Overgeared

He could make a smithy without any building skills...?

Ke ong smiled at the startled Grid. “It is a simple problem. Don’t you need mathematical calculations for blacksmithing? Blacksmiths must consider balance even when making the sword hilt, and the balance comes from standards. The closer it is to the ideal standard, the more qualified the sword. Yet does Your Majesty think about numbers when making a sword?”

He didn’t. Of course, he tried to strike an ideal balance. It was because he knew from experience that items created without considering the balance would ultimately be failures. Nevertheless, he didn’t use a complex formula every time he created an item. The same was true when creating a blueprint, which was a feast of numbers.

It was the power of the system. All the parts related to numbers were solved using the system correction effect. This was one of the privileges of being a player. It was just that NPCs didn’t understand the concept of a system and interpreted it as talent or experience.

“I don’t do that.”

“Architecture is the same. There are many things to consider in architecture, but in fact, a small building is something where you shouldn’t have to worry about numbers. Of course, this is if you have the right talent and dexterity. However, Your Majesty is a legendary blacksmith, and your talent and dexterity will definitely be enough.”

“...”

It was sophistry. The NPC Ke might not understand, but a player was limited by the system. A building created by a player who wasn’t a professional wouldn’t function as a building. Grid had been working in a smithy for more than 10 years and knew all the structures and principles of a smithy, but the smithy he built would be an empty shell with only the ‘shape.’

‘...Wait?’

Grid’s eyes suddenly widened as he was feeling negative. He recalled the premise that Ke laid down before he started the story. It was based on ‘Greed.’

‘Ah!’ Grid realized the fundamental nature of Greed. It was based on the characteristic ‘think and act by itself.’ For example, the God Hands—which were made from Greed—perfectly fulfilled their role as a hand without any scientific or medical basis. This was just because Grid had created the ‘shape.’ Ke paid attention to this fact.

‘The moment I create the form of a smithy with Greed, the mineral Greed will reproduce the function of a smithy.’

This wasn’t a building created by an architect, so the function of a building couldn’t be used. Nonetheless, the system constraints would be overcome by the nature of Greed. This suggested a number of possibilities.

‘I can also produce golems with Greed.’

The creation of a golem was in the realm of a great magician. It required complex magic formulas and a mana core, but Greed made the story different.

‘This is a real scam.’

In fact, this was something he should’ve noticed earlier. Grid had been using the Item Transformation skill since the days when Greed was still pavranium. Pavranium had the power to perfectly reproduce the power of the item it copied. However, Grid only recognized it as the power of the Item Transformation skill. Additionally, the name of the skill itself meant the things that could be reproduced with Item Transformation were limited to ‘items.’ Yet what was the truth?

[Item Transformation]

[-A skill that can be triggered if the legendary mineral ‘pavranium’ or ‘Greed’ is possessed.

It transforms the pavranium or Greed into the shape and performance of a specific item.

* It can only transform into items you have learned how to make.

* The duration of the transformation is 3 minutes. After the transformation is released, the pavranium or Greed will return to its original form.

Skill Mana Cost: None.

Skill Cooldown Time: 6 hours.]

In the first place, Item Transformation was a skill that could only be used with pavranium. The Item Transformation skill meant the pavranium not only copied the specific item but also the skills attached to the item. Additionally, the ‘item’ mentioned here had to be approached in a more comprehensive sense. It was a thing, and could almost be considered as everything. Pavranium was a mineral that could even reproduce Grid’s hands.

‘Can I make ‘myself’ with Greed?’

Umm, this was too much. No matter how fraudulent Greed was, it couldn’t reproduce a player. There would always be restrictions.

‘It is still worth a try.’

Even if it failed, he could create a ‘golem.’ A golem had infinite power and durability. Of course, the golem was likely to have a low rating due to the balance, but it could be useful enough. A golem with all its limbs had many functions such as using tools or holding the target to restrict them.

“Thank you, Ke ong. You have enlightened me today.”

“Haha, no problem.”

Grid was filled with great anticipation as he said goodbye to Ke ong. Then he hugged Irene’s waist and said, “The weather is good. Let’s go on a date.”

“Didn’t you say that you are building a smithy?”

“I can’t create what I want to at the moment.”

Greed must be fully multiplied in order to build a smithy. Right now, he couldn’t do anything.

‘By the way, I think it is too ugly to make a normal smithy.’

A smithy floating in the sky... It would be funny if it was just a small building with a chimney. He wanted it to be cool since he was a king.

‘What if it is in the form of an aircraft carrier?

Why not gradually turn it into a fortress? If he used a huge aircraft carrier as a base and built all types of necessary buildings and weapons from the smithy, it would give birth to an air fortress that never existed before.

‘It should be very cool...’

The fortress floating like a guardian over the castle that Ke expanded. Grid thought of the future and asked Lauel in an excited manner, “Lauel, can you tell Picasso to paint an image of an aircraft carrier floating in the sky?”

The reason why Picasso could become first in the painter’s rankings was due to her excellent aesthetics. She had greatly developed after painting Grid and could design a handsome aircraft carrier as a basis for a fortress.

“The scale is getting bigger. I understand.” Lauel noticed Grid’s intentions and snorted. In fact, Lauel had been worried about how unsightly a small building floating would be. Then what about an aircraft carrier?

‘...That’s cool. I’m sure that all men will be immersed in the appearance. Kukukuk.’

Lauel shivered as he imagined himself standing at the forefront of the aerial fortress.

***

One month passed.

In the meantime, Grid was always with his family. He enjoyed a picnic with Irene and Lord on all types of hunting grounds. In the Galgunos Temple, Lord—who killed the skeleton soldier along with Noe and Randy—wiped at his sweat while Grid hunted the war god followers.

“I feel like my swordsmanship is gradually growing.”

“Haha, it is natural. You are a genius of the continent, so you will naturally grow quickly.” Grid grinned and stroked Lord’s head in a pleased manner.

“Whose son am I?”

“Hehe.”

“Husband, I think he’ll be stronger than you as soon as he becomes an adult.”

“No, that can’t be. Father is as great as the heavens, so I will never catch up.”

‘...Not at all.’

The longing eyes were burdensome. A hand of salvation was extended to the troubled Grid.

“Take a break and have a cup of tea.”

It was Irene. She laid down a carpet in the middle of the temple and had all types of snacks. The skeleton soldiers kept coming, but they weren’t able to break through the line created by Lord’s girlfriends and turned to ash. Irene’s side was guarded by the legendary knight Mercedes. It was already a natural fortress.

Forget the skeleton soldiers, not even the war god followers could break through. Lord sipped the milk his mother handed him and cried out excitedly, “It’s really fun to have a family picnic!”

He wanted the ordinary life of a child spending time with his parents.

“...” The Overgeared members hunting a short distance away clicked their tongues. They were in a tense state where they could die at any time when hunting, only to feel a sense of alienation from the actions of Grid’s family.

“I’m glad it’s fun. Let’s go to another hunting ground in a few days.” Grid touched Lord’s cheeks and then caught Mercedes’ eye. “Why don’t you sit down? I don’t think you need to be on the lookout.”

“No. I need to be prepared for unknown situations.”

“We have people everywhere, and even Noe and Randy have set up boundaries. It is fine to have a cup of tea together.”

“No. I am a knight. How dare I be with the royal family?”

“Mercedes.”

“...I understand.” Mercedes failed to overcome the pressure from Grid and eventually sat down.

Grid gazed at her blushing cheeks while Irene smiled softly. As the queen of a nation, she was quick to notice but thought it was fortunate that Grid had someone in his heart. Lord saw the atmosphere and exclaimed excitedly, “Father! Next time, let’s bring Aunt Sua with us!”

“No,” Grid firmly declined. He dismissed his son’s disappointed gaze and opened his inventory. Over the past month, the mass of Greed had increased.

‘This is enough to make the hearthstone for the furnace.’

He didn’t intend to make the hearthstone too big. The purpose of the portable smithy wasn’t to produce a large number of items but to create them in his spare them.

‘An existing anvil can be used... Channels can’t be installed, so I have to make a huge water tank.’

It needed to be multiplied for at least two more months. 10 days passed after Grid determined this.

[Greed has increased due to the proliferation nature of the insane dragon iron.]

A familiar notification window appeared in front of him.

[The members of the Tower of Wisdom have sensed the magic of the insane dragon iron and have started tracking the location.]

[The moment Greed proliferates one more time, your position will be exposed to the Tower of Wisdom.]

[The Tower of Wisdom will destroy Greed.]

Unexpected news followed.

‘The Tower of Wisdom? Location tracking? Destroy Greed?’

What was this? The insane dragon iron held the magic of Insane Dragon Nevartan. As the insane dragon iron multiplied, the volume of magic power would increase, and this was detected by other dragons. The movement of the dragons would threaten the peace of the world, so the Tower of Wisdom collected the insane dragon iron and destroyed it to prevent this from happening.

Grid still didn’t know there was a world background like this. Still, there was a sinister feeling.

‘Dammit.’

Grid sent a whisper to Lauel and explained the situation. Lauel consulted with Great Sage Sticks before responding, -There seems to be a limit on the proliferation of Greed.

“How rotten.”

Grid had wanted to walk on a flower road. Yet he was once again struck by the game’s ‘balance.’ Grid was disappointed, but it was only for a moment.

‘The aircraft carrier isn’t possible, but the smithy is different.’

Then should he not let it proliferate anymore...? It would be enough if he consumed it from now on. He returned to Reinhardt with his family, and Grid headed straight to the smithy. First, he started to make thick, large plates. They would be one of the outer walls of the smithy. 

That’s right. Grid planned to separate Greed every time it multiplied by a certain amount and create portions of the smithy at a time.

‘Then I will assemble it all at once.’

The means that the Tower of Wisdom used to trace Greed’s position was the energy of the insane dragon iron. Meanwhile, Greed only retained the properties of the insane dragon iron when in ‘pure form.’ The moment it was separated, the proliferation effect of the insane dragon iron was removed. It meant that Grid was controlling it, and there was no more need to worry about the location being exposed to the Tower of Wisdom.

‘I have to determine what exactly the Tower of Wisdom is.’

Even Great Sage Sticks didn’t know the exact identity of the Tower of Wisdom. However, Grid gained the right to enter the Tower of Wisdom after acquiring the Pioneer title.

‘If I can get in touch with them...’

It was convenient if they came to him due to the proliferation of Greed, but there was the warning that they could destroy Greed.

‘I have to ask Kraugel.’

Grid completed a single plate that would be the outer wall of the smithy and tried to calm his confusion.

***

The Tower of Wisdom...

“It is a big deal.”

The Tower of Wisdom was a secret society that fought to protect the world for hundreds of years. They worked hard to prevent ‘disasters that couldn’t be handled with human strength’ from happening. They were the ones who drew the dragons’ attention whenever a great demon descended.

Dragons, a transcendent species that couldn’t be compared to great demons—watching them was the mission of the Tower of Wisdom.

“Someone is intentionally using the insane dragon iron.”

They were informed of various situations. There was a presence in the world that fully understood and controlled the nature of the insane dragon iron. It was a big deal if they were evil, and it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the world was already playing in that person’s grasp. All the dragons hostile to Insane Dragon Nevartan could wake up the moment this person wanted and destroy the world.

“I have to find them.”

“I think it would be better to ask other kingdoms for cooperation.”

“I agree.”

The members of the association were sitting around a round table. Every one of them had great strength, but their numbers were limited. They had to consider outside help because it took an astronomical manpower to search for the ‘unidentified’ person who cut off the energy of the insane dragon iron and their pursuit at every close moment.

“Umm...” The leader of the tower was troubled. He shook his head as he reminded himself of why the tower had been secretly acting for hundreds of years. “No, we can’t do that. 

The moment the Tower of Wisdom revealed its existence, the nations and organizations in the world—including the empire—would either covet or be vigilant against them. They would try to approach the tower through all means and methods. The mission of the Tower of Wisdom was too great to handle the variables which would arise at that time.

After a long struggle, the leader decided, “Ask the Pioneer for help.”

“Ohh... You mean Kraugel?”

Approximately six years ago, the Pioneer Kraugel visited the tower. Kraugel was a great talent with an excellent character, so they had a deep trust in him. In the first place, the Pioneer was the only bridgehead connecting the Tower of Wisdom to the world. This was the time when they had to rely on him, just like he relied on them.

“Let me meet him.” The man sitting at the lowest seat of the round table rose. The person with the lowest position in the Tower of Wisdom was a transcendent who would shake the world the moment he emerged. “My words will work better since he is a child who loves the sword.”