Overgeared

“The name of the new mineral is...”

Of course, it had to be Overgeared Stone.

‘...I don’t think so.’

Then Overgearanium?

‘Bullshit.’

The growth couldn’t be limited to one thing. If side A developed, the synergy effect of side B developing together was human growth. Grid realized that his naming sense was lousy thanks to his improved intellectual ability, and he hesitated.

‘Both are too bad.’

Now he understood Lauel’s reaction when he named the Overgeared Guild and Overgeared Kingdom. Lauel had adapted, but he surely wouldn’t have fallen asleep too easily when he first heard the names ‘Overgeared Guild’ and ‘Overgeared Kingdom’. Of course, the feeling might be a bit different if Grid were watched from a third party’s perspective.

Grid scratched his cheeks and his chin. Every item he created couldn’t be called Overgeared something. It was too monotonous and not fun. He had even tried to name the White Tiger Sword as the Stone Sword. No, did he try to name the Stone Sword as the White Tiger Sword...? In any case, Grid had become seriously concerned about naming since that time and was troubled.

‘It can’t be Grivurnum.’

Grid had already promised Braham. The name of the new mineral he would create with Braham was Grivurnum. Yes, that was a story for when he made it together with Braham. The origin of this black-gold mineral was pavranium. Even if the Duke of Wisdom contributed to the creation, Braham would be unhappy if it had his name. There was no Braham in the process of creation. Not even his will existed.

“Ok, Grivurnum is a pass. Don’t worry and sleep well,” Grid muttered toward Braham while cleaning up his inventory.

It was his habit of talking to himself. He recovered the white light mithril, Astaroth’s Horn, the Strengthened Blue Dragon’s Breath, and the shell of the cave cricket that had been decomposed in the process of smelting the Blade Aiming at the Gods. The white light mithril’s durability was badly damaged, but the rest of the materials were almost intact.

‘...Okay, I’ve decided.’

Grid finished sorting his inventory and faced the notification window that was floating in his field of view.

[Please name the new mineral.]

The answer...

“Greed.”

The new mineral had infinite desire. It would never be consumed and would multiply constantly. This was the right name since it resembled the creator who wasn’t satisfied with the peak he climbed to and was looking at a far greater mountain. 

“I have decided on ‘Greed’.”

It was also a device to raise his awareness. Grid also knew that too much greed would be poisonous. After all, he didn’t know the problems that would be caused by Greed’s proliferation in the future. Braham was the only one who could solve it. A being who possessed ‘satisfactory’ wisdom and the knowledge to realize it...

On the day of Braham’s return, Grid would be complete. Grid believed this as he clutched the small melon-sized black-gold mineral in his hand. He wanted to quickly check the details of the mineral.

[You have completed your naming.]

[The information about the new mineral will be updated.]

Ttiring~

[Greed]

[Durability: Infinite

The legendary blacksmith Pagma and the legendary great magician Braham’s collaborative work, pavranium has been reborn by Grid using his skills and epics.

Many characteristics have been added compared to the previous one.

* Acquired healing skills due to Goddess Rebecca’s blessing. Increases the owner’s health recovery rate by 300%.

* Acquired an attack buff skill due to God Dominion’s blessing. The owner’s attack power will increase by 15%.

* Acquired a defense buff skill due to God Judar’s blessing. The owner’s defense will increase by 15%.

* Acquired a magic power buff skill due to God Yatan’s blessing. The owner’s magic power will increase by 15%. 

* Judge and move on its own, executing its master’s orders as the top priority. Every movement doesn’t require power. 

* The hardness, strength and brittleness can’t be changed. However, there is a limit.  

* Completely absorbs all properties. However, be careful not to grant conflicting properties at the same time. 

* The proliferation will double the volume and weight every 10 days. However, this effect is only applied when it is in the ‘pure form.’

* There is a high chance of activating the ‘crushing’ and ‘reconstruction’ effects when hitting.

★ The passive skill ‘Always Together’ is applied.

★ The titles ‘Legend of the Canyon’ and ‘Protagonist of Two Eras’ are also shared by Greed.] 

“Crazy...”

The unique characteristics of pavranium the ultimate mineral, adamantium that had lost its holy power, and the black mithril given by Empress Basara... 

A stone with its demonic power removed, the unique characteristics of Berith’s Hoof which Grid had enhanced with the Ultimate Transformation, and the title acquired from his epics... 

They were all in Greed. It was a result that went far beyond Grid’s expectations and imagination. Could he have imagined that his epics would affect the creation of a new mineral? Additionally, the proliferation effect was too ideal. It was really calibrated properly.

Correction was an advantage that every player in Satisfy enjoyed. For example, the system corrected it every time he crafted an item or created a blueprint. It was due to the system correction that Grid was able to draw the perfect blueprint and perform tasks in all types of fields without having the necessary knowledge.

That’s right. It was the system correction which implemented solutions for problems that couldn’t be solved with the player’s level of knowledge based on the ‘probability’ of the skill. This was what happened with the mineral creation.

In fact, Grid had been worried. The proliferation of the insane dragon iron wasn’t to increase one to two but to increase it by one volume. For example, how painful would it be if the sword made from Greed became big and heavy every 10 days because of the proliferation effect?

Once it grew to an unacceptable level, it would have to be disassembled and a new sword would need to be created. Otherwise, he would need to solve the problem by using the Insane Dragon Hammer to delete this characteristic. Still, the quantity of created minerals would increase, so it was a problem that he could afford.

Now all his problems had been resolved. Greed would only multiply in its pure form.

‘Once it has multiplied enough, I can take some off and make an item.’

The item would remain in perfect shape for the rest of its life...

Grid’s heart pounded with excitement when he thought of this. A great joy that was hard to express in words filled him.

“Okay... Let’s stay in this state for a while.”

The mysterious round mineral was black and gold. Grid stroked the light elemental on his shoulder and started to involve himself in the blacksmithing work. He planned to experiment with the remaining 101 black mithril. What was the effect of the Hero King’s fighting energy on it? Could he grant this characteristic to other minerals or items? Could he transfer the power of his pets and summons? He had many questions.

Grid’s inquisitive nature was excited. Grid was confident about experimenting since his Genuine - (Fighting against the Gods) Legendary Blacksmith’s Craftsmanship Skill allowed him to make at least epic rated items, and the Blacksmith Hammer to go against the Gods amplified his blacksmithing skill.

Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!

The clear metal sounds that hadn’t been heard in a while started to reverberate in the smithy zone. Hundreds and thousands of blacksmiths flocked to watch Grid’s work, and the Overgeared smithies were full of energy again. For at least one month, Grid planned to focus on experimenting until Greed had proliferated three times.

‘Then I will create two new items with the multiplied Greed.’

There was a feeling of fullness that could only be felt when working as a blacksmith. The smile on Grid’s face didn’t disappear.

*** 

Time passed quickly. It soon became time for the next National Competition to become a topic of discussion. All of the world’s media was keen to analyze who had been chosen as the ‘devil’ for the next National Competition. However, most of the rankers’ attention was focused on the Overgeared Kingdom rather than the National Competition.

“Don’t you think the pace of economic growth in the Overgeared Kingdom is crazy these days?”

“They have a complete alliance with the empire, so they can grow without any fear.”

“It isn’t at the level of an alliance. It is like the empire is going to take over the Overgeared Kingdom.” 

“Rumor has it that the emperor is completely obsessed with Grid.”

“Crazy. Although it is now empress...”

“It is because Grid was the one who made Basara empress in the first place.”

“That is too much. How could he make her an empress, even if he is Grid?”

“I don’t think it is a rumor when analyzing the contents of the epic.”

“It can be interpreted in many ways. It’s a coincidence, a coincidence.”

“Then is it luck in the end? That’s bullshit. If luck continues then it isn’t luck, it is a skill. Isn’t it right that Grid intended to make Basara the empress?”

“So what will you do?”

“I’m going to move to the Overgeared Kingdom.”

“What? You too?”

“Yes, as things stand now, I can’t see a future in this country. Once the Overgeared Kingdom is full of ambitions, it will be the first country to perish. I will go to the Overgeared Kingdom before that.”

“Hrmm...”

The forces were now being divided. Was it the safe and sure empire or the Overgeared Kingdom whose future was full of expectations? The empire had grown steadily since Empress Basara implemented the unity policies, but the possibility of territory expansion was almost lost. Meanwhile, the Overgeared Kingdom was becoming saturated and was likely to devour nearby kingdoms.

Apart from these two nations, the rest of the world seemed to have little hope, so the players needed to make a decision. It was best to change boats in advance. There were three reasons for this.

First, there was the possibility of the Overgeared Kingdom expanding its power. Second, the importance of national power was revealed in the Great Demon Berith incident. Third, there was the variable of the East Continent.

As more information about the East Continent spread to many players, people started to be afraid of the Hwan Kingdom and the yangbans. A vicious force that dominated the East Continent...

If the transcendents of the East Continent—who had a great sense of civility than the Saharan Empire in the past—made their way to the West, then weak countries would be destroyed overnight and the players of the destroyed countries would receive too much damage.

The only countries who could protect themselves were the empire and the Overgeared Kingdom. That’s right. The protagonist of the new era was the Overgeared Kingdom. This new era was accompanied by many changes.

“Grruk. Kurruk.”

The orcs...

“...”

The elves...

“Kuhahat!”

The half draconians and so on...

The many species that had been hiding in various parts of the continent to escape the tyranny of the empire started to emerge.

(TL Note: Small explanation, MC’s name in Korean is 그리드, which is pronounced Geu-ri-d.’ It could be both Grid or Greed but I chose to go with Grid because I thought Grid was a better name and this isn’t the common Korean word used for Greed. It wasn’t until a few hundred chapters later where the author wrote the name in English that I discovered it was ‘Greed.’ Still, I kept the name Grid because readers are used to it and I prefer it better. Some names sound weird when translated to English and used in an English sentence, such as Lord and Greed. But the essence of Grid’s name means ‘greed.’)