Overgeared

‘Crazy!’ This expression was one of the ultimate exclamations commonly used by modern Koreans. Grid had recently refrained from using it. It was a rather low-grade exclamation for a king to use. Grid wasn’t Huroi... So, he needed basic image management. He had no time to care about that right now though. 

“Wow, this is really super amazing. My experience is rising at a crazy speed. Isn’t this completely crazy?? Eh? Right, Noe?”

“I don't know what you’re saying, nyong...”

[You have defeated a Galgunos Skeleton Soldier.]

[You have defeated a Galgunos Skeleton...]

[You have defeated a Galgunos...]

[15,905,099 experience will be divided.]

[15,905,099 experience will be...]

[15...]

[+4 Lightning Sword Born from Enlightenment and Strong Desires]

The reason why the word ‘Enlightenment’ was attached to the sword was simple. It was due to the presence of the Enlightenment skill.

[Enlightenment Lv. 3]

[-A persistent passive.

-Increases character experience and skill experience acquisition by 10.9% and accuracy and evasion by 20.3%.

* Skills attached to myth rated items can be upgraded.]

It increased the experience gained. That’s right. The effect of Enlightenment was like the dragon’s blessing. No, it was better than the dragon’s blessing because the level could be increased. Grid had been using the Enlightenment Sword like it was his own body, but he had overlooked this effect so far. However, the effect of the dragon’s blessing overlapping with Enlightenment was unmatched. The 20.9% increase in experience was applied at all times. This was 0.9% points higher than the experience buff potion which could only be drawn by Grid consuming a large amount of reputation points. 

On the first underground floor of the Galgunos Temple, the skeletons were dying, and Grid’s experience gauge was filling up. In front, Grid was very disappointed when he first came down here. He had expected stronger monsters that gave more experience to appear, but the monsters here were weaker than the war god follower who had emerged from the grave and the experience given was also lesser. 

However, this disappointment was only temporary. Grid’s disappointment soon changed to bliss. Unlike the war god followers, Galgunos’ skeleton soldiers could be killed quickly. There were five times more of them than the war god followers, and their speed of respawn was ridiculously fast.

Of course, this wasn’t a good thing from a general standpoint. The durability of the skeleton-based undead might be weak, but Galgunos’ skeleton soldiers were extremely dangerous because they were advanced monsters over level 350. In particular, they had high attack power in exchange for low health. Their attacks were fast, simple, and accurate. The skeleton soldiers used long spears as their weapon and had a high accuracy and damage. They were threatening to the high rankers who probably had an average defense of 4,000 points.

Unfortunately for them, Grid’s defense power exceeded the average. His stamina stat had only reached 2,400 points, but the +3 Valhalla of Infinite Affection raised his defense by 1,600 points. Grid’s total defense was close to 6,000. No matter how much the Galgunos’ skeleton soldiers tried, they were like eggs smashing against a rock. Moreover, it was a poisonous rock.

[You have suffered 3,900 damage!]

[The +3 Valhalla of Infinite Affection has emitted poison!]

The skeleton soldiers surrounding Grid were affected by the monstrous poison that spread. Their bones turned green, and they lost their health.

[The option effect ‘Black Flames’ has exploded from the +4 Lightning Sword Born from Enlightenment and Strong Desires!]

Grid quickly struck with maximum speed, and the black flames exploded continuously. “Link!” 

“Kyak kyak! Kyakyakyak!”

“...”

The skeleton soldiers were helpless as the Blade Aiming at the Gods, Randy, the Overgeared Skeletons, and Tiramet helped Grid. They were poisoned, burned by flames, slashed by swords, beaten by fists, had their bones crushed, and were tied up by the silver thread. Dozens of skeleton soldiers were incapacitated at once. The large number of monsters that would be disastrous for an ordinary person was a blessing to Grid.

“It is rude to be in front of the best demonic beast of hell!” The few surviving skeletons were killed by Noe, and the finish was perfect.

“I’ll take a break for a moment.” Grid even had some room to relax.

The Unicorn’s Blessing increased the recovery rate of all resources by 20%. Grid rode Overgeared Corn in the middle of the battle to restore his stamina.

[Status: Annoyed. 

Depressed.]

(I want a female rider, not male.)

...The Overgeared Corn seemed to be suffering, but Grid didn’t care. It was better to summon Overgeared Corn as much as possible to raise the level of favorability. Summoning Overgeared Corn during a hunt meant he would receive some experience and his level would rise.

‘Every time his level rises, he likes bringing up his favorite subject. By the way, what are they doing?’

Grid cocked his head from where he was sitting on Overgeared Corn. The Overgeared Skeletons were repeatedly picking up the bone fragments scattered throughout the battlefield. He felt uneasy because they resembled Yerim (Sexy Schoolgirl) whenever she showed up at a department store.

‘Don’t tell me that they want to have those?’

No. Which player in the world would share their miscellaneous items with their pets? The pet system didn’t require it, and he wasn’t Nyangmong. Grid wasn’t such a pushover. Grid hurriedly got off Overgeared Corn, swept up the skeleton soldiers running from one corner with Transcended Link, and then started to pick up all the miscellaneous items. Of course, it included the bone fragments of the Galgunos’ skeleton soldiers that the Overgeared Skeletons had been carefully looking at.

‘They are from high-level undead, so they will sell pretty well.’

They were thick and ugly pieces of bone. They were so hard that they could be used as material to make defense items. Of course, items made of bone had low durability and were difficult to repair, so Grid didn’t mean to make them.

Clack! Clack clack clack!

The Overgeared Skeletons stared at Grid. These normally insidious guys raised their ⌓ ⌓ shaped eyes and waved their fingers around. One of Overgeared Skeleton Two’s fingers broke off when it hit their jaw, but it picked the finger up and stuck it back on. It healed immediately.

“You... Do you really want this?”

Clack! Clack clack!

The Overgeared Skeletons nodded as if they had been waiting for Grid to ask that. Their excitement showed in the speed at which their jaws moved.

“Are you interested in the skeleton bones? Why didn’t you want it before?”

The probability of the Galgunos’ skeleton soldiers dropping bone fragments was around 3%. It was a very low probability for a miscellaneous item, which meant the value of the bone fragments might be more than expected. Grid wasn’t willing to give them the fragments. The Overgeared Skeletons were pets that didn’t have a separate affinity bar, and it wasn’t necessary to give them precious gifts. However...

‘Uhh.’

The Overgeared Skeletons couldn’t speak, but they were high-grade summons that expressed clear emotions. They were pretty cute and listened well, which meant Grid was fond of them. He had great expectations for them in the future. Evolving skeletons... They had used the death knight and lich skins during the demon king’s subjugation. Maybe that could actually become that...

“Okay.” Grid was troubled for a long time before pulling something out with trembling hands. They were two bone pieces.

“Take them. They’re gifts.”

Clack! Clack clack clack!

How happy were they? The Overgeared Skeletons received the bones from Grid and hugged each other before starting to dance. Of course, Grid quickly stopped them. He was worried they would add a ‘dancer’ to their second list of classes. They couldn’t dance, so the Overgeared Skeletons’ shoulders drooped. Then after a while, they checked the bone fragments in their hands and started to place them in the rib cage.

“...Eh?” Grid’s eyes widened at the unexpected behavior. The Overgeared Skeletons were laughing happily after adding one rib bone. The skeletons had become a bit bigger. He wasn’t mistaken. It was a small but tangible change.

*** 

At Elizabeth’s workshop...

“He didn’t come.”

Before Elizabeth joined the Overgeared Guild, Agnus had invaded her workshop. It was speculated that the purpose of his visit to Reinhardt had been Elizabeth. Now, he was nowhere to be found.

“...”

Lauel carried Lord while Coke escorted them. The two men were quiet for a while.

“We missed him.” Faker appeared out of the shadows and reported, “Agnus disappeared after being pursued by the Overgeared Shadows.”

***

Simultaneously, at a small inn in the market...

“You came,” Euphemina said to the bloody man who entered the room. His robe fell as he sat down, revealing his green hair. It was Agnus, a person who had caused many problems. He was a murderer currently accused of killing many accessory makers. However—

“You have many injuries.”

Euphemina wasn’t wary of him. She had found out from their previous meeting that he was different from what the world knew.

‘How many curses did he receive?’

Euphemina’s expression was bad as she examined Agnus’ condition. Agnus was being subjected to all types of curses, such as weakness, poison, and the inability to recover. Yes, curses. Curses involving the ‘story’ or ‘system’ were different from those that naturally recovered over time. 

‘The only way to resolve the curse is to kill the cursed target or solve the related story.’

It was useless to give him potions. Euphemina pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the blood stains off Agnus’ pale face. “You are wanted in seven kingdoms. Do you think it is unfair?” 

Agnus nervously brushed off Euphemina’s hand and laughed, “Kuku, who am I to feel it is unfair?”

“You didn’t kill those people.”

“...” Agnus’ shoulders trembled. Then he quickly regained his smile. “You don’t have to speak so much. You only came for one purpose.”

There was a person Agnus loved—the only person in the world who loved him. He wanted to revive her, the woman who had gone through terrible things because of him and ultimately left this world. If only to save her...

“I will free Mumud.”

The strength he had built up by not being a helpless victim… All the power had accumulated over the last few years. Agnus was ready to give up everything.

“Instead, be sure to keep your promise.” The smile disappeared from Agnus’ face. The madness was gone, and his golden eyes stared straight at Euphemina.

Euphemina didn’t avoid his gaze. “On my honor, I will keep my promise.” 

She was well aware of why the man in front of her had made this choice, and she didn’t plan to betray this man who had suffered all his life. After completing the Mumud Liberation quest, she would be sure to keep the promise. 

...Even if the outcome of the promise made him more unhappy. 

Then the visit was interrupted by the hunters who pursued Agnus from other countries. They had monstrous abilities that wrecked Agnus’ body and soul as they kept chasing him.

“...Kikik, we meet again.” Agnus stood up and pushed Euphemina out the window. It was his fight. He didn’t want the kid to be pulled into a fight that was impossible to win.