Chapter 170

Chapter 170

Spendthrift Necromancer (170)

It was time to strengthen their forces.

Socketing Runes into equipment was only the beginning.‘There's a lot to buy.’Starting with strengthening the guild members and Legion Commanders, this time he planned to reinforce all his summons as well.‘For that, I need Dragon Blood.’A tremendous amount of it.

He opened the guild website.

The site, launched around a month ago, received hundreds of thousands of visitors every day.

An incredible amount of attention compared to the guild's size.

That showed just how famous Spendthrift Guild had become.

He wrote a post.[Notice: Buying.]

Starting with Dragon Blood for the Bloodwater Prison Orb, followed by hundreds of materials used for Runes and tattoos.

Materials that cost anywhere from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of won. He posted purchase offers at 20% above asking price for every last one.(* Total Purchase Budget: 150 trillion won)(* Purchase Period: Until all available cash is exhausted.)(* Sellers may visit Ilseong Group Headquarters.)

Total investment: 150 trillion.

Time to spend some money.* * *Dorim Guild.

Number one in Korea.

Once, they had truly shone brilliantly.

Now things were different.

Their parent company, Dorim, had begun to falter, and the guild suffered along with it.

Investment funding had already been slashed.

They used to receive more than five trillion every year.

This year, they weren't even sure they'd receive a quarter of that.

It was bitterly cold.

And in the middle of enduring that brutal winter, Guild Master Lee Minjun received some news.

“……Not fifteen billion, but 150 trillion?”

“Yes, Guild Master. The notice is already up on their website.”

“That lunatic?”

Lee Minjun clicked his tongue after reading it. Just how much money did the bastard have to spend 150 trillion on materials alone?

“It's not…… a bluff, right?”

“The U.S. Congress approved the equity purchase a few days ago. They agreed to spend 100 trillion for 5%.”

“So Kim Minwoo already has 100 trillion?”

“Yes. And considering his close relationship with China…… obtaining this much liquidity probably isn't difficult for him.”

Lee Minjun shuddered.

Officially, Dorim Guild was still ranked first.

But that was only on paper.

Most spectators already considered Spendthrift Guild Korea's real number one.

After all, hadn't they demolished fifth-ranked Ilseong Guild in one shot?

With only three people.

“……

Looking at the list, it's mostly materials. Why do you think he needs this much?”

“Maybe he's strengthening his summons. Like when he bought bones before.”

“……

Haa.”

Lee Minjun rubbed his forehead.

The airport incident.

Countless videos had already spread everywhere.

He'd witnessed Kim Minwoo's true value there.

No.

More accurately, he'd witnessed the terror of his summons.

Watching just a handful of Skeletons effortlessly bring down Level 600 Awakened!

The scene sent chills down his spine.

The summons were already powerful enough as they were.‘And if he pours another 150 trillion into them…….’Just how strong were they going to become?

He couldn't even imagine.

“……

Guild Master. What do we do? Ignore it?”

“Ignore what? He's paying 20% above market, isn't he?”

“Yes.”

“Even if we don't move, foreign guilds will. Right?”

“……

That's true. The trade volume is enormous.”

“Then we should sell too. We're already strapped for cash.”

“Yes. I've heard all ten of Korea's top guilds are already moving.”

“……Won't be long before we lose first place too.”

“Don't take it too hard, Guild Master. What can we do when a lunatic who spends money like this appears?”

Lee Minjun nodded bitterly. It wasn't merely that he spent a lot. His personal strength and talent had already entered a realm where calling him a world-class ranker wouldn't be strange.

“Let's move quickly. Before his funds run out.”

Dorim's guild members nodded.150 trillion looked enormous, but if the entire world moved, it was also an amount that could vanish quickly.

There weren't exactly only one or two guilds in existence.‘Haa.’‘I'm jealous.’Spendthrift Guild's members would probably enjoy the benefits too. Feeling envious, Dorim's guild members trudged toward a Gate.

Lee Minjun felt exactly the same.* * *Pay high.

Buy in bulk.

Because he was making an ultra-large purchase, sellers began flocking in from everywhere. The effect didn't stop within Korea. Major guilds from overseas rushed in to sell materials as well.

Only one week.150 trillion was completely exhausted.‘That first day was insane…….’As though everyone in the world had decided this was their chance to unload stockpiled materials, Awakened flooded in from everywhere.

Sixty trillion vanished in a single day.

And money kept disappearing afterward.

Of course, it wasn't as though he got nothing in return. The training center records at the guild headquarters made that obvious.

Inside cyberspace.

Seo Yerim moved fiercely with sensors attached all over her body.

Every arrow she fired dropped monsters one after another.[Record updated!][Congratulations!][(New!) Seo Yerim: 7 minutes 53 seconds ―〉 5 minutes 44 seconds.]

She removed the sensors and stepped out, drenched in sweat.

“This is insane. It dropped by more than two minutes!”

Her face was flushed with excitement.

And understandably so.

She hadn't gained any Levels or created any new Skills, yet her record had plummeted.

Dramatically.

“Hyung! I broke nine minutes too! I'm down to seven!”

“Of course you improved. I poured thirty trillion into the two of you combined.”

“Uh…… that's true…….”

Seo Yerim and Park Siwoo broke into cold sweats.

Apparently they were only now realizing how much money had gone into strengthening them. Seo Yerim stared at her bow.[Divine Archer Iperin]〈Piercing Rune II〉, 〈Accuracy Rune II〉, 〈Execution Rune II〉[Additional Rune Effects][Piercing Power +20%.][Accuracy receives a 20% adjustment.][Critical Damage +20%.]

Rune bonuses ridiculous enough to make anyone click their tongue.

And it wasn't only the bow. Every piece of equipment had Runes socketed into it.

There was nothing strange about her combat power being inflated by nearly 40%.‘It really is incredible…….’She stared at Kim Minwoo. She hadn't simply sat idle while he'd been crafting Runes.

She'd watched every part of the Rune-crafting process……

And could now define the Rune Crafting Skill in one phrase.‘Insane spending.’That was exactly what it was.

Garbage options appeared constantly.

Every time they did, tens of billions vanished into thin air.

“Th-Thank you. For supporting us this much.”

“Me too, Hyung.”

“If you're members of our guild, I should flex at least this much. And it's not like I lost everything.”

“You consider strengthening the two of us worth that much?”

“No, Miss Seo Yerim. That's some serious self-importance. No matter how strong the two of you became, calling it thirty trillion worth is a little much.”

“R-Right. Of course. Probably not.”

She hurriedly answered, face flushing bright red.

“I'm going to sell the leftover garbage Runes. That should recover some of the loss.”

“Is it okay to reveal that ability?”

“If I don't reveal it, every garbage Rune just rots inside my inventory.”

“Uh…… true.”

“I don't plan to reveal myself directly either. I'm thinking of inventing a fictional person.”

One of Ilseong Group's master craftsmen.

Unknown K.

Something like that.

He'd claim this mysterious person had obtained the Rune Crafting technique. Countless organizations would probably approach them.

Even then.‘Security should hold for a few months.’Afterward, whether the truth came out or not.

He could think about it later.

One thing was certain.

Selling the garbage Runes and converting them back into money was far better than leaving them buried inside his inventory.

He looked at Han Sia.

She'd received benefits too.

Her Class was Mage and her Level was somewhat low, so he hadn't socketed Runes for her.

Even so, he'd wrapped her entire body in Unique equipment.

Low-Level gear turned out to be easy to obtain.

And he'd given her some spending money to maintain appearances.

“Miss Sia, once your new Class is settled, I'll support you on the same scale as the others. At minimum, we're talking trillions. So I hope you won't feel disappointed.”

“N-No! I'm fine! This alone is already incredible!”

Han Sia hurriedly waved both hands. The Unique equipment support alone had cost well over 200 billion.

And that wasn't all.

He'd given her fifty billion won as spending money.

Then bought her a luxury apartment too.

An apartment with a Han River view worth well over ten billion won.

All of this had happened less than a week after she joined the guild.

How could she possibly complain?

If anything, for someone who had lived almost like an ordinary citizen, the scale of it all was overwhelming enough to make her uncomfortable.

“But really…… can I actually change Classes? It's hard to believe…….”

“I'm not certain. Still, I think it's absolutely worth waiting to see.”

If her Class didn't change, she'd be a Mage with the talent of a Priest.

Surely whoever was up there wouldn't want to watch something that ugly either?

There were two possible solutions.

Change her Priest talent back into Mage talent.

Or give her a Class Change Ticket like Seo Yerim had received.

Either way.

For now, waiting was the answer.

Buying expensive Mage equipment and filling it with Runes only for her Class to change afterward would be a disaster.

“Miss Sia.”

“Yes.”

“We're about to start hitting Griff. I'd like your help.”

While he'd been spending money and reinforcing his forces, Griff had stayed relatively quiet.

At most, they'd applied diplomatic pressure demanding the prisoners be released.

He didn't know whether they were watching for now or were simply in a position where direct intervention was difficult.

Either way, one thing was certain.

His side had spent 150 trillion strengthening the summons and guild members.

If the other side had no intention of moving immediately.‘Then we strike first.’Hardcore veterans knew a great deal of information.

“If there's anything I can do to help, anything at all.”

“Good. Then let's do a livestream. On NewTube.”

It had been a while since his last live broadcast.* * *NewTube channel Wastrel.

Kim Minwoo's channel was one of the platform's giants, with well over a hundred million subscribers.

Awakened channels that exceeded the hundred-million mark generally fell into one of two categories.

A globally famous guild channel.

Or a world ranker.

Kim Minwoo was neither.

His Level wasn't merely below world-ranker level. He was still a complete low-Level newbie.

He hadn't even uploaded ten videos.

That had gotten him into the Guinness Book.

The case of gaining the most subscribers with the fewest uploaded videos.

Then a broadcast notice appeared on his channel.[Livestream Notice

- Introducing Our New Guild Member.]

A few hours later, when the livestream began, more than three million viewers were already watching.

“Good to see you. I'm Kim Minwoo. We recently recruited a new face into the guild, so I'll introduce her here. Miss Han Sia?”

“Ah, hello. I'm Han Sia…….”―Huh?―Isn't that the person from the airport incident?―Yeah. Name matches too. Han Sia, third-year student at the Korean Academy!―So they recruited a Mage?

The chat exploded.

News about Han Sia had already spread widely.

She'd been beside Kim Minwoo when he fought the Griff family at the airport.

On top of that, her mixed heritage gave her distinctive features, so it wasn't strange that information about her had spread quickly.

Kim Minwoo watched the chat and spoke.

“You all think she's a Mage. She's not. I recruited her as a Priest.”―?―??―Oh, is this like Seo Yerim's case?―Maybe? Another Class change?

That was when.

Clap!

Kim Minwoo clapped and looked into the camera.

“Aren't you curious why I fought the Griff family? I came here today to tell that story.”―Holy shit…….―I thought he just did it to defend national pride?―Something big coming?

“Miss Han Sia here. She's the Griff family head's illegitimate daughter. An illegitimate daughter whose talent was stolen through vicious experiments. Am I right?”

“……

Yes. That's right. My father is Lucas, the family head.”

Thousands of messages per second began flooding past at the shocking revelation.

Kim Minwoo calmly continued explaining. That nearly eighty percent of her talent had been stolen. That Han Sia had become sickly because of it.

That Lucas was targeting what remained of her talent.

And that Kim Minwoo had no intention of backing down.

“There's a phrase called a game of chicken. Roughly speaking, the first person to back off loses. Mr. Lucas probably has no intention of giving up either, right? Of course not. Then the talent he stole would never become complete.”

Kim Minwoo grinned and reached into his coat. A sheet of paper appeared before him.

“So I thought I'd throw the first punch. Griff's Mages are unusual. They're good with swords, aren't they? They even have that distinctive position called magical knights. Right, Miss Han Sia?”

“That's right.”

“I always found that fascinating. Unless you're a genius like me, it's difficult to excel in several fields at once, right? So I dug around a little. And what I found was horrifying.”

Gulp.

Han Sia swallowed.

She already knew what information Kim Minwoo was about to reveal.

And how enormous its impact would be.

“What if they kidnapped children talented in swordsmanship and subjected them to horrific human experiments? What if they stole those children's talent and handed it over to others? What if that's why Mages ended up possessing swordsmanship talent as well?”

Kim Minwoo's expression turned serious.

“Don't even think about denying it. Oberstaufen at the foot of the Alps. Brühl and Solingen near Cologne. The lakeside at Nordank and the forests of Kilunzi. You have an awful lot of secret facilities. I've already secured the evidence too. My close friend, U.S. President Robert, helped me.”

Photographs spilled from Kim Minwoo's coat. Countless children were being dragged away beneath rough sacks.

“A warning to Germany. There's a useful phrase called cutting your losses. Why not cut them loose now? Unless you want to be the shrimp whose back gets broken when whales fight.”