Overgeared

“I’m going to die…”  

“I want to go to the sauna.” 

Night shifts became routine for the operations team. Tears well up in the bloodshot eyes of many people. Each of them had dozens of holographic screens in front of them and were highly exhausted from paying attention to the situation all over the continent. 

From the operations team’s perspective, they had no choice but to do it. There were so many variables in this war that could be a problem. For example, limiting the playtime guaranteed to players due to the power of a great demon. It was only when the operations team was familiar with all the information that it could be spread to customer care to handle the claims. 

“Uh? W-Wait! Look at this!” 

“What is it?” 

A team member who was monitoring the situation in hell asked a superior for help. After a while—

The operations team was turned upside down. 

***

“■■■ ■ ■■■■ ■ ■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■. ■■■ ■■ ■■■.” 

“■■■ ■ ■■■■■■…? ■■ ■■ ■■■■? ■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■? ■■ ■■■■! ■■!! ■■■!!”

“The noise is too terrible. I can’t hear anything.” 

Strange people who shouldn’t be there confused the leader of the 4th operations team. 

On the screen, there were ‘chunks of mosaics’ in front of Kraugel and Yura. There was no way to know what it was. They didn’t have permission to view the information. The observation permissions were turned off, just like when they couldn’t see the players making love. 

“Did this happen as soon as DS8051 used its power?” 

“Yes.” 

The codenamed DS8051 was the guardian of Gamigin’s soul vault. He was a high ranking demon and had a great power. 

The team leader called up his information and frowned. “The power to bring out the trauma in the subconscious…” 

The power seemed to be working normally, as proven by the appearance of Beriache in front of Leraje. The problem was that it was working too well. 

“What’s being shown on the screen are the traumas of Kraugel and Yura. They are traumas that we shouldn’t see.” 

“Yes, I’m sure. It is the access to the two people’s personal information. Otherwise, there is no reason why our observation rights would be blocked.” 

“It is troublesome.” 

There were three types of information that players provided to the S.A Group—their basic personal information, their brain waves and body information scanned by the capsule, and their game progress. There were no cases of providing ‘memories.’ The S.A Group didn’t require it. 

Yet DS8051 read the memories of Kraugel and Yura and embodied their traumas. It was due to Morpheus’ own authority. However, it was a situation that could cause a litigation issue. 

‘How did this happen? Morpheus broke the terms and conditions…’ 

All types of imaginations occurred. There were things like Morpheus becoming out of control and the S.A Group collapsing. It could be used as material for sci-fi movies. 

On the other hand, Director Yoon Sangmin’s response was calm, “Is there a problem?” 

“Huh?” 

“It is Morpheus who read the traumas of Kraugel and Yura, not us. The fact that Morpheus blocked all information to us is evidence. The personal information of the two people has been protected.” 

Director Yoon Sangmin saw Morpheus and the S.A Group as separate. He pointed out certain provisions in the terms and conditions. It included the provision that ‘Morpheus has the right to view and use the user’s information in order to provide a smooth service’ and ‘the quests and content presented by Morpheus to the user are based on the information and experience of the user.’ 

“Experience is memory. The traumas Morpheus embodied after peeping into their memories is a natural result, not an act that violates the terms and conditions.” 

“Even if I make a hundred concessions and treat experience and memory as the same concept, these are traumas from reality, not memories from the game? The users have granted access to Morpheus to read their in-game memories, not their memories of reality.” 

“They are memories leaked in the process of talking to others while connected to Satisfy. That is how the memory of reality was judged to be Satisfy’s information.”

“…I’m becoming scared. The more information Morpheus has, the greater his influence seems to be. Won’t it go out of control one day?” 

“Have you been watching sci-fi movies lately? Don’t worry. Morpheus could only exercise authority in Satisfy. It has absolutely no ability to exploit that authority. It was designed like this from the beginning.” 

Looking at this case alone, it was far from malicious exploitation. Morpheus only used the players’ information as ‘ingredients’ to make Satisfy more delicious. It was meant to bring realism and immersion to the players. There was no further meaning. 

“This issue will be handled by the legal team, so stop worrying,” Director Yoon Sangmin issued the order and turned his attention back to the screen. 

The main character on the screen was Grid, the very same person whom, at one time, was viewed as a person who was far from successful from the perspective of Morpheus, who had access to all the information provided by the players. Yet now he was the center of the world. He was constantly being held in check by Morpheus, who used the justification of balance, and was eventually swept up in the great human and demon war. Even so, he was still well. No, he grew even more. 

‘I can tell just by looking at Grid.’

Morpheus was maintaining clear boundaries. It didn’t exercise its authority using the pretext of justification. It placed the terms and conditions first. There would never be the movie-like development that the 4th team leader was worried about. 

***

‘The power is amazing.’

Kujarak recalled the battlefield where hundreds of thousands of lives were wiped out. 

The armed allied soldiers, who wouldn’t be considered lacking even if they claimed to be knights; the allied knights, who used technique rather than solely relying on stats and skills; the players, who abandoned arrogance and interacted with them; the skilled rankers, who finally precisely grasped their talents; and the Overgeared members, who went beyond the skilled level to the transcendent level. 

Origin, species, affiliation, and thoughts—the sight of different people using each other as role models in all respects and uniting together was thrilling to Kujarak. Kujarak’s ideals were already being realized… 

The question of who was doing it was ridiculous. The answer was clear. ‘Grid.’ 

A person who was already too high up by the time Kujarak recognized his existence. He believed it was something that would never happen. He obtained information that the Heart of the Frost Queen had fallen into Grid’s hands. It was a relationship that was like fate. 

‘I want to be helpful from afar.’ 

A world that couldn’t have been completed with just Kraugel’s explosive talent. Kujarak wanted to protect this world created by Grid. It was to protect the smile of his younger brother, who was still lying in the capsule. 

In a cold land of snow and wind… 

Kujarak’s back no longer looked lonely as he moved forward, leaving large footprints on the snowy field. 

***

The Tower of Wisdom. 

From the perspective of the world, it was a space that existed only for the protection of humanity. From the perspective of players, it was a place only for the Pioneer. Special information and rewards were monopolized by a specific person, so there was a lot of room for exploitation. 

If a player with a flaw in their personality became the Pioneer, it would cause all types of chaos. By breaking the oath of silence and selling the tower member’s skills and location, they could leak the existence of the tower, thereby attracting the attention of the dragons and causing the great depression.

Of course, the Pioneer would receive a huge penalty the moment they broke their oath. Nevertheless, this wasn’t a proper safeguard. For the majority of humans, the more consequences there were, the more reckless they were. In order for the Tower of Wisdom to survive, trust had to be established between the tower and the Pioneer. 

In that sense, it was great in many ways that Kraugel and Grid were the Pioneers. It was because they revered relationships and didn’t break their oaths due to their pride. 

‘The tower members were hiding in this place.’ 

Gujel’s Sword and Dao—the two dragon weapons created by Grid contained Gujel’s ego. It might only be a small part of the ego and it was even split in half, but dragons were such immense beings and Gujel was one of the higher-ranked dragons. Even this small ego of his inherited Gujel’s memory and will. 

‘It is a barrier built by decomposing and blending together particles of different attributes and flowing the changed mana into the vein. It was no wonder why I couldn’t find it.’ 

Dragons were manipulators of magic. The knowledge and wisdom of Gujel’s ego fully analyzed the barrier that surrounded the Tower of Wisdom. However, it was only at the level of grasping the principle. He was ineligible to find a method to break this barrier. 

‘I have to wait for a definite opportunity to come…’ 

He was getting closer to the tower. 

Gujel’s ego became silent because he knew that the tower members, especially Hayate, were sensitive to the existence of dragons. He stopped the process of thinking itself. He made every effort to ensure that his presence didn’t leak. 

Then Grid’s voice was heard, “Until when are you going to keep hiding your inner thoughts?” 

-……

Gujel’s ego didn’t respond. He let Grid’s self-talk slide over him. Yes, he thought Grid was talking to himself. 

“If you mess up, then I can get rid of you. I will melt and remake you, melt and remake you. It might be an ignorant method, but if repeated several times, even a dragon’s ego will eventually fade.” 

-……?! Gujel’s ego was agitated. He noticed that Grid was talking to him. 

It was impossible. After the sword and dao were created and he regained consciousness, he didn’t show any movements once. Even his ‘thinking’ was just done for the first time. He was even asleep for a while. Yet Grid immediately realized his presence. Was this possible? 

‘Won’t it be beyond even Hayate’s power?’ 

Step. 

Grid arrived at the entrance of the tower and whispered, “Throw away the lingering attachments from your life and obey me. That is why you were born.” 

Gujel’s sword and dao had the effect of causing additional damage to targets suffering from ‘insanity.’ It was evident that the grudge of Gujel, who had become vulnerable due to the wound dealt by the insane dragon and eventually died, was inherited. 

Grid had noticed right away that Gujel’s ego was attached to the dragon weapons. Gujel’s ego hid himself and deceived even the system, but it was impossible for him to deceive the creator, Grid. 

‘This…’ Gujel’s ego was in despair. He noticed that he couldn’t afford to go against Grid. The Overgeared God’s Domination to dominate all things was pressuring Gujel’s ego. 

[Overgeared God Grid is writing the 14th epic.] 

[The sighs of a dead dragon are recorded.] 

The two dragon weapons cried out. 

[Ahh, I’m resentful.] 

[I opened my eyes when I met a foolish god, but he turned out to be a great god.] 

[I can never be free.] 

[Death is a disgrace for dragons, and I have become a disgrace of a dragon even after death.] 

[I have reigned for thousands of years, but I have been reduced to an object of ridicule.] 

[The Overgeared God spoke to the lamenting dragon—] 

“……?” Grid was amazed at the epic that occurred at an unexpected timing. 

‘This is crazy.’ 

He quickly grasped the situation and blushed. He wasn’t very happy with the epic that occurred after a long time. However, he had no choice but to say it, “If you cooperate with me, no one will mock you. If there is a being who mocks you, I will make them the same as you. So trust me and follow me.” 

[“Dragons who laugh at you will also taste the same despair as you.”] 

[Ohh, it is a daring nature.] 

[The dead dragon admired the Overgeared God’s declaration.] 

……

…

[The 14th page of the epic has been completed.] 

[The effect of completing the epic has awakened and subdued the hidden ego in Gujel’s Fang (Sword) and Gujel’s Fang (Dao).] 

[The effect of completing the epic has strengthened your mana core that has digested the Dragon Pill.] 

[Some of the aura of Stone Dragon Gujel will be expressed when using attack magic.] 

-Dragon? Heeeeeey, God Grid! Where are you and what are you doing? It is awesome!! 

-A-Amazing! Cool! S-So daring! 

-Huhuhu, as expected of my master. There is no way I can beat him. The black flame dragon sealed in me is also in awe. 

‘No, it is a misunderstanding.’ 

The contents of the epic aren’t what I decided. I… I am different from Lauel. 

“……!”

Grid was blushing at the sight of the fast-rising guild chat when he suddenly raised his head in shock. He felt an overwhelming presence at the top of the tower. The pressure that stretched out like light was uncontrollably great. It seemed to spread throughout the world. 

Dragon Slayer Hayate—he was floating in the air and provoking the world. He was drawing the dragons’ attention to aim at him, not Grid.