Overgeared

by Park Saenal

  He couldn’t forget the city that he stayed in for one year, from level 1 to level 80.

  “But why was this recreated? From what I recalled, I died less than 10 times in the city.”

  “Huh? You died so many times within a city? Did you commit a crime that deserved the death penalty?”

  “No way, that’s impossible. I was just walking on the streets when I was hit by a wagon, died from a flowerpot dropped from the third floor, or was caught and killed by hoodlums.”

  “Your luck isn’t ordinary.”

  As the two people talked, several notification windows popped up. Thanks to this, Grid knew what needed to be done here.

  [Your level has dropped to level 23.]

  [A mission will be created.]

  [31st Island]

  The place and situation of the quest that you failed the most number of times has been 100% created.

  Overcome the trial and jump past your previous self!

  Mission Clear Conditions: Succeed in the quest that you failed in the past.

  First Clear Reward: 600 Challenger Points.

  First Clear Reward 2: The rewards you obtain with the quest.

  [The mission will start 30 minutes from now.]

  “The quest I failed the most times?”

  It was difficult to pinpoint what quest he failed the most number of times. A golden exclamation point appeared on one side as Grid tried to recall the memory. It was a quest window.

  [Participate in the Reserve Forces Training]

  Level of Difficulty: Regular quest.

  Patrian is a fortified city built for the purpose of controlling the Gauss Kingdom.

  Players who belong to Patrian are obliged to do a certain amount of training as part of the reserve forces.

  Train under the instructor at the training ground.

  Quest Clear Condition: Get a passing grade for each training course.

  Quest Reward: Depends on the passing rank.

  “Ah, this quest.”

  It was a quest that repeated once a month. They would be trapped in the barracks if they refused to do it. It was an obligatory quest that users belonging to Patrian had to perform. Of course, Grid also participated in the full time training.

  However, there was a problem.

  ‘I never got a passing score…’

  He didn’t know how many times he failed. It couldn’t be helped. The significance of the military training was to raise usable soldiers. It was natural for Patrian to endeavor to nurture reservists to a level that could be used. The problem was that Grid didn’t respond to Patrian’s efforts.

  ‘The training was too difficult.’

  Patrian’s reserve army training was largely divided into weapons training, formation building training, and squad training, which was very difficult.

  ‘There were many people besides me who didn’t receive a passing mark.’

  In fact, there were less than 10 people, but Grid’s memories showed that there were hundreds of them.

  ***

  Name: Grid

  Class: Warrior

  Level: 23

  Health: 1,161 Mana: 45

  Strength: 187 Stamina: 40

  Agility: 22 Intelligence: 15

  Skills Possessed:

  Beginner Sword Mastery Lv. 2, Beginner Armor Mastery Lv.2, Charge Lv. 1, Full Swing Lv. 1.

  “The stats distribution is too ignorant.”

  The balance of stats was too bad. He wanted to curse his level 23 self.

  ‘It’s all about strength except for a little bit of stamina.’

  His agility and intelligence was stagnant as the basic ability of a warrior. His attack speed and evasion were the lowest, and he didn’t have the mana to use skills. Using the Charge or Full Swing skill once would deplete all his mana.

  The items he had:

  [Blunt Greatsword]

  Attack Power: 32~71

  Attack Speed: -3%

  [Old Skull Helmet]

  Defense: 2

  [Old Orc Armor]

  Defense: 13

  [Old Goblin Shoes]

  Defense: 2

  ‘The items are also messed up… No, isn’t it better to have set items from one type of monster?’

  How had he been playing the game in the past?

  ‘This is why I only reached level 80 despite playing the game for a whole year… No, I only got to level 79.’

  He could only sigh. In his current state, it was doubtful if he could clear the quest.

  ‘I just need to focus on the training and it will be good.’

  It was a matter of technical training and sparring. He could handle the sword at a good level and was also decent with the spear due to Pon. Therefore, he was only worried about archery. He didn’t have Bow Mastery and his agility was the lowest, so he wondered if he could hit the target with a single arrow.

  ‘I am also worried about not being able to use skills properly during the spar.’

  Sticks looked at Grid’s anxious expression and became nervous.

  “Is the difficulty of this trial so high? Don’t tell me…! This time it is a dragon…!”

  He was suffering under a curse from a dragon, so his dragon trauma was quite strong.

  “Don’t worry. You won’t meet a dragon when you are with me.”

  Grid reassured Sticks and took a deep breath.

  ‘Now believe in me.’

  Since becoming Pagma’s Descendant, he went against many enemies that ordinary users couldn’t overcome alone. Now he would overcome his past self.

  “Let’s go.”

  Grid braced himself and entered the training camp. The instructor saw him and shouted.

  “There you are, Blue Falcon! You’re late again! Hurry up, hurry, you bastard who is weaker than a dog!”

  “…!”

  Blue Falcon! (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blue_falcon)

  It was an embarrassing nickname that he had erased from his memories. Grid’s face distorted like a demon as he stared at the instructor. The castle’s training instructor. The old man who ignored him and harassed him to death!

  ‘I might’ve had no experience at that time…!’

  But not anymore.

  ‘I will make shock appear on your face!’

  Grid’s determination was boiling up.

  Chapter 366

  Chapter 366

  Grid was well aware of the importance of drills as a former member of the South Korean army.

  It was to quickly and easily control the army, for order and unity, to reduce the number of incidents, and to instill a sense of purpose. Drills were the most basic and crucial virtue of the army.

  “The biggest reason why an army operates effectively is due to the formations. Imagine a large group of people. What if the shield troops were in the rear and the archers were in the vanguard? Isn’t that just rubbish?”

  The higher the level of training, the faster the speed of the formation. The faster the speed that a formation was formed, the higher the probability was of winning the war. Grid smiled as he watched the instructor explain why drills were so important.

  ‘In the past, I wasn’t able to concentrate.’

  The reserves were brought to the training ground and given theoretical education. What type of game was this? In the past, Grid had grumbled and couldn’t concentrate on learning.

  “Hey, Blue Falcon.”

  Instructor Kaesul glared at Grid.

  “Why is it that you doze off every time I an educating you?”

  Patrian was a fortified city, so the military training was very strict. Of course, this also applied to players.

  “Is my education useless? Have you already mastered this?”

  The instructor shouted angrily.

  “Stand up!”

  Grid stood up. He knew it was wrong to laugh at the instructor, and absolute obedience was necessary to receive a passing score.

  “Attention! Parade rest! Align right!”

  Grid follow
ed the simple command while the instructor smiled.

  “I will teach you to smile while I’m talking.”

  After that, the instructor forced Grid to follow all types of actions. He tried to make it confusing and complex by making Grid move to the front, back, and right side, then he would punish Grid when he got it wrong. However…

  Cheok!

  Cheok cheok cheok cheok!

  ‘Wow.’

  Instructor Kaesul was puzzled when Grid didn’t hesitate when following the orders.

  Blue Falcon, Grid. He never received a passing grade in any training and was inferior to the other troops, so how could he follow this? Despite his weak stamina, he performed the commands perfectly without losing concentration.

  There was something even more surprising.

  ‘Did his eyes always look like this?’

  Grid was famous with Instructor Kaeul and the assistants. He was dumb, not motivated, weak, and had eyes like rotten fish. Now Grid wasn’t stupid, was full of desire, and concentrated enough to overcome his weak stamina.

  The rotten fish eyes? They were sharp and keen, like there was a reversal. Some people would shrink back when facing it.

  “…Hum hum.”

  When would this inferior soldier collapse? Instructor Kaesul kept giving commands and eventually gave up. He cleared his throat and spoke while avoiding Grid’s gaze.

  “You have mastered these drills. How hard did you practice? Go back to your spot.”

  “Yes!”

  Grid responded vigorously and rejoined the ranks. Honestly, he didn’t feel good. As the duke of a kingdom, he was being insulted by a trainer and tested on an extreme level? It was shameful. But this wasn’t a situation to hold onto his pride.

  ‘Right now, I’m only a level 23 warrior.’

  Yes, this was currently the past. He had to conform to this situation in order to pass the 31st island.

  “I will conduct the test from now on!”

  After around three hours of training, the test was started. The result was amazing. Blue Falcon Grid was ranked number one in the test. Compared to the other reservists, he maintained his concentration and performed the drills of the instructor completely and thoroughly.

  ‘Did he eat something wrong?’

  The instructor and assistants were bewildered.

  ***

  Camp building exercises. It was about climbing up a mountain behind the training ground and making a shelter.

  “It’s just shovelling.”

  “How hard is it to dig a pit?”

  The reservists holding one shovel thought it was easy. However, Grid knew the significance of building a camp. It was to provide cover from enemy attacks and to protect their teammates.

  ‘It isn’t just digging a pit. It needs to have defensive power.’

  Grid judged and looked carefully at the mountain. Then he found a place where there were vines and bushes between two trees. He approached it and started digging. The other reservists laughed at him.

  ‘The trees and bushes will interfere with the digging action.’

  ‘It will take a while to dig a pit.’

  ‘Noob, no wonder why he’s being ignored by the instructor.’

  He would receive the lowest points. The reservists made fun of Grid and started digging at the ground. Their digging pace was incredible. It was obvious that they wanted to finish this tiresome training.

  On the other hand, Grid’s digging speed was slow.

  ‘Digging too quickly is exhausting.’

  Grid had served in the Korean army for more than a year, so he was used to labor. For Grid, digging was one of his few specialties.

  ‘Digging works the heart and muscles because it leans on the upper body.’

  If he didn’t want to collapse from tiredness, it was more effective to do it slowly and steadily.

  Puk!

  His right hand grasped the handle while his left hand grasped the bottom portion of the shovel. His speed was very slow compared to others, but that only lasted for a short period of time. The speed at which Grid dug the ground was three times faster than the others. The others became exhausted while Grid maintained his pace.

  “Hah… Overcoming low stamina with know-how.”

  The instructor and assistants observing the reservists couldn’t keep their eyes off Grid. Grid’s digging skill was the best. It was enough to remind them of a professional digger. It was natural that Grid would take the first place in the camp building test.

  ‘Good.’

  Grid’s face brightened as he erased a few pathetic memories from the past. His high pride after fighting with Kraugel became more robust.

  ***

  Weapons testing.

  The reservists, who learned the basic skills of handling spears, swords, and bows, stood in front of a scarecrow.

  Instructor Kaesul shouted, “First is the spear!”

  At the same time.

  Blue, red, and green dots covered the bodies of the scarecrows in front of the reservists. The blue dots were the size of a 500 yen coin, while the red and green dots were like billiard balls.

  “Over the next three minutes, the three types of dots will emerge alternately. You will get one point when striking the blue dot, 5 points for the red dot, and 10 points for the green dot. You will pass if you get at least 50 points in three minutes.”

  In the past, this was a test that Grid had never succeeded in.

  The dots with the three colors flashed too quickly before disappearing, and there was no regularity. In the past, Grid couldn’t exert much control over the spear and wasn’t able to gain 50 points in three minutes.

  Now it was different.

  Cheok!

  Grid moved his right foot back and wielded the spear. He’d hunted with the strongest spearman Pon, and got a look at the spear techniques and movements.

  More than anything, the current Grid…

  ‘I am a person who understands the divine spear.’

  Once he understood the structure of a weapon, he naturally realized how to use it.

  Flash!

  Grid’s eyes saw the signal in front of him.

  Beeeok-!

  “…!”

  The instructors, assistants and even reservists were surprised by the sound and turned their attention to Grid. Grid had stabbed precisely at the blue dot on the scarecrow. Everyone who saw it were shocked beyond admiration, but Grid wasn’t satisfied.

  ‘Indeed, my agility is too low.’

  The speed of the spear was slow and it wasn’t very precise. He tried to aim at the center of the blue dot, but it deviated to the left. Grid was complaining when he suddenly realized.

  ‘Kraugel wouldn’t complain like me.’

  He would overcome the ordeal, no matter how bad his condition.

  ‘Yes, I don’t have the time for regrets.’

  He concentrated harder and tried to use the spear to the best of his ability.

  Peeeeeong!

  The spear let out a sound again as it struck. The instructor couldn’t close his mouth when he saw that Grid once again hit the blue spot.

  ‘No, what’s up with him today?’

  He knew the Blue Falcon. He seemed like a completely different person.

  Diririri-

  After a while, Grid’s scarecrow scoreboard achieved 100 points.

  “What…?”

  The instructor turned pale. 100 points in 1 minute and 23 seconds. Grid set a record that even the most experienced knight apprentices couldn’t beat. The instructor couldn’t tell if this was a dream or reality.

  A notification window appeared in front of Grid.

  [You have set a new record in Patrian’s reserve forces training Spear Test!]

  [The rare skill ‘Spear Shot’ has been acquired as a hidden reward.]

  [Spear Shot Lv.1]

  Throws a spear that deals 600% physical damage to the target. The enemy will fall down.

  * You must reclaim the spear in the thrown
window. If you fail to retrieve it within 30 seconds, you will lose ownership of the spear.

  Mana Consumption: 150

  Skill Cooldown Time: 1 minute

  “Wow.”

  Grid was astonished by the completely unexpected benefit.

  It was a hassle to recover the thrown spear, but compared to Pagma’s Swordsmanship, the skill cooldown time was very short and the damage was also good. In addition, it was a medium range skill that would be useful in many ways.

  ‘This… Will I be able to get rare skills in the sword test and archery test?’

  Grid’s motivation grew even more.

  Chapter 367

  Chapter 367

  ‘It isn’t bad to have one spear.’

  Spear Shot.

  It was a skill that used the concept of ‘throwing the spear,’ so it was somewhat tricky for general warriors to use. The slightest slip meant they could lose their weapon. But Grid was different. There were many ways for him to retrieve the thrown spear using the God Hands. He was confident that he could use Spear Shot properly.

  “The test has finished!”

  While Grid was feeling satisfied with his new skill, all of the reservists ended their test. The average score of the reservists was 50 points, and it took a full three minutes. It was a level that was barely above the cut line. There were four people who failed.

  Grid’s score of 100 points in 1 minute and 23 seconds became even more outstanding.

  “Hrmm… Next is the swordsmanship test.”

  Instructor Kaesul was still stunned. The sudden change and growth of Blue Falcon Grid was unbelievable, even when he saw it directly with his own eyes. While Instructor Kaesul was feeling confused, Grid and the reservists followed the assistants. Each of them stood in front of a new scarecrow.

  The scarecrows had solid lines on them.

  The instructor explained.

  “If you cut along the solid red line, you will get 5 points. If you stab it, you will lose 5 points. Stabbing the green dot will earn you 5 points, cutting it will lose you 5 points. Stabbing the blue line will earn you 10 points, cutting it will lose you 10 points. You will pass if you get 50 points in three minutes.”

  It was a bit more complicated compared to the spearmanship test. Grid was lacking in the past and had barely gained any points from the three colored solid lines. In particular, the weapon that Grid normally used was a greatsword, and it wasn’t effective when it came to stabbing. This was the biggest cause of his low score.