Overgeared

As soon as he finished eating, Agnus felt the need to investigate his symptoms. His Internet browsing history looked somewhat like this:

Mana IRL. Skills IRL. Game abilities in real life. Status window showing up in real life...

“Hmm...”

Agnus realized he wasn’t crazy after all. Demonstrating in-game abilities in the real world was no longer something only possible in fiction.

‘The stories of people implementing the skills learnt from games in real life have received public attention for a few years.’

There were quite a few articles about people saying that their eyesight has improved while playing games. The game they were talking about was, of course, Satisfy. Slowly but surely, Satisfy was influencing reality.

“...Someone also mentioned that they could see their status window in real life.”

This was just a claim made by an anonymous person on the Internet. Everyone thought it was a troll so they didn’t think too much of it.

Agnus found that person’s username and sent them a private message.

-Do you still see the status window nowadays?

People who delved so deeply and for so long in the online community that they only saw the sun on a screensaver were affectionately called “mom’s basement dwellers.” The user Agnus was talking to was one such person. Why?

-Of course.

Because they replied immediately.

Agnus felt relieved. He began typing back.

-Have your class and levels from Satisfy been transferred into reality?

He really needed to know this. Agnus was only level 1. It was important to know whether everyone else was in the same boat as him.

-What?Are you an idiot?

“......?”

Why was he being insulted? Agnus was a bit taken aback and reflected on what he had said. Did he offend the other person in any way? Agnus had almost zero social skills, so he wondered what he’d said wrong. However, no matter how much he racked his brains, he couldn’t pinpoint what he had done to upset the other person.

In the end, Agnus asked them directly.

-Why are you calling me an idiot?Did I say something wrong?

- LOOOOOL. I am calling you an idiot because you are one.You’re sending me a message like that at this hour? Lmao, that’s jobless behavior.

“......”

Agnus had never really interacted with someone who spent that much time on the Internet, so he was confused. However, he was serious, and he wasn’t the type to give up so easily. He hadn’t become a first-generation high ranker for no reason.

-I understand why you’re wary of me.If you change your mind later, leave me a message.I can also see the status window in real life, so we could perhaps help each other.

-You have mental issues.

[The recipient has blocked you.]

“......”

Not a single muscle on Agnus’ pale face moved. He looked like a statue carved out of ice. He accessed the other person’s member information, but he couldn’t find anything useful because the user was anonymous.

“...I need to figure out how to level up.”

Since Agnus was a first-generation high ranker, he was patient and calm, so he quickly regained his composure. He slowly got up from his seat.

He recalled the early days of Satisfy. The difference between players who participated in the closed beta and those who didn’t was not something to be underestimated. He didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity he had right now. Despite all the suffering he’d experienced in the past, it felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest. He regained his will to live.

***

“It’s gorgeous.”

Everyone admired Chris’ playstyle, which consisted of swinging his greatsword through the air.

Every time his weight-changing greatsword fell toward its target, it generated a tsunami-like shockwave, destroying the entire surrounding area. Blocking his attack was pointless. It was hard for the cultivators to escape its aftermath even if they avoided the initial attack.

The shields of the cultivators lost half of their power. Even if the shield blocked the greatsword’s initial damage, the unstoppable pressure shattered the shield and damaged the person inside.

It felt like the gravity inside the shield became tens of times stronger. The eyes of the cultivators swelled like they were about to pop any second now, and the blood vessels in their eyes burst. Blood flowed from their noses. The inside of the shield was shrouded in a blood-red mist.

The ancient legend, Tzudan, warned Chris.

-I think you went in too deep.

Tzudan hadn’t committed himself to the river of reincarnation. He’d chosen to stay by Chris’ side because he was fascinated by Chris, who had the qualities of an ideal fighter. He wasn’t afraid at all of jumping head-first into danger and always took the best path suggested by Tzudan.

Even Tzudan in his prime wasn’t capable of what Chris could do at the moment. The cultivators were strange beings who didn’t even exist in ancient times. Chris wasn’t at all intimidated by these monsters, who used intent as a way to attack and shields to block Chris’ blows.

“That’s exactly what I was going for.”

Chris’ senses were very sharp as he landed in the middle of enemy territory. He reacted to all types of attacks coming from all directions and narrowly dodged everything. Those were the senses of a Transcendent. This was a way to maximize the strength of Tzudan’s Successor, a class that increased attack power as the number of steps he took increased and as he got closer to danger.

Finally, a smile appeared on Chris’ face as he got close to a great ascension cultivator.

“......”

The cultivator snorted like he found this whole situation ridiculous, only for him to widen his eyes in surprise. The greatsword in Chris’ hand let out the roar of a dragon, distorting the air around it.

The unimaginable energy and mass of the weapon caused a strange phenomenon. A gravitational pull seized the great ascension cultivator’s shield, sucking it in. The shield made a screeching noise, like it was being ripped apart.

“You!”

A chill went down the cultivator’s spine as he released chains from his mouth. This was his innate treasure, which had been refined for tens of thousands of years. The moment the chains made contact with a target, they would trap them and seal their spiritual energy. This was a huge advantage when confronting other cultivators.

To use player terms, he was a professional PK player. In fact, he rarely lost a fight against other people. He had a lot of experience fighting and winning even against cultivators who had a higher realm than him.

However, Chris was a player. He was even a first-generation high ranker. He had far more experience fighting for his life than a cultivator who had lived for tens of thousands of years.

Chris threw himself forward. Far from avoiding the approaching whip, he kept charging toward the enemy. Just in time, the footprints that only Chris and Tzudan could see appeared, suggesting a new path—right where Chris had just landed.

Tzudan admired him.

-You saw the path first?

The greatest strength of the Tzudan’s Successor class lay in the passive skill called Five Steps. Chris would follow the footsteps indicated by Five Steps and reach the point where he could unleash the most devastating attack on the enemy.

Paradoxically, this was also a death trap for Chris. This was the path of a fighter who would do nothing but fight. A fighter reached only one of two outcomes when in battle: kill the opponent or die trying. Therefore, fighters were very powerful. Their playstyle was a high risk, high reward one.

Baaaang!

Chris’ greatsword gained a lot more attack power after he completed the Five Steps and it struck the cultivator’s shield. It had the power of a 100 Million Ton Sword.

The cultivator frowned as he watched the chain pass by Chris without reaching him. He couldn’t withstand the weight of the sword so he collapsed on the ground, though he was at least still protected by his shield.

The cultivator scowled in pain as he coughed up blood. He couldn’t believe it. Spiritual energy was flowing through his meridians. The body of a great ascension cultivator was stronger than any metal. But now, he was severely injured. His intestines had been torn to pieces and his bones had been crushed.

What was surprising was that he’d taken damage despite blocking the enemy’s attack with his shield.

Dirt fell on the cultivator’s head, spilling through the tiny cracks in the shield. He couldn’t believe that his shield had shattered in a single blow, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. The cultivator just cast another one.

He shouldn’t have done that. He should’ve escaped using the Earth Escape Arts instead.

Baaaang!

The basis of Five Steps was to approach the enemy. Chris had pursued the cultivator, and had done so very quickly. He kept hitting the cultivator’s shield over and over again, and the cultivator was getting dizzy.

A bullet made it through one of the cracks in the shield. Yura was sniping at him. She’d been teaming up with Chris for the past few days and, together, they had killed countless cultivators.

Only then did the cultivator realize that he should have escaped using Earth Escape Arts. However, his head exploded due to the jade magic power accumulated in the bullet.

“You guys!”

The cultivator, whose skull was showing because half of his head had been blown off, still resisted fiercely. He dug a hole deep underground using a technique or treasure of some sorts and desperately fought back. Both the cultivator and Chris took a lot of damage.

However, the cultivator was alone, while Chris had support.

The moment the cultivator tried to jump in the hole he’d made, he got pierced by countless bullets fired by a machine gun. Yura chased after him using Hell Leap and slashed the dwarf who escaped after abandoning his body.

She turned to look in the direction of the Full Moon Fortress. Thick black smoke blanketed the moon. While Yura and Chris were dealing with the cultivators, the other Overgeared members easily succeeded in capturing the Full Moon Fortress.

Chris crawled from the ground. He looked tired.

“How did you snipe him in the ground? The cracks in the shield were also very small. Did you do that using a technique?”

He was amazed by Yura’s sniping skills and firepower, which were becoming more powerful by the day.

“My eyesight has improved thanks to some techniques, but my sniping has gotten better thanks to a mystical art called Puppetry. It has really good synergy with the magic engineering bayonet, which originally had circuits.”

The Magic Engineering Gun was an exclusive weapon for the Demon Slayer. The patterns of blue magic power flowing on its surface weren’t only for decoration purposes. They indicated the flow of magic power. The gun changed shape and functionality depending on how Yura manipulated this power.

Yura could apply the Puppetry skill to alter the gun even more, giving the target puppet circuits and manipulating it as a puppet.

“I can make it look like this.”

Yura made several hand gestures, forming something called a hand seal. The Magic Engineering Gun turned into a cute puppy.

“It looks kinda lame, though,” Chris said.

“Yeah, but it can act on its own. This skill provides a lot of versatility.

“That is true...”

Chris’ expression became gloomy. He didn’t know when he would succeed in condensing his spiritual root. He’d also learned techniques, but it was hard for him to accumulate spiritual energy due to the nature of his class, which consumed a large amount of resources every time he swung his sword.

Every time he increased the weight of the sword, the resources he had were drained regardless of their type. This meant that he couldn’t really accumulate spiritual energy.

Tzudan comforted Chris.

-If you destroy all the Full Moon Fortresses, you will have plenty of time to cultivate.The technique you learned will definitely benefit you, so don’t be upset and wait for the right time.

“Yes, I know.”

Chris calmed down. Yura transformed her gun into a giant eagle. She planned to join her comrades and destroy the formation of the Full Moon Fortress.

Just then, an unexpected visitor arrived.

“Sister!” a familiar voice called out.

Ruby was on the back of a large gray dragon that cast a huge shadow on the ground. The dragon sighed.

[I never thought I would come to a place like this. Run away.]

Before Cranbel could finish his warning, Yura and Chris heard another voice.

“It’s a mess here, too,” the voice said.

At the same time, a young man with a slender physique appeared in front of them.

“You guys are running amok.”

Yura and Chris’ blood froze. The young man named Zhang Hui was exuding a much more powerful energy than the great ascension cultivator they had just defeated.

The young man extended his arms and knocked back Yura and Chris, causing them to tumble uncontrollably.

Problems were arising all over the continent.