Overgeared

by Park Saenal

  “The reward?”

  “What about the reward?”

  The employees were agitated. Wasn’t Grid already given compensation when he had killed the clone in the past? Would he be given rewards again?

  [Player Grid has cleared the 41st island.]

  [Player Grid has acquired one skill level point from the mission clear reward.]

  [Player Grid has acquired the skill ‘Blacksmith’s Eyes.’]

  “What is this? How did it end up like this?”

  “Did the system judge code name 214098 as being on the Behen Archipelago? And so, it gave the compensation for beating the 41st island?”

  “Hasn’t Grid already received the rewards for clearing the 41st island? Isn’t this an error?”

  This was bad. It was clear that a system error had occurred ever since the existence, that was supposed to only exist in the Behen Archipelago, had entered the open world. The reputation of the supercomputer Morpheus would decrease.

  “No, Morpheus will make amends to the rewards under the ‘user motivation’ clause.” Chairman Lim Cheolho appeared at this time to explain. “Satisfy is a world created by people to achieve dreams that they can’t achieve in reality. Efforts must be rewarded. It is unlike irrational reality.”

  Killing monsters would give items. This was simple. Grid had to be rewarded because he succeeded in raiding the clone and the rewards given by the clone were limited. As a result, Grid would be rewarded again.

  “In any case, it is great…” Lim Cheolho smiled as he watched the heavily wounded young man on the monitor. Several of his accomplishments (even if they were unintended) had saved humanity, making Grid comparable to the Hero King. “A hero falls from the heavens…”

  If he continued to grow then wouldn’t he play an active role on the East Continent? The yangbans of the Hwan Kingdom grew at a rate several times faster than Grid. Some corrupted royalty were dominated by them and the yangbans ruled the continent. They would give players a big crisis and wouldn’t they deal a bitter cup of hardships to Grid?

  The reason why Chairman Lim Cheolho was so excited about Grid was due to Grid’s tendencies. He was a person who became stronger every day but never collapsed. He wasn’t shaken by the temptation that accompanied enormous power because he cared for his family and companions. Thus, Chairman Lim Cheolho thought that Grid was very reliable.

  ‘You are more than you seem.’ Did he know?

  Yoon Nahee watched with an interested expression as Lim Cheolho watched Grid on the monitor with gratitude in his eyes.

  [The compensation for Player Grid has been deemed insufficient. The compensation’s contents are changed from Blacksmith’s Eyes to ‘Code Name 214098’ Eyes.]

  “W-What?”

  Both the team members and Chairman Lim Cheolho freaked out. The eyes of code name 214098, which meant the eyes of Grid’s clone…

  [The player needs to be given an intuitive sense of the skill. Changing the name ‘Code Name 214098’ Eyes to Eyes of Pagma-Baal’s Contractor Version.]

  It was Baal’s gift. The 1st Great Demon Baal was the one who boasted the best artificial intelligence in Satisfy. He sent the clone to Earth purely for his own amusement, presenting the clone with a power that he had given to Pagma in the past. They were Pagma’s Eyes, otherwise known as the blacksmithing vision skill that the clone possessed!

  “Did you predict this?” Team Leader Yoon Nahee carefully asked him.

  “It would be terribly arrogant if I said yes. How can I predict what will happen in Satisfy?” Chairman Lim Cheolho shook his head.

  Team Leader Yoon Nahee was concerned. “Is it okay if Grid gets Pagma’s Eyes, one of the most powerful skills in the whole world?”

  Lim Cheolho retorted with another question. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Huh…?”

  “It’s a power that players should’ve been able to obtain in the first place.”

  This was, of course, ignoring the fact that it was seven years ahead of schedule. Chairman Lim Cheolho swallowed down these words while the doubtful Yoon Nahee asked another question,

  “What about the gap between players? Kraugel has concluded the seven malignant saints quest, gained Qualification of a Blood King, and possesses the power of the great demons. This allowed him to narrow the gap with Grid. However, now Grid has Pagma’s Eyes. The gap between Kraugel and Grid has once again widened, while Agnus is unable to proceed with the seven malignant saints quest to completion. Haster, who was supposed to be tied with Grid, is now likely to be below Grid after Grid obtained Pagma’s eyes. In the end, it is hard to find a user who can fight against Grid.”

  “Won’t the gap just narrow again? Grid’s growth is already moving towards the final stages while the other players haven’t entered the intermediate stages yet.”

  In the end, Grid would become stagnant and people would catch up to him. These were the thoughts of the Kim Gun, second in command in the operations team. He saw the matter of the gap between players as a problem that would be solved with time.

  However, Yoon Nahee gave a different opinion. “On what basis do you think that Grid’s growth is in the final stages? Is it because he doesn’t have many class quests remaining? Is it because he received most of Pagma’s hidden pieces? No… As long as Grid continues to make new and powerful items, his growth will never end.”

  Even if Kim Gun’s thoughts were correct…

  “The problem now is the upcoming 4th National Competition. Without a single opponent to stop Grid in the National Competition, there will be an adverse effect.”

  “Ah, yes…”

  That’s right. If this continued, at least three events would be considered Grid’s win and would reduce the public’s interest. Kim Gun made an embarrassed expression and Yoon Nahee sighed.

  “We can’t restore the balance like we can with the NPCs.”

  It wasn’t just games but novels and movies. It was inevitable that too strong beings would be suppressed in the interest of drama. However, the person involved was a player. There would be a big problem if the management suppressed those who built up their strength through individual efforts.

  “The next National Competition.” The silently listening Lim Cheolho finally gave his opinion, “The new event, ‘Demon King’s Subjugation,’ will be added. How about we ask Grid to take the role of the adversary?”

  “Huh…?”

  It was an unexpected remark! Lim Cheolho laughed at the baffled Yoon Nahee and Kim Gun. “Piaro, Mercedes, Asmophel, and the true blood vampire Noll… Doesn’t Grid have many powerful, demon-like subordinates?”

  “…?”

  What? How did he even come up with this idea? Chairman Lim Cheolho’s bright smile made Yoon Nahee uneasy.

  “We will add the ‘Defeat the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings’ mission to the event. On the National Competition’s server, make Grid the demon king, his subordinates the four heavenly kings, and have the players defeat them. In addition, the viewers and participants shouldn’t be aware of the identity of the demon king and the four heavenly kings. It will be a surprise event.”

  “It’s an interesting idea, but you’re only thinking about it from the view of the management. Will Grid even accept the suggestion when he is a player? It doesn’t make much sense for him to participate when he won’t win medals…”

  “Why can’t he win medals? Every time the demon king and four heavenly kings win, Grid will get a medal.”

  “U…Umm…”

  Yoon Nahee and Kim Gun couldn’t refute Chairman Lim Cheolho’s absurd idea. Was it because they were afraid of losing their jobs? No. The chairman’s idea would contribute greatly to the success of the competition. In particular, it was good to hide that Grid was the demon king.

  “If we change the name and effects of the skills that Grid uses, there won’t be much trouble concealing his identity. How about it? Isn’t it great?”

  “U…Umm…”

  Yoon Nahee and Kim Gun could
n’t deny it. Yes, the present Grid was such an unparalleled presence that he could be called the demon king. Of course, this was just among players.

  ‘It is a good balance since the other Five Miracles, apart from Kraugel, won’t participate in the competition.’

  The smile on Lim Cheolho’s mouth widened. The Satisfy National Competition paved the way for players to evolve from participating in the competition to actually being in the competition!

  ***

  “Waaaaaaaah!”

  “God Grid! God Grid!! God Grid!!”

  Shouts filled the city that had been partly destroyed by the splendid and fierce battle. People were fascinated by Grid’s power that knocked down his clone, who had threatened high rankers alone. Grid’s irises turned blue. His once black eyes, reminiscent of obsidian, now contained the deep sea.

  “Ah…ahhh…!”

  Flop! While the Murray Kingdom soldiers, knights and players were cheering, Lauel alone fell to his knees. It felt like he lost all strength in his legs once he saw that Grid had pupils similar to characters in cartoons.

  “I’m…I’m envious…”

  “…”

  Grid ignored the crying Lauel and checked the information of the newly acquired skill.

  [Eyes of Pagma-Baal’s Contractor Version Lv. 1]

  You can check and copy the stats, options and production method just by looking at the target item.

  However, in order to copy the item, you must use an item that you have created yourself. In addition, the difference in rating of the target item and the item used as the material must be within one grade. The item used as the material can’t be recovered.

  * Skills that belong to the target item might not be copied.

  * The duration of the duplication is one day. The copied item that has reached the end of this duration will be permanently destroyed.

  Skill Resource Consumption: One item.

  Skill Cooldown Time: 1 hour.

  * Pagma’s Eyes, which were able to check the information of the target item just by looking at it, evolved as soon as Pagma contracted with 1st Great Demon Baal.

  Under the contract, Baal could intervene with Pagma’s soul and give Pagma more power. This power was later transmitted to Pagma’s Descendant.

  “…”

  Grid wanted to secure pavranium. However, the God Hands didn’t drop and he failed to secure pavranium. He got something much bigger than pavranium.

  Duguen! Duguen!

  Grid’s heartbeat accelerated after discovering that the new skill had endless versatility.

  “Eyes… I also…”

  Lauel looked like a child as he cried in the corner.

  Chapter 909

  The first legendary class, Pagma’s Descendant, was the most well-known hidden class to the public. People believed that Pagma’s Descendant was the best class. They were jealous of Grid because they evaluated it as an all-powerful class, providing him with a combat power that rivaled a Sword Saint while allowing him to make legendary items randomly.

  This was a misunderstanding though. Pagma’s Descendant wasn’t perfect. It had disadvantages and advantages, just like every class. It had the strong penalty of only being able to make items ‘manually’, and the utility of the combat skills was low compared to combat classes.

  Yes, the reason for the bias about Pagma’s Descendant being the strongest class was purely due to Grid. It was a bias created by Grid’s tenacity as he had spent many hours doing ‘manual work’ to create one item, and he had repeated this more than a thousand times.

  Honestly, the S.A Group had a high appreciation of Grid. The S.A Group employees believed that if an ordinary person had obtained Pagma’s Descendant, it was unlikely that Pagma’s Descendant would be recognized as the strongest class. It was natural. How many people could repeat the same hard blacksmithing work for hours, days, and years? It was something that had to be done hundreds or thousands of times. Who could do it?

  “At the very least, I wouldn’t be able to. I would be under great stress every time I made an item if I had to work like this. My mental state wouldn’t last. Of course, that doesn’t mean it is impossible. I could devote my heart and concentrate if it was for the sake of making money or making my equipment. However, I would only be able to do this occasionally,” the 1st ranked blacksmith Panmir asserted this in front of thousands of players in the capital of the Overgeared Kingdom, Reinhardt.

  “Grid is worthy of respect.”

  “Come to think of it…”

  “It is never easy.”

  “Is this true? All production classes enjoy the advantage of the automatic production system yet the person who is called the legendary blacksmith doesn’t have it?”

  “Panmir wouldn’t lie. He is the one who suffered the biggest damage because of Grid. Would he lie to defend Grid?”

  “That’s right. Grid’s abilities are real. The skills he showed in the National Competition prove that he has done manual work more than once or twice.”

  These players were all blacksmiths. They were the thousands of blacksmiths who had moved to the Overgeared Kingdom since Grid received the blessing of the blacksmith god, Hexetia.

  “You might not be convinced right now, but you will know once you watch from the sidelines. You will surely learn a lot from Grid. However, you also need to be helpful to Grid.” Panmir gave this speech and praised Grid as a ‘greeting’ every time new blacksmiths came. There was only one thing he demanded from new blacksmiths. “Work hard! Grow as much as possible, and you will be rewarded at the end! Under Grid’s teachings, you will someday become a craftsman!”

  “Ohhhh!”

  Rewards would surely follow. The faith that Panmir instilled in them stimulated the enthusiasm of the new blacksmiths. Their motivation was…

  “Blacksmiths, please don’t register the items you make on the exchange. Sell them to the Overgeared Kingdom. Not only will we buy your work at a more expensive price but I will also pay you a separate national contribution.” Lauel thoroughly took advantage of this.

  He noted that most of the blacksmith players had moved to the Overgeared Kingdom.

  ‘This incident has led to a blacksmith famine in all kingdoms except for our Overgeared Kingdom. If the Overgeared Kingdom owns the bulk of items that are produced…’

  The result was obvious. They would be able to take control of the market. There was a foundation for excessive profits.

  “Kuk… Kukukuk! Very soon, all players will be wearing Overgeared Kingdom products.”

  Good. In the future, their accumulation of wealth would be far beyond that of other powers. Lauel had only one regret.

  “…The absence of the eyes.”

  It was a terrible shame that his eyes didn’t shine when bathed in the moonlight even while his demon brain worked on squeezing the world. Lauel was frustrated. He couldn’t forget the blue eyes Grid had obtained just a few hours ago.

  ***

  Grid’s eyes weren’t that special when he looked in the mirror. His dark eyes had a ring of pale blue.

  “Pagma’s Eyes.”

  The moment the skill was used, the ring of blue thickened and gave off a subtle glow. The mysterious harmony with the silver crown on the black hair gave him an unusual appearance. He was overflowing with a charm that made men and women admire him. However, Grid himself wasn’t excited. It was because Grid didn’t love his own appearance. He didn’t care about how his eyes changed and only considered the realistic parts.

  ‘Can I use the effect of the Slaughterer’s Eye Patch in this state?’

  [The Slaughterer’s Eye Patch is being worn.]

  ‘It is possible.’

  Grid turned off the eyes and was deep in thought again.

  ‘Using the goddess’ blessing on blacksmithing will activate the production button.’

  It was stated that the item production speed would increase significantly when automatically making an item. Grid’s existing efficiency could evolve in sca
le from a family business to a factory.

  ‘I am worried about depending on the production button because the probability of making high rated items will fall.’

  Now, he could relax.

  ‘If I have the Blacksmith Hammer to Go Against the Gods, I will be able to make items with a higher rating than epic, and I can copy a higher rated item using Pagma’s Eyes.’

  Theoretically, Grid could have a small elite unit armed with legendary items.

  ‘I can temporarily create the greatest power that can raid a great demon…’

  Duguen! Duguen! Duguen! Grid’s heart beating like crazy since he knew the power of legendary rated items. The goddess’ blessing, Pagma’s Eyes, and Blacksmith Hammer to Go Against the Gods were like fantastic magic that excited Grid. A splendor similar to the legendary great magician Braham and Undefeated King Madra surrounded his body.

  ‘…It is a different form of power, but am I not laying the foundation to be on the same level as them?’

  A strength comparable to that of the powerful legends of the past… His heart thumped. ‘I’m really scared.’

  Grid had been working for many years without giving up. He was thankful to the heavens that gave him good luck. In particular, he was thankful to the colleagues who trusted him and joined him.

  “Everybody… Thank you.”

  That’s right. Grid, who evolved further and saw new heights, was reminded of his colleagues. He believed that he had been able to grow because of his colleagues.

  ‘It’s true. I would’ve never been able to reach this far alone.’

  Grid had found stability in his heart and gained honor with Yura’s heart, and he had founded the Overgeared Guild with Jishuka’s help. Additionally, he had raised his power and intelligence with Lauel’s help and realized that he should refrain from cursing thanks to Huroi. There were also the many colleagues that made Grid who he was now. Grid felt responsible to them.

  ‘I will surely return the favor to all of you.’

  Other people would think it was an absurd vow. The help Grid had given his colleagues was much greater than the help he had received from them. Yet he wanted to repay them? This was due to the difference in status. Grid believed that he had received much more than what he had given to his colleagues.