Overgeared

Chapter 1966

A loud scream was heard from the sky, which shone a brilliant gold, as if the sun had melted and covered the world. But once that golden light cleared, the sight of the serene blue sky made it seem like nothing had happened at all, like everything was just an illusion.

The swarm of humans and the clouds around them disappeared without leaving a trace, but nothing around seemed damaged, as if the destructive power of the cultivators’ disappearance had never occurred in the first place.

[There is a tenacious one among them.]

Nevartan snorted and disappeared from where he’d been standing. At the same time, a black thunderbolt fell from the other side of the sky, followed by someone’s scream.

Cranbel had been quietly watching the situation. He said, [Did you offer to help me as soon as you regained your freedom? That’s inspiring.]

Cranbel secretly harnessed what little magic power he had left. He didn’t trust the old dragons. He planned to surprise attack Raiders and run away.

Raiders’ golden eyes slowly turned to him.

[There is no reason not to help you. There are only a handful of our species left. You are the only surviving top dragon. You have helped Grid and the humans time and time again, and that is something you should be commended for. You will have to work with the humans to take on the new enemies.]

[......]

Raiders had a point. Cranbel’s wariness eased a bit.

Nevartan returned.

[I lost them. They used a bizarre trick... Was that the one who attacked your lair?]

[No, she was much stronger.]

[Her strength is comparable to ours.]

[Yes, she is among the strongest invaders of this world.]

Raiders nodded before telling Cranbel, [You trust Grid. Knowing him, he won’t turn away from you. Try to take in the overall situation while recovering.]

[What are you going to do next?]

[Unusual magic currents are being detected all over the world. Judging by the shape of the flow, these currents have the power to distort space.]

[Are we talking space rifts?]

[That’s right. This phenomenon is deliberately caused by someone.]

[That someone is aiming for a dimensional connection.]

As apostles of the foreign god, the dragons naturally knew the truth of the world. This world was nothing more than a place with the purpose of entertaining beings from the same dimension as the foreign god, also known as players.

It was unthinkable for a being born here to cross over to a higher dimension, but it was easy for a being from a higher dimension to cross over to this place. The existence of these players was clear proof of that.

[Forcing open a space rift to come here means that these invaders haven’t received the authorization of the foreign god.]

[That is how I interpret it as well.]

[Even so, the foreign god didn’t tell us to stop them, but instead to act freely?]

[I’m suspecting that the foreign god is in a position where it can’t stop them either.]

The new beings, presumed to come from a different dimension like the players, were an evident threat. They were extremely skilled and showed hostility to the dragons, the apostles of the foreign god. They were even attempting dimensional connection. They threatened the order of the world.

The old dragons had no intention to simply stand by and watch. The mission given to them by the foreign god was to oversee the world. They had a duty to protect it.

[This is a map showing the places where space rifts are occurring. We are going to deal with the rifts in the East Continent. You pass on the rest to Grid.]

The reason the old dragons had come to Cranbel in the first place was to deliver this map. Cranbel realized the real reason for his survival and nodded, completely dismissing his doubts.

***

“Hah...”

Noe sighed as he understood what Randy was thinking about. He didn’t want to hurt his friend’s feelings, so he obediently opened the first book.

“The Water Wheel Technique. Suitable for those who possess the water attribute spiritual root. From the process of accumulating spiritual energy, it embraces water energy to soften the flow of spiritual energy and, as a result, accelerates this flow. The advantage is that spiritual energy increases quickly, but because it accumulates too much in the spiritual roots, it hinders one from mastering techniques of other attributes. However, this problem can be alleviated by mastering the ice technique when the training of the Water Wheel Technique reaches 6 stars... What does any of this mean, nyang?”

“It’s nice listening to you read. Keep going.”

Noe’s eyes, which had been wide open like a grumpy cat, softened after hearing this. He liked it when Grid praised him. There was also a part of him that was intoxicated with pride at being able to read mere human letters.

“The Five Elements Fortune Technique. Suitable for those who possess the spiritual roots of the five attributes. The accumulation of spiritual energy is slow, but from the time the level of this technique reaches 3 stars, the user will gradually gain affinity with the five elements. This technique is helpful when learning the techniques of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.”

Grid was deep in thought as the God Hands lit the furnace. He reviewed the body manufacturing method by recalling how he’d failed in making a body before, but also how he’d succeeded at it.

He also paid close attention to the techniques Noe was reading to him. He was able to do this by using the power of Consciousness Extension, which he had learned from Judar after killing him. He had the ability to multitask, and could perform up to four tasks simultaneously.

‘In fact, this ability isn’t that special, but...’

There were many people who were particularly good at multitasking. However, Consciousness Extension was a passive skill that had levels. The more he trained and leveled up the skill, the more efficient the skill would become.

“Pfft.”

Grid chuckled. Noe was trying not to make a nyang or ong sound, so Grid found his pronunciation cute.

‘It would be nice if Noe lived for a long time.’

The lifespan of a memphis was well over a few hundred years, but it was short compared to those who would condense spiritual roots and become cultivators. Grid felt sad as he thought of this.

Noe cocked his head as he read the contents of the fifteenth technique book. “The True Demon Energy Technique. This method remodels the spiritual root by cultivating spiritual energy with demonic energy... Nyang? I think I know this. I understand this, ong!”

All of a sudden, black energy surged from Noe’s body and the smithy rapidly became a lot colder.

Grid became agitated as he was refining Greed. He increased the speed of the bellows, but to no avail. The flames in the furnace were dying down too quickly.

This was going to ruin his work, but Grid didn’t stop Noe. Greed could be obtained infinitely, while Noe was his unique, dear friend.

He remained silent and watched Noe’s transformation.

“Suup, nyang... Suuop, nyaaaang...”

“Where does it hurt?”

Randy, who had only been looking at Grid, also turned to look at Noe. She was genuinely worried about her friend, who suddenly began breathing weirdly when he had been fine just seconds before, reading aloud.

Grid raised a finger to his lips.

“Shh. Don’t disturb him.”

“I won’t.”

“Nyaaaang...”

The heavier Noe’s breathing became, the more black energy spilled out. It made the hairs on Grid’s body stand up.

Eventually, Grid gave up on the bellows. The flames in the furnace were no longer burning.

Grrr...

Something that sounded like thunder was heard from Noe’s stomach. It almost made Grid wonder what Noe had eaten before and from where...

Grid recalled Noe’s usual behavior, which resembled that of a stray cat’s, and couldn’t help but have doubts. Noe’s body started expanding rapidly. He revealed his adult body, like he had encountered an enemy, and his eyes glowed red.

A loud roar shattered all the frozen windows in the smithy. The black energy, which had been pouring out from Noe alongside a bitter chill, condensed into the form of a bead and entered Noe’s mouth.

[Congratulations! Your pet Noe has succeeded in condensing the spiritual root!]

“......?!”

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