Chapter 154

Chapter 154

Spendthrift Necromancer (154)

Countless different races lived on the Caesar Continent. Among the most prominent were Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, and Barbarians.

Together with the Orcs, they had once been called the Five Great Powers.

War against the uninvited guests who had suddenly appeared one day had been inevitable.

The Witch and Ice Dragon.

They fought desperately against the two.

And every last race got fucked.

The Witch's forces endlessly expanded while the other races dwindled without end.

Barbarians and Gnomes alike.

Only a handful of tribes remained, fighting a desperate last stand.

They had thought extinction was only a matter of time…….

“Chief! The undead disappeared!”

“The Fortress is empty too!”

“Huh?”

The Apostle's forces had abruptly withdrawn.

At first they suspected a trap, but even after several days, the Fortress remained empty.

And that wasn't all…….

“S-Sunlight!”

“It's warm!”

Warm sunlight poured across the eastern continent where the Gnomes lived.

Feeling sunlight for the first time in ages, the Gnomes melted onto the ground with blissful expressions. The chief was no exception.How long had it been since they'd felt warmth like this?!

That was when.

“Excuse me.”

“……

A human?”

A human man and woman were standing there, staring at them and speaking.

There was nothing particularly strange about that.

Other races might dominate the continent, but that didn't mean humans didn't exist here.

“Pleasure to meet you. I'm Kim Minwoo, Commander of the Northern Resistance Army. The person beside me is my summon.”

Northern Resistance Army?

The Gnome chief tilted his head and asked.

“Never heard of it.”

“Looks like the news hasn't spread this far. Anyway, you can see the weather's warm now, right?”

“Uh…… yeah?”

“I saved the continent. Killed that Ice Dragon bastard, captured the Witch, handled everything.”

“You expect us to believe that?”

“You know what the Witch looks like, right?”

The Gnome chief nodded.

Of course he did.

Every other Gnome knew too.

“Then this is easy. Hey, come out.”

“W-Witch?!”

“Eeeek! The Witch!”

The Gnomes freaked out at the woman who smoothly appeared beside him.

Witch Iris!

She was so infamous that every Gnome, from children to old men, could recite her appearance from memory.

As the Gnomes tried fleeing in every direction, Merhen extended one hand.

Their bodies froze in place.

Then Merhen stared at Iris. Iris's mouth opened like an automatic door.

“……

Calm down. We don't intend to hurt you.”

“……?”

The Gnomes rolled their eyes and tilted their heads.

“I've repented for what I did in the past and decided to follow Lord Kim Minwoo here. You saw it, didn't you? The weather became warm.”

“Y-You repented?”

“An evil bitch like you?”

“……

Yeah. An evil bitch like me.”

Iris glared at the Gnomes as anger surged for an instant.―Make your eyes nice.

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

One warning from Merhen and Iris's expression immediately corrected itself. Her hands naturally folded politely in front of her as well.

The Gnomes stared wide-eyed.

“Uh…… is that really the Witch?”

“That evil bitch would never act like that……?”

Kim Minwoo looked at them and spoke.

“As you can see, it really is the Witch. Which brings me to my point. If you've received a favor, it's only proper to repay it, right?”

“Uh…… if you really killed the Ice Dragon and captured the Witch, then yeah. We should repay you.”

The Gnome chief quickly nodded.

It was too sudden to easily believe, but if everything the human said was true, then they had received an enormous favor.

Hadn't they been contemplating the extinction of their entire race only days ago?

And although this human was smiling as he spoke, he was clearly a monster capable of handling the Witch as though she were one of his own limbs.

When everyone was still smiling, it was best to understand the situation quickly.

In that sense, Gnomes were quite gifted at surviving through social awareness.

“I heard Gnomes craft Runes and use them on equipment. Could I see one?”

“That's easy.”

The chief handed him a dagger.

Kim Minwoo examined it.[Elsica's Dagger〈1〉][Rank: Magic][Requirement: Level 200 or higher][A sharp-looking dagger.]〈Rune of Severing II〉[Effect 1. Stabbing causes increased bleeding.][Effect 2. Agility, Stamina +20][Additional Rune Effect][Cutting Power +20%]

It was a completely unremarkable Magic dagger.

But…….‘This Rune is fucking insane.’The Rune.

That was remarkable.

Only one had been inserted, yet its effect could slap around the options on most equipment.‘This kind of sweet crafting technique existed?’They said the world was vast and Hidden Gates were many.

This was exactly that sort of situation.

“About Runes. What exactly is the mechanism?”

“I'll make it simple. You can insert up to three into each piece of equipment. The lower the item's rank, the fewer you can use.”

“So because this is Magic, it only has one?”

“Something like that.”

“And?”

“The II means it's a Stage 2 Rune. Magic equipment can only hold up to Stage 2.”

“So Rare takes Stage 3, Unique takes Stage 4. Like that?”

“Exactly.”

“But for a chief, this dagger's performance is a little…… unfortunate.”

“……

We Gnomes aren't Dwarves. We're not good at crafting objects. And after fighting for so long, all our good weapons were destroyed.”

“So you can make powerful Runes, but you don't have weapons to socket them into?”

“More or less.”

I see.

This was why cooperation between races mattered.

What if Dwarves and Gnomes had worked together?

They could've shown everyone exactly what it meant to win through equipment.

But what could you do?

He'd heard the races around here didn't get along very well.

They even lived in completely different regions, so there had never been much opportunity to cooperate.

Anyway.

“I really like these.”

“Our Rune Crafting is pretty damn good.”

“Can they be inserted into accessories too?”

“Of course. There are limits, though.”

“What kind?”

“Accessories are small.”

“True.”

“You're doing well if you manage one in a ring. Necklaces can hold up to two.”

You could put one into a ring?‘That's actually better.’You could equip up to ten rings.

Because humans had ten fingers.

In other words, the entire category of ‘rings’ could hold ten Runes.

Armor or helmets, on the other hand?

Three at best.

So rings actually had the greatest potential.

“I really, really want to learn this.”

Even if he had to threaten them with a knife.

Kim Minwoo began staring at the chief with burning eyes.

The chief's gaze darted around before he answered.

“I-I can teach you…… but it'll take a long time to learn. Is that okay? This isn't easy.”

“You don't need to worry about that.”

It didn't matter how difficult it was.

He wasn't the one learning production techniques anyway.

The Skeletons were.

They could simply keep grinding until they learned.

Kim Minwoo and the chief continued talking.

“So you're asking me to send the Rune craftsmen to the center?”

“Yes. They can teach there. I've cleaned up anything dangerous, so there's nothing to worry about. Just bring yourselves. I'll treat you well.”

“Very well.”

“Thank you. By the way, everyone looks a little thin.”

The chief gave a bitter smile.

“Until a few days ago, it was winter. Food was difficult to find.”

“Take these.”

Food?

He'd stuffed his Spatial Rings full precisely in case something like this happened. Wasn't the Orc Gate practically a land filled with starving people?

“What is this? Looks like there's a fish drawn on it.”

“It's canned food. Open it like this and eat.”

Following Minwoo's demonstration, the Gnome chief opened the can and peered inside.

A steel container packed with what looked like pieces of fish flesh.

A fascinating sight.

The moment he tasted the contents, his eyes widened.

“S-So savory!”

How long had it been since he'd tasted fish!

The Gnomes hurriedly emptied the cans of tuna. And that wasn't all the canned food.

“This one's corn. This is canned fruit. This one's meat…….”

The Gnomes devoured all kinds of canned food. And beyond that, they received generous amounts of bread and every other kind of food.

There was so much that they brought carts to haul it away, bowing again and again. Perhaps because of the warm support, their gazes became noticeably more respectful.

“Th-Thank you.”

“It's nothing. Then the craftsmen…….”

“Wait here.”

Soon, every Rune craftsman, including the chief, gathered.

“Rune Crafting is precious. Including me, there are only thirty craftsmen left. Is that okay?”

“Of course. Then let's go.”

Merhen gestured.

The craftsmen's bodies instantly rose into the sky.

“Whoa?”

“We're flying?”

“Nothing to be afraid of. We're only doing this to move quickly.”

With her Skill upgraded to SSS-rank, Merhen could now pull off stunts like this.

Riding the wind.

Kim Minwoo and the group of Gnome craftsmen began heading toward the center.* * *Kim Minwoo met the Barbarians as well.

“A human?”

“Hey, nice to meet you.”

“Uh, Witch?”

“Yes, I've repented.”

Iris spoke with her head lowered in resignation. Another conversation almost identical to the one with the Gnomes followed.

Warm food support.

Then the part about repaying their ‘debt.’

Afterward.

“You want to see our tattoos?”

“I'm very curious.”

“Easy enough.”

Smack.

Smack.

The Barbarian chief sucked the grease from his fingers and stripped off his beast-hide clothes. A bear tattoo covered his chest, looking ready to slam down its forepaw at any moment. And the tattoos didn't stop there. His ankles, back, even bald head. They covered all kinds of places.

Once Minwoo examined them, their effects appeared.[Bear Tattoo][Stage 4][Area: Chest][Effect 1. Strength +12%][Eagle Tattoo][Stage 4][Area: Shoulder Blades][Effect 1. Agility +12%][Cheetah Tattoo][Stage 4][Area: Ankles][Effect 1. Movement Speed +12%][Skull Tattoo][Stage 4][Area: Head][Effect 1. Magic +12%]‘Damn.’So every sweet thing in the world had been gathered inside this Gate.

Kim Minwoo lamented.

He'd committed a sin all this time by not knowing about a Hidden Gate this good.

“About tattoos. Are you limited to four body parts?”

“No. You can add as many as you want.”

“Then why do you only have four, Chief?”

“Because I can't accept any more.”

“Can't accept them?”

“I heard the Great Chieftain of the past had eight tattoos. But four was my limit.”

“What happens if you add more?”

“They have no effect.”

“You only know after drawing them?”

“You'll feel it once they're inscribed. Want me to give you one?”

“Uh, one thing first.”

“Speak.”

“Do they have to be as big as yours? Can't they be small?”

Chest, shoulder blades, skull, ankles.

The actual areas might not sound that large, but the tattoos themselves felt large enough to cover nearly his entire body.

Living like that in Korea could become somewhat troublesome.

A small tattoo could pass as a hobby, but this looked more like full-body ink.

“You want it small?”

“Yes.”

“Why? This looks incredible.”

The chief asked as though he genuinely couldn't understand.

“Personal preference. Please respect it. Does making them smaller reduce their performance?”

“Of course. The amount of material used is different from the start.”

“What if you cram the same amount of material as a large tattoo into a small one?”

“Never tried. I don't know.”

“Then we can test it now.”

“Fine. Bring me materials. I don't have any.”

“Sure.”

He killed some nearby monsters and brought back the materials.

Since they only needed to confirm whether it worked, they decided to inscribe an easy Stage 1 tattoo.

Near his ankle.

According to the chief, removing tattoos was simple, so there was no burden in experimenting. After repeatedly layering the tattoo until it was about the size of a pill.[Stage 1 Cheetah Tattoo has been inscribed on your ankle!][Effect 1. Movement Speed +3%]

“It works?”

“It does. Still don't understand why you'd do it this way.”

Kim Minwoo grinned.

Why was he trying to make the tattoo small?

Korean sensibilities were one reason, but more importantly.‘Skeletons can't take huge tattoos.’They only had bones.

There wasn't enough continuous surface area to draw something large. Inscribing small tattoos directly onto individual bones was the best possible approach. And judging by this, it seemed feasible.

Four tattoos was the chief's limit.

Then what about Cedric?

Now he was curious.

“I really, really want to learn this.”

“Shake my hand.”

Kim Minwoo extended his hand.

The Barbarian chief seized it and began applying strength.

He was fairly strong.

But Minwoo's stats had already surpassed one thousand. He was hardly someone who would lose in a contest of strength. The moment Minwoo applied a little force, the chief's face gradually flushed red.

Then.

“You pass.”

“Yes.”

“You pass.”

“Yes.”

“No, I said you pass.”

“Yes. I heard you.”

“Ghhh……!”

Only then did the Barbarian chief's brow twist in genuine pain.

His knees slowly began buckling.

“Pretty strong, aren't I?”

“I-I admit it. I lost. So this hand…….”

“I want to learn the tattoos.”

“I'll teach you! So stop…….”

“With all your heart?”

“With all my heart! I'll research making them smaller too! It hurts!”

“Excellent.”

Only then did Kim Minwoo release his hand.

When dealing with people who wanted to test strength, the correct answer was to show them clearly.

That way the hierarchy was properly settled.

Just like now.

He patted the chief's shoulder.

“Call the craftsmen. Let's head to the center.”* * *By the time the Gnome craftsmen arrived at the center, every other race had already gathered.

Barbarians with their tattoos.

Elves with Alchemy.

Dwarves with their forging techniques.‘Finally gathered all four divine tools.’While feeding Snowy the Fragments, he'd brought the craftsmen of all four races together. Someone might ask why he'd bothered when he'd already learned the Dwarven and Elven techniques.‘They're still only D-rank.’His crafting Skills were low-rank.

If there were teachers?

Naturally, raising proficiency would become much faster. And now that his Magic had increased and he could summon far more Skeletons, splitting them into four groups was effortless.

The different races stared awkwardly at one another.

“Um, but.”

“What about the Orcs?”―Gruk?

The Orcs tilted their heads.

Urkan stepped forward to represent them.―Gruk! We handle chores! Tell us whenever you need muscle!

Strong and tireless Orcs.

They were practically made for grunt work.

While the other races taught the Skeletons, the Orcs would handle every annoying physical task.

The Skeletons would spend every second of that time absorbing instruction.

Clap!

Kim Minwoo clapped and drew the attention of all four races.

“I know things are awkward. But since we're here, why don't you all get acquainted? You've all been through hard times, haven't you?”

“Ahem.”

“Well…….”

He wasn't wrong.

Did they really think only their own race had suffered?

The others had probably gone through hell too.

They knew that.

It was just awkward being gathered together so suddenly.

He summoned the Skeletons.Level 370.

And the necklace he'd obtained this time gave all stats +150.

His current Magic had already surpassed 1,400.

Converted to Mana, that meant over 14,000.

Converted to Skeleton Apprentices?Well over 5,600.

Split four ways, that gave around 1,400 per racial technique.

Considering he'd summoned roughly one thousand when he first entered the Orc Gate, it was tremendous progress.

Clatter!

The Gnomes and Barbarians stared in shock at the swarming Skeletons.

If they were shocked by the sheer numbers, the Elves and Dwarves noticed something else.

Only a few days had passed, yet the Skeletons' appearance had changed beyond recognition.

“Oh, now they finally look somewhat like Blacksmiths. They all have bone hammers.”

“……

Bone flasks?”

Apprentice Blacksmiths and Apprentice Alchemists.

Classes already registered in the Skeleton Class Advancement list.

If they learned Rune Crafting and Tattooing, more Classes might be added.

Rune Crafters.

Tattooists.

Things like that.[Apprentice Skeleton Blacksmith 203 learns Dwarven Crafting Techniques from ‘Obern’…….][Apprentice Skeleton Alchemist 404 learns Alchemy from ‘Elond’…….][Skeleton Apprentice 303 learns Rune Crafting from ‘Ultron’…….][Skeleton Apprentice 1,707 learns Tattooing from ‘Tobaba’…….][They are learning different production Skills!][Collective Intelligence Sharing!][Production Skill proficiency increases extremely rapidly!]

Pleasant messages began appearing.