Chapter 160

Chapter 160

Spendthrift Necromancer (160)

Han SiaPrincipal Han Seongil looked at Kim Minwoo.

The U.S. President and Chinese President.

Minwoo already dealt personally with both giants. It wouldn't be strange for him to know secret information concerning the Griff family and Han Sia.

And he still intended to recruit her despite knowing all of that?‘This could get big…….’Han Seongil swallowed.

What kind of Awakened was Kim Minwoo?

The eldest son of Ilseong, which had now risen to reign as emperor of Korea's business world, and Korea's next representative Awakened, whom the government had also begun supporting with all its strength.

Korea's political and business circles?

They were already on his side.

His string of achievements had sent public support soaring through the roof as well.

In other words, Kim Minwoo was Korea itself.

And his opponent in this sparring match was none other than…….

The Griff family that ruled Germany. A family that could likewise be considered Germany itself.

Ultimately, this matchup had every chance of becoming a deathmatch between Korea and Germany.

“……

How far do you intend to take this?”

“To the end.”

Kim Minwoo answered without hesitation.

Han Sia.

As one of the game's main characters, there was an enormous amount riding on her.

Achievement Points were only the beginning. Guidance of Fate was at stake too.‘I absolutely need to add her.’Park Siwoo's potential had already made that perfectly clear.

When Minwoo summoned his future through Guidance of Fate, he'd wielded Mind Sword freely.

It was an ability that could prove valuable even in the battle against the Outer God.

Would Han Sia be any different?

Probably not.

Han Seongil nodded at his answer.

If Minwoo's resolve had been halfhearted, stopping him for Korea's sake would've been correct.

But if his determination ran that deep.‘Then I should help.’For Han Sia's sake.

And for Korea's sake, if it could gain a Mage with talent that extraordinary.

He was Korean too.

Resolve entered Han Seongil's eyes.

“What can I do to help?”

“For starters, I'd like to meet Miss Han Sia quietly. In a way that doesn't look suspicious.”

Killing the family head could come later.

The priority was keeping Griff from realizing anything was wrong.

A quiet surprise attack always hurt the most.

“How about this? We randomly select students and have the two of you hold counseling sessions with them. It's hardly unusual, so Griff probably won't think much of it.”

“That sounds good.”

Then Kim Minwoo looked at Isabella.

She had a translator in her ear, so she should've understood everything.

“You heard all that, right? I'd like your help.”

“With the counseling?”

“You think I brought you along just for that? We're going to turn Griff upside down.”

“How?”

“I know quite a few of their dirty secrets.”

Being a hardcore veteran came with a wealth of information.

The Griff family's dirty secrets?

He knew plenty.

Revealing even a few of their secret facilities would cause an uproar.

Those bastards weren't ordinary trash.

“So you want me to fight with you too?”

“Yes. Only through the public-opinion battle.”

“……

Only the public-opinion battle? If you want, I can help more actively.”

“And you get Mind Fist in return?”

“Ahem.”

Isabella cleared her throat and added.

“Lucas is strong. You'll need help.”

If Isabella embodied France's accumulated might, Lucas embodied Germany's.

And the amount of time he'd lived as an Awakened was incomparably longer.

He was in his sixties.

He had spent nearly fifty years grinding inside Gates.

And that wasn't all.

Family Head Lucas's recent growth had been terrifying.

He'd risen enough to enter the world rankings.‘So that happened because he stole Han Sia's talent.’Only now did Isabella roughly understand the full picture.

Either way.

If he'd drained talent that monstrous, his danger was obvious.

That was why she was warning him.

And also why she was practically begging him to make more active use of her.

There was no way he'd teach her Mind Fist just for helping a little with public opinion…….

“No need. I was planning to teach you anyway.”

“You were planning to teach me? This suddenly?”

“You don't want it?”

“No, I do!”

Isabella answered hurriedly.

She'd practically lived at Sword Sea Pavilion recently, but the four old men had never taught her the techniques of the mind. At most, they'd passed down bits of know-how.

It had been like dropping a single bead of water onto a throat cracked dry from thirst.

That was how desperately she wanted to learn.

Which was why she'd come looking for Kim Minwoo the moment he returned.

And now he was going to teach her this easily?

She was dumbfounded.

“Why?”

“Does the reason matter?”

Kim Minwoo shrugged.

The Guidance of Fate list.

Isabella was on it too. There would be an enormous difference between summoning a future Isabella who knew Mind Fist and one who didn't.

So it was better to teach her boldly and leave her with a psychological debt.

He could collect that debt later.

“Then I'll help more with this matter too…….”

“No need. You can repay the debt later.”

If Isabella became deeply involved here, Minwoo wouldn't get to enjoy himself properly.‘Starting with the Achievement Points.’If their contributions ended up fifty-fifty, there was a risk the points would be split.

That was also why he hadn't accepted help from powerhouses like the Sword Immortal when hunting the Korean Shadow branch.

This was no different.

A family head of that caliber should easily be worth more than one thousand Achievement Points. And that was only the base value. If the Achievement Vending Machine doubled it, he might receive over two thousand. A fish that huge tasted best when swallowed whole.

Could he kill Lucas alone?‘I can.’He'd gained a great deal from this trip through the Orc Gate.

A Level gap alone was no reason he couldn't win.

That was why he rejected Isabella's offer.

“Please just help with the public-opinion battle.”

“……

Understood.”

Isabella nodded reluctantly. If he was absolutely determined to refuse, there wasn't much she could do. Apparently she'd have to repay her debt in some other way later.* * *The prestigious magical family that ruled Germany.

The Griff family.

Every member of its bloodline was born with magical talent and left their mark upon the magical world.

Family Head Lucas was no exception.

He was called a genius.He dominated the second generation.

For a family head like him, his greatest duty was spreading his descendants as widely as possible.

More talented.

And more excellent.

To create the next masterpiece.

Hundreds of illegitimate children were born.

Han Sia was one of them. And she was also his most beautiful masterpiece.

The child was born and conjured magic over her hand instead of crying.

She had never learned magic.

She hadn't even Awakened.

Yet this child could conjure magic?

Everyone who witnessed it shuddered.

Terrifying talent.―Hahaha!

The family head burst into crazed laughter for the first time upon seeing the illegitimate child.

If she'd merely been reasonably talented like his other children, she would've been used as another tool for the family.

Raised to a suitable level and made to live for Griff.

But she shone too brightly.

Her talent was so magnificent even the family head himself coveted it.

Paradoxically, that brilliance doomed her life to fall into an abyss.

As a sacrifice for the family head's growth.

Every night she climbed onto a strange machine and endured the horrific pain of feeling her soul being pulled from her body.

And the man called her father would smile in satisfaction.―You truly are Griff's blessing.

Day after day of that dogshit praise.Fifteen years in Germany.

Her life inside the Griff family was a memory of hell.

Her body grew thinner with each passing day.

She cried every night.

She cursed her own talent.

She hated the existence of magic.

And so the child who had once shone most brightly gradually lost her light.

One day, her magic stopped manifesting. It was also the first day the family head's gaze, always superficially warm, turned completely cold.―Broken?

Even the strange machine no longer worked. The family head could no longer gnaw away at her talent.

Her mother begged through tears.

If she was no longer useful, then at least let her go.

At the sight of her mother screaming and sobbing desperately, the monster nodded.―Fine. I'll give you ten years.

It was a promise.

And also a vicious shackle.Ten short years.

She was allowed to return to Korea, her mother's homeland.

That didn't mean her connection to Griff had been severed.

The family's Shadows.

Their eyes watched her and her mother everywhere, at all times.

Even here at the Korean Academy.

The bastards had even enrolled Awakened around her age into the Academy.

Solely to monitor her.

Then the door suddenly flew open.

A silver-haired woman appeared.

One wearing a name tag marking her as an Academy student.

Laura.

One of the Griff family's countless illegitimate children. She had also enrolled in the same year as Han Sia.

They were half-sisters.

“Sia, time to move. We have class!”

Laura spoke brightly, but Han Sia's gaze was cold.

She spoke like a close friend, but in essence, she was merely a watcher who had stuck to Sia for eight years.

“Smile, Han Sia! You'll get wrinkles.”

“Cough! Shut up.”

Han Sia snapped at her, and Laura answered with a mocking smile.

“You need to work hard. What are you going to do if you don't meet the family's standards this year? Your mother will be sad.”

“……

Fucking bitch.”Ten years of freedom.

There was a price.

Manifest magic above a certain level every year.

If she failed, she'd be sent back to Germany without exception. Fortunately, since coming to Korea, her magic had slowly begun manifesting again. This place was at least better than Germany.

She simply hid that fact at the Academy. The family wanted her to live quietly.

“Oh my, scary.”

Despite her words, Laura grinned.‘Annoying.’They might both be illegitimate children, but Laura and Sia were treated differently.

Ironically, that was because of the difference in talent. Laura possessed talent too thanks to Griff blood, but she was only somewhere around the upper tier.

Not enough to be placed inside that machine. That was why she could remain loyal to the family head.

Like a faithful dog.

That was when.

Ding!

A message arrived on both their phones simultaneously.[Special Counseling Notice][Special counseling will be held today at 2 PM.][Hosts: Kim Minwoo, Isabella][Participants: 40 total][Departments: Martial Arts Department, Magic Department, 20 students from each][Format: Random Lottery]

“Huh? Isn't that Kim Minwoo? The Kim Minwoo? Looks like he visited the Academy today.”

“Why are you getting so excited? This kind of thing isn't exactly rare.”

Han Sia answered Laura with a cold sneer.

Events like this weren't unusual at the Academy.

It was an institution where Korea's elite gathered.

Famous Guild Masters often made contact.

They might hold one-on-one counseling sessions with students or teach a one-day class.

The format was flexible.

Random lotteries like this happened often as well.

Probably to emphasize fairness.

Spendthrift Guild and Kim Minwoo might be famous, but they belonged to a world unrelated to her.

“So cold. Aren't you excited at all? It's the Spendthrift Guild! And Isabella's there too! Isabella!”

“Hah. Anyone hearing you would think you're actually Korean.”

“Of course. Half my soul is Korean. I've been watching you for eight years.”

Surveillance was terribly boring.

Especially when nothing interesting ever happened.

In that sense, an event like this was welcome even to Laura.

Kim Minwoo might not be a Mage, but didn't he have a famous summon?

Merhen.

The miracle she'd displayed during the Super Rookie Selection Tournament had already become widely known.

They said magic manifested one rank higher around her.

Perhaps an opportunity like that might fall into Laura's lap too.

Of course she'd be excited.

Then.

Ding!

A message arrived on Han Sia's phone.[Third-Year Magic Department student Han Sia. You have been selected as one of the 20 counseling participants. You are Number 1. Please come to the counseling room by 2 PM and make sure to participate…….]

Laura immediately stared at Han Sia.

Since Han Sia was a top-priority surveillance target, even the slightest change had to be reported immediately. Lately, there had been nothing beyond her coughing more often and growing thinner, but still.

Procedure was procedure.

“Ah, fucking annoying. Keep your mouth shut, do the counseling quietly, and come back. Got it?”

“……

I would've done that without you telling me.”

With that, she headed for the counseling room.

Creak.

The counseling-room door opened.

Kim Minwoo stood from inside.

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Han Sia. I'm Kim Minwoo.”

“……

Cough! Hello. Should I sit over there?”

“Yes. I noticed the security here is excellent. If there's anything you've never been able to talk about normally, feel free to say it without holding anything back.”

“……

There isn't really anything.”

Then.

Thud.

Kim Minwoo closed the door and stared at her.

“I hate beating around the bush. So I'll ask directly. Don't you want to escape the Griff family?”

“……!”

Han Sia's eyes shook violently.