Overgeared

by Park Saenal

  “Hrmm…”

  The elevator arrived on the first floor. Before the door opened, Toon patted Youngwoo’s shoulder.

  “You’re doing better than everyone expected, so don’t be anxious.”

  “…Is it good for me to make underwear?”

  “…???”

  What nonsense was he suddenly saying? Toon didn’t understand and entered the cafe with Youngwoo.

  ***

  “Wow, what? Is this a sweet potato latte mania?”

  Youngwoo and Toon received the enthusiastic hospitality of the employees as they entered the cafe. Their eyes widened as they saw Hao sitting in a window seat. There were three sweet potato latte cups in front of Hao. The bottom of two cups was exposed.

  “Are you a gourmet?”

  Having a common point was one of the factors involved in forming relationships with people. Youngwoo, a sweet potato maniac, felt liking towards Hao. On the other hand, Hao was watching Youngwoo like he was a ghost.

  ‘How can he drink this sweet drink every day?’

  Hao came from Sichuan and liked spicy or sour foods. This sweet food was honestly unappealing. It was very painful to drink three sweet potato lattes out of his desire to resemble Youngwoo. He once again vowed not to drink the sweet potato latte again. But this vow didn’t last long.

  “Two sweet potato lattes.”

  “…”

  Drinks were placed in front of Youngwoo and Toon. Hao’s mind was shaken.

  ‘Apart from Grid, Toon also drinks the sweet potato latte? It seems that the sweet potato latte is important. It’s painful, but it can’t be helped. I will drink sweet potato latte every morning in the future.’

  Hao closed his eyes and picked up his remaining cup of sweet potato latte. His head was dizzy from an excessive consumption of sugar. However, he could endure this much pain if Youngwoo drank the sweet potato latte every day. Youngwoo handed his sweet potato latte to Hao.

  “Do you really like this? Have another. I can order one more.”

  “…No, I’m fine.”

  Hao’s face was pale. In order to facilitate a smooth conversation, he decided to wear a translator instead of relying on his Korean speaking ability. Youngwoo and Toon were also wearing translators. It was a diamond class translator produced by the Comet Group. It was received as a sponsorship item, but the performance was amazing.

  “First of all, welcome to my house. It must be hard coming such a long way.” Youngwoo belatedly spoke a polite greeting.

  “Thank you for letting me take some of your valuable time and allowing me to visit.”

  “Have you tried Korean food?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Do you want to go to a Chinese restaurant eat jjampong? It is one of my favourite foods and is really good. (Jjampong= sweet and spicy soup. Along with jajangmyeong, it is a popular Korean dish developed from Chinese cuisine)

  “…?”

  He asked if Hao had eaten Korean food and then wanted to go to a Chinese restaurant? Why did the conversation proceed this way? Hao started questioning the translator. On the other hand, Toon spoke to Youngwoo.

  “Grid, the conversation is straying too much.”

  “Oh, excuse me. I was so hungry that I forgot myself.”

  “…”

  “So what is the purpose of your visit?”

  Hao realized that the translator wasn’t broken and explained his reason.

  “I want you to persuade Kraugel not to move to the United States.”

  “…What? Kraugel is moving to the United States?”

  “That’s right.”

  Youngwoo was startled by the words before replying like he understood.

  “Indeed, it would be strange if he stayed in Russia, a vicious country that held his sick mother hostage. It is natural to immigrate.”

  “But isn’t there a problem if he goes to the United States? If he has to move, isn’t it better to move to South Korea or China?”

  Hao cried out but Youngwoo didn’t agree.

  “Why?”

  Grid blinked with confusion and Hao replied like it was natural.

  “Kraugel is a Korean person. Isn’t it normal for him to come to an Asian country like Korea or China rather than the west?”

  “Let’s see? I don’t know. Does race play a role when deciding what country to move to? Isn’t it right to find a place where you can be happy?

  “…”

  Hao was speechless. Grid’s attitude was completely different from what he imagined. Hao had a strong sense of nationalism and couldn’t understand Grid’s reaction. Toon explained to him.

  “Grid isn’t tied to the concept of a country.”

  He didn’t think that ‘South Korea is right’ just because he was Korean. It was the complete opposite from Peak Sword. Of course, he loved South Korea. It was why he was willing to go to the army. However, he had no intention of forcing his patriotism on Kraugel.

  “Hao, this is a problem that Kraugel will take care. It is meaningless if we talk about it.”

  Hao stood up.

  “Think about it! If Kraugel moves to the United States, the first place in the National Competition will go to the United States!”

  The most influential country in the world. The United States had that title for hundreds of years. It was a big barrier to China, and Hao felt hostile to the United States from a patriotic point of view. Now the United States was trying to conquer Satisfy as well. Hao hated it.

  “Then is it okay for South Korea or China to dominate the first place if Kraugel comes here?’

  “China is my homeland and South Korea is a country that I acknowledge… No, it’s better than Kraugel being taken by the United States. I can’t understand why Kraugel is trying to move to the United States…”

  Hao suddenly stopped talking. It was because he thought about Youngwoo’s words about Kraugel finding a place where he would be happy.

  ‘It doesn’t make sense for my personal selfishness to hinder Kraugel’s happiness.’

  Crooked patriotism was a poison. Hao calmed down and sat back in his chair.

  “I didn’t have to come to South Korea at all.”

  Hao murmured with a laugh. Youngwoo sucked up the sweet potato latte with a straw and said casually.

  “Really? I’m glad that you came. It is more pleasant than I thought.”

  “…”

  “Then let’s go to the Chinese restaurant.”

  “…No, why should I come to South Korea and eat Chinese food? Originally I was planning to eat pork belly and kimchi stew.”

  “Can’t you eat such famous foods in China? Let’s go to a Chinese restaurant.”

  “…”

  What type of person was this? Hao thought it was absurd. But he couldn’t help laughing. On the other hand, Toon was sending a message to Peak Sword.

  -As everyone expects, Hao seems to like Grid. It’s better to maintain a good relationship with Hao. I want to eat pork belly and kimchi stew, so please treat me to dinner.

  The reply came quickly.

  -Do you know kimchi stew?

  Chapter 630

  Chapter 630

  ‘It wasn’t a joke?’

  Hao sweated as he arrived in front of a Chinese restaurant with Youngwoo. There was a red signboard embossed with two golden dragons. This place had a strong Chinese atmosphere and the word ‘Yongsungkak’ on it. Hao was dismayed.

  ‘A Chinese person who came to South Korea is treated to Chinese food…?’

  If he didn’t know who Youngwoo was, Hao would’ve evaluated him as insane. But who was Shin Youngwoo? Overgeared King Grid. The first among two billion users to become a king.

  ‘He must have deep intentions for guiding me to this place.’

  Youngwoo handed the menu to Hao, who had misunderstood and interpreted the actions positively.

  “My recommended dishes is the stone bowl jjampong. Oh, jjampong are normally too hot for foreigners to eat? Then you can eat jajang.”
>
  Youngwoo normally got his delivered food from here. But the stone bowl was too hot and he was always sad because it couldn’t be delivered. He was happy to be able to use Hao as an excuse to visit this restaurant and eat jjampong. That’s right. The reason Youngwoo guided Hao to this Chinese restaurant was purely because of his taste buds. There weren’t any deep intentions as Hao thought.

  “I was born in Sichuan. Jjampong is a seafood soup made with chili oil and red pepper powder. I like spicy food and can eat it.”

  People from Sichuan were proud of their ability to handle spicy food. They were prouder than Koreans. Youngwoo didn’t worry about the spiciness anymore and ordered jjampong. Youngwoo licked his lips.

  “I will eat jjangmyeon.”

  “…?”

  “Toon, you are eating jajang?”

  “…Yes.”

  In the end, they ordered two jjampong and one jajangmyeon. Here, sweet and sour pork was given by default. The sweet and sour pork came out first. Hao scoffed at the taste of the sweet and sour pork.

  ‘As I thought, it is lousy fake goods. There is too much acidity in the sauce. The fried meat has no sense of chewiness and the texture is bad.’

  Hao could confidently call himself a gourmet. He ate 50 types of dishes every week. The Korean sweet and sour pork was inadequate to satisfy his gourmet tastes.

  “This is a service.”

  The employee brought a plate of dumplings. However, Hao had already put down his chopsticks. He thought the dumplings would be terrible after eating the sweet and sour pork. He wanted to try the jjampong recommended by Youngwoo. Youngwoo didn’t care about Hao. He was busy eating the sweet and sour pork.

  Toon focused on the dumplings. The moment that Toon took a bite of the fried dumplings.

  ‘What?’

  Hao’s sense of smell was stimulated. The moment the dumplings were split apart, the pepper flavour spread and aroused his appetite.

  ‘Is it pretty good?’

  Hao became interested in the dumplings again and raised his chopsticks. Then his eyes widened as he took a bite of the fried dumplings.

  ‘It is just a bunch of vegetables and meat. Why is this dumpling so delicious? The strong pepper flavor constantly stimulates my appetite. I can eat a few more of these dumplings.’

  Hao started to quickly eat the dumplings. Hao ate two dumplings in the time it took Toon to eat one. Youngwoo watched with pitying eyes.

  ‘Hao, he has bad taste… How tasteless is the food he normally eats if he likes these dumplings?’

  Yongsungkak’s dumplings, like most Chinese restaurants, used frozen dumplings as the base material. It was cheap instant food ordered from a factor that could be fried in oil. Hao ate it like it was delicious, making Youngwoo feel pity. After a while, the jjampong finally came out. The soup simmered in the stone bowl like lava.

  “I will warn you beforehand that this is really spicy. It is much hotter than the Sichuan jjampong usually sold in Chinese restaurants.”

  By default, jjampong was hot. This was stone bowl jjampong. It was a dish with a remarkably spicy taste. Hao shrugged at Youngwoo’s warning.

  “I am from Sichuan and I don’t think that Korean food is spicy.”

  He would show the strong tongue and stomach of a Sichuan person! Hao burned with ambition and moved his chopsticks towards the jjampong. Then he picked up the noodles along with various seafood and vegetables. At the same time.

  ‘Spicy!’

  Hao’s face turned red. Hao was unaware of it, but the powder contained in large quantities in the jjampong was actually capsaicin, not red pepper powder. It was spicier and more stimulating than the Sichuan pepper that the Sichuan people enjoyed. It was enough to burn his tongue.

  But Hao couldn’t stop moving his chopsticks. Every time he ate the jjampong, the rich flavor that exploded in his mouth led him to a new world.

  ‘I can’t stop eating.’

  The taste of this jjampong was far from Chinese food. The different types of Chinese food that Hao ate didn’t taste like this jjampong.

  ‘To be exact, this is the Korean style. It’s the same as the dumplings. The Korean style dishes are generally rich in flavor. The chef’s intuition isn’t normal.’

  It was impossible to produce such a rich flavor with simple chicken broth and seafood. The Chinese chefs in Korean obviously had some secret to maximize the richness. Hao, who ate only high-end Chinese food, was addicted to the MSG of a Chinese restaurant in a common neighborhood in South Korea.

  ***

  Satisfy was another reality. The phrase ‘Satisfy’ expressed the S.A. Group’s feeling of being the first to realize a perfect virtual reality. They didn’t want Satisfy to stay in the small framework of the word ‘game.’ In fact, many people accepted Satisfy as another reality.

  Agnus also thought like this. Agnus didn’t distinguish between Satisfy and reality. No, he wanted to believe that Satisfy was reality.

  Satisfy’s technology and Baal’s Contractor ability would surely be able to reproduce her.

  “Kik… Kikik, it is still too hard?”

  Behen Archipelago, the 62nd island. There was a monster that transcended Lantier from the 61st island. This gave Agnus a sense of despair. Despite using all the power he got from contracting with the 1st Great Demon Baal, he couldn’t break through the 62nd island.

  Clack… Clack clack.

  The Mumud lich looked up at the sky. His eye holes seemed to be longing for freedom. Agnus kicked the fallen Mumud lich by his feet and declared to the fairy Bini.

  “Next time it will be different. I will surely conquer the Behen Archipelago to the end and seize the legacy left behind by Pagma.”

  “H-Hik. U-Understood. So please spare me.”

  Agnus’ golden eyes were only filled with rage.

  The frightened Bini thought he would be killed and begged. Agnus laughed at the cowardly fairy and left the Behen Archipelago. He didn’t think there would be anyone who could conquer the Behen Archipelago before him.

  ***

  [Underwear Production Method Lv. 1]

  You can make underwear of various cloth and leather materials.

  There is a certain probability of making rare rated underwear.

  There is a low probability of making rare rated underwear with options.

  * When rare rated underwear are produced, all stats will permanently rise by +2 and reputation throughout the continent will rise by +30.

  [Intermediate Tailoring Technique Lv. 8]

  Equipment items can be made from various fabrics and leather materials.

  There is a rare probability of producing rare~ epic rated items.

  There is a very rare probability of creating unique rated items.

  * When rare rated items are produced, all stats will permanently rise by +2 and reputation throughout the continent will rise by +30.

  * When epic rated items are produced, all stats will permanently rise by +4 and reputation throughout the continent will rise by +80.

  * When unique rated items are produced, all stats will permanently rise by +12 and reputation throughout the continent will rise by +300.

  “Heok.”

  It had been several years since he became Pagma’s Descendant. Now that his blacksmith skill had grown to a very high level, Grid received a big penalty. He couldn’t enjoy the stat-synergy effect even if he made a high rated item. But tailoring was different. Grid’s newly acquired tailoring skill was only intermediate level and there was no penalty. If he made a high rated item with the tailoring skill, he could enjoy the same stat-synergy effect.

  In addition…

  “A production button!”

  A new feature was added to the interface. An underwear production button, cloth items production button, and leather items production button were created. The cooldown time of the production button was 120 minutes. In the future, Grid would be able to produce underwear, cloth, and leather items with a single click of the production button. It w
as once every two hours.

  “I can’t believe this convenient feature…!”

  Of course, it didn’t apply to blacksmithing, but Grid was happy enough. He was thrilled to be able to raise the level of his underwear and tailoring skills much quicker and easier than expected.

  “Wow, this is a jackpot no matter how I think about it. How can there be a production button?”

  Making an item with one click of a button? He never imagined such a convenient function.

  ‘The S.A. Group wouldn’t be so kind to users… Heok, don’t tell me it was a bug?’

  Grid didn’t know that this convenient feature was something that other production players had enjoyed for the last three years. It was thankful that he didn’t know how pitiable and poor he was.

  ***

  [Production of Cloth Armor has been completed.]

  [Production of Yeti’s Underwear has been completed.]

  “It’s a normal rating.”

  On the way from Frontier to Reinhardt. Grid produced items by clicking the production button once every two hours. Unlike blacksmithing where he had to go through the whole process by hand, the underwear making and tailoring was incredibly easy because items were created just by clicking a production button. The problem was that the rating was only normal.

  ‘Damn… Satisfy can’t be easy.’

  It was unbelievable to produce high rated items once every two hours without any trouble. Grid came to the conclusion that this production system would never produce high rated items and was frustrated.

  ‘Indeed, will I have to progress my tailoring skill by hand…?’

  The production button was useless and he would have to do it by hand. Grid reached Reinhardt in a bad mood only to receive the worst news from Lauel.

  “An envoy from the Saharan Empire was sent.”

  “What? The empire? They acted like they had no interest in us, so why did they come?”

  “I think it’s to gain a tribute.”

  “Are you crazy? Why do we have to give a tribute to the empire?”

  The Overgeared Kingdom was just getting on track. It was only three months after the founding that the tax revenue wasn’t a deficit anymore. They had to offer a tribute at this point? Wouldn’t this completely ruin them?