Overgeared

The moments of joy and crises—which kind of moment would people remember longer? For Grid, he remembered the moments of crises longer. It was in the realm of instinct, a type of defense mechanism to avoid going through the same crisis. One of the biggest moments of crisis for Grid was...

[You have heard Bentao’s bad laughter. You can’t stay calm after listening to it.]

[You have lost your composure. The deployment of all active skills will be canceled.]

[You have heard the enticement of the half god, Insane Clown King Bentao. Resistance has failed.]

[It will take over one minute to overcome the ‘frenzy’ state.]

[During the frenzy, your base damage will increase slightly, but your defense will decrease slightly. Additionally, the casting speed and resource consumption of all skills will increase greatly.]

[Bentao has stretched out his hand while you are losing your cool. Your health has changed with the owner of Bentao.]

It was the first battle with Agnus. Grid remembered the contents of the notification windows that emerged the moment the situation flipped over. It had been too shocking. A half god... What kind of existence was Bentao who managed to hit the Seven Malignant Saints and how was Agnus able to use his power? It was a mystery that Grid couldn’t solve.

“Blacksmith God Hexetia gave tools to humanity.”

Now, Bentao was right in front of him. Was this Bentao the same Bentao? The phantom of the insane clown king that appeared when Agnus used Bentao’s Mockery had let out an evil and cruel laugh. On the other hand, the Bentao in front of Grid now had a kind and trusting smile. The only thing that could be seen from his deep gaze was a feeling of charity. The madness was nowhere to be seen.

“It was War God Zeratul who taught humanity how to use those tools.”

“...?”

They followed Bentao inside the temple, and Grid—who was closely watching Bentao—felt a sense of discomfort. Finally, Bentao stopped in front of a stone status with no face.

“Stab the beast with the sharp spear. Cook food to fill the stomachs of you and your family every day. If someone craves your food, cut off his hand with a sharp knife. If someone harms your safety, slice open his stomach. The sharper your sword and spear, the safer you will be.”

Clap.

Bentao clapped loudly and bowed his head in front of the statue. Then he looked back at Grid’s party. “These tools, they exist for violence.”

“...”

“Violence is the way for you and your family to live peacefully.”

“...”

“It is the greatest blessing of humanity that the war god gave martial arts to humanity.”

Grid’s party got goosebumps. Bentao was speaking with a benign expression and voice, but the contents were ruthless and fierce, giving him an even stranger feeling. That’s right. Unlike his appearance, the presence of Bentao was far from charitable. This was Insane Clown King Bentao, who fought against the Seven Malignant Saints that hoped for the peace of humanity. Grid was filled with this conviction.

“You glorify violence. Is this Zeratul’s doctrine?” Lauel asked on behalf of the agitated party.

Bentao nodded. “That’s correct. I’m sure you are sympathetic to the doctrines of our church?”

“...?”

“Isn’t it because you trampled on the followers with violence that you’ve reached this place? You are qualified.”

At this moment...

[A hidden piece has occurred!]

A common notification window emerged in front of all the Overgeared members.

[You can convert to the hidden class ‘War God Follower’!]

[As a war god follower, your strength, stamina, and agility will permanently increase by 15%, and you will randomly acquire four secret techniques!]

lose your existing class

want to become a

was one of the rewards that could be obtained from the Ruins of the War God. It was the hidden class, ‘War God Follower.’

Grid immediately refused the class change and turned his gaze toward his colleagues. His companions dreamed about becoming stronger than anyone else. For them, the class ‘war god follower’ would be attractive. In particular,

“No...!”

war god follower, the system would harass the player by presenting them with a quest that could never be cleared. They must never become a follower. If they were blinded by the stats and secret techniques that could be obtained

reached out to stop his

become a war god

Overgeared members saw the same message window at the same time as

of you refused

“...!” Grid was startled.

all refused the hidden

dissatisfaction with their classes. Grid’s colleagues grinned

change our classes now,

be the strongest guardian knight. I have no intention of following the war

trust and enthusiasm in his colleagues’ gaze. The Overgeared members had been with Grid for a long time, and they envied him—far beyond how much the normal player envied him. For them, Grid

warm one, resounded through the room. The Overgeared members,

am the half god Bentao. After a lifetime of training, I came to the Peach Blossom Spring but didn’t peek at the reality of a god.” (Peach Blossom Spring = Utopia where people live

round body. The spiritual aura emitted an icy chill but repeatedly warmed up like the sunshine of spring. Surprisingly, it contained the power to promote

the seven evils and find their tracks, I wandered the entire continent as a clown. The thing I

Rich rice fields were visible, and there were large floating lotus leaves on the lake. Far away, beyond a stone

are the first player to discover the Peach Blossom

a white peach as compensation for

“...?”

big and fat peach appeared in the Overgeared members’ hands. Bentao stared at them briefly before turning around. “I heard that the Ruins of the War God were opened,

The wind blew, and the scenery in front of them flipped around. Then Bentao vanished like

a person using your power on

faint reply that got interrupted in the middle

***

found they were standing at the top of the

the dukes rang out. Looking back, their appearance hadn’t been seen since going into the temple. When had the party fallen into Bentao’s illusion? This was unreal. It wasn’t easy to distinguish if what they just experienced was reality or an illusion. It was like the group had fallen asleep, but it was clearly reality.

[White Peach]

grows only

has a heavenly flavor and

recovered and character experience will increase

be taken once in a

Weight: None]

“...”

right now. Basara urged the thinking Overgeared members, “The temple is empty and doesn’t contain anything. Let’s go to

rose as high as a human’s height. Three or four followers were gathered together and wandering around the field. In the future, it would be impossible to defeat the

followers wandering in the field welcomed them. The Overgeared members and dukes crossed the field in search of

***

in the ruins that had been the capital of the Rotemon Kingdom just a few days ago. Only the dead and demons roamed the ruins, while Great Demon Berith sat on

Rotemon Kingdom has

a

Demon Berith will launch a new

next destination is the Haken

warning. The camera showed Berith

by the US Bureau of Statistics, this incident has left 42 million players without any place to go. It was

if I belong to the Haken

hidden quest to protect

have come to a halt. There is no

Saharan Empire? They usually get involved in other countries’ affairs, but they are wiping their

if they fight the