Chapter 176

Chapter 176

Spendthrift Necromancer (176)

ReturnIsabella sprang to her feet.

Shock filled her eyes.‘What was that just now?’She had spent time with the four old men and seen techniques commonly called techniques of the mind, such as Mind Sword, Mind Spear, and Mind Fist.

That was why she could understand the first Mind Sword that had severed Lucas's arm.

But…….‘His body vanished completely in the middle.’It wasn't that he'd moved too fast for her to follow.

It felt like his body had disappeared from the world entirely.

“Truly remarkable.”

Sword Immortal, standing nearby, spoke with shining eyes.

Isabella asked in slightly awkward Korean.

“Elder. What was that?”

“His flesh escaped it. The material plane.”

“……

How is that possible?”

“His understanding must be deep.”

He had been the one to teach Sword Immortal about Mind Sword in the first place.

There must have been profound enlightenment at the foundation.‘And that wasn't the end…….’Not merely his weapon.

A realm where even the body itself could freely leave the material plane.

Kim Minwoo had already reached such a state.

“I've learned another move.”

Sword Immortal had never even imagined using it like that.

It was a genuine eye-opener.

Kim Minwoo's enlightenment always stood far ahead of his own.

Come to think of it, the time Kim Minwoo said he couldn't use Mind Sword either…….‘That must have been humility. That child has always been like that.’He suddenly recalled what Minwoo had said when they first met.―I understood it instinctively. That I couldn't go any farther. But I don't want to define my own limits this early. Maybe in some field other than the sword, I could.

Even after reaching this level of understanding, he had felt his limit.

So he had chosen to advance in a field other than the sword.

That was Necromancer.

Suddenly, Sword Immortal grew curious.

How far would Kim Minwoo go as a Necromancer?

While Sword Immortal and the other old men were admiring the display, Isabella's thoughts were different.

When she'd sparred with Kim Minwoo.

He hadn't used any technique like that.

Only his summons.

That had been barely a month ago.

There was no way he'd gone from being unable to use Mind Sword a month ago to mastering it now.‘Then back then…… did he really go easy on me?’Isabella's eyes darkened.

Twenty-five years old.

Only one year older than Kim Minwoo.

But the amount of time they'd lived as Awakened was completely different.

She Awakened at ten and had lived as one for fifteen years.

Kim Minwoo?

Barely half a year.

His growth rate was astonishing.

Even so, until now, she'd believed she was still ahead.

Because she'd won their previous spar.

Of course she'd used all her equipment, but equipment was part of an Awakened's ability too.

So somewhere deep down, she'd assumed she remained above him……

‘Wrong.’It was the exact opposite.

Objectively, she was far below him.

And this gap might only continue widening with time.

“The world truly is vast.”

Isabella spoke with eyes burning fiercely.

Her competitive spirit, which had been sleeping deep within her, was already boiling.

That was when.

Gray energy flowed out of Lucas's body.

Like a soul, it writhed into the air and floated toward Han Sia.

As the energy entered Han Sia's body, the light pouring from her became increasingly pure white.

Then.

Flash!

Light exploded.* * *The Duel had ended.

In the deathly silent training hall, Isabella walked over.

She spoke.

“I learned a great deal from those elders during my stay. Including from today's Duel.”

“You're returning home?”

She nodded.

“I think I've reached the stage where I need practice through real combat rather than theory. And I have work back home that's been piling up.”

Fair enough.

She'd originally come to Korea because of Ainel's Tablet.

Then she'd sparred and ended up getting held hostage by techniques like Mind Fist.

It had already been more than a month.

Considering she'd initially planned to return after half a day, she'd stayed quite a long time.

And she'd studied under the four elders too.‘It is about time she went back.’Wasn't she one of the busiest Awakened in the world?

Without Mind Fist, she wouldn't have stayed even one day.

“It was valuable time. I will definitely repay this debt. And…….”

Isabella spoke with burning eyes.

“Next time we spar, I'd like you not to go easy on me.”

“Uh…….”

He hadn't gone easy on her in the first place.

Apparently Guidance of Fate had created a strange misunderstanding.

Kim Minwoo thought for a moment, then grinned.

“Well, if you come back strong enough for that.”

Backing out now would look strange anyway.‘Something will work out.’He could leave tomorrow's problem to tomorrow's self.

Isabella nodded and looked behind him.

As the protagonist of today's Duel, an enormous crowd was already gathering around Kim Minwoo.

“You'll be busy. I'll leave now.”

Isabella was the first to exit.

Countless reporters waiting outside immediately shoved microphones toward her and bombarded her with questions.

“Miss Isabella! What happened in the Duel?”

“Kim Minwoo won. Overwhelmingly.”

Murmur!

The area erupted.

“Overwhelmingly…… he won?”

“That is how it looked to me. Then I'll be returning home now.”

“What? You're returning?”

“I need to train. If I'm going to catch Kim Minwoo.”

……

Catch him?

The phrasing was strange.

That was normally what someone behind said about the person ahead.

That was when.

Isabella glanced around and added.

“Isn't it almost time for Forbes to select its rankings? I think a new world ranker will be born this year. And rather high on the list.”

Forbes.

A company that selected Awakened rankings every June.

Its magazine was extremely famous.

Individual Class rankings were famous too, but the all-Class integrated ranking was considered the true crown jewel.

And there was something unusual in Isabella's remark.

World ranker.

Top 200 overall.

In other words, a title given to the two hundred strongest active Awakened in the world.

Retired Awakened belonged to the Hall of Fame, so only active fighters were counted.

But considering the Awakened population exceeded one billion, being called a world ranker was still no exaggeration as a description of the absolute peak of strength.

That much made sense.

Lucas had been a world ranker inside the top 200.

And Kim Minwoo had beaten him.

So Kim Minwoo would very likely become one too.

However, they needed to pay attention to the phrase ‘rather high.’

Those words came from Isabella.

World Rank 9.

A woman who had entered the top ten while still in her twenties.

Her words carried credibility.

Far too much of it.

“He's really that strong?”

“How the hell did they fight……?”

Either way.

One thing had become certain through this conversation.

At minimum, Isabella rated Kim Minwoo extremely highly.* * *Victory in the Duel.

The news shook not just Korea, but the entire world.

Lucas was already a world ranker.

And on top of that, Lucas had fought Kim Minwoo while using an evil power.

Countless international witnesses testified to that fact.

And Kim Minwoo had still won.

A rookie who hadn't even been Awakened for half a year.

Of course the news shook the world.

There wasn't even room for manipulation.

Because of one video uploaded to NewTube.

It showed the white barrier appearing and Lucas and Kim Minwoo being moved to their starting positions.

A perfectly clean video with no trickery or manipulation.―So the Duel really was established and he really won;; What the hell is that growth rate? He smashed a world ranker in half a year after Awakening?―There wasn't much room for manipulation anyway. How many witnesses were there? lol And nations were evenly represented.―For real lol Did you see the Griff bastards? They went home looking dead inside.―What can they even do now lol They're already fucked. Lucas is gone. What are they supposed to use to stop the offensive now?―So do you think Kim Minwoo gets selected as a world ranker this year?―Obviously lol The moment he beat Lucas, getting ranked was guaranteed. The real question is what number.―Who's Rank 1 among Necromancers right now? Hamoln? Think it's him.―Yeah. Level 1,132. American Awakened. He's SS-rank because his Level's high. But he's kind of a scrub. In the integrated ranking he's outside the top 1,000 lol―Nobody really counts Rank 1 of an unpopular Class anyway. Kim Minwoo is different, though.―So what rank, I asked twice.―If you look at the criteria, they use fame, Level, Gate clears, growth potential, potential, equipment, Skills, fucking everything lol Nobody knows what rank he'll get lol―Can he really become a world ranker? He wasn't even in the rankings before. From Forbes's perspective, he was basically some nobody.―Nobody my ass lol Are those guys cavemen? Like they somehow haven't heard a single thing about Kim Minwoo?―But his Level and Gate-clear achievements are basically garbage, aren't they?―He's only been Awakened six months, what do you expect lol Anyway, one thing's certain…… Forbes is probably breaking their heads over this too. This kind of case has never happened before.

Kim Minwoo turned off his phone after reading the comments.‘World ranking, huh.’For starters, Rank 1 among Necromancers was guaranteed.

There simply wasn't any Necromancer in the world doing remotely as well as him.

And he'd destroyed Lucas on top of that.

Naturally.

‘The problem is the integrated ranking.’Honestly, he hadn't expected to enter the world rankings this year at all.

Getting into the top 200 wasn't easy.

At best, he thought he might enter the Necromancer rankings.

‘Things worked out well.’Guidance of Fate had made everything easy.

Still, there were obstacles.

His Level was extremely low.

Hidden Gates weren't counted in official Gate-clear achievements, so compared to other rankers, his contribution score there wasn't particularly high either.

‘And most importantly, I'm currently unranked.’Jump straight into the top 200 called world rankers?

Extremely.

Extremely difficult.

Even Isabella had spent her third year after Awakening around Rank 1,000, then slowly climbed to 900, 800, and so on each year.

Everything that had happened was a freak event created by Guidance of Fate.

Without that Skill, Minwoo couldn't have killed Lucas now.

And getting such lavish praise from Isabella would've been difficult too.

Mistakes and misunderstandings.

Either way, thanks to them…….

“If things go well, I might enter the top 200 in one shot.”―Coo.

Snowy, sitting on his shoulder, bobbed its head excitedly.

Either way.

Forbes would come check him themselves soon enough, so he could deal with that when they arrived.

He examined the gains from this event.

First.

The Necromantic Sword.

No.

Its name had now changed to the ‘Shadow Sword.’[Shadow Sword][Rank: Ancient]〈Severing Rune II〉, 〈Absorption Rune II〉, 〈Execution Rune II〉[The sword has grown further after absorbing the power of the Shadow Apostle. You can now wield the power of shadow.][Usage Restriction: Kim Minwoo][Effect 1. When you wound an enemy, a significant portion of Health and Mana is absorbed.][Effect 2. Shadow Imprisonment(SS) available.][Effect 3. Shadow Movement(SS) available.][Effect 4. Growth requires the power of shadow. (??/??)]

The former Necromantic Sword could absorb the blood of powerful enemies.

But that feature had been restricted for a while.

The reason was simple.‘Because of the Bloodwater Prison Orb.’When he hunted Dragons in the Orc Gate, the Bloodwater Prison Orb sucked the blood first.

So there was nothing left for the Necromantic Sword.

The Full Witch had been obliterated by Merhen without leaving so much as flesh.

And Iris…….‘She's working underground right now.’In other words, he'd had nothing to feed the Necromantic Sword.

Lucas was different.

The Necromantic Sword, not the Bloodwater Prison Orb, drank his blood.

And in return, it grew.

From Legendary+ to Ancient.

The results were quite satisfying.

The Health and Mana absorption changed from ‘a portion’ to ‘a significant portion.’

And shadow-related Skills appeared.

Shadow Imprisonment immobilized an enemy if Minwoo stabbed their shadow.

Shadow Movement was exactly what it sounded like.

A Skill that allowed movement through shadows.

The drawback was its high Mana cost per use.‘But the effect is good.’Even better, the growth potential remained.

The condition had simply changed from requiring the blood of strong enemies to requiring ‘the power of shadow.’

That probably meant hunting Shadow bastards.

He could just go around killing every bastard using black power.

And this wasn't all he'd gained.

Main-villain-level Lucas.

And he'd even recovered Han Sia's talent.

Naturally, there were Achievement-related rewards too.

The unusual part was…….● You hunted Hadronox's ‘Priest’!● The fate of one of the main characters, ‘Han Sia,’ begins twisting greatly!● All related rewards are consolidated into one Special Reward!● As a Special Reward, you receive a Class Change Ticket!

Instead of points, it simply gave him a Class Change Ticket.

The Class Change Ticket he'd bought last time at a 99% discount had cost 230 points.

Meaning its original price was 23,000 points.

There was no way killing one Lucas and twisting Han Sia's fate earned him 23,000 points.

Which meant.‘Someone intervened. Like last time.’Han Sia's Class was Mage.

But her talent had become closer to that of a Priest.

He'd suspected something above would step in to correct that somehow.

And it really had.

Unlike the previous 99% discount, this time it simply handed him the Ticket outright.

Fortunately, unlike last time, there was no condition requiring him to use it within one minute.

So for now, he was keeping it in storage.‘Time to hand it over.’If he wanted to make her a Priest.