Overgeared

“If you don’t work hard to overcome the curse, you are just a worm.”

‘Work hard... damn!’

Noll couldn’t refute it. Magic Contemplation, which denied the power he inherited from their mother, was a result of Braham’s own efforts. Noll, who relied on innate power, was ashamed of himself. He felt sorry for all the time he wasted while using the curse as an excuse.

“Braham, stop now."

Noll’s head dropped as Braham continued the mocking and slandering. Grid was worried the relationship between them would deteriorate uncontrollably so he stepped forward to mediate.

Then Noll puffed up his cheeks angrily and shouted at Braham, "I’ll show you. I'll prove that I can be stronger than you if I try! At that time, I will treat you as a worm!”

“Bah.”

Braham waved his hand like he was chasing away a fly. It was an attitude that he wasn’t interested in anything. Noll was indignant but Grid saw it—there was a slight smile on Braham’s face the moment he turned his head.

‘Brother and brother...’

Grid wondered why Braham hated his kin and used them as an experimental tool. He was disappointed that his siblings, who were supposed to overcome the curse and help their mother, fell asleep every day and hated them in his despair. He believed there would be no future if this continued and took all responsibility, sacrificing his bloodline. He probably knew it was the wrong choice but he had only one option. However, things were different now—Braham was no longer alone and there were more options for him. 

Grid thought about it and suddenly felt a sense of incongruity. He wondered if hunting Fenrir was the right thing to do.

“...Excuse me.”

Grid called out to Braham. This made Braham frown. He looked at Grid’s face and noticed what this person was thinking. It was possible because he lived inside Grid for ages and understood Grid’s personality.

Braham transmitted his voice to Grid’s head.

[It is different from what you are imagining. Have you forgotten that you personally sealed my sister Latina? There is no sibling affection between us.]

“Then why were you smiling?”

[I was only delighted at getting a decent long-term pawn. The more useful the pawn, the better.]

“......”

[First of all, Fenrir must be eliminated. Only then will Marie Rose... no, you can kill Marie Rose.]

Braham no longer felt the need to explain and glanced away from Grid. Piaro was staring at him with a bright expression. He was eager to fight.

Braham’s hand beckoned. “Come on.”

For Piaro, Braham was the second coming of a legend but Braham was also very fond of Piaro. He had been watching this person for a long time. Braham vividly remembered the appearance of Piaro struggling for Grid. He also felt a faint liking because Grid shared his feelings for Piaro.

Asmophel didn’t know what Braham was feeling and intervened. “Why don’t you compete with me before challenging Piaro?”

It was a very provocative statement. He was very unhappy that Braham treated Piaro as a subordinate.

“Yes, then you should come.” Braham laughed. He knew Asmophel so he felt this person’s behavior was cute.

“I won’t refuse.”

Braham was a friend of his liege and a legend of the previous generation, so he should be respected. However, he couldn’t stand the attitude of ignoring his liege’s other knights, especially Piaro. Asmophel couldn’t bear it and pulled out his sword. Brilliant sparks flew through the round table toward Braham. However, the ground where Asmophel was standing collapsed before it could reach Braham.

“...!”

Asmophel’s posture collapsed and twisted the orbit of his flying sparks. He couldn’t even take a step toward Braham before he was thrown back through a window, while Braham never took a step from his seat.

‘Did he cast a spell ahead of time?’

Asmophel twisted his body as he fell and surged back into the meeting room. As expected, dozens of Magic Missiles were already aiming at him. A chill went down Asmophel’s spine as he saw the flashes in front of him.

“I have to move in ways the other person can’t predict.”

Braham flicked his finger and dozens of Magic Missiles flooded toward Asmophel. Asmophel, who was trying to ignore it, received a blow to his shoulder and rushed to defend himself. Nevertheless, it wasn’t easy to defend. Every step on the ground was slippery like it was covered in oil while darkness completely obscured his view.

‘This isn’t completing a spell in advance...!’

Even Great Magician Ashur had a moment of casting time when using magic. Meanwhile, Braham had transcended that level and could use his magic immediately without casting. Asmophel suffered setbacks as four, five, and six spells were so quickly linked that they seemed simultaneous. He was determined that he couldn’t keep defending and took the damage as he used a skill.

“Bl...!”

His sword was raised over his head and Asmophel’s exposed body was struck by a series of Magic Missiles.

“...oom!”

Asmophel succeeded in activating his skill. A transparent red flower made of sword energy unfolded around Braham’s distant body. If it was a real battle then it would be described as ‘mutual destruction.’

‘His willpower is great.’

Braham’s eyes shone as he used Teleport. However...

‘It is useless.’

Asmophel wasn’t shaken. His skill was a targeted skill. It meant the skill couldn’t be shaken off no matter what.

“Hoh?”

Braham appeared in a different location and showed an interested reaction. He might’ve moved using Teleport but the flowers wrapped around his body were still shaking slightly. This made him use Teleport again.

“Don’t you know it is useless?!”

Asmophel shouted and wielded his sword. It was a signal—a sign for the flowers surrounding Braham’s body to explode in full bloom.

“...!”

Then in an instant, Braham appeared right in front of Asmophel. The location of the teleport was completely different from Asmophel’s expectations. The flustered Asmophel tried to withdraw his sword but the flowers around Braham’s body were already exploding.

Asmophel screamed as he was swept away by the explosion and collapsed. It didn’t end with one explosion. It was extremely intense and swallowed the entire meeting room. It wasn’t a power where they could sit back and watch. Mercedes used her shield to protect Grid while the other knights used their own defense skills. Only one person—Jude—was swept away by the explosion and Grid hurriedly handed him a potion.

“Cough, cough...!”

Once the explosion was over, Asmophel coughed up blood several times and made a disbelieving look. Braham was hovering beyond the open ceiling. Shortly after Asmophel’s flowers exploded, he once again used Teleport to minimize the damage. If Teleport had been used just before the explosion, the flowers would’ve kept chasing him. Thus, he arranged the situation while taking some damage.

“...I lost.”

Asmophel was clear about the result. How could he beat a monster that continued to leap through space by using Teleport in succession? He felt he couldn’t beat Braham even if he died.

“......”

Meanwhile, Braham was speechless. In fact, he was in great shock. It was the first time in his life that he had been wounded by an ordinary human being, not a transcendent or a legend. One arm was drooping. Braham stared at his wounded arm and muttered in a voice no one could hear, “...He managed to gather together these people.”

In fact, there were many powerful people here who could fight against him. There were at least four such people here. Braham scanned Asmophel, Piaro, Mercedes, and Teruchan in turn and descended to the ground.

He wanted to shout, ‘Who is the next opponent?’ but his mana was consumed after using multiple teleports in a row. The Braham style enhanced Teleport, unlike normal Teleport, consumed dozens of times more mana in exchange for having no cooldown. In his prime, he would still have mana left after teleporting all day but not now. 

“......”

In this awkward moment, there was a powerful savior for Braham.

“What is this uproar?!” It was Administrator Rabbit. He rushed in after the uproar and was stunned when he saw the meeting room turned to ashes and the open ceiling. “Who...? Who did this terrible thing?!”

“......”

He looked like a great demon who climbed up from hell. Rabbit’s distorted face and red eyes as he searched for the culprit was evil. Asmophel was forced to shrink back because he knew how scary Rabbit was when it came to money. The others were the same. Even Noll avoided Rabbit’s gaze.

Only Teruchan, the thoughtless Jude, and Braham, who just joined the Overgeared Guild, looked at Rabbit. Rabbit couldn’t trifle with Braham so he yelled at Teruchan and Jude, “I’ll be claiming damages in the future so be ready!”

“Jude. Understood.”

“I. Gruruk. Why?”

“......”

The group moved locations. The knights who usually lived in Reinhardt, such as Piaro and Mercedes, naturally moved in the direction of the big military exercise hall but Braham pointed to another location.

“That is a good place.” Braham was pointing to the agricultural fields outside the castle. He suggested it because he penetrated into Piaro’s essence and Piaro didn’t refuse.

“I am grateful for your concession.”

“Bah, I just want some fresh air.”

It was at this moment.

“Grruk. Me first. Fight.” Teruchan stepped in abruptly. He pulled out Failure Honoring the Strongest Warrior and growled at Braham. “If I win. Surrender yourself to the administrator. Grruk.”

It seemed he felt it was quite unfair. The reason he didn’t tell the administrator the culprit was due to Teruchan’s sense of loyalty. He became the orc lord for the young orcs and wouldn’t sell his colleagues.

“Baby...”

Braham’s nostrils flared and he was about to accept Teruchan’s duel application. 

“Don’t do that. You have to compete with me.” This time, Piaro intervened. Piaro had long enjoyed fighting the strong and actually wanted to compete with everyone here. Furthermore, he wanted to postpone the fight with Braham because he cherished delicious food. 

Like a warrior, Teruchan didn’t avoid the fight. He completely forgot about his grudge against Braham. "Okay! Grruk!”

Braham alternated between looking at Jude and Teruchan before sending a sound transmission to Grid.

[In fact, aren’t you the smartest one among them?]

“......”

Grid pretended not to hear. He thought it was necessary to organize the hierarchy for the sake of future discipline so he watched the situation silently.