Overgeared

by Park Saenal

  Noll’s gaze was the same. He couldn’t understand Grid’s intention behind not killing him,

  “…”

  Grid didn’t say anything. He just swung his sword, only for it to once again stop in front of Noll’s nose. Noll frowned.

  “What…? Why aren’t you killing me?” It couldn’t be. “You… Are you sympathizing with me?”

  “…”

  Grid didn’t say anything. He just had a complicated expression on his face as he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly. Noll was convinced.

  “Right… You sympathize with me. You realized my yearning for life and my weak heart…”

  Noll had an unbelievable experience for someone who lived for hundreds of years. He had the appearance of a beautiful 13 year old boy. His delicate body and voice started to tremble.

  “Human…! This human…!! Feeling sympathy for a direct descendant…!”

  Tears flowed from Noll’s eyes as he cried out. Did he feel shame that a human felt sympathy for him? No. It was because he was glad. He was a person who hadn’t been able to prove his reason for being born and just existed. He never even dreamt that someone would sympathize with him and save him.

  Yet that person appeared in front of him. It was also an opponent who had fought with him several times over the past few days. Noll dimly noticed it.

  “Yes… You… You must’ve noticed my value. Through your experiences over the past few days, you have become convinced that I am a good vampire.”

  “…?”

  “…Thank you. For not denying me, for giving me the benefit of the doubt. I am moved for the first time since I was born.”

  “…??”

  “I am able to live thanks to you. My remaining life will be given to you. I will prove my value and repay your favor by your side.”

  “…”

  Grid didn’t say anything to the end. Noll thought it was because he was excited. It was natural. A human becoming the master of a direct vampire. It was unheard of. It was a legend that no one would believe, even if it was written down in history. Of course Noll thought that Grid was excited.

  At that moment, Piaro opened his mouth instead of Grid.

  “It is a good idea to serve King Grid. Work in the field with me.”

  “….$!@##…”

  Noll couldn’t help cursing. This crazy Sword Saint kept pretending to be a farmer and was treating him as a fool was very unpleasant for Noll to deal with. Noll liked Grid, but was hostile towards Piaro.

  Chapter 732

  Chapter 732

  ‘What? What is this?’

  ‘What is this situation?’

  A perfect chance! Grid, in conjunction with Piaro, Asmophel, and Maxong, had a great chance to end the battle. As they saw the health gauge go down, the Overgeared members were looking forward to what items would drop. But what was happening? Grid didn’t deal the final blow to Noll. He stopped the attack at the last moment.

  “Purification!”

  Saintess Ruby thought that Grid was affected by a status condition. She hurriedly used Purification on him but it didn’t work.

  [Target is in a normal condition.]

  The notification window popped up and Purification didn’t work.

  “Oppa…?”

  Surely he wasn’t disconnected? Would her brother start a lawsuit against the Internet company? Ruby’s worry was realistic since she knew Grid’s personality better than anyone. It was at that moment.

  “…I am able to live thanks to you. My remaining life will be given to you. I will prove my value and repay your favor by your side.”

  As Grid was frozen, Noll bowed humbly towards Grid. At this moment, goosebumps spread over the skin of all Overgeared members, including Ruby.

  ‘Direct descendant…’

  ‘Taming?’

  It was an incredible result! The Overgeared members couldn’t understand the situation. It was natural. It was a common thought in Satisfy that even the famous tamers couldn’t tame named grade bosses. However, the non-tamer Grid made a named boss his subordinate. It was a scene that completely violated common sense.

  The moment that everyone was feeling stunned.

  “Truly God Grid!”

  “As expected from My Lord!”

  “Kukukuk…! Your benevolence can even capture the heart of a monster?”

  Peak Sword, Huroi, Lauel. The famous Grid worship trio started to praise Grid.

  “The correlation between the Blood King Candidate title and showing mercy results is the gratitude of the direct descendants? This is a method that only Grid who has a complete understanding of Satisfy’s world view and setting can implement! Truly God Grid!! The pride of South Korea!”

  “My Lord has already captured the hearts of many named NPCs… It isn’t strange for him to capture a monster’s heart. It’s a tremendous accomplishment that transcends my imagination by taming a direct descendant. I respect you, Mr Lord!”

  “Kukukuk… I have noticed since His Majesty tamed the evil eyes. His power that penetrates the past and former is invaluable. Kukukuk…!”

  Peak Sword, Huroi, and Lauel overrated Grid more than necessary and arbitrarily interpreted the situation.

  “Ah… Um.”

  Grid tried to deny the truth only to shut up. Tens of thousands of soldiers were watching him enviously. If he told them the truth then they would be disappointed. In the end.

  “Hahaha! Well, that’s right. Your interpretation is right. I figured out how to grab Noll’s heart and put it into action. Thanks to Noll’s cooperation, things are going as planned.”

  “Ohhhhhh!”

  “Hooray King Grid!”

  “Hooray Overgeared King! Hooray Overgeared King!”

  Tens of thousands of soldiers began to praise Grid. Every one of them felt more respectful of Grid than before.

  ‘…I will tell the truth to my teammates later.’

  Grid ignored the bright eyes of the soldiers and organized the army.

  ***

  ‘It’s better.’

  Grid expected to gain experience, items, and a new power for his rune by raiding Noll. From his point of view, he had to blame Pangea’s Duke of Virtue. It hadn’t been activated once since he acquired it. No, Grid had been hoping the damn title wouldn’t activate. He had been very angry when he was unable to raid Noll when it activated at the final blow. It was the feeling of experience, items, and a new rune power flying away. But the subsequent development caused Grid to change his mind.

  Noll declared that he would follow Grid. It was an earl class direct descendant! Experience, items, and a rune power weren’t things to obsess over. In the first place, what did Grid most want to gain by hunting a direct descendant? It was a direct descendant summoning item.

  However, it was very difficult to raise the rating of a summoning item. Even if he later achieved the rating and summoned a direct descendant, the level of the direct descendant would be initialized. There was also a duration to the summoning. It was like normal pets.

  But Noll became Grid’s subordinate while he was alive. Grid could obtain the loyalty of a direct descendant with no penalty. In particular, Noll was a strong supporter comparable to Asmophel and Piaro. Grid was already looking forward to how strong he would make the Overgeared Kingdom. It was as if he had obtained thousands of troops.

  “Hrmm.”

  Grid smiled as he faced Noll. Grid looked at him with pure eyes that were filled with affection.

  “Noll, I’m a human who you vampires think of as livestock. Can you truly serve me?”

  It was a matter of concern. Grid asked seriously and Noll answered without hesitation.

  “I decided to serve you because you acknowledged my existence. I don’t care what your species is.”

  Grid was a person who acknowledged him. Noll felt thankful to Grid for giving him the opportunity to prove his worth.

  “I promise on my mother’s name that I won’t look down on you because you are a human or loo
k at you as an object to eat. Only.”

  “Only?”

  “I don’t know about other humans. You know that my food is human blood.”

  Suruk.

  Noll looked at Grid’s teammates and soldiers that were far away. There was a strong desire in his eyes. Hunger. Noll recognized all humans as prey except for Grid. It was inevitable. Eat and be eaten. It was the intrinsic relationship between vampire and human.

  ‘Yes…’

  Grid became unhappy as he faced the unrealistic problem. There was a need to constantly provide Noll with humans for food.

  ‘If the rumor spreads that the king of a kingdom placed a vampire near him and feeds him humans spread…’

  Grid’s reputation would certainly fall. It would be used as a propaganda tool by other kingdoms and he would lose public opinion. Grid had a headache as he pulled out the King’s Sword.

  ‘Character Observation.’

  Ttiring~

  Name: Noll

  Age: 219 years old Gender: Male

  Species: Direct Descendant Vampire

  Title: Fourth Child of Shizo Beriache

  * Has inherited Beriache’s attribute of compassion. Can use blood magic that has a beneficial effect on his allies.

  Title: Vampire who has Overcome the Curse of Idleness.

  *Has a strong desire for life. If his health falls below 10%, he will become a coward. He will lose his purpose and only strive to survive.

  * Has a strong desire to broaden his horizons. He will actively want to learn.

  Title: A Predator

  * Once hungry, his true power will be exerted. The current hunger level is 5/10.

  Level: 433

  Strength: 3,500 (▼) Stamina: 2,449 (▼)

  Agility: 1,980 (▼) Intelligence: 3,500 (▼)

  Skills: Direct Suppression (SS), Blood Transfusion (S), Blood Donation (SS), Blood Magic (S+), Run Wild (SSS)

  A child who Shizo Beriache particularly loved. Beriache was excited about the attribute of compassion sleeping deep in Noll’s heart. She hoped he would give great strength to his brethren and to overcome trials with his brethren. But like the other direct descendants, Noll couldn’t meet Beriache’s expectations. The Curse of Idleness was to blame.

  Noll was terribly bitter about this fact.

  [Run Wild]

  The cooldown of all magic will be 3 seconds. However, mana consumption will double.

  “Wow.”

  Grid couldn’t help exclaiming. It was because Noll’s stats were much higher than expected.

  ‘How strong is he in a full state?’

  Of course, it was weak compared to Noll in boss mode. In boss mode, Noll boasted a health of tens of millions. This was tens or hundreds of times higher than it was now. However, it was obvious that the stats of a boss and a NPC would be different.

  ‘An existence who is strong as an enemy becomes weaker as a friend.’

  This rule was thoroughly applied to every game!

  ‘Given this rule, Noll is much stronger than I expected.’

  Thus, it was more regrettable. The fact that Noll was a vampire. Grid sighed and Noll asked, “What happened? Is there a problem?”

  “I wonder if you can eat food other than human blood. As you know, I am a human king. I can’t give humans to you as food.”

  “Why?”

  “Isn’t it a moral problem?”

  “Moral…? I don’t understand this concept. In any case, there is one food that can be eaten instead of human blood.”

  “What is it?”

  There was no need to kill anyone! Grid’s eyes shone was lanterns as Noll explained.

  “Elixir. I can eat elixir when there is no human blood.”

  “Ah, is that why you drop elixirs occasionally? It is the concept of carrying it as emergency food and then dropping it…”

  Grid’s bright face turned dark again. He couldn’t afford to give elixir as food. Noll reacted to Grid’s deep sigh.

  “My food isn’t a problem for you to care about. I can procure my own food. It is enough to hunt humans.”

  “That is the problem.”

  The reason why Grid thought it was necessary to procure food for Noll was to prevent him from running wild. It would cause great confusion if Noll randomly hunted humans in Reinhardt.

  “Human blood… How much do you have to eat until you are full?”

  Grid asked in a blunt manner.

  Noll replied honestly. “If I sleep, I can starve for decades. But I need blood equivalent to three people to work properly for a day. To be in a full state, I have to eat 100 servings of blood.”

  “What happens to the people you suck the blood of?”

  “They die or become a vampire.”

  “…Can’t the blood be drawn separately and placed in a cup?”

  “It is meaningless since it isn’t fresh.”

  “Oh.”

  Noll was worth an army of thousands but there were many restrictions. As Grid was feeling confused, Piaro approached.

  “Don’t worry about the vampire’s food, Your Majesty.”

  “Piaro…? Do you have a solution?”

  Grid was looking forward to it while Noll snorted. He was laughing at the idea that the madman pretending to be a farmer could solve the food shortage. Piaro smiled.

  “I think it is possible to use this city’s soil to grow plants with a lot of blood. The vampires can eat them.”

  “What…?”

  Noll was astonished. Plants?

  “Vampire…! In addition, I am a direct descendant. I can’t be a vegetarian!”

  Noll raised his voice from this absurd nonsense and Piaro laughed.

  “But what if you can’t drink human blood?”

  “I’d rather drink the elixir…!”

  “No, being vegetarian is good.”

  “Hey!”

  “Then shall we start farming?”

  “This crazy bastard…!”

  “…I added one more noisy person.”

  It was even an old grandfather. Grid was seriously worried if his body gave off the smell of a old bachelor.

  Chapter 733

  Chapter 733

  Grid highly appreciated Noll’s value. At least in the field of combat, he was superior to Piaro. Not only were his stats superior to Piaro, he also had great healing skills and defense buffs. Above all, there was one thing Grid liked.

  ‘He has a strong desire for survival.’

  The reason why Grid was reluctant to participate in battle with named NPCs like Piaro and Asmophel was because their lives were finite. Unlike players, they couldn’t be resurrected. Grid didn’t want to lose them. However, Piaro and Asmophel had the chivalrous spirit of a knight. They threw away their lives too easily for Grid. Grid was afraid. He didn’t want to let them go to war.

  Noll was completely different from them. His motivation for life was too strong. If he was in danger he would forget his purpose and retreat. Some people would mock him for being a coward. But Grid’s thoughts were completely different. He considered it worthy of praise to cherish your life, not criticism.

  ‘I can use him without being burdened… No, I should send him to war.’

  Grid’s expectations were amplified as he envisioned Noll taking over the battlefield as a general of the Overgeared Kingdom. His heart pounded. Imagine it. A named NPC. The shockwave that would occur when the world found out that a direct descendant became a user’s subordinate!

  ‘Ah, they will make a fuss again.’

  Grid laughed. His shoulders and nose had already risen into the air. It wasn’t a bluff. He was proud of his new achievements.

  ‘Anyway…’

  The smile disappeared from Grid’s face. He was reminded that there was a real problem with Noll. It was the food problem.

  ‘…I have no choice but to do what Piaro said.’

  Piaro was certain that he could grow new crops here in the vampire city and these crops would be Noll’s food. Grid was forced to
look forward to it. The determined Grid spoke to Noll who was still roaring at Piaro.

  “Noll, for the moment, help in the field by Piaro’s side.”

  “What?”

  Noll’s face became pale.

  A vampire. He was an earl yet he was expected to work in the fields? Noll couldn’t imagine it so it must be a joke.

  “Bah! I’m not accustomed to the pun in human words!”

  He was certain that Grid was joking. Grid explained to him.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m serious. It can’t be helped. I’m afraid of what will happen if you go outside in this state.”

  “Shit… This is a moral issue? Don’t worry about it. I won’t hurt your people. I will take the people of other kingdoms as food.”

  “No, it will cause a diplomatic problem. And in the long run, it’s better to solve your food problem.”

  “Kuk…!” Noll gritted his teeth. He was really angry. “You’re going to make me work in the field because you fear for the lives of a few humans? Don’t you know my value? My power! I am a powerful force! It’s a power that can make you the ruler of the human world! Yet you want me to work in the fields?

  “…”

  Grid could understand why Noll was offended. Grid’s pride would be hurt if he was in Noll’s position. But what could he do?

  “Humans have their own circumstances and society has its own rules. You should understand this part if you have to live with humans in the future.”

  “I understand what you mean! But working in the field is too much!!”

  “…”

  Grid flinched at Noll’s words and whispered to Piaro, “I also think it is a little too much. Making a direct vampire work in the fields… Do you really need Noll’s power for farming?”

  “Yes, that’s right.” Piaro answered without any hesitation. “A vampire’s blood will be a great help in growing new crops. In addition, field work is a good experience for learning how to live in the human world, as well as cultivating the mind and body.”

  “R-Really…”

  Grid’s confidence in Piaro was absolute. Grid nodded without denying it and asked something he was curious about.

  “By the way, how is the golden walnut cultivation going?’

  “There is no answer yet.”

  “Yes… It won’t be easy.”