Overgeared

“Ugh!”

Something huge and ugly was the method to create primitive fear. The black tortoise merely cried out to the sky but the high rankers shuddered with fear. They felt threatened by the enormous size of the black tortoise and disgusted by its appearance. Grid was the same. No, the confusion he felt was much greater. It was a side effect of knowing many things.

‘Is this one of the Four Auspicious Beasts?’

Grid knew—the Four Auspicious Beasts were the guardian gods of humanity, born from the aspirations of humanity. It was their role to help with the stability and prosperity of humanity. Naturally, they were favorable to humanity and their existence itself was beneficial for humanity. This wasn’t speculation, it was real.

Grid had witnessed the resurrection of the red phoenix enriching the south. Now the current black tortoise was completely different. The resurrection of the black tortoise didn’t help the north. A black, sticky liquid oozed from the snake scales and eroded the civilization of the earth. The smoke that came from the fire spout protruding from the tortoise shell covered the sun in the sky.

[Death is coming!]

[Death is coming!]

[Death...!]

The transcendent senses that detected and warned of danger drove Grid to great confusion. The warning messages steadily rose and Grid was dizzy.

‘...This isn’t the guardian god.’

Grid watched the growing size of the black liquid puddle and was convinced.

‘A wounded god.’

It was completely different from the red phoenix. The black tortoise was a god that stifled human life and destiny just by its existence. Was it originally like this?

‘No, it is impossible.’

The Twelve Zodiacs had told him that the black tortoise was the gentlest of the Four Auspicious Beasts. They said the reason the black tortoise denied and got rid of artificial substances was for humans.

‘By preserving nature, it is protecting the human race.’

It was extreme logic comparable to the claim that there was no war without an army. In any case, most of the actions of the black tortoise came from its heart or instincts for humanity.

‘It is different now.’

Night came to the world because the poison that the black tortoise emitted completely covered the sun. Was this darkness that withered life, for humanity? Not at all.

‘Something is wrong.’

It was strange from the beginning of the resurrection. It appeared that the yangbans had deliberately released the black tortoise.

‘Did they make this type of black tortoise?’

It happened when Grid was constantly thinking.

“Dammit! They hid a monster instead of a treasure!”

yangbans! We have

we fail the quest

was to protect the treasure but we don’t even

the black tortoise’s scales. Whenever the poison touched their skin, they quickly took out an antidote to drink it. However, the situation of some magicians wasn't good. They had relatively low physical abilities due to their investment in intelligence. They were overwhelmed by avoiding both the black pool and the liquid falling from

“Hey! Come this way!”

set out to help the magicians. They hid the magicians behind them while raising their shields to stop the black liquid falling from the sky. They didn’t know the power of the

“Gasp.”

meant for self-defense would melt without defending them. The black tortoise had no idea of the situation on the ground. It was still roaring at the sky without looking at the

"Damn...!"

and the magicians behind them all paled. A black drop of water, the

“Shield!”

“Anti-magic!”

Shield couldn’t handle the mass of

‘We’re going to die!’

knight appeared between the black drops and the rankers. For some reason, his armor and helmet were removed. He was only wearing a shirt, shoulder guards, gaiters, and boots. The water droplets that should’ve

“H-Hey!”

“Kyaaak!”

would melt and die without a single bone

rankers were screaming at the blond man’s incomprehensible sacrifice only to close their mouths. The blond knight’s shoulder guards, boots, and gaiters recovered immediately after the black liquid touched it. They repeatedly melted and regained their form.

half-naked blond man spoke, “This liquid only extinguishes artificial

“Eh?”

The female rankers were perplexed while the male rankers took off their items without

"I never thought

them the moment he saw them. He would’ve gone

nonsense and get out of here,” Grid urged them. He

by a call from the heavens, just like

used by the yangbans and the Five Seniors. Sooner or later, they would regret it. There was no need to inflict pain on them. Grid recalled the blacksmiths who had been killed by

“Uh...?”

spot when they suddenly stiffened like

Skin Mask

be compared to a god. It meant the skin mask made by Berith wouldn’t be safe before the power of the black tortoise. He took off the skin

The muscles that made up the chest and the

“...Grid?”

astonished. Then their faces soon distorted. The emotion that struck them

black tortoise. Bubat, Shane, Ronam, etc.—they were representatives of their countries. If they

are you

they liked Grid or not, they had been struggling to catch up with him and learn from him. They secretly hoped that Grid would

really nothing to

Bubat didn’t participate in this year’s National Competition was due to Grid’s declaration that he wouldn’t attend. Bubat became determined after seeing Grid’s interview about how he wouldn’t attend the event because it was boring. He was going to be stronger. He would be sure to become stronger so that Grid wouldn’t be able to say the same thing again. Participating in this quest was

Grid was the

mean we’re not even your competitors?” Bubat

other rankers. They were angry. They were mortified by their pitiful selves, who could only be angry at Grid for doing them a favor. It was a complicated feeling that the rankers themselves couldn’t understand. However, Grid understood—he knew the feelings of the

heard a yangban say, “The wrath of the black tortoise is directed at