Chapter 146

Chapter 146

Spendthrift Necromancer (146)―Grooo.

Loyal Dolsoe.

Freshly summoned, he tilted his head at the sight of the prison.

“Go inside.”―Groo.

Dolsoe nodded vigorously and entered the Blood Prison.[This undead possesses the potential to accept Dragon Blood!][Estimated Dragon Blood Consumption: 10%]

Forty percent remained.

He summoned a portion of his Dullahans, Specters, and Skeletons.‘Dumping everything into one type isn't ideal.’With his new equipment and titles included, his Mana was now close to twelve thousand.

If he summoned only Dullahans, he could call out nearly 240 in total.

But there was a major problem with strengthening only Dullahans. The maximum number of summons a summoner could maintain was proportional to maximum Mana.

In other words, if he summoned 240 Dullahans, he wouldn't be able to summon Skeletons, Specters, or anything else.

But when had combat ever revolved around only Dullahans?

Hail and Mail would be offended first.

So he divided things reasonably.

“Everyone, get inside.”

Fifty Dullahans.

One hundred Specters.

Skeletons and Mages as well.

Every one of them was an experienced elite starting from Number 1.

The undead army filed amicably into the Blood Prison.

Their numbers were enormous, but space wasn't a problem. The interior kept expanding as more undead entered.[Capable of accepting Dragon Blood…….]

Dullahans passed.

Specters passed.

Even the Skeletons passed the potential check.‘Of course.’Were his Skeletons ordinary Skeletons?

They were future Dragon Tooth Soldiers—the real deal—and premium Skeletons who had been the first on Earth to experience the Class Advancement System.

Dragon Blood was hardly beyond them.

The Mages were the same.

Only after hundreds of undead had crammed inside.[Estimated Dragon Blood Consumption: 50%][Would you like to strengthen them?]

He could consume all the remaining Dragon Blood.

Unlike the Legion Commanders, the other undead didn't take very long to strengthen.[Strengthening complete!][Dragon Blood has been infused into Dolsoe's body!][‘Bloodburst’ can now be used!][Dragon Blood has been infused into the Dullahan group…….][‘Dragonblood Steed’ can now be used…….][Dragon Blood has been infused into the Specter group…….][The effect of ‘Ghost Form’ has been greatly enhanced…….][Dragon Blood has been infused into the Skeleton group…….][‘Dragonblood Tool’ can now be used!]

Countless messages appeared.

As a baseline, every undead except the Specters became somewhat larger and physically tougher.[* Bloodburst: Detonates the Dragon Blood within the body to self-destruct. Damage is three times maximum Stamina.]

Dolsoe's newly acquired Bloodburst.

This was basically…….

“A suicide attack?”

The damage was three times Dolsoe's maximum Stamina.

Just from that description, the damage was obviously enormous.

“Dolsoe. We need to test it. You can do it, right?”

A test run was still mandatory.

Dolsoe nodded reliably.

Then, in the corner of the training ground, Dolsoe wrapped himself around a steel practice dummy like a martyr and his body began glowing crimson.[Using Bloodburst!]

BOOOOOOM!

The dummy vanished without a trace amid the tremendous explosion.

The surrounding ground not only cracked apart like a crater had formed, but was gouged more than 20M deep.

“Damn.”

Kim Minwoo clapped in admiration.

It took barely one second to detonate.

Almost no charge time.

Yet the damage easily surpassed most of Merhen's spells.It looked like only a triple-stacked spell could produce something comparable.

Good.

Really good.

Have him tank normally, then if that stops working, immediately switch to suicide attack.

The uses practically drew themselves in his mind.

It was especially useful against powerful enemies immune to Taunt.

Dolsoe was nothing more than a meat shield in those fights anyway. Now he could contribute damage on top of that.

The range of tactical options had expanded enormously.

He summoned Dolsoe again.

Kim Minwoo's gaze had already softened until it was warm as sunlight.

“Dolsoe.”―Grooo.

“You work so hard.”―Grooo.

When Minwoo patted his leg, Dolsoe raised both arms and bellowed powerfully.

“Keep suffering just a little longer. Hyung will make sure your day in the spotlight comes. You trust Hyung, right?”―Grooo!

An answer overflowing with trust and affection toward his master. The very model of a steadfast, dependable Golem.

Next, he examined the Dullahans.[* Dragonblood Steed: Shapes the Dragon Blood within the body into a horse. Can be ridden.]

“You understand?”

Nod!

The Dullahan unit nodded vigorously and extended their hands.

That was when.

Crimson blood burst above their palms, gradually gathering together.―Neiiigh!Scarlet horses nearly 3M tall appeared.

The Dullahans mounted them.

Now transformed into cavalry, the Dullahan unit began performing acrobatics on horseback. Perhaps because the horses were created from the blood inside their own bodies, horse and rider moved in perfect harmony.‘The juniors are going to cry blood over this.’There was a reason cavalry had historically been considered elite.

The combined power of horse and rider went beyond imagination.

And these were Dullahans mounted on Dragonblood Steeds.

Numbers 1 through 50.

The senior Dullahans' combat power had changed by an almost absurd margin. The Specters had received a major enhancement to their basic Ghost Form effect.

Constant 30% physical-damage reduction.

But now.[* Enhanced Ghost Form: Physical damage received is reduced by 50%.]

The Specters had become even more translucent.

They looked like ghosts, so visually they leaned a little toward disgusting.

But if you patted their heads.―Ssshhh…….

They rubbed against his hand happily, which was pretty cute.

Finally, the Skeletons forming the foundation of the entire army had acquired.[* Dragonblood Tool: Can create a tool appropriate for the apprentice's Class.]

They'd gained a tool-creation Skill.

“Mail, summon your tool.”

Clatter!

That was when.

Something like an orb appeared beside Mail's hand. He now held a staff in one hand and an orb in the other.

“Magic.”[‘Mail’ uses Wind Blade(E)

!]

Whoosh!

The Wind magic slammed into the ground with noticeably sharper force.

“Look at you. So good at it. Wonder who you learned from.”

That was when.

Mail hurriedly lowered a finger to the ground.

Three letters were written carefully.〈Merhen〉When did you learn English?

The learning ability of Skeletons was truly magnificent.―I taught him all of that. Minwoo knows, right?

“Of course. I know how hard our Merhen works.”

Magic Legion Commander Merhen.

When summoned at home, her usual routine was eating, rolling around on the sofa fiddling with the provided smartphone, and teaching the Skeleton Mages.

Cedric wasn't particularly different. He ate too, except his hobby was watching TV instead of using his phone.

He also taught the melee summons.―Still, they have a long way to go. It's horrifying. I can't believe I taught that.

T_T.

Mail's burning pupils transformed into something resembling a mysterious emoticon.

“……

You taught him that too?”―Yeah. It's frustrating teaching class when they can't talk. So I taught them the Kakaotalk emoticons I use with Minwoo.

“That works?”

“Yeah. If you drill it into them hard enough, they eventually learn.”

A summon teaching Kakaotalk emoticons.

Just thinking about it made his chest swell.

At first, he hadn't even considered giving phones to his Legion Commanders.

Apparently Chairman Kim had gotten lines registered for both Merhen and Cedric at some point and personally handed them smartphones.

And what did he do afterward…….‘He filmed them using the phones and uploaded it to Ilseong's social media.’Summons using smartphones.

Touch recognition on Merhen made sense, but strangely enough, Cedric's skeletal fingers worked perfectly on the phone too.‘Ilseong probably modified it.’He'd heard Ilseong phones exploded in popularity all over again because of it.

Either way.

Perhaps because he summoned her frequently at home, Merhen was gradually becoming accustomed to modern life.

This had actually been half intentional. A Legion Commander deserved some special treatment.

Things like letting them enjoy modern civilization and communicate freely with everyone.

Now that they could eat, they could have meals together too.

Their Loyalty might be 100, but building an actual bond felt far better than relying on mechanical loyalty.

That was why he summoned them so often. Fortunately, his family had long since adapted. If he went around without summoning them now, they would actually ask why he hadn't called them out.

Either way.

He'd already gotten his money's worth from the Bloodwater Prison Orb.

And he intended to keep extracting value from it like an oil well that never ran dry.

Hadn't the Legion Commanders unlocked only Dragon Authority Stage 1?

Naturally, Stages 2 and 3 probably existed too.‘It probably isn't a matter of simply dumping in more blood.’If it were, they wouldn't have stopped after absorbing only 50%.

He suspected the stage rose only after infusing stronger Dragon Blood. Granted, the Dragon corpses brought by the Sword Immortal and the others were fairly high-Level.‘But they're weak compared to the truly powerful ones.’For example, the Ancient Dragon over ten thousand years old that Cedric had used as his body back when he was a Golden Skeleton. Compared to a Dragon like that, these fell short.‘But Dragons like that don't appear in Gates.’If one had, the Gate would've already exploded and Earth would've been destroyed.

He would probably have to search for stronger Dragons later.‘Then…….’He should strengthen the rest of his summons too.

The blood didn't necessarily have to be Dragon Blood.‘It's hard to obtain anyway.’Other high-ranking monsters should still produce respectable effects.

“Looks like I'll need to run a Gate soon.”

His combat-power upgrades were finally nearing completion.* * *After finishing the Selection Tournament.

He'd planted countless seeds.

Relationships with the superpowers called China and America.

Development of the Slime Battery.

Even strengthening his summons.

It had been a short but incredibly productive period.

The items bought from the Sky Auction House had already been distributed to his guild members long ago.

His work in reality was mostly finished.

Now it was time to run toward growth again.

“I'm going to a Gate.”

Perhaps because he'd been hinting for several days that he would leave soon, his family wasn't particularly surprised.

More like they had expected it.

“All right. Be careful. Legion Commanders, please take good care of him too.”

Mrs. Choi bowed politely.

Merhen quickly took her hands and answered.―Don't worry. I'll protect Minwoo.―Master would probably fall into hell and still return with his body intact.

She nodded as though reassured.

“Come back safe, Oppa. And come back fast.”

“I'll return as soon as I can.”

Naye waved with surprising composure.

The fact that she wasn't crying showed how much she'd grown.

Chairman Kim also spoke calmly.

“Work hard. Ilseong will do what Ilseong can on our end.”

“I trust you, Father.”

He entered his room and took an item from his inventory.[Mysterious Necklace][Rank: ??][The sinister Arrangement has disappeared, and the aura of a hero has begun dwelling within the necklace.][Effect 1. Serves as a medium for proceeding with Salvation of the Continent(S+)

. Until then, previous progress is saved. (Minimum Requirement: Level 251 or higher)][Effect 2. Two sockets exist. It appears something can be inserted into them.][Effect 3. This necklace can only be activated while possessing the title ‘One Who Walks the Hero's Path.’]‘Been a while.’Urkan and the Orcs.

And the Dwarves and Elves.

Since previous progress was saved, time probably hadn't passed inside.

The last thing he'd done was kill Bellitas at the Northern Fortress, then Snowy devoured the Fragment of Winter.‘S+…….’It was by no means a low difficulty.

Monsters above Level 500 commonly appeared in S-rank and higher Gates. With the Plus modifier added, the overall level would be even higher.

Even accounting for that.‘Maybe I grew too fast. It feels like it'll be a little easy now.’The Witch and Ice Dragon?

They weren't hell difficulty anymore. At worst, killing them might be slightly annoying.

But hadn't they said heaven helped those who helped themselves?

Despite becoming so much stronger.

There was still a way to leap straight into hell.

“Want to go to a Gate with Daddy?”―Coo.

Coo.

Coo?

“Yeah. Gate. We'll see the Orcs again, and the Elves and Dwarves too. Snowy likes that, right?”―Coo!

He'd already finished every preparation while staying in reality.

There was no reason to hesitate.[Mysterious Necklace activates!][Entering previous progress!]

The scenery changed.

Under warm sunlight, a group of Orcs lay around with utterly relaxed faces.

It was exactly how things had looked immediately after destroying the Fragment of Winter inside the Northern Fortress.―Gruk! Big Brother! You suddenly look awesome!

Urkan exclaimed as he stared at Minwoo's changed equipment.―But who's that woman besides Cedric?

“My friend.”―Big Brother's friend? Then she's Big Sister?―Just call me noona.

“Understood, noona!”

Urkan quickly finished sorting out the hierarchy with Merhen.

Minwoo looked at him.

“Urkan.”―Gruk! Big Brother, you called?

“Do you like boring things or exciting things?”―Gruk! Boring is bad! Exciting is the best!

“Right? That's what I thought too.”

Orcs formed the majority of this continent.

Urkan's opinion was practically the opinion of the entire Orc population.

Then he'd already secured the consent of the majority of the natives.

Time to cause some chaos.[Taking out Dice of Fate!][Would you like to roll it?]

Of course.

Roll roll!

The die floating over his palm began spinning wildly.

That was when.[Title, ‘Super Lucky Guy,’ activates!][Strange fortune surrounds your body!]

Along with the title activation.

Tap. Thud.

The die stopped with the number 1 facing upward.[Fate has been decided.][‘Greatest Adversity’][An unknown force begins enveloping the Gate!]

Rumble……!

The earth began to shake.―Gruk! Suddenly night! Sky dark!―Gruk! Ground shaking! Fun![Calamity approaches!][Gate difficulty greatly increases!]

“Oh, lucky.”―Coo.

Coo.

Snowy fluttered its wings excitedly in agreement.