Overgeared, p.207
Overgeared, page 207
Chapter 185
Chapter 185
Yubadakan was one of the most developed cities in the Harken Kingdom.
Due to the enormous capital and the ability of competent politicians, the population exceeded 70,000. There were many hunting grounds, so there was a high floating population. The city markets were always crowded. Thanks to that, the economic growth was constant.
The owner of this rich city who would gather more than 1.5 million gold each month? It was a user, not an NPC. The user was Zibal.
“Kukukul! You looked down on Grid, so aren’t you funny now?”
Yubadakan Castle.
Asuka, the 12th executive of the Snake Guild, sneered. “You laughed when Black Teddy and I were defeated by him, but what about you? It was very fun watching your drake be beaten by a cat! Kukuku!”
Immediately after the Pope Drevigo raid. Asuka was a member of the Tzedakah Guild at the time and fought Grid with Black Teddy, Box and Toban, and was badly defeated. Due to that incident, Zibal kept making fun of her.
But what now? Grid wasn’t an existence that could be ignored. Zibal was also hurt by him. Asuka felt good. It was like 10 years was taken off of her. Asuka couldn’t stop laughing.
“How do you feel being beaten by someone you ignored? Huh?”
“Asuka, act more moderately…”
The moment that Box tried to restrain Asuka.
“I’m sorry.” Zibal respectfully apologized to Asuka. “I underestimated Grid. I’m really sorry for making fun of you.”
Asuka wasn’t a narrow-minded person. She was satisfied with Zibal acknowledging his error and bowing to her in front of the 13 executives.
“Well, okay. I will be generous and understand your ignorance.”
“Thank you.”
In the end, the atmosphere calmed down. However, the expressions of the executives still wasn’t good.
“Master. Public opinion about you has been the worst since the National Competition.”
“You are the face of the Snake Guild. Your reputation falling means that the reputation of the guild falls. For the moment, you should focus on recovering your image.”
“No, I would rather you get your third advancement class. It’s imperative that you narrow the gap with Kraugel and Grid.”
“Did I hear that you failed to invite Hurent and Lauel? It’s a top priority to replace them with other talented people.”
“Contact Katz. He changed after being defeated by Bondre a few months ago, so wouldn’t he have definitely grown?”
“We need to boost the morale of the guild after they saw the strength of the Tzedakah Guild… The guild members depend not on us executives, but the guild master.”
The executives discussed Zibal’s future route. They came up with ideas about what the guild master needed to do for the guild. But Zibal wasn’t able to concentrate on the meeting.
‘Grid…’
The First National Competition ended yesterday. Zibal was going to perform brilliantly while millions of people were watching. If he had succeeded, the reputation of the Snake Guild would naturally increase and their forces would expand rapidly.
But that plan was in vain due to Grid. The most brilliant performer in the National Competition was Grid, not Zibal. People’s attention were focused on the Tzedakah Guild, not the Snake Guild. The Tzedakah Guild was now going to grow at a tremendous pace.
‘The number of users migrating to Bairan is skyrocketing…’
Some of them were the talents that he wanted. Yes, like Lauel.
‘This can’t continue.’
First of all, he needed to swallow the power of the Harken Kingdom, making it the base of his ambition to conquer the entire continent. Money, talent and military power. At first, he planned to collect the talents using money and that would pave the way for his military power.
However, he realized something in the National Competition. It took more than money to collect people.
The reason.
‘…Items.’
Grid’s black greatsword and blue greatsword that cut down the best rankers like cream cheese. Chris was defeated by Regas’ knuckles. Pon’s red spear that pushed Regas to the point of death.
The enormous power of these four items couldn’t leave Zibal’s mind. He was full of a desire to have them. It was a desire that all users felt, not just him. Indeed, didn’t Lauel go to Grid after seeing his items? He wondered if all the talents would be taken away by Grid at this time.
One of the executives mentioned an interesting story to Zibal.
“Should we contact Panmir?”
The 1st ranked blacksmith, Panmir. He was originally a person that guilds actually sought after, but he was overshadowed by the emergence of Pagma’s Descendant.
“I’ve found Panmir’s location. He is staying in the city of dwarves.”
“Dwarves…?”
Dwarves were innate blacksmiths. They produced countless blacksmiths with outstanding talent. They were so arrogant that they ignored human blacksmiths. Then how could Panmir stay in the city of dwarves?
The executives speculated.
“Panmir might be recognized by the dwarves and performing a hidden class change quest.”
“Hoh…?”
A small number of dwarves were able to give life to items. And the species itself was capable of dealing well with gunpowder. Pagma might be the overall better blacksmith, but they surpassed Pagma in certain areas. What if Panmir inherited the talent of the dwarves?
‘The only rival of Grid will be born.’
They had to invite him. Zibal decided and immediately got up.
“I will go and see Panmir.”
After that. Zibal succeeded in inviting Panmir, and the Snake Guild grew rapidly with his help.
***
The Yatan Church’s Third Temple.
The Yatan servants gathered at the temple in the destroyed Bonkost Principality. Yura was also there.
“Finally, the successor of Priest Malacus has been decided.”
Since the Tzedakah Guild and Grid killed Malacus… The Yatan Church had gradually weakened because they couldn’t proceed with their religious rituals. Now a new priest was selected.
‘Level 420…?’
Yura was astonished as she confirmed the newly elected priest. It was because the level of the new priest was 100 higher than Malacus.
‘A fourth advancement NPC…’
It was the same as the Second Servant and the Third Servant. Neberius’s successor in the future was expected to be in the same class. Yura was curious about the identity of the First Servant.
‘How strong is the existence who reigns above all of them?’
She had never met the First Servant. Grid said that he needed to receive God Yatan’s blessing for his quest, but she hadn’t been able to figure out how to help. The Second Servant, Likaos, ordered her.
“Eighth Servant. You are still too weak to show the grandeur of God Yatan. Embark on the Path of Penance and grow.”
[The quest ‘Path of Penance ’ has been created.]
[Path of Penance]
Difficulty Level: SS
Meet the First Servant unharmed.
Quest Clear Conditions: ??
Quest Failure: ??
The description was too poor for a quest of the highest difficulty. She already had a headache.
‘This will be a tough quest.’
But she finally met the minimum qualifications to meet the First Servant. Yura was filled with tension and anticipation.
“For the sake of God Yatan.”
Based on Satisfy’s worldview, she was an obviously evil person.
***
“Thanks for the hard work.”
S Broadcasting Station located in Ilsan. Youngwoo quickly got up as soon as he finished his talk show. The main host, PDs and other staff members approached and greeted him.
“You did a really good job.”
“The broadcast turned out well thanks to you.”
“Youngwoo-ssi, I’ll see you next time. I want to treat you to a meal.”
“Will you connect to Satisfy as soon as you go home? Please reveal your level!”
Satisfy revolutionized global innovation as the first virtual reality game that surpassed existing technology. It secured over two billion users and deeply penetrated into the world economy. It had an overwhelming influence in all areas. The Korean people were extremely proud that this great work was made in South Korea.
But there was one problem. South Korea reigned as a powerhouse in games decades ago, but it was now weak. Satisfy was definitely a Korean game, but most Koreans didn’t play it. Most of the content in Satisfy was dominated by users from the US, France, Canada and China. South Korea had Yura and Peak Sword, but that wasn’t enough.
The Korean people felt a severe thirst. Why were the Koreans showing weakness in a proud domestic game enjoyed by the world? It was painful.
But not anymore.
One month ago.
Shin Youngwoo participated in the National Competition as a representative of South Korea, and won three gold medals with overwhelming ability. This resolved the thirst of the Korean people all at once.
Youngwoo became the hero of South Korea. Any Korean person would love Youngwoo. His popularity transcended Park Jisung and Kim Yuna in the past. It was close to Yura.
Youngwoo’s appearances on TV always had unconditionally high ratings, and his CF’s caused sale volumes to rise. Therefore, Youngwoo emerged as the blue chip in broadcasting and advertising.
Many broadcasters and advertisers tried to get him.
But Youngwoo was a very busy person. He tried to play Satisfy at least 14 hours a day.
‘Broadcasts are hard.’
In order for Youngwoo to earn a large profit in Satisfy, he needed to make a level 200 item with at least a unique rating. However, he couldn’t make unique rated items whenever he wanted. Sometimes he would invest a whole week into making items and only got one epic rated item.
On the other hand, he could earn tens of millions of won from one broadcast and hundreds of millions of won from one CF. However, Youngwoo didn’t like broadcasts and advertising. At first, he was excited about being on TV, but not anymore.
It was difficult for him to be on broadcasts because he was plain and lacked improvisation skills, while CFs required shooting the same scene many times, showing his lack of acting skills and concentration.
Due to that, he started getting hair loss. Youngwoo would much rather play Satisfy.
‘It’s like living on pine needles.’
In the first place, it was much more profitable to invest time in Satisfy than to invest time in broadcasting. It was still profitable, even if he produced rare and epic items.
‘The experience of my production skills goes up.’
The higher the level of the production skill, the better the items produced. Youngwoo planned to stop broadcasting and focus on Satisfy. Yura’s advice also played a big role in him making this decision.
‘Minimize my image consumption.’
She said that his influence would decrease because he was too frequently exposed to the public. Youngwoo agreed. In the future, broadcasts and CFs would only be filmed when necessary.
“I hope we will shoot together next time.”
“If I have time.”
Youngwoo gave a vague answer to the eager PD and left the studio at a busy pace. As soon as he reached the parking lot, he got into 23 and looked in the mirror.
“Phew, isn’t it better now?”
Youngwoo had almost no sleep and worked for the past month in order to cope with the tax bomb thrown at him. He played Satisfy 14 hours a day to make items, then he spent 6 hours doing broadcasts or advertisements. He only slept four hours a day.
The stress caused by fatigue made his hair loss progress quickly, so Youngwoo was worried that he would end up like a bald Japanese youkai. However, he steadily took medicines and found a good tax accountant thanks to Yura, so he was gradually overcoming his hair loss. Hair started to appear again on the empty parts of his head.
“Okay, sooner or later, I will be fine.”
Buaang!
Did it notice Master’s delight. 23’s engine sounded livelier than usual. The destination was naturally his home.
Three months remained until the completion of his building, so Youngwoo’s family continued staying in their original house until then.
Chapter 186
Chapter 186
『 There are many users who are exploring the path to hell in order to obtain a memphis, commonly referred to as ‘Noe.’ There was a theory that the entrance to hell is somewhere in the Astra Mountains, but that turned out to be false. ‘User robbers’ in the Astra Mountains are believed to have spread the information in order to attract people, so please be careful. 』
『 I’ve just received breaking news. It’s said that a map of the legendary ‘Siren Kingdom’ is being circulated. Countless users are now heading to the Siren Kingdom. Who was the first person to find the Siren Kingdom? There are all types of speculation among the experts… 』
Youngwoo listened to Satisfy related news while driving. It wasn’t out of interest, but obligation. He was now well aware that information was power.
“The first discoverer of the Siren Kingdom… They would get titles, money and reputation. It’s huge.”
He didn’t know who it was, but he was envious. His stomach started hurting.
‘…Mind control. Mind control.’
Youngwoo was worried that his hair loss would start again, so he tried to stay calm until he arrived at his destination.
Creak.
Youngwoo parked 23 and got down. Just two weeks ago, the front of Youngwoo’s house was crowded with people, but not anymore. The people of the neighborhood strictly controlled the access of outsiders, so Youngwoo’s family was able to regain their normal lives.
“I’m home.”
“Welcome.”
Youngwoo’s mother looked 10 years younger. She had been suffering because of her son over the past few years, but now she was always happy because her son was the hero of South Korea. She could see the greatness of her son. She was welcomed everywhere she went, just because she was Youngwoo’s mother.
“Was the filming completed well? Wash your hands first. Then come eat. I roasted some croaker.”
“Yep.”
In the past, Youngwoo hadn’t been motivated by anything. Even eating or washing up was troublesome. But now he was completely different. His motivation was revived. He even jogged in the morning with Sehee.
“Oppa, did you only sleep four hours yesterday?” Sehee came out from where she was studying in her room and asked. She didn’t show it, but recently she was very worried about her brother. She was afraid he might collapse from overwork. There was also the tax bombs.
Youngwoo replied while eating rice. “I will be able to sleep more from today onwards. For the time being, I will refrain from broadcasting activities. So let’s jog every morning, starting from tomorrow.”
“I thought that you didn’t want to exercise?”
“I have to do it. I need to take care of my health.”
“It’s the right idea. Health is more important than money.” Those were his father’s words. He was always strict because he wanted his son to grow up as quickly as possible, and now he treated his son with sincerity.
“Youngwoo, you have already succeeded. You have acquired tremendous wealth and honor at a young age. You’ve also paid off my debt. That alone is enough. Don’t ruin your health by being too greedy.
That’s right. It was enough. How many people built up 10 billion won assets at the age of 28, as well as acquired a worldwide reputation? The best athletes had hundreds of millions in their bank accounts in their 20’s, but Youngwoo’s father thought that wasn’t necessary.
He thought that Youngwoo had the same thought. But Youngwoo was still lacking. Youngwoo was much greedier than his father thought.
‘It’s better to have more money, Father. Now we are eating yellow corvina as a side dish, but what about in the past?’
Up to last year. Youngwoo never saw any beef in his house. There was a lot of radish soups and the meat was always pork. The taste wasn’t that good. The radish soup was too light, and the pork was too dry. Youngwoo misunderstood while eating the radish soup and pork.
‘The beef won’t taste that good in soup… Is there a rule that we shouldn’t have beef in our house?’
But what was the truth?
This year, he ate a lot of beef. The soup broth boiled with brisket was much sweeter and tastier, while the pork skewers made with good pork were soft and easy to chew. It went without saying that the beef short ribs melted in his mouth.
That’s right. There wasn’t a rule against beef. It was just that his family didn’t have money for beef. The difference between having money and no money was revealed from such a small thing.
‘I’m going to make more money, Father.’
Youngwoo’s father was a person who lived thinking that he should save, rather than earn a lot. Youngwoo didn’t say it aloud, but he was much greedier than his father. He already had a taste of money, so he didn’t want to lose it. He didn’t want to go back to the life where he didn’t have any money.
‘Yes… I will accept Huroi and Lauel’s opinions.’
Youngwoo felt aware of it after his father. He was looking at a higher place.
‘Become a lord.’
Bairan Village, ruled by the Tzedakah Guild, was elevated to a city 10 days ago. People were attracted to Grid, Jishuka, Pon and Regas’ actions in the National Competition. And Bairan’s monthly taxes collected was a huge 500,000 gold. It was valued at approximately 600 million won.
It meant that developing one territory would earn him a huge amount of money every month. He couldn’t not feel greedy.
‘I will have an estate.’
In Satisfy, Youngwoo was the husband of a territory owner.
But being the husband and being the lord were distinctly different. As Irene’s husband, he might have some influence on the policies, but he wasn’t authorized to directly manage the taxes. Youngwoo wanted to own a territory himself.
