Overgeared

by Park Saenal

  ““These little pieces of garbage!”” Berith snorted and swung his arm as hard as possible, causing the bodies of the siblings to fly through the air. The Hao siblings responded calmly. Mei Xiao discarded the cloth and swung her whip while Hao transformed into a half draconian and shot out a breath.

  Kraugel didn’t miss this precious time that his teammates had bought. In this short period of time, he captured Berith’s gap and used his skill. Among them was a sword technique that caused the enemy to lose defense. Kraugel had done enough for his role, which was to lay the groundwork for the strong.

  “Free Farming Peak Style!” A huge shadow appeared above the head of Berith, who was distracted by Kraugel’s party.

  “True Clouds!” Kraugel fell off Berith and summoned blue clouds in the area. The clouds spread out like dense fog, interfering with Berith’s vision and senses.

  “Pounding Mortar.”

  ““…This!”” Berith, who was starting to feel annoyed by Kraugel’s unseemly tricks, looked up. The veins on the horse’s head bulged. One of the strongest weapons of the present human race was falling from the sky. It was a power that even a great demon couldn’t endure easily.

  ““Don’t take me lightly anymore!”” Berith declared. The blue clouds in the area instantly hardened into metal. Kraugel’s technique, which should’ve weakened Berith, was instantly transformed into a metal umbrella that protected Berith.

  ‘Cough!’

  The huge metal umbrella stretching into the sky made Piaro’s face freeze. He instantly noticed that the power of this defense would greatly weaken Pounding Mortar. However, Piaro currently wasn’t alone. During the Belial raid, Piaro had to protect the weaker Grid and Overgeared members alone, but things were different now. There were people he could rely on. Grid had reunited him with his old colleagues.

  “Sir Piaro! We will help!”

  “I’m not the novice of the past either!”

  Grenhal and Morse joined the battle. They didn’t bring out the power of the berserker and the beast because of their personal circumstances, but even if they didn’t do their best, they could still destroy Berith’s alchemy. The giant umbrella casting a shadow on the ground was separated by Grenhal’s flying sword and Morse’s phantom. The sun once again shone in the world of darkness.

  ‘“I said, don’t take me lightly!”” Berith turned toward ‘her’. He rebuilt the fragments of shattered metal in real time. The world quickly became dark again, but there was a variable.

  “I’ll break it.” Basara opened her eyes.

  Her eyes were glowing with a mysterious red light. It was the red energy that symbolized the lineage of the imperial royal family. The power of Haicyen Saharan, the strongest emperor in history. It had the property of penetrating into matter. This was why the armor of the Red Knights was red. The red energy strengthened or weakened the target material. As if thousands of years had passed, the large metal umbrella quickly rusted and weathered.

  Something fell over Berith’s head. It was clear that this was precisely timed. After this, Berith opened the umbrella again but it was too late. The umbrella unfolded only after a large mortar crushed Berith’s torso. On the shaded ground under the umbrella, Berith’s body was crushed by the blow and crumpled into a strange angle.

  White blood flowed like a river. Then large metal vines sprang up, tying up the bodies of Piaro, Kraugel, and the dukes.

  “Kuek…!?”

  The damage was weak, but the problem was that it had the property of physical bondage.

  ‘The more I know, the stronger he seems?’

  The center of the world was the Saharan Empire. The great demon might destroy all of humanity, but the empire was the exception. Just as Astaroth was defeated in the imperial palace, the great demon wasn’t the empire’s opponent. However, Morse’s conviction changed. He got nervous when he felt the magic of the metal vines that were constraining his limbs.

  ‘It will be hard to get rid of this unless I transform…’

  Chill.

  Suddenly, Morse imagined Berith invading Titan. If all the substances in the capital turned into metal and attacked the people and soldiers… Could the empire really withstand this? The grandmaster, whose thinking was unknown, would turn his back and ignore the dying people. He was only looking for interesting experimental tools. It was the same for Magician King Goldhit.

  ‘Bain will only protect the emperor’s side. At most, only Kyle and Chensler will go out.’

  Was it possible if they both fought? It was possible. Kyle, who they recently met at the ruins, was stronger than ever and Chensler ‘never died.’ If they joined forces, they would be able to defeat Berith after a few days of fighting. Then once the fighting was over, the people of the capital would be dead. Unless the remaining five dukes all protected the capital, the damage that would occur if Berith invaded the capital would be beyond imagination.

  ‘Shit!’ Morse finally realized how foolish he had been in the past when he heard of the emergence of the great demon and ignored it. The great demon must be killed here.

  ‘King Grid, it is thanks to you!’

  Morse planned to transform. It wasn’t a situation where he should be concerned that disclosing his strength could expose a weakness and weaken the position of the empire’s dukes. Morse turned and turned his gaze to Grid—the hero who wasn’t bound by the concept of a nation but who fought for the sake of all humanity. Thanks to Grid, they could preemptively get rid of the demon who could be a disaster for the empire.

  Morse’s muscles started to swell as he grabbed the metal vines around his neck with both hands. It was the moment when silvery hairs started to rise. Yellow flames rushed like waves and melted the metal binding Morse. Everyone, including Morse, escaped from the bondage and regained their freedom.

  “Duke Basara, you must guard the rear during the battle. Only then can the red energy deal with these sudden situations. What will you do if you are swept up in it?” It was Spear Saint Rachel—one of the strongest among the dukes who retained the same power as the beast form Morse. The person who had remained silent so far finally came forward and saved everyone from the crisis.

  “It is a mistake that isn’t like you. What excited you so much that you would hurt yourself?” She pointed out Basara’s mistake and then chastised Morse. “Additionally, Duke Morse, what were you thinking when you were about to use that power?”

  “…”

  “Do you want to spread the weakness that you are less intelligent than a dog?”

  “I’m a wolf, not a dog.”

  “Whatever.”

  Rachel’s gaze turned toward Piaro. After being dull since Grid’s appearance, she finally returned to the public’s attention. She spoke while unaware that billions of eyes were watching her, “The former captain of the Red Knights, Piaro. I didn’t know you were serving the Overgeared King.”

  『 …! 』

  -…!

  “Well… I knew you were alive. Who would’ve been able to harm you, my hero and the greatest of the empire?”

  『…!? 』

  -…!?

  Grid’s knight, the crazy farmer of the Overgeared Kingdom, was actually the greatest in the empire? He was so great that Spear Saint Rachel called him her hero…? The viewers around the world were shocked to find out the amazing truth and spat out the beer or coke they were drinking. A Korean viewer eating chicken was in tears. Indeed, eating chicken with kimchi was dangerous…

  『 Grid, who had been at war with the empire not long ago, arrived with the empire’s dukes… The mystery seems to have finally been solved… 』

  The audience got goosebumps. Grid’s subordinate was formerly the greatest person of the empire. When did he use Piaro to improve his relationship with the empire? Maybe this was something that Grid had intentionally planned when the emperor invited Grid a few years ago? It wasn’t at the level of looking ahead by one or two things. Grid’s insight had already reached the point of observing the futur
e.

  Gulp.

  The sound of the commentators swallowing their saliva permeated the audience’s ears through the speakers and headsets. People couldn’t keep their eyes off Grid, who was just sitting still and resting. Meanwhile, Grid was inwardly crying out with delight.

  [The duration of the truth distortion is over.]

  [The lost classes, titles, and skills have been restored.]

  [However, since the status of Magic Swordsman of the Epics is higher than Pagma’s Descendant, Grid’s Swordsmanship is kept active.]

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  Chapter 1051

  ‘When will it recover?’

  Grid became impatient over time. He thought the classes, titles, and skills that Berith’s distorted reality had taken away would be restored soon because the word ‘temporarily’ was mentioned, but it had been over 20 minutes. Maybe he was wrong…

  The concept of time was different for each individual, so Grid was filled with tremendous anxiety.

  ‘For a great demon with eternal life, a human’s lifetime is a short moment.

  The system was rubbish… There was a possibility that the distorted state wouldn’t be resolved. Everything he lost might not be restored. Grid had been hit in the back of the head more often than others and seriously considered it.

  ‘It might be better not to go back.’

  The Magic Swordsman of the Epics was a class that was just growing. Nevertheless, it surpassed Pagma’s Descendant, and its combat power overwhelmed that of Pagma’s Descendant. Returning to Pagma’s Descendant was technically going backward. The moment that Magic Swordsman of the Epics was judged as a third class again, it was possible that Grid’s Swordsmanship and the transcendent senses he gained would be sealed.

  ‘Still, I…’

  Grid was Pagma’s Descendant. No, he saw himself as a blacksmith. Hundreds of thousands—no, he made countless items. Sometimes, he sold items for just a few coins. Other times, he got tangled up in hard events. Additionally, he built up many relationships. The reason he could meet Khan was that he was a blacksmith.

  This one line was a shortened description of all that: the blacksmith class was Grid’s backbone. For Grid, the blacksmithing class was the most precious thing that couldn’t be taken away.

  “Give it back to me…”

  It was okay even if he was weakened again. He wanted it back.

  “Stop playing and give it back.”

  The canyon was destroyed. Surrounded by Piaro, Kraugel, Kirinus, and the dukes, the bloody Berith roared loudly and the battle intensified.

  “Niyooong!” Noe cried out anxiously from where he sat on Grid’s shoulder. Overgeared Corn kept licking Grid’s cheeks with a small black tongue. While doing so, Overgeared Corn snorted with an annoyed expression. His noble and beautiful self was licking the cheeks of a male… It was a dissatisfied attitude, but he still licked Grid’s cheeks carefully. It was because Grid looked pained and lonely.

  [The duration of the truth distortion is over.]

  [The lost classes, titles, and skills have been restored.]

  [However, since the status of Magic Swordsman of the Epics is higher than Pagma’s Descendant, Grid’s Swordsmanship is kept active.]

  Grid came to his senses upon seeing these messages. He had anticipated the worst, so he was filled with relief and joy. The lost powers and blessings started to rekindle in his body again. The forces he had thought he would lose were still in his body. Grid was aware of the transcendence that still remained. Magic Swordsman of the Epics returned to being the third class, but it still gave Grid a powerful force.

  It was natural. His epic was what he wrote personally. It purely belonged to Grid. No one could deny it, and no one could take it away.

  [You have discovered a mighty person of this era, and fighting energy has started to accumulate!]

  [Every time fighting energy increases by one point, your strength, stamina, and agility will by 0.5%.]

  The red-purple aura started to rise. It was the symbol of the Hero King. The former Hero King was Sword Saint Muller.

  ““You!””

  Berith’s gaze was focused on Grid through the seeds, hand plow, spears, and swords striking him. With 30% of his health left, Berith no longer looked at Piaro, the dukes, or Sword Saint Kraugel surrounding him. He appreciated the potential of Grid, who pioneered his own path while carrying the ability of the two humans that even great demons couldn’t take lightly—Pagma and Muller.

  Now Grid himself was a person who attracted the aggro of a great demon. For Grid, it was bad luck. Berith emitted metal spines in every direction to shake off the people around him and formed a long blade. The blade was three kilometers long. It was enough to bridge the gap between Grid and Berith, immediately penetrating Grid’s heart. No, it was about to penetrate him.

  ““….!?””

  The man who was the Master of Swiftness before he became the successor of Lantier’s techniques…

  Faker, who was given a favorable assessment in ‘speed’ due to his class-specific characteristic, had evolved a notch after gaining Fly on Top of Grass. He responded to the blade that Berith fired and stepped in front of Grid, who had yet to recover enough to avoid the attack.

  Berith’s blade and Faker’s dagger collided. The tip of the blade had its direction twisted subtly, and it rose into the sky instead of Grid’s heart. Faker’s body flew far away to a cliff in the canyon.

  “Faker!” Grid’s astonished cry echoed through the canyon. The downside of an assassin was poor durability. In particular, it was questionable for them to fight elite monsters with high health and attack power. Additionally, Berith was a great demon. Grid saw that Faker would find it hard to survive when facing Berith’s attack.

  However, Faker was surprisingly fine. The moment he struck Berith’s blade, he used Lantier’s technique. Then when he collided with the cliff, he summoned shadow soldiers to help him. Faker emerged from the dust with a calm expression and spoke to the dumbfounded Grid.

  “The person who is supposed to protect you shouldn’t be weak.”

  After all, Faker was someone who was acknowledged by War God Zeratul.

  “Grid, I will also join the front line.”

  He was only a normal class at the time when he wiped out the Ice Flower Guild.

  “You focus on recovery.”

  Now…

  “Kill Gate Opening.”

  Faker, who studied Lantier’s techniques and the shadow techniques from Kasim, was pursuing the throne of assassins.

  “God Killer.”

  He became a flash of light itself. Faker passed through the canyon, and Berith’s red eyes lost their focus. His spirit was dizzy, and Berith instinctively felt something. This was a crisis. It was a situation where he was on the edge of the cliff. So…

  ““22nd Hell Summoning.””

  Berith freed all his strength. He broke the rules that the world had imposed on him. In return, the goddess of light would gnaw at his soul. It didn’t matter if the other great demons laughed at him. The humiliation of losing his body to human hands should be avoided.

  [The 22nd Hell has manifested successfully.]

  [The earth and the atmosphere are filled with demonic energy.]

  [22nd Great Demon Berith’s stats will increase by 20%.]

  [All debuffs currently applied to 22nd Great Demon Berith will be released.]

  [Humans cannot adapt to the environment of hell.]

  [The power of skills and magic have decreased by 30%, and casting speed has decreased by 60%.]

  [Magic resistance and physical defense are reduced by 20%.]

  [The natural recovery of health, mana, and stamina has become impossible.]

  [Stamina will fall more quickly.]

  [Potions can’t be used.]

  [Creatures of the 22nd Hell will emerge!]

  『 Ah, this is what happened. .』

  The broadcasters and viewers who were excited about Grid stopped
feeling excited. They sobered up as they watched Berith being pushed on the defensive. Berith’s health kept decreasing. The more Berith entered a new phase, the clearer the reality became. The last phase of hell summoning was imminent. It was the start of the despair they had learned from 32nd Great Demon Belial. This was the end of humanity.

  Lightning struck in the sky as black ash started to spread. Between the canyons, hellfire hotter than lava poured out, and the barren land started to split apart. The ecosystem changed. The flowers on the cliff became cannibals, and the moles in the ground became as big as walls. Bizarre and ugly horses emerged through gaps in the cracked earth. At the heart of all this was Berith.

  ““Kukuk…! Kuhahahahat!”” Berith burst out laughing. He thought of humans as livestock and couldn’t help delighting in their fear.

  『 He is very happy. 』

  『 This means he can’t handle it. 』

  The broadcasters and viewers were thankful to Grid, Kraugel’s group, and the dukes. Without them, Great Demon Berith would’ve trampled on humanity with a dull expression like they were ants. Yes, they had done well enough to push the great demon up to here. They were relieved when they saw Berith so happy.

  The broadcasters and viewers expressed their gratitude to Grid and Kraugel. There were reports that the Overgeared Guild was at least 30 minutes away from the canyon, so they couldn’t expect a dramatic appearance of help like during the Belial raid. The audience and viewers were forced to judge that the Berith raid would end in failure. They simply wanted Grid and Kraugel’s party to minimize the damage. However, there was a reversal.

  “So what if you summon hell?”

  “How boring.”

  ““….!?””

  There had never been such a Berith raiding party before. No, the problem was that their power was at an all-time high, and this party could never form again. Kraugel, Piaro, Kirinus, and the dukes of the empire—they were legendary or super named NPCs and were equipped with transcendent resistance. Hell’s debuff effect wasn’t fully applied.