Overgeared

It was when he saw the spear made by Hexetia. Grid once again realized the difference in skill between himself and Hexetia.

There were no complaints. He could understand. Hexetia was the god of blacksmiths. It was a shameful wish to compare blacksmithing skills against him, whose stats and powers were so rooted in the creation of items.

However, Grid didn't think he was unconditionally at a disadvantage. The material of Hexetia's short sword or spear was the divine stone. It was the unique material created by Hexetia. It was probably a great metal, but it didn't have an advantage over the scales and bones of a dragon.

He saw Xenon's scale today and was convinced.

[Xenon's Heart Scale]

[Rating: Myth

A scale that regenerates with the highest priority among the scales of the gray dragon, Xenon.

It is the thickest and strongest as it wraps right around the right side of the chest where the dragon's heart sits.]

'This is definitely on a different grade from the scales I've dealt with so far.'

It was when Grid fought Cranbel. This was the reason why he couldn't deal a direct blow to the dragon's heart. A bit of confidence grew in Grid's heart as he admired and examined the scale.

'One day, I will create a dragon weapon that goes beyond Hexetia's work.'

The possibilities were sufficient. Xenon was a lower ranked dragon. Even so, Grid succeeded in using Xenon's scales to embody the body parts of top ranked dragons like Ifrit and Cranbel. Someday, if he used the scales of an intermediate or top ranking dragon, there was a high possibility he could make them more perfect and it was even possible to recreate the body of an old dragon.

'An old dragon… I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's make a good helmet first.'

He had obtained a good scale, so he was going to try and reproduce Cranbel's head. The investment value of a helmet was high because it had a high defense among all the armor parts and it was an important part that specialized in defending weak spots. There was no regret about parting with Talsha. He had been replacing the armor made with the breaths of the Four Gods one by one, so why would there be any regrets about Talsha?

Talsha… it wasn't that he disliked Talima's Shame because it was rude. It had been a long time since Talsha had become obedient, even though it grumbled. To put it bluntly, it had become useless. It was because he didn't need the help of Talsha to dominate items. Talsha's current position was nothing more than noisy armor.

Of course, it was only for Grid. In addition to King's Negation that disarmed the target and King's Command's that controlled ego items, Talima's Shame had a unique skill called King's Domination.

[King's Domination]

[Dominates the wearer's mind and controls the body.

During the time when King's Domination is maintained, the wearer's attack power and all speeds will increase by 20%. The wearer will also be immune to critical hits and attacks in weak spots. However, the wearer will die at the end of the domination.

Skill Resources Consumed: None.

Skill Duration: Until the wearer dies.

Skill Cooldown Time: 24 hours.]

It was a skill that drove the wearer to death. This was a really blatant and vicious curse given that Talsha had no conditions to be equipped. Grid was naturally immune to it because it was a mental domination skill, but most people apart from Grid would have no way to avoid death the moment they wore Talsha.

'There will be times when it is useful depending on the situation.'

A knight's helmet with goat horns—Talsha's outward appearance was pretty cool. It was a design that suited Lauel's taste so much that his eyes shone and he said he wanted to give it a try (?). If he aimed it at the target well, he could easily make them put it on.

-Phew…

Talsha escaped being disposed of and sighed with relief. A monster whose intelligence was so high that it didn't want to belong to anyone. After repeatedly cursing and killing the wearer, it was sealed in Pandemonium.Talsha had resented its fate as a mere tool, but it was different now. It hoped to lead a life of its own. Its mind changed as it ventured out of the dark Pandemonium and adventured with Grid.

"Then shouldn't you have usually done a bit better?"

The defense of Talsha was from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 2,750. It adjusted its defense according to its mood, but it rarely showed a good form because its nature was evil. In particular, there were some cases where the defense was 1 in battle, causing damage to Grid.

-That… I tried to do well…

Grid no longer scolded Talsha, who closed its mouth while trying to make excuses. As he stated earlier, the uncooperative nature of Talsha was a matter of nature. It might've succumbed to Grid with force and was impressed by Grid's heart, but it wasn't inherently good. Grid shouldn't expect loyalty. It was similar to Iyarugt.

'Cranbel's head.'

Grid closed his eyes and focused. A dragon's head had horns. It was a very strong symbol that meant power, authority, life, eternity, etc. If there was a world line where Grid didn't meet Ifrit. The Grid of that world line wouldn't have even dared to make a dragon horn.

Meanwhile, the Grid of this world was lucky enough to meet Ifrit and make her horn. Ifrit actively cooperated. Grid used the experience of that time to create a divine sword that referenced the shape of Cranbel's horn. He was confident that he could properly reproduce Cranbel's head, which had two horns protruding from the temples.

Of course, it wasn't a perfect reproduction. This was due to the exaggerated protrusion of the dragon's snout. It was necessary to change it to a shape appropriate to wear. It was also the reason why he planned to make Cranbel's Head. Ifrit's single horn was too large compared to Cranbel's Horn. He had to scale it down further, so it was likely to lose the value.

'I have to do my best more than usual.'

They were misleading words. It was because Grid had always done his best. It was physically impossible to do more than his usual best. Even so, Grid wasn't conscious of the impossible. It didn't matter if it was possible or not. He always tried to do better today than yesterday, and better tomorrow than today. He maintained the same attitude even if the desired result didn't come out. It was the secret to always staying at the top and was the basics.

'The helmet is special compared to other armor parts.'

A dragon's head not only had horns, but also a mouth. It was an organ where a real dragon released Breath and spoke the Dragon Words. He didn't want it for Dragon Words. Dragon Words were the perfect power of dragons who had fulfilled the covenant several times. It made no sense to simply implement it with items.

However, the Breath was worth looking forward to. Didn't Grid implement a Small Breath based on the dragon heart's functional pattern with the gauntlet that he made earlier, Ifrit's Arm? Once it came to Cranbel's Head, a more powerful Breath might be attached to the skill. It was an established fact that the viability would develop greatly based on the symbolic meaning of the horn.

"Please, god."

"Huh?"

"Who are you calling…?"

"……"

He had returned after receiving the scales from Xenon. Grid had been praying as a habit before designing Cranbel's Head with Item Creation. Now he closed his mouth at these words. Garion, Debirion, and Lars were around him. All of them had a bewildered expression at Grid's search for a god and their attitude made Grid feel embarrassed.

'There are no human beings.'

A bit… the emotions were different. Did he move the smithy to the temple for nothing?

Grid shook his head despite his regret. For production and enhancement, the location and timing were important. This was the historic wisdom of the predecessors that had been passed down from the beginning of the birth of MMORPGs.

There were too many statistics to dismiss it as a mere superstition.

It was correct to say that it resembled physiognomy. It was clear that the probability of success of making and enhancing items would be higher in the Overgeared World, the most sacred place in the world. —Probably.

'Let's begin.'

Grid took a deep breath and calmed down. Then he started the production. The non-stop moving foot on the bellows was as sophisticated as a machine and there were no mistakes. The flames in the furnace moved according to Grid's will. It was as if Grid's will was embodied.

'It has not been easy.'

The gods were deeply impressed by the sight of Grid smelting the dragon scale for three days and nights. A god was omnipotent compared to humans. They were able to achieve whatever they wanted when it came to most work, especially in their field. Garion's power to immediately restore the land was a prime example.

It was very unfamiliar for a god to be absorbed in a certain task while maintaining extreme concentration. It was an unnecessary ascetic practice. Yet at this moment, Grid was burdening himself with the ascetic practice.

Self-control—it was due to this side that he managed to overshadow the years.

A few more days passed after the gods realized it.

[Cloaked Dragon Cranbel's Head has been completed.]

Grid's item production was finished. A helmet made by splitting Xenon's scale into hundreds of pieces and connecting them to form two separate horns. It resembled the head of a dragon who was beheaded the moment it roared. It was a structure in which the wearer's face was located between the gaping upper and lower jaws. Since the lower part of the mouth was split to the left and right to cover the wearer's neck, it didn't interfere with movement and played the role of a helmet properly.

It was a bit wild, but it suited Grid very well. Grid's sharp eyes and the raw-looking helmet gave a great feeling of harmony. It was reminiscent of a monarch who commanded the world with a fierce force.

'I want it.'

Debirion unconsciously harbored a desire. He thought that if he wore this while going hunting in the forest, he could raise his shoulders high. It was the first material desire he had ever felt in his life.

Just as Debirion was feeling flustered by his desire, Grid tilted his head at an angle. Then some of the scales that made up the helmet worked and changed positions. The two horns that rose from the sides rotated in the reverse direction to wrap around his neck thickly, and the upper part of the mouth, which acted as a covering, lowered and transformed into a face shield that covered the entire face except for Grid's eyes.

The wild feeling disappeared and it instead gave off a firm, yet noble, feeling. It was reminiscent of a knight in winter wearing a thick scarf.

'It must be painted separately in order to match well with other armor.'

He could set the helmet to be invisible. In particular, the crown and helmet could be worn together, so Grid usually set it so that the crown was visible. Yet in the future, he would need to make the helmet visible. It was due to the special effect attached to the helmet.

[★ The skill 'Somewhat Incomplete Breath' has been generated.

[Somewhat Incomplete Breath Lv. 1]

[Instantly releases magic power, dealing fixed damage equal to 40 times the amount of intelligence to all beings in its path.

The higher the user's status, the greater the damage. There will be an absolute hit rate correction due to the high speed.

Dramatically reduces the target's magic resistance the moment the target is hit. The penetration and multiple hits effects will occur.

Skill Mana Cost: 50,000

Skill Cooldown Time: 25 minutes.

* This skill doesn't share a cooldown with Small Breath.

* Every time this skill is used, the face shield made of Cranbel's Head will be released and it will be opened.

* If the helmet's appearance is set to be hidden, the wearer must open their mouth wide to use the skill.]

"……"

The emperor, a god, the leader of a guild, and someone's husband and father—he couldn't open his mouth in front of people to breathe out fire.

Grid had a duty to maintain the minimum of dignity.