Chapter 115

Chapter 115

Spendthrift Necromancer (115)

Is the Boom Coming?

The appearance of SS-rank Achievements.

The world erupted into chaos.

Like water spilling over a filled dam, SS-rank Achievement Awakened began appearing one by one among the world's Awakened powers.[America produces an SS-rank Achievement!][Germany and France follow suit!][Japanese government makes official announcement!]

Their numbers weren't large, but the fact that they were steadily increasing was highly encouraging.[World Awakened Association agrees to reserve the title ‘Super Rookie’ for SS-rank Achievement holders…….][New standard after 50 years? Possibility of creating an ‘SS-rank’ classification system extremely high.][Current leading proposal would classify Awakened above Level 1,000 as SS-rank…….]

Until now, every Awakened above Level 500 had simply been lumped together as S-rank. But now that Achievement ranks had risen to SS, there was growing need to raise the Level classification standard by another tier too.Level 1,000.

A realm reached by only a tiny handful of Awakened.

At that point, it didn't matter if their Achievement rank wasn't SS.

The Levels they'd accumulated were enough to command respect on their own.

After all, reaching such a Level naturally implied tremendous potential and countless other factors.

Also.

Serious debate about the potential of Necromancers was spreading throughout the world.

Kkamuk, who had gone from six million to seven million NewTube subscribers in Korea, rode the wave and began a livestream.[Kkamuk Live] ―Is the Age of Necromancers Really Coming?

“Hello, viewers. I'm Kkamuk, your host for Today's Awakened. We have a truly, truly special guest today. If you don't know this man in Korea by now, you're basically a spy, right? The man with one hundred million NewTube subscribers! The one called the world's greatest Super Rookie! Please welcome Mr. Kim Minwoo!”

“Hello. I'm Kim Minwoo.”

At that moment.

Live viewers began pouring in like mad.1 million.2 million.

The audience count reached five million in an instant.―Holy shit.―He appears. Damn.―Whoa, this channel seriously grew big lol They even managed to book Kim Minwoo lol“We did send you a love call, but I honestly never imagined you'd really appear. Especially since your tournament schedule is coming up soon…….”

“Well, I'm preparing properly for that on my own. And I've always enjoyed your broadcasts, Mr. Kkamuk.”

“Haha, what an honor! Thank you very much for making time despite how busy you are. Then shall we get to the main topic?”

Kkamuk looked at Kim Minwoo and spoke.

“The world has been extremely noisy lately. People are saying the age of SS-rank has arrived. And you happen to be SS-rank too, don't you?”

“That's right.”

“As an Awakened, what do you think about this trend?”

“There's no such thing as a free lunch. You've heard that phrase.”

“You mean the emergence of stronger Awakened may also signal greater dangers in the future?”

“If Awakened can reach SS-rank, there's no law saying Gates can't do the same.”

“That certainly makes sense. The world is already debating that subject. And because of it, Necromancers are being discussed more passionately than ever too.”

Kim Minwoo nodded.

Higher-rank Awakened had appeared.

There was no reason stronger Gates couldn't appear too. Naturally, what Classes SS-rank Achievement holders chose had also become a major topic.

Depending on what they chose, the future itself might change. Kkamuk glanced at Kim Minwoo and introduced the subject.

“Necromancer. Only about four months ago, if a total newbie asked whether they should choose this Class, the first thing people did was ask whether their parents were doing well. That's how infamous the Class was for costing ridiculous amounts of money.”

“That's right.”

“It was basically the niche Class among niche Classes, yet lately Necromancer has been receiving huge attention. You're obvious enough, Mr. Kim Minwoo, but that Mr. Liang next door also brought back a better report card than people expected. Fake Minwoo or not, a 47-hour clear is definitely…….”

“A respectable time.”―For real lol―Fake Minwoo's aftershock was kinda huge lol―Even a knockoff still cuts the baguette martial artist lololol“There's been a huge debate about this. Was it possible because he had an SS-rank Achievement, or because he was a Necromancer? As the number-one Necromancer instructor, Mr. Kim Minwoo, what do you think?”

“That Liang Xiaojun guy probably isn't very good with a sword.”

“Because if he were good, they'd have made him a Swordsman?”

“That too. And when someone's mediocre, you can tell just by watching them walk.”

“Ah, like how even watching an ugly bastard walk is entertaining. Something like that?”

“That's an amazingly appropriate example. But Mr. Kkamuk, are you going to be okay? Gaining Chinese viewers might become difficult after this.”

“Haha, I'm already busy loving all the viewers I have here. Besides, I like kimchi.”

Kkamuk cheerfully fired back and looked at Kim Minwoo.

“So in your opinion, Fake Minwoo is mediocre with a sword. That's the gist?”

“Pretty much.”

“Ah, then I have to ask this. How would you compare him to Ms. Seo Yerim?”

“Don't disrespect the Divine Archer. I downplayed her a little back then, but at Ms. Yerim's level of swordsmanship, Fake Minwoo gets cut within seventy exchanges.”

“Assuming identical physical ability?”

“Of course.”―Still, lasting seventy exchanges against Divine Archer noona means he's decent with a sword, doesn't it?―Probably? Back when she was Sword Phoenix, there were barely any people in Korea who could last fifty exchanges, much less seventy lololol―She didn't get the Sword Phoenix nickname for nothing lol“With that level of swordsmanship and a 47-hour clear? Hmm…… if he'd chosen Swordsman, it probably would've taken longer.”

“So you're saying he cleared that quickly because he was a Necromancer?”

“Exactly.”

Of course, there was a condition attached.

Mr. Liang had probably invested quite a bit of money at Level 1 too.

If he'd been a Swordsman, the investment would've dropped to an eighth or so.47 hours was a record achieved through Necromancer + reckless spending.

But there was no reason to emphasize that here.‘The countries only care about clear time anyway.’Money?Before Level 100, the investment was at most around the trillion-won range.

There wasn't a single major Awakened power incapable of handling that.Once he passed Level 200 and the investment genuinely reached tens of trillions, they'd start sweating a little.

But whether Level 100 or Level 200.‘It'll take several months to get there anyway.’That was still a fairly distant future.

Meanwhile, challenges for new records and outstanding performances could happen right now.

From the perspective of politicians who needed accomplishments immediately, why choose some safe SS-rank Swordsman or Mage and produce an ambiguous result when they could simply make someone a Necro, dump three hundred billion into them…….‘Beat Isabella and cash in on national pride?’China had conveniently arrived with an actual result.

Huh?

They didn't beat Kim Minwoo, but the reaction was…….

Not bad?

China was practically firing celebratory cannons and saying this was only the beginning.

And no wonder.

They had beaten France's Isabella.

And the gap from the leader was less than eight hours.

Of course that was still a large difference, but it wasn't some four-dimensional wall that could never be crossed.

The higher an Awakened's Level rose, the more variables naturally appeared.

Other countries had already seen China's example. They'd confirmed that simply targeting Isabella was enough.

Minwoo only needed to fan that desire a little.

“What do you think is the greatest advantage of Necromancer?”

“It has the highest potential.”

“Highest potential.”

“At the same Level and with similar talent, I doubt any Class can beat a well-funded Necro.”

“True. But conversely, if you don't have money…….”

“Then obviously you should pick something else.”

“Is there some kind of minimum? Like a rough net worth someone should have before attempting it?”

“You'll be more comfortable if you've got at least trillions available. For example, making a D-rank Skill Book +9 cost me one trillion won.”

“J-Just to make one curse?”

“It blew up at +8.”―Fuck lol D-rank means Level 101 and he's investing trillions?―(Info) Kim Minwoo has a history of dumping 300 billion won at Level 1.―Whoa…… Didn't Isabella's elixirs cost around a trillion?―Everything through High-Grade probably came to just under one trillion. Nobody knows how much Highest-Grade cost because she got them through a secret deal lol―Kim Minwoo probably ate through High-Grade too, so around the same amount.―How much has this guy spent so far?―Usually the spending triples each tier.―F-rank 300 billion. E-rank under 1 trillion. D-rank under 3 trillion. C-rank 8~9 trillion?―Yeah. Assuming Skill Books didn't explode like crazy, around that. B-rank…… Summon Dullahan books alone probably cost about 10 trillion lololol―Yeah lol You're still forgetting bone costs lol Ilseong is constantly buying bones lololol―Now I get why he keeps taking investment money from the Chairman lol He can't keep up with his own spending lololol―(Bizarre) He's spent nearly 20 trillion already?―(Horror) He still hasn't bought Highest-Grade Elixirs. Damn.―(Nightmare) But even after all that spending, he still has 45 trillion left…….―Oh right, he received 65 trillion in investment? Fuck lol―Still fine because one good Gate can recover everything, right? lolKkamuk blinked at the chat and stared at Kim Minwoo.‘……45 trillion?’It hit him all over again just how wealthy this man really was.

Meanwhile, Kim Minwoo continued speaking.

“Then I have to outfit the Skeletons, buy elixirs, and if I get a Bound Skill like mine, buy bones, and so on. There are a lot of places to spend money.”

“Is there anywhere you can compromise?”

“If you're going to compromise at low Levels, don't bother trying in the first place. If I had to choose, you could loosen up starting around B-rank.”

“Ah, because of Summon Dullahan?”

“Yes. From there onward, even without spending huge amounts, you can pull your own weight.”

Put differently.

If things looked hopeless, you could abandon the heavy investment once they reached Level 251.

From there, after learning Dullahan, they would at least reach the point of always pulling their own weight. And if they also had an SS-rank Skill?

At minimum, they wouldn't end up thinking, I picked Necro and now I'm fucked!

He had effectively handed the countries a sweet option.

Just give it a taste.

Even if you don't like it, there's still a way out.

That was roughly the message.

Then.

Breaking news appeared.[America draws the blade first!][American SS-rank Achievement Awakened John Harrison changes Class to Swordsman!][Will challenge a Gate record just like Liang Xiaojun…….]

“Wow. While we've been talking, the second Awakened after Liang Xiaojun has changed Class! Swordsman. The safest choice possible.”

Most of the SS-rank Achievement Awakened who'd appeared in various countries still hadn't selected their Classes.

“It seems everyone was watching everyone else until now, doesn't it?”

“Probably. They couldn't be sure whether Necro was actually good.”

“Literally, America drew the blade first. Judging by the decision to challenge as a Swordsman, it looks like they want to compare clear times.”

Kim Minwoo nodded.

Someone had to try it sooner or later.

They needed another sample to determine whether Necromancer was truly good or whether Liang had simply been strong because he was SS-rank.

America played the role of eldest brother among Awakened nations, and they'd already produced two SS-rank Awakened, so apparently they'd decided to set an example.

Kkamuk played a video on the TV. John Harrison could be seen answering questions while surrounded by reporters.

“John Harrison also seems to be challenging a Gate with a difficulty score in the nineties. What do you think, Mr. Kim Minwoo?”

“In my opinion…….”* * *[(Breaking News) Kim Minwoo says Harrison is hopeless from the way he walks? Predicts U.S. Gate clear will take over 60 hours…….][John Harrison sharply rebuts prediction before entering Gate…….][60 hours, 2 minutes, 3 seconds! Harrison emerges from Gate in tatters!][France preserves its last shred of pride!]

As expected.

Kim Minwoo snorted when he saw the article.

John Harrison.

An Awakened who was slightly better with a sword than Liang Xiaojun.‘But it's still the same mediocre crap.’He thought he could set a record with only that much skill?

Against a Necromancer who had money dumped into them from the beginning?

“Yep. Cut at baguette tier.”

Forget losing to the Chinese Necro.

He received a clean lesson at the baguette martial artist line and brought the story to a heartwarming conclusion.

Even compared to Isabella, there was a twelve-hour difference.

America, once called the strongest Awakened nation, had its pride crushed flat.

And the consequences didn't end there.

Those precious SS-rank Awakened.

The countries that hadn't yet chosen their Classes began moving one after another.[(Breaking News) Is a ‘Necro Boom’ coming? Majority of SS-rank Awakened choose Necromancer!][Necromancers pour out from Japan, India, Russia, Canada, and more!]

And as a bonus, his Achievement Points began duplicating.