Overgeared

The terrain of the Abyss wasn’t suitable for defense. The situation was different from the Behen Archipelago. At the Behen Archipelago, the moment the enemy appeared to occupy the ground and the sea, the defense forces could immediately build an encirclement and annihilate the enemy. 

First of all, the area of the Abyss was too large. It took more than half a day for a knight to walk all the way around it, so hundreds of thousands of soldiers were needed to thoroughly surround it. Even this had the risk of power distribution. It was a dark pit that had no light. It was impossible to observe the interior. It was virtually impossible to respond to the tens of thousands of demonic creatures that suddenly poured out from the huge pit without any precursors. 

Originally, the Abyss—to be precise, Titan, where the Abyss was located, was destined to fall to hell. It would’ve been the leading base for the demons and played a role in leading the war to victory. From Gamigin and Barbatos to Baal’s ego fragment—this was why the prominent beings appeared at the Abyss, not the Behen Archipelago. The main characters protecting it were Braham, Kyle, Euphemina, and the strategists of the allied forces. 

“They’re coming.” 

Braham had the ability to distinguish the magic power of the near-chaos Abyss and the demonic creatures coming from it. 

“The Adien flowers have withered and aftershocks have occurred in the east. The pearls have turned green. Ice, survival, large.” 

The strategists predicted the types of demonic creatures that would appear based on changes in the environment. Then Braham’s tremendous magic power filled the surface of the huge pit.

“It is the ice attribute. This time, Sir Kyle should step out with us.” 

“Um...”

Euphemina, who released attribute magic based on Braham’s magic power and the nature of the demonic creatures, and Kyle, a master of lightning—the cooperation between these top figures and the strategists overshadowed the unfavorable terrain of the Abyss. 

At least half of the creatures emerging from the Abyss were destroyed every time. Then the battle began. The demonic creatures that luckily survived the baptism of magic also exposed their ‘weaknesses.’ It meant that the parts of the body that weren't hit by the magic were their weaknesses. Players and soldiers were able to fight very comfortably. 

“At this point, it is almost like a bus.” 

The expressions of the players were bright as they glanced at the magicians standing side by side in the sky above the Abyss. They had to be happy about easily killing the demonic creatures and accumulating experience. However, only a few people wished that the war wouldn’t end. It was because they understood the hearts of the soldiers who were worried about and missed their families. 

This was the biggest change caused by the Great Human and Demon War. Players and NPCs became true companions. 

“T-Thank you.” 

"It is nothing.” 

It was common for players to risk getting hurt to protect the soldiers first. The Overgeared members felt the change in the field and were happy together. They thought of Grid’s pleased appearance. 

“Until a few years ago, people laughed at Grid for being too immersed in the game.” 

“These are all changes made by God Grid! It is inevitable for him to be acknowledged as God Grid even in Japan. Hahat!” 

“You went looking for Japan’s reaction again?” 

“Why doesn’t Peak Sword ever change?” 

“By the way, he hasn’t been picking a fight with Katz these days?” 

“It is impossible. He will lose no matter what if he fights now.” 

It was a day that wasn’t much different from usual. The players and soldiers could handle the fighting and the Overgeared members supported them. Thus, they felt it even more abruptly. The number of demonic creatures rising from the Abyss suddenly increased sharply. 

“Fire, stealth, small, large...! E-Earth! Flight! Super large! Large!” 

The strategists were confused. It was because the number of demonic creatures predicted was too big. It was at a level where they couldn’t keep up with the demonic creatures. 

Braham, Kyle, and Euphemina noticed the seriousness of the situation. Regardless of the consequences, they squeezed out all their mana and poured all types of magic into the Abyss. However, the momentum of the demonic creatures wasn’t weakened. There were significantly more demonic creatures appearing then disappearing. It was an all-out offensive. 

“Should we call the evil eyes king?” Euphemina made this comment as she looked at the warp gate connected to Reinhardt, but Braham shook his head. 

“It isn’t possible.” 

The king of the evil eyes was too powerful. The evil eyes king shot rays of extinction from his large eyes, but he couldn’t control it properly. There would inevitably be a burden on his already weak body. It was poisonous in the current situation. Like the vampire, the evil eyes were former residents of hell. It would attract the attention of the demons by all means. 

While evil eyes were powerful, their physical abilities were weak, so they were easy to be targeted. In particular, the great demons were more likely to risk their lives to get rid of the evil eyes king. It was because the desire of the demons to collect the evil eyes of the evil eyes king was beyond imagination. It meant that even Braham would have a hard time protecting him. 

“You are becoming kinder.” 

“What nonsense is that?” 

“You are worried about the evil eyes king.” 

“I... I’m not worried about him. I’m worried about the situation where the great demons will flock because of him.” 

Braham couldn’t bear to swear at Euphemina, who was smiling slyly. The successor of his old disciple—he was trying to return the kindness that he couldn’t give to his disciple. It was different from the days when he was expelled by his blood kin and wandered around alone. 

Now there was no reason for Braham to be spiteful. He had long regretted the time when he was jealous of his disciple. 

“.......!” 

Just then, Braham’s eyes widened. He was so surprised that he took a deep breath. It was a reaction that was hard to see from him so far. In particular, this was the first time Kyle was seeing Braham like this. Didn’t Braham show an arrogant expression even when he experienced a crisis while fighting Gamigin? 

“What is coming...?” the anxious Kyle asked. 

“A god.” 

Braham didn’t ignore him. A god? It was an answer that seemed absurd. Unfortunately, it wasn’t improbable. The Overgeared God and martial god—Kyle had already experienced several gods. He had seen demons and angels. 

The existence of a god was no longer vague. Rather, it was more realistic. 

“It is too big. It is like a mass of grudges...” 

Kyle and Euphemina could only see the darkness of the Abyss. The same was true even when they threw light. The darkness swallowed the light. However, Braham’s eyes were staring into the deep pit of the Abyss. It couldn’t block the magic power detection ability of the greatest magician of all time. 

“......!”

“......!”

Kyle and Euphemina were startled. It was close to shrinking back with fright. It was because the magic power of the Abyss, which could be called infinite, started to be absorbed by Braham. 

‘Is this Mana Drain?’ 

‘A monster. This guy is definitely a monster.’ 

If there was a god of destruction among the many gods, it would surely be the man in front of him. It was the moment when Kyle was certain of this. 

“If this continues, more demonic creatures will go crazy in response. It is right to deal with it as soon as possible. I will leave this place to you,” Braham told them. 

There was no time to stop him. He had already jumped into the Abyss. 

***

“Organize the ranks while I buy time.” 

Chris unfailingly took the lead. Every time his sword moved through the ground and created a storm, there were screams mixed in with the sound of explosions. If he couldn’t cut the enemy then he smashed them with the greatsword. The demonic creatures were invincible apart from their weak spots, but every time their skulls collided with the greatsword, it became dented and both eyes protruded like they were being pulled out. It was the strength of the greatsword technique that used weight as power. 

The expression ‘destruction’ was appropriate because it caused deadly physical abnormalities every time. A single attack broke dozens of demonic creatures in front of him. The bodies of the demonic creatures flew toward the Abyss that they had a hard time crawling up from and crashed. 

Kigi! Kik! 

The leading demonic creatures exchanged looks. In a rare act, they communicated with each other. At the same time, they ignored Chris. They took a detour to advance. It was an instinctive fear of Chris’ ignorant way of fighting that neutralized the power of invincibility. 

Chris didn’t miss this. The power of a greatsword was also in the range. His sword was the heaviest and longest. 

Chris was the Tyrant. He declared the land he stood on as his territory. 

The demonic creatures had their paths blocked by the large sword that stretched out like an inclined pillar and were lost. They were crushed by the Tyrant’s momentum and faltered. There was only one person in the world who could step on this land without Chris’ permission and it was Grid. 

Kiyaaaaak! 

An unrealistic scene was created. The bodies of the screaming demonic creatures flew in a continuous parabola and crashed into the Abyss. It was the same for the large demonic creatures. Chris was a powerful man who wielded up to 10,000 tons of power. 

“What baseball game are you playing...?” 

Players clicked their tongues at Chris’ consecutive home run hits. 

“It’s done!” 

The commanders of the forces led by Chris shouted at once. They have safely reorganized the formations. They were prepared to face the complete offensive of the demonic creatures. 

The flying demonic creatures appeared like they had been waiting. They opened their mouths wide and formed beams. However, Chris was the owner of a rune. The Rune of Supplementation—it was a rune with a transcendent performance that sublimated weaknesses into strengths. Originally, close-range warriors, especially those who valued strength over speed, were vulnerable to ranged flying monsters. Meanwhile, Chris easily intercepted them. 

“Ohh...” 

“He is so versatile. As expected of the number two person of the Overgeared Guild...” 

In recent years, Chris had remained at the top of the unified rankings. He was considered the number two player in the Overgeared Guild because he was competing for first and second place with Grid. In fact, the current Chris was close to complete. It was amazing that he only had a normal class. 

"Waaahhhhhhhh!" 

A large-scale battle began. Like the other camps that had been entangled with the army of demonic creatures, Chris’ camp also started a head-on collision with the demonic creatures. At first, the momentum was good. Chris’ performance allowed them to maintain it sufficiently and their morale increased enough. 

Yet over time, problems developed. The momentum of the demonic creatures became unusual. They abandoned their instinctive habit of protecting their weak spots and went on a beast-like rampage. It was more appropriate to express it as a loss of reason than a rampage. 

‘This!’ 

The camp quickly started to collapse. The demonic creatures didn’t defend their weaknesses, thus their weaknesses weren’t revealed. The soldiers had difficulty targeting them and the burden on the players increased. 

The battlefield completely changed. Chris repeatedly became isolated. As his allies were gradually pushed back, the number of demonic creatures he had to deal with alone increased sharply. The fatal problem was that there were dozens of demons mixed in with the demonic creatures. Based on their level, some of them were the subordinates of the high ranking great demons. They focused on Chris because they noticed how to win the war. 

“Keuk!” 

As the battle intensified, the limitations of his class were revealed. A normal class—starting from the fourth class advancement, the quality was comparable to hidden classes, but the difference in stats was still clear. The range that the stats rose by when the level increased was determined by the class’ rating. 

Of course, the difference could be narrowed using special titles or elixirs. Chris was likely to be the player who consumed the most elixirs, but due to many practical problems, it wasn’t enough to bridge the fundamental stats difference. Additionally, the difference in stats was directly linked to sustainability in battle. The higher the stats, the faster the enemy was killed and the less health that was consumed. Naturally, those with higher stats could fight longer. 

‘It is vexing.’

Chris felt his body becoming heavier and resented himself. He rebuked his inability to break down the wall of ‘normality.’ During the time when Grid was wandering in search of Pagma’s class change book, he was obsessed with vampires and stayed in the castle. He was blinded by the elixirs, so his viewpoint became narrow. Those days were so regrettable that he wanted to turn back time if it was possible. 

[The cooldown time for the health recovery potion hasn’t ended.] 

‘It is the end.’ No, it wasn’t the end. It was just one defeat. Chris controlled his mind and wielded the sword with his last remaining physical strength, turning two demons to ashes at the same time. It was a struggle that evoked all types of admiration and astonishment. 

In the midst of the exclamations and screams, Chris’ greatsword was inserted into the ground. He used it to support his body. He felt his stamina running out and spoke to the rankers in the same camp, “Take the soldiers and join Peak Sword’s camp. He must be holding out better than us because he has Iyarugt.” 

Chris only looked at his colleagues. He didn’t care about the claws and teeth of the demons that were being inserted into his body. A few players tried to grab him, but Chris cried out, “It is better to die and be resurrected!” 

Two deaths meant not being able to connect for 24 hours, but one death was an opportunity. He could resurrect in full condition and rejoin the front lines immediately. Eventually, he couldn’t even move his fingertips and gradually collapsed while leaning on his greatsword. 

From his side— 

“Come and learn this.” Grid suddenly approached Chris and handed him a very old book. “Hurry.” 

Storm of the Fire God was naturally triggered. However, the survival-related effects of Storm of the Fire God on allies was increased recovery and resistance to abnormal statuses. Chris had already suffered great damage and was experiencing all types of poisoning and bleeding. Thus, it couldn’t dramatically revive a target whose health was about to reach zero. 

Chris trusted Grid. It wasn’t just because Grid was a colleague and a friend. It was that Grid was a better person than himself. This was why he used the book without properly examining the information. 

[You have become Tzudan’s Successor.] 

[Your level has dropped.] 

[You are now level 1.] 

[All first class related skills and stats have been reset.]

“......?” 

Usually, rankers were afraid of death because they were worried about a drop in their experience. In particular, the higher the level of the ranker, the more worried they were about leveling down than losing items. It was because this was directly linked to a drop in their rankings. In other words, it was meaningless to choose to reset his level in order to live. 

“...Aaaack!” Chris belatedly screamed. He still hadn’t figured out the situation. He was too flustered. It felt like a dream to have a body so weak that the sword he had wielded with one hand so far now felt like a great mountain. There were thousands of demonic creatures and demons in front of him, but his level was 1. It was impossible not to scream. 

Grid raised him up. “Hold on tightly. The bus will start.” 

Today, the quickest level up record would be broken.