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.

empty handed after coming

the Mountain King, he wanted to

something he had to win. There was a good chance that he couldn'™t get it for the rest of his life if he became

rock walls and debris scattered, flooding toward Grid

since this is a much larger disaster

'˜It is natural.'™

to when Tzudan visited. Hundreds of years had passed since that time. During the gap of these years, Grenier'™s status would'™ve been

Step.

and flooding toward him. The God Hands

a truly great

operate infinitely without requiring any power. Of

wind

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

'˜This...?'™

utilize his stats was at the highest level. In particular, it was possible to utilize his strength stat without wasting a single point. It was a

to take a step. Even his fingers couldn'™t move freely due to the wind that pushed down on him with the same

Grid made a judgment.

is an absolute

grown compared to when

'˜Saleos'™ Power.'™

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

the storm'™s absolute judgment offset Saleos'™ Power. Grid moved again. The storm that had its judgment consumed could no longer

storm and they shot at Grid like spears. In the midst of this unrealistic sight, Grid was just a small

'œ......!'

'œ......!'

It was burned into the eyes of the guardians. Simultaneously, the mountain peaks aiming at Grid were shattered and scattered. The guardians were dumbfounded. It

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

The peaks moving like waves took away the land he would stand on. It was a trivial problem. Flying magic, the utilization of

the ground. It

there easily,

the trials. He should overcome

ground stopped shaking. It became hard and transformed into a bridge

Step.

Grid got

is rejecting

again. This time, it wasn'™t something physical like wind pressure. It was a

trial had

'˜Can I win?'™

of the mountain was helplessly destroyed. It was an unexpected result even for

to the Mountain King, who was silently watching him. He was inwardly puzzled, but he didn'™t show it on the outside. He acted as casually as possible. The expression of the Mountain King, who was

was overwhelmed by the spirit of

God was a trace left behind by Dragon Slayer Hayate. He was unknown to the Mountain King. Grenier couldn'™t handle something that the Mountain King hadn'™t experienced. Grenier might be great, but it was still

and the traces of the absolute, and you even use the power of the great demons...' The smile on the Mountain King'™s face gradually deepened

he felt for the first time since his birth. The Mountain King had an obvious liking toward Grid. For the first

King of