Overgeared

by Park Saenal

  Then…

  [A repair tool is needed.]

  “Ah, a separate repair tool is needed?”

  ‘What is a repair tool? Fuck! My money! Money! Money!’

  During my days as a warrior, I didn’t have the repair skill, so I always had to repair items at an NPC blacksmith. Therefore, I didn’t know something like a repair tool was needed.

  ‘It’s no wonder why the repairs were so expensive!’

  I could postpone repairing the items until next time. However, this was a warehouse which I had wasted 30 silver to open. If I closed the warehouse and went to buy the repair tool, 30 silver would fly away!

  Ultimately, I shook off my fury and left Mamon’s Greatsword and Mengel’s Plate Armor in the warehouse anyway. The equipment storage fee was 10 silver per item. This was a terrifying expenditure.

  “The world is a thief…”

  Spending 30 silver to open the warehouse and then 10 silver to place an item inside it…! Mother’s Heart is Happy, the auction house and the warehouse administrators, they were all crooks in my eyes.

  “My 50 silver… My 50 silver…!”

  50 silver was 600 won in cash. That was enough to buy 200 milliliters of milk, which could relieve my thirst and make my bones sturdy at the same time. I stored the two items which weighed a considerable amount.

  “Kuuack…”

  My hands shook. After glaring at the warehouse administrator who politely said farewell to me, I headed towards the square.

  There was a wide range of people in the square, from newbies who had just created their characters to users wearing level 100 equipment.

  People were moving around in order to adapt to the virtual reality. There were people looking for a party, buying or selling goods, sharing quests, beggars, couples, and people who simply enjoyed the landscape. All types of people were seen.

  I stood still and observed them.

  The beginner users were mainly using East Street, while the average-level users were mainly using South Street. The West and North Streets were favored by everyone, regardless of level.

  East Street contained NPCs who gave beginner quests and led to the most suitable hunting grounds for them. Meanwhile, the south had the suitable quests and hunting grounds for average-level users. The west and north were areas which covered all levels, or basically, the area crowded with stores.

  “The blacksmith is likely to be in the west or north.”

  As I came to this conclusion while observing the people, a notification window popped up.

  [Insight has increased by 1.]

  The insight stat could be used to detect objects or predict risks. However, I hadn’t seen its performance yet, so I didn’t know if this stat was really useful.

  “Well, any increase is good.”

  I didn’t feel much inspiration as I explored West Street and East Street. However, I then found a blacksmith on East Street. The exterior of the building was huge.

  It was a two-story building, making it incomparable to the small smithy in Bairan Village. Unlike Smith who worked alone in Bairan Village, this smithy seemed like it would have dozens of blacksmiths working together.

  ‘The leader of dozens of blacksmiths should be at least an intermediate level blacksmith?’

  If so, he would recognize me and treat me favorably. Unlike Bairan Village, I would learn how to make items in a good environment. I entered the smithy excitedly while imagining the energetic sound of hammering and the hot heat.

  However, the smithy I entered seemed bleak. I couldn’t hear any hammering sounds, and there were no indications of any people about.

  “W-What?” I looked around in a confused manner and saw a pot-bellied man sleeping in a corner with an empty alcohol bottle beside him. I didn’t know if he was sleeping or dead, so I approached him quietly and shook him awake.

  “Hey. Hey!”

  “…Eh? What?”

  Fortunately, he wasn’t dead. The pot-bellied man made an expression of annoyance and opened his eyes. Then he turned towards me and asked, “What did you come here for?”

  “I want to learn how to make the best selling item in this village. Can I get your help?”

  The elderly man looked at me with a ridiculing expression. “This place ended a long time ago. After the Mero Company bought the blacksmith stores and commercial areas, they bulk sell items at a low price so the customers turned away from this place. Yet you came here to learn how to make items? Are you sure you want to perish with me?”

  Right at that moment…

  The smithy door opened, and a group of rough looking people rushed in.

  “Hey, Old Man! You still haven’t decided? Will you hand this building over to us? Won’t you be able to buy alcohol every day until you die then?”

  …What was it this time? I felt like I was caught up in another troublesome incident.

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 23

  “Hey, Old Man! You still haven’t decided? Will you hand this building over to us? Then won’t you be able to buy alcohol every day until you die?”

  The men who entered the smithy were rough looking and their physique was good. They reminded me of the employees from Mother’s Heart is Happy. They took a heavy-handed attitude as they handed a sheet of paper to the elderly blacksmith.

  ‘What’s this?’

  It was a contract to sell this building and the land to the Mero Company. I instinctively realized it.

  ‘If I analyze this based on my recent successes and troubles, it’s likely that I’ll get involved in a stupid quest as I stand here.’

  That absolutely couldn’t be allowed to happen. The urgent thing right now was to earn money by making items.

  ‘There’s no time to waste on unwanted quests.’

  I admired my brain’s quick thinking and moved to avoid this situation. But how many things ever went according to my will? I only managed to move a few steps before I was caught by the gangsters.

  “Hey, where did this newbie come from? You trying to sneak into our business like a rat?”

  They started to question me in an intimidating manner.

  “Did you come to steal the contents of our contract? You, are you a spy? Did the Skaner Company send you?”

  Why did I get caught up in the contents of that piece of paper? This was really some useless curiosity.

  ‘I should’ve just stayed in the rear and avoided looking at them.’

  I shrugged as if to say ‘Spy, me? What are you talking about? It isn’t like that, so don’t worry about me. I just want to go my own way.’

  But they continued to act tough.

  Gulp.

  ‘Damn.’

  My saliva dried up and sweat beaded up on my forehead. I remembered my low-level days in Satisfy.

  Was it due to the fearful memories of being a bread shuttle, or being threatened by teenage gangster NPCs in the back alleys? Or maybe it was because they resembled the employees from Mother’s Heart is Happy Financial Services.

  I reflexively shrank back from the group; I couldn’t cope with this.

  ‘I should behave.’

  Violent NPCs didn’t fear the law. It was entirely possible to be severely injured or killed if I even so much as touched these guys. Of course, I could report the NPCs to the guards, but their fists were closer than the law was. It might be possible if I was stronger or quick enough to flee from this building. However, that wasn’t the case so it was better to avoid irritating them.

  ‘Judging by their appearance and atmosphere, they aren’t back alley bullies. They don’t just smoke cigarettes and use bread shuttles.’

  The Mero Company was the second largest business company in the Eternal Kingdom. They wouldn’t give jobs to losers. These assholes were all gangsters.

  ‘Based on their equipment, they’re at least level 35.’

  Gangsters over level 35! How many people have they hurt and frightened in order to level up? I couldn’t imagine all the sins that these peopl
e had committed.

  ‘There are five of them… In contrast, I am only level 3. While my stats are superior compared to those of my level, they’re all still around level 20. Not only that I am alone as well.’

  To make matters worse, I was unarmed. I would only lose if I got into a fight with them.

  ‘Yes, let’s act prudently and discard my pride.’

  As soon as I organized my thoughts, I smiled as brightly as possible and explained, “I’m not here to spy on you. I am just a customer passing by. So you don’t have to be so vigilant. Heheh.”

  Acting subservient to NPCs! I felt no shame. The hand of the man holding my shoulder loosened slightly.

  “Customer? At this smithy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Hoh? A customer of this smithy…”

  The grip of the man’s hand on my shoulder strengthened again.

  ‘Ouch, it hurts.’

  I frowned due to the pain. Curse words almost popped out of my mouth, but I remained patient. Instead of scolding him, I tried my best to maintain my smile. Why? Otherwise, I might get hit! There was an old saying that you couldn’t spit when there was a smile on the other person’s face.

  The gangsters eyed me with suspicion.

  “The street operated by the Mero Company has a large number of weapons stores, so why would you come to a smithy like this? Isn’t this strange?”

  “There might be many weapons stores, but this is the only smithy. I don’t want to buy a weapon, but instead find a blacksmith for production-related work. Therefore, it was inevitable that I came here. Hehe, I had no idea this smithy was troubled since I am new to Winston.”

  I could debut as a lead actor right away and would be the perfect candidate for the New Actor Award at the end of year ceremonies. My appearance and tone were subservient. I continued to smile and the suspicious gangster released me.

  “I somehow feel like hitting you, but you’re a blacksmith as well? Umm, indeed. You’re so weak that you can’t be a spy… Okay, get out of here. Don’t think about coming here again.”

  Did he want to hit me? Did I look poor and weak? These scum thought they could make fun of me just because of how I looked? The fury in my heart boiled over. However, be patient.

  “Hehe, thank you for believing in me. I’ll be going now.”

  I was able to keep the smile until the last minute as I quickly headed out of the smithy. Then the old blacksmith’s angry voice was heard behind me, “Yes… there’s nothing to be gained from dragging this dirty work out too long. It is better to avoid such things. I’m too tired now.”

  As I paused for a moment, the old man blinked his bloodshot eyes. It was to stop the tears from falling down.

  “Give me that contract. I’ll sign it as you wish.”

  “Eh? R-Really?”

  “Ohh! Good thinking Old Man!”

  “It took a long time, but you have finally made a wise decision.”

  The gangsters cheered at the old man’s words. It was like a festival. The one who seemed to be the leader handed the contract to the old man.

  “All you have to do is sign. Then you can take it easy.”

  “……”

  The old man gazed at the contract and hesitated for a moment before reaching towards the contract with trembling hands. At that moment, tears fell from the old man’s eyes. “Ahh! This is the end of my seven generation family business! I won’t be able to face my ancestors after death!”

  The sight of the sad and depressed old man was unbearable. But the gangsters mocked him instead of comforting him,

  “You abruptly stopped blacksmithing, so isn’t it natural for the customers to turn away? And Old Man, didn’t you have a child? Your only son died, so you turned to the bottles? You don’t have a successor, so once you die, your family line will naturally be cut off. You were defending something that had no value. Didn’t your debts just increase? Pathetic, truly pathetic.”

  “You! Don’t mention my son with that vulgar mouth!”

  “Why the hell are you so loud? Do you want to be scolded like last time?”

  The gangster called ‘Johnson’ threatened to hit the old man. I was angry when I saw Johnson.

  ‘Isn’t that an old man? Not only did he speak rudely to the old man, but threatening to beat him up…’

  At that moment, a gangster called ‘Um’ spoke, “Look, the contract should be completed today.”

  Then the one called ‘Praga’ jumped in like an excited foal, “No, I’m mad. Didn’t we have to wait a few months for the old man to acceptwhile that old man refused? Think about how much we suffered because of him!”

  The gangster called ‘Neil’ continued, “I agree… Fuck, we couldn’t even properly handle an old man. We received less pay on the scheduled date because of this.”

  Then the silent leader, ‘Veil’ smiled coldly and said, “That’s right, you must compensate us for the damages we received.”

  Veil slapped the old man’s cheek and said, “Hey Old Man, once you receive the money for selling this smithy, half of it will be used to pay off your debt, while the other half will be handed to us. Isn’t it obvious to compensate us for the damages you caused?”

  “You dog bastards!” The old man, Khan, angrily replied to Veil.

  “Hey, you don’t have a wife or son to feed, so why do you need a large amount of money? You should help the poor, young people like me.”

  “……”

  My insides were boiling with anger.

  ‘I don’t respect senior citizens much, but…’

  When I used public transportation such as the bus or subway, I never yielded my seat to the elderly. I paid the same taxes, so I also had the right to enjoy the seat! No matter how burdensome their gazes were, I never gave way.

  ‘But…’

  I didn’t insult or tease the elderly, unlike these gangsters. I was really angry.

  ‘Young pups treating grandmothers and grandfathers like this… it is terrible.’

  So? Should I help the old man, despite my low level?

  NO~ NO~ I don’t have a sense of justice. Why should I help others? I couldn’t think of any benefits. In my childhood, I was disgusted by superheroes instead of admiring them like everyone else.

  ‘Why are they getting hurt trying to save others? Are they crazy?’

  I couldn’t understand the heroes who sacrificed themselves to defeat the villain. My young self cringed as I watched their unconditional sacrifice. So when the neighborhood kids played as heroes, I acted as the villain. Once I became the villain, I enjoyed the pleasure I got from harassing my friends who played the role of heroes. I showed sense by pretending to die at the end of the game, meaning the other children didn’t feel any resentment.

  ‘When I think about it, I have been like this since childhood. Yes, from the beginning, I closed my eyes whenever I saw injustice.’

  So I turned away from the old man who was being humiliated and about to lose the business that had been in his family for seven generations. Sure, some regrets remained.

  ‘The situation has become like this, so it is impossible to make items in this smithy. If I want to move villages, I have to pay for that scamming expensive carriage again? Do I really have to move villages once more? No, there is no need to. I will just hunt and raise my level until the new owner of this smithy starts work.’

  Wait?

  ‘Don’t I need equipment to hunt? This damn thing! I stored my sword and armor in the warehouse. My 50 silver!’

  My stress levels weren’t a joke. My stomach hurt when I thought about all the money that was flying away. Why was my life so twisted? Uhh… I’m getting a stomach ache. I should leave here as soon as possible.’

  But strangely, my feet didn’t move.

  ‘That old man… is this okay?’

  Ah! Really! Fuck!

  Maybe it was because I witnessed the dirty work. No matter how much I dreamed about a life that was far from good, I still had the basic fundamentals of
a human. It was too much for my conscience to ignore the old man surrounded by gangsters.

  ‘No, why risk myself for someone else? Am I stupid?’

  I was fully aware that I should turn a blind eye to this. So why was I hesitating?

  ‘When did I become nosy? This behavior isn’t like me. I’ve always closed my eyes to injustice.’

  The moment I braced myself to leave the smithy.

  [Your anger levels are at their peak after witnessing gangsters commit wrongdoings towards a blacksmith.]

  [The quest ‘Blacksmith’s Rage’ has been created.]

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 24

  [Blacksmith’s Rage]

  Difficulty: B

  As Pagma’s descendant, you have inherited Pagma’s will as well as his techniques. You have Pagma’s humanitarian ideology of using ‘blacksmithing to benefit other people.’

  You can never forgive the Mero Company and its minions, who oppress the old and powerless blacksmith.

  Help the blacksmith Khan, who had fallen for the tricks of the Mero Company and lost his customers.

  Quest Clear Conditions: Get rid of the Mero Company’s minions and destroy the smithy transfer contract.

  Clear Reward: Blacksmith Khan’s alcoholic symptoms will improve. Affinity with Khan will reach the maximum.

  * Khan was originally an excellent blacksmith. But after his business was ruined due to the tricks of the Mero Company and he was subjected to severe stress, an alcohol dependency was created. He is currently an incompetent old man, but if he improves from his alcoholism, he will surely regain his status as a great blacksmith. At that time, he will figure out your identity and help you greatly…

  Quest Acceptance Reward: The skill ‘Blacksmith’s Rage’ is created.

  Quest Failure: A few days later, Khan will die and all quests related to him will be permanently destroyed.

  “Eh?”

  The blacksmith’s ideology?

  “Is this a parody of humanitarianism?”

  The motto of the legendary blacksmith Pagma!

  “…Is there a hidden class that will appear after eating only garlic for 100 days?”

  No, now wasn’t the time to joke around.