Chapter 107

Chapter 107

Spendthrift Necromancer (107)

Saudi (1)

Gate Hunter was difficult.

Even after reaching the later parts of a character's story, a single mistake could send you straight into a new playthrough.

And as a final knife twist, reality and game time ran at the horrifying ratio of 1:1.

Made one mistake and died?

Then you had to raise that character all over again.

For at least another year or two.‘A nightmare.’But what could you do?

The game company had designed it that way.

People said if you didn't like a temple, the monk could simply leave, but unfortunately, when Gate Hunter first released, even players who wanted to leave had nowhere to go.

Graphics that looked a full decade ahead of every competitor and a massive open world.

Even NPCs who reacted like real people.

You needed a replacement game before you could go play something else.

There wasn't one.

Nothing like this.

You wanted to keep playing, but restarting in your underwear every time you died was miserable.

Wasn't there some kind of shortest-clear route?

It wasn't strange for players' thoughts to flow in that direction.

Where there was demand, guides followed.

Countless users began searching for the fastest route through the game.

How do we clear quickly?

Get strong quickly, right?

Then we'll need to enhance Skill Books, buy equipment, consume elixirs…….

So it all comes down to money?

But Park Siwoo, the first main character, is an orphan raising his little sister.

He comes out with a small resettlement allowance, so how do we make money quickly with that?

Countless methods emerged, but none completely solved the desperate players' problem.‘Then we found it.’While countless players pooled their collective intelligence and argued, someone came up with an ingenious solution.―If you don't have money, can't you just get it from someone rich?

Conveniently, there was a perfect target.

The King of Saudi Arabia.

A figure who always ranked first or near first among the world's richest people in this setting.

And yet he'd failed to Awaken all the way into his mid-forties.

If they could only discover the King's Awakening condition…….

Countless Park Siwoos volunteered to become the Saudi King's guards, and eventually they extracted his Awakening condition.

After that, a standard route was born.

Start the game and Awaken.

The Achievement rank varied depending on the player's skill, but that didn't matter.

Once you became an Awakened, banks were happy to lend you money.

Even an orphaned, low-rank Park Siwoo could borrow forty or fifty million won from a first-tier bank by default.

Borrow everything possible, then head straight to Saudi Arabia.

Dress reasonably like a functioning human being and camp near the royal palace until the Saudi King went somewhere to give a speech.

If you managed to catch even a distant glimpse of him?

Players shouted the Arabic line they'd memorized word for word.―Oh, great Majesty! I believe the day Allah's blessing descends upon you is near!

In Saudi Arabia, an Awakened was a warrior who wielded ‘Mana,’ an energy governed by Allah.

Put differently, a warrior blessed by Allah.

So what the players were really saying was.

Looks like you're going to Awaken soon?

Roughly that.

Saudi Arabia was a monarchy.

Countries like this normally feared variables like Awakened, but they couldn't simply kill everyone either.

That would be completely moving against the times.

If they started suppressing Awakened like that, becoming another North Korea would happen in no time.

And even royals frequently Awakened out of nowhere overnight.

Eventually, Saudi society reached its own agreement.

Royal or commoner, if someone Awakened, it was simply something to welcome and celebrate as a blessing.

The strength of that blessing—their Achievement rank—wasn't important at all.

A high rank didn't mean Allah had blessed someone more, nor did a low rank mean they'd been blessed less.

What mattered was how they devoted themselves to society and what role they performed.

That was roughly the doctrine.

Meaning the players' words were still a kind of blessing toward the King.

However, normally nobody stated something like that so directly.A setting where failing to Awaken by your twenties meant your chance of ever Awakening was considered effectively nonexistent.

And you were going to tell a King in his forties that he looked like he was about to Awaken?

That was practically mockery.

Enough that nobody could complain if the enraged King had you quietly disposed of.

Saudi citizens knew that too, which was why they never carelessly said such things.

So why did the players?

‘Because we needed his attention.’Say something ordinary and there was no reason the King would care.

You had to stab straight into whatever he thirsted for most if you wanted even a drop of attention.

No matter how much money you possessed, everyone wanted to live a long and healthy life.

And Awakening didn't merely make someone healthy.

It turned a human into a superhuman.

Once you Awakened, swallowing elixirs and getting power-leveled to raise your Level and stats could happen in no time.

Of course, the result was a hollow Awakened.

But it wasn't as though the King of a country was planning to personally go around smashing Gates.

Becoming a reasonable superhuman was enough.

The Saudi King had failed to Awaken even into his mid-forties.

He could never ignore those words.

Not long afterward came a discreet summons, and the users told him the condition.

The Saudi King, having finally accomplished his lifelong wish of Awakening, treated the player like a hero and handed over a generous reward.

Usually several hundred billion won.‘You can't earn that kind of money early on.’Minwoo had started as Ilseong Group's eldest son, so he could pull in money freely.

The many Park Siwoo players, who lacked social standing and resources, normally couldn't make that amount.

That remained true even if they achieved an A- to S-rank Achievement.

Guilds and governments didn't throw around that much cash for beginners.

From the King's perspective, he was tossing out an amount that barely burdened him, but players still lost their minds over it.

Several hundred billion won?

Wasn't that enough to spend lavishly until at least the midgame?‘And things went smoothly until the midgame.’Of course, once the later stages demanded genuine skill, they all started dropping dead anyway…….

Whatever happened later, even Kim Minwoo acknowledged that this route was highly useful.‘That was also when the Middle Eastern billionaire boom started.’Not only the Saudi King.

Players began discovering the Awakening conditions of wealthy people throughout the Middle East and milking them for everything they could.

Kim Minwoo had also made excellent use of that method.‘The players only received a few hundred billion, though.’He was different.

To put it frankly, those players had no foundation, no talent, no ability, so they simply accepted whatever the King offered.

The value of a product varied enormously depending on circumstances and timing.

The King wasn't the one setting the price.‘I am.’Minwoo had no intention of selling the method to Awaken for pocket change.

There were rich people willing to pour out their entire fortune just to become young again.

And this made you a superhuman, yet they wanted to toss him coins?

Boring.

Inside Ilseong's comfortable private jet, he entered Saudi airspace.

Fighter jets appeared in the distance to escort him.‘Well, the treatment isn't bad.’Using Chairman Kim's connections, he'd spoken to the King before coming.

The main subject had been simple.

Would you like to Awaken?

I can help you.

And perhaps we could discuss some business while we're at it.

That was roughly the conversation.

The King had sounded doubtful, but either way, Minwoo's reception was almost on the level of a state guest.‘He must be desperate.’And while the King's status was high, Minwoo's wasn't exactly trivial either.

Never mind being a direct heir of Ilseong, this was a world where successful Awakened received enormous respect.

After the Guild Battle, his market value had risen dramatically.

Showing combat power like this only three months after Awakening?

Not treating him with respect would have been stranger.

The plane landed smoothly.

Kim Minwoo slowly descended the stairs.

In the distance, Saudi fighter jets released red, blue, and white smoke symbolizing the Korean flag in welcome.

As if that weren't enough, important members of the Saudi royal family had come directly to the airport to greet him.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke fluent English.

“Welcome. Mr. Kim Minwoo's reputation has reached even us.”

“Thank you for the extraordinary hospitality.”

“Not at all. His Majesty emphasized it repeatedly. He told us to show you every courtesy. Let's go. His Majesty is waiting.”

This much respect.

It could also be interpreted as a warning that things would not be pleasant if Minwoo was lying.

That didn't matter.

He had brought the genuine article as a gift.

“Those reporters over there look Korean. Am I right?”

“Yes. They said they were here to film Mr. Kim Minwoo, so for now we've allowed them to remain…….”

Minwoo quietly nodded, then spoke to the Foreign Minister.

“Could they accompany us to the palace? Just let them come inside the grounds and film.”

“Hmm…… normally that would be somewhat difficult…….”

“I'm asking as a favor.”

“……

Very well. They may accompany us from a distance. However, allowing them inside the palace itself would be difficult.”

“Of course.”* * *Saudi Arabia.

There were Korean reporters here as well.

At the moment, they couldn't tell whether what they were witnessing was a dream or reality.

They had heard the news that Kim Minwoo was departing for Saudi Arabia.

They'd even managed to contact Ilseong and hear a little more.

Apparently the purpose was to meet the King?

The Saudi King possessed wealth so immense that even Korean chaebol families acted carefully around him.

There was even a story that during a past visit to Korea, he'd summoned the heads of every chaebol and discussed business with them one by one.

He was an enormous figure whom even Chairman Kim of Ilseong couldn't easily secure an appointment with.

That was the Saudi King.

Naturally, they were confused.

Kim Minwoo was meeting the King?

Why?

And on top of that…….‘What the hell?’‘What are they discussing for the protocol to be this extravagant?’‘Isn't this a level of reception even the Korean President wouldn't receive?’No matter how successful Kim Minwoo had become as an Awakened, this treatment was far beyond excessive.

Yet Saudi Arabia was doing it.

Meaning there had to be a reason.

The reporters were dying to know what that reason was.

Then someone from the Saudi delegation approached and whispered something.

The reporters' faces lit up.

“R-Really? You're saying we can film all the way to the palace?”

They'd barely managed to get permission to film from far away at the airport.

What kind of windfall was this?

“Yes. Mr. Kim Minwoo specifically requested it. However, only the exterior.”

“O-Of course! Everyone, grab your equipment!”

The broadcasting crews, who had been filming with their mouths hanging open, began following Kim Minwoo's vehicle from a distance.* * *A dazzling cityscape stretched around them.

Saudi Arabia.

A famous oil-producing nation.

Both in the reality before Gate Hunter and here.‘They have money.’In a world where mana stones had become a new energy resource.

Demand for petroleum had decreased compared to the past.

But not dramatically.

There were many reasons.‘Because petroleum is used to commercialize mana stones.’Using petroleum during processing made the process somewhat more efficient.

And while mana-stone vehicles had begun replacing combustion-engine cars, the transition was nowhere near 100%.

That was also why the mana-stone battery industry was still considered a future growth sector—it had enormous room left to expand.‘And there are plenty of other uses.’Petroleum was used in far more fields than people realized.

It was difficult to find an everyday product whose production didn't involve petroleum in some way.

Conclusion.

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia remained wealthy. And this place had one incredibly promising sponsor.‘King Abdullah.’It was time to meet him.

The moment they entered the palace grounds, Saudi royal cavalry surrounded the vehicle and began escorting it.

Before long, the car stopped.

The King himself had come out to greet him.

“Welcome, Mr. Kim Minwoo.”

“It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”

“I was so excited that I slept poorly last night.”

The King spoke fluent English.

Minwoo answered him in English.

“You may look forward to it.”

“Let us go inside.”

After receiving a ceremonial guard's salute, he entered the palace beside the King.

It was time to extract money from his sponsor.