Overgeared

by Park Saenal

  “This is… This is like being bitten by a dog I raised.”

  Immortal was his force! These guys did nothing, even Agnus! Veradin’s voice shook angrily as he raised his head and shouted, “Summon! Death Knight!”

  Veradin was in an extreme state of anxiety. He had to keep in mind that the necromancers who betrayed him might surrender to Grid and lead him to this place.

  ‘I have to leave here quickly!’

  Veradin commanded his death knight to kill Bullet.

  “Summon, Death Knight.” In response, Bullet also summoned a death knight. The unexpected battle between the first and second-ranked necromancers began.

  ***

  “Dammit! How do I fix this?”

  Unlike what was known in the past, had Grid been a magician before he changed to Pagma’s Descendant? As Grid suddenly started using magic to kill the soldiers, Kir felt a sense of discomfort. This was because the undead army that rose again had started to retreat from Grid.

  ‘Is there a separate operation?’

  Veradin might’ve died in vain, but Immortal had many necromancer rankers besides Veradin. Kir relied on Immortal sincerely. He thought that when they cooperated with his troops, there would be a chance to win against Grid who was becoming tired. Yet a strange phenomenon occurred. The undead army gained a bit of distance from Grid before suddenly collapsing and returning to the earth.

  “What is the problem?”

  “…”

  Kir shouted toward Immortal, but there was no response. No one answered Kir’s call. Bit by bit, little by little, the Immortal members stepped back while trying not to catch Grid’s attention. Kir cried out, “You dared come here only to one-sidedly destroy the alliance?”

  His eyes blazed with anger.

  “The person who made the alliance with you just left the guild,” Drew explained as he came up to Kir. “That jerk Veradin abandoned the guild and moved alone. We no longer have a reason to fight.”

  “…I don’t know the details but aren’t you being too relaxed? You have already attacked Grid. Do you think Grid will take care of you because you aren’t fighting? In the end, you have to fight in order to survive. Stop talking nonsense and summon the undead again. Stop the monster called Grid along with the soldiers.”

  Drew shrugged at Kir, who barely contained the curse words that wanted to emerge because of his frustration. “Of course, I don’t believe it will be easy. However, I am already prepared.”

  “…?”

  “In the future, we will die until Grid’s anger is released. I just hope that Grid can release it quickly.”

  “You will go that far?”

  Drew replied to Kir’s question, “Isn’t that the only answer? Haven’t you noticed yet? Is Grid an enemy we can go against at our level?”

  “…”

  The last spell finally exploded. Grid destroyed dozens of soldiers with just one Fireball, put away his staff, and pulled out his sword. His period of raised intelligence caused by Soul Ingestion was over, and his mana was completely exhausted. He could no longer act as a magician. Despite this, to Immortal and Kir, it seemed like Grid was just ‘playing’ around.

  “He isn’t satisfied slaughtering with magic, so he is using a sword again…”

  Kir listened to Drew’s analysis and gulped. He was on the verge of losing his fighting spirit. Then Arisa rushed to Kir’s side. “Grid is quite tired and his stamina will be low. I am sure that he can be cornered right now. Isn’t Tarot coming?”

  The half-demonkin Tarot was the most expensive person hired by Kir’s Company. He had been killed by a surprise attack right after Grid appeared, but Arisa didn’t doubt that his fighting spirit would be high after he resurrected. Kir met Arisa’s hopeful eyes and shook her head with a bitter expression. “He hasn’t replied to my whispers.”

  “…” Arisa fell silent.

  The reason why she hadn’t lost hope was that she believed in Tarot’s power. Why would Tarot suddenly not reply? The hope that filled her scattered in vain. Grid was approaching. Whenever he took one step, dozens of soldiers were turned to gray. The power of the intermittent black flame explosions was amazing. It was an infinitely activated skill.

  They didn’t know what the structure of Grid’s skill tree was like. So, in the end, Kir was forced to put down everything. He ordered Arisa to stop the troops and approached Grid. “This is a one-sided invasion, a cruel massacre. If today’s disaster is revealed, public opinion toward you will worsen. There will be all types of accusations.”

  It was a threat that was meant to end this situation. No matter how mighty the forces were, ‘standing alone’ would cause fear. As such, Kir wanted to negotiate, but unfortunately, his intimidation didn’t work.

  Grid scoffed and tilted his chin toward a distant place. “Do you think I just came here to play? Some crazy guy used Blackening and rushed at me. Then the soldiers attacked? I was just defending myself when Immortal popped up? All those things are now being streamed live.”

  “…!” The surprised Kir turned his gaze in the direction that Grid indicated. The world’s most famous game BJ, Bunny Bunny, waved to him. Grid’s eyes became cold. “The cost of challenging me is very great.”

  “Ick…! Eeek!” Kir just wanted to protect his minimum rights. Now his eyes turned yellow as he heard Grid’s words.

  Chapter 844

  Chapter 844

  Grid was as aggressive as he was strong, and he wasn’t wise as he was intoxicated with his own power. He was the type of person who was blinded by immediate gains and lost the bigger profits. His cruel violence expressed in the name of decisiveness was enough to cause disgust, and he was perfect at antagonizing people.

  So far, this was Kir’s evaluation of Grid. Right now, Grid reigned with a strong force, but he would become isolated and be destroyed sooner than expected. Kir didn’t expect Grid to last for very long. Nevertheless, what was the truth? Kir’s spine became freezing cold as he saw Bunny Bunny. He was forced to evaluate Grid differently.

  ‘He is clever!’

  No, Grid wasn’t smart. It was clearly the influence of Lauel, who founded the Overgeared Kingdom. There was no weakness in Grid with the genius called Lauel behind him. After Kir realized that Grid had decided to take away everything he owned, he experienced a deep frustration and lost all hope. He fell into despair and questioned it, “What’s the difference between you and me?”

  “…?”

  “At least I didn’t slaughter the elves. I didn’t kill a single elf until you interrupted me. On the other hand, what about you? Now you have slaughtered hundreds of soldiers in dozens of minutes. What? You respect NPCs? You are better than me because I took the elves as prisoners? A murderer like you hates me and rescued the elves?”

  “Oh, it is an obvious story.”

  “…?”

  Many years ago, Grid was performing a time attack quest to wipe out Pope Candidate Pascal and the Vatican elders, causing him to overlook the deaths of prostitutes. The prostitutes had been used as shields to threaten Grid, but he had ignored them and they were then killed by the elders.

  No, let’s go back in time further than that. On the first day he encountered Khan, Grid casually killed the local gangsters who threatened him and Khan.

  “I have my own standards. I never said that I respect all NPCs.” Grid was someone who agonized over and over about the existence of NPCs. He pointed to the civilians hiding in the streets. “Look. I didn’t kill those people.”

  “You—!” It was impossible to intimidate or even criticize Grid. His deep selfishness meant that not even these words had an effect. Kir became less composed. His eyes became bloodstained as he shouted, “You! Do you think you are a god? How can you be so selfish?”

  Grid doubted his ears. “What are you saying? Aren’t you the one who thinks you are a god?”

  “…?”

  “Haven’t you been acting like one? You captured weak people without hesitation. You did this because yo
u thought you were a god.”

  “S-Sophistry!”

  “Yes, it’s sophistry. Don’t make a broad analysis of a simple matter.”

  “I am what?” Kir found it hard to understand the Korean manner of speaking. Kir frowned while Grid aimed a sword at his neck and declared, “Stop your attacks now.”

  “???” What nonsense was Grid saying? Kir was stunned. Why was the one-sided slaughterer telling him to stop attacking? “Shouldn’t I say that to you?”

  “No, don’t I have the right to defend myself? Stop the attacks. Then I will stop mine.”

  ‘This jerk!’

  Grid was conscious of the camera right till the end. Acting like a victim, he was being really hateful right now. Still, Grid gave Kir one last chance. “Please surrender. Then I will leave this city without taking it away from you.”

  “…” It was just the city. In other words, he would take away everything outside the city. Kir wasn’t particularly surprised. He had expected Grid to come here with that type of mindset. “…Are you going to take away all my merchandise?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is beyond common sense. One day, the world will discover what you have done to me and criticize you. Then the Overgeared Kingdom might become isolated.”

  “I know.”

  All types of maneuvers would occur before the Overgeared Kingdom was established. Many forces wanted to take away the Overgeared Kingdom’s rice bowl because they were strong, so there would be an alliance that would try to destroy the Overgeared Guild. The threat would come anyway, so it was better to become stronger than to sit silently and wait.

  “It will be dangerous if you are left alone. It is better to take your life and make it so that you are unable to recover. This is from the position of the Overgeared Kingdom. Do you understand?”

  “…” Kir didn’t say anything because he agreed with Grid. In the first place, he had also taken things away from other people in case they would strike at him again someday. Ultimately, Kir’s goal was to keep his trading rights. So, after careful consideration, Kir displayed the wit of a merchant. “I understand. I will follow your demands.”

  “Hoh?”

  “Only…”

  “Only?”

  “I want you to promise not to take away any trading rights that I gain in the future.”

  If he was forced to lose it, then he would give it to Grid. Instead, there should be a promise for his future. Grid thought for a moment before nodding. “Yes. Let’s write up a contract.”

  In fact, Grid hadn’t known that Kir would listen to his demands. He had expected to spend a great deal of time and money in order to steal the merchant’s commerce rights which were bound in the form of a ‘contract.’ Yet Kir was willing to give it all at once. Moreover, it was also good for Grid to guarantee Kir’s future.

  ‘If he loses everything and has to start again from the beginning, he won’t grow fast enough to threaten the Overgeared Kingdom.’

  Grid removed his sword and turned his gaze to the necromancers standing to one side. Grid’s face distorted as he saw them. It was a terrible expression that contained fearsome hatred and killing intent.

  “What are you doing? Are you even abandoning putting up resistance now?” Grid aimed his sword at a certain man.

  The famous ranker Drew, who was the head of the necromancers, cried out, “…Kill me!”

  Grid was flustered. The strong necromancer had retreated and given up resistance. Now, he was even handing over his neck.

  ‘Do they have some trick in mind?’

  Was it possible that the hundreds of bodies in the ground would explode the moment he approached them? Drew explained to the wary Grid, “The reason we invaded Reinhardt was purely due to Veradin’s command. But Veradin abandoned us. He left Immortal.”

  “…”

  “I don’t intend to shirk responsibility. Moreover, I am one of those who invaded Reinhardt. I’m not asking you to end your revenge now. However, I hope that you will listen to a request today.”

  “A request?”

  “Chase Veradin and kill him. We can’t stop him with our strength.”

  “…Where is he?”

  “If you go behind the castle, there will be the entrance to an underground waterway. He is running away using that place.”

  “Okay,” Grid answered before cutting Drew’s neck. The necromancers were all nervous when Drew died this time. Grid stared at them. “You were one of the ones who invaded Reinhardt? You will continue to die in the future.”

  “…”

  Grid had noticed that Immortal had been abandoned by Agnus. It was the only reason why they had lost their fighting spirit.

  ‘I didn’t see one peep of him but…’

  Grid used Quick Movements and ran toward the underground waterway.

  ***

  [You have died.]

  Tarot had been hit by Grid’s surprise attack as soon as he used Blackening. He had been stabbed by the white light and received death from the passing Grid, reviving far from his resurrection point. There was a poisonous fog that caused nausea and dizziness as well as hot lava. Tarot woke up in the middle of hell.

  “How rotten…”

  Tarot didn’t panic. Hell wasn’t unfamiliar to him since he had experiencing dying while using Blackening during a boss raid. Nevertheless, this didn’t mean it was a comfortable place for him. Despite being classified as a half-demonkin, hell was an unknown place that caused him to feel fearful.

  [You have failed to send a message to the guild. Hell is disconnected from the human world.]

  [You have failed to send a message to the guild. Hell is disconnected from the human world.]

  [The death penalty has failed to remove Blackening.]

  “Tch.”

  The duration of Tarot’s Blackening was 15 minutes. It was a much better performance than that of Grid who used Blackening through Dark Bus’ Earrings. So, what was this?

  ‘I was hit without noticing!’

  Grid’s appearance from when he cut Tarot without blinking was stuck in Tarot’s brain. Tarot had no idea there was such a difference in skill between Grid and himself.

  ‘I was a frog in the well.’ Facing reality, Tarot burned with motivation rather than frustration. ‘The fact that I am still weak means I can become stronger. Grid, it will be different the next time we meet.’

  Tarot was a weed-like man. No matter how he was trampled on, he would jump up again. This process had been repeated hundreds of times, allowing Tarot to reach who he was today.

  “Let’s try hunting demonic beasts within the time limit.”

  He couldn’t waste time like this! Tarot knew that he would return once the duration of Blackening ended. Therefore, he decided to invest the remaining time in hunting. The odd thing was that there wasn’t a single beast around, as if someone had just swept through this place… It was vaguely creepy.

  Tarot was walking carefully with his weapon when he saw the back of a man in the distance. It was a man with shaggy hair and shabby attire. Tarot felt a strange sense of discomfort because he seemed to have seen this back view somewhere before.

  It looked like the back view of Grid which he’d seen when he died.

  ‘How can that be?’

  Was he crazy? Tarot desperately shook his head. The man in front of Tarot turned and asked him a question, “Question. Human?”

  “…?!!” Tarot’s heart sank as he confirmed the man’s appearance. “G-Grid…?!”

  Had he followed Tarot to hell to kill him? The man’s sword flew toward the astonished Tarot. Tarot couldn’t respond to the speed nor could he endure the power.

  “Cough!”

  [You have died.]

  [You have died two times within 24 hours and have been forcefully logged out.]

  Stabbed several times, Tarot had died in the blink of an eye. He had died twice to Grid! Tarot swore that even if there was a blade at his throat or if he was given a bunch of money, he would never be
come hostile to Grid again! On this day…

  [Title: Meeting with Grid]

  Author: Hokquah

  Contents: If you mess with Grid, he will follow you to hell and kill you. This isn’t a metaphor, it is real;;;

  A post on one of the famous Satisfy forums became a hot topic.

  The comments below were full of sarcasm.

  -Who doesn’t know this? Think about what happened to Immortal. Hell is natural for Grid’s personality. It wouldn’t be strange if he chased someone up to heaven.

  -Why would you want to taste hell by going against God Grid?

  -Are you a Penan resident? Are you a lair of crazy people?

  -I think Penan is really weird. Grid went there for sightseeing only to suddenly be attacked.

  -Author’s Comment: No, I mean he literally chased me to hell. And how is Penan crazy? That bastard invaded first.

  -Yes, you really are a crazy guy.

  -Author’s Comment: (Reports have been received and the comment is hidden).

  Chapter 845

  Chapter 845

  ‘Should I have killed all of them?’

  Veradin, Drew, Tageo, Dail, Eisto, King Dragon, and so on—this was the list of Immortal members who had invaded Reinhardt and killed the blacksmiths and soldiers. Of course, the necromancers who offered their necks to Grid a little while ago were included.

  Yet Grid hadn’t killed all of them. He felt reluctant to take away their lives when they had completely lost their fighting spirits and possessed a strong sense of regret over the past. They were different from Kir. Kir was a threat to Grid while Immortal was fragile after being abandoned by Agnus. Still, he hadn’t been able to let Drew pass since he was a representative…

  “…Tsk, I should’ve killed all of them.”

  Grid felt sorry toward Khan, who left first, and resented himself for being weakened by unnecessary sympathy. A strong killing intent filled Grid’s eyes as he rebuked himself. This killing intent was only directed toward one person.