Chapter 123

Chapter 123

Spendthrift Necromancer (123)

Cursed Land (2)

The three dots displayed above drew closer and closer. His guild members seemed to be adjusting their direction accordingly.

While advancing across the pitch-black earth.‘Hm?’He encountered a group of Awakened.

Judging by their appearances, they seemed to be American.

“Hello.”

He greeted them.

“Kim Minwoo?!”

All three Awakened turned toward him.

His outrageous exploits had become well-known overseas too. His records alone were enough.He'd set a world record starting from Level 1.

When he was known as E-rank, he'd cleared an A+-rank Gate.

And that wasn't all.

Three of them had destroyed an entire guild's first-team-level force.

One success could be luck.

Repeated proof was skill.

And as if that weren't enough, he'd boosted his recognition even further by plastering a giant advertisement across Times Square.

It wasn't strange for the American Awakened's eyes to light up as though they'd met a superstar.

“Kim Minwoo?! I'm a fan!”

“Meeting a fan in another dimension. Guess I've gotten pretty big.”

“Merhen, Cedric! I'm a fan of you two too!”

Their warm conversation lasted only briefly.

Like professionals, they quickly became serious.

“……

Mr. Minwoo, you know roughly what's happening too, correct?”

“More or less.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“We need sacrifices. The Black Mages will do.”

Their eyes sharpened at the words We need sacrifices, then the atmosphere softened instantly when he added the Black Mages.

“Then our goals are the same. If you're willing, Mr. Minwoo, we'd like to travel together…….”

The American Awakened looked desperate. They hadn't encountered the Black Mages yet, but they possessed enough instinct to make some basic guesses.

From the ominous land to the monster said to be sleeping within it.

Judging by the atmosphere, the Black Mages occupying this place couldn't possibly be weak.

When you didn't know, assuming the worst was how you survived longest.

And in a situation like that, they'd run into Kim Minwoo?

It was no different from finding a lifeline.

At minimum, Kim Minwoo, a fellow Earthling, was far more trustworthy than Black Mages who sacrificed people.

“Sure.”

He readily nodded.

He already needed to fight the Black Mages anyway. Having even one more ally would help.‘And none of these people have serious personality problems.’Being selected for the tournament meant they were among the strongest A-ranks.

Naturally, many of them were talents who would go on to make names for themselves later.

Kim Minwoo knew them to some degree as well. That was another reason he'd readily accepted.

“Let's go.”

For nearly half a day, they continued finding Awakened and adding them to the group.

Three Americans, one French Awakened, and one from India.

After picking people up along the way, the group quickly grew by five.

They also heard one unpleasant piece of news.

“……

My companions' signals disappeared.”

“……

Mine too.”

The French and Indian Awakened had both been alone, and Minwoo had wondered why they were staying alert instead of searching for their companions.

Apparently the signals displayed overhead had vanished.‘Have they already started moving?’Regrouping came first.

Before long, every member of Spendthrift Guild gathered in one place.

Each with their own cute little tail of followers.

Seo Yerim first.

She had gathered plenty of Awakened from other countries too.

Roughly seven.

Park Siwoo brought slightly fewer, around five.

“Hyung!”

Park Siwoo immediately ran over.

“As expected. I knew you'd gather all the Awakened, Hyung. I did well, right?”

“Yeah. Not bad.”

“Ahem. Our guild's reputation really is amazing. The moment I said I was going to regroup with you, everyone started begging me to party up with them.”

Apparently his pride in the guild had grown considerably.

“Siwoo.”

“Yes, Hyung.”

“What'd you buy from the Shop?”

“Light Bombs. That weird teddy bear kept making strange signals, so I just bought them.”

Park Siwoo had taken third in the first trial.With a little over one million points, he had probably bought two bombs.

Seo Yerim had bought Light Bombs as well.

Three of them.‘Add my six…….’The Korean party currently possessed a total of eleven Light Bombs.

Kim Minwoo nodded in satisfaction. Before long, all twenty Awakened had gathered in one place.

America, France, Japan, Canada, the Philippines, India, and so on…….

Their nationalities were a complete jumble.

It didn't matter.‘We can understand each other.’Maybe this was why they'd made languages mutually comprehensible during the first trial.

Without that, things would've been a headache.

“Good to meet everyone. I'm Kim Minwoo.”

The Awakened nodded.

Among everyone gathered here, there was no one besides him who could realistically serve as leader in terms of either fame or ability.

Well, technically there was the mysterious person who had earned fifteen million points…….

“Excuse me, one moment.”

Sophia, an American Mage, raised her hand high.

Then she asked with shining eyes.

“Were you first place?”

Every gaze filled with intense curiosity.

They'd all wondered the same thing.

It would've been awkward to ask outright, but she'd opened the door for them.

Now only the answer remained.

Everyone stared at Kim Minwoo's mouth.

“Yes. That was me.”

Unexpectedly straightforward.

Kim Minwoo admitted it.

“……

Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“……

How did you do it?”

“Probably by doing well?”

Sophia puffed out her cheeks at the vague answer.

But she didn't pry further.

She might be curious, but she was still a veteran Awakened. Naturally, she understood how things worked.

She knew that continuing to pry would go beyond impolite and become outright rude.

Honestly, merely getting him to admit he had taken first was already more than she'd expected.

Her eyes gleamed.‘So he really earned fifteen million points?’Of course, there was always a chance he was lying. But if so, that only raised the question of who actually had taken first.

The Divine Archer was the only plausible alternative.

But she wasn't objecting, so it clearly wasn't her.

Some third Awakened outside Korea?

Frankly, Kim Minwoo hiding his true strength and taking first seemed much more believable.‘Either way…….’Fifteen million was a score outside the normal scale.

Interesting.

Very much so.

Sophia wasn't the only person who felt that way. Most of the Awakened gathered here shared similar thoughts.‘Seriously?’‘If that's true…… he's genuinely a monster beyond the standard…….’Something like that.

Then.

Clap!

The sound of palms striking together echoed out. Kim Minwoo smiled at everyone looking his way.

“I'd like to explain the plan I've been thinking about.”

“The plan……?”

“Save as many Awakened as possible, capture the Black Mages, and use them as sacrifices. I don't think that's bad. But wouldn't it be a little boring if we stopped there?”

“……?”

“Easy tasks always come with easy rewards.”……

Easy?

Beating the Black Mages who were apparently abducting their companions one after another?

Normally, even coming from Kim Minwoo, they would've considered that arrogant.

But the score of fifteen million points stopped that thought cold.

Would an Awakened earn that many points for free?

No.

This man was hiding more.

Far more than they'd expected.

“Do all of you know? Once you gather over one million points, a special Shop opens.”

“Uh…….”

“Ah, yes. I see…….”The Awakened who hadn't even come close to one million points answered awkwardly. Kim Minwoo continued without caring.

“I bought some pretty nice bombs there. Throw one, Light explodes everywhere, and the power is very respectable. My guild members bought some too, so we have quite a few.”

The Awakened's expressions gradually became serious. At first they'd assumed he meant to use them against the Black Mages, but then they remembered he'd already called those enemies boring.

“Don't tell me…… you're suggesting we challenge the monster sleeping here?”

“Everyone catches on quickly. I like that.”

“……

You heard that monster's cry too…….”

“That's exactly why I'm saying this.”

Because it had felt roughly beatable.

Of course, it was probably far stronger than Duke Timorn.

But they had eleven Light Bombs.

The Duke had been destroyed by only two. Would the monster underground really be that different?

Eleven Light Bombs + his two guild members + all the Awakened gathered here.

Add everything together, and they had enough power.‘And even if some variable appears…….’He had his own variable called the Nuclear Bomb.

It didn't damage allies, so if things truly went wrong, he could simply detonate it.‘Though I'd rather save it if possible.’Using it here would feel like a waste.

Either way.

If he wanted to hunt the monster, it was better to persuade the other Awakened.

Everyone knew releasing the seal would create danger. If he did it without consent, he'd get torn apart with criticism once they returned.

That was also why he'd revealed his score.He had earned fifteen million points.

Naturally, he'd received some kind of advantage.

And if the advantage was that large, didn't that mean challenging the monster might be realistic?

He wanted to remind them that this was a game they actually had a chance of winning.

“Hmm…….”

The Awakened fell into thought.‘Kim Minwoo isn't wrong.’What if they hunted not only the Black Mages, but also the monster sealed underground?‘The reward might be enormous.’Of course, the Korean party would probably claim the largest share.

They'd already prepared the tools necessary to challenge the monster.

But even accounting for that, it remained tempting.‘He's acting like that because he's confident, right?’Even crumbs were more filling when they fell from a large loaf.

“Fine! I'm in.”

Sophia agreed first.

Before long, every Awakened supported the plan.

“Then let's go hunt some Black Mages.”

That would be far faster than searching for scattered Awakened one by one.

If they killed the Black Mages, those people couldn't be sacrificed, so it would also guarantee their safety.

They had already roughly identified the Black Mages' location through the lights displayed overhead.

Every signal had been dragged in the same direction immediately before going dark.‘Then there's a good chance they're over there.’The group of Awakened began moving.* * *The Chinese Awakened who had been captured by Mortan.

One day later, unmistakable joy filled their faces.

After the brands were carved into their hearts, their strength had risen vertically in an instant.

They could now crush groups of Awakened they'd normally have struggled against.

“Hyung, this is seriously incredible.”

“……

Don't enjoy it too much. Who knows what those Black Mages did to us.”

Even Liu Wei, who said that, couldn't completely hide his excitement.‘How is this possible?’They seemed to have captured around ten people already, yet their bodies still felt completely fresh.

The more they fought, the more dopamine seemed to flood their brains.

Their whole bodies kept itching.‘I want to fight.’He wanted to release the power overflowing inside him.

Excessive excitement was dangerous, but…….‘This much should be fine.’If anything, it was convenient.

To prove their usefulness, they had to keep fighting and carrying out orders anyway.

If so, overflowing fighting spirit was better than having none.

That was when.

Liu Wei's pupils narrowed.

His hawk-like eyes captured a group of Awakened approaching from far away.

The man leading them had an extremely familiar face.‘……

Kim Minwoo.’Liu Wei ground his teeth.He still vividly remembered the bastard's smug attitude when they'd met during the first trial.

If that damned teddy bear hadn't suddenly interfered, Liu Wei would've taught him a lesson.

If Minwoo had been moving alone, Liu Wei would've charged immediately.

But unlike the Awakened they'd previously captured, he was leading a proper group.

There were clearly more than twenty.

No matter how much power the brand gave them, three people charging that many was suicide.‘Hold back. We can tell the Black Mages and move afterward.’Powerful Black Mages, including Mortan.

If they moved together, hunting Minwoo's group shouldn't be impossible.

No, they absolutely had to hunt them.

If anyone survived to return outside, people might start calling them traitors to humanity or whatever else.‘Perfect. If we eliminate that group…….’They'd already captured around ten Awakened.

Once they defeated Kim Minwoo's group, only scraps would remain.

The rest of the hunt would become much easier.

“Let's go.”

Liu Wei turned around.

Before long, he reached the temple and bowed deeply before Mortan.

“We found them. However, their group numbers more than twenty…….”

Mortan's eyes gleamed.

He'd already heard about the intruders from them.

Apparently fifty had arrived in total.

A group of twenty could reasonably be called the largest.‘We'll finish sooner than expected.’A group that size was worth moving personally.

He stood.

“Let's go.”

The Black Mages and Chinese Awakened began moving.

“Found them. Everyone else, follow at your own pace.”

Mortan spoke calmly, then vanished completely.

Liu Wei shuddered.‘What the hell is that old bastard?’Even using Hawk's Eye, one of his Druid abilities, he couldn't see Mortan at all.‘You can become completely invisible to this degree?’The spell was horrifyingly powerful. At this level, wasn't a sneak attack basically guaranteed to succeed?

Once again, Liu Wei felt he'd made the correct choice.

Bowing his head was a hundred times better than resisting a monstrous old man like that.‘He should be closing the distance by now.’Sure enough.

Mortan suddenly appeared directly in front of Kim Minwoo and thrust out a hand.

A speed ordinary Awakened could barely react to.

Pitch-black dark magic covered his hand.

Liu Wei's eyes gleamed.‘Kim Minwoo, looks like even you can't…….’That was when.

Just before Mortan's dark magic erupted, the Mana concentrated over his hand vanished as though washed away.

Slash!

A severed head flew into the sky in an instant.

“What the hell was that?”―No idea. Is he stupid?

Merhen shrugged.