Overgeared

Click.

The lid of the diamond class Comet Group capsule quietly opened. The person who raised his body from inside was none other than Shin Youngwoo.

‘I now understand Piaro’s words from his days as a great swordsman.’

In the past, Piaro expressed that he had abandoned aura for sword energy. It seemed like an abstract concept in martial arts, so Grid hadn’t understood it at the time, but now it was clear.

‘At that time, Piaro acquired a new resource called sword energy. But due to his position as a NPC, it’s different to articulate the concept of a special resource.’

He didn’t know for certain why he had to leave aura. However, now it was possible to deduce to a certain degree.

‘There are skills that use sword energy as a resource and the power of these skills is much better than aura.’

Every person had different skills. In Piaro’s case, his aura related skills might be relatively weak. It didn’t make sense to have them grab his ankle when he was trying to be a sword saint.

“Huuk. Huuk.”

Youngwoo was moving continuously even while thinking. He stretched the body that had been trapped in the capsule, did one hundred push-ups and then one hundred pull-ups. A healthy mind would dwell in a healthy body. The reason Youngwoo logged out every six hours was to eat and to maintain his health.

‘If I didn’t exercise...’

His head would become even more like a stone and he would be frustrated every time he looked in the mirror. He felt good every time he exercised, allowing his mind to emit a clear and positive energy.

'...There are two ways I can approach sword energy.’

Youngwoo showered after his workout. He had jajangmyeon delivered for lunch then he put on a cardigan and sat in front of the garden pond. His disciplined body in the pond was nice enough to compare with athletes and his deeply thoughtful eyes were reminiscent of an actor. 

‘First I need to figure out how to replace sword energy with fighting energy.’

In this case, he had to rely on Sticks. He couldn’t be sure how to use fighting energy but Sticks was still a sage. He might have clues for Youngwoo.

‘The second is to examine the sword with Piaro and Asmophel.’

There had to be a way of achieving the great swordsman title through training. Chris was convinced that great swordsman was a title unique to swordsman classes but Grid’s idea was different. Why? Pagma was a great swordsman.

‘A blacksmith and great swordsman...’

If it was possible for Pagma, it would be possible for him as well. Grid had faith, but he would rather find a way to exploit fighting energy than being a great swordsman. According to Chris, sword energy was a resource that opened at a certain level after becoming a great swordsman. In other words, it didn’t mean he would obtain sword energy if he became a great swordsman.

‘I might have to take great swordsman related quests for a few years.’

It had almost been two years in Satisfy time since Grid received Braham’s soul. But he only had a few magic spells available. It took a lot of time and effort to gain results in areas far from his class.

‘First of all, I want to use 100,000 Army Swordsmanship right now.’

It was a hidden skill that he obtained after suffering. To not be able to use it was painful.

‘If possible, I want to activate the skill before the National Competition.’

Grid was reminded of Chris, who he met after a long time. As he was growing, other people were also growing. Grid wanted to be more perfect and stronger in the National Competition. That’s right. Grid had already decided to participate in the 3rd National Competition. It was because the propaganda effect was important.

‘I have to stamp the majesty of the Overgeared King onto the world so that people will quickly gather in the Overgeared Kingdom.’

In the next National Competition.

‘I need to be active and show my strength every time.’

Shin Youngwoo promised. But he didn’t know. There was a video file on the Internet called ‘Grid’s Chunni Scene.avi’...

*** 

Grid was the best star of South Korea! His fan cafe membership now exceeded one million. There were many people who loved Grid and some of them had the stalker temperament. They wanted to see Grid occasionally and there was a female player who worked as a maid in the Overgeared Kingdom.

She was the culprit. As soon as she discovered that Grid had appeared in the palace, she turned on video recording mode and then Grid shouted 100,000 Army Massacre Sword.

"Haack, haack. Grid is so cute.”

A wide back and shoulders like a swimmer. Sharp eyes without double eyelids. Such a manly person was doing such cute actions?

The woman in her early 20’s, ‘Min’ replayed the video of Grid shouted 100,000 Army Massacre Sword at a tree several times. She was in ecstasy. Then she suddenly had a desire to share this video with other fans. It was purely to spread the appearance of the cute Grid. Thus, she finally uploaded the video to Grid’s fan cafe.

The resulting ripple effect was large. The video of Grid shouting 100,000 Army Massacre Sword was spread by members of Grid’s fan cafe to various SNS sites and communities.

-100,000 Army Massacre Sword ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Crazy ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Having delusions of killing 100,000...

-No, no matter how delusional it is. Isn’t the naming sense too low level? Isn’t this childish skill name something an elementary school student would make up? Is Grid’s mental age that low?

-Sigh, really. What mental age? You can play when you are alone.

-It’s too different from what I see on broadcast. it is funny that he has caught the chuuni disease.

-Chuuni? Grid’s life is one million times better than yours.

-It is funny that this video is controversial right now. Doesn’t everyone know that Grid is a chuuni? If he was a normal person, will he be able to think up the names Overgeared Guild, Overgeared Kingdom, and Overgeared King? Aren’t you all idiots?

-...

People didn’t know about the existence of a skill called 100,000 Army Massacre Sword. They had no choice but to label it Grid’s naming sense. Of course, there were many people who purely enjoyed the video, such as members of Grid’s fan cafe. The achievements that Grid showed were so diverse that it was extremely rare to see someone unconditionally envy and degrade Grid. 

*** 

A beautiful peninsula that boasted a variety of climates, Lubana. It had already been 200 years since it became a territory of the Saharan Empire, but Lubana had great pride in its history and culture. It was natural, since it existed as an independent kingdom for approximately half a thousand years before Madra died.

But the people of Lubana were in pain. It was due to the discrimination of the mainland and the distorted education imposed by the empire. The people of Lubana had been constantly suppressed for the past 200 years and this resulted in great dissatisfaction with the empire.

At this time, a person who claimed to be the descendant of the Undefeated King appeared. He shouted.

‘I will free you.’

It was enough to tempt the already tired people of Lubana. The Lubana people responded to the descendant of the Undefeated King and rebelled against the empire. It was a movement for independence. The people of Lubana didn’t want to be discriminated against any longer. They wanted to live freely.

However, the empire didn’t tolerate their free will and dispatched troops. The descendant of the Undefeated King fought back.

“Pant... Pant...”

Oasis. He was an early user who had been playing since Satisfy opened. He always maintained a ranking within the top 10 million. 10 million out of two billion. It was certainly a high ranking. But the level was too vague to boast about. A person in the middle of mediocrity, that was Oasis.

Of course, Oasis was aware of this fact. He never once thought of himself as extraordinary, and celebrities such as Kraugel and Grid were always the subject of his longing. If only he was born with talent like Kraugel. If only he had good luck and the charm to attract people like Grid. He really didn’t know how many times he hoped and dreamt about this. They were ideal protagonists of a shonen manhwa. Just like most people, Oasis wanted to be a special person.

But reality was relentless and his everyday life was always ordinary. One day, an opportunity arrived for him. Due to his timid personality, he was always cautious. That’s why Oasis had never lost a fight. He had never been defeated or died when he came to Lubana as a second advancement class and found something.

An old sheath. It was an ego item with part of the ego of the Undefeated King.

-There isn’t the aura of a loser or a master around you. In any case, you are undefeated. You are moderately interesting and curious. In the end, what type of master are you? I will check.

Undefeated King Madra. A relatively unknown person compared to other legends because he was only active in Lubana during his lifetime. Oasis smiled the moment he was chosen. It was due to the idea that ‘an ordinary person was chosen by a legend.’ Anyway, this was an opportunity for Oasis.

‘I will also become a legend.’

Would it be possible to work alongside Kraugel and Grid, who he had previously only seen from a distance? Could he also live like a protagonist in a movie? Oasis couldn’t miss this chance. He respectfully received the Undefeated King’s old sheath.

“I will believe and follow you. Please make me a master.”

He would become a master. If he was like Kraugel or Grid, he would’ve shouted this. But Oasis was just an extra. He couldn’t shout such a thing. He was desperate. After careful thought, he proceeded with a long quest from the old sheath that took a year. It was an opportunity he won with his own efforts, but Oasis couldn’t recognize this. He believed it was luck that this chance came to an ordinary person like him and tried not to miss it.

As a result, the old sheath gave him a choice. During the process of performing the class quest to become the Undefeated King’s Descendant, he took on the adventure of a lifetime. He waged war against the Saharan Empire.  He who had always hidden in a safe place. He who had always given up dangerous adventures and quests.

He had hopes and dreams. After this adventure, he hoped to become the main character. But he soon realized.

‘A dream is just a dream...’

Ku tang tang tang!

It had been a long time since his vision started blinking red.

Oasis no longer resisted the knights. The passive super sensitivity and status resistance gained after becoming the Undefeated King’s Descendant candidate was still exercised, but his physical and mental strength were at their limits. The effect of the ‘infinite stamina’ and ‘10 times stats increase’ received from quest progress privilege was ineffective.

‘The reason I wasn’t defeated once after getting my second advancement class is...’

It was because he ran away. It wasn’t because he fought and won in trials like the Undefeated King.

‘I...’

He wasn’t qualified. Oasis’ heart acknowledged the awful reality. The dream he had in his heart was shattered. Surrounded by thousands of imperial troops, First Knight Mercedes approached him. A beautiful and expressionless woman. A big shot that the original Oasis would’ve never been able to face. There was no inspiration in her eyes as she gazed at Oasis.

"In the end, the rebels are suppressed. You have lost in your debut and are disqualified from being the Undefeated King’s Descendant.”

"...I never qualified in the first place.”

Oasis silently closed his eyes. He had no fear about facing death for the first time, nor did he regret losing the opportunity to become the Undefeated King’s Descendant. As he recalled the fact that pine needles should just eat pine needles, he prepared to return to his original place.

At that moment.

“Hey, young lady. Hasn’t it been a while?”

Suddenly, Oasis heard a middle-aged man’s voice. The power of the voice was so great that the eyes of thousands of soldiers headed in its direction. Oasis also reflexively turned his head. Then he saw it.

"God of War...?”

Ares. Another main character in the world like Kraugel and Grid. He appeared on the battlefield!

"I'm sorry, but I have to take the baby Undefeated King with me.”

“You...!”

Mercedes’s expressionless face distorted for the first time. She hated Ares, who dared to go against the empire and set up his own kingdom. His existence itself couldn’t be tolerated. Scott and Luck appeared on her left and right. Each of them shot their ultimate skills.

Ares didn’t miss this gap. He led the 50,000 troops of Valhalla. Now there was a significant rise in his stats. As the head of the army, he broke through the imperial army and ran to Oasis.

"You’re the undefeated king? You must be the undefeated king! Isn't that right? Kelkel!”

“...”

Ares on a giant horse wasn’t comparable to a normal person. He looked as big as a giant. This was the presence of a main character. The thrilled Oasis grabbed Ares’ hand.