Overgeared

by Park Saenal

  “…This is a good idea.”

  800 gold a month. It was a ridiculously small sum for a big city. But the product being sold was mere sand. They just needed to put the sand that could be found anywhere in pretty glass bottles and sell them for 3 gold each. The net profit was 99.9%. If the sales amount rose like Rabbit predicted, it would be a powerful revenue source for Reidan.

  ‘He truly is a wealthy merchant…’

  ‘This is a complete scam.’

  Lauel and the Overgeared members were alerted to the true nature behind Rabbit’s face.

  Grid just laughed.

  All types of talented people were gathering around him.

  Chapter 222

  Chapter 222

  One month in reality and three months in Satisfy time passed.

  In the meantime, Reidan’s crops grew well. It was because the water channels discovered by Piaro provided nutrients to the land, and Grid’s equipment improved the soil quality.

  The financial burden diminished, so they no longer needed to import food at high prices. In addition, vegetation started to grow, the yellow dust became weak, and the people became healthier. The sight of the sick children improving brought tears to the people’s eyes.

  “This is all thanks to Duke Grid.”

  “Ah! That’s right!”

  The people had been suffering for the past 10 years and were about to starve to death, so Grid and the Overgeared members were like angels sent by Goddess Rebecca. The people were absolutely obedient to Grid and the Overgeared members, who were their saviors.

  They were educated and trained as farmers, blacksmiths, architects, soldiers, etc. As a result, they were able to feel a sense of accomplishment from reviving the city with their own strength.

  Reidan was full of vitality.

  “Have you been out on the streets lately? Voices praising My Lord are everywhere.”

  “Really? I’ve been so busy that I don’t have time to go outside.”

  In the past, Huroi had vowed to serve Grid to repay the favor. But now it was different. Huroi respected the maturing Grid and was loyal to him based on that.

  “I’m proud of you.”

  The ghost town on the verge of destruction had now become lively. Thanks to the Overgeared members, the monsters didn’t threaten Reidan, and a small but powerful army was being trained by Jude.

  Khan was nurturing young blacksmiths, and thanks to Rabbit, the overall speed of development of Reidan increased. Euphemina showed her strength in many fields by duplicating monster taming, blacksmithing and architectural skills.

  In particular, Jishuka played a huge role as ruler of Bairan. She and the other two Overgeared members trained the knights and soldiers, and continued hunting the frostlight orcs and raiding the Guardian of the Forest. Thanks to this, the guild’s warehouse was filled with various minerals and sylphid scales. Soon, all members of Overgeared were going to have an invisibility cloak.

  The person who brought together such excellent talents and strong personalities? It was none other than Grid. Huroi’s respect for Grid increased day by day.

  “There’s still a long way to go.”

  Grid wasn’t satisfied with the present state. It was because Reidan was still in a deficit.

  ‘We only have a smithy, barracks, and alchemy institute as facilities.”

  The number of people wasn’t increasing. Taxes also couldn’t be raised. Even though he made five items a day, he couldn’t see any profit at all. So Grid was in a bad mood. What would’ve happened if Grid sold the 450 items he made over the past three months to users instead of investing it in Reidan?

  ‘I would’ve earned at least 1.5 billion won, even if I have to pay taxes and take into account the price of the materials…’

  Of the 450 items, not one legendary rated item was produced, but there were two unique rated items. However, he couldn’t sell them to users and used them for the facilities. Lauel encouraged the grumbling Grid.

  “Don’t dwell on the immediate damages. Thanks to the items you made, the efficiency of each work field has increased by several times, and will return to you as a bigger profit.”

  “I know.”

  Now it was time for lunch. Due to all the work, Grid ate at the smithy while discussing things with Huroi and Lauel. On the other hand, Khan was busy teaching the young blacksmiths.

  Lauel clicked his tongue. “Khan is growing stronger every day. As I look at his increased health, I sometimes wonder if Reidan’s desert sand really does improve longevity.”

  “That inspiration is innate. Which reminds me, has there been a steady increase in sales for the Longevity Remedy?”

  “Yes, this month’s sales has reached 1,230 gold.”

  “Still, it isn’t even a quarter of Rabbit’s pay.”

  Rabbit received a 500 gold salary as a viscount, then another 5,300 gold as his administrator salary. This was the ‘minimum’ value set by Rabbit himself. Even if he pledged his loyalty, he wouldn’t work for less than 5,300 gold a month. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Reidan’s current deficit was due to Rabbit.

  “But we shouldn’t begrudge him. Sir Rabbit’s value can’t be converted to money.”

  “I know.”

  Thanks to Rabbit, Reidan was growing quickly. The increase of domestic affairs was unrivaled when compared to other cities. Indeed, a named NPC like Rabbit with an S-grade administrative skill was worth any price.

  ‘Don’t fret and look to the future.’

  After Reidan developed, the giant worms would be destroyed and the western area would be restored. Then he would use the western area as the foundation for becoming king. It was one of his immediate goals.

  ‘Then I will make money.’

  Grid would become a tycoon. He didn’t want to suffer again because he didn’t have money.

  Ttang! Ttang!

  Grid ate the food that had been grown in three months, the rainbow potato. He hadn’t been able to hunt for the past three months, so his level was stuck at 275, but he wasn’t nervous because his stats increased every time he made an item higher than the epic rating.

  Grid was a blacksmith, so he could level up his stats even if he worked in the smithy.

  ***

  The Butin Barony was at the eastern end of the Saharan Empire. It was a rural area, with only the natural view of the sea. Furthermore, it was a very peaceful place where monsters didn’t pop up, so it was extremely rare for users to come here.

  However, the 3rd ranking merchant, Muto, operated a small company and was extremely focused on trading with the Butin Barony. The Butin Barony might be empty of users, but it was a resort for rich NPCs and nobles.

  “The Longevity Remedy?”

  Muto was focused on supplying luxury goods to the rich and nobles who visited the Butin Barony. His sales rate had decreased suddenly, and he finally identified the reason. He looked at the small amount of sand in the glass bottle and frowned.

  “This sand is sold as a luxury product under the name Longevity Remedy? The selling rate of my products is falling because of this?”

  Muto had seen countless items. As a merchant, his insight was excellent, so it wasn’t difficult for him to see that the Longevity Remedy was just simple sand.

  “It’s a really good idea.”

  Which merchant came up with the idea of marketing the sand of Reidan as the Longevity Remedy? Muto marveled after hearing about it from the NPCs of the Butin Barony.

  “This level of business acumen is almost at the level of a scam.”

  There must be a tremendous merchant hiding in Reidan. Muto was sure of it. He worried about how he could compete with such a huge merchant and soon came up with an idea.

  “Isn’t there a huge desert surrounding Reidan?”

  Ssik.

  Muto smiled with satisfaction and immediately led his company to Reidan. But he faced difficulties as soon as he crossed the border.

  “W-What is this?”

  The guards
of the Muto Company were over level 200. As mercenaries hired at an expensive price, they perfectly protected the company from monsters and bandits. But as soon as they entered the territory of Reidan, the giant worms, desert toads and other powerful monsters devoured the guards.

  “T-This is crazy…!”

  Why were the monsters so strong? The twin ogres were the strongest monsters he had seen so far, and they were nothing against the western monsters.

  “R-Run away!”

  The Muto Company had to run away from the crazy monsters. But Muto still didn’t forget to put the sand from the desert into his bag.

  “Pant pant! Damn! I almost got killed!”

  Muto trembled as he barely survived and returned to the Butin Barony. He was desperate, since he lost half of the guards in the desert.

  “I have to sell all of the sand to recoup some of the losses.”

  Muto went to find a merchant NPC. Then he brought out the Longevity Remedy he made from the sands of Reidan. However, the NPC clicked his tongue.

  “The Longevity Remedy is made from sand collected in the center of Reidan, not ordinary sand from the desert. We only acknowledge the sand from Reidan’s lord as the Longevity Remedy, while everything else is rubbish. Let’s stop any transactions in the future. I no longer want to work with a crook like you.”

  “…”

  This was bad. He thought it would be easy. But his opponent had already penetrated into his brain. Muto was frustrated after losing many guards and clients because of mere sand.

  ***

  “Garlic.” Shin Youngwoo logged out of Satisfy and went out into the living room for dinner. Then he found his parents peeling garlic and sat down beside them. “I’ll help you.”

  Youngwoo’s parents ran a vegetable store, and garlic was treated as a commodity. They had to work hard everyday to peel the garlic. In the past, he didn’t help his parents, but now he was different.

  He matured and was willing to help his parents. But his parents refused.

  “Youngwoo, aren’t you having a hard time playing the game? You should take this time to rest.”

  “Yes. This is our job. Youngwoo, you should go eat and focus on the game again.”

  His parents dismissed the game in the past, but now they recognized it as his workplace. Youngwoo felt a sense of gratitude and sat down with a bright smile.

  “I want to help.”

  It wasn’t easy for a person with less experience to peel garlic. The surface of garlic was hard and the skin was very thin. It needed some tricks to peel the skin attached to the surface. Youngwoo had no dexterity since he was a child. Until he joined the army, he couldn’t even tie his shoelaces properly. It normally took Youngwoo a long time to peel one garlic, so he wouldn’t be a big help.

  Youngwoo’s parents knew this fact, but they didn’t stop him, since their son said he was willing to help.

  Then after a while.

  “Oh my? Youngwoo, when did your dexterity become so good?”

  His mother was full of admiration. Youngwoo quickly peeled the skin of the garlic like a pro. The speed was comparable to his parents, who had been running a vegetable store for decades. His father was also surprised.

  “What’s this?”

  Youngwoo was even more amazed than his parents.

  ‘Unbelievable. Why is it so much easier to peel garlic?’

  He felt like his dexterity had increased dramatically, unlike the past. What was the reason? Youngwoo pondered over it as he peeled the garlic. Then he got the answer within minutes.

  ‘It is the result of repetitive actions!’

  A delicate hand was needed to make items. Since becoming Pagma’s Descendant, Youngwoo had made thousands of items. It seemed that his dexterity in reality increased through his memories and this experience.

  ‘I’ve seen it in the news before.’

  A person repeatedly practiced swordsmanship Satisfy, and their skills increased in reality. It was the inevitable result of repetitive practice. Of course, a person’s physical ability in reality was significant lower than it was in Satisfy, so it was impossible to implement all the techniques. However, following some techniques wasn’t difficult.

  It was the same reason why Youngwoo’s dexterity rose now.

  “Huhuhu…”

  Youngwoo laughed with satisfaction. He was glad that if he ever obtained a lover in reality, he would be able to make her happy with his dexterity. It was the moment when the legendary hand dexterity that brought ecstasy to women in Satisfy appeared in reality.

  Chapter 223

  Chapter 223

  He helped his parents with the garlic and finished his meal. Then Youngwoo connected to his fan cafe and cheered.

  “Finally…!”

  Yesterday, the fan cafe had exactly 1,998,411 members, and now it exceeded two million. There was the golem invasion and he became the first user to become a duke, so his popularity had greatly increased.

  ‘I’m happy.’

  The fact that two million people were showing interest and liking towards him made Youngwoo’s heart overwhelmed. He had been ignored and despised for a long time, so the affection of others was new and he felt happy every day.

  ‘I wonder what Noe’s fan cafe is like these days.’

  After a long absence, Youngwoo accessed Noe’s fan cafe and laughed.

  “I can’t catch up with his popularity.”

  Noe’s fan cafe had reached 2.75 million members. The speed was rising much faster than Youngwoo’s fan cafes. The difference between the two fan cafes was increasing day by day. In the past, Youngwoo would be trembling with jealousy, but now he was different. He completely shook off the inferiority complex that was deeply rooted in him and wasn’t easily jealous anymore.

  ‘Noe’s rising popularity will increase awareness towards me, since I’m his owner.’

  Youngwoo had been watching Lauel for months, so even his thinking ability was improving. He thought positively and stopped writing bad comments on Noe’s fan cafe.

  “Grid doesn’t know about Noe?”

  It was the title of the day’s most popular post. What was this nonsense? Noe was his pet. There was nothing he didn’t know about Noe. He was the only one who knew about the stupid and simple personality hidden behind Noe’s cute looks.

  Youngwoo wondered how this speculative post became the most popular.

  Title: Grid doesn’t know about Noe?

  Content: It has been a long time since Noe appeared in Reinhardt, making us cheer.

  Noe’s eyes that shine like jewels and the beauty that is enough to overpower our gaze. But he is ‘still’ strong. Noe was able to weaken the suddenly evolved ancient weapon by swallowing it, allowing Grid and the Overgeared Guild to win against the golem army.

  Now I have a question. Originally, don’t pets change shape and have a stronger presence as they level up? But Noe’s appearance hasn’t changed since the National Competition. In order words, it means that Noe’s level isn’t much different from the National Competition and Grid isn’t nurturing him properly.

  Think of it from Grid’s perspective. As the first legendary class, he’s a person with a very busy schedule. If you look at TV right now, his CFs play successively. As a top star, he has little time to play Satisfy.

  Grid thought the words he read were absurd.

  “Nonsense.”

  The CFs recently being aired were all filmed right after the National Competition. Currently, Grid had completely stopped all broadcasting activities. He was on Satisfy all the time except when eating and sleeping, and was struggling to manage Reidan.

  However, the author of the post didn’t know this and was just rattling off nonsense. Youngwoo felt frustrated as he read the rest of the post.

  The fact that Grid has less time to play Satisfy means less time to raise Noe. So Noe’s level hasn’t changed since the National Competition. Then I can deduce that Grid has a very poor understanding of ‘top-grade pets.’

  T
ypical pets lost their loyalty to their owners and will return to the wild state if they are away from their owners for long periods of time. The owners of these pets usually put them in the inventory when they can’t be with the pet for a long time (e.g. when logged out).

  But what about drakes? As a ‘top-grade pet,’ its loyalty isn’t easily lost, even when it has a long period of activity separate from its owner. This is why the owners of drakes can let them freely graze. A drake’s owner often lets it hunt alone to raise their level and don’t keep them in their inventory, even when they are logged out.

  So let’s point out the problem. Noe is better than a drake. The evidence is that he overwhelmed dozens of drakes alone and called himself the best demonic beast of hell. In other words, Noe should enjoy more freedom than a drake.

  If Grid had given Noe freedom, then I’m sure his growth would be tremendous. However, Grid lacks understanding of pets and didn’t give freedom to Noe, probably keeping Noe in his inventory.

  Noe’s growth became stagnant. This is proof of Grid’s ignorance, and is an insult to the top-grade pets.

  “Ah…!”

  Youngwoo realized it as he read the post.

  ‘I am really lacking understanding about pets.’

  In the case of a common pet, the pet would hunt monsters with its master and the experience would be split between master and pet. This was why Youngwoo didn’t raise Noe’s level. Noe was very powerful even without raising his level, and Youngwoo didn’t want to lose his experience to Noe.

  ‘However, a top-grade pet can hunt independently from the owner and grow on their own?’

  They didn’t easily betray their owner.

  ‘In the future, I should give Noe freedom so that he can grow.’

  Noe hadn’t eaten since the golem invasion. Apart from that one time, he was always in his inventory.

  “…It must be frustrating.”

  Youngwoo was able to realize Noe’s grievances. He felt sorry towards Noe. Then he thanked the author of the post for giving him new knowledge.

  “He went too far.”