Overgeared

Care was necessary when choosing a production material. The excellent options attributed to minerals meant that if the basic properties of hardness, strength, ductility, brittleness, and so on were overlooked, the work would be less complete. It was like seeing a diamond described as ‘very hard’ and using it as a sword material. No matter how powerful the sword was, what was the point if it would shatter after swinging it once or twice?

‘It is different this time. I don’t have to think too much and can choose to focus on performance.’

The essential material for the newly evolved Mineral Creation skill was pavranium. Pavranium’s durability wasn’t infinite, but this problem had already been solved. Grid chose the insane dragon iron as one of the four minerals to be combined with pavranium and planned to consider the remaining three minerals which had no great restrictions. He didn’t need everything and would use something good without fail.

The medium and top minerals that could be obtained easily were excluded from the candidates. Minerals that couldn’t be obtained with money, time, and force. He had to use the extremely high-grade minerals that could only be obtained when luck followed.

‘The insane dragon bead and insane dragon stone are exceptions. I must be vigilant about the characteristics of suppression and rampage.’

Like the insane dragon iron, the insane dragon stone and insane dragon bead were minerals affected by Nevartan’s madness. The insane dragon stone could suppress the mineral’s inherent properties when mixed with other minerals while the insane dragon bed had the ability to multiply the mineral’s properties when mixed with other minerals. Suppression threatened to undermine the peculiarity of pavranium, and there was a danger that rampage would be hard to control.

‘I don’t know what will happen if pavranium’s ego is amplified... Wait? Ah, this sucks.’

Grid became more troubled. It was because he sensed that the mineral sorting would be much more difficult than expected.

‘It isn’t just suppression and rampage. I have to avoid any big bias of the properties themselves.’

The new mineral to be created was different from pavranium. It would be better than pavranium, and the quantity wasn’t limited. Instead, it would increase gradually. This meant it could be used actively. Grid would be using it as a material for all the items he would produce in the future, so distinct properties were likely to be poisonous.

‘Oh, it’s rotten...’

Grid examined the minerals and various weapons on the table. There were so many varieties that there wasn’t enough room on the table where 20 people could sit at side by side. Several items lying on the ground were at least of the unique rating. It was a scene that would stun anyone who saw it.

‘Originally, I planned to disassemble the Holy Light set to get adamantium and use it as a material for Mineral Creation...’

As mentioned earlier, the properties wouldn’t be too strong. Minerals with the ultimate divine power were difficult to use as materials for items with unclean attributes. Even if the production process was successful, there was a possibility that conflicts would occur in the process of imprinting options. The basic performance would come out as expected, but the options would be garbage.

‘In the same vein, I need to exclude the by-products of the great demons. Let’s aim for getting no properties as much as possible.’

Simply put, the newly created mineral should be like dough. The color of the dough itself was white and light, but different dishes could be made depending on what ingredients were put in and the recipe used. The created mineral would be a framework for making different types of items. It would be used as a material for all types of items, and it was ideal to give it a property appropriate to the situation at the time. Therefore, the created mineral itself should have no property. If the quantity was limited, like pavranium, it could maximize the power by attaching as many attributes as possible.

“Kuoong...” Wrinkles appeared on Grid’s face.

The higher the level of the mineral, the more pronounced the properties would be.

‘The best mineral with no attribute is blue orichalcum.’

Blue orichalcum was a mineral born with the power of moonlight and the magic power of the Guardian of the Forest. Additional features like ‘strengthened in dark places’, ‘lightning’, and ‘cutting power’ resulted from this, but it didn’t have properties such as the four elements, divine power, or demonic power.

Additionally, blue orichalcum was the strongest mineral. It might be less impactful than adamantium—which contained the ultimate divine power—or blood stone which was the mineral of hell, but there were no problems compared to other minerals of its class.

Great demons and fallen gods...

It was hard to say if this world was worse than the divine realm or hell. Blue orichalcum was hard to find in the first place. They had to defeat the Guardian of the Forest of the Forest. It was a boss monster that spawned in the Overgeared territory, so it was monopolized by the Overgeared Guild. For the general public, blue orichalcum was as hard to find as a star in the sky.

‘Yes, there is nothing wrong with the value and performance of the blue orichalcum. Just...’

[Blue Orichalcum]

[Orichalcum is a mineral born with the power of moonlight and the Guardian of the Forest. 

It is impossible to erode the Guardian of the Forest’s magic power, but it has the best hardness and strength among all minerals.

It is lightweight and becomes much stronger in darkness.

Weight: 3]

The reason why the blue orichalcum had no properties was that the nature of the magic power was unable to be eroded.

‘I will be ruined if I use this as a material for Mineral Creation.’

The reason for granting properties was to increase the utilization of the minerals. It would be the end if he used blue orichalcum where other magic power couldn’t be given to it.

‘Sometimes I will need to give magic to the items I make with the new mineral.’

He fell into a swamp. The longer he thought about it, the deeper his distress and confusion became. The moment Grid started to get a headache and the phrase ‘long-term use of Satisfy could be harmful to health’ passed through his mind...

“Ah.”

Grid was reminded of a talent that would’ve completely ripened. Minor—he was a minerals detector who had helped Grid find special materials such as pavranium and the insane dragon iron. His minerals knowledge came from Grid forcing him to study minerals for 10 years, and he was now almost at the sage level.  

*** 

In the meeting room...

“What is the best mineral with no properties?”

The savior ran over at Grid’s call. Well, no, Minor walked over and gave the answer, “It is naturally black mithril.”

“...”

The years had gone by really quickly. The 13-year-old when Grid first met was now in his mid-20s with a handsome beard. Grid, who met Minor for the first time in ages after the exploration of the insane dragon iron, was deeply moved. On the other hand, Minor wasn’t very happy.

[Talent will Reveal Itself (SS)]

[A talent that one person per 10 million people will have.

No matter how you try to hide, your talent will reveal itself to others. It is your destiny to live a life being scouted by others. You will inevitably receive a lot of temptations.

Your stats will grow very quickly, and you will become arrogant.] 

Minor believed that all the riches he enjoyed today were due to his own ability. He thought the only monarch who could rule over him was the emperor. To him, Grid was always lacking. It wasn’t enough for a genius like himself to be forced to study minerals. He was also placed as the general manager of a weird organization called the Minerals Detection Department.

Yet Minor didn’t betray Grid. He always grumbled, but he faithfully followed Grid’s orders. The reason was that his respect overshadowed the ‘Talent will Reveal Itself’ trait. Minor tried not to show it, but he had a lot of respect for Grid. A commoner like himself established and led the country. He had to feel respectful toward Grid.

This was why Minor had ignored all scouting proposals from other countries that came to him over the years. If the empire—not another country—had tried to recruit him, he would’ve turned his back on the Overgeared Kingdom. Unfortunately for him, that didn’t happen.

“Black mithril?”

Minor, who had fallen to distraction after seeing Grid, regained his senses. 

He nodded at Grid’s question. “Yes, black mithril is as strong as ordinary mithril, but its hardness is comparable to that of blue orichalcum. It is called ‘black’ because it doesn’t have divine power like normal mithril, not because its color is black. Black mithril doesn’t have any divine power. It is empty.”

Minor raised his lips after speaking. It was a very good smile. “Well, a layman like Your Majesty wouldn’t know, but this is a hidden secret. The imperial family has been using black mithril for generations.”

“I know. Black mithril is like white paper and absorbs any property well. Isn’t that why it is noticed by the empire?”

“How do you...?”

“The material of the armor worn by the Red Knights is made of black mithril that contains red energy.”

“How do you know that?”

“I know by killing a Red Knight.”

“Truly, Your Majesty... As the king of a small country, you run around every day and gain a lot of knowledge.”

“Don’t be sarcastic and continue with what you’re saying. I’ll teach you a lesson afterward.”

“...I’m praising you.”

‘Cute guy.’ Grid smiled mischievously every time he met Minor. It was cute to see how this person worked well, despite all his grumbling. In fact, he became very fond of Minor during the insane dragon iron expedition. At the time, he saw the feeling of ‘respect’ on Minor’s status window after discovering the insane dragon iron. It was nice to see a talent respect him. This was to the point that the impoliteness was attractive.

“The reason why black mithril is the best no properties mineral is that blankness you just mentioned. It has less natural power than blue orichalcum which is stronger in the darkness and can cut anything, but it can transcend the mineral adamantium depending on how it is harmonized.”

“Hrmm...” Grid, who had peeked at the true nature of the gods, couldn’t deny Minor’s words. It was wrong to say that minerals of human descent were unconditionally inferior to a mineral of the gods.

‘Okay. Then the second one is black mithril.’

Considering that the concept of the created mineral was to be the ‘framework’ of all future items, black mithril was a truly ideal mineral. Grid’s creative mineral would play a role in maximizing the properties whenever new properties were added to future items.

There was just one problem. He had no black mithril. Grid only owned one piece of black mithril, and it had been a long time since he used it as a material for Mercedes’ armor. Regardless of the usefulness for Mineral Creation, he was unwilling to break down a myth rated item.

‘Can Minor obtain it?’ Grid thought. 

Then he explained his question in detail, “I’m going to create a new mineral by mixing two more minerals together with pavranium, insane dragon iron, and black mithril. What type of minerals do you feel will fit it? What about the other two minerals?”

“You are planning to multiply it indefinitely and use it for a variety of battle gear. That’s why you are looking for a mineral with no attributes,” Minor said with an interested expression. “Of course, they are adamantium and blood stone. They are the best minerals that represent the realm of the gods and hell. I can’t think of alternatives. Adamantium can be obtained by melting the shining armor that Your Majesty wore before, and blood stone is obtained by melting the transparent red sword.”

“...Then remove their properties with the insane dragon stone.”

“Yes, they are such great minerals that they will be superior to blue orichalcum even if their properties are removed. Ask me again what are the best minerals with no attributes. I’ll answer that it isn’t black mithril but adamantium and blood stone with their properties removed.

Grid had the hammer and anvil made of the insane dragon stone. It was possible to use them to remove the properties of adamantium and blood stone. However, there was another problem. Adamantium only required disassembling the unused Holy Light Armor, but in order to obtain blood stone, he had to disassemble the World Crushing Sword of the Noble White Tiger. That was the sword Mercedes was using. It was even a myth rated item, so he didn’t want to break it down.

Grid pointed out Berith’s by-products to Minor. “Is there anything among them that could replace blood stone?”

“...?” Minor picked up Berith’s Hoof and looked bewildered. 

“Does this look harder than blood stone?”

“...I think so.”

Then there was only one thing left to do.

“Okay, go and get black mithril,” Grid said.

“Huh? What did you say just now?”

“Obtain black mithril.” 

“Do you know that the empire is using black mithril with red energy injected? Think about it. The route to securing black mithril should be monopolized by the empire. How can I obtain it when it is managed by a huge workforce or, at worst, directly controlled by the imperial family? Yet I have to go and obtain it?”

“Certainly... It could be hard for you. Then I’ll obtain it.”

“Did you hear me just now? It means death!”

“Didn’t I say I wouldn’t send you and will obtain it myself?”

“Then Your Majesty will die!!”

“I won’t die. I might be able to find a solution if I ask a duke of the empire.”

“Did you eat something wrong today? Who will you ask?”

Minor wasn’t a senior noble. He was acquainted with Grid and played a large role relating to minerals, but he wasn’t in an important position from a nation perspective. So, he didn’t know much. Minor didn’t know that Grid had established a great friendship with the imperial dukes at the Ruins of the War God and then defeated the great demon together. Neither did he know that Grid had rescued and treated the dukes of the empire.

The most recent news he heard about Grid was that he had killed Sky King Rigal. Minor wondered if Grid had gone crazy. “Damn, I’ll just infiltrate the empire. I am a talent, so I’ll be welcomed by them. I’ll go and get some work, collect information, and find out the location of black mithril. It will take 10 or 20 years, so just wait until then.”

“Wow, look at this guy. You are trying to go to the empire.”

“Yes, but I’ll still obtain black mithril for you.”

“Please stop. I’ll obtain it.”

“No, what is this?”

Minor felt like he was talking to Jude. Then it happened when Minor was going crazy.

Knock knock.

A polite knock, then Prime Minister Lauel’s voice rang out, “Duke Basara is asking for an audience.”

“...?”

‘Basara?’

The only monarch Minor could serve was the emperor of the Saharan Empire. Minor had always spoken like this, and he was quite interested in the trends of the empire. In the course of studying minerals, he naturally studied the empire. So, the name Basara was familiar to him. The only person who could be called Duke Basara on the continent was Basara with royal blood.

Grid smiled when he saw the stiff Minor and called out, “Come in.”

Then...

“I greet the Overgeared King.” 

It was a beautiful woman wearing a gorgeous golden crown. The person who looked exactly like the Duke Basara in rumors entered the meeting room and politely greeted Grid. She bowed her head as much as possible. This was someone with imperial blood.

“I was late to see you because I was focused on recovery. I owe you a great deal.”

“There is no need. What is the relationship between us? It is right to help each other if possible.”

“...Basara Ella von Saharan, duke of the Saharan Empire and legitimate successor of the throne, vows in the eyes of the goddess of light. I will repay three great favors to the Overgeared King for the rest of my life. It is a grace that must be repaid even if I give up the succession to the throne. Please don’t forget it.” 

“Huh?” Minor replied on behalf of Grid. His blank expression no longer saw Grid as a king but a god.

Grid spoke immediately, “I want to obtain black mithril.”