The Overgeared Kingdom was a kingdom established by players. The policies of the Overgeared Kingdom were innovative considering the fact that the existing nations were based on the Middle Ages. One of the biggest topics in the world was the education system in the Overgeared Kingdom.
It was an equal education system that didn’t discriminate against ident.i.ty, gender, and talent. It was one step above the empire which claimed that talent didn’t care about the rich or the poor.
‘I didn’t expect it to have grown this much.’
Grid clicked his tongue as he visited the academy for the first time in ages. The Overgeared Academy’s location was always expanding and it already felt like a city. It could be argued that the Overgeared Academy was larger than any other campus in reality.
‘I am proud.’
Grid knew how important learning opportunities were. He walked around the campus in a happy manner and his emotions were deep. It was seven years after the establishment of the Overgeared Academy.It was finally the graduation day for the first graduates. He was already looking forward to seeing how many talents would emerge.
“I would like to welcome Your Majesty.”
The Overgeared Academy had dozens of departments. There were hundreds of professors alone. There were celebrities that Lauel had worked hard to invite from all over. The reason they were professors of the Overgeared Academy wasn’t because they coveted wealth or power. It was out of respect for the great sage, Sticks.
“You have worked hard.”
Grid greeted the professors. He honestly admired the people who shared the knowledge and experience that they had acc.u.mulated throughout their lives. However, he was also worried. Many of the professors were white-haired old men. Most of them were about to retire.
‘Lauel will soon suffer again.’
“Why did you come so early?” Sticks secretly reproached him.
It was almost time for the rooster to cry. In other words, it was still early in the morning and there was a long time left before the graduation ceremony began. Grid, by coming here at this time of the day, disturbed things. He had to acc.u.mulate his mana so early in the morning... would he faint while giving a speech to the graduates?
Grid launched at Sticks, who was anxious in advance and trying to prepare a teleport spell. “I wanted to quietly look around campus while there are no students. I also wanted to greet the professors who have been working hard so far.”
“I see.”
‘Thanks to you, the professors who have to get up early in the morning are going to die.’ Sticks swallowed down these words. He was aware that Grid’s diligence had reached a level beyond common sense. He was worried about sleeping properly.
“The menu is terrible.”
It was after taking one walk around campus. Grid frowned when he visited the cafeteria to eat breakfast. The freshly baked bread was delicious because it was soft and rich in flavor, but the side dishes were bad. The soup tasted like hot water, as if it hadn’t been boiled for a long time.
“I am wondering if students can concentrate on their studies after eating just this food.”
Grid didn’t hide his unhappy heart. What happened to the budget he gave the academy every year? The food wasn’t even provided properly. Were the excellent facilities just for show?
‘Who is taking the money for the meals in the middle?’
He would have to hurry to send Rabbit’s monitoring team—Grid made a serious vow. Then Sticks told him, “There are still two hours until breakfast. The food hasn’t been completely prepared. If you come and say something like this, the cooks will be upset.”
“......”
He had forgotten for a moment. He lived fiercely every day and started his day earlier than others. His concept of time was distorted. Grid was coughing with embarra.s.sment when Lauel joined him. As prime minister, he also planned to attend today’s graduation ceremony. “Aren’t you over-meticulous?”
“......”
Lauel’s soft whisper made Grid feel even more embarra.s.sed.
***
It was before the graduation schedule began. Graduates who came to the academy early in the morning visited their respective departments. They wanted to thank their teachers who had taught them for so long.
“My father was living alone in my hometown. When his house collapsed due to a typhoon not long ago, the reason I was able to rea.s.sure him without becoming frustrated was purely thanks to Teacher. I used the skills I learned from Teacher to rebuild the pillars. I covered the walls and ceilings, and built a new house for my father. I want to thank you for teaching me without discriminating against me for being the son of a butcher.”
“My hometown is in the mountains. I was a person who cleared the ground with fires. My family and neighbors lived in shabby huts. In the summer, we suffered from heat and insects. In the winter, we trembled from the cold. However, it is different now. Every vacation, I go home and repair the homes of my family and my neighbors. Hehe... Thanks to Teacher, I was able to turn the shabby huts in my hometown into warm houses. Thank you so much.”
A house was one of the most important factors in human life. However, like most professional skills, construction skills weren’t taught to anyone. Architects were proud of their profession and were cautious about raising disciples. Anyone suspected of having no origin or lacking talent couldn’t learn the art of building a house.
The poor people had to build houses relying on the knowledge and experience of the adults around them. The houses that were built were very incomplete. On the surface, it looked fine, but there were many problems with soundproofing, cold protection, and waterproofing. The durability was also poor.
For students in the architecture department, their teachers were G.o.ds. They would build homes for the poor at a low cost and spread their skills... they would build a country where there were no children sleeping while the ceiling leaked rainwater.
“That friend and that friend.”
Grid watched the architecture students greeting their teachers from afar and picked out two students. Lauel wrote down their names. Grid was holding the King’s Sword in his hand.
***
“Thanks to Teacher, I’ve suffered several fractures, stretched ligaments, and my muscles became strong. Thank you so much, Teacher.”
“I learned while being beaten by Teacher. Now I’m not afraid of most people. I went to my hometown during my last vacation and thieves threatened me. It was so funny that I p.i.s.sed myself.”
“Your mouth is really bad. Should I cancel your graduation so you will study for another year?”
“Hahaha... I really appreciate it, Teacher. I will never forget Teacher’s grace in turning an ordinary hunter like me into a good swordsman. From now on, I will devote myself more and aim to become a knight!”
“It was an honor, Teacher!”
“It was an honor!”
The ninth department Grid visited was the swordsmans.h.i.+p department. Compared to other departments, the number of students was much higher and there were many graduates. There were a huge 137 people, but none of them were talented. It was natural.
Talented people wouldn’t enter the academy. If they had talent, they would’ve become a disciple by catching someone’s eye or directly becoming a knight. In the first place, the students attending the academy were those who had to earn a living. They worked for half a day and came to school for the rest of the day to receive an education. Therefore, they barely honed their basic skills in these seven years to earn the graduation qualifications.
“Still, I see people who are better than ordinary soldiers.”
The prime minister had a high discerning vision—it was because he gained unique stats and skills when he rose to the position of prime minister. The prime minister, Lauel, smiled as he stood beside Grid and watched the graduates.
“Once they go back to their villages and join the vigilante group, they will be a big help in maintaining security.”
“Yes.”
In the future, there would be graduates every year. The number would also increase by several times.
In the next 10 years, people were technical skills like experts and people with combat skills like soldiers would be seen throughout the villages. Then once they started raising disciples, the people of the Overgeared Kingdom would grow into outstanding talents one by one in a few decades.
Grid was happy, but he was also a bit disappointed.
Talent—one of the most unfair concepts in the world, it sometimes deceived people. It was often the case where it would be gone for several years or even decades, only to suddenly appear and surprise the people around them. This was commonly referred to as talent perseverance or resilience. Even people who were considered as stupid when they were young could develop above average talents if they worked hard. This was the case with Grid himself.
It was the so-called ‘great talent matures late.’
‘I had high hopes that some of the graduates would be more skilled than expected...’
However, this wasn’t the case at all. Most of the graduates were mediocre. Grid had only found five talents in the nine departments and they were only slightly better than ordinary people. They would be a bit usable after working hard for the next few years.
However, there was no such person in the swordsmans.h.i.+p department. It was disappointing for Grid since he had high expectations for the swordsmans.h.i.+p, magic, and elemental departments.
‘The magic department’s problem will be even more serious. Can I only believe in the elemental department?’
All those who had some talent for magic entered the magic towers. The chances of finding an outstanding magician in the academy was significantly lower.
‘There are limits to solely relying on the Ul clan.’
Most of the Overgeared Kingdom’s magicians consisted of those from the Ul clan. In addition to their small population, they had a problem when communicating with ordinary people. The Ul clan were a minority and they had different values. There was a reason why the talents of the Ul Clan, who had been in charge of education at the academy and the magic tower, couldn’t endure for long and resigned.
“Your Majesty!”
“I greet Your Majesty!”
“......”
Grid was suddenly awakened from his thoughts. The students of the swordsmans.h.i.+p department bowed the moment they saw Grid in the distance.
“Rise. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Grid couldn’t turn away so he entered the training field and raised the students up. The eyes of the students were full of respect as they looked at him.
They were just like the young people dreaming of becoming blacksmiths. The reason why the students of the swordsmans.h.i.+p department dreamed of becoming swordsmen was because they respected Grid. It was the same for the students in the magic department. Grid fought and overcame all enemies with swordsmans.h.i.+p and magic and he was the dream of the people. Their goal was to resemble Grid even a little bit.
Lauel smiled as he saw the students whose eyes were s.h.i.+ning like lanterns.
“Your Majesty, I think the students want to see your swordsmans.h.i.+p.”
Gulp.
Lauel created the situation and the students gulped. It was hard for them to miss the opportunity to see Grid’s swordsmans.h.i.+p up close when they had only heard about it through rumors. The excitement of the students caught Grid.
‘It is a bit embarra.s.sing, but...’
It was just swinging his sword. It wasn’t a big deal. Grid reached out to a young man whose eyes were particularly bright.
“Can I borrow a wooden sword?”
Rabbit might appear if he used a real sword here.
“I-It is an honor!”
The young man politely offered his wooden sword as the others around him gazed at him enviously. Grid’s shoulders trembled with tension and excitement as he looked around the training field. His gaze wasn’t limited to the target. He looked around and recognized the entire battlefield.
‘Let’s test my power like this.’
Grid’s sword dances could now be used without taking any steps, but it was possible to maximize the power by taking up to four steps.
Step.
Grid took a step forward while holding the wooden sword comfortably.
Rumble!
The atmospheric pressure lowered. The students thought it was an illusion, but they soon realized this wasn’t the case. Grid took another step, and this time, the earth shook. The sands on the training field vibrated and generated noise. A transparent sword energy emerged from the tip of Grid’s sword.
“Ahhh.”
The students, professors of the swordsmans.h.i.+p department, and Mercedes let out cries of admiration. Grid’s back as he took the third and fourth steps was something they couldn’t even imagine. It was so huge.
“Pinnacle.”
The martial G.o.d—a sword dance that reproduced Chiyou’s blow, not that of Zeratul, who was just a copy.
The wooden sword was wrapped in a radiant light and fell in a straight line. There wasn’t even a small noise, let alone a destructive wave. However, Mercedes could see the atmosphere being cut in half. Then a shockwave occurred one step late. The wind pressure created shook the trees around the training field. The leaves swirled for a while before falling to the ground.
“Gasp...”
The professors and students of the swordsmans.h.i.+p department exhaled.
‘Huh?’
Grid felt something strange as he returned the wooden sword to the young man with clear eyes. Therefore, he placed his hand on the sheath hanging from his waist. He was touching the King’s Sword. Then the active Talent Search responded to the young man.
[Name: Beth.e.l.l
Age: 21 Gender: Male
Cla.s.s: Swordsman
t.i.tle: Sword Seeker
The strike of the Overgeared King changed his world. He will live trying to reproduce Grid’s strike for the rest of his life.
The power of a slash attack is increased by 50% to 400%. Sword Mastery proficiency acquisition speed is increased by 300%.
Level: 195
Strength: 981/1,590 Stamina: 360/630
Agility: 319/551 Intelligence: 210/509
Obsession: 10
Skills: Beginner Sword Mastery (D), Overgeared Academy Swordsmans.h.i.+p (D), Curse of the Strike (S), Sword Seeker (S)]
[Curse of the Strike]
[Pa.s.sive
He is fascinated by a strike he can never reach in his lifetime. This powerful curse will keep him in despair and cause him to constantly develop.
* Generate the Rage stat.
* Each time the rage stat is acc.u.mulated, the power of slash-type attacks will increase significantly.
★Whenever the rage stat reaches its maximum, the stats limit will be broken.
Cooldown Time: None
Resource Consumption: None.]
“Lauel.”
“Yes.”
“Include this friend as well.”
“I understand.”
It was the moment when the story of Chiyou and Pagma was recreated on the ground. Grid was deeply interested in Beth.e.l.l while Beth.e.l.l was frozen. Grid’s sharp eyes that were filled with greed were hard for humans to handle.