Overgeared

The White Fang was the legacy of the Great Demon, Drasion, who was sealed by Sword Saint Muller. It was a weapon favored by the 11th Great Demon, so it was right that it was special. This meant it was too much to question the fact that a dragon’s fang was used as the material.

Yet in recent months, Grid’s perception had changed significantly. The great demons were no longer an object of fear apart from the Three Evils of the Beginning. He had accurately experienced a dragon’s combat power and the performance of the dragon weapons. It was hard to understand why the sword possessed by the 11th Great Demon and made from the fang of an Old Dragon had such a mediocre performance.

‘Everything would’ve been questionable if I didn’t know Baal’s personality.’

Drasion’s identity was the fallen angel, Sariel. Was it just a coincidence that the White Fang was in their hands? There was no way. It was likely to be Baal’s mischief. He must’ve given it to Sariel while knowing that the fang obtained in the process of driving Nevartan crazy would be a medium to attract Nevartan.

The reason? Was a big reason necessary? He just wanted to enjoy watching the comedy of a stupid fallen angel, who believed they were a demon, being eaten by the Insane Dragon.

‘Sariel was fortunate that they were sealed by Muller before Nevartan emerged.’

Grid had confirmed two days ago that Nevartan’s madness was contagious. If Sariel had been killed by Nevartan, Sariel’s unstable soul would’ve been distorted into greater chaos.

‘Did Muller know Sariel’s identity…?’

It was a plausible guess. Considering Muller’s track record of handing over his status to the Mountain King, he might’ve unexpectedly been deeply involved in the worldview. Wasn’t he the strongest Sword Saint ever? He had been mentioned by many beings even after his death, so Grid thought it was reasonable to give meaning to each action of his.

“Um…” Grid’s brow furrowed as he looked at the White Fang while immersed in thought. He didn’t know about the past, but there had never been rubbish like this. Bunhelier’s Fang, to be more precise, was simply at the level of a hilt attached to the ‘fragment’ of the fang. The reason it clearly looked like a ‘sword’ was because the shape of the fragment resembled a blade. It wasn’t known if this was a shape that Baal deliberately created or if it had been broken into this shape by accident.

One thing was certain: this was an ‘unspoiled material.’ There was no sign of anyone attempting to smelt or forge it with clumsy skills.

‘It is natural.’

Helmis, the only blacksmith in hell, was very talented. He would’ve realized that he couldn’t smelt the fang with his skills and didn’t touch it recklessly.

‘He wouldn’t have defaced a precious material with vain greed. It is because he was also a craftsman.’

Grid used the disassembly skill and separated Bunhelier’s fang from the coarse hilt. Then he opened his mouth somewhat cautiously, “Kraugel, can I buy this?”’

It was the material of an Old Dragon. It was arguably, in the worldview, the best material for item making that he might not be able to get again in the future.

Grid was purely greedy. Of course, he had a conscience, so he took Gujel’s Dao and Cranbel’s Horn out of the inventory.

“I’m not just going to buy it with money. In exchange for one of these swords… no, I’ll pay with both.”

Kraugel was a Sword Saint. All sword-type weapons could be handled regardless of the conditions of use and there were no restrictions at all. No, rather, he got a buff. Kraugel would naturally want the strongest sword made of an Old Dragon’s material. The owner of the White Fang was Kraugel.

Grid knew that he was being greatly unreasonable. He just asked with the feeling of grasping onto a straw.

“Yes.” It was an instant answer without a single thought.

“I understand. This naturally isn’t enough… Eh?” Grid thought he would naturally be rejected and continued to speak, only to hurriedly close his mouth. He was dumbfounded.

Kraugel shrugged. The orange divinity of the Overgeared World moved along with his gesture. It felt well without any sense of strangeness. As expected, people had to be handsome.

“I was going to hand over the White Fang to you from the beginning. You are the only person in the world who can turn it into a valuable thing. How shameful would it be if I am greedy for it?”

“K-Kraugel…”

He is a man of deep thought. Besides, it is clear that he likes me rather than hates me…

Grid was thrilled when he realized this and reached out to Kraugel. Maybe it was because the scenery of the smithy that contained memories of Khan stimulated his sensitivity? Grid’s eyes reddened and he tried to hug Kraugel. It naturally failed.

Kraugel avoided Grid’s hug in disgust and continued, “I have no intention of taking away your weapons while using the White Fang as an excuse. It is enough and I will be grateful if you make me a new sword as planned.”

“Hum hum…” Grid coughed in embarrassment and nodded. It was with a deep smile. His heart, which had been somewhat uncomfortable until yesterday, now swelled up and tickled.

This hell episode—people perceived that Grid and the Overgeared Guild had ‘won’ and ‘succeeded,’ but in reality, it was only half a success. Grid had no personal achievements other than closing the Asura Road and stabilizing the world. Not only did he fail to get rid of the hell moon, but he was defeated by Baal.

Fortunately, thanks to the fraudulent 20th epic, his status had risen greatly, the level of his mental world had risen, there was the creation of a new six fusion sword dance, and the ability to be unbreakable was obtained. However, that was all. Each reward was too great to disparage it as ‘that was all,’ but in any case, he didn’t get any physical rewards because he didn’t achieve anything. It meant he couldn’t get any items.

He had built up an acquaintance (?) with the Insane Dragon Nevartan, the Evil Dragon Bunhelier, and Black Knight Eligos, and he could take comfort in the fact that Nefelina had evolved into a Transcendent Dragon. To put it bluntly, the epic rewards and the evolution of Nefelina alone were better rewards than gaining a few dragon weapons, but it was still a bit disappointing. Then he got the White Fang. In Grid’s eyes, Kraugel looked like Santa Claus.

From this day, the collaboration between Grid and Kraugel began. Grid understood the ideals of the Sword Saint of this era and repeated the work of realistically envisioning it. It was clearly different from when the White Tiger Sword was made. Grid’s current level meant he wasn’t immersed in Kraugel’s ideals. He also gave advice in return and gave a better direction.

Taang, taang, taang…

From the moment Grid’s hammer started to strike the fang of the Evil Dragon, the divinity of the Overgeared World shook. It seeped into the fang like being sucked into a whirlpool. The sunset seemed to be engraved.

“Twilight.”

Grid and Kraugel spoke at the same time. They named it without thinking. It was suitable as the name of the divine sword that would stain the fate of the enemy with darkness and finally bring them to an end.

***

Morpheus’s speculation came true after a long time. Grid fought Baal and didn’t win. There was just one problem: the Overgeared God’s epic recorded it as Grid’s victory. It was obviously a scam, but it was out of control.

Grid gained all the rights of the winner. In addition to closing the Asura Road, he also received tremendous benefits as a reward for completing the epic. Additionally, there was the Fruit of Good and Evil. However, nothing was free in the world. It was the law of equivalent exchange.

Grid paid the price for working together with the Evil Dragon Bunhelier. In return for cooperating with Bunhelier in hell, he immediately pulled the aggro of the Insane Dragon as soon as he arrived on the surface. According to Morpheus’ calculations, the probability of Reinhardt disappearing from the map of the Overgeared Empire exceeded 89%. This was the case even though Hayate and the other tower members gathered in Reinhardt. Grid would’ve lost countless things if Nefelina hadn’t awakened.

However, Nefelina awakened in time. Thanks to this, Nevartan overcame the madness again. Grid defended Reinhardt without losing anything and got his hands on a Transcendent Dragon…

“Surprisingly, the win rate is low, but the results are always good.”

The staff members of the operations team were tongue-tied after they checked the combat records that had occurred ever since Grid became a god. They estimated that Grid’s win rate wasn’t very high. There were many times when he didn’t win when fighting someone. It was understandable given the level of his enemies.

However, defeat wasn’t a failure for Grid. Every time, he gained a lot from fighting, even if he lost. At this point, it felt like the entire universe was helping Grid.

“Grid’s power comes from his high popularity,” Director Yoon Sangmin explained to the employees who were laughing at the absurdity. The distorted epic was the result of the wishes of those who believed in and followed Grid, while the awakening of the Transcendent Dragon was the result of Nefelina’s desperate efforts to help Grid.

Kraugel’s heart that cared for Grid was also behind the birth of the beautiful dragon weapon called Twilight. Some people sympathized with Grid, saying that he always struggled alone, but surprisingly, Grid was rarely alone. The affection and kindness of people toward him always strengthened him.

“Grid himself knows it best.”

Therefore, he had to overcome this trial well. The Fruit of Good and Evil that Piaro accidentally created in the environment of hell would really attract many beings. Millions of people would die. The moment Grid hastily embarked on the hell expedition, it was right to assume that Reinhardt would perish on that day.

‘King Sobyeol…’

What type of repercussions would be provoked by the child of the God of the Beginning, who would use any means and methods to completely corrupt his older brother, who had become a mass of red flesh?

A chill went down the spine of Director Yoon Sangmin.

***

“Um…” Major Baek Changho was still puzzled. As a member of the army’s strongest intelligence unit, he had performed numerous missions so far. However, this mission was special. Gathering information about the target, analyzing the target’s tastes, and thinking about what type of gift to give? The target was Shin Youngwoo. In other words, it was a mission where he would’ve suspected there was someone with no common sense in the upper ranks, if it wasn’t for the fact that the target was Grid.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with the difficulty itself. Major Baek Changho was also a master of psychological warfare tactics, He was confident that he could successfully complete this absurd mission.

‘It is the same today…’

Shin Youngwoo’s pattern of behavior was extremely simple. He went out at 5:00. He met Yura or Jishuka until 7:00 and went home after exercising. He met Yura or Jishuka at 19:00 and went home at 22:00 after dinner and a date. It was really the same every day, so there was no specific information to gather.

Shin Youngwoo’s hobby was exercising, and meeting Yura or Jishuka seemed to be his only pleasure. At this point, it seemed best to report to his superiors, ‘I think it is a good idea to build a public exercise space near the target’s home.’

‘Wait… did I miss something?’

Wasn’t there something a bit strange?

‘Does he usually have two lovers?’

Could it be that Shin Youngwoo’s wish…?

“……!”

Major Baek Changho had an absurd expression on his face when he became startled and rotated his upper body. The process of reaching out and grabbing the target’s collar was like a flash of lightning. It was in a situation where he allowed someone access right behind him. He got goosebumps and reflexively used the jujutsu he had been practicing all his life.

‘Whoops!’

Throwing a person to the concrete ground would at least cause a serious injury. There was no possibility that the subject, who approached him from behind without any signs, was a civilian, but he couldn’t commit murder without knowing who it was.

“……?!”

Major Baek Changho’s face turned white as he hurriedly reached out to support the back of the subject rotating through the air. There was no sense of weight. It was someone’s training suit that was overlapped on his palm.

‘A pro!’

Major Baek Changho realized that the subject was at least the same level as himself and jumped like a spring while taking a defensive posture. Then he became shocked when he saw the identity of the subject. The person in front of him was Shin Youngwoo, the target of the mission.

‘He noticed the surveillance?’

Let’s say he made a hundred concessions and that it was a possibility. Then how did Shin Youngwoo get out of the house without their knowledge? Currently, 21 members were monitoring the target’s home in real time.

Major Baek Changho’s thoughts ended there. He was hit by Shin Youngwoo’s kick that came in his blind spot and passed out. It was a Taekwondo technique commonly called a spin kick. It was a technique that Regas often used, so he tried to copy it.

“I doubt they are bad people…”

The suspicious people who had been hanging around the neighborhood since a few days ago—Shin Youngwoo couldn’t stand by, so he dealt with them, but at least they weren’t killers. If they had the purpose of hurting people, they wouldn’t have reached out and supported his back just now.

“Hello? Is there a police station?”

Shin Youngwoo called 112. 21 people were knocked unconscious around his home. Surprisingly, their identities were the members of the Republic of Korea Army’s elite unit. However, they couldn’t handle the duo of Shin Youngwoo and Toon who were pushing the boundaries between reality and Satisfy…