! Fair point. But talking with you, I think for the sake of fun, it’s better I don’t know. I’m the type who pursues amusement and pleasure more than curiosity.

“I see. So your answer?”

- There’s nothing I can’t procure—if you pay accordingly.

“Payment, hm? Strictly speaking, not payment. What I want is an exchange.”

- What?

“You have multiple ways of trading. ‘Payment’ is when I pay the cost you demand to get what I want. But ‘exchange’ means we trade goods of equal value. Correct?”

- ......

Grid’s eyes flickered with surprise.

Su-ho was right.

But Grid avoided disclosing that method, since payment deals profited him more.

“Anyway, I’ll go with exchange. And since it’s an item, I’ll pay with items.”

Su-ho opened his inventory at once.

Then he began pulling out things he wouldn’t be using again—items that could just as well be sold off through Representative Ion.

Not actual trash, though.

Wyvern eggs.

Mega Parasite eggs.

A Mega Parasite heart.

Things that might prove useful somewhere, but for now were dead weight.

And items whose unique properties couldn’t be extracted even with the Blacksmith’s Forge.

'It’s a pity, but I can’t just hand him worthless junk.'

Even so, by Grid’s standard, these were far below par.

At last, when Su-ho had piled up all the junk items, he added:

“Oh, by the way—I want two Runes of Succession.”

He raised two fingers for emphasis.

But unlike Su-ho’s grin, Grid’s demeanor cooled.

With a frown, Grid asked:

- What do you think you’re doing?

“What else? Paying the price, just like you said. If I want items, I give items. If I want people, I give people. If I want skills, I give skills. That’s how exchange works, isn’t it?”

There were no appraisers in deals with Grid.

The value of the goods was set solely by Grid and the guest.

And so, Grid had added the rule that exchanges required equivalent goods.

It gave him more leverage.

By that measure, Su-ho was a troublesome guest.

- You speak as if you’ve used all my systems before. Do you really think what you’ve laid out is fair? I thought you were someone sensible.

“Of course not.”

- What?

“Mid-stage items aren’t comparable to these. No matter how others value them, they can’t match two Runes of Succession.”

- You know it well, then. Are you trying to exploit the ‘first deal’ sentimentality? Sorry, but I don’t deal in sentiment.

“As if. I hate that too. Which is why I plan to add something else.”

- Whatever you add, another item won’t meet my expectations. Early-Stage items can’t outweigh Mid-Stage ones.

“That’s true. But I never said it was an item.”

- What?

“What I’m adding is information. Information can be added regardless of category, and its value can be limitless.”

At that, Grid could only let out a disbelieving laugh.

- Hah, unbelievable.

Su-ho merely shrugged.

Grid narrowed his eyes again.

- Then you know the rule? If information is offered as payment, I hear it first before deciding on the deal.

“Of course. That’s why I want to pique your interest. Don’t you want to know how I’ll make you Demon King?”

- That’s the information you’re adding?

“Yes. That’s it. But don’t worry—I won’t waste your time with clichés. I’m not that kind of man.”

- Then what is it?

“The other Runes of the Seven Deadly Villains.”

- Hm?

“Don’t you want to know which Players hold which runes, and how far they’ve grown?”

- You can’t mean...

“Think simply. In a race, what’s the surest way to place first? I don’t think you need to run your fastest. All it takes is making sure no other competitors are left on the track.”

Su-ho’s advice.

And with it, Grid’s eyes shook with the fiercest tremor yet.