Overgeared

“The jewels... Depending on the hardness, can they be attached to actual equipment like swords or armor?”

If so, Grid would be able to attach the stats and resistance from Belial’s jewels to his equipment. The combination of battle gear and jewels would lead to the further development of being overgeared. Elizabeth nodded at Grid who was filled with anticipation. “It isn’t a bad idea and is a rather ideal combination. A large number of accessory makers and blacksmiths have already tried it, but they failed.”

This was because there was a fundamental problem.

“The toughness (resistance to breaking) of the jewels isn’t proportional to hardness. Apart from some special jewels, most jewels are easy to break. Even the famous diamonds are vulnerable to shock impact. It is the same for Belial’s jewels. That’s why it is very rare to attach jewels to equipment that aren’t intended for ceremonial and decorative purposes. A solid jewel that continuously receives impact from weapons like a sword or a spear will soon be destroyed.”

“What are shock resistant special gems?”

“They are typically black diamonds. But they are special jewels that I can’t work on. Perhaps it is the realm of a legendary accessories maker...”

“Hrmm...” Disappointment filled Grid’s face. It was annoying to hear that the idea he thought of was useless. However, this only lasted for a moment.

‘Wait?’ Grid was suddenly reminded of a crown. Why had he postponed the production of a crown after becoming the First King? It was because he couldn’t put splendid jewels in the crown which was a symbol of power and honor, but it was also because he hadn’t been able to acquire a skilled accessories maker.

Thus, he had put off making the crown. 

Then he remembered something that was buried in his memories...

‘I can wear a crown and a helmet at the same time while hiding the appearance of one.’

Grid now had a good accessories maker and large quantities of excellent jewels. He could make a crown with 10 jewels attached, similar to the emperor’s crown. That way, his stats would rise significantly. Ordinary people wouldn’t wear a crown in battle. The jewels would soon be destroyed, and there would be a large loss of assets. Then what about Grid?

‘I can put a helmet over the crown. The abilities of the crown would be applied in full, but there would be no need to worry about the jewels being destroyed.’

One of the greatest benefits of the First King title was the addition of an ‘equipment slot’ which no one else had. Other people had to choose one item for their head, such as a helmet, hat, crown, and so on, while Grid could wear one crown and one headpiece.

In fact, Grid had used the Holy Light Crown to experiment with adding a helmet over a crown or a crown over a helmet. In other words, by wearing a crown under the helmet, he would be able to apply the crown’s abilities while the durability of the crown would be protected by the helmet. He didn’t know how it would be for equipment items, but this meant he could attach the jewels to the crown and securely gain the ability to increase his stats with the jewels! Still, there was a problem.

‘The helmet must be big enough to wear over the crown.’

In the past three years, Grid had been wearing the Thick Helmet that he’d made along with Triple Layers. As its name suggested, the Thick Helmet boasted a high physical defense and a large size. It was possible to wear the helmet over the Holy Light Crown.

Then could it be used with a new crown? The answer was NO. Grid wanted to attach as many jewels as possible to the new crown, but he also had to pay attention to the design. The size of the new crown would naturally be larger than the Holy Light Crown, so the helmet that was worn over it naturally had to grow in size.

‘The helmet...’

Grid’s eyes narrowed. If he made a helmet large enough to wear over the crown, he feared that his eyesight would be disturbed and his movements slowed down.

‘Ah?’ Grid saw Elizabeth working on the next jewel and remembered something. It was something that Lim Cheolho had worn when he visited Grid’s house to celebrate his birthday. 

‘A cone hat...!’

In standard language, it was a pointed hat—a three-dimensional triangular shaped hat.

‘If I raise the height of the helmet, I will have enough space to wear a crown and my field of view won’t be disturbed because the left and right dimensions are narrow.’

‘Wow, I really am a genius,’ Grid thought about himself admirably.

He only cared about the shape of the crown, which affected a king’s dignity, and didn’t pay attention to the shape of the helmet, but it wasn’t because he was acting stupid again. As a result of the First King title, Grid could choose the ‘exposed appearance’ to be either a helmet or a crown. Once the helmet was worn over the crown, he could choose the appearance of the crown and then get the ‘cool’ effect.

Grid was thinking along when he suddenly started to laugh, causing Elizabeth to look at him. “Did something good happen?” 

Then Grid asked her, “Is there a limit on the number of jewels that can be attached to an item? For example, how many jewels can be attached to a ring?”

“I can attach dozens of small jewels. But then the ring won’t have a function.”

“Why?”

“The jewels need to be a certain size to show a good performance. The performance of the jewels will disappear if they are too small.”

“Ah... Then the rings that players wear only have one jewel?”

“That’s right.”

“How many jewels can be attached to a crown before the performance is lost?”

“10. Shouldn’t you know this since you have directly met the emperor? There are a total of 10 jewels embedded in the emperor’s crown.”

“Yes.”

“That is the best number. Compared to necklaces where three jewels can be attached, the crown is the best item to raise the power of the jewels to the limit. Of course, the only person who can fight with a jeweled crown is the emperor.”

‘No, there’s another person here.’ Grid smiled while suppressing the words in his throat. 

Elizabeth asked, “I assume the jewels initially crafted will be used by the other Overgeared members and not by you?”

“Why?”

“This is the first time I have worked on Belial’s jewels. The quality of the jewels at the start will inevitably be low. The options of the jewels crafted later will be better. You should make accessories out of the later jewels.”

“No. I will make it with the initial jewels.”

“Didn’t you hear my explanation? The jewels worked on initially are relatively inferior. Look at this.” Elizabeth handed Grid the Belial’s Black Jewel that she had worked on all night.

Grid looked at the information of the jewel.

[Plainly Crafted Belial’s Black Jewel (C)]

[* Intelligence +6.

* Shadow Resistance +2%

A black jewel crafted by Elizabeth, a craftsman level accessory maker. It is not bad.]

“The next few jewels will be better as I become more proficient. At that time, ‘delicately crafted’ or ‘perfectly crafted’ jewels can be found. Then the additional stats will increase by at least 1–3.”

Grid wasn’t a kid, so did she have to explain such things? Elizabeth had met many clients and was well aware of human greed. In particular, the greed of the top rankers couldn’t be controlled, and they always wanted to get the best jewels. That’s right. Elizabeth thought that Grid wanted the best jewels to make the accessories out of, so the more inferior jewels would be left to Grid’s subordinates. However, an unexpected answer was received.

“Give the better jewels to my colleagues. I am strong enough without the jewels.”

“What?”

Grid’s ID had the meaning of greed. In fact, Grid came across as greedy through all media platforms. So, was he acting right now? No, he wasn’t. She couldn’t see any pretenses in Grid’s expression and attitude. Grid smiled warmly at the baffled Elizabeth.

“The stronger my colleagues, the stronger I am. I want my colleagues to be strong for myself and for them.”

“You...”

“Oh, I might’ve wanted good jewels if I didn’t have the S-grade jewels.

“...”

“Someday you will be able to make S-grade jewelry, right? Until then, I am happy to wait.”

‘Ah, there are many types of people in this world.’

Elizabeth felt she shouldn’t judge people by their appearance. The 20-year-old young woman who had just entered university gained a new enlightenment. There was a faint sense of trust in her eyes as she looked at Grid.

‘The Overgeared Guild... It might be good to stay for a while.’

***

“Hrmmm.”

It was the fourth day after Elizabeth started working. Elizabeth’s speed of working on the jewels increased slightly as she rapidly accumulated skill experience. She worked on jewels all night and then laughed at the sight of Grid.

“Oppa is really incredible.”

She wasn’t surprised anymore. The patience Grid displayed as he sat by her side for four days was beyond Elizabeth’s expectations.

She sat down next to Grid and gave a small nod. “Now I understand. It was never easy for Oppa. You are always cautious and invest a lot of time into your work.”

“That’s right. How can anything be easy in this world?”

Elizabeth naturally called Grid ‘Oppa’. Since he was a fellow Korean who was older than her, she was embarrassed to call him by name. However, they had become familiar in the process of staying in the workshop together and overcoming prejudices.

Additionally, Elizabeth was the same age as his younger sister, so Grid didn’t dislike Elizabeth’s attitude change. Rather, she seemed like a cute little sister. Grid also spoke in a casual manner with Elizabeth, “Aren’t you tired from working all night? Do you want a massage?” 

Despite his words, Grid was also very tired. He had designed a new crown and helmet while watching Elizabeth work. Then when Elizabeth logged out, he went to the hunting grounds to raise the Overgeared Skeletons’ levels. Grid had spent these last four days like he had two or three bodies. That’s why his head was in a muddled state and he carelessly talked about a massage. 

“Really? I would appreciate it,” Elizabeth accepted Grid’s offer with a wide smile. Grid smiled back and touched Elizabeth’s shoulders without any hidden intentions.

“Ah...!” Elizabeth’s large eyes and white shoulders shook as soon as Grid touched her. The tired Grid didn’t notice the subtle change and put more strength in his fingertips.

“Haat!”

As soon as Grid’s big and hard fingers pressed against her neck, Elizabeth felt strength drain from her body. She couldn’t help leaning back on Grid’s wide chest. Her eyes lost light as she gazed at the ceiling. The sensations running through her body were beyond description...

Eat Spicy Jokbal had come to visit his niece at her workshop before going to work in the kitchen. 

“What are you doing noooooow?!!” His loud and furious voice rang out through the workshop. “You are worse than a beast! You already have two girlfriends, yet you are touching my niece...!!”

“No, I don’t have a girlfriend...”

“What? You have Yura and Jishuka! I’m envious... No, you are a bad guy! You are the enemy of all men!”

“What the hell... Hik!” Grid was forced to leave the workshop because he was kicked out by the furious sword-wielding Eat Spicy Jokbal. Then Grid ran toward the smithy. ‘What is wrong with Eat Spicy Jokbal in the morning? Sigh, let’s make a helmet and a crown.’