Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Spendthrift Necromancer (15)

Grave Guardian.

One of the more infamous bosses.

If you had to summarize it in one sentence, it was a stat-boosted Corpse Roach.

More potent blood.

On top of that, enormous size and nimble movement.‘Definitely troublesome for an F-rank Gate boss.’―Eeeek! Run!

He recalled Kim Minwoo's disgraceful display, when he'd refused all combat actions and fled.

He still remembered how dumbfounded he'd been back then.‘I really turned one man into a proper human being.’Despite its infamy, the Grave Guardian was being dealt with helplessly.

Under Cedric's command, the Skeleton soldiers moved in orderly formation.

Dozens of shields blocked its body slam, while spears and swords stabbed into it.

Maces and axes hammered into its shell from behind.

Of course, the creature was resisting fiercely too.

A boss's attacks weren't something ordinary Skeletons could easily endure. Even with Cedric commanding them, blocking everything was impossible.

The Skeletons couldn't keep up with his commands.

Every time they were caught in an attack, ten Skeletons were unsummoned.

Whenever the creature moved its body violently, Minwoo stabbed his sword into it.

Perhaps because his stats were high, the shell sliced apart like tofu. Cedric also occasionally launched fierce attacks while commanding.

The Guardian's health began plummeting rapidly. Soon, one of its horrible patterns emerged.

The Grave Guardian opened its mouth wide.

Hundreds of tiny cockroaches burst out.

Touching them made them explode and spread poison.‘Vicious.’The strategy keyword was ultimately making them touch something. If that something was your own body, your party got wiped.

Normally, having a Mage-type class made the fight much easier.

You needed something like a Shield to stop the cockroaches and make them explode before they reached you to avoid being wiped out.

Unfortunately, the baby Skeletons didn't have magic like Shield.

Pop-pop-pop!

The exploding cockroaches spread poison everywhere.

Skeletons crumbled helplessly.[122 Skeletons are unsummoned!]

Only then did the Grave Guardian's eyes gleam as if it had finally seized the advantage.

Gurururuk!

The excited Grave Guardian moved violently.

Its body had been shredded, but eventually every Skeleton was knocked down.

Gururu……!

The Guardian glared furiously at Minwoo and Cedric.

“Sorry. I'll refill once more.”

He drank a potion and gestured.[506 Skeletons are summoned!]

Guru……?

The Grave Guardian's jaw dropped at the sight.* * *[Gate boss, Grave Guardian, has fallen!][Skeleton Unit's combat experience greatly increases!][Level up…….]

As expected of a boss, it gave a lot of experience.

He rose from Level 22 to Level 25 in one go.

The Skeletons' average level had also climbed to 7.‘Exactly ten minutes.’[Gate cleared!][Would you like to leave?]

There was a clear difference between leaving from the midway zone and leaving after clearing.

The Gate's color changed when you came out.

White from the midway zone.

Green after clearing.

The current elapsed time was around 2 hours and 10 minutes.‘No need to leave immediately.’He rejected the message.―Master, aren't you leaving?

“It's a tomb.”

―You believe there may be some hidden element?

“Not certain. But roughly.”

And Isabella, the world-record holder, had taken two days.

He only needed to be a little faster.

He'd talked big about coming back before the cameras cooled down when entering, but.‘I need to control the pace around here.’Being impressive was good.

Being too impressive only became exhausting.

There was already an overwhelming gap between Isabella, who had entered at Level 49, and himself.

And if, on top of that, his clear time was extreme?

Skills created from S-rank Skill Books differed between individuals even with the same class.

Even so, there was a rough average.

People had a general sense of, Ah, this is about the range of an S-rank skill.‘They'd get suspicious.’Suspicious that his Achievement wasn't S-rank, but something higher.

The only reason ranks above S were believed not to exist was because no one had appeared with one yet.

If people started suspecting SS or SSS or something like that?

He was the son of Korea's richest chaebol family.

Even America would give up on trying to lure him over.

Seriously, why would he go?

He could just live like a king in Korea.

Naturally, some people would start having strange thoughts.

Can't have him?

Then destroy him.

Things like that.

It would make moving around incredibly annoying.

Of course, facing that kind of destiny someday was inevitable.

But not now.‘Around 40 hours should be fine.’That much could somehow be made believable.

Undead are immune to fear.

They have some resistance to poison.

So I gained an advantage.

Plus I'm a swordsmanship genius.

I found some hidden route in the Gate that helped with the clear, blah blah blah…….

Since gimmicks were variable, it would sound fairly plausible.

Especially in Japan or China, countries that were bitter rivals with Korea, they'd probably prefer to believe he cleared quickly because he got lucky rather than because he was skilled.‘It's impossible to erase suspicion completely anyway.’But he could delay the point when real shadow wars began.

He picked up the junk items.

“Cedric. Pick up the junk and train the kids for a while.”

―Understood.

The Skeletons gathered drops like silent farmers.

There weren't any particularly special rewards.

No, to correct that slightly.[You have obtained Grave Guardian Carapace Armor!]

Items appeared that ordinary Awakened would've been happy about, but to him they were just Cedric Equipment #1.

“You use the armor. It's a bit better than what you have now.”

―Very well.

Cedric changed armor.

That concluded the boss rewards.‘Wonder what the clear reward will be.’Items dropped by the boss and Gate clear rewards were treated separately.

After waiting briefly, messages appeared.[Gate clear reward granted!][Special condition fulfilled!][You are a Necromancer exceeding the required standard!][Osiris's Arrangement is granted!]

“Oh, did a hidden piece pop?”

A small necklace appeared in his palm.[Worn Necklace][Rank: ??][A strangely mysterious necklace. The groove in the center is empty. It may activate if the correct jewel is inserted.][Effect 1. Inserting the correct jewel into the groove will grant qualification.][Effect 2. Upon obtaining qualification, you will be able to undertake ‘Osiris's Arrangement.’]

“A chain-quest item?”

There wasn't exactly a quest system, but the format was roughly the same.

If there were a quest window, it would probably say something like this.[Find the jewel that fits the groove, insert it into the necklace, and complete the Arrangement!]

Something along those lines.

Minwoo had seen several items like this before.

A chain quest could continue for just one step, or several.‘The more complicated the structure, the bigger the reward.’Rewards from completing chain quests tended to be better than just entering a Gate, smashing everything, and taking the reward.

If you completed a proper chain quest with a real ‘main branch.’‘You got something amazing.’Plenty came to mind.

A good title.

Unique-grade or better accessories with low level requirements.

A special elixir.

Or perhaps a special summon, a powerful special Skill Book, things like that.

Items that made the game much easier once obtained.‘I need to find the jewel.’The groove in the middle had a very peculiar shape.

It was intricately carved as though depicting a dragon.‘Definitely not some ordinary jewel sold on the market.’Even if he cut a normal gem to fit the shape, it didn't seem like it would activate.

Because that would be too easy, wouldn't it?

Two major possibilities came to mind right now. It might be a reward obtained from another boss.‘Or…… it could exist inside this Gate.’Maybe not.

But when you didn't know.

“Everyone gather up. From now on, we're combing through every inch of this Gate. Break everything and open everything. Hit the floors and walls too! Report immediately if you notice anything strange! Execute!”

―……

Execute!

Clack!

Starting with the nearest place was the truth.

Minwoo also began searching the Gate interior.‘Very nice.’He felt good.

Because he could smell a jackpot coming.

Think about it.

This necklace was simply handed over if you met the condition.

A Necromancer around B-rank Achievement must have visited this place before.

Yet only now had it activated.‘That means the required standard is fairly high. At least A, maybe even S.’He had a feeling.

A feeling that the difficulty would be pretty brutal.

And brutal difficulty meant, in other words, big rewards.

Of course he felt good after finding a clue leading into hell itself.* * *“Reporter Kim, it's already been 40 hours. Why don't you just go home?”

“Bullshit. You go first.”

“No way. The director would kick my ass.”

“You think I don't have a director? And what happened to ‘before the cameras cool down’? At this rate they'll freeze solid instead.”

Reporter Kim tightly gripped the hand warmer.

Warm heat spread through his hand, making him feel a little more alive.

Reporter Park grinned at the sight.

“They're still warm because we've kept them running, aren't they? And well, didn't you half expect this? Don't tell me you actually believed him?”

“No, well, it's been a while since Korea produced a dragon. I figured maybe it was about time someone showed up.”

Reporter Kim spoke awkwardly.……

Truthfully, he had been expecting it a little.

After all, Kim Minwoo had sounded so damn confident.

“Look at this patriot.”

“……

It's not just that. You know too. We'd have a lot more to write about.”

Kim Minwoo had already drawn enormous attention.

Though more in the sense of a villain.‘Ilseong's wild wastrel. The failure eliminated from the succession race.’That was how the public viewed him.

It was widely believed the second son was most likely to inherit control of the group.

But what if that villain set a new world record here?

The entire board would flip over.

Ilseong would get noisy internally too. Whether management ability and Gate clearing really had any direct relationship was questionable, but…….‘Who cares?’He set a record.

When someone produced overwhelming results in one field, people naturally began thinking and hoping they might also excel at others.

Given the influence of Ilseong, a dinosaur among dinosaurs, one thing was certain.

Korea was about to become very interesting.

“Yeah, I guess…… But honestly, can he do it? No way. It's been 40 hours and he still hasn't come out? At this point, just coming back alive would be a win.”

“……

True.”

They didn't even know whether he was alive or dead right now.

Normally, if someone entered a Gate and failed to emerge for over a month past the expected period, they were declared dead.

That was how high the death rate inside Gates was.

And this was a hated Gate rated 95.

It wouldn't be strange if he'd died inside.‘If he's going to fail anyway, I hope he at least comes back alive…….’Reporter Kim thought privately.

Kim Minwoo had managed to shake all of Korea in just a few days.

He didn't know whether the man was really a super rookie.

But he was definitely promising.

Korea was already suffering from a drought of Awakened.

Countries like Japan, America, and China were waging vicious recruitment wars.

Whenever a promising Awakened appeared, they immediately arrived carrying sacks of money.

Kim Minwoo was one of the very few chosen Awakened free from that issue.

“Yawn. I'm sleepy. I'm about to get some sleep. What about you, Reporter Kim?”

“I'll wait a little longer.”

“Don't overdo it. Old man, your bones are going to rot if you keep…….”

“……!”

Both reporters' eyes suddenly widened.

And not just theirs. Every reporter nearby reacted the same way.

“Wake them up! Hurry!”

From reporters dozing off to those sleeping inside tents, everyone poured out.

The Gate was rippling.

The signal that the party inside was coming out.

Only one party had entered there recently.1-person party, Kim Minwoo.

Cold sweat ran down every reporter's forehead.

Their hearts began pounding like mad.

Only two possibilities remained.

White or green?

If it was the former, it would be recorded as the valiant struggle of a promising rookie.

But if it was the latter, the green of a successful clear…….

“Holy shit…….”

“It's green! Green!”

“Fuck, it's a world record?!”

“Post the article now! You bastard! Don't worry about the body, just upload the headline first!”

In an instant, the waiting area in front of the Gate became as chaotic as a marketplace.