Chapter 181

Chapter 181

Spendthrift Necromancer (181)

Cold sweat ran down Mikhail's face.

His body wouldn't move an inch.

He could see the other Necromancers staring at him and Kim Minwoo with their mouths hanging open. His pride crushed, he bit down hard on his lip.

At the sight of Kim Minwoo's irritating grin, Mikhail exploded.

“You son of a bitch! What kind of sorcery did you put on me?! Undo it right now!”

“What if I don't want to?”

Mikhail's eyes burned.

This was Korea. In other words, Kim Minwoo's home turf. Naturally, even he knew there was nothing to gain from fighting here. But at this moment, every complicated calculation flew straight out of his head.[Elmonte is summoned…….][Sikaron is summoned…….]

The Follower Skill contained ‘powerful summons’ that could be summoned at each Level bracket. Elmonte and Sikaron were two such summons.

The two looked unusual.

One was a Skeleton.

Except it resembled a praying mantis.

It looked exactly like what you'd get if a giant mantis were made entirely out of bones.

The other was a Specter.

Its distinguishing feature was that its body was far blacker than that of other Specters.

Among Mikhail's summons, these two were unquestionably worthy of being called hero-class individuals.

“Oh.”

Kim Minwoo exclaimed.

He'd seen summons like these before.

Varian, whom Liang Xiaojun had summoned.‘He was a Minion of the Dragon Knight, if I remember right.’Judging by their unusual appearances, these seemed to be similar entities that Followers could command.

Even so, Minwoo remained completely relaxed.

Summons at that level were something he could steamroll with nothing but a sword anyway.

“Nice to meet you.”

Bow.

Mikhail's two summons politely lowered their heads.

“You two can't talk?”

Nod.

“N-No! What are you doing?! Attack him! Attack!”

Mikhail shouted in horror.

He had already given the order long ago.

Attack that bastard.

Yet not only had they bowed when Minwoo greeted them, they even seemed to be communicating with Kim Minwoo.

It was enough to drive Mikhail insane.

That was when.

Kim Minwoo casually asked the two summons.

“Who is your master?”

Both summons pointed at Kim Minwoo and bowed respectfully.

The unmistakable gesture plunged the room into silence.

“Th-This can't be! Why aren't you obeying me?!”

Mikhail shouted in horror.

Those were his summons.

Summons that had faithfully followed his commands all the way until he reached Level 200!

Their Loyalty was even an extremely high 80. They had no reason whatsoever to disobey him.‘Then why the hell!’That was when.

Kim Minwoo slowly turned his head toward Mikhail.

Then pointed at him.

The two summons began slowly approaching Mikhail.

“S-Stop!”

Not only did they keep coming, before long each had placed its weapon against Mikhail's throat.

Goosebumps rose across his body.

This was blatant betrayal!

And yet there was nothing he could do.

“What'll it be? Want to die here? Or should we keep having a nice, pleasant conversation?”

“……

I-I'll talk, so could you get these…….”

“See? Good choice. Isn't everything nicer when we do this the easy way?”

The summons backed away.

Mikhail staggered to his feet.

“Sit down. In your seat.”

“……

Yes.”

Mikhail lowered his head miserably and returned to his seat. The other Necromancers did the same.

“Then shall we get to the main point?”

Kim Minwoo said with a pleasant smile.* * *‘Tsk, tsk.’Liang Xiaojun clicked his tongue.

Idiot.

A fiery temper and hollow ability.

That was how Liang Xiaojun saw him.

At least the other Necromancers knew enough to read the room and not attack recklessly. Mikhail had charged in for no reason and gotten nothing for it. Seeing him threatened by his own summons was beyond pitiful.‘Actually, maybe this worked out better.’This was an example.

A warning to the other Necromancers too. A warning that if they attacked without thinking, they wouldn't even get scraps.

After Mikhail, the other Necromancers went through the same verification process.

It was simple.

Kim Minwoo gave them an order and demonstrated that they couldn't refuse it. They all freaked out at first, but once they seemed to fully understand the situation, the group actually became calmer.‘Anyone with a brain should understand which way the wind is blowing.’Judging by the Necromancers sitting bolt upright like fresh recruits, that was exactly what had happened.

“So in the end…… we're Followers, and we cannot refuse your commands. Haa…….”

“Correct. You saw it yourselves. That's basically how it works.”

Mikhail had dropped to his knees the instant Minwoo told him to kneel. Even his summons had reversed their loyalty.

It would've been one thing if that applied only to Mikhail, but after checking, they discovered it applied to every one of them.

Naturally, their hearts felt heavy.

When they'd come to the roundtable, they'd only been thinking they might squeeze some useful know-how out of him.

Now they were being told they were effectively slaves.

The atmosphere couldn't help turning grim. The Necromancers' minds began racing.

How far did the commands extend?

Was there really no way to escape this binding? Did they truly have no choice but to obey Kim Minwoo?

Amid their complicated calculations, Kim Minwoo continued.

“Why do you think I held this roundtable?”

“……

To put collars around our necks?”

Sakura asked cautiously.

Kim Minwoo shook his head.

“No. We live in a world where people have to coexist, don't we? I'm saying we should move forward together. Nice and easy.”

“……

Move forward together? In this situation?”

When every one of them wanted nothing more than to bolt out of the room right now?

That was when.

Kim Minwoo spoke with a serious expression.

“If you can't avoid it, enjoy it. There's a saying like that, right? I don't plan to use all of you as slaves either. If we're going to stay together for a long time, we need a mutually beneficial relationship.”

“Mutually beneficial how……?”

“Liang Xiaojun here was pretty shocked at first too. Weren't you?”

“Haha, of course. Anyone would be shocked. Naturally, I wasn't exactly happy about it at first either.”

Liang Xiaojun answered calmly and looked around at everyone.

“But things are different now. Think about it. We're in a situation where we have to follow his commands anyway. Put another way, that means we're useful pieces to Lord Kim Minwoo as well.”

“……

And?”

“I'm sure all of you already know that Lord Kim Minwoo has connections everywhere.”

Seeing the others nod, Liang Xiaojun continued with growing momentum.

“Overwhelming intelligence. And he can support us financially too. When you think of Lord Kim Minwoo, you think of Ilseong Group, don't you?”

“You mean…… financial support is possible too?”

That was when.

Kim Minwoo grinned.

“What if I could give you something far more attractive than money? Take a look at this.”

Kim Minwoo drew the Shadow Sword.

Everyone stared at the sword he placed on the table. Their eyes soon widened enormously.

The fact that it was Ancient-grade was impressive enough.

But more importantly.

“……

Runes?”

“What are these?”

“What kind of effects are those……?”

Rune of Severing, Rune of Absorption, Rune of Execution.

The Necromancers stared at the effects of the three Runes in shock.

None of them had ever even heard of something called a Rune.

Yet three of them were plainly socketed into a piece of equipment, and their effects were far too good to brush aside.

“Don't you think hunting speed would change completely if you socketed things like these into your equipment?”

“……

It would, but…… there's one issue. They're socketed into a sword, aren't they? You're an unusual Necromancer who's good with a sword, but the rest of us…….”

“There are plenty of other effects. Increased Mana recovery speed, increased Magic, things like that.”

“……!”

Their eyes widened.

There were ‘good rolls’ useful to Necromancers too?

That changed everything.

Awakened were obsessed with growing stronger in the first place.

The closer they were to the top, the more true that became.

And everyone gathered here was an SS-rank Achievement Awakened.

Of course their thirst for strength was intense.

“How many of these Runes can you socket?”

“Up to three per piece of equipment.”

“Then you, Mr. Kim Minwoo…….”

“My entire body is covered in them right now.”

“Good lord…….”

Complicated emotions filled their eyes.

Until now, they'd been terrified by the thought of effectively becoming slaves.

Now their gazes were shifting toward the benefits they might receive afterward.

Sakura raised a hand and asked.

“I have a question. These Runes. Can you supply them continuously?”

“Yes.”

“How? If they're something you obtained from a Gate, the supply should be limited…….”

“I acquired craftsmen who know the relevant technique. I got lucky.”

“Craftsmen?”

Sakura swallowed when she saw him nod.

Thanks to Ilseong Group supplying Plus equipment and potions, the overall level of Korean Awakened had been steadily rising.

Better gear and potions meant lower mortality. And with a larger pool surviving, naturally more Awakened would rise to the top.

And that wasn't all.

Recently, Korea's relationship with the great powers had been anything but ordinary. In particular, cooperation with America had grown so close they practically couldn't live without each other.

They were sharing Slime Battery technology.

And only those two countries were doing so.

The gap between Japan and Korea was already widening. If Rune technology was added on top of that, the result was obvious.‘The gap will become even worse…….’The outlook for her homeland was bleak.

“……

Then, by any chance, do you intend to sell these Runes……?”

“I do. And naturally, I intend to supply the best Runes to those of you here first.”

Then it really was a benefit.

He was offering premium Runes they couldn't buy even with money.‘If we pledge loyalty…….’‘We get these Runes and high-level intelligence…….’It was certainly tempting.

Then Liang Xiaojun's earlier words came back to them.―Do you think you have a choice in whether you pledge loyalty or not? The moment you came here, it was already decided. You will pledge yourselves to him.

He couldn't have reacted that way for no reason.

They had to assume Kim Minwoo possessed some method of controlling them even after they left this room.

Otherwise Liang Xiaojun wouldn't behave like someone with a collar already locked around his neck.‘Once he gives an order, we should assume it keeps binding us afterward.’Enough that betrayal couldn't even be dreamed of.

Most importantly, even betraying Kim Minwoo would actually hurt them more than him.

At most, they could spread what had happened at the roundtable and emphasize how dangerous Kim Minwoo was.

But would it benefit them to reveal that every high-ranking Necromancer was effectively Kim Minwoo's slave?

Not at all.

Their governments would cut off support first.

Why invest in someone who would ultimately become another man's slave?

Revealing this information held no benefit for them.‘It's actually fortunate that every one of us is a Follower…….’If even one person here hadn't been a Follower, that might have created a real problem.

In the end, Liang Xiaojun had been right.

The moment they came here, their choice had already been decided.

That was when.

Liang Xiaojun raised a hand.

“Looks like everyone's made up their mind. Am I wrong?”

The Necromancers nodded.

Liang Xiaojun spoke confidently.

“Then why don't we create an organization while we're at it?”

“An organization……?”

“We all saw memories connected to our past lives, didn't we? Wouldn't it be good to create an organization like that and cooperate closely? We support each other and help each other grow. Something like that. Lord Kim Minwoo. What do you think?”

“Oh, that sounds good.”

The exact form didn't matter.

What mattered was creating an organization that included every member.

A sense of belonging would develop over time, and it would serve as common ground tying all the Necromancers together.

Encouraged by Kim Minwoo's agreement, Liang Xiaojun continued.

“From now on, we're all in the same boat. Helping each other and growing together will ultimately benefit every one of us. The Order of Death. How does that sound as the organization's name? I think it's pretty good.”

“The Order of Death. That's not bad.”

Kim Minwoo nodded in agreement.