Chapter 117

Chapter 117

Spendthrift Necromancer (117)

Selection Tournament (2)‘N-No.’Could it be that nightmare again…….

That was when.

As though telling him not to acknowledge their acquaintance, Kim Minwoo quietly brought an index finger to his lips.

Popo hurriedly nodded, then looked over the Awakened and spoke.―Uh…… um…… I shall announce the contents of the first trial! You will now go to identical, yet separate cities of your own.‘Cities?’As the Awakened tilted their heads, Popo continued.―The duration is one week. You're free to do whatever you want there. However, your actions will earn you points. Whoever accumulates the most points wins! Your scores will appear on the board from time to time, so watch them and strive diligently!

Then Popo snapped his fingers.―Then, the trial begins![The first trial begins.][You have entered ‘City - No. 123’!][This is a special stage where experience cannot be gained!][Instead, your actions will now earn you points!][Accumulate the most points over one week.][Something special may happen if you accumulate points beyond a certain threshold.][Rules][* Only the top 50 scorers in the first trial will advance to the second trial.][* Previously possessed items cannot be used for commerce.]

He looked around.

From the architectural style to the people walking around.‘Fantasy setting, for starters.’He had a rough idea what Popo meant by identical but separate cities.City No. 123, apparently.

There were probably similar cities formed all the way up to No. 150, one for each participant.

“Snowy.”―Coo.

“Stay close to Daddy. Got it?”―Cooo.

He walked through the streets with the now-invisible Snowy.

The signs were written in strange, curling characters, but fortunately, he could read them.

Even the merchants shouting as they sold their wares were automatically translated into words he could understand.

“Freshly baked hot bread! Two points!”

“Fresh fruit! Starting from one point!”

It was treated similarly to a Gate.

Inside those, writing and spoken language were all perfectly understandable too.

Judging by how the prices of everyday goods were expressed in the strange form of points, this seemed like a setting where points functioned as money.‘They said my actions would earn points.’There was still a lot he didn't know, such as what counted as an action or what exactly he needed to do to gain points.

He stopped one of the passersby and asked.

“Excuse me. Is there a Mercenary Guild around here?”

“Mercenary Guild? Head that way.”

“Thank you.”

No proper identity.

No money.

At times like this, the golden rule of fantasy was to become a mercenary.

He followed the directions. Before long, a large building came into view.[Mercenary Guild]

Once he entered, he saw rough-looking mercenaries drinking alcohol.

Their gazes began drifting toward him one by one.

“Newbie?”

“Heh, pretty face on that one.”

Then some bald, musclebound mercenary shot to his feet and began closing the distance. The unpleasant smile on his lips was a bonus.

“Hey, pretty boy. Mercenary work ain't easy, you know. So how about…….”

“I'll give you three seconds.”

“Huh?”

“Fuck off.”

“Ha! This big brother here is trying to make it easy for you to earn some poin…….”

Bam!

A scabbard smashed into his face, sending him crashing into the wall.

The mercenaries' expressions stiffened.

“What? Kundel just got taken down?”

“He's a Gold-rank mercenary.”

Minwoo looked around.

The mercenaries met his eyes for a moment, then abruptly looked away.

Apparently the man he'd just dropped had been fairly capable.

He approached the counter.

“Can I become a mercenary?”

“Uh. O-Of course. Do you happen to have identification of any sort?”

“No.”

“I-I see. Then you'll need a temporary mercenary badge. Once you've accumulated enough achievements, you'll receive an official one. Here.”

The clerk handed him a round silver badge.[You have become a ‘Temporary Silver-Badge Mercenary’!][200 points are awarded.][Current Points: 200]

They'd said actions earned points.

Apparently becoming a mercenary counted too.

“Silver badge…….”

“Y-Your achievements are important if you want to raise your rank.”

“How high can I go if I build up enough achievements?”

“Adamantium. You can rise all the way there. Though naturally, you'd need some truly great achievements.”

Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Adamantium.

The Mercenary Guild's badges were divided into five ranks.

“Where do I see the missions?”

“Right here.”

The clerk pointed toward a board.

Mission sheets were posted across it.[Climb a Mountain][Climb the mountain.][Time Limit: 30 minutes][Difficulty: Lowest][Reward: 10 points][Hunt Wild Beasts][A dark mountain. A pack of wild beasts is said to rule it. Hunt the beasts.][Time Limit: 2 hours][Difficulty: Low][Reward: 50 points][Encounter an Assassin Group][You encounter a group of veteran Assassins. Can you survive?][Time Limit: 5 hours][Difficulty: Medium][Reward: 200 points][Investigate the Volcanic Region][A scorching volcanic region. An unknown cry is said to echo from its depths…….][Time Limit: 24 hours][Difficulty: Medium-High][Reward: 1,000 points][Village of the One-Eyed Giants][Exterminate every Cyclops in the village.][Time Limit: 48 hours][Difficulty: High][Reward: 10,000 points][Vampire's Ancient Castle][Exterminate the group of Vampires guarding the ancient castle.][Time Limit: None][Difficulty: Highest][Reward: 500,000 points, ???][Remaining Attempts: 1/1]

“How do I carry out a mission?”

“Rip the paper off the board. You'll be moved to the appropriate location. However…….”

The clerk glanced at him and warned.

“Starting from Medium difficulty, failure means death. So don't jump in carelessly.”

“Understood. By the way, that Highest difficulty mission. There's an attempt limit. Does that apply across every city?”

“Yes. If someone completes that mission in any city, it'll disappear from the list. Though that's never happened before.”

Minwoo nodded.

Climbing mountains or hunting beasts.

With things like that, you could work for a lifetime and still remain near the bottom.

The points were simply too stingy.

What about higher-level missions?

If you were capable of completing it, exterminating the Cyclopes could earn an incredible 10,000 points in two days. The Vampire's Ancient Castle went without saying.500,000 points.

An absurd amount at a glance.

He could make a very rough estimate of the difficulty.

Cyclopes alone were already exceptionally troublesome monsters.

Average Level 600 or above.

Giant-type monsters with strength that couldn't even be compared to Ogres.‘And it says a village, so there'll be a whole swarm of them.’Killing all of those was worth 10,000 points.

But the other mission gave fifty times that amount and something extra on top?‘So the difficulty is probably at least fifty times greater.’If exterminating a group of Vampires was that difficult.‘Are they all Truebloods?’A Vampire's level was determined by the blood composing its body. Vampires with proper, genuine blood.

Those were generally called Truebloods. If that ancient castle was crawling entirely with monsters like that, then 500,000 points wasn't particularly strange.

“I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

Perhaps because Minwoo had dropped a Gold-rank mercenary in one hit, the clerk was exceedingly polite.

“How are Necromancers viewed around here?”

“Well…… not badly?”

“To the point that I can summon undead and walk around without trouble?”

“Yes. As long as you don't harm anyone, there aren't really any restrictions.”

So that was how it worked.

He immediately summoned Cedric and Merhen. A large Skeleton and a woman holding a parasol. Even after seeing the two, the clerk didn't look particularly shocked.

He merely.

“……

Huh. So you really are a Necromancer?”

Asked with mild surprise.

“That's right. Do you also receive points for working here?”

“Yes. Five hundred points a month.”

“Five hundred? Isn't that just climbing the mountain fifty times?”

“True. But you're overlooking one thing. Ordinary people can't do that within thirty minutes. Their bodies simply can't manage it.”

So that was the general scale.

Minwoo nodded and looked at the clerk.

“Is five hundred considered above-average income?”

“Ordinary laborers earn around ten points a day. Compared to them, it isn't bad at all.”

The fact that missions were available.

It was a setting where merely being able to climb a mountain could qualify someone as elite.

A laborer worked all day for ten points, yet climbing a mountain in thirty minutes also gave ten.

Twenty-four hours in a day.

Even if you spent only twelve hours climbing mountains, that was 240 points.

Twenty-four times a laborer's daily wage.

Literal point duplication.

If mountain climbing was that profitable?‘Then I have to test it.’He summoned Hail.

Clatter!

Hail snapped off an energetic salute, and Minwoo pointed at the board.

“Hail. Rip that off and go climb the mountain.”

Clatter!

The Skeleton ran over and tore the paper free.

That was when.[‘Hail's’ location is changing!][He is too far away!][Summoning is canceled!]‘Too bad.’Apparently ripping the paper sent you a very long distance away.

Point Duplication Plan 1 failed.

That was fine.‘I've got more plans.’They'd said he could do whatever he wanted, and that his actions would earn points.

Were missions the only option?

No.

He pulled a decent weapon from his inventory and looked at the clerk.

“How many points do you think this sword is worth?”

“Hmm. May I examine it for a moment?”

The clerk inspected the sword after Minwoo handed it over.

It was one of the Normal-grade Level-100-range items his Skeletons could craft. After a moment, the man nodded.

“It's a good sword. Copper-rank mercenaries would definitely use it, and perhaps even Silver-ranks. I'm not an expert on market prices…… but I think you could get around four hundred points for it.”Four hundred points was the equivalent of completing eight Low-difficulty missions.‘Even a Normal-grade item is worth this much.’Out of every ten things the Skeletons crafted, around three came out Magic-grade.

Magic-grade items would probably sell for far more.

He looked at the clerk.

“Anything else you're curious about?”

“The 150 cities. Are they far from one another?”

“By carriage, the closest ones are about a day away.”

After speaking, Malcolm took out a piece of paper and began drawing.

One small circle.

Then a slightly larger circle around it.

He continued drawing circles like that and spoke.

“Our City No. 123 is located here.”

Malcolm pointed toward one edge of the largest circle.

Not terribly far away.‘Nice.’Cities No. 1 through 150.

Minwoo had wondered whether they were completely isolated, but apparently not. There was simply some distance between each one.

If that was the case…….

“There must be merchant companies too?”

“Of course?”

Point Duplication Plan.

He might have found it.

Previously possessed items couldn't be used for commerce.

There was no point crafting things from materials he already carried.

He couldn't sell them.

But what if he made items using materials obtained here?

Would those also be prohibited from commerce?‘Probably not.’Those weren't previously possessed items.

And a merchant company would naturally have huge stockpiles of materials.

There couldn't be a better source.

“What's the largest merchant company here?”

“The Malay Merchant Company is the most famous. They trade with thirty nearby cities.”

Minwoo nodded in satisfaction.

How to duplicate points through crafting.

Materials had to be easy to obtain.

And it was even better if there were endless consumers.‘Thirty cities…….’There would be plenty of Silver- and Gold-rank mercenaries. And demand wouldn't stop there.

There would be a lord governing each city, guards, knight orders, and so on.

Everyone would covet good weapons and armor.‘Very nice.’He asked a few more questions. Once he had all the information he needed…….

“How do I transfer points to someone?”

“Just think about it.”

He tried doing as the clerk said.

That was when.[Would you like to give 50 points to ‘Clerk’ Malcolm?]

Oh, it really worked.

He nodded.[Points are transferred to Malcolm!]

Malcolm's eyes widened when fifty points suddenly came his way.

“Huh? Why are you giving me this……?”

“Information fee.”

“Th-Thank you.”

Malcolm thanked him with a bewildered expression. It was a reward for answering so diligently despite all the bothersome questions.

“If there's anything else you'd like to know, feel free…….”

“No, that's enough. I'll be going.”

He left the Mercenary Guild.

Merhen looked human, so she was one thing.

But even while walking beside Cedric, who looked completely like a Skeleton, the citizens showed little interest.

Just as Malcolm had said, this really did seem like a city where Necromancers could live comfortably. After walking for about 20 minutes, his destination came into view.〈Malay Merchant Company Branch〉Merchant Company.[Accumulate the most points over one week.][Something special may happen if you accumulate points beyond a certain threshold.]

They'd said something special would happen if he gathered enough points.

What exactly was it?

He'd find out while duplicating a few points here.