Overgeared

There was no need to take care of the severed hand. Warm light wrapped around the wound and completely regenerated a new one. Muscles, blood vessels, bones, and flesh were restored in real time and formed the shape of a hand. Sensation started to return. Every time the staff smashed into him, he felt vivid pain. The shock promoted the flow of blood and energy. The position of the joints were correctly interlocked. Five fingers moved as expected. It was the same as before he lost it.

‘The Saintess... is it a reappearance after hundreds of years?’

Hayate had speculated that the heavenly gods were very wary of the Saintess. Then why could she be born safely? The blessing of the goddess infused in Grid’s Greed was also eye-catching. It wouldn’t be strange if the goddess’ anger poured out on Grid after he removed the Rebecca Church, but it was still fine. He even thought it was normal for the blessing to be recovered.

“Um... Thank you.” The treatment ended. Biban shook off his thoughts and expressed his gratitude to Ruby. He didn’t recklessly promise to repay her. It might be different if Ruby was a swordsman, but as the Saintess, a Sword Saint couldn’t do anything for her. There was a lot he could give as a tower member, not a Sword Saint, but... he couldn’t leave traces of the tower with outsiders.

“It is nothing. You were seriously injured by my brother, so it is natural for me to heal you.”

The surrounding commotion subsided. It was due to Grid disbanding the gathered crowd. The people remaining at the scene were Grid, Ruby, Mercedes, and Biban.

“I just had my hand cut off. I wasn’t hurt too badly. If it had been a real battle, I would’ve fought for two more days and nights in that state.”

He wasn’t saying this because of his pride or because he couldn’t accept defeat. He just pretended in a half joking manner so that Grid wouldn’t feel guilty. Biban knew that the outcome had been set the moment Grid pulled out the Falling Moon Sword. The outcome of the fight had little to do with his mental world shaking after trying to protect the witnesses. The result had just been moved up.

‘It isn’t just the moon night iron that is threatening. His growth rate is ridiculously fast compared to his talent. The original Undefeated King’s Swordsmanship was also reproduced.’

The most surprising thing was the power of the sword dances. Previously, Grid’s figure as he did the sword dances was somewhat pitiful. The forced actions of being led by the movements of the sword dances was like a child being forced into an adult’s hand.

That’s right. Not so long ago, Grid had no control over the sword dances. More essentially, the sword dance itself was a problem. There were many worthless actions because the sword dances were just a means of doing a ritual. It wasn’t controllable and efficient, so Grid was held back by this part.

Now it was different. Grid was on the verge of changing the form of the sword dances to his taste. It was more like swordsmanship. It was only for one person in the world. It was swordsmanship suitable only for the man called Grid. It was transcendent because it had a form that couldn’t be reproduced with the human body structure. The swordsmanship that violated the physical laws was fast and effective. It was ferocious and destructive. It boasted a destructive power in combination with the colorful effects of the sword dances.

The reason Biban wasn’t impressed by the original swordsmanship of the Undefeated King being reproduced for the first time in hundreds of years was because Grid’s sword dances left too strong of an impression.

‘There is no deep, profound law.’

There was something flashy in the swordsmanship made by a genius. The theory based on intense inspiration displayed artistry that people couldn’t understand. The seemingly ineffective part became an anomalous advantage. However, Grid’s sword dances were developed based on knowledge and experience. It was extremely efficient. It was necessary to ignore the physical laws in order to be efficient. The result was different from the swordsmanship made by a genius, but it was difficult for other people to access it. Therefore, it was transcendent.

‘It is great swordsmanship.’

It was like the Matchless Swordsmanship. Moreover, it was the Matchless Swordsmanship chosen by Muller, that genius.

Did Sword Saint Muller learn the Matchless Swordsmanship because he couldn’t make his own swordsmanship? No. After weighing down the difference between the swordsmanship made by a genius and swordsmanship made by a master, he made the best choice. Meanwhile, the Undefeated King’s Swordsmanship was the ultimate swordsmanship created by a genius. It was swordsmanship that induced extreme force with a single swing.

In Biban’s view, Grid’s sword dance was much more attractive than that. His heart felt so before even discussing what was better.

‘He lacks manners, but the more I know him, the more I like him.’ Biban smiled pleasantly and slowly used the Matchless Swordsmanship. It was the last step to check the condition of his regenerated hand. It was perfect.

“I’m glad.” Grid watched Biban and sighed with relief. It was obvious how deeply worried he had been.

Biban patted him on the shoulder. “I might be old, but it isn’t to the extent for my junior to worry about me.”

Biban glanced at Mercedes’ eyes as he spoke. They might contain countless starlight, but they were still a pair of eyes. The mysterious thing was that these eyes, noticed by the tower members, were possessed by Grid during the duel.

The ferocious sword dance, that was like a beast’s gestures, became refined and evolved into a technique that seemed to be decades more developed. From then on, he rapidly became difficult to deal with. The tens of thousands of swords and Matchless Swordsmanship became ineffective.

Yet was it really evolution? Grid’s essence was suppressed in this form. Perhaps decades later, the ‘real’ sword dances used by Grid would be far more threatening than the sword dances of Grid who borrowed Keen Insight.

“You should refrain from borrowing her eyes in the future. There are concerns that you will form habits that don’t suit you.”

“......”

Mercedes stared coldly at Biban, who didn’t hesitate to give advice even until the last minute. Ruby saw it by chance and was startled.

Biban didn’t notice as he created a barrier. Grid and him were isolated from the world. It was for a secret conversation.

“Now, the gift I promised.” Biban pulled something out of his subspace. It was a fang as big as Biban’s height. It wasn’t a canine tooth and the tip wasn’t very sharp. There was just a slight protrusion. Nevertheless, there were strong expectations for it. The hardness was at a standard comparable to Greed.

“Life is a cycle. The body of Stone Dragon Gujel has become part of the tower. The bones and scales had become battle gear of the association members and the blood and flesh have become elixirs, giving the association members a more powerful body and mana. One of the things that remain is this fang.”

It wasn’t deliberately left behind.

“Even Radwolf couldn’t touch it because of the hardness of Gujel’s tooth. There was a way to transform it using Abellio’s painting or restrain it with the moon night iron, but they gave up because they feared the value would be damaged.”

A smile spread on Biban’s face.

“It has been a momento for a long time... now it seems this gift was arranged by the world to meet you.”

Biban didn’t discuss the gods. He saw a world higher than the gods. It was a complete confrontation with Rebecca, who claimed to create the world. It meant that the tower members distrusted the gods.

“You will be able to handle this brilliantly.”

“......”

Grid looked at the fang. Smelting was required. He should take into account the amount that would inevitably be lost during the process. It was a mass that could make two long swords or one sword and one piece of armor. It would be extravagant to make helmets or gloves with it. In any case, the performance of secondary armor wasn’t as good as the main armor, so it wasn’t first in the order.

Grid’s gaze turned to Biban’s sword. The size of the sword was reduced by one-third. It was the aftermath of the Falling Moon Sword. Grid told the calmly smiling Biban, “I’m thinking of making two swords. Biban’s sword and my sword.”

“My sword...?” Biban closed his mouth. He stared blankly at Grid for a moment. Then he glimpsed this person’s heart and laughed. “Thank you very much... I’m honored.”

“So far, you have given me a lot of gifts. I have to repay them at least once.”

“......”

Sword Saint Biban dominated as a supreme person in the world. People felt deep respect for him and worshipped him. There was no equal treatment. Biban felt deep solitude. He received numerous gifts from the people who served him, but received no consolation. It was because it was more like a tribute.

After leaving the world and joining the tower, he met similar tower members and they comforted each other, but... even that was a temporary consolation in exchange for isolation. Biban had no real friends. No one treated him equally. Yet at this moment, Grid was facing him straight on. The eyes, which were filled with liking rather than respect, were so warm that they made Biban forget the cold air of winter.

[You have formed a deep bond with the 9th Seat of the Tower of Wisdom, Biban.]

“I should go back now... I will see you next time.” Biban scratched his beard and showed shyness unbecoming of him. Then he tried to remove the sword barrier.

Grid told him, “You can’t go back right now.”

“I can’t go back? Why? Who won’t allow it?”

Grid explained to Biban who was showing a confused response, “Why? It is because of Biban.”

“......?”

“Didn’t you mention the tower in front of people? I told them to forbid mentioning it, but I’m not sure this will happen. It is because the impression you instilled in people was too intense. If any of them are unable to suppress their curiosity and investigate the tower based on what you said, it could be a problem in many ways.”

“...I have to use violence.” If he found the witnesses and hit them hard on the back of the head, there was the hope of amnesia.

Grid stopped the seriously troubled Biban. “I’ve already handled it, so don’t worry too much. Act with me for the time being.”

“In what way?”

“As you know, Reinhardt has the Overgeared Magic Tower. However, there is no sword tower.”

“Sword tower? There is no such thing anywhere in the world.”

“However, it will appear here.”

“......?”

“A few years ago, I built three additional towers, but the number of magicians was so small. Therefore, one tower is empty. I’ll announce it as the sword tower and you will be sworn in as the first Overgeared Sword Tower Master. After attending the inauguration, just teach swordsmanship to the people there for a few days. The moment you go back, I’ll appoint two tower masters and erase the traces.”

“I am the Sword Saint... famous geniuses of the continent came to me with silver and gold treasures piled up in a mountain, hoping to be my disciple. I refused them. Now you want me to act as a teacher?”

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. However, if one day people find out about the Tower of Wisdom and it turns out that Biban is the reason... you will receive heavy punishment from Fronzaltz.”

“Groan... The tower members can’t interact with the world...”

“What about interacting as the Overgeared Sword Tower Master, not a tower member? Your identity won’t be found out.”

“Groan... Overgeared Sword Tower Master... I don’t like the name...”

“Don’t do it if you don’t want to. It doesn’t matter if you clean for the rest of your life.”

“...One week. I will only stay for one week.”

“You made a good choice.”

It was the day that the greatest swordsman was inaugurated as the first tower master of the Overgeared Sword Tower. The identity was roughly covered up. He was introduced as a hermit, just like the continent’s number one spearman, Kirinus. That alone was enough for the sign-up applications to quickly pile up.

“By the way...” It was after the inauguration ceremony, which was a grand event at Biban’s request. Mercedes said she would receive Biban’s teachings, so Grid walked back to the smithy alone. Then he muttered to himself, “Why did he come? Is he just here to play...?”

Grid didn’t know the purpose of Biban’s visit here. He just thought it worked out somehow. He received the dragon fang, Ruby’s healing skill level grew rapidly, and he was able to secure a week’s worth of labor from the former generation Sword Saint. For Grid, Biban was a lottery-like existence.

A few days passed before Biban remembered what he had forgotten. It was the day that Piaro and the former Red Knights returned from their mission.