Overgeared

Mountains have been treated as spiritual places since ancient times, and it was the same for Grenier.

A mountain towering alone in the wilderness'”it was a mystical sight and it was bound to attract people'™s attention. It was immediately accepted as a fact that elixirs were formed on the pine trees that lined the rock walls. People visited Grenier like they were possessed. They searched the mountain for elixirs and treasures that didn'™t exist.

For a while, the Mountain King only watched them. On the stony mountain, he could only be angry by their behavior of destroying precious nature and hunting wild beasts for fun. It was because there was nothing he could do. At that time, the Mountain King was an existence closer to a concept. He had no physical form. He was akin to a faint spirit created by the people'™s vague belief that there was a divine spirit in the mountain.

Therefore, the Mountain King felt great joy when he first got his body. He was thrilled to be able to express his anger and colored the fur of a possessed bear with human blood. He slaughtered the intruders in an unstoppable manner because he believed it was his role.

He fulfilled the wish of a mother bear who lost her cub to an intruder and was kept alive for her gallbladder juice. He released the grudge of a tree that had frozen in death in winter due to intruders peeling its bark. He channeled the wrath of the slash-and-burn farmers who were forced to be the playthings of the intruders. The Mountain King was born for the mountain. It was natural to fight to protect the beings living on the mountain. He borrowed the body of a lost beast and the body of a dying slash-and-burn farmer in order to drive out the intruders.

Then more people came to Grenier. The mercenaries blinded by money, the armored troops, and the warriors and priests united with a sense of justice'”they all challenged the Mountain King. From then on, the Mountain King was called a monster. The purpose of those visiting Grenier changed from the nonexistent elixirs to defeating the Mountain King. They discussed revenge and order, and took the subjugation of the Mountain King as a cause.

The more they did so, the more Grenier united. The trees, beasts, and slash-and-burn farmers didn'™t forget the violence of the invaders. In unison, they earnestly prayed for the Mountain King'™s victory.

Over many years, the Mountain King became a legend. The mercenaries and troops no longer challenged him. Only warriors or those who were called legends climbed Grenier. Every time he fought them and won, the Mountain King'™s strength increased.

He evolved by taking the challengers'™ status and bodies. It was the birth of a new myth.

Grenier and the Mountain King gradually moved away from the civilian population. Only the challenge of those with the minimal qualifications was accepted. That was a thousand years ago.

***

'˜This person... dared to deceive us!'™

The expressions of the surviving guardians were distorted. The enemy they fought with all their might was just a subordinate. They had never been humiliated like this.

'˜Kill...!'™

The guardians were filled with a strong desire to kill the delicate woman. Of course, they didn't express it. The monster looked like this, but she killed their brother in one strike. Her status was very high compared to anyone who had ever challenged the Mountain King. They didn'™t dare rush at her.

Of course, she was insignificant compared to the Mountain King. The guardians believed that there would be an opportunity to get revenge. The opportunity came quickly.

"Good. If you can climb to this seat, I will let you be my friend for a day.'

The Mountain King waved his hand. The stone seat that the Mountain King referred to was Grenier itself. It was a seat for the Mountain King created by several mountain peaks intertwining and piling up atop each other. Going there meant resisting Grenier'™s will and this was no different from being sentenced to death. Out of all those who visited Grenier, only one person had ever sat on the stone seat.

Tzudan'”it was a name clearly imprinted in the minds of the guardians. He sat on the seat of the Mountain King with a human body, not as a god. However, he was dead when he sat on it. He pierced through Grenier'™s willpower. Even if death was instantaneous, he took five steps and reached the side of the Mountain King.

In honor of him and also to defend his own honor, the Mountain King kept his promise. He consumed his divinity in order to make an elixir that didn'™t exist and saved Tzudan'™s mother. In the aftermath, he was weakened for hundreds of years.

[Tzudan is warning that climbing the stone seat is no different from suicide.]

Tzudan urgently shouted. He was full of concern. Grid fully understood Tzudan'™s response. He knew what it meant to climb to the seat. It was described in the story of the '˜Legend of the Five Steps'™ quest.

'˜It is about confronting the will of the mountain head on.'™

It was the will of Grenier, a mountain that had existed for over a thousand years and had become the grave of countless legends and myths. It was difficult to guess how great the power would be if the willpower mentioned here was applied to a system such as formless will or the mental world. Nevertheless, Grid didn'™t hesitate. He took a step right away.

can'™t return empty handed after coming

King, he

good chance that he couldn'™t get

Cracks occurred in the rock walls and debris scattered, flooding toward Grid like a blizzard. It was a natural

since this is a much larger disaster

'˜It is natural.'™

Grenier'™s status would'™ve been increased under the

Step.

vision and

is a

seemed to operate infinitely without requiring any power. Of course, it didn'™t mean anything

wind

like it was trying to nail him to the ground. The ground that

'˜This...?'™

utilize his strength stat without wasting a single point. It was a stat that played a major role not just in combat, but also

Even his fingers couldn'™t move

Grid made a judgment.

an absolute

of their stats. This might also be a part that had grown compared to when

'˜Saleos'™ Power.'™

would happen if forces with the power to win unconditionally competed? Of course, it would

out. A shockwave occurred as the storm'™s absolute judgment offset Saleos'™ Power. Grid moved again. The storm that had its judgment

at Grid like

'œ......!'

'œ......!'

at Grid were shattered and scattered. The

had yet to be broken. All the peaks above Grid were cut and disappeared, but countless peaks remained under Grid'™s feet. The land

took away the land he would stand on. It was a trivial problem. Flying magic, the utilization of Greed, the wings of the half-draconians, etcetera'”Grid had many means of

Grid didn'™t avoid it. He stepped on the ground. It was the condition to trigger

wanted to get there easily,

meaningful to avoid the trials. He should overcome them. First and foremost, Grid wanted to experience the

transformed into a

Step.

Grid got

is rejecting

physical like wind pressure. It was a power with no form. It was

trial had finally

'˜Can I win?'™

Just then, the will of the mountain was helplessly destroyed. It

was inwardly puzzled, but he didn'™t show it on the outside. He acted as casually as possible. The expression of the

of the mountain was overwhelmed by the

Hayate. He was unknown to the Mountain King. Grenier couldn'™t handle something that the

the vestiges of the white tiger in your steps, your mental world contains a mixture of the vestiges of the red phoenix and the traces of the absolute, and you even use the power of

felt for the first time since his birth. The Mountain King had an obvious liking toward Grid. For the first time in his life since he was born, he was happy that he wasn'™t alone. It was

Mountain King of