Chapter 127

Chapter 127

Spendthrift Necromancer (127)

RaidThe moment Iphrax appeared, the Awakened shuddered.‘We can seriously kill that thing?’Its enormous size and grotesque appearance were secondary.

An oppressive force so heavy it was difficult to breathe constricted their bodies.

The phrase difference in Rank.

The difference between Iphrax and themselves embodied it perfectly.

If the massive explosion hadn't gone off, they probably would've still been standing there, minds blank as they stared at the monster.

Baaam!

The light was so intense that keeping their eyes open and looking straight ahead was nearly impossible.―Rooooo!

A cry filled with agony erupted. Several of its enormous eyes had caved inward and burst apart.‘It works!’The core item of the strategy, the Light Bomb.

It worked properly against Iphrax too.

Hope began appearing in the eyes of the terrified Awakened.‘If so…….’‘We can do this.’Ten bombs still remained.

Just as Kim Minwoo had said, they had plenty of chance to win. Mana began circulating through the Awakened's bodies.

There were 42 of them.

Each one was a notable Awakened from their respective country, so they possessed an abundance of Skills between them.

Flash!

Buffs of every kind surged from every direction.[Thompson casts Blessing of Light(S)

!][Light attribute is granted to party members' weapons…….][Sophia uses Mana Crest(S)

!][Party members' Mana recovery speed…….][Victor uses Cry of Valor(A)

…….][Party members' damage…….]

Taken individually, none of the effects were overwhelmingly powerful.

But stack ten or twenty of them, and the story changed.

Kim Minwoo belonged to the group too, so he was enjoying the buffs in full.‘This is why people raid.’There was a reason high-ranking Gates were entered by twenty or thirty people at a time.

Build the party properly, and your raw combat power changed completely.

Just like now.

And the buffs weren't even over.[‘Law of Victory’ activates!][All stats increase by 150%!][All damage increases by 150%!]

An enormous 150% increase.‘High Level.’At minimum, somewhere in the mid-1700s.

Definitely high.

It was enough that Awakened below Level 500 feeling fear at first sight wasn't strange.

That was when.

Iphrax's pupils turned pitch-black, like ink spilled across pure-white paper.―Submit to me…….

A grotesque voice echoed inside their minds.

“Ghk!”

Thompson clutched his head.

Every Awakened around him did the same. Their thoughts blurred as though fog had filled their heads.

“……

Achoo!”

The sudden sneeze snapped everyone back to attention.

Cold sweat soaked Thompson's back.‘That was close.’Even after drinking all three potions, he'd nearly lost control of his mind. The mental attack was far stronger than expected.

Drag this out and they were doomed.

“Kill it!”

The Awakened and undead surged toward Iphrax.―Vermin…….

Two long tentacles erupted from the body formed of clustered pupils.

They came crashing downward like giant flyswatters.

“Scatter!”

The Awakened dispersed in every direction.

BOOM!

The ground caved inward beneath the tremendous size and weight.

Skeletons and Dullahans that failed to evade were instantly unsummoned.

Magic, arrows, and thrown weapons began hammering Iphrax's eyes.

Kim Minwoo charged too.‘End it quickly.’They were enduring the mental attacks through potions, but they couldn't resist forever.

This was a race against time.

As he began closing the distance.

Suddenly, every one of Iphrax's eyes snapped toward him.

Hundreds of eyeballs staring directly at him would've put most horror movies to shame.[You have currently dealt the most damage to Iphrax!][Iphrax focuses on Kim Minwoo!]―You too…… shall suffer…….[Iphrax casts a curse on Kim Minwoo!][Curse of Pain(SS)

activates!][For 2 hours, a portion of the damage received by Iphrax is transferred to Kim Minwoo!][Curse of Ruin(SS)

activates!][For 2 hours, Kim Minwoo's Strength and Stamina decrease by 50%!][Curse Explosion(SS)

activates!][If the cursed target dies within 2 hours, identical curses spread to two random people!]

Kim Minwoo frowned.

The reduction to Strength and Stamina wasn't a major problem.

The buffs had inflated them enough that he could still manage.

The problem was the damage transfer and Curse Explosion.‘If I die, two.’If those two died, four.

If those four died, eight.

An extremely vicious structure.

The Awakened pounding Iphrax's body glanced around nervously.

They shared the system messages, so they'd realized what was happening.‘What kind of insane curse is this?’If Kim Minwoo died while they attacked, everyone would be wiped out.

What were they supposed to do……?

“Attack! Don't worry about me!”

Kim Minwoo shouted.

The curse lasted a full two hours.

If they stopped attacking because they feared the transferred damage, annihilation was guaranteed.

“Damn it!”

The Awakened gritted their teeth and continued the offensive.

Seo Yerim hurried over and asked.

“How much damage is being transferred?”

“About 5%? Cough!”

He vomited a mouthful of blood.

Seo Yerim's expression hardened.

The transfer percentage itself wasn't particularly large.

The problem was Iphrax's health pool.

Put simply, from this point onward Kim Minwoo had to take 5% of all the damage Iphrax received.

Five percent sounded small.

Five percent of a raid boss's HP?

It was practically a death sentence.

Even the damage the Awakened were inflicting right now was enough to make him cough blood.

What would happen if they detonated Light Bombs that dealt far more damage than that?

“Don't use the bombs right now…….”

“No.”

Kim Minwoo hurriedly drank a Highest-Grade Recovery Potion and spoke firmly.

“We didn't start this intending to go that far. This needs to end quickly.”

The painful potions were somehow helping them endure the mental attacks, but they were ultimately only a stopgap. After one hour, problems would start appearing everywhere.

The Awakened would die one after another.

That wasn't an answer.‘In the end, I have to endure the bomb damage.’Death Lord might be immune to Light attacks, but this curse transferred the damage itself.

There was a high chance immunity wouldn't apply.

What he needed was overwhelming regeneration.

An item immediately came to mind.

“Then how are you going to endure it? Even Highest-Grade Potions won't be enough…….”

“Ms. Yerim. Did you forget what the Shop sells?”

“……You have one million points?”

“Yes.”

Seo Yerim's face brightened.

Elixir.

She had unlocked the VIP Shop too, so she'd read the item's description.

A recovery item that lasted an incredible 72 hours. Its one-million-point price was equally brutal.‘With that, he might be able to endure…….’Of course, Elixir continuously restored health, so it couldn't fully cover massive burst damage hitting all at once…….‘We can control the damage.’They simply needed to balance the Elixir's recovery against the transferred damage.

With Kim Minwoo's ability, he could manage it.

Hadn't he shown them enough already?

Meanwhile.

Kim Minwoo summoned Popo.―You called…… Wait, why the hell did you wake that……!

“Elixir. Now.”―H-Here! Good luck!

After freaking out at the sight of Iphrax, Popo instantly understood without needing an explanation and handed over the Elixir with a salute.[Elixir][Rank: Special][A restorative potion made by combining mysterious ingredients. It is said to be capable of reviving even the dead.][Effect 1. Upon consumption, maximizes all recovery for 72 hours.]‘Good thing I saved my points.’He'd had 200,000 points left at the end of the first trial.

Add the 800,000 he'd earned from killing the Black Mages and Priest, and he had close to one million points.

He'd considered buying more Light Bombs then but decided against it. Eleven had seemed like more than enough damage.‘And if we needed more, I could call the Shop and buy them like this.’So he'd saved them.

That became the decisive move.

A golden potion sloshed inside the bottle.

Gulp!

Kim Minwoo drank it.[You consume Elixir!][All recovery is maximized for 72 hours!]

His rapidly draining health began filling at a ridiculous rate as though he'd been doped.

“……

How is it?”

“This'll work. Stick to the plan.”

Points are God, and Elixir is invincible. Add Highest-Grade Recovery Potions and his Trueblood regeneration on top…….‘I can endure.’He became certain he could withstand the transferred damage even while detonating Light Bombs and attacking.* * *Powerful strength inherent within its body.

Tough hide.

Powerful mental attacks and hundreds of gigantic tentacles capable of devastating the surroundings.

Iphrax was unquestionably powerful.‘So what?’Numbers beat everything.

Baaam!

A bomb costing an absurd 500,000 points exploded whenever they had an opening.

No matter how wary Iphrax became, it was impossible to completely escape the blast radius.

The monster rampaged with cracks spreading across its entire body.‘It's over.’He and his guild members had thrown ten Light Bombs so far.

Its body, once floating in midair, quickly crashed to the ground as though it could no longer endure.

And onto that body, already weakened by the bombs, the Awakened poured every finishing technique they had.

Attacks that normally wouldn't have worked were different after the monster had been roasted by explosions.

“Die!”

Knights stabbed two-handed swords into the eyes while massive tower shields smashed down on tentacles.

High-ranking magic poured in from every direction.

Seo Yerim and Park Siwoo unleashed burst damage too.[Divine Archer declares ‘Killing Zone’!][Duration: 20 minutes!][Agility +50%.][Three times as many Mana Arrows are generated!][Holy Sword declares ‘Sanctuary’!][Duration: 20 minutes!][All stats +20%.][Holy attribute +50%!]

Weapons of the Hero Party.

Their power couldn't even be compared to the ordinary weapons of the other Awakened.

Kim Minwoo steadily piled on damage as well.

Snowy's Fire attribute sharing.

The inflated stats and damage from Law of Victory.

Consecutive-attack stacking and the mountain of buffs covering his body.

The damage he dealt alone was already considerable, and he had assistants on top of that.[Merhen uses Earth Bind(SS)

!][Cedric uses Shadow Spear(SS)

…….]

Merhen and Cedric.

Those two alone dealt damage comparable to his guild members.

And beyond them, the Dullahans, Specters, and Skeletons were all attacking too.

Their absolute damage wasn't particularly high, but they were perfect for taking attacks meant for Awakened or drawing aggro.‘Even meat-shield mode works fine.’Despite restricting himself somewhat because so many people were watching, the raid proceeded extremely smoothly.‘Because we prepared thoroughly, of course.’They'd invested a tremendous amount for this single hunt. Without that, defeat would've been inevitable.

This probably wasn't a monster they were ever meant to kill in the first place.

Hadn't even Popo freaked out when he saw Iphrax?

The reason he'd recommended Light Bombs was probably because of the Black Mages.‘If he'd known we were hunting Iphrax, maybe he would've recommended Elixir.’Either way.

Kim Minwoo slipped past the mass of tentacles and threw the final remaining Light Bomb.

The moment the burst of Light erupted.

“Cough.”He vomited blood from the 5% damage transfer, drank a Highest-Grade Recovery Potion, and stared at the message appearing before him.[Iphrax, ruler of the Cursed Land, enters eternal rest.][The second trial has ended!][Final calculations begin!][Total Participants: 50][Deaths: 10][Remaining Participants: 40][* This is a special situation. Rewards are being calculated. Please wait.]

He looked once at the message floating in the air.

Then once at Iphrax, now collapsed without even twitching.

“……

Did we clear it?”

“……

Seriously?”

“……

Looks like we did?”

Silence lasted only briefly.

“Hahaha! We survived, fuck! We're alive!”

“Waaaah! We can go home!”

Everyone erupted in cheers.

Their nationalities differed, but they all shared the same feeling.

The overwhelming relief of having survived against that monster.

And the sense of accomplishment.

People hugged each other, jumped around, and caused absolute chaos. Apparently they'd grown attached while fighting together, because several bold female Awakened even approached people they liked and kissed them.

Park Siwoo, standing in the middle, was grabbed from several directions and kissed on the cheeks. Apparently flustered, he stood there grinning helplessly, not knowing what to do.

“……

This place really went crazy.”

“Well, isn't this something you see fairly often?”

Kim Minwoo shrugged toward Seo Yerim, who had approached beside him.

Awakened tended to be rather passionate.

And they'd just achieved something after rolling through every kind of hell.

Judging by the atmosphere, a few international couples might even be born here.

“Mr. Minwoo, you're pretty calm.”

“We prepared a lot.”‘We're definitely killing it.’ and ‘Can we kill it?’ were very different mindsets.

He'd even possessed a Nuclear Bomb for the worst-case scenario.

From the beginning, failure to kill it simply hadn't been an option.

That was why he could remain calm.

“What do you think the reward will be?”

“No idea. The message says this is a special situation, so apparently they didn't account for something like this…… which usually means the reward gets bigger. So I'm looking forward to it.”

That was when.[The Evaluator appears!]

Popo appeared in midair along with the message.―Um…… I apologize for the slight delay. We held a meeting, and the result has been decided.

Popo looked at the Awakened as he spoke.‘What?’‘Why is he suddenly being polite?’‘Did killing this thing earn his respect?’While the Awakened tilted their heads.

Popo clapped.―The trial ends here! From now on, each participant's contribution will be calculated. You will receive different rewards accordingly.[Contributions for the second trial are calculated.][Contribution Rankings][1st: 42%][2nd: 20%][3rd: 15%][4th: 1.2%][5th: 1.1%]...[42nd: 0.32%]

Information streamed upward.

Then small boxes appeared in the Awakened's hands.

Arush, the Indian Warrior who ranked 42nd, received one too.[Equipment Draw Box (Unique)][Level Requirement: 450 or higher, Warrior.][A box containing equipment excluding accessories.][Effect 1. Using it grants Warrior-exclusive equipment excluding accessories.]

Arush's eyes widened as he examined the box without much expectation.‘Unique?’Contribution: 0.32%.

Honestly, he'd already accepted it internally.

Put bluntly, the other Awakened had carried him.

And yet the reward…….‘This is way better than I expected?’Unique might only be called Unique, but it wasn't something easily obtained anywhere.

High-Level equipment was even more difficult.

Every piece carried a savage price tag.‘They're giving something like this?’Arush wasn't the only one shocked.

Thompson and Sophia, the American Awakened who had earned a little over 1% contribution, were equally stunned.

Barely 1%.

Yet they received Equipment Draw Boxes.

Legendary ones, at that.

Of course they'd risked their lives, but how many times had they done that before?

There were countless cases where people went through hell and still failed to obtain a single worthwhile drop. It was even worse for people belonging to guilds like them.

This time was different.

They'd received guaranteed rewards.‘Is it okay to get something this easily?’The thought naturally occurred.

At the same time…….

As though they'd made a promise, everyone's gaze shifted toward Kim Minwoo.‘If 1% gives this much, what the hell does 42% get?’