Overgeared (WN KR)

Extracting materials from items—it was easy for Grid, who had mastered the art of blacksmithing from the time he learned Intent Production. However, red energy literally meant energy. It wasn’t a substance, so it was difficult to extract it with his blacksmithing techniques. The attempt itself was possible, but the probability of success was low.

‘The moment Saharan’s Sword is disassembled, it might disperse and disappear.’

The red energy used Saharan’s ‘lineage’ as its source. Thanks to this, Basara also had it. He heard that her red energy was pretty good, but it was inferior compared to the red energy of the founder, Saharan. It meant there was no substitute if it was lost. This absolutely couldn’t happen considering the fact that Zik had been using Saharan’s red energy for so long.

‘The compatibility of the red energy and Zik is good.’

The essence of the red energy to control matter was ‘intervention.’ It was because he could control the target once he intervened in it. In particular, Sakharan’s red energy was able to intervene in most of the world’s substances, including runes. The rapid transformation of Zik’s runes lay in the acceleration power borrowed from red energy.

“You mean to extract the red energy here, right? Sniff. Yes, I’ll try...”

“You will just try? That level of mindset isn’t enough. Promise that you will succeed.”

“There is no guarantee that I will succeed. How can I make a promise...?”

“Why isn’t it guaranteed?”

“After all, this red energy originally belongs to Saharan.”

It was hard to guarantee that it could be completely controlled unless it was Saharan.

“But we can discuss the possibilities due to the divinity of King Sobyeol...”

King Sobyeol’s divinity had the property of adsorbing any concept it encountered. It treated water and oil, that couldn’t be mixed, as the same substances and mixed them. If Braham’s mental world fully understood, destroyed, or absorbed a concept, the divinity of King Sobyeol omitted the process of understanding and utilized the object as its own divinity.

It was similar, but completely different. If they were discussing which one was better, they would have to conclude that it depended on the situation. However, the coercive force was naturally stronger on the side of King Sobyeol’s divinity. It was fraudulent in that it regarded the target as its own divinity and consequently strengthened its divinity.

“Of course, I can’t just rely on King Sobyeol’s divinity. In the process of extracting and transporting the red energy with King Sobyeol’s divinity, there is a possibility that the red energy will be transformed into divinity... I have to change the nature of the divinity with the runes beforehand. It won’t be easy.”

“Do well on your own.”

“...Yes.”

No matter how long the young Zik talked, it was a problem that Grid couldn’t help with. He dismissed it with the reminder for Zik to focus rather than waste time explaining it to him. Zik figured out the meaning and immediately focused. He checked every rune he remembered and tried to come up with the best words and sentences for the situation.

Grid was examining Saharan’s Sword, which Zik had handed over before entering the mental world.

‘It is a treasured sword with historical value.’

Saharan’s sword was far from a great work. Not only was it made of common steel, but it was also crude. It was a sword made hundreds of years ago, so it was understandable.

However, it was judged to be a legendary item. It wasn’t just about the red energy. It contained Saharan’s red energy, but this was virtually useless because there were very few people who could handle it. Nevertheless, the reason for its high value lay in the background.

The founding of the Saharan Empire—it was the background to one of the most important events in human history.

‘It is right to call it a treasure.’

It wasn’t very comfortable to have to melt away such a precious treasure. Grid thought this while putting Saharan’s Sword into the blazing furnace. The signal was the young Zik, who had been preoccupied with his eyes closed for a while, opened his eyes.

His eyes sank darkly, as if he had taken on all the pains and worries in the world. The boy’s eyes, which were as deep as the abyss of the sea, were the same as the adult Zik.

Colorless divinity spread like wildfire among the runes that rotated fiercely and formed sentences. They extended toward Saharan’s Sword that was melting in the furnace. There was an immediate change. The colorless divinity gradually started to take on a red glow.

‘It is a success.’

As Grid was feeling relieved, the divinity that returned to the young Zik lost its color. It reverted to its former colorlessness state.

‘No, did it fail?’

A voice entered Grid’s ears as his heart sank.

“I succeeded.”

The young Zik’s voice was mixed with relief. The red energy absorbed by King Sobyeol’s divinity was stronger than before. The young Zik perfectly did something that the adult Zik had never even attempted. Now it was Grid’s turn to repay him.

“Let’s start the production.”

From now on, he would make Zik’s sword. Along with the red energy, it would contain the mental world that Zik had ignored. Maybe this was a source of pain for Zik, but it was right to face it. How could a person who ignored himself look confidently at the world? Additionally, what type of guts did he need to have to look up at the heavenly gods? There was a time when Grid also turned away from himself.

Grid felt the need to bring out Zik’s mental world more strongly.

Taang, taang, taang!

Grid’s hammer that was wrapped in runes struck Trauka’s scales and bones. Each time, the young Zik had to struggle to control the red energy that rampaged with Trauka’s flames.

The sword that Grid and Zik would make together today was more than just a weapon, it was courage.

***

A sword that spread pain—Zik’s Sword, which was completed at dawn the next day, boasted a formidable functionality. Every attack spread fear and pain in all directions. All objects contaminated by it were targeted by the red energy and controlled. Every time the attacks overlapped, the range of the spread of pain and the debuff effect increased. It was to the extent where it wouldn’t be awkward to use the term ’a monster made by my own hand.’

‘It doesn’t make sense that it causes splash damage every time it is swung.’

It wasn’t something to be happy about. The reason why Zik’s Sword scattered pain was because it meant the world that Zik perceived was stained with pain.

That’s right. Zik’s mental world that dwelled in Zik’s Sword was spreading pain to create ‘the world he knew.’ He showed his instinct to share the pain he experienced with others. It was the pain that was sealed in his subconscious, the mental world.

“I’m embarrassed.”

After swinging his sword a few times, Zik lowered his head to look at the devastated surroundings. It was shameful because he felt like he was denying and destroying the world that his god was making right.

“It isn’t your fault. The problem is the world that caused you to suffer pain again and again.”

Ever since Grid became the emperor and a god, he had always been desperate to keep his dignity. He tried to use as old and elegant a tone as possible to soothe Zik.

“One day, the day will come when your sword will scatter blessings. I’ll make sure of it. Of course, you have to help me as well.”

“...Yes, my god.”

“Yes.”

Grid tapped on the shoulder of Zik, who had barely regained his composure. He never would’ve imagined it in the past.

The strongest of the previous world, one of the Seven Good People, the pillars of the empire, etcetera—Zik had been active as the center of the world since the days when there was no Grid and he was a somewhat uncomfortable existence for Grid.

It felt like his father having an employee who graduated from Harvard.

No matter how polite Zik was, there was a distance that was hard to narrow. Then today, the distance narrowed significantly. It was the aftermath of the unity of their mental worlds. The two of them peeked inside each other. They reminded each other of how great they were and also realized that they weren’t perfect people. They noticed that they were similar.

In addition to respect, there was a sense of sympathy. It was natural for the distance to narrow.

***

Reinhardt was a city that responded to Grid’s every move. News of Grid checking the mental worlds of the apostles quickly spread throughout the huge city.

“These were made in the mental worlds...?”

Braham’s Staff and Zik’s Sword—the private details of the apostles’ exclusive items, comparable to those of Defying the Natural Order, appeared before Vantner’s eyes.

The source of the information was Lauel. It deserved to be shared with the 10 meritorious retainers.

“...Are we unable to have a dragon weapon without a mental world?”

Vantner’s bald head lost its luster. It was because his face darkened rapidly. He deserved to look haggard.

The dragon weapon and armor—he believed that there was only one step left until the players got their hands on an endgame item they had been dreaming of. Then a notice was received to create a mental world and Grid started checking the mental worlds of the apostles. Furthermore, he was currently only making dragon weapons for the apostles who possessed mental worlds.

“Is the mental world the premise for creating a dragon weapon?”

Vantner’s loud voice trembled as he asked again. He was so anxious that even phlegm came out as his already husky voice fluctuated. Lauel quietly widened the distance and shook his head.

“No. The dragon weapon created in the mental world is judged to be a dedicated weapon and has a more specialized power. First of all, the 10 Meritorious Retainers will be given ordinary dragon weapons. If you want weapons superior to them, you can try to open the mental world.”

“How do we open up a mental world?”

This time, it was Pon’s question. Basically, rankers were inquisitive. It was their nature to create their own know-how and forge their own path, so they rarely relied on others. It was true just by looking at their recent actions. The world that had changed in the aftermath of Trauka unleashing his full power—as the temperature of the ocean and the direction of the ocean currents changed, the ecosystem of the continent changed drastically from before.

Demons that they never imagined ran rampant on terrain that hadn’t been experienced before. However, the damage to humanity was small. It was thanks to the activities of the Overgeared members, who were praised as great heroes. They quickly adapted to a world where there was no strategy book and performed all types of activities. They pioneered new paths without hesitation.

But they were clumsy as usual before Grid-related matters. They had no idea about the mental world at all. They didn’t even know which direction to take. It was shameful. Still, they weren’t going to shut their mouths because of their cheap pride. They asked for help to find a way.

Lauel looked around at the serious faces of the 10 Meritorious Retainers and slowly opened his mouth, “There was a message from His Majesty.”

“......!”

All of the 10 Meritorious Retainers focused in unison.

“He said that if you play the game seriously, you will naturally get it.”

Lauel shattered their expectations.

“Doesn’t this mean that we should work harder?”

Work harder. How could they work harder? The 10 Meritorious Retainers naturally consumed all of the daily access limit. Even if there was a strong earthquake or storm in the area where they lived, they always connected to Satisfy and kept up with their schedule.

A cold naturally couldn’t hold them back. They even lay in the capsule after experiencing an accident while climbing and breaking their limbs. Virtual reality games that didn’t require them to tap their mouse and keyboard were the best.

To be honest, they weren’t convinced that they had to work harder. Still, no one dared to refute it. They weren’t sure if they were working harder on Grid.

‘From now on, I should only study Satisfy even when I’m logged out.’

It happened as the 10 Meritorious Retainers vowed in unison...

“Let’s look at your mental world.”

Grid faced Mir. It wasn’t known what false rumors he heard, but Mir was wearing a steel faceplate that didn’t match his elegant dopo.