Overgeared

“The two of you need to be more aware! How many times do I have to tell you?!”

Rabbit stood beside Grid and Piaro and started his lengthy speech. There was nothing to refute among the rapid-fire words he poured out because his words were right. However, in Grid and Piaro’s ears, Rabbit’s words sounded like this—“Blah blah blah! Order order order! Grumble grumble!”

“......”

“......”

No matter how good the advice, repeating it was just nagging. At first, Grid and Piaro listened to Rabbit and admitted their faults. Then they slowly felt the limits of their patience. They exchanged glances and left the relentless Rabbit. Their movements were so secretive and fast that Rabbit only realized they were gone a few seconds after they left.

“King Griiiiid! Siiiiiiir Piaro!” Rabbit’s screams echoed through the desolate wheat field.

The knights felt sorry at the sight of him clutching at his hair.

***

“What... Why does it feel like a propaganda flyer from North Korea?”

On the road to the castle after leaving Rabbit...

Grid was handed a flyer by Lauel and frowned. It was a flyer with rough phrases highlighted in red. Signs of cheapness were everywhere. It was a waste of the elaborate portraits that Picasso drew of Piaro and Hurent.

Wait, Hurent?

“Why is Hurent on here?”

“There are rumors that Hurent will be the successor to Piaro’s farming techniques. It is marketing. He also looks good.”

“The successor to farming techniques...”

A chill went down Grid’s spine. He was genuinely afraid that Hurent would become a farmer.

“Huhu, that’s good.”

Piaro was smiling like he didn’t know about Grid’s worries. He was very pleased with the completeness of the farmer recruitment flyer. Grid sighed and glanced at Hurent. Hurent shrugged. “Isn’t it interesting? It is flashy enough to make people feel that it is cheap but at the same time, it is also very eye-catching.”

“No, is it okay to be misunderstood as a farmer? You don’t really want to be a farmer, do you?”

“I wouldn’t mind if I could be like Piaro.”

“......”

He couldn’t believe that the Aura Master was considering becoming a farmer. Grid had high expectations for Hurent so he couldn’t help lamenting. Of course, he also understood Hurent’s thoughts. The power of farming that Piaro showed was terrifying. However, the reason why Piaro was so strong wasn’t because he was a farmer but because he was Piaro.

Hurent wouldn’t be like Piaro even if he became a legendary farmer. Hurent himself seemed to know this. “Yes, I can’t be like Piaro.”

“......”

“I realized it for certain when I witnessed Piaro’s rapid progress today. Piaro’s reason for being strong isn’t because he is a farmer.”

Hurent saw it right away. Farmers were indispensable to the world. They were an excellent existence but they weren’t a strong fighting profession. Piaro was just strong and from this morning onward, he started to grow even further.

‘He feels twice as strong since learning the Matchless Heart Technique. It felt like the power of one sweet potato blow was equal to the original Pounding Mortar.’

Biban had said it—the Matchless Heart Sword without the Matchless Heart Technique was nothing more than a hollow crystal. It was natural. The Matchless Heart Technique wasn’t born because of the Matchless Heart Sword. It was the Matchless Heart Sword that was born because of the Matchless Heart Technique. The Matchless Heart Sword without the Matchless Heart Technique couldn’t show its true power. The Piaro before learning the Matchless Heart Technique and the Piaro after learning it were two completely different people.

“How are you doing?”

Before they knew it, they had arrived near the large training ground. The large training ground was where work was underway to restore the collapsed barracks from a few days ago. Dwarf Ke, the builders, and thousands of workers were working hard to build the barracks.

“Very good.”

This morning, Piaro had received the Matchless Heart Technique through Mercedes and invested a considerable amount of effort to learn it. He fought with Grid and was scolded by Rabbit so it was normal to feel tired. However, Piaro was fine. No, he was more energetic than before.

“It seems undeniable that this is the predecessor of Supreme Swordsmanship.”

Piaro was thrilled. The Sword Saint Biban—Piaro felt a certain fate when he learned he was connected with a character from hundreds of years ago.

“Biban... he must’ve been a great, noble man.”

An old legend who left behind the Matchless Heart Technique for future generations. Piaro’s heart warmed as he imagined this person. He imagined that Biban was probably the coolest man in the world.

“...It must be so.”

Grid was unable to break Piaro’s fantasies and looked awkward. Well, he wasn’t lying. Biban, the Sword Saint who became a tower member for the peace of the world, was a great person. The problem was that he was somewhat different from what Piaro imagined. Still, there was no need to explain it.

“It might sound ridiculous, but...”

“...?”

Grid looked at the restoration work of the barracks and understood Rabbit’s grievances. He vowed to fight with Piaro on a remote island or something similar in the future as he listened to Piaro’s next words.

“I think I will meet Biban someday... I feel this way.”

“...!”

“Haha, it is just a feeling. I would like to see a dead man from a long time ago.”

Biban’s swordsmanship had been accidentally passed onto Piaro’s family and then the full version came to Piaro by chance through Grid. It was unreasonable to consider this a mere coincidence. Piaro felt a deep fate. He thought his relationship with Biban wouldn’t end with this.

***

“Why?”

The already expensive price of Grid’s items soared. In particular, the price of weapons skyrocketed from as little as three to as high as dozens of times the original price. This was the same even for the low level weapons. The reason was simple. It was because it was proven that Grid’s weapons were capable of ‘growth.’

The moment it was revealed that the performance of the weapons would grow when Grid used Request to Stand with Me, people did their best to acquire Grid’s weapons. They were looking forward to the potential that would explode when Grid’s weapons continued to grow and achieve their maximum growth.

The true gamers were eager to get a stronger weapon, the normal people were aiming to make money, and the rich people thought it was a stable investment. As a result, the Grid’s weapons that were distributed to the market were nowhere to be found.

One of the protagonists of this incident was Asuka. A third generation tycoon, she used her intelligence and money to hoard Grid’s weapons. 32 weapons of seven different types filled her warehouse. Now all Asuka had to do was wait. She kept a close eye on the exchanges and auction houses every day. In anticipation of Grid releasing a mass amount of new weapons into the market, she exchanged large amounts of cash into gold coins. Then...

“Why aren’t weapons being sold?”

No new Grid’s weapons appeared on the market. She was familiar with the market as she was born a businessman’s daughter and she couldn’t understand it at all.

“He will make money if he makes and sells weapons at this time. Why isn’t he doing business?!”

The market price of items made by Grid had risen. This wasn’t an exaggeration. Grid had the opportunity to become the world’s richest man. Yet he didn’t do business. He was turning away from the opportunity to become rich at a conglomerate level.

“Is he an idiot? Huh? Fool!”

It had become a habit of hers to tap the refresh button of the exchanges and auction house. Asuka was exhausted after pressing the refresh button every minute. Rage soared to the top of her head and she started a series of angry refreshes. She stomped her feet and roared with wide open eyes, looking like a monster in a monster movie. It seemed like she would spit out fire from her mouth.

“Young lady, don’t do that. You look ugly.”

Black Teddy tried to calm Asuka down but she didn’t listen to him. She was obsessed with the refresh button while shouting that Grid was an idiot. Nevertheless, no new works of Grid were registered at the exchange or auction house. Seeing that the secretary outside the capsule didn’t contact her, it seemed the situation of the item cash trading sites was no different. It had already been a month since it was like this. Asuka seemed like she was going to burst with frustration. “Let’s say I understand not selling a new product because he is stupid! Then why is there no summoning? Huh? Is this a joke?”

Two of the Grid’s weapons purchased by Asuka were top of the line unique items. The performance was excellent enough to be comparable to the legendary items dropped by the boss. What would happen if they responded to Grid’s call? They would be reborn as unique items that exceeded the performance of legendary items. At that time, Asuka planned to make them her favorites. However, there was no call from Grid. He hadn’t called any battle gear for a month.

“He deliberately... Is he deliberately harassing me?”

Was she being sniped? Was everything a conspiracy?

Black Teddy calmed the anxious Asuka. “Young lady, perhaps Grid isn’t greedy for money.”

“What? That is ridiculous. Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t care about money?”

Everyone who met Asuka wanted money. They all aimed at her money.

Black Teddy explained to Asuka, who was making a disbelieving expression, “Even before this incident, Grid had the ability to become rich enough. If he had only made and sold items in the last few years, he would be one of the world’s top 100 richest men. Yet as you know, his movements...”

For the longest period of time, he only went on adventures. He fought every day and recently, he even beat the half-gods. It was clear that he was satisfied with his assets of hundreds of billions of won and was only focused on adventuring.

“...So there is a high probability that Grid won’t take advantage of this incident.”

“Putting the game ahead of money. He is a true gamer.” Asuka’s expression relaxed a bit. She felt a type of similarity with Grid. Most of the negative emotions toward Grid disappeared. Still, there was an unresolved question. “Then why isn’t he summoning the battle gears?”

“Don’t you think that the cooldown is very long or it is a skill that consumes an extraordinary amount of resources?”

A skill that called upon every weapon he had made and rained it down. It was impossible to fathom how great the power would be and how spectacular the sight. It would be very strange if such a skill could be used frequently.

Asuka was convinced. “Hrmm... I can see that.”

The misunderstandings were unraveled. A new side of Grid’s personality was also seen. Asuka took it seriously. “How many times should I let Grid kill me?”

“Huh...?”

What thoughts were entering that little head? He had been watching the young lady for the past 20 years but he still couldn’t adapt. Asuka revealed her thoughts to the flustered Black Teddy. “We killed a few Overgeared soldiers when challenging the Fenrir raid. I think we should confess it honestly and accept the punishment.”

“...Why all of a sudden? No, it wasn’t you who killed the soldiers directly but Crayon...”

“In any case, I’m an accomplice. I have to at least get rid of my remorse if I want to apply to join the Overgeared Guild.”

“...!”

The Golden Snake Guild was once considered the best among the Seven Guilds. Asuka, who had been a former executive there, announced she would never join a guild again. During the time when the guild developed well, she saw the members of the guild defeated by the Overgeared Guild one by one and then leaving one by one when the situation became difficult, causing her to feel dubious. Now she was going to join the Overgeared Guild?

“So... All of a sudden?” Black Teddy asked for confirmation and Asuka nodded.

“Yes, it is annoying to find a party every time I need to do a raid. We will start again in earnest.”

“What if you are refused entry? It might’ve been years but we were once hostile to Grid.”

“No.”

There was a fact she learned while approaching level 400. The monsters and named NPCs were rising exponentially in strength. Grid must’ve been the first to notice it.

“Grid won’t refuse us if he is a real gamer.”

This game is about winning. Anyone with the mindset that an enemy was an eternal enemy would never win. In the first place, they didn’t do anything that bad for Grid to complain about.

“Well, if we’re rejected then that’s it.”