Overgeared

Earlier this year...

Kraugel had bought a villa in Gangwon-do, South Korea. He was asked about why he chose Gangwon-do, and the answer that he gave was that it was the hometown that his mother’s grandmother’s grandfather longed for. It felt like some parts of this statement should be dealt with, but... in any case, Grid went to Gangwon-do with Yura and Jishuka. He planned to meet with Kraugel, who had briefly entered the country with his mother.

The sight of the mansion, which was too grand to be called a villa, standing tall on the mountainside, impressed Grid.

Kraugel’s mother came out to personally greet them and made Yura and Jishuka smile. It was good to see her in good health. The group dreamed of having a fun day. They never imagined the hell that awaited.

‘Balance is important.’

Grid recalled the curry that Kraugel’s mother had made for them. It was a curry with plenty of bracken and fatsia sprouts. It was bitter. The rough, squishy texture of the fatsia sprouts was particularly terrible. Of course, he didn’t show it and ate it with a smile. It was while shouting out, ‘Delicious.’

The curry of Kraugel’s family was made using mountain vegetables easily available to Koreans in the past and contained the sad history of their Koryo compatriots. Moreover, it was food prepared by his friend’s mother. It was something he couldn’t refuse just because it didn’t suit his taste.

Grid ate all of the curry. He even took the curry from the blue-faced Yura and Jishuka and dumped it all into his stomach. He pinched his thighs to suppress his nausea. Then he belatedly saw Kraugel’s expression and realized it. It was the fact that he did something useless...

Kraugel’s expression was telling him this.

Are you crazy? Why eat all of that?

Grid had to suffer an upset stomach all day. The importance of balance was a lesson that he was reminded of again and again after much suffering.

‘No matter how expensive and delicious curry is, there is no answer if a lot of bracken and fatsia sprouts are added... balance is important.’

A low-grade dragon was by no means weak. An absolute defense that surrounded a body that could display overwhelming dragon-like power. Magic and a powerful Breath was fired wildly with the magic power that rose infinitely from the heart. Most transcendents couldn’t approach it. Even if they managed to approach, the chances of dealing a blow were significantly lower.

The moment the dragon started using Dragon Words, there was no chance of winning even if several transcendents attacked at once. It was such a creature in the first place. In order to face a dragon, one had to be an Absolute. It just meant that the possibility of a fight was established. Being an Absolute didn’t necessarily mean fighting a dragon and winning.

Compatibility was important. In that sense, Biban was the antithesis of a dragon. The energy of a Dragon Slayer and Grid’s divinity was added to the sword that could cut anything. He wasn’t a Dragon Slayer like Hayate, but he had achieved a balance that neutralized several of a dragon’s strengths.

Respect sprung up spontaneously.

[The Tower of Wisdom... I can’t believe that such a small group has two Absolutes...]

The dragon regenerated his severed wings with Dragon Words and soared high into the sky. He blocked the chasing tower members with magic and sprayed a Breath twice in a row to widen the distance with Biban.

Red rain poured down from the sky. The low-grade dragon’s body couldn’t handle the aftermath of using Dragon Words and Breaths in succession. The appearance of him spilling blood in large quantities appeared precarious.

It was as expected.

[I have no choice but to give up.]

The low-grade dragon turned around. The reason why dragons with a lower hierarchy were more aggressive was because their lives were pushed to the edge of a precipice.

Right now, he couldn’t relax because he didn’t know if he would be hunted down and eaten by another dragon. He always lived in a desperate manner in order to save his life. He wasn’t ignorant or stupid. The dragon wasn’t obsessed with a losing battle.

A teleportation without any foreshadowing—the dragon was a master of magic and he naturally cast magic without any delay. It was hard to chase him if he let go of any sense of shame and focused only on escaping. Marie Rose had a way to catch up and chase the target before their body could even respond to the magic, but...

Biban was unfamiliar with magic and Grid wasn’t well versed in it either. They couldn’t do it like her. However, Hayate was different. Hayate didn’t need to know magic when it came to catching dragons.

—!

Without any noise, a huge white energy fell and split the sky. The magic that helped a dragon survive immediately stopped working and the absolute defense, which had already become rags, shattered. His heart, which was protected by the thickest scales, shattered even more disastrously.

It was due to the energy of a Dragon Slayer, which was much purer and stronger than the Dragon Slayer energy used by Biban. It was the result of a sword wielded by Hayate from a distance.

[...Dragon Slayer!!]

These were the last words of the low-grade dragon, who died without even revealing his name. The giant body floated in the air for a long time due to the remnants of magic power, even after losing its head and neck. Then it slowly crashed into the dark sea.

Radwolf’s magic machine chased and retrieved it.

Killing a dragon—it was a result that happened thousands of years after the tower was built. The tower members were filled with all sorts of emotions and were at a loss for words. The scene became quiet like it was a lie. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Biban!”

A long time passed before Jessica ran to Biban.

Her charge was so powerful that her trajectory was mysterious as she flew with tangible magic wrapped around her body. The magic power that stirred in the aftermath of the Echo Magic seemed to fill the sky with a stage that was a white disk. It was a stage only for Biban and Jessica.

“I’m glad... I’m glad you came back safely...”

“There is something wrong with your words. I’m back in a better state than before.”

Biban smiled softly and wiped away the tears running down Jessica’s cheeks.

Love sprouted even in the tower. It was a love that shouldn’t happen. It wouldn’t have been strange if the tower members had died today. Apart from their near infinite lifespan, their days of dedicating their lives to protecting the world were endlessly dangerous. If they lost someone after thinking of each other as more precious and special than they did now, they wouldn’t be able to handle the shock easily and would be unable to concentrate on their duty. Even a transcendent who had lived for hundreds of years couldn’t be calm in the face of deep and sincere emotions.

“W-What...?”

Jessica was taken aback. Biban’s behavior of looking at her affectionately and wiping away her tears resembled a lover.

At this moment, Biban was clearly trying to take a step forward. He showed signs of honestly revealing his heart, which he had been turning away from out of fear.

It happened the moment when the frightened Jessica stepped back...

“From now on, I will share the responsibilities of Hayate.”

Biban grabbed Jessica’s wrist.

“It is along with Grid.”

He stared at Hayate and the tower members before fixing his gaze on Jessica and declaring, “You don’t need to be afraid of anything. From now on, no one will be able to easily harm you. So please live like a human being while fulfilling your duties as you have done before.”

In the entire world, the number of Absolutes was small. There were less than 30 even if he included the chief gods of Asgard and the Hwan Kingdom and the dragons of higher ranks. Each one of them was special. It made no sense to group the Absolutes into one category.

Therefore, Biban was qualified. It was fine for him to declare anything and to do anything. No one dared to refute his choice.

“...If Hayate says no, I’ll naturally cancel what I just said...”

Nevertheless, Biban stared into Hayate’s eyes. He belatedly took care of his words. Even if he had also become an Absolute, Hayate was the head of the tower. Additionally, Biban still respected Hayate. He had no intention of challenging Hayate’s authority. His face became restless as soon as he realized he had made a big mistake, but his expression soon brightened. It was thanks to Hayate’s words.

“Sir Biban is right. Our life of living in hiding and giving up our rights because we are afraid will come to an end.”

The biggest reason why the tower members left the world was to minimize the possibility of being tracked by dragons.

Now the situation had greatly changed. They were able to cooperate with the Overgeared World at any time, and had gained another Absolute. Of course, they couldn’t disregard the old dragons, so they couldn’t openly reveal the location of the tower, but... in any case, they had some breathing room. In the future, they could throw away various restrictions.

[The wrath of the dragon is pouring down toward you after learning that one of their own has been killed by humans.]

Hayate, who expanded the energy of a Dragon Slayer as if provoked by the news that just arrived, bowed deeply and apologized. “If I had been courageous from the beginning, I wouldn’t have pushed you to the edge of the cliff... I am sorry.”

Hayate’s shadowy face was terribly grim. There was no way he could be fine after discovering Biban’s situation and that he had fallen to the brink of developing a heart demon.

"Don't say that."

Biban stepped in front of Hayate and supported him.

“Your choice has always been right.”

If Hayate wasn’t careful, the tower would’ve already suffered several risks and lost a number of tower members. It would’ve caused a series of enormous damage to the world because they couldn’t smoothly induce or suppress the dragon’s activities.

Why did Biban struggle to do something that Hayate couldn’t do? It wasn’t because he thought that Hayate was wrong, but because he understood Hayate’s position.

The tower—no, the only Absolute in human history.

Hayate was in a position not to put himself in danger. In fact, Hayate had been brave ever since Grid became an Absolute. He showed a different initiative than before. There was no doubt that he believed in Biban and Grid. From now on, Hayate would show a great performance.

Biban and Grid would desperately help. Then in the end, Hayate and the tower would become mighty and they would become Grid’s strength. It was destined not to change easily. A new destiny was carved into the world with the birth of an Absolute named Biban.

[The name of the newly born Absolute is...]

At the time when the system was defining Grid as an Absolute, it had taken a very long time. Biban’s case was similar. It didn’t take a few days like Grid, but the system was very careful in defining the new Absolute. Thus, dozens of minutes passed since the announcement of the birth of a new Absolute before the stopped world messages started flowing again.

[It is Sword God ‘Biban.’]

They were many types of gods. Just as there were beings who were gods from the moment they were born, there were those who were worshiped by humans and reborn as gods, or beings who proclaimed themselves to be gods.

Biban was different. He didn’t become a god after being worshiped, nor did he proclaim himself a god. He was simply strong. The sword he wielded exerted a power comparable to a god, so the system gave him the title of a god.

“...Sword God.”

Sword Saint Muller’s fingertips trembled as he silently watched the situation. It was because the shock he obtained from reviewing the trajectories of the swordsmanship Biban unfolded earlier became even greater before the shock could disappear.

The days when he was the best with the sword were over. It was a shock for him to recognize and feel this truth.

“Biban...”

The corners of Muller’s mouth slowly rose as he pondered on the name of the Absolute. The fact that there was a better swordsman in the world than him gave him a pleasure he had never imagined. He felt a sense of motivation that had been lost since learning the truth of the hopeless world.

It was because he had a goal.

‘There are so many things to see.’

He looked at the backs of Hayate, Biban, and Grid in turn. Muller gave the brightest smile in hundreds of years.

On the other hand, Grid...

‘It isn’t going in the inventory?’

He looked perplexed as he stood in front of the remains of the dragon that had been salvaged by the magic machine. He pondered on it for a moment before being forced to call the Tomb of the Gods. It was a bit awkward to use the strongest weapon on the surface just to transport a corpse, but what could he do? It was best to be comfortable.

“Grid!”

Voices calling out for Grid came from the super large airship that appeared from behind the clouds and moon. It was the voice of Ke ong, the people of the empire, and the apostles, who were building a city on an airship.

It was finally over...

Grid felt like he had turned home and sighed with relief as he boarded the airship. He had no intention of resting. This time, he had a lot of work to do as a blacksmith.