Overgeared

He had a long dream. As always, it was a nightmare. He wanted to wake up, but he couldn’t wake up. The sleep of consciousness didn’t permit free will. The Curse of Idleness imprinted on his soul had a terrible effect.

“......”

Fenrir cursed Shizo Beriache, who had been driven out of hell. He hated his fate. Although he didn’t show it in front of other family members, he resented his mother. Why did she give birth to him for him to suffer...? He hated her helplessness and irresponsibility...

“......”

His consciousness pulled out of the nightmare. His eyelids—crushed by an immeasurable weight—opened, and the contours of darkness entered his field of view. Cold swirled inside the coffin. Fenrir felt a sense of alienation as he opened his eyes in a place where light couldn’t enter. He felt like he had an exceptionally long and terrible nightmare today.

Somehow, there was a bit of anxiety. He must be mistaken.

Fenrir’s expression stiffened as he sat up from the coffin. Standing before him was a person with a slender body covered in blood. Beneath her feet, the wolf that was Fenrir’s alter ego was dying with its tongue sticking out.

“You... Human. What did you do?”

A mother, who passed on a curse and revenge to her children, and siblings who blindly loved such a mother… 

Fenrir was furious at the death of a beast that had given him affection and loved only him, unlike those pathetic figures. He was angry. As the chill rose, the human woman’s body trembled. Her arms had been bitten by the beast, and there was a large hole in her chest. Unfortunately, her eyes were still alive.

“It is as you can see. I hunted a dog that tried to protect its sleeping master.”

The head of the beast that was panting painfully was then cut off with an axe. Before it died, the beast’s eyes glistened fondly as it stared at Fenrir. It loved its owner instead of blaming him, who had been sleeping even at the moment of its death.

Fenrir gritted his teeth. His pointed fangs broke after being rubbed against his lower teeth, and he chewed and swallowed them. “There is no need for dirty blood. I’ll chew your flesh and bones.”

***

The wolf, who had split Pastel Crayon in half upon its arrival, had been very strong and ferocious. However, it had shown the habit of guarding Fenrir’s coffin whenever Asuka’s party approached it. It had been obsessed with protecting the coffin, even if a sword stabbed its back. This was an obvious weakness. Thanks to this, Asuka’s party managed to find a way to attack. The wolf’s loyalty was a great tool of success for Asuka’s party.

Of course, they hadn’t been able to hunt the wolf with luck alone. Asuka’s party made great sacrifices. From the beginning, the party aimed at challenging the dungeon with an exit for ‘achievements’, and they made generous investments.

First, they risked their lives. Second, they took the Sweet Candy that could only be bought five times from the Reputation Store. Third, they generously used the consumables they had obtained from various hidden quests. The dozens of players squeezed out all their capabilities.

The wolf, that had been bound to the coffin, was then increasingly driven to the defensive. The weapons of the rankers, reinforced with all types of potions and skills, pierced the wolf’s skin. Berserker Asuka armed herself with various weapons and split apart the wolf’s muscles and bones. After hours of a long struggle...

“Pant... Pant...” Asuka survived alone and succeeded in killing the wolf at her feet.

Grrrung. Grrr. The strongest beast, who had ripped apart 35 high rankers and swallowed them while still guarding the coffin, cried out in the midst of dying. Its eyes were only directed toward the coffin where Fenrir was sleeping. It was a dog that was concerned about its master even when its life was running out.

“......”

Asuka was a berserker. Every time she fought, she entered a frenzy. As madness accumulated, she could only drool or blink, but she wasn’t really crazy. She had enough communicative ability to read and sympathize with the emotions of the silent beast.

“Tsk...” Asuka clicked her tongue bitterly as she raised her axe high. It was an axe infused with the blessing of Hunting God Debirion and dealt massive additional damage to beasts and beast-type monsters. Then Fenrir woke up. The thick and heavy coffin was torn and shot up toward the ceiling.

“You... Human. What did you do?” The wrath of the vampire marquis provoked fear. 

However, Asuka was relaxed since she was already prepared for death. “It is as you can see. I hunted a dog that tried to protect its sleeping master.”

It was an accusation and mockery toward him. Eroded by the effect of the strengthened curse, he was unable to open his eyes in time to prevent his loyal beast from being killed. The axe struck the wolf.

“...I’ll chew you up well.” Fenrir stepped out of the coffin and approached Asuka. He moved at a very slow pace. It was an attitude that wanted to create fear and deep regret for as long as possible.

‘A monster is a monster.’

He was accompanied by several status conditions. If Fenrir had woken up on time, Asuka’s party would’ve been wiped out. They wouldn’t have been able to injure the wolf properly, let alone kill it. Asuka opened her inventory and threw the axe inside with trembling hands, pulling out two swords. One of the swords was stuck in a black sheath, on which the symbol of the sun was engraved.

‘I can’t catch this monster.’

It was unlikely that the 36 high rankers would reunite to challenge the Fenrir raid again. Asuka’s party had consumed too many resources against the wolf guarding his coffin, not Fenrir, and experienced too much despair. Asuka was certain that Grid and the Overgeared members were the only party that could raid Fenrir’s city and reach Fenrir’s room.

Additionally, Asuka knew Grid’s power. She believed that Grid would kill the vampire in a more brutal manner than he killed her. Asuka pulled the sword stuck in the sheath and threw it. She muttered as if talking to the party members watching as they became corpses, “Didn’t we get a lot of titles from hunting the wolf? We’ll be happy with that.”

Asuka was swallowed up alive. The most horrific form of death that traumatized many players struck Asuka. Still, she didn’t blink and accepted the pain.

“The last supper... Enjoy it well?”

“Kukuk.”

“...!”

As she left her will, the relaxed smile on Asuka’s face collapsed. The Sun Sword, which she had thrown for the next challenger, was sucked into Fenrir’s hand. Fenrir got an awful burn when he held the Sun Sword in his hand. Still, his expression didn’t change as he threw the Sun Sword to the center of the high ceiling. It got stuck behind the chandelier and couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. The Sun Sword was sealed by itself. In front of the AI of a super-named monster, Asuka became the first player to have an item stolen by a monster.

[The title ‘Fool’ has been acquired for your stupid act that will go down in history.]

“XX!!” Asuka cursed harshly as she died.

***

[The production of Braham’s Robes has been completed.]

[You have succeeded in producing a legendary item, and your Tailoring skill will grow rapidly to advanced level 3.]

[A legendary rated item was produced, so all stats have permanently risen by +25 and reputation throughout the continent has risen by +1,000.]

‘Good!’

One of the sources of Grid’s power was his stats. However, since his blacksmithing technique had grown to a certain level, the growth rate of his stats had slowed. Of course, that was a story limited to blacksmithing. Tailoring was different. In the world of tailoring, Grid wasn’t tainted water but a green sprout. Therefore, the stats synergy was applied according to the grade of the produced item.

That’s why Grid was so pleased with Braham’s gift. The hats, robes, and gloves could also be crafted with Tailoring, so for the time being, it was expected that Grid’s stats would grow rapidly. The ‘all stats +25’ effect would be maintained for the five legendary items that were produced. 

‘In the future, I should grind my tailoring by manufacturing Braham’s set.’

The problem was with the materials. The fabric needed to make Braham’s set came from repardo thread, and this wasn’t readily available. The specialty product was produced only in a small frontier town of the Gauss Kingdom and at a low quantity. Additionally, the Overgeared Kingdom and Gauss Kingdom were in a hostile relationship, so export restrictions applied.

‘It will soon be time to fight.’

Historically, the Overgeared Kingdom had suffered too much aggression and hostility from the Gauss Kingdom. For the Overgeared Kingdom that had to expand their territory, going to war with the neighboring Gauss Kingdom was something unavoidable. The reason why Lauel increased military expenditure after the firm alliance with the empire was that he was mindful of the war against the Gauss Kingdom.

“Hrmm.”

Beside him, Braham was wearing the robe. It was a light blue robe with silver embroidery on both shoulders. Dressed in the very gorgeous and luxurious outfit, Braham stood up. It was a design that didn’t match with an extremely ordinary face, just like the current skin mask that Braham was wearing. Nevertheless, Braham didn’t care.

“An empty appearance...” He expressed disappointment with the less delicate embroidery, but when it came to the robe’s ability to enhance magic, he tested the performance several times and nodded like it was fine.

“I’ll continue making the same clothes and will make them look better, so bear with it for now.”

Once Grid achieved advanced master level for Tailoring, he would be able to make items by combining blacksmithing and tailoring. Then he would make a real Braham set. Grid smiled at the reminder of the class quest that hadn’t been completed for years.

A few days passed.

“I finally got my boots.”

“Yes.”

He was on the road to the smithy. Grid quickened his pace toward Braham, who was wearing gorgeous clothes and accessories with his plain face. It was an effort to not look like a fashion terrorist to other people. Honestly, it was embarrassing. Grid had to wonder if Ahyoung, who had dated him for one day when he was a fashion terrorist, was unexpectedly kind-hearted.

Once Grid finally arrived at the smithy, new questions were raised. “Ah, by the way… The skewer you mentioned. Is it something that normal dragons like, not just the Gourmet Dragon? Can they be bribed with it?”

“The food that the Gourmet Dragon enjoys is a delicacy for other dragons.”

“Hoh...”

Valuable information was obtained. If he encountered a dragon in the future, he might be able to survive by bribing it with skewers. This time, the skewer had to be thrown at the dog that Fenrir was raising.

‘I have a new place to use reputation. Later, new skewers can be obtained.’

Grid made a plan while starting the production of Braham’s Boots. Then exactly three days later, Grid’s group arrived at the entrance of Fenrir’s city.