Chapter 112

Chapter 112

Spendthrift Necromancer (112)

Undead CocktailUndead Cocktail.

One of the products he'd been interested in for a long time.‘And the timing is perfect.’The Legion Commanders' seals had been released, causing their stats to skyrocket. The Undead Cocktail's stat increase would now apply to much larger numbers as well.

And it reactivated their senses.‘That's a big advantage.’Kim Minwoo had experienced it himself.

In the game, sensory synchronization had been 50%.

But now it was 100%, no different from reality.

The difference in performance that created was considerable.

Merhen and Cedric would definitely benefit too.‘As for the Skill…….’It said the chance was low, so he wasn't expecting much.

If they got one, great. If not, whatever.

The stat increase and sensory reactivation alone were already enough to justify the price.‘If it guaranteed a Skill…….’There was no way they'd sell it for only 100 Achievement Points.

It would've cost at least 300.

He summoned Merhen and Cedric.

“You two want something good to eat?”―……

What's something good?―I do.

Cedric immediately questioned him while Merhen nodded without hesitation.

“Cedric. Looking at Merhen, don't you feel anything?”―She doesn't think at all. Who knows what Master's planning to feed us?―Idiot. He said it's something good.―……

Every time I look at you, I find myself amazed all over again. It's like you live in a flower garden. Were you always this kind of person?―Cedric, don't you trust Minwoo?

Merhen blinked as she asked, and Cedric was left speechless. Humans and animals simply couldn't communicate.

That was roughly how it felt.

Kim Minwoo lamented.

“Sorry, Cedric.”―……

For what?

“I just realized it again. Your attitude adjustment still has a long way to go.”―Wait…….

Whack!

His resistance lasted only a moment.

Cedric was unsummoned in an instant, then dragged right back out.

“You two want something good to eat?”―I do.―……

I would like to eat it.[Purchasing 2 Undead Cocktails!]

He pulled the cocktails from his inventory.

Pitch-black liquid inside glass cups.

Bubbles popped atop the boiling black liquid.

The bubbles looked like human faces. Almost like Munch's The Scream.‘Well, I'm not the one drinking it.’Maybe it tasted like honey to undead.

Still, this thing.

Merhen looked human enough that drinking it seemed possible.‘But can Cedric even drink?’His whole body was bone.

No muscles or flesh.

It felt like anything he drank would simply spill onto the floor.‘……

Surely not?’It was an Achievement Point item. It had to possess some remarkable effect.

Maybe the liquid would cling to his bones and get absorbed.

He handed each of them one Undead Cocktail.

“Try it.”―……

Gross.―Hmm…….

Even sweet-natured Merhen looked repulsed this time.

Cedric folding his arms and humming skeptically was a bonus.

Honestly, it was a pretty disgusting liquid.

But what could he do?

They needed to drink it.

“Tsk. It's good for you. Just down it. Maybe it'll taste good.”

Merhen frowned slightly, took the glass, and drank first.

Gulp.[Merhen consumes an Undead Cocktail!][Her senses are amplified!][All stats increase by 10%!]

Merhen's eyes widened.―Oh? The taste feels much clearer!

“Is it good?”―No. I think it tastes bad.

“……

Really?”―Yeah. But all five of my senses suddenly feel much clearer. It's really strange.

Merhen stared at the empty cocktail glass with wide eyes.―Minwoo. Do you have anything to eat?

“One second.”

He pulled an energy bar from his inventory. Keeping food inside was basic preparedness for an Awakened.

Merhen took the energy bar and crunched into it.

Then.―……

I can taste it.

“How is it?”―Nutty and sweet. It's faint, but…….

Then she looked at Cedric and spoke.―Cedric, try yours too. Hurry.

Cedric stared at the cocktail, then poured the contents into his mouth.

Normally it should've spilled straight onto the floor, but the Undead Cocktail was different.

The liquid flowed naturally downward past the bones of his neck.‘What?’It looked almost as though Cedric possessed invisible internal organs.

Then the liquid gathered around his abdomen and began evaporating.[Cedric consumes an Undead Cocktail!][His senses are amplified!][All stats increase by 10%!]―……

So this is what it feels like. Master, could you give me something to eat?

“Here.”

Cedric took the energy bar and chewed it between his teeth.

Then the light in his eyes flared brightly.―……

Fascinating.

“You can taste it?”―……

Yes. It has been…… a very long time.

Cedric stared at the half-eaten energy bar as though the sensation were unfamiliar.

Strangely, the moment he swallowed the energy bar past his neck, it vanished as though evaporating.―Extremely…… peculiar. Before, whenever I put food in my mouth, it all fell onto the ground.

“You tried eating before?”―……

A few times? The act of eating remained as a fairly pleasant memory. Though every attempt failed…….

“Fair. You're nothing but bones.”

Merhen looked human, so it made sense that eating might be physically possible for her.

Cedric was completely different.

His body consisted solely of bones.

He had teeth, so he could chew.

But without a tongue, naturally he couldn't taste anything, and swallowing food down his throat was physically impossible in the first place.

Cedric nodded.―Indeed. In any case…… thank you, Master. Thanks to you, it feels as though I've recalled a long-lost sensation after an extremely long time.

Cedric finished the entire energy bar.

Ever since drinking the cocktail, food vanished softly whenever he swallowed it past his neck.

“Do you feel full or anything?”―No. That sensation doesn't exist at all. It merely feels as though a little of my sense of taste has returned.

“That's fucking sweet.”―What is?

“You can taste food without getting full.”―Correct.

“And if the food evaporates halfway through, you probably don't even need to shit.”―……

Is that really enough to call fucking sweet?

“Of course it is. Merhen, you don't feel full either?”―I think I'm probably the same as Cedric.

“The food vanishes halfway through?”―Yeah. I don't feel like my stomach is filling or anything.

“How much can you taste?”―Hmm…….

Merhen furrowed her brow as though reaching for a memory from long ago.―Maybe ten percent?Ten percent sounded like a level where the only real achievement was being able to taste anything at all.‘Still, that might be huge for them.’They'd probably spent countless years unable to taste.

And it wasn't only taste. Their other senses had likely recovered too, so their combat ability should have improved noticeably.The item was easily worth its 100 points.

Then.

Knock knock.

Someone knocked at the door.

A moment later.

“Oppa. Can Naye come in?”

A familiar voice came from outside.

When he opened the door, Naye slipped inside.

“You even knock now? Our Naye's all grown up.”

“Hehe. They taught me everything at kindergarten yesterday.”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

Originally, Hyungseok, Naye, and Mrs. Choi had lived in America.

But things were different now.

Hyungseok, a college student, had returned, but Naye and Mrs. Choi stayed in Korea.‘Probably because of what I said before.’After Minwoo told Chairman Kim about Shadow. Hyungseok was old enough and had Awakened, so he returned to America, but Mrs. Choi and Naye decided to remain in Korea.

Kim Minwoo thought it was the correct decision too. This way, the bodyguards stationed in America could focus entirely on protecting a single person.

No matter how global Shadow had become, reaching into Korea would be difficult.

This was Ilseong's home turf itself. And every bastard from Shadow's Korean branch had already been wiped out.

Either way.

That was why Naye was staying at the family estate instead of returning to America. Naturally, they'd sent her to what was considered the best kindergarten in Korea.

Naye looked around and spoke.

“Snowy!”―Coo.

Snowy revealed itself and perched on Naye's shoulder.

“Hehe. Snowy's cute.”―Coo.

“Oppa. Can I play with Snowy?”

“Of course.”

Naye's face lit up as she hugged Snowy.

“Oh, right. Dad said to bring Oppa.”

“Father did?”

“Yeah. He says he has something to tell you.”

Kim Minwoo nodded and left the room.

“You're here.”

“Is something wrong?”

“There is.”

Chairman Kim rubbed his forehead as though he had a headache and stared at Minwoo.

“Minwoo.”

“Yes.”

“……

About Ilseong Guild. Do you intend to keep using them?”

“Did something come up?”

“Guild Master Nam said he'd like to meet you.”

“I'll meet him.”

Chairman Kim nodded. Before long, Minwoo met Guild Master Nam Cheolmin.

“Good to meet you. I heard from the Chairman.”

“Yes. After the Guild Battle, many of our guild members have been shaken. I came as their representative to ask you something.”

Minwoo nodded.

Their anxiety was understandable.

Spendthrift Guild looked unmistakably like it was surging past them.

“……

Will Ilseong Guild continue to exist?”

“Of course. Guild Master Nam, you should know better than anyone that the guild still has uses.”

A small elite guild and a large guild naturally served different purposes.

Small elite groups focused on clearing high-rank Gates.

Meanwhile, guilds with many members divided into first, second, and third teams were.‘For farming.’They roamed Gates and gathered materials, mana stones, and various other items.

For a corporation, that was indispensable.

If Spendthrift Guild kept growing stronger, would it really go farm low-rank Gates for materials?

They'd rather run one more high-rank Gate instead.

“……

Hoo. That's exactly why.”

“What do you mean?”

“To be frank, yes. There will be a use for us as farmers. But who would be satisfied with that?”

“Ah, you don't want to be pushed from the lead role into a supporting one? Something like that?”

“……

To be honest, yes.”

“Then you should've done better.”

“……

Yes. That's true too. Which is why I came to ask a favor.”

“What is it?”

“Could you…… train us?”

“……

Train you?”

“Both I and the Vice Guild Master were shocked by the result. We realized how far behind we are. I suppose we've grown complacent all this time.”

Nam Cheolmin stared at the floor, then bowed deeply.

“Guild Master Kim Minwoo. Please help us. We'd like Spendthrift Guild to train us.”

“Did the other guild members agree?”

“……

Yes. There are still some who haven't come to their senses, but that doesn't matter. I'll remove those people myself.”

Nam Cheolmin raised his head, determination filling his eyes.

“If you help us, we will never forget the favor.”

Kim Minwoo nodded.

Guild Master Nam was forty.

The rest of the guild members weren't exactly young either. In that situation, no matter how successful another guild had become, bowing their heads and asking to be taught wasn't easy.

Especially when the guild in question was Spendthrift Guild. Two of its three members were newly Awakened rookies.

And yet he'd done it.

That showed just how shocking their defeat in the Guild Battle had been.

Maybe this moment would become the turning point where Ilseong Guild began to rise again.

If Ilseong Guild grew stronger.‘Nothing bad about that.’Ultimately, it benefited Ilseong. And those benefits would reach Spendthrift Guild indirectly as well.

“Fine.”

“Truly?”

“Yes. I'll ask the guild members too.”

“……

Thank you.”

Nam Cheolmin bowed deeply.

He already acknowledged all three of their abilities.

And as Korea's best Archer, there weren't many people capable of teaching him. At most, there were the very best rankers overseas.

In reality, receiving instruction from people of that caliber wasn't easy.

Who would casually reveal their hard-earned know-how?

Seo Yerim was different.

Her archery was overwhelming.

If he clung to her desperately and learned, he would surely gain something.

And that would become nourishment for his growth.

“I'll ask them now.”

Kim Minwoo opened his smartphone and entered the group chat. Just as he began typing.[Park Siwoo]―Did everyone see this? China got an SS-rank, apparently.(Link attached)

Kim Minwoo tilted his head and opened the link.[(Breaking News) Chinese government officially announces world's first SS-rank Achievement Awakened! Class believed to be Necromancer!]

“Huh?”The appearance of an SS-rank wasn't particularly strange.

He'd already seen the message saying humanity's potential had risen.

What actually surprised him was.‘Necromancer?’The fact that they were trying to choose such a bizarre Class instead of something safe and mainstream.

Had these guys decided to become shit connoisseurs too?