Overgeared

The ego in the God Hands wasn’t a magical creation. It was a physical result of beating the soul of another into it. Grid faced this truth and was greatly abhorred by it. The appearance of the sword and the coffin, which held the souls of the old popes, overlapped with the God Hands and made Grid feel disgusted.

‘Pagma, how many people have you sacrificed?’

Was his definition of justice really correct? The condition to trigger the skill Granting an Ego was the ‘other person’s consent.’ Grid speculated on the relationship between Pagma and the empress and his disappointment toward Pagma was beyond description. Pagma wasn’t a brat in his teens and the belief Grid had in him was reaching a fragile point.

‘Did he betray friends other than Braham?’

Grid recalled a certain memory and his expression relaxed—it was the image of Pagma, who died alone on the Behen Archipelago while stopping the invasion of the great demons. Yes, Pagma had already tasted enough pain. It was cruel for Grid to blame him even now. At this conclusion, Grid put down all the emotions and thoughts that messed up his mind. He chose not to think too deeply about Pagma. He decided to only focus on the situation in front of him.

‘I accept the quest.’

He understood, sympathized with, and respected Pagma, but he didn’t honor Pagma. In order to clarify his own will, Grid chose a different path from Pagma.

[A new quest has been created!]

[Different Path from Pagma]

[Class Quest

You have learned something new after arriving in Talima.

Collect information about the empress and understand how pavranium was created.]

It was a progressive quest—a quest in the form where the contents were filled as Grid progressed. Grid checked the quest information and quietly rose from his spot. The dwarves had been baffled by his attitude of kneeling down and apologizing. Now they instantly focused on him.

Grid spoke in a blunt manner, “I only read Pagma’s Rare Book and acquired his skills. There is no face-to-face encounter with Pagma. I don’t know the reality of pavranium and I don’t know the identity of the empress. Please get rid of your hostility and talk to me. Who is the empress? What is the situation of her soul being in the pavranium?”

“Umm...”

The dwarves who actually met Pagma, including the lion-maned Pelot, clearly remembered Pagma’s personality. The man who acted like he only existed for justice and inevitable peace was never a person who would kneel down to others. He combined his stubborn beliefs into self-centeredness and always looked down on others.

‘...Was his name Grid?’

Pagma's Descendant, who claimed to have only inherited Pagma’s technique, not spirit. Surely he was different from Pagma. They thought the rumor that even the blacksmithing god Hexetia acknowledged Grid was true. They were wary, but should they proceed with a conversation first? It was for the sake of the empress’ rest.

Pelot recalled that the pavranium was in Grid’s hands and, after exchanging looks with his colleagues, opened his mouth slowly, “Maribel B. Talima was the first person in dwarf history to create a mythical ‘growth’ equipment and she was our ruler at the time. In order to praise her greatness, we regarded her as the empress.”

Pelot was a royal blacksmith who assisted Maribel. He learned the proper etiquette. He transcended death with his obsession and lived for hundreds of years. He was mature unlike the usual dwarves and was the first to respond to the polite Grid with more politeness.

“Both her vision and skills were perfect without any flaws...”

Pelot recalled old memories and the past was projected from his eyes. Grid’s consciousness was sucked into it.

***

The dwarves were good at making anything due to their natural dexterity and aesthetics. They were able to distinguish beautiful things and make it directly. The one and only dwarf royal palace was built by melting gold, and it was the crystallization of dwarf techniques.

“Huhuhut.”

It was before she was called empress. Maribel, who would one day prove her qualifications to become a ruler by making several ‘growth’ weapons one day, loved her palace. She was born with the best aesthetic standards of the dwarves and believed that the royal palace was the most beautiful work in the world. Then her faith was suddenly broken one day.

“I would like to ask for your teachings.”

“......!”

A human with black hair and black eyes. It was the day when Pagma visited Talima with lonely eyes reminiscent of a wounded beast. Maribel’s aesthetic standards were shaken.

‘Kyah! Beautiful!’

of the palace that she had believed to be close to the

"Kyaaak!Kyaaack!”

“...?"

elated at the appearance of Pagma, who made

fell in love at first sight and devoted herself to Pagma. The cooperation between them gave her the opportunity to rapidly develop her blacksmithing technique that had been stagnant for

could grow to the legendary rating and Maribel gained the title of ‘empress’, meaning that she would become the ‘parent of all battle gear in the world’ by creating weapons that could grow to the mythical

***

a

returning to reality from Pelot’s memory was

“Foolishness?”

I was talking to myself. Rather, Empress Maribel was a really great blacksmith. She grew much faster than Pagma, who was already called

gear in the world? Originally, the legendary blacksmith should’ve been the empress

‘Certainly...’

then Maribel

that she tried to put

with ‘no defects and multiple functions’. It was an advantage and

the potential fully blossomed

her works have grown? Did an item succeed in finding the right master

‘Ah...?’

learn about the hidden history. How wide was the world of Satisfy? Grid was once again able to feel this reality through Empress Maribel’s presence. The thought that even at this moment, a second Maribel or Pagma was being born somewhere on the continent caused

ordinary person would’ve felt wary and stressed by the idea of competitors,

an unprecedented boom. At that time, Trauka was wandering around to

was a

a spring day. Those days passed and Talima lived a hard winter that lasted until

barely managed to open his mouth, “We... we will never forget it. The nightmare of the day when the

“Suddenly?”

made him anxious. Empress Maribel looked young in the memory he saw. She wasn’t old enough to die of a natural death. Yet she

Grid’s spine as he recalled the scene of Pagma sticking a knife

fact that ‘Braham was a demonkin’ was applied. Yes, Pagma had some justification for killing Braham. On the other hand, Empress Maribel was a dwarf. She was far from the evil demons who could threaten humanity one day and she was a valuable figure when it came to the development of humanity. It was unlikely that Pagma would’ve

Talima collapsed the day when Pagma killed

"...!!"

Pagma’s

pants. “Please... please

“It is a request!”

“Please!”

signal. Hundreds of dwarves knelt down and bowed to

give you sufficient rewards! I will be by your side and teach you how to communicate with your

Ttring~

The quest was updated.

[Different Path from Pagma]

[Class Quest

the dwarf

soul of Empress Maribel that

Go to the dwarf palace and liberate the soul of the

The loss of the

Clear Rewards: The Advanced Ego Item

[Advanced Ego Item Making]

[Type: Passive

chance to interact with the

“......!”

very beginning. Granting an Ego was to hammer an ‘existing

latter. There was less of a burden, compared to Granting an Ego, where someone’s soul was sacrificed. To be honest, it was difficult