Overgeared

"That spiteful guy."

They never thought he would kill Pauld with his own hands. It was unexpected for such a thing to happen in that atmosphere.

Agnus had protected Pauld's side ever since rescuing him from Faker. He hid Pauld behind his back even when surrounded by Overgeared members. The expression on his face when he said goodbye to Pauld at the end... he was so lonely and sad that it was hard to believe it was acting. It felt like he was leaving a friend. Given this atmosphere, it was virtually impossible to predict that Agnus would attack Pauld.

"Indeed, that crazy guy couldn't make such an expression. I should've noticed his intentions when he left Pauld instead of restoring him."

"It's not that he didn't want to restore Pauld. It was that he couldn't. The regeneration power is sealed off until the broken nucleus is repaired."

"Really...? What a waste. I'm sorry since I wanted Faker to grow more...

"......"

Very few players understood or liked Agnus. It was the same for the Overgeared Guild who knew about Agnus' past. They sympathized with his past, but he was still an enemy. There were limits to understanding and empathy. In addition, Agnus had a history of invading the territory of the Overgeared Guild. A considerable number of Overgeared members and soldiers had died at his hands.

In particular, Pon detested Agnus. It was because many things had been suffered since the days of the Tzedakah Guild. He helped Agnus with his colleagues a few years ago, but he didn't do it because he liked Agnus. Today, he was ignored, so he hated Agnus even more.

"......"

Pon wasn't the type to just move his mouth. He scolded Agnus while properly looking at the surroundings. He gave potions and bandaged the wounded Shadows members and armored cavalry members.

Grid also did his job silently. He had pulled out a portable furnace and anvil and was repairing the members' broken weapons and armor. In this case, the Overgeared Skeletons and God Hands were very helpful. They repaired the mass produced items well. It wasn't until some time later that Grid organized his thoughts and spoke, "How many people are dead?"

There was no need to count all the injured. There was the Saintess in the Overgeared Kingdom. Even if their limbs were cut off, they could be healed as long as they survived.

"There are 175 deaths in the Shadows Group..."

More than half the troops had been lost. It was even the best power that was developed by transplanting the shadows. Nevertheless, they didn't accomplish their task. Grid stared straight at Faker and the Shadows members who couldn't raise their heads like they were sinners. His eyes were deep as he met the gaze of every person. "I am proud of you. Thanks to the Shadows Group, we were able to destroy Pauld and kill Agnus. Everyone has worked hard."

The biggest reason the Overgeared Guild decided that the lich Pauld should be eliminated was his ability to produce artifacts. In particular, it was determined that artifacts with the modifier 'Absurdity' and the permanent mechanism would be difficult to handle if they were produced in large quantities and held by Agnus and his undead.

It didn't matter that Agnus absorbed Pauld's power. It was highly likely he got the Artifact Production skill, but it was okay. Grid didn't think Agnus could create the Absurdity series and the permanent mechanisms alone. The desired goal was achieved.

It was an achievement that wouldn't have been possible without the Overgeared Shadows. Grid knew about the Shadows Group's skills, but even he hadn't expected them to be this good. It was an assassin group that would surely find and destroy opponents anywhere on the continent. They were capable, strong, and cool, and match the name of the Overgeared Shadows. There was a reason why the world was afraid.

"From today on, I will raise the quality of the equipment given to the Overgeared Shadows by one rating."

All troops in the Overgeared Kingdom had the mass produced Grid set given to them. It was a mass production set that Grid had made in the past. The items that were designed and mass produced by Reinhardt's blacksmiths had low usage conditions and there were less emotions attached to them.

They were just useful items. There were no negative effects that reduced stats and boasted better durability and attack power than those in the same rating. Above all, it had the advantage of being able to be used easily by anyone because the 'form' was ideal.

However, even the same items made with the same design were divided into ratings. For example, the Mass Production Grid's Sword that was spread to the largest number of soldiers ranged from normal to unique rated. The higher rated items were rare, so items of different ratings were given depending on the level of the army and the rank of the soldiers.

Among them, the Overgeared Shadows was an organization classified as within the upper level of the Overgeared Kingdom, even though their number was small. All members were guaranteed to get epic rated items and unique rated items were distributed to people at the promotion level or higher.

Still, Grid felt that it was lacking. He decided to arm all members with the unique rated mass produced set and treat those above the promotion level as first-grade knights. This meant that the few craftsmen in Reinhardt would be giving their best work. It was like defining the value of the Overgeared Shadows as special. The Shadows Group who sacrificed themselves were entitled for such treatment.

The foremost of them was naturally Faker. Faker proudly watched the Shadows members who were trembling with excitement. At this moment, he was filling Grid's wide field of view. The awe that he had felt toward Kraugel for so many years—the same emotions started to be directed toward Faker.

"Did you name Agnus as part of the kill list?" Grid asked when he recalled Faker's blow that took Agnus' life at the end and Faker nodded silently.

Grid's expression stiffened for a moment. The power of the Kill List skill was great, but the efficiency was relatively bad against players. Increasing the death penalty by 2-3 times was a scary feature and was inevitably fatal (the higher the level, the more terrible it was), but it was a one-off. It was more efficient to use it to target named NPCs and monsters.

Yet Faker put Agnus on the kill list. It seemed he wouldn't tolerate a threat to the Overgeared Kingdom. A lofty willpower was felt from him.

"...There is something called the Strange Magic Power Stone."

[Strange Magic Power Stone]

[Rating: Myth

Type: Consumable

Can increase the rating of the target item to the same rating as the stone.]

It was an item that Grid had saved. He didn't use it even when the Formless Sword was judged to be below the legendary level. It was a really valuable item.

"I'll use it for you."

He would repay a lofty willpower with lofty willpower. A smile slowly spread on Faker's face as he faced Grid's fiery eyes. It was a smile he was showing for the first time in his life. He lived in the shadows and now he showed a bright and brilliant smile that matched the sun perfectly. It felt rude to say thank you. Faker was having this thought when Pon hugged him and congratulated him, "Congratulations!"

Pon was also impressed with Faker and the Shadows members that he saw today. Thanks to this, the armored cavalry members were in a state of anxiety. It felt like hellish training was waiting for them...

***

The prince himself visited the city of Echiran. It was because the mayor's authority was too insufficient to meet Grid's request to be given secure magical coordinates for the principality.

"I understand. I will do so."

It was to disclose the kingdom's coordinates and permit them to be used for magical purposes. It was something that normally wouldn't have happened. It was too much trouble to guard against surprise tactics, such as using the coordinates for teleportation.

However, the prince of Hemilton trusted Grid and the Overgeared Kingdom. The Hemilton royal family, who had lived on the outskirts of the world for hundreds of years, was so pure (they even gave the Heart of the Frost Queen to the benefactor who healed the princess) that they couldn't doubt the one who saved the world several times.

Additionally, Grid's proposal was too sweet. The proposal was to set up a warp gate between Hemilton and the Overgeared Kingdom if the coordinate registration was granted. A warp gate—a product of magical engineering that existed in ancient times when giants made of metal traveled across the continent...

The highly advanced mobile system that Sticks reproduced with the capital and technology of the Overgeared Kingdom would be the core of the exchange between the Hemilton principality and the Overgeared Kingdom in the future.

'That's it.' Grid sighed with relief as he performed Lauel's errand well and negotiated with the king. He could've just summoned Braham to get the coordinates. The reason he did this was for the development of the Overgeared Kingdom as well as courtesy to his allies. From the beginning, the purpose was to install the warp gate.

Due to its long-term isolation, the Hemilton principality had built its own culture and was a very good exchange target. Exchange things that each side didn't have and they would receive a lot of help from each other. The problem was that the distance was too far... 'It will be terrible if the installation of the warp gate fails.'

Grid was worried about Sticks' concern that the warp gate technology wasn't yet complete.

"...Is that true?" The prince was sitting next to Grid and eating in this friendly atmosphere when a sharp light flashed in his blue eyes. It was due to the news that he received when a knight approached him and quietly whispered.

"Your visit has brought a great blessing to the principality."

"Did you receive good news?" Grid asked the prince.

Then the prince's smile deepened as he spoke, "There is a monster called the gray whale in the eastern waters. It is a guy with a huge body like a citadel. That guy roams through the sea, so the principality can't do any activities in the east at all. We can't even go fishing even though there is the sea in front of us. Now he is dead."

"I am delighted."

'I think he is the one I killed...' Grid was itching to talk, but he didn't say it in case he would look smug. Yet sometimes, silence was golden. It was enough not to say it.

"The people of the continent worship King Grid as a god. I heard about Your Majesty's achievements and understood their feelings, but I couldn't empathize. Honestly, I thought it was too much. How can you worship a living human being as a god? I and the principality just saw you as a hero. You have changed my mind today."

"......?"

"I heard a number of eyewitness reports that said Your Majesty came from the east side. Your Majesty must've been the one who killed the gray whale. It might be a coincidence, but... no, I feel it is an even greater fate if it is a coincidence."

At the prince's words, the eyes of the people in the hall looking at Grid became strange. They were all public officials of the Hemilton principality.

"The principality is closed off. Our ancestors feared the boundaries of the empire and didn't dare look at the continent. They isolated themselves. That is how we built our own culture. It is the same for faith. We don't believe in the goddess of light. We served the god of the sea in the hopes that one day he would destroy the gray whale and open the way for us to move through the sea. Isn't King Grid the god of the sea that we serve?"

It might sound like a silly joke made to the guest of honor, but that wasn't the case. They were words filled with deep favor and trust.

[Your myth has started to sprout in a remote kingdom where Asgard's faith hasn't encroached.]

[Your deity stat has risen by 1.]

"......"

It was the day after the people of the back alleys, killed and defiled by Agnus, and the 175 Shadows members turned to ash. A meteor shower poured down in mourning for them and Grid belatedly realized something.

It was that his myth, which he sometimes doubted due to its weakness, was clearly being engraved into this world.