Overgeared

“Wasn’t the cycle of the Gods of the Beginning just a safety device?”

At the S.A Group’s headquarters...

The development team was bombarded with questions.

The cycle of the gods—the development team simply called it the ‘level up cycle.’ Chairman Lim Cheolho also mentioned it directly at an executives and staff meeting. It wasn’t anything special.

Once a year in real time—the system checked the player’s growth level and grew the Gods of the Beginning to match. It was a safety device with the setting of ‘out of reach’ to avoid a mishap of the players’ growth catching up to them. Yes, the cycle of the Gods of the Beginning was purely related to growth. Yet at some point, a special meaning started to be assigned to it. It was by beings in Satisfy who weren’t players.

“The artificial intelligence changes the meaning of a concept that has already been established...? Isn’t this pretty dangerous? Is it okay for an artificial intelligence to be the subject of change in the first place?”

So far, Satisfy’s worldview had changed in real time. These were the changes made by the intervention of the players.

It was a phenomenon in Satisfy tolerated under the banner of ‘a world created by players.’ Conversely, a world created by an artificial intelligence, not players, wasn’t something the S.A Group could bear. There were many people who refuted the concerns of the executives.

“Why isn’t it okay? Even if they are named NPCs, they can change their natural destiny with their own position and judgment.”

“The problem is that the artificial intelligence of a God of the Beginning is far superior to the artificial intelligence of named NPCs. Additionally, the authority is strong enough to play some of the roles that GMs usually play in games. Do you think the scale of change they are looking for will be the same as the scale of change shown by the named NPCs?”

“Right. It is a situation we need to guard against.”

“This is just a guess. It is extremely unlikely that the Gods of the Beginning will seek change at their own discretion. They must’ve been directly or indirectly influenced by players, even if we haven’t figured it out yet. Executives, do you know a town called Landam?”

“Landam...? This is the first time I’ve heard of it.”

“It is a small town in the northern part of the Fold Kingdom. It is a very ordinary town with a population of less than 3,000 and no celebrities. There are no mines or hunting grounds nearby, so most players don’t even know it exists. Or they just passed by it because it was insignificant.”

“However?”

“The village has held a festival every year since five years ago. It is a small town festival that celebrates the release of jelly pumpkins, which was born thanks to the coincidence of the climate changing when Lauel used magic on a battlefield near Landam. It has become the only pride of the village, which was simple and had nothing.”

“......”

“It is the influence and change caused by Lauel, even though Lauel doesn’t know it. There must surely be the intervention of players behind the cycle of the Gods of the Beginning changing to something else.”

“...Hmm, but is the hierarchy of the Gods of the Beginning one that can be affected by players?”

The executives, who weren’t easily convinced, soon sighed. It was while they were looking at Grid on the screen.

***

“The original cycle. It wasn’t anything special. It was more like a routine that repeated itself every three years… but that day. Everything changed...”

Deep wrinkles appeared under the eyes of the Specter, which could be seen through the mask. Her face crumpled like a piece of paper when he recalled that day.

“No... from the beginning. It wasn’t different. At first... It was the same as usual. My god went around encouraging the dead, who had just landed in hell... some of the dead adapted to life in hell, made offerings to the gods, never crossed the river of reincarnation, and spent the rest of their lives in hell... they said they wanted to live. They prayed...”

They were memories from too long ago. It was from before hell was distorted. They were memories from when the Specter was young and innocent. Thus, there were many blurry parts. She had many forgotten memories. At this moment, they started to rise like a kaleidoscope.

“Everything was as usual... then it suddenly changed. Uninvited guests came.”

“Uninvited guests?”

“...A god.”

The Specter’s breathing gradually quickened as she held her head in agony. Her heavily bent back convulsed repeatedly.

“That person... my god said that person was like him...”

“Like him...? If it is a god with the same hierarchy as Yatan, aren’t there only Hanul or Rebecca?”

“But... he wasn’t a God of the Beginning... my god said it. A relationship connected to the future... the one who guided it...”

“...Uh?”

“Eh?”

The eyes of the siblings widened. Then Ruby thought she made a silly sound and her ears reddened. She felt an intense sense of deja vu.

The Specter also belatedly realized it. “Eve… guided... them...?”

She called her name as if it belonged to someone else, only to shut her mouth. Her god at that time...

He really said that?

Eve. That was definitely her name. The name that she abandoned thousands of years ago...

“...Ahh.” Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

“H-Hey!”

“Ahhhhhh!”

Grid tried to calm her down but it didn’t work. Finally, the Specter blocked both ears and screamed endlessly. A mysterious god and girl who appeared in the past a long time ago. Immediately after the appearance of these ominous beings, light fell from the sky and her god turned to blood.

It wasn’t extinction. It was a form that had never been seen before. He entered the cycle in this form of punishment.

“I... I guided.. you to my god... I. With my own hands, my god...?”

The Specter realized she was the culprit who sent Grid and his sister to Yatan and fell into extreme confusion. Why did Yatan have to suffer such humiliation that day? The questions that hadn’t been answered for thousands of years were finally answered.

It was because of her. There was a high probability that it was her future self. In other words, perhaps her present self made a mistake.

“...You asked me if the hierarchy of all the Gods of the Beginning was the same, right?”

“Yes...”

“You must’ve witnessed it. The light that crushed my god.”

“It is too much to say that I saw the light that crushed him. My consciousness returned to the present as soon as the bright light enveloped Yatan.”

In other words, Grid didn’t witness the scene of Yatan becoming a mess. He just vaguely guessed...

By summing up the conversation he had with Yatan, he guessed that Rebecca was above Yatan.

“You went back to the past. Am I to blame for you meeting God Yatan?”

“It isn’t your fault. The moment you described Yatan, our consciousness automatically transcended time and space and stood in front of Yatan. It was more like fate or inevitability. Isn’t it too much to consider it your personal influence?”

“...Yes.”

This was the end. She was worthy of a being who had endured countless years. The mentality of the Specter was excellent. Before she knew it, she had fully recovered her mind and grasped the situation clearly.

It wasn’t her fault that Yatan suffered such a thing. It was the will of the world, not herself, who guided the siblings to the past. Maybe this world wanted to show Grid and Ruby how Rebecca harmed God Yatan.

“There is only one conclusion,” the Specter took a deep breath and declared, “God Yatan is going through an unprecedentedly long cycle and it is Rebecca’s will, not Yatan’s.”

It wasn’t what happened originally. Was it Grid meeting Yatan that led to this change? There was no way for the Specter to know.

However, the reality she had to face was clear. She would have to face Rebecca one day.

“Someday, I will restore hell. It is after punishing Baal.”

“......”

“Then I will ascend to heaven. Rebecca will be held accountable. Why is she behind the distortion of hell? I need to know, even if I perish.”

“It is just right.” A big smile spread across Grid’s face. “My final destination is heaven as well. We can go together. Right?”

“...You are going to challenge heaven?”

“Then what else should I do?”

“That… for humanity... punish Baal in hell. Make the surface peaceful...”

The Specter slowly closed her mouth in the middle of her answer. She realized it. The power of the surface was too great to just target Baal. Just now, Grid’s apostles had killed Baal without Grid. What if she added her strength to that?

‘Maybe he can really… is it possible to defeat heaven...?’

How great was this?

It was the moment when the eyes of the trembling Specter and Grid gently met in the air...

‘Maybe I didn’t have to come?’ Ruby became like someone with nothing to say in the situation and was embarrassed.

Of course, the Specter didn’t forget the reason for bringing Ruby here.

“Saintess Ruby. Come this way...”

Grid’s group descended to the basement of the temple.

***

At the same time, at the upper floor of the No Offspring Tomb...

“Ohh...”

“He overcame the backlash on his own?”

The Overgeared members were purely delighted, while the apostles were astonished. The Saintess hadn’t even arrived yet. It was because Sword Saint Muller overcame the mental disorder from his heart demon of his own will. In terms of mental strength alone, he might be better than some Absolutes.

“Take this. It will help you recover.”

Piaro handed Muller all types of precious food, including the golden walnut. All of them were elixirs carefully grown by a legendary farmer on the rich soil of the Overgeared World.

“Hah... Thank you.” Muller recognized their value with one glance and was impressed.

A smile spread across Piaro’s face. “You don’t have to thank your junior. It is a blessing and honor to be able to give even a bit of help to my respected senior.”

“Junior...? Are you also someone who walked on the path of a swordsman?”

Muller checked the calluses on Piaro’s thick hands and smiled in a kind manner, only to stiffen.

“I am on the path of agriculture, but... please treat me comfortably as a junior.”

...Why?

Why was a farmer obsessed with the titles of senior and junior? Muller thought that Piaro was a really strange person, but he still obediently consumed the elixirs. He felt his energy recovering quickly.

“Is it delicious?” A girl suddenly asked. She had saliva dripping from her wide open mouth.

Muller felt sorry for the child who seemed to have starved for days, only to feel something strange. There was no reason for a child to be starving for days to be here, right?

“...A hatchling?”

Muller was shocked to discover the girl’s identity once his energy recovered and his senses returned.

A hatchling—the energy of the hatchling, who seemed to be a direct descendant of an old dragon, was warning him of great danger.

A blue-haired beautiful woman whispered calmly to him, “Calm down, Teacher.”

Teacher?

Muller was embarrassed by the title and the woman smiled at him. She glanced down at the sword sheath hanging from her waist.

“Didn’t you leave a mark on the hilt of the sword to teach me deeply? I will serve as your lifelong disciple in the future.”

It was the gorilla. The eyes that seemed paralyzed and the way she breathed out her nose was similar to the image he imagined.

“Just a bit... I think I need to rest.”

The hero among heroes, who was respected by all—in front of numerous witnesses, Sword Saint Muller appeared weak.

It was a first in history.