Overgeared, p.359
Overgeared, page 359
‘I can’t see.’
Yura and Peak Sword were nervous because they could see Kraugel within the clouds. They didn’t know when and where Kraugel would appear to attack them. After 20 seconds, Kraugel didn’t attack them and the clouds completely disappeared.
He had run away. It was because the continuous battles had pushed Kraugel’s stamina and mana to the depleted state. Kraugel decided to survive and maintain Russia’s score, keeping the silver medal, rather than kill Yura and Peak Sword.
Then 20 minutes later. South Korea scored 400 points and the target processing match was automatically stopped.
***
『 The 2nd Satisfy National Competition, there was an upset from the very first event! 』
After the opening day finished. There was a brief press conference and the players returned to their rooms.
Shang X Lila Hotel. The Korean representatives were gathered in Grid’s room.
“Amazing! Amazing! Korea won the gold medal at a team event. No one would’ve imagined it!!”
Peak Sword shouted excitedly.
“This is all thanks to Grid, Yura, and Peak Sword.”
“I’m sorry that we were no help to you.”
“Hah, we are useless. We were completely disruptive…”
Kyunghook, Sumin, and Jinhee couldn’t lift their heads. The proud people trembled from their helplessness. The atmosphere suddenly sank. Surprisingly, the one to encourage them wasn’t Peak Sword.
It was Grid.
“No, this result is due to all of us. If all of you weren’t present, we wouldn’t have won the gold medal.”
Grid had been despised for incompetence his whole life. That’s why he knew.
“There are no worthless people in the world. Everyone has their own personality and talent. Always have pride in yourself.”
As soon as a human saw themselves as unnecessary, their lives would be at risk. Their self-esteem would collapse and they couldn’t overcome misfortunes due to their misery. Just like the Grid of the past.
The smiling Grid. As the protagonist of the gold medal, he wasn’t arrogant and shared his achievements with everyone. Yura felt that he had matured. It was interesting and pleasant to watch a man who was becoming an adult day by day.
Chapter 424
Chapter 424
Ture Hotel.
The hotel where Russia, Brazil, and Japan were staying had a special area. It was a capsule room limited for just the National Competition. The representatives from various countries could play Satisfy any time they wanted in their hotels.
Kraugel visited this place. There was 14 hours and 23 minutes remaining until the start of day two of the National Competition. In the meantime, Kraugel planned to raise his level in Satisfy. Most representatives were exploring Paris or unburdening themselves with drinking, but Kraugel couldn’t afford to enjoy the present.
His only aim was to win the National Competition, and he would do his best to achieve this goal. Kraugel was about to sit in the capsule when someone called to him. It was Alexander, one of the representatives of Russia.
“So what if you play games until you die? In the end, it’s about winning the gold medals.”
Alexander moved in front of Kraugel. He had a height of 190cm and a muscular figure, making him look threatening to anyone. His thick finger poked Kraugel’s chest.
“The sky above the sky? Stop fooling around. In the end, because of your incompetence, Russia missed the gold medal and you won’t be able to fix your mother’s illness.”
The skinhead Alexander treated yellow skinned people as more useless than monkeys. Russia was beaten by Grid and Alexander pushed all responsibilities Kraugel, who didn’t come to save them. Kraugel was silent for a moment.
Kwack!
“Ugh!”
Alexander’s face crumpled. It was because Kraugel grabbed his wrist and his grip was too strong and terrible.
‘How does a yellow skinned person have such power?’
Kraugel was as feminine as a woman. Alexander couldn’t believe that Kraugel could exert more power than him. With a force that was enough to break the wrist, Kraugel whispered in a desolate voice.
“I was forced to endure it on the opening day, but not anymore.”
Yes, Kraugel hadn’t figured out the team’s tendencies at the start of the match. He was forced to give the lead to Alexander, but not anymore.
“You aren’t in a position to say anything. I am the dominant one in this relationship.”
Flinch!
Kraugel’s black eyes were deeper than the abyss. Alexander felt a strange fear because he couldn’t read any emotions in these eyes. This was just a yellow skinned person. Alexander couldn’t admit it and tried to swing his fist.
“This damn monkey hasn’t grasped who you are going against…!”
“…”
Did the physical abilities of the real body affect the virtual reality body? The experts’ opinion was ‘no.’ The body in virtual reality was completely separate from the physical body. In order to move the virtual reality body better, the important factor wasn’t the physical abilities, but the interaction of the brain.
In this regard, Kraugel thought that ‘experience’ was an important factor. For example, swordsmanship. Swinging a sword 10 times in reality meant it was possible to use a sword in the virtual world without Sword Mastery. Of course, the ability to use a sword was communicated through commands from the brain.
Before Satisfy was released. They were the days when he didn’t know about his mother’s condition. Kraugel participated in many sports and martial arts with pure passion. It was with the attitude of becoming the supreme person in Satisfy.
A slender body? That was only when wearing clothes. Kraugel’s sleek muscles hidden under his clothes were comparable to professional martial artists.
Peeok!
“Kuack…!”
Kraugel evaded Alexander’s fist and punched his face. The process was as fast as lightning, causing Alexander to fall and see stars.
Kuuong!
Kraugel placed his foot on Alexander’s thick neck.
Kkuok!
“Kek…! Keeek!”
Alexander felt great pain from his vocal cords being pressed on. Kraugel spoke to the terrified Alexander.
“I know people like you. You’re a type of gangster who doesn’t obey until you are trampled on. You decided that I couldn’t be targeted in virtual reality, but reality is different. Isn’t that right?”
Kkuok!
Kraugel placed greater weight onto the foot on Alexander’s neck. In the end, Alexander’s face turned white. He still couldn’t see any emotions in Kraugel’s eyes. Alexander realized that Kraugel wasn’t afraid of hurting people.
‘This guy… This guy is the real deal.’
He could kill a person. A person who absolutely shouldn’t be touched.
Alexander shook as Kraugel gave a last warning.
“If you ever mention my mother with that filthy mouth of yours again, I will pull your tongue out. In addition, don’t grab my ankle in the next team event. New medicine? Russia isn’t the only one who has it, so you can’t control me.”
“…!”
Tang tang!
Alexander, who had difficulty breathing, banged his hand several times on the floor in surrender. It was a signal of surrender. But Kraugel didn’t let him off easily. He pressed down on Alexander’s neck, staring down silently for a long amount of time.
Alexander felt dizzy due to lack of oxygen and couldn’t meet Kraugel’s eyes. The hierarchical relationship was perfectly established.
‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’
Kraugel was forced to be an eternal outsider in Russia, where trash like Alexander lived. This personality was revealed during his first meeting with Piaro. Alexander ran away after Kraugel let him go.
Kraugel lay down in the capsule with an uneasy expression.
‘Russia is the only one who has the new medicine.’
Satisfy was the largest culture and business in the world, so Kraugel’s value was astronomical. There were countless countries who wanted him to immigrate there. However, none of them had developed a new drug that could treat Alzheimer’s.
Yes, Kraugel needed to lead Russia to victory.
[Scanning your body.]
[Recognize your iris.]
[Verifying the user’s information.]
[The capsule protection system is working.]
[Log in to Satisfy.]
Chiiiiing!
Kraugel’s eyes slowly cleared. His five senses were sucked into Satisfy. Then after a while. A capsule in the corner opened. The person who got up was Jishuka.
“Kraugel had this story.”
She had laid down in the capsule before Kraugel and heard a noise before logging in. Then she unintentionally learned Kraugel’s story. This information, she needed to tell Grid and Overgeared. Jishuka rushed over to Shang X Lila Hotel.
***
“The combination of sweet and salty is very good.”
“It melts in my mouth.”
Shang X Lila Hotel’s restaurant.
The South Korean representatives were dining there. The restaurant had three Michelin stars, so the food was excellent. Even Peak Sword, who was an enthusiast about Korean food, had to acknowledge this taste.
“The cooking skills are great. I want to try the kimchi stew made by the chef of this restaurant.”
“…”
It was hard to understand why he would want to eat kimchi stew made by a French chef. In this atmosphere, Grid felt frustrated.
“Why is the rate of service so slow when the amount of food is so small? The restaurant owner is incredibly lazy.”
Grid was a typical modern Korean used to delivery food. The average time was 15 minutes. However, the French restaurant took 2~3 hours on average for a course, causing Grid to feel horribly frustrated.
“In this case, it would be better to just boil ramyun. Michelin is a waste of time.”
“Um… I would like to try the soybean paste stew made by the chef of this restaurant…”
“…”
The frustrated Grid and Peak Sword who was talking nonsense. The two people made it difficult to relax and enjoy the food. The party thought that they shouldn’t eat with Grid and Peak Sword from the next meal onwards.
On the other hand, Yura was glad. She felt a strange happiness just sitting at the same table as Grid. If she was with Grid, she could endure eating instant noodles three times a day for the rest of her life.
“You’re this far from home, how about having a glass of wine?”
A restaurant where a nice piano melody was flowing. A youth with silver hair approached the raucous South Korean table. His blue eyes was as beautiful and clear as the sky. It was Lauel. Despite his casual appearance, he looked like a noble as he held out a bottle of red wine.
It was a relatively recent vintage of Romane X. Only 6,000 bottles of wine were produced a year, it was one of the finest limited quality wines. Lauel had prepared such a precious wine for Grid and was touched by his own loyalty.
“This body of wine, like the blood that flowed in my body for thousands of years, is lavish and sublime. This red wine is the symbol of me, Lauel… It reflects my will to be in your heart forever.”
The Korean members paled. Their hands and feet shrivelled up from Lauel’s words. But Grid, Peak Sword, and Yura were fine. Yura had outstanding composure, while Grid and Peak Sword didn’t have good English.
“Okay, okay.”
“Do you know God Grid?”
Grid and Peak Sword responded as they accepted the wine that Lauel brought. However, drinking soju and rice wine was still the best.
“…”
Lauel was speechless as he watched tens of thousands of dollars disappearing in vain. In this chaotic atmosphere…
“Listen to my story!”
Jishuka ran in and started to tell Kraugel’s story. But there wasn’t a translator so the only people who could understand here were Yura and Lauel. Lauel watched Grid and said to Yura and Jishuka.
“For the moment, keep this a secret from Grid.”
Lauel knew that Grid and Kraugel had a great affinity with each other. If Grid knew about Kraugel’s circumstances, he might not be able to fully concentrate on the National Competition.
“I will fix this problem.”
He learned how to get Kraugel into Overgeared. Lauel smiled with satisfaction and headed to his room.
Then the next day. The 2nd day of the National Competition began.
Chapter 425
Chapter 425
There was a total of three events on the 2nd day of the National Competition.
The first game was ‘Keep the Base.’
The goal was to defend against an infinite amount of monsters, installing defense turrets and traps from goods present in the base, surviving longer than anyone else. The placement of the turrets and traps was the key, requiring a high amount of strategy and wits.
Park Jonghwa was the Korean representative who participated in this game.
『 Lauel of the United States has won the gold medal and Bondre of France has won the silver medal! 』
『 Bondre was doing well until the middle of the game, where he rapidly lost concentration in the second part. 』
『 In a situation where the anti-aircraft guns were insufficient, the appearance of the flying monsters on a large scale was a critical factor. 』
『 On the other hand, Lauel had enough anti-aircraft guns. Despite the fact that flying monsters didn’t appear until the second half, he didn’t neglect the existence of the anti-aircraft guns on the list, consistently installing them. 』
『 The bronze medal went to Vantner of Canada, who used the traps well. 』
『 Using his taunting and charging skills properly, he placed the monsters into the traps. It’s to be admired. 』
『 It’s hard to believe he’s the hot-blooded person who grabbed Chris’ ankle during the target processing. 』
『 Um… Originally, tankers should have good teamwork. However, Vantner seems more specialized in solo play. He’s a person who would act like a variable in Overgeared. 』
The Spanish representative, Pon, snorted as he watched the match.
“He’s a vacuum, not a variable.”
Pon smiled sarcastically. He fought with Vantner every day, but they had known each other for a long time. Pon congratulated Vantner and was happy.
The second event that followed was ‘Catching Pigs.’ Out of the thousands of identical pink pigs, the participants had to find the pigs with black dots and handle them. The pigs without dots had unlimited health and couldn’t be killed, so their numbers continued to grow.
The gold medal winner was the person with the ability to observe their target and not lose concentration…
『 Brazil’s Jishuka! 』
『 Her observation abilities are great. How can she find the dots among all the identical pigs? 』
『 It must be Hawk Eyes, Hawk Eyes. It is the ability to see 30m away while maintaining a safe distance from the target. 』
『 The crowd became mixed up again when a target was handled, but she didn’t miss any shots. She has great concentration. 』
『 Jishuka alone scored higher than the sum of the scores of the 2~5th places. 』
『 In one word, it’s overwhelming. 』
In the second event, Brazil won the gold medal, Britain the silver medal, and the bronze medal went to the United States. The countries with outstanding archers monopolized the score.
“Grid, did you see? Later in the night, I will go to your room and receive your congratulations!”
At the press conference after the event. One of the sexiest women in the world, Jishuka made a remark that caused shockwaves.
-Going to his room? -_-;;
-An adult man and woman, what are they going to do in the room…?
-Hah… I’m jealous of Grid… Doing things at night with a sexy girl like that…
-He probably saved the planet in a past life.
-Damn Grid…
“Why are my ears ticklish?”
As Grid become the public enemy of the men of the world, the competition was becoming heated up.
Then the third game in the afternoon.
Hell running. It was a map that embodied a part of hell. The first person to arrive at the destination while avoiding obstacles and the threat of the demonkin would be the winner. The interest of the Satisfy players was very high. It was comparable to their interest in team events and PvP.
Hell. It was a great opportunity for them to indirectly experience the land that no one had visited yet.
“You should pay attention. Hell is likely to be the ultimate content in Satisfy.”
The reserved audience seats. Lauel suddenly came to the place where the Korean representatives were gathered and sat beside Grid.
“Hell will be one of the countless lands that you will reign over.”
Except for Grid and Peak Sword, the Korean representatives moved away from Lauel. They still didn’t have resistance towards his chuuni nature.
“Hell… It was a little strange.”
Grid was currently wearing an interpreter. Thanks to that, Lauel understood his words and was shocked.
“Have you visited hell before?”
“Just for a short time.”
“Wow.”
He visited hell? It sounded like a joke or a bluff. But the one saying it was Grid. Lauel had to believe him.
“What was it like?”
“Hrmm.”
Lauel’s eyes shone like lanterns, but Grid turned his gaze away. Yura was participating in ‘Hell Running’ for South Korea. The match was about to start.
“Confirm it with your own eyes. It’s much better than hearing from me, since I only experienced it for a few minutes.”
Grid was also interested in hell. His demonic power was now at 830, so Grid never knew when he would go back to hell.
***
It was very meaningful to experience certain contents ahead of others. They were able to acquire faster and more accurate information than others, becoming a driving force of their growth. In that sense, hell running was a very important event and the participants were spectacular.
