Overgeared - Chapter 1022

Chapter 1022: 1022

[The key fits perfectly . ]

[An effect has occurred . ]

“Ohhh!”

It was a small keyhole in a big tree .  He put in and turned the universal key, then a notification window emerged with a cheerful sound effect .  An effect had occurred!

Grid imagined it .  The tree would split in half, and hidden treasures would appear .  If Lauel had to guess, it would be a scene where he was likely to obtain a skill book that gave a ‘war god’s secret technique’ .

“ . . . ?”

However, the tree didn’t move .  Unlike the notification window, nothing really happened .

“What? Why?” Grid was confused for a moment and searched around .  There were all types of plants and trees, and some of the trees had keyholes .

‘Are there some losing tickets? Let’s open some more . ’

Grid moved to a big tree that was 20 meters away .

[You have fallen into a trap!]

It was an absurd thing .  The ground sank the moment he stepped on a protruding tree root .

[You have suffered 10,200 damage!]

There was a 10-meter-deep tunnel .  Grid fell into the terrible trap installed in the ground and spat out blood .

“ . . . I would’ve died if I had fallen into it during a fight . ”

Why was there a trap in this place? Grid was thinking about it as he used Fly to escape the tunnel .

‘Did the imperial army do it?’

The empire wanted to monopolize the ruins .  Considering their abilities, it was certainly possible .  It was highly likely that the imperial troops, who arrived here first, installed traps to interfere with latecomers .

‘The empire is the empire . They actually installed traps like this . ’

As their stats and experience rose, players wouldn’t fall into traps so easily .  In particular, Grid had a high insight stat and could easily distinguish between traps .  However, the perfect traps that assimilated with nature couldn’t be distinguished and were a threat to Grid .  Maybe there was another trap? 

“Ack!” Grid screamed as he maintained Fly .  The moment his shoulder came in contact with a leaf, the leaf turned into a blade .  The deeply wounded Grid pulled out a potion and swallowed it .

“What is the level of these traps?”

This wasn’t a level that could be discovered by paying attention .  Wasn’t it too powerful at this point? Grid wanted to know the person who installed the traps .  It would be a big jackpot if he obtained them .  After suffering the wound, Grid arrived in front of the second big tree and once again inserted the Master Key .  Once again, there was a sound effect and a notice of an effect occurring, but no treasures emerged .

“Is it another failure?”

His obstinate spirit was stimulated .  Grid confirmed he still had time to spare and moved to the next tree . It was naturally a tree with a keyhole, and the universal key was properly inserted and aligned .  Once again, nothing happened .  It was the same with the next tree and the tree after that .  Grid got upset because he ran into several traps along the way and wasted potions .

“Nothing happened when I inserted the key?? What is going on?”

“Why are you asking me, nyong?” Noe seemed to be in a very good mood .

Warm sunlight fell from the sky, and a cool breeze gently blew his fur . He puffed out his belly and rolled around .  Grid complained because the cat made his neck sore after using his head as a bed .

“In any case, you’re no help . ”

Noe had evolved after eating the thunder stone . He had great skill, but his sense of presence wasn’t the same as before .  Noe’s help was great when Grid was still weak . Now, he had become too strong that Noe’s weight as a helper had fallen .  In order for Noe to play a prominent role again, he must show a unique strength such as against the final evolutionary golem in the golem invasion . Was an enemy like that common? 

‘In the first place, I hope there are no such strong enemies . ’

Grid thought he would rather Noe not be active . Then he smiled .

‘Why do I care about Noe? It isn’t due to Noe’s combat strength . I just like Noe . ’ He realized this truth all over again .

‘Yes, he should just stay happy . Sometimes Noe will do chores . ’

Didn’t a memphis have a long life span . . . ? Perhaps it was even longer than his .  Recently, Noe’s fur had turned black again for some reason .

Grid stroked his tail and moved to insert the key in the next tree .  He hoped he would win a treasure this time, but it was also a bust .

There was a notice about an effect, but Grid didn’t know the effect . . .

“ . . . Eh?” Grid looked around, and his eyes widened .  He discovered that some of the traps plaguing him on the way had disappeared without a trace .

‘Releasing the traps?’

Grid finally figured out the purpose of the keyholes .  It was a feasible idea .  He made reasonable inferences by identifying the ‘key trees’ that still existed in the jungle .

‘It is impossible for the empire to have installed hundreds of traps during that short period of time . ’

These traps were originally present already .  Perhaps releasing the traps was one of the keys for exploring these ruins .  Possessing the universal key meant he was in a much more favorable position than the empire .  

‘Wow . . . It really is present whenever I need it . ’

The universal key he made in the old days was needed .  The more he looked, the more fraudulent of an item it seemed .  The Grid of the present time wouldn’t be able to create it .  Grid was now more cautious in comparison to the old days and had many considerations to think about when creating an item . However, this process limited his imagination .

‘It wouldn’t be possible for my current self to think about making such an item . I would think that such a fraudulent item couldn’t be made, and it would naturally be blocked . ’

Sometimes, it was necessary to be simple .  It was a moment of small enlightenment .

. ’ . . !’ He suddenly realized he couldn’t hear all types of sounds in the jungle .  Then there was the sound of someone sliding through the bushes and footsteps approaching .  

“Overgeared King!” Two men and one woman popped out .

[You have discovered a strong person of this era!] 

[The Hero King’s fighting energy has started to boil!]

“ . . . !!”

They were Grenhal, Morse, and Basara .  Grid was wrapped in a blazing fighting energy in an instant as he recognized the three of them .  They were dukes who had attended the luncheon that occurred back when he visited the empire at the emperor’s call .  Basara hadn't looked at Grid during the luncheon, but her beauty was memorable . Morse’s form was different from the other dukes, and Grenhal boasted the highest level alongside Limit and Rachel .  No, he would’ve remembered them clearly even if they didn’t have any special features . He couldn’t forget the dukes of the empire .

‘Damn XX!’

It was bad .  Grid had violated Lauel’s order not to enter the jungle .  Sensing his death, Grid hurriedly pulled out his sword .

“Hey! Can’t we show appreciation after receiving help from you?” Morse was talking nonsense .

“ . . . ?”

They received help from him? Grid cocked his head and soon noticed it .  They escaped some type of crisis because he released the traps .

‘That’s why they didn’t attack me?’

It was a situation where three of the Seven Dukes were together .  If they intended to kill Grid, they would’ve attacked him the moment they appeared and Grid would’ve already lost his immortality .  However, Grid was fine and the dukes showed him no hostility .  Grid identified the three people’s personalities .

‘They have personalities of people that don’t want to owe debts . ’

From the dukes’ standpoint, Grid was an enemy king .  It was right to kill or capture Grid as soon as he was seen .  Their encounter with Grid was a chance to earn a huge achievement and end the war .  Yet they kicked away this big opportunity just because they were helped .

‘It seems to be a big help?’

This was a chance .  He had to use an excuse to leave here .  Grid judged this and tried to remain as calm as possible .

“I’m glad to help . I pretended not to know out of humility . ”

He tried to pretend to be casual, but his voice was shaking .  Honestly, it was scary .  They were monsters who could kill him at any time .  He would be killed and deported from the Red Sea .  Grid was most afraid that he wouldn’t be able to protect his remaining companions .  

“Such a person killed Rigal?” Morse snapped out after hearing Grid’s words .  There was no need for Grid to say anything .

This was because Grenhal stepped in for him .  “It was something that happened on the battlefield . ”

It meant for them not to blame Grid .

“Bah . ” Morse was convinced and didn’t say anything else .  

Grenhal descended from the giant two-headed hippo, approached Grid, and saluted slightly .

Grid didn’t know the meaning of the action, but Morse and Basara were very surprised .  It was because Grenhal didn’t show politeness to anyone by descending from his hippo apart from when he saw the emperor .  Even Empress Marie couldn’t make Grenhal get off his hippo .

“Thank you . We were able to pass the crisis thanks to Your Majesty . Of course, it wasn’t pure benevolence, right? You definitely had a reason to help us . Isn’t that correct?”

‘No?’

An unknown situation was being created .  Grid was devising words to reply when Grenhal struck a drum by himself .

“Your Majesty’s strength alone won’t be able to endure the power of the war god followers . Thus, you planned to work with us . ”

“ . . . ”

“In conclusion, it is a very excellent plan . Your Majesty has the key, so this suggestion of cooperation is very attractive for us who needs the key . This way you can coordinate the situation . . . You are a great man to make this bet . I have to acknowledge Your Majesty . I was pathetic to look down on you until now . ”

From Grid’s standpoint, Grenhal was babbling absurd sophistry .  

“Certainly . You have a forward-looking insight and bold determination,” Basara also agreed while Morse was busy thinking .

Grenhal reached out a hand to Grid .  “I will make a proposal with the authority of an imperial duke . Let’s forget the war and make an alliance here . You will borrow our strength, and we will borrow your key . If we combine forces, we can explore this place safely . ”

“ . . . ”

Should he agree to the cooperation? Should he talk to Lauel first? Grid hesitated, but it was only for a moment .  He had to hold this hand as it was too risky to explore this area while being hostile to the empire .  It was possible to judge this much .

“I understand . Let’s do it . ”

Grid’s and Grenhal’s big hands shook vigorously .

“ . . . Huung . ”

“ . . . ??”

“ . . . ??”

Grenhal suddenly hummed, and Morse and Basara cocked their heads .

“Hum hum . ” Grid pulled back his hand and coughed hurriedly .

*** 

At the S . A Group’s headquarters… 

“T-This is ridiculous . How did this happen?”

The staff in the meeting room were shocked by the scene on the monitor .  Originally, the empire was destined to be destroyed by the rampage of Insane Dragon Nevartan .  This was one of the basic scenarios of Satisfy .  The scenario had completely changed due to the finals of the 3rd National Competition .

The empire had survived and started a war with the Overgeared Kingdom . Due to the numerous causal effects from this, Skunk had discovered the Ruins of the War God .  If Skunk and the dukes hadn’t met in Galest, Skunk would never have sailed through the Red Sea and he wouldn’t have found the Ruins of the War God .  The butterfly effect caused the Ruins of the War God to appear much earlier than planned, and the major powers of the Overgeared Kingdom departed the continent .

Satisfy’s management team was very frustrated .

Great Demon Berith descended on a land far from the Saharan Empire .  In order to raid the great demon, the top players needed to cooperate . It was the worst situation since Grid’s party wasn’t present .  The employees thought that the players would suffer irreparable damage because of Berith, who would kill countless people and open the gates of hell to summon an army .  It was calculated that the players who tried and lost everything were likely to quit the game .

Grid’s party would waste time in the Ruins of the War God and wouldn’t be able to handle Berith who summoned the army .  Yes, it was a waste of time .  The current level of Grid’s party made it impossible to properly explore the Ruins of the War God .

Yet . . . Yet!!

“Where the hell did he get the key? It is ridiculous to have collected the key pieces in that short period of time . ”

Grid held a key and easily released the trap trees .  Then he obtained a chance to ally with the dukes .

“ . . . Is he going to clear the ruins?” Finally, one of the employees spoke nonsense, but no one raised a counterargument .  It was possible based on the development .

“Hah . . . Hahat!” Chairman Lim Cheolho was laughing .  Grid used the key he made previously to ally with the dukes .  This was truly admirable .  He was forced to praise Grid who surpassed predictions several times .  The atmosphere was awkward .  

“Chairman,” the director of operations Yoon Sangmin suddenly got up and asked Chairman Lim Cheolho a question, “Shall I order chicken and beer?”

“Yes . ”

“It is also half-and-half?”

“Yes . ”

“I understand . I’ll order two right now . ” Yoon Sangmin took out his phone and left the conference room for a while .

“Director Yoon, are you crazy right now?”

The agitated employees pointed at him .

“How many people are here? Yet you’re only ordering two portions?”

“ . . . ”

That’s right .  Now the other employees were also enjoying Grid’s path .  Grid, who had been solving most of his problems with force, faced a situation where force didn’t work and broke through with wisdom .  It was a wonderful sight .