Overgeared

"Aren't we going to build up a transcendent status soon?" Vantner spoke with a serious expression. He had been subjugating the demonic creatures of hell for more than half a year and he already wasn't ordinary.

Blood vessels that were as tough and thick as steel rose on the hard muscles that made armor look shabby. Every time the blood vessels twitched, the tattoos on the bald head moved and the impression he gave off changed dramatically. Depending on the angle of viewing, he seemed more ferocious and wild than a demon.

It was the effect of the Light Iron Armor skill that he acquired with the fifth class advancement. The tank-based players. No, it was the ultimate skill that all warrior-type players would covet. Light Iron Armor was a passive skill that significantly increased defense and attack power, and reduced the cooldown of some skills in exchange for constantly declining health. As a fifth class advancement tank with high natural recovery, it was literally the ultimate skill without burden even if it was activated at all times.

"Don't make a serious expression with that face. I thought you were a monster and almost killed you."

The shortcomings of Light Iron Armor was a change in appearance. Due to the increase in muscle volume upon activation, there was a concern that the impression could become very rough depending on the basic appearance. It was like Vantner right now.

Of course, Vantner accepted the change in appearance caused by Light Iron Armor as an advantage, not a disadvantage. He believed that baldness, muscles, tattoos, and a beard were a means to prove manliness. The evidence was his tattoo, shaved head, and thick beard that he added during the character customization stage.

"What~? What is this low level bastard saying? I can't hear it properly because it sounds like flies are buzzing?"

Vantner dreamed of becoming a handsome man, but he became a child when he was with his friend. He accepted it as a man's destiny. He made fun of Pon, who died every time he engaged with a single digit great demon, so he hadn't completed his fifth class advancement.

Regas spoke in place of Pon, who provoked trouble first, but fell silent because he couldn't refute it, "You will know when looking at Yura. She will be the first one out of all of us to become a transcendent."

"Um, that's right."

The hierarchy of legends was built up with achievements and fame. If Grid and the Overgeared Guild succeeded in the Baal raid and cleansed hell, some of the expedition members were likely to become legends. On the other hand, transcendence was a hierarchy that was obtained only by reaching the peak of martial arts. They had to overcome daily training and battles, fight and win dozens of times against enemies far more powerful than them, and influence the worldview with pure force alone. In short, they should be like Grid.

Meanwhile, the members of the Overgeared Guild had clearly seen it with their own eyes. The armed force of Demon Slayer Yura, who had been active in the battles that had continued for half a year. In particular, she grew rapidly every time she won a battle against a great demon, who had appeared more frequently starting from two months ago.

The light of destruction that she shot was so intense that it was incomparable to half a year ago. The more skilled she became in handling the Elemental King with the bizarre name of Nothing Stone, the stronger her physical ability and swordsmanship became exponentially. The reason why the group could counterattack and win even after being attacked by a single digit great demon wasn't only due to the kings of the different species, but also Yura's performance.

"Don't be sad. They are coming again."

Now the kings of the different species followed Yura well. At some point, they acknowledged her power and leadership and abandoned their resistance. All the Overgeared members were moved when in the end, even the half-draconian king Bunsdel acknowledged her and called her Captain. Jishuka had patted Yura on the shoulder and Yura had buried her face in Jishuka's chest.

"……"

The eyes of the kings of the different species lined up on either side of Yura reached the horizon. The distorted sky and trembling ground. The center of it was the horizon that was as jagged as a line drawn by a child. It was caused by clouds of dust. Clouds seemed to be coming. It was the sight of tens of thousands of demonic creatures advancing all at once.

This phenomenon had occurred several times a day starting from two months ago. Yura knew what caused this phenomenon.

Marbas reigned as a leading power in hell. A demon presumed to have known the truth of hell and struggled to restore hell to its original state—he built his position by walking a tightrope between the Baal and Amoract factions and had the power to lead the demons of hell regardless of their affiliation. Now that power belonged to Baal.

Baal appeared to have killed him and taken away the power.

"We will fight for around five hours."

"It is better than before."

"Those with Barbatos' vision, be wary of the great demons' intrusion."

"Thinking about it, we would've been ruined two months ago if we didn't have Barbatos. Right?"

"Barbatos is actually on our side."

The ranks of the Overgeared members were naturally divided into two. It was to prepare for a long battle. It was an operation to fight in shifts and distribute their stamina.

Faker melted into the shadows, while Jishuka, who was at the rear, would balance the first and second groups.

Yura, who was at the forefront, wrapped the Elemental King of Nothingness around her body. Like the orange divinity of the Overgeared God, Nothing Stone layered itself over her weapons and armor. She looked so much like Grid that it could be believed that she was Grid's apostle.

The hell expedition members naturally looked at her back. They trusted and relied on her. They expected her to become transcendent.

The transcendent status—this power resembled super sensitivity, the class characteristic of the Sword Saint, but it boasted a wider range of utility. It was necessary for the Overgeared members who would one day fight the celestial gods as well as cleanse hell.

It was because they couldn't let Grid suffer on his own forever. Acquiring transcendence was a homework that must be solved to be even a small help to Grid. It was Yura who would prove their possibilities. The strongest one in hell without Grid.

"Let's go."

Yura jumped in first and the kings of the different species and the Overgeared members followed her. The sight of tens of thousands of demonic creatures, strengthened by Baal's buffs, flocking every day was intimidating, but they weren't afraid. On the contrary, pleasure appeared on the faces of the Overgeared members.

This wave might be powerful due to Baal, but it gave high experience in proportion to its power. It would serve as a stepping stone for their rapid growth, just as it had been for the past two months. It would also balance hell. As long as a large number of demonic creatures gathered together, it would leave room in other areas of hell.

Players who had been fighting against the demonic creatures all over hell would have time to escape a crisis and reorganize. Just like most disasters, the raid of the great demons came unannounced.

The reason why ordinary players insisted on hunting in hell despite such risks wasn't simply because of their sense of mission to purify hell. It was because the actual profit was large. The Overgeared members were obligated to maintain their passion.

"Uh…? Wow, won't Faker unconditionally be the next transcendent after Yura?"

How long had they fought while being swept away by the wave of demonic creatures that came back no matter how many they killed?

The 15th Great Demon, who took advantage of the opportunity to attack, was bound by Faker's shadow army and was stabbed in the throat. He lost momentum for a while and was surrounded by Yura and the kings of the different species. He didn't get any benefits from the surprise attack and was instead isolated.

New great demons occupied the vacancies of the great demons who died in the Great Human and Demon War.

—If only there wasn't the hell elevator. Or if there hadn't been Demon Slayer Yura, they would've accumulated strength in hell and reigned in fear. However, they repeatedly died before they could grow and each time, the Overgeared members were growing stronger in reverse.

Good. They just needed to keep doing this consistently. They would make greater effort in order to not worry Grid, who had his growth stalled due to concentrating on item production.

[Martial God Zeratul has descended.]

"……!"

"What?"

The world message that rose in the aftermath of the players of Vex witnessing Zeratul. The shocking content made the faces of the enthusiastic Overgeared members turn white.

Martial God Zeratul—they recalled the hostility he had toward Grid and sensed that the worst situation would happen. In particular, Damian's reaction was intense since he had personally experienced Zeratul's overwhelming force.

They found out about the crisis on the surface thanks to the world message that was only one line and could no longer focus on the demonic creatures. They dismissed the situation in front of them as insignificant and sought to return.

Only a few seconds passed.

[Overgeared God 'Grid' has defeated Martial God 'Zeratul' who has descended to the surface.]

"……?"

"???"

Therefore, it was even more shocking. The half-conscious Overgeared members slashed at the monsters in front of them with blank faces. Their bodies moved mechanically even when half their consciousness was gone. It was a sight that proved how many enemies they had killed over the years. The first person to speak was Regas, who was famous for his good mentality.

"Yura will be a transcendent faster than we expected."

Their growth had always been three or four steps slower than Grid. Now that Grid started to break down the walls beyond a transcendent, it was the right time for them to slowly enter transcendence.

***

After reassuring the people of Vex, Grid returned to Reinhardt using the return scroll. His damaged body hadn't been restored, but the entire world had already received news of the martial god's defeat. Grid's name dominated all types of news.

"My Liege! Your Majesty! God! I love you! I respect you!"

Unsurprisingly, Lauel also received the news. He rushed forward with only socks on his feet and hugged Grid while crying. Noe laughed at the way Lauel laughed and cried. He boasted that he also made a great contribution.

"I can't believe you defeated the martial god at once… you are great. Are you now completely in the ranks of the absolutes?"

Lauel's eyes shone after hearing the detailed story. His clear eyes were full of hope. It seemed like he was going to tell Grid to fight Baal right away.

Grid smiled bitterly. "It isn't time to talk about an absolute just yet. Rather, I realized how lacking I am through this incident."

Grid consumed his immortality in exchange for cutting Zeratul. He was invincible for 10 seconds. He won thanks to the immortality, but it was important to consider that this was a one-on-one match.

Hell or heaven—the situation would be completely different if Grid was in the position to invade the enemy camp.

Would Baal or the heavenly gods fight Grid one-on-one? Baal might be eccentric and the demons of hell didn't cooperate easily with each other, but the heavenly gods were united around Rebecca. She even had an army of angels. Grid inevitably had to fight a large army. It would be against enemies more powerful than Zeratul who had descended to the surface. It would be hard to guarantee a one-on-one or two-on-two victory over them, but if he was hit by a group… there was no chance of winning at all.

'This time as well. What if Zeratul wasn't alone?'

A chill went down Grid's spine as he thought about Zeratul descending with Raphael. In the first place, the difficulty level of one-to-one and one-to-many was different. This was even more so when assuming that the opponents' skills were comparable to his own. It would be difficult to defeat one person within the time limit of the immortality. Even if he had succeeded in winning, he would've been killed by the other one. Of course, in such a situation, the apostles would've been summoned to fight. In any case, Grid decided that he needed to defend against the 'overwhelming attack power' of the absolutes.

'I need to complete the dragon armor set.'

This might not be the answer. Hadn't Hayate told him? Most fights between absolutes ended within a short period of time.

It was indeed like this. It meant that even if he completed the dragon armor set, there would be a limit to his tanking ability.

'Still, I have to give it a try.'

A 40% chance of triggering the absolute defense was different from a 100% chance of triggering the absolute defense. He was looking forward to the special benefits that would occur when the set was completed.

"……?"

Grid was deep in thought with his back against a chair. Lauel had been silent in order to not interfere with Grid's contemplation. Now his eyes slowly widened. The landscape had changed. The white glow from Grid's heart covered everything around it and forged it into steel.

The world expanded infinitely and the steel that swallowed the landscape rose like a mountain. It was a canyon of steel. It was the mental world of the Overgeared God. Grid sat alone in the gap of the endlessly soaring canyon and felt the heat rising from his chest. The Red Phoenix's Heart became lava and flowed down. It circled and permeated Grid's heart.

The steel that formed the canyon melted in the heat. It started pouring down like a waterfall. However, the size of the canyon didn't decrease.

The steel was infinite in Grid's mental world. It also responded to Grid's wishes. It repeatedly formed and made dozens or hundreds of armor that were layered over Grid's body. Every time it was overlaid, it became blurry and didn't appear to be visible, but Lauel clearly felt it.

He was now wearing hundreds of layers of armor. Even the mental world was overgeared…