The more intelligence a creature possessed, the more they resented iron bars. Grid seemed to vaguely understand why Talsha became the king of the evil spirits. ‘Did it want freedom?’
The Armor of Destruction, Gaiters of Disillusionment, and Quattro’s Gloves. The Reaper’s Boots, Concave Ring, Moon Necklace, Sepier’s Earrings, the Galgunos orb, and Talima's Shame.
There were a total of nine items that Grid brought out from Pandemonium. Apart from the myth-rated Talsha, all of them were rated legendary (grown from a low level) or secret, but most of them had special stories.
The Armor of Destruction that constricted the wearer’s body and eventually crushed it—it was created by a dwarf craftsman who wanted to get revenge on the prince of the Saharan Empire who used his daughter as a plaything. The craftsman planned to bring this armor to the empire to destroy the imperial prince, but unfortunately, his plan failed.
The ego inherited the maker’s grudge and killing intent, and emitted it. Would the empire accept such an openly ferocious gift? The craftsman couldn’t send this vicious item to the empire. He locked it up in Pandemonium with tears in his eyes.
The Moon Necklace absorbed the cold moonlight and froze the wearer’s blood and bones—it was a work made by a dwarf craftsman who had been working alone for 100 years after losing her husband. She was lonely and unable to sleep every night, so she made this necklace under the moonlight. She subconsciously wanted others to be as lonely as herself, and gave birth to this wicked ego.
The Moon Necklace seduced people with its beautiful appearance that everyone was obsessed with and created a huge wave. Before Fire Dragon Trauka had moved his lair, a great merchant visited Talima and was fascinated with the Moon Necklace with one glance.He joyfully bought the necklace and placed it on his beloved wife, who slowly froze to death in front of her husband’s eyes. It was the terror of the Moon Necklace that froze from the bones and blood, not the skin. The dwarf craftsman smiled as she watched the merchant sobbing over his wife, and she was beheaded for shaming Talima’s honor. The cursed necklace was sealed in Pandemonium.
In addition to this, there were the Gaiters of Disillusionment that made the wearer powerless, Quattro’s Gloves that cut off one finger to turn it into four, the Reaper's Boots that pushed the wearer to death, the Concave Ring that reminded him of a long-tailed tit (from Grid’s perspective), and Sepier's Earrings that whispered all types of tragedies. They all had their own stories that explained how they became wicked.
Additionally, it could be assumed that Galgunos’ orb wasn’t made in Talima since all the details apart from the stats were marked as ‘unknown.’ Thus, it was possible to assume that there was a hidden story.
On the other hand, Talsha was different. Its information was too brief. The circumstances in which it became wicked weren’t described. However, it ran wild and was sealed in Pandemonium. It used its strength and will to become the king of the evil spirits.
[Talima’s Shame]
[Rating: Myth
Durability: 3,600/3,600 (self-repair is possible)
* Talima's Shame rejects human touch. The repair system isn’t activated for this item.
Defense: 1~2,750
* Talima's Shame can adjust the defense according to its own willpower. Be careful when using it.
★ Fire Resistance
* Talima's Shame has endured the hottest lava falling on it for hundreds of years. Every fire on this earth won’t damage this item. This doesn’t mean it will protect the wearer from the flames. Don’t be mistaken.
★ An ego item.
It believes that it is the king of all the battle gear in the world.
* The skill ‘King’s Negation’ is generated.
Suppresses any battle gear with no ego.
The equipment of any targets within a radius of 10 meters that aren't an ego item will be forcibly disarmed. It is up to 30 items.
Skill Resources Consumed: None
Skill Duration: 3 seconds.
Skill Cooldown Time: 7 minutes.
* The skill ‘King’s Command’ is generated.
Exerts force on ego items.
Can team up and assign specific actions to ego items within a radius of 100 meters. The commanding power remains with Talima's Shame, not the wearer.
Skill Resources Consumed: None
The force is maintained during the duration of the skill, and the duration depends on the level and personality of the target item.
Skill Cooldown Time: None
* The skill ‘King’s Domination Lv. MAX’ is generated.
Dominates the wearer’s mind and controls the body.
During the time when King’s Domination is maintained, the wearer’s attack power and all speeds will increase by 20%. The wearer will also be immune to critical hits and attacks in weak spots. However, the wearer will die at the end of the domination.
Skill Resources Consumed: None
Skill Duration: Until the wearer dies.
Skill Cooldown Time: 24 hours.
A helmet made by five generations of the dwarf royal family. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Talima’s best blacksmithing skills are concentrated here.
The background of its birth alone makes it qualified to be a legend. It was reborn as a myth through the bad reputation acquired in Pandemonium.
Some wicked people are deifying Talima's Shame.
Conditions of Use: None
Weight: 230]
‘It must’ve wanted to live its own life.’
The highly intelligent Talsha wouldn’t have wanted to be owned by anyone. It caused an accident after longing for freedom, and was finally sealed in Pandemonium. Grid guessed this, but he didn’t have much sympathy for Talsha. It was a law that all things were meant to be used. It was a blessing to be used, and it should bring happiness.
I’ll teach you.”
The moment when Grid resolved to break the mental state of Talsha in his inventory, Antrino spoke, “This is the road that the artificial elementals have created and honed.”
A volcano 5,000 meters above sea level—the flat ground was connected to the rough stone wall in the center. It was a path that led from the ground to the summit that was 5,000 meters above the ground. There was nothing wrong with calling it a road because it seemed easy for a carriage to use it.
“Indeed. Artificial elementals…”
Civil engineering required high techniques and labor. In particular, Grid knew that the more challenging the terrain, the more difficult the construction would be. He had learned this because in the years since the Overgeared Kingdom was founded, there had been hundreds of civil works led by Lauel.
“I had actually wondered if there was slavery in Talima.”
Lauel’s goal was to build roads to all major cities, but he overworked countless people. Of course, he rewarded them, but the moans of the exhausted workers rang out throughout the Overgeared Kingdom. A large amount of workers and excellent technical skills were required to make the tens of kilometer long flat road along such a sheer slope. He thought there would’ve been hundreds of people who had collapsed or died while building the roads.
However, all of this was done by the artificial elementals…
Grid, now with even greater expectations of the performance of the artificial elementals, started calculating things.
‘The total number of artificial elementals that Cradle has agreed to exchange every year is 50 and the total number of artificial elementals exchanged for the God Hands is 52… how many months will I be stuck in the smithy?’
Not surprisingly, Talima appreciated the value of the God Hands a bit more than the white phosphorus wood. It was because it was created from the hand of the blacksmith acknowledged by the blacksmithing god and they felt very attracted to the Greed mineral. It was natural. Greed was the evolution of pavranium, which had even caught the blacksmithing god Hexetia’s eyes. It could easily be evaluated as the best mineral on this earth. Only Grid could smelt the mineral, but the dwarves didn’t care. It was a treasure to be collected, and they were satisfied with this.
Grid wondered if he should stay in Talima for a while to produce the God Hands, but he shook his head.
‘There are limits to the dwarves’ wealth.’
The production of artificial elementals wasn’t an easy task. The number of artificial elementals produced by ordinary dwarves throughout their lives was between four to six. Their assets were limited, so he would soon face a situation where they wanted to pay for the God Hands, but couldn’t be able to. The transactions with the dwarves should be done slowly and consistently.
‘Even the best things will decrease in value once released to the market all at once.’
He shouldn’t be so impatient to suck up the profit that he would make the God Hands worthless. First, Grid would make the Overgeared Kingdom a better place using the artificial elementals he obtained from Cradle.
The middle of the mountain path—the entrance of the mine, surrounded by darkness, awaited him.
“We’ve arrived. This is the Elliter Mine."
The ether diamonds—it was a substance that sucked up light and magic power. The glasses made of the ether diamonds could even block the evil eye of the evil eyes king. Thanks to these glasses, the evil eyes king could see the world. He escaped the fate of being blind for the rest of his life, but the durability of the glasses wasn’t infinite. It couldn’t hold out against the evil eyes king’s mighty evil eye forever.
Grid felt the need to make glasses continuously for the king. He also planned to produce and distribute a set of ether armor that acted as an absolute counter to magic. This had been planned over two years ago. However, there was the obstacle of Fire Dragon Trauka and the hand of the 12th great demon. It was only now that the plan could be implemented.
“Be careful with your feet in the darkness.”
Grid didn’t ask a ridiculous question like why weren’t there any lights installed. Ether diamonds were minerals that absorbed light. It was pointless to install lights. It was why darkness filled the cave.
‘Good. It is better than I thought.’
Grid smiled as he walked behind Antrino and touched the wall. The only ether mine in the world—over the years, most of the ether diamond’s reserves should’ve been consumed, but it was surprisingly still rich. Antrino clearly read Grid’s thoughts and revealed the situation. “As you know, it is hard to smelt ether diamonds. Talima has virtually given up on the use of ether diamonds since the firepower of the castle’s flames were weakened by Trauka.”
“I see.”
Grid wouldn’t have easily smelted it without the white phosphorus wood. The ether diamond was a tricky mineral. Grid said, “Sooner or later, the castle’s flames will regain its firepower and the mine will be revitalized.”
“You said you would provide us with the white phosphorus wood, but… honestly, I’m not certain. It is doubtful if the exchange between the two kingdoms will be smooth in the future because Trauka might return tomorrow. Additionally, the use of ether diamonds isn’t very high in the first place.”
“Don’t worry about the exchange. If Talima’s side unblocks the movement magic, then we will be able to use Teleport.”
“Does the Fire Dragon look like a pushover? The moment you try to teleport in, you will be blocked by his barrier, and be eaten.”
‘Braham’s Teleport won’t work? Gasp!’
The gap between a dragon and a previous generation legend was still hard to gauge. Grid shook his head and abruptly flopped down to the ground.
At the end of the mine—an eye stared at Grid through the gap revealed in the darkness. A giant, bull-like pupil—Grid felt a real horror that wasn’t a condition caused by the system.
