Overgeared

"Uh, how are you? Are you comfortable?"

[The water clan warrior 'Dalina' has given you the protection of the sea.]

[Breathing underwater has become possible.]

"……"

Grid's eyes widened as he jumped into the sea.

A protection to help him breathe underwater. Of course, Grid didn't need it. The myth rated mark 'Black Tortoise's Shell' that was engraved like a tattoo on Grid's body allowed him to breathe underwater. The surprising thing was that a young warrior had used the blessing.

Grid glanced at the young warrior of the water clan. In the center of the sea where sunlight melted and glowed bright green, memories of the past were recalled through the eyes he met.

"You, were you in Siren before…?"

"D-D-Do you remember? That's right! I had the honor of fighting with Your Majesty when I was young! Hehe, I didn't even have the strength to lift a trident at the time, so I threw a conch shell from afar…"

"…You have grown a lot."

A smile spread on Grid's face. The expression on his face softened to the point where even Grid himself was surprised. He was glad. The child he had protected had become an adult.

'Even the protection of the sea can be used.'

The absolute protection that allowed breathing underwater was a privilege of the water clan royalty and some veteran warriors until just 10 years ago. Yet as the young warrior in front of him proved, time had passed. Now most of the water clan warriors had been reborn as talents who could freely use the protection.

"Every day, I have offered a prayer of gratitude to Your Majesty. It is thanks to Your Majesty that we can live, breathe, swim with fish, cook delicious seaweed and eat it every day."

"……"

The number of times you have helped me is far more than the number of times I have helped you.

Even so, they were still talking in an unchanged manner about the old favor? He was happy, embarrassed, and sorry.

Grid swam quickly. The young warrior chased after him in a hurry and delivered good news.

"Ah! Not long ago, Prince Lord visited Siren. The king admired him for being so strong."

'He has already reached there.'

The first adventure Lord decided on was following his father's path. He must've grown a lot in the months Grid hadn't seen him.

'He is praiseworthy. I miss him.'

Gradually, the sea darkened. Grid and the water clan warriors sank into the abyss until the sea turned black.

"Here." Grid suddenly pulled out a circular shield. It was something he had kept since making the knights' equipment a long time ago. It was light, so there were no restrictions when using it with a weapon. He had used it as a secondary equipment around twice in a few years.

"Ah…?" The young water clan warrior took the shield in a daze and held it.

The God Hands turned her body to the side. Just then—

Thump!

A shark-type monster emerged from a rock, rushed into the shield, and hit its head on it. The young warrior was alert. She immediately understood the situation and stabbed the enemy's belly with a trident.

"Isn't it pretty useful? It is a gift."

"Heirloom…! N-No! I'll tell the king and make it a national treasure!"

"Why give it to the king when I gave it to you?"

A new sight filled Grid's vision as he smiled and patted the warrior's shoulder.

[You are the first player to discover the ancient city of Bellitori.]

It was a huge green city. There were low and small houses, as well as tall and grand buildings. There were collapsed altars, stairs, and unknown debris. Everything in the city was covered with green moss.

Was that the ruins of a castle?

As they got closer to the city, a particularly large and desolate area attracted Grid's attention. Remnants of stone slabs were scattered all over the ruins of the castle and strange letters and pictures were suddenly seen through the cracks in the moss that the fish ate.

[Deciphered the 'Slab of Bellitori' as a reward for being the first to find Bellitori.]

The moment the notification window appeared, the remnants of the stone slabs emitted a brilliant light. The light gathered at a single point and projected a scene from the past. He saw a slab as high as a wall. After that, the remains of the ancient giants, which had no traces left, stood tall.

'The sun, moon, and star… no, is it three suns?'

At the top of the slab, three suns were embossed. Each one was of a different size and one was particularly small. This was why he thought it was a star. Then when he looked closely, he saw they all had the same form. Below the picture was an impressive inscription.

-Our ancestors have ascended to the moon, so we shall ascend to the sun.

"……?"

They reached the moon? Did the ancient giants make spaceships?

'No, if they had built spaceships, they wouldn't have said an absurd thing like ascending to the sun.'

The moon and sun here probably meant Heaven and the surface. The moment that Grid thought this.

[The experience of all skills has increased by 30% in return for gaining a portion of ancient knowledge.]

[The level of Grid's Combat Techniques that Depicts the End of the Martial God (?) has risen.]

[The level of Spear Shot has risen.]

[The level of Magic Power Cohesion (Enhanced) has risen.]

[The level of Magic Power Emission (Enhanced) has risen.]

[The level of Mixed Throw Strikes has risen.]

[The level of Turning the World Upside Down has risen.]

……

…

Huge rewards occurred and was followed by Filewolf's explanation.

"A very long time ago… there were three suns and more gods lived in Asgard than now. They remember it as a time of peace, but that wasn't the case for us. The gods of that time interfered too easily with the surface." Filewolf's voice was heavy as he recalled old memories. "A neighbor or wife would suddenly disappear one day and return with a child of a god or the sheep would suddenly turn into a herd of bison, trampling and killing a little shepherd boy…"

"Did the gods descend to the surface and do those things?"

"There were too many gods. There are all types of stars among the stars. All types of problems have arisen due to their light pranks. The half-gods who grew up in the midst of humans started to resent the heavenly gods who didn't respect humans. The gods used their insignificant revenge as a mere game. They gave trials and moved the half-gods as they wanted under the pretext of helping them to get revenge. At this time, they also provoked the dragons, which led to a situation where the gods were hunted instead."

"Eh…?"

"The order was broken. The authority of the gods was lost, while the half-gods who overcame the trials became stronger. It was a deadly problem that humans started deifying the half-gods. The nervous gods gradually became violent."

"In the process, the gods of Asgard divided into factions and fought a war. The seven malignant saints were born."

"That's right."

Human beings who worshiped half-gods were struck by thunderbolts and killed. The half-gods who lost their divinity had their strength overshadowed and were extinguished. Every time the heavenly gods went to war, tsunamis flooded the ground and volcanoes erupted. It was a chaotic world where only humans cried.

The wise giants fought on the side of humans. They supported humanity by creating all types of weapons. The price was great. The entire giant kingdom was buried deep in the sea. Since then, humanity was truly alone. They were unable to rely on gods, half-gods, and even the giants, so they learned wisdom and skills to survive on their own.

Some gods were wary and jealous of them. Demons were supported by the gods and rose from hell.

The seven good people who fought on the side of the gods noticed the ugly sins of the gods and belatedly stood on the side of humanity again. A new war started and ended. The seven good people got the stigma of the seven evils.

…Now in the present time. The world that regained its own order was better off than the past. The influence of the gods wasn't the same as before after suffering the humiliation of making a pact with the dragon while being divided in half.

Thanks to collaborators such as the giants and the seven good people, or perhaps due to the need of the gods, humanity grew wonderfully and forgot the sins of the past. They were able to stand on their own. They produced numerous legends and human gods.

At the center of it were the players, including Grid and the Overgeared members. It meant it wasn't a difficult position to influence the world. Humanity of the present time was strong.

Filewolf clearly grasped it. Thus, they found a city buried in the sea. He didn't mind the fact that this city, which reappeared again in the world, would terribly displease the heavenly gods.

"It was the time when the war of the gods intensified. The giants were concerned the surface would be destroyed without a trace and somehow tried to climb to the heavens. We had the pure hope that we could mediate the war by offering the treasures made using our wisdom. We expected that transcendent beings would be separated from common sense."

The inscription engraved on the slab. The commitment to ascend to the sun, i.e. to heaven, was right.

"However, we didn't make it to heaven. The big, hard flight that we devoted our lives to couldn't handle the heat of the sun. Our hopes were dashed. It was in a frustratingly easy manner."

"……"

"A god descended before us, who were frustrated. King Daebyeol—he, who has been taking care of humanity alone for a long time, fired an arrow and dropped the biggest sun. Thanks to this, there were only two suns left in the world and we were able to ascend to heaven. Well, that is the end of it. It wasn't possible to negotiate. Our giants, who were already an eyesore in the eyes of the gods, were buried in the sea shortly after. This is what I experienced."

"King Daebyeol…"

The day he visited the Hwan Kingdom with Zik and Raiders, no, Zibal. Grid saw the expelled gods. Among them was King Sobyeol. The son of Hanul, a god of the beginning, Unlike the three masters, he had a decent character. He was also one of the objects of respect whom Zik bowed to.

"Where is King Daebyeol now and what is he doing?"

If King Daebyeol fought for humanity and King Sobyeol's tendencies were similar to King Daebyeol…

Could it be possible to convince the two brothers to join the same side?

"He fell to hell," Filewolf conveyed the brutal reality to the hopeful Grid.

"…Huh?"

"He paid the price for helping us. At that time, all the heavenly gods worked together. The sight of divine beings rushing toward King Daebyeol like monkfish… it was terrible enough to appear in my nightmares even after I died."

"The gods all worked together? Hanul and King Sobyeol as well?"

"I don't remember the faces of the gods, but I'm sure they were there. There wasn't a single god who protected King Daebyeol. At that time, the actions of King Daebyeol seemed to have crossed the final line, so I think he was used as an example for all gods."

"…Disgusting guys."

Gods were worshiped because they existed for humanity and the world. On that topic—

They buried the giants who visited Asgard in hope of mercy and threw the god who helped them into hell? From what point of view did they exist for humanity and the world?

'I would believe it if they were called parasites.'

"I just told you a story of the past because I thought you would be curious about the stone slab. Don't waste your mind on what happened a thousand years ago. You are the only one who will suffer."

"…Yes."

The moon night iron—Grid recalled his purpose for coming here and calmed down his boiling insides. Then after a while, his insides were turned over again.

[Intruder found.]

[Identified the target as a god.]

"Uh? Uhh?"

"Oh my? I'm sorry. I didn't think this would be here. I thought it was moved after I died."

[The god killer sequence is activated.]

A huge moss-covered stone statue with glowing blue eyes—the current changed dramatically as soon as the stone statue took a step. A terrifying whirlpool occurred and started to suck in everything in the area. The moss that covered the stone statue was scattered without a trace.

"Magic Machine Trauka."

A giant that was eight meters high. Its armaments, which were being activated for the first time in a thousand years, were as red as blood.

"It is the only model among the magic machines made with a great god killing weapon instead of a great magic weapon. It was the last project of the giants…"

Just a few seconds was enough for it to reach the surface 1,000 meters above.

Moonlight surrounded Grid's body as he was struck in the stomach by the kick of Trauka, who shot forward like lightning using the magic power engine.

It was night.

'It won't be easy.'

30 God Hands were already spreading out the artificial senses around Grid. Grid avoided the torpedoes that chased him through the water and rotated his body like a spintop. Trauka's shoulder, which resembled a dragon's head, collided with Gujel's Dao.

"In the end, I feel like Raiders is useless."

[Warning. The target's divinity is very high.]

The color of Grid's divinity had deepened. The color was clearly deeper compared to before he wrote the 17th epic. It was like a sunrise over the horizon, so that the night became overshadowed.