Overgeared

‘As expected, people need to know many things.’

Grid realized the importance of knowledge just by looking at Grenier right now.

The native people didn’t know a world other than Grenier and treated outsiders like monsters.

The guardians who believed that Grenier was the center of the world and looked down on outsiders, and the Mountain King who always kept an eye on the outside world while knowing that Grenier was nothing more than a well—despite living in the same environment, there were people who were inferior to monkeys, and there was a sage. It was purely the power of knowledge.

‘If I hadn’t known anything, I would’ve been fascinated by the name of Chreshler.’

It was using this same logic that Grid now avoided a landmine. If he didn’t have any knowledge, he would’ve jumped into a field of landmines because he thought it was good. That’s right. Grid thought of Chreshler as a landmine. It was because he knew Chreshler well.

‘A human being who became a coffin of his own free will.’

Chreshler hoped to embrace Marie Rose’s sealed body for eternity. He chose biological death because he wanted to enjoy Marie Rose’s body odor. He fell for Pagma’s rhetoric of ‘even if you become a coffin, your senses will be alive’ and abandoned his human body, transferring his soul to the coffin. He might’ve used the justification of maintaining Marie Rose’s seal, but... coincidentally, Grid had witnessed Chreshler’s lecherous desire. If Grid hadn’t known about Chreshler...

If he didn’t know Chreshler was a crazy pervert...

He would’ve been frantic to resurrect Chreshler at the Mountain King’s words.

‘It is terrible just thinking about it.’

How traumatized would he have been if he revived Chreshler without knowing this? He couldn’t even claim damages from the Mountain King.

‘In the first place, it is a bad move to resurrect Chreshler at this time.’

Marie Rose had been resurrected. She was close to an ally in terms of her attitude and actions during this period of time, such as returning ‘blood’ to Braham and reinstating him as a direct descendant. She was a type of insurance. Then what if Chreshler was resurrected?

‘He will blindly search for Marie Rose. He will disrupt Marie Rose’s activities and harm me as a result.’

Chreshler was a great pope. Grid didn’t dare disparage the skills that sealed Marie Rose, who was the biggest threat to humanity at the time. He thought it was even greater because Chreshler was one of the few transcendents in history. The tendencies of transcendents were usually selfish and eccentric, but Chreshler fought for others. He was close to the human role model that Grid wanted.

Of course, this was only in the past. Perhaps Chreshler had degenerated from the moment he encountered Marie Rose. He was blinded by love and entrusted himself to the lecherous desires of his body. He was completely separated from common sense. It was a tragedy...

It was hard to think that proper communication with him would be possible.

‘Still—’

He needed to know how to revive Chreshler. As he had said, knowledge was strength.

‘I don’t intend to revive him right away, but one day, a moment when I need him might come.’

Chreshler was the one who found the talent of ‘surpassing himself’ and succeeded the first pope. He was the strongest pope of all time, the ultimate priest, and a transcendent. It would’ve only been possible with the cooperation of many people and the Rebecca’s Daughters, but he still had the achievement of sealing Marie Rose. There was no need to look for any more achievements to see he was a great person.

‘I once again feel that there were many amazing people.’

Sword Saint Muller, Undefeated King Madra, Demon Slayer Alex, Pope Chreshler, Pagma who signed a contract with Baal, Braham who fought (?) against Fire Dragon Trauka, etcetera—it was an era where there were many strong people who could open up the heaven and earth alone. Just imagining it made Grid feel overwhelmed.

‘...The times ahead will be even greater.’

It wasn’t a belief created due to the members of the Tower of Wisdom or remnants of the past such as Braham and Zik. It also wasn’t confidence in the talents of this era such as Piaro, Mercedes, Kyle, etc.

Grid believed in himself and the players. It was a worthy trust. Based on Satisfy’s time, players had stepped on this land for less than 20 years and were transcending or chasing past figures. Their potential was explosive based on their growth so far. In just a few years, there would be players who surpassed the past figures they were chasing. In terms of achievements alone, it was safe to say they surpassed it right now.

The great attack where hell and some gods cooperated. Even Baal’s air strike was blocked by humanity at the time. The person at the center of it was Grid.

“By the way, how can Chreshler be resurrected?”

There was no one who didn’t know or could deny that Grid promoted the trend of the current era. Even the Mountain King who lived on the mountain knew it.

“You seem to know Chreshler well so it is easy to explain. Chreshler had his soul removed when he was alive. It is like Braham or Zik.”

Therefore, the Mountain King respected Grid.

Identifying with Grid or feeling sympathetic to Grid was a secondary matter. Just as Grid was reluctant to fight after witnessing the power of the Mountain King, the Mountain King didn’t want Grid as an enemy. Grid himself still hadn’t properly realized the ranking of the Overgeared God.

“Does that mean he can be resurrected if he finds his body, such as with Braham and Zik?”

“Right.”

“It has been a long time since Chreshler was sealed in the coffin. Is his body still preserved?”

Braham was in the millennium ice and Zik was in the Abyss. The bodies of the two men had been specially treated or preserved in a special environment. No matter whether it came from malice or goodwill, it was the result of someone’s devotion. It was unlikely that Chreshler had been preserved safely.

‘Pagma didn’t seem to have any private feelings for Chreshler.’

Pagma approached Chreshler purely out of necessity. In order to gain more strength and practice his swordsmanship, he asked Chreshler, who was nearing the end of his life, for a duel. This eventually led Chreshler to his death. It was the result of Chreshler’s hidden desires. If it wasn’t for Chreshler’s willingness to be a coffin or his desire to be with Marie Rose forever, there would be no way for Pagma to force him against his will.

In any case, Pagma took advantage of Chreshler’s desires for his own sake. He killed Chreshler and turned this person into a coffin. Would he keep Chreshler’s body well? The possibility was low. It would be fortunate if he didn’t turn it into an undead.

Grid was certain of it.

“It is well preserved.” The Mountain King gave an unexpected answer. “If you know that Chreshler is sealed in the coffin made of the sacred tree, then you probably know the entire inside story. As you know, it was Pagma who took Chreshler’s body and he enshrined it in a very strange place.”

“A strange place?”

“It is a place called No Offspring Tomb.”

“......!”

“It is a huge grave where it is difficult to measure the scale. A castle site was built underground that was filled with all types of treasures. 10,000 servants and 30,000 soldiers were killed there and a huge tomb built. The scale is like a mountain. The height is very low compared to Grenier here, but the area is hundreds of times larger.”

This was why the No Offspring Tomb wasn’t easily found. A tomb that was made and forgotten even by its owner after so many years. Grass and trees covered the graves, literally making it a mountain. It was impossible to see the mountain and think it was a tomb, so few people knew the location of the No Offspring Tomb. Of course, Grid knew the location. It was thanks to Skunk. Skunk had said that the No Offspring Tomb was an enlarged version of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.

“Who is the owner of that tomb?”

Even Skunk couldn’t find out the owner of the No Offspring Tomb. He went inside for exploration and died after failing to escape the eyes of the dead guarding the tomb.

“I don’t know. It was called the No Offspring Tomb even before I existed.”

“Have you ever met the Childless Specter?”

“Myth usurpers interacting is just a delusion. Predation is our essence. If we meet each other then one of us will die. In the first place, we are extremely reluctant to leave our ‘realm.’ Just as I was born to protect Grenier, the Childless Specter would’ve been born to protect the No Offspring Tomb.”

“Um...”

“Let’s return to the main point. There is a rumor that bodies buried in specific areas of the No Offspring Tomb are never damaged and I think it is true. That’s why I think it is possible to resurrect Chreshler.”

“Hmm...”

Grid showed a very reluctant reaction. It wasn’t because the value of the information was low. It was simply because he didn’t trust it.

‘An affinity of 20 is low.’

Grid doubted the Mountain King. It was a normal reaction.

“It is hard to believe your words. First of all, Chreshler was a pope. It is up to the Vatican to dispose of his body, not Pagma. Secondly, it is hard to understand why Pagma tried to preserve Chreshler’s body to the point of ignoring the procedure. Why did he have to do that?”

“It is a reasonable doubt. However, I swear by my divinity that it is true. Unfortunately, I don’t know what Pagma was thinking.”

“......”

The Mountain King was called the Mountain King, but to be exact, he was closer to the mountain god. He had a higher status than Grid, so he was naturally a god. He swore using his status.

[Tzudan thinks that you can trust the Mountain King.]

‘I think so as well.’

The Mountain King sacrificed his status to keep his promise with Tzudan. There was no way he could give an empty vow. Then there was one question left.

‘Why did Pagma do that?’

Grid pondered on it for a while before recalling Pagma’s tears. They were tears of regret that poured down as he faced the invasion of the demons alone in the Behen Archipelago.

‘He regretted betraying Braham. He felt guilty that he had done something terrible to the legends.’

Looking at it, Pagma also had a conscience. Was it due to his conscience that he enshrined Chreshler’s body in the No Offspring Tomb so that it wouldn’t decay?

‘He feels sorry for Chreshler? No, this is too unreasonable.’

If Pagma had been acting for Chreshler, he would’ve naturally handed over Chreshler’s body to the Vatican. The soul still remained, but receiving the sending off from people provided even a small comfort.

‘Wait... if it is for Chreshler, then it isn’t too unreasonable.’

The effect of the coffin made of the sacred tree wasn’t permanent after all. Marie Rose had unsealed herself. Wouldn’t Pagma, the person who created the coffin, foresee such a future? Did he leave room for resurrection, so that Chreshler, who was left alone after Marie Rose was released, wouldn’t tremble forever in solitude?

‘The possibility is high. It is true that Pagma had a conscience.’

It was an inference that could be drawn from Pagma’s tears and the preservation of Braham’s body. Grid thought about it for a long time before coming to a conclusion and nodding.

“Okay. I’ll take your word for it. So where exactly did Pagma enshrine Chreshler’s body?”

It was unlikely that Pagma had gone down into the depths of the No Offspring Tomb to bury Chreshler’s body. It would be impossible for him to overpower the Childless Specter even if he had a contract with Baal.

‘This is especially the case when in their realm, even for the Mountain King whose status was damaged along the way.’

Perhaps it was only possible for higher ranked gods or higher ranked dragons. It was impractical to think that Pagma persuaded or subdued the childless specter, who has existed for longer than the Mountain King.

“I don’t know exactly. The internal area of the No Offspring Tomb is an area that I can’t even begin to fathom. I can only speculate that he has enshrined someone in the underground tunnels connected to the tomb.”

“How many tunnels are there?”

“There are rumors that there are hundreds of dead people guarding the road in each tunnel and I think there are at least 100.”

“...Really? I wasn’t interested anyway.”

“......?”

“I told you before. I didn’t intend to resurrect Chreshler from the beginning.”

After all, he didn’t have a relationship with Chreshler...

Grid neatly shook off his regret and got up from his seat. The guardians, who were watching him blankly from below the stone seat, hurriedly averted their gaze out of fear of meeting Grid’s eyes. This was the first time they saw a god talking to the Mountain King in an equal position. They also witnessed a desperate use of force. They were in awe of Grid. They didn’t dare look at Grid.

[The divinity of your wife, ‘Irene,’ has risen.]

“Take this before you leave.”

“This is...?”

“I’ve selected some useful techniques from what I ate and embodied from the intruders. I hope it helps you.”

[The ‘Forgotten Legendary Skill Book’ x3 has been acquired.]

[The ‘Forgotten Myth Skill Book’ has been acquired.]

“......” Grid was speechless at the unthinkable enormous rewards. He rebuked himself for temporarily suspecting the Mountain King. “...Thank you. I don’t know if it will be meaningful, but I’ll take care of the outside so that Grenier can be safe.”

Grid felt it was a really useless promise. Those who invaded Grenier would eventually become the Mountain King’s prey. Yet surprisingly, the Mountain King looked satisfied. “This is enough.”

[Affinity with the Mountain King of Grenier has increased by 10.]

It was an adventure where he gained a lot without any big (?) events. It was so easy and great that he thought it would be nice to do this all the time. Randy’s expression became somewhat depressed when he heard the words that Grid muttered to himself. Randy looked more pitiful because she had returned to her original appearance.

“Nyong,” Noe silently comforted her. His white, mitten-like fluffy paws patted Randy’s shoulder and eased her mood.