Overgeared

The world was tumultuous even after the war ended. 

The controlled zones of the Overgeared Guild relaxed their control, the Hell Gao raid where tens of thousands of people participated, the changes in the religious forces, the 7th National Competition, etcetera. 

The issues that attracted the attention of people around the world hadn’t ceased. In particular, people’s attention was focused on the National Competition. 

『 The National Competition is a stage where world-class powerhouses gather to compete with their skills. The purpose is to select the best talent of that year. However, this year, there is an announcement from the S.A Group that it will add events where players will compete under the same conditions in order to give more players the opportunity to participate. 』 

『 The AoS and battle royale genres will be added as new events, right? 』 

『 Yes, each country will hold an online preliminary round to select players… 』

The National Competition was a contest of national prestige. People looked forward to and cheered to see how far their rankers could prevail in the world. However, significant rewards caused unexpected problems. As the gap between those who won medals in the National Competition and those who failed to win medals widened, more and more people started to feel a sense of deprivation. 

A festival that took place once a year—it was a competition that carried the national flag and it was right for it to be a stage for qualified people. It was no wonder why the rewards were so great. Even so, it would be nice to give more people a chance… 

The S.A Group responded to the wishes of people like this. It was to appease the public sentiment that had worsened since the Great Human and Demon War. A total of seven new events were added to this year’s National Competition. Five of these events were based on ‘competing under equal conditions.’ 

The AoS games, FPS games, etcetera, which were popular until the release of Satisfy a few years ago. This included the battle royale games that would be held as an event. In every event, participants chose a specific profession. They started the game at level 1 and sought victory by cooperating or competing with other participants. The background of the game was naturally Satisfy. It was easy to understand it as various genres of games being played as a virtual reality version. 

People had no choice but to be excited. They would have an opportunity to participate in the National Competition that was only a festival for a few people. 

-Honestly, we would be rankers if we had money and time. 

-That\'s right. If only luck had followed. 

-We will be competitive if the conditions are the same. 

Most people were tolerant toward themselves. They acknowledged the strength and performance of rankers, but they also believed they were qualified to stand beside the rankers. The reason they didn’t become rankers was due to the differences in environment and bad luck… 

Many believed so and desire ignited in them. It was similar to a person who hadn’t studied properly thinking, ‘If I had made up my mind to study, I would’ve gone to a prestigious university.’ The experts pointed out their attitudes. 

『 It is sad to see what public opinion is like recently. More and more people are distorting rankers into those who are privileged. They should keep one thing in mind. Rankers were also ordinary in the past. A ranker isn’t a position that can be maintained with money and time alone. Please note that if you have the opportunity to compete with them under the same conditions, you will surely experience great frustration… 』 

『 Professor, are you afraid that the gap between new participants and rankers will be large? 』 

『 Of course. I expect the actual rankings and result of the participants to be directly proportional to ther real rankings. 』 

『 An example of this… Grid will unconditionally win gold in any events he participates in, right? 』

『 Right. 』 

life were similar. They predicted the overwhelming performance of the rankers. They appreciated the ‘experience’ of rankers rather than their ‘innate talent.’ They argue that the polished insights,

opinion became angry.

in direct proportion? ?? Do the people who aren’t

is bullsh*t. Has it only been one or two times when the experts speak

be pushed by rookies and disappear into history, yet the experts are prioritizing experience…

did better than others in obtaining levels and items, but isn’t it too much of a leap that the experience gained after being a

are being

respected and cheered for rankers not long ago started to discredit them. It wasn’t a strange thing. A person’s attitude was bound to change depending on the situation and position. The proof was the readers swearing that the manhwa or novels they enjoyed reading until last week were trash today. It changed because it was worth changing. From the time when events that anyone could challenge were added to the National Competition, people’s attitudes were bound to change. Rankers became competitors, not world-class existences.

is unprecedented. The number of participants for the online preliminaries to select players for the new events is… 』

are curious about whether Grid, who missed several competitions, and Kraugel, who didn’t participate in last year’s competition, will participate this year. In response, the S.A Group has revealed that it hasn’t

intention to participate in the new event. In the midst of speculation over the reasons, the interview of the named ranker Peak Sword

That’s right. He definitely seemed to distinguish

What is the reaction

opinions say they feel the ranker’s

rankers are great. Still, it

are recognized is due to their skills. Most of the skills recognized here

thing about rankers is that they built up those specs… this is what they

is because the environment isn’t good or they started Satisfy too late. There is no way they won’t win when fighting under

Is it reasonable to say that the reason why rankers are absent from new events is because they

the rankers to give up their hard-earned qualifications to participate in events under the same

to break through hundreds of millions of people and advance to the finals, aren’t they good enough to be called professionals? Even if a ranker loses, they aren’t losing to

Peak Sword separated the participants into the general

authority’

***

“Hi~” 

“Good morning.” 

“……?”

the colleagues greeting him was the same as usual. He thought they would ask why he caused another commotion. Therefore, it was a surprise. Toban read Peak Sword’s stunned expression and laughed. “There

to raise the prestige of the nation. From the perspective of the rankers, they should make use of their own advantages to participate in events where they could prove their value rather than

 What was the point of engaging in slaughter and hanging a medal around their necks in events made for the public? There was nothing other than the medal rewards. Rather, it was a loss. Public opinion and the media would criticize them for being tactless and there was a high possibility that their value would seriously fall. Of course,

own event. That’s right. The gap between rankers and the general public was large. It was uncertain until a few years ago, but now

failed to become rankers not because they were unlucky or their environment wasn’t good. It was because they weren’t talented. The evidence was that those who became rankers due to luck failed to maintain their rankings and

to participate in the National Competition,” Toban said

in the midst of preparing to welcome guests from the empire. They found Grid dressed in a cool robe, and Peak Sword nodded and raised his thumb like he agreed with

many words that cross the line these