Chapter 1833
A ruins hunter? Ancient ruins had awakened since the change in the world. There was too much information that even the Skunk expedition’s capabilities couldn’t uncover. Of course, it was a matter that time would solve. Players were growing steadily. However, the Overgeared Guild was obliged to maintain the lead. Time was more precious than gold.
‘He is a ruins hunter. This is why Cabelon was able to get to the No Offspring Tomb one step ahead of us. Is that eye-based artifact also an artifact that Cabelon salvaged himself?‘
Lauel discovered Cabelon’s identity and was excited in a positive sense. In fact, didn’t Muller describe Cabelon as a treasure? The person he thought was a hostile force was actually a valuable talent.
Lauel’s eyes gradually curved into a half moon shape.
Cabelon snorted. “I’m not a treasure, I’m a retired person. Don’t look at me with expectant eyes.”
“A retired person? I didn’t know that you, who has a high nose, would say such a thing even as a joke.”
“Hmph, is there any nose to protect when I can’t even see in front of me?”
Looking at Cabelon’s usual behavior, it was hard to believe he was blind.
His ability to read all the flows around him with his hearing was no different from that of a person who could see. No, on the contrary, he was superior to ordinary people to the extent where one had to wonder if he had eyes in the back of his head. Additionally, it was possible to gain vision briefly using the artifacts.
However, Cabelon himself seemed to have a huge complex about the fact that he was blind.
Indeed. How much effort did it take to get where he was now? Naturally, those who could see shouldn’t recklessly try to understand the hearts of those who couldn’t see.
“Those eyes... did you lose them to the Great Robber of the Red Night?”
“Stop talking nonsense. Do you think my courage is big enough to offend that old man?”
“I made a guess because I don’t know how people will change over hundreds of years. It is a good thing that you didn’t lose them to the Great Robber.”
“...Losing my eyes was a simple accident. I failed to respond to a threat lurking in the ruins. I made preparations every time, but it can’t be perfect.”
“Did you hone my swordsmanship after that as a small guarantee?”
“Yes, the secret techniques you had left behind all over the world were quite helpful. I couldn’t find one of the beginning level secret techniques, so it seems that my swordsmanship is quite flawed.”
“There are no beginning level secret techniques. My swordsmanship was originally arranged for a talented swordsman, so I didn’t feel the need to teach the basics.”
“...Damn. My bad luck is still the same.”
“Um? What’s the problem?”
“Forget it. No matter whether you roast me or boil me, do as you please.”
In the first place, the reason why Cabelon became obsessed with Muller’s secret technique was purely to survive. He didn’t have a very good relationship with Muller when they were active, so it hurt his pride, but he decided it was for the best. It had been hundreds of years since then. He even built up transcendence after hundreds of years of polishing Muller’s swordsmanship, which he had learned in order to survive.
From then on, the situation was reversed. Cabelon was compelled to perfect his swordsmanship. He went back and forth between the West Continent and East Continent in search of Muller’s secret techniques that hadn’t been found. In the process, he met the Sword Saint of the present era and everything became twisted from then on.
Kraugel—he tried to gain a secret technique from the guy that must’ve become the Sword Saint from finding a higher ranked secret technique than his, but he wasn’t successful. The problem was that the Sword Saint was too powerful to be suppressed with force.
Somehow, he ended up in Reinhardt and became entangled up in a bad relationship with the monstrous new nation called the Overgeared Empire. Eventually, the thought to be dead Muller came back alive. The fact that he was relying on Muller’s swordsmanship to survive was exposed. He was even caught claiming to be Muller’s disciple...
It was so disgraceful that he wanted to stick his nose in dishwashing water and die. Cabelon resented the whole situation.
“The pervert who pretended to be a blind man and the present day Sword Saint... I want to curse the world where such bastards with monstrous talents are running rampant.”
“Pretending to be blind?” Muller cocked his head and looked at Haster.
Haster immediately denied it. “I never did that.”
“Haha, that friend has been suspicious since a long time ago. More than that, Cabelon. I am finding out your name for the first time now. Our exchanges were quite active, but it is a bit bittersweet that we didn’t even exchange names.”
“You are the one who treated me like a grave robber. You didn’t even give me a chance to say my name. Now you are talking such nonsense...”
“Did that happen...? Oh, I remember. You were digging at the graves of the deceased when I first met you. I misunderstood for a while. At that time, I thought you were doing it for selfish reasons.”
“You didn’t even give me a chance to defend myself. I didn’t care after that.”
“It was a misunderstanding. Didn’t you go into seclusion due to the Great Robber? Later, I wanted to apologize, but I didn’t get the chance. Well... my condition was also getting worse.”
“That... what exactly did Cabelon do?” Lauel interjected from where he had been silently watching the two people have an interesting conversation. It was because from the moment Muller recalled his later years, the conversation suddenly stopped and an awkward silence came.
“I was a grave robber digging at other people’s graves,” Cabelon snorted and replied sarcastically.
It was very unpleasant because he remembered Muller’s smirking face.
Muller explained it instead, “He is a friend who wandered aimlessly in search of hidden ruins. He collected ancient artifacts and gifted them to the heroes of the era. He tried to contribute to the peace of the world. He isn’t widely known because he didn’t reveal his identity, but he is also a hero.”
“...That is all in the past.” Cabelon lowered his head. His expression was very dark.
“You’ve been unable to serve the people since you’ve lost my eyes.”
“No, to be exact, I wasn’t able to do it long before that.”
The grinding sound was eerie.
“I was forced to remain quiet due to the Great Robber of the Red Night, that crazy old man.”
“It was bad luck. This friend got an artifact that the Great Robber targeted first...”
“Until then, I didn’t even know who the Great Robber of the Red Night was. A crazy old man flew in and broke my limbs... the Baal I saw a while ago was cute compared to him.”
“......”
The puzzle came together naturally.
The Great Robber of the Red Night—according to Grid, he was an irregular who had witnessed and experienced the destruction and creation of the world countless times.
The Great Robber had only one purpose—it was to collect the treasures that the Refractive Dragon left behind whenever the world was destroyed. It was said that it was to break the chain of destruction. Perhaps from his perspective, he couldn’t allow ordinary people living in one era to touch the treasures of the Refractive Dragon.
One day, Cabelon accidentally acquired what was presumed to be a treasure of the Refractive dragon and he would’ve started to be oppressed by the Great Robber. The misfortune of losing his eyes while working secretly overlapped and led to his present state.
‘In any case, this is the conclusion.’
Cabelon was an incredibly capable person. The Great Robber of the Red Night had been active for a long time. Cabelon’s history of preempting the treasure before the Great Robber, whom even Grid called a monster, and then being retaliated against proved his abilities.
‘Of course, it could be the result of sheer luck.’
In any case, it should be noted that he managed to stay ahead of the Great Robber of the Red Night once. Moreover, the Overgeared Guild had the Skunk Expedition team. It was speculated that the synergy between Cabelon, an expert on ruins, and the Skunk Expedition team would be tremendous.
“Congratulations, Cabelon, on becoming a member of the Overgeared Empire.”
“...What? Who said that?”
“There are no human rights for prisoners. That is the law.”
“Ah, I am going to be a slave. Then cut off my limbs beforehand. It is only then that you will be barely able to deal with me.”
“No. From today on, we are a family. I will trust you.”
“...Are you crazy?”
He said prisoners didn’t have human rights and now they were a family? Muller winked at the dumbfounded Cabelon. He hoped this pleasant feeling could be conveyed even if Cabelon couldn’t see.
“You should trust them too. From what I experienced, the empire of this time is a very good place to live in.”
“I can’t believe you when you say something like that...”
Cabelon was still feeling shame. The coercive situation was unpleasant in many ways and dissatisfaction piled up.
“Would you like to meet the colleagues you will work with in the future? They just came back from an exploration and are staying at the palace.”
Lauel continued to push it. He forced Cabelon toward the Skunk Expedition team. It wasn’t desirable from Haster’s perspective.
‘Wouldn’t it be better to give him time? It is the norm to slowly build up trust and wait until he opens his mind.’
Why was Lauel in such a hurry? The question was quickly resolved.
“What a beautiful drill... does it run on magic power? The output is amazing. When I was young, I couldn’t even dream of this and had to dig at the ground with a shovel one by one.”
“Look at this too. It is a probe made by a giant engineer...”
“Hoh...”
“......”
The workshop of the Skunk Expedition team. In a place where all types of exploration items were stored, Cabelon’s eyes shone like a child who encountered a treasure trove.
Really—he operated his artificial eye artifact and showed great enthusiasm as he checked the exploration items with his own two eyes.
There was even a smile on his face as he talked to Skunk.
“There is happiness that can only be felt when you do what you love,” Lauel said while looking very proud.
He had anticipated this situation from the beginning.
‘He is a young man who shouldn’t be doubted.’
Haster also had great confidence in Lauel. Around a month later...
It was the day when the legends and transcendents protected by the Overgeared Guild arrived in the realm of the Overgeared World.
Grid appointed Asuka as the last angel and proclaimed, “We are going on an expedition now.”
It took longer than expected, but the preparations were thorough. Dragon weapons and armor were made and provided to all participants of this expedition. There were even weapons and armor enhanced with the ancient enhancement scrolls. Additionally, there were even marks suitable for each individual.
They succeeded in protecting most of Baal’s potential targets and Reinhardt’s safety was re-examined. The situation in hell was being understood by Yura in real time through interacting with Leraje and Eligos.
‘It is perfect.’
Nothing could be better.
Kurarararara!
A dragon flew to Grid’s side and sat down. It was such a huge dragon that it made the high walls of the castle shake. It was Evil Dragon Bunhelier who looked down at the humans on the ground while exhaling a jet-black breath. In the past, he caused fear and despair when he first appeared in front of people. The distant existence that was designated as the final boss candidate was now by Grid’s side.
Grid placed his hand on Bunhelier’s body for a dramatic effect and he scanned the faces of the people gathered in the square.
The Overgeared Guild and the people of the empire.
Celebrities and ordinary players in every field.
A wide variety of people were gathered. There were hundreds of thousands of them. There were also tens of thousands of media cameras from all over the world. The number of people watching this moment through the screen would have been at least in the billions.
From now on, Grid would express words he couldn’t keep suppressed. Everyone knew it. Therefore, they trembled.
“Today, we will cut off the source of fear and despair.”
“Waaahhhhhhhh!”
[Overgeared God Grid is writing the 27th epic.]
[The epic begins with the declaration to eliminate the source of all evil.]
The epic—the expedition that would go down as the greatest raid in Satisfy’s history started. It was the final fight or the final gateway to the final fight.
The headlines published by media outlets around the world were very different. Seoul, Tokyo, Washington D.C., London, Beijing, Paris, Berlin, New Delhi, Moscow, etcetera—on this day, the major cities around the world, including capital cities, became quiet.
Cars disappeared from the road and only the lights from the buildings were bright. Most people were sitting in front of a TV or computer.