Overgeared Volumes 1 and 2 Review
Youngwoo Shin is broke. He needs to pay back a debt, but he doesn’t have a permanent job. He does daily jobs from the employment agency, but he’s not making much. Even his family has given up on him as he spends most of his time playing Satisfy, a virtual reality game played all around the world.
In the game, his character is called Grid. He’s in the middle of an S-class mission when he finds a legendary item that allows him to access a legendary class change. When the person who hired him for the mission is about to betray and kill him, Grid uses the item and obtains the class of Pagma’s Successor.
Pagma was the best craftsman in the world of Satisfy, and now Grid needs to raise his level and stats to complete the quest related to his newfound title. Starting from scratch—well, actually from level -1—Grid is in for a wild ride. He can’t seem to stay out of trouble, even now that his level reset itself during the class change. However, his new class allows him to equip gear and thus face opponents with higher levels, thanks to his high-grade equipment (overgear). Grid might be a small fry in the world of Satisfy, but his new skills are bound to bring him to the top.
Overgeared is a full-colour manhwa that takes the readers into action scenes from the beginning. Satisfy is a virtual reality game where people who log in can decide their class, for example magician, swordsman, etc., and a few lucky players encounter quests, also known as missions, which allow them to change their class to different levels such as unique, epic, or in Grid’s case, legendary. However, Grid’s new class has a caveat—he needs to raise his stats all over again as something happened in the game for the first time—a player’s level went below level 1. It seems pretty unlucky, but the more we read the story, the more it turns out to be an advantage.
Grid’s new class focuses on crafts, especially creating objects. Grid’s first logical step is to learn from blacksmiths. However, the one he finds seems to be having an issue with a merchant group, and Grid ends up getting involved, whether he likes it or not. It doesn’t seem too bad though, as Grid might find a new companion in Euphemina, a foe turned possible ally, and Huroi, who could possibly become a comrade. We also get introduced to Khan, the blacksmith, who introduces Grid to his specific class quest and to Lady Irene, who Grid accidentally sort-of saved, although it wasn’t due to a voluntary contribution to the mission request. Quite a few characters also get briefly introduced, giving the feeling that they will cross Grid’s path in the future. Moreover, Grid’s skills as a craftsman are attracting people’s attention, and it won’t be long before everyone will want what he produces.
The first two volumes are full of back-to-back action scenes, and sometimes the change of scenery and character’s point of view is quite abrupt. This is due to the fact that there are no chapters in a volume. It’s a continuous story, and at times I felt lost while reading it, trying to understand how Grid/Youngwoo passes from one scene to the next. However, there are frequent interruptions in the story that show Grid’s status window and his newly acquired skills, the more he raises his level.
The story takes place mainly in a virtual reality game: the game world is divided into areas (villages, counties, etc) with their buildings resembling medieval Europe. To become a player, people need a capsule that allows them to enter the game, giving the story a sci-fi feel. The players are adventurers trying to clear missions and raise their levels, so they often go on raids. While this is true for most players, Grid is slightly different. His ability to equip gear even if only people at a certain level can use it, gives him an advantage, almost a cheat skill, to fight even stronger opponents and gain more money, of course. Due to his loan, Youngwoo is obsessed with money and when he finds out that the equipment he creates is more likely to have a high grade, he goes crazy for selling it and increasing his earnings. I have the feeling Overgeared’s readers will be in for a lot of hilarious situations caused by the protagonist’s desire to become rich.
Overgeared is written by Saenal, illustrated by Team Argo and adapted by Monohumbug (REDICE STUDIO). It started as a serialised web comic on Tapas, and it was released in print edition by Ize Press. Volume 3 is slated for release in April 2024.
Our review copy from Ize Press was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.
