Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Spendthrift Necromancer (2)‘How did things end up like this?’Woojin—no, now Kim Minwoo—let out a sigh.〈(Tip) Stage 6 is ‘reality.’ Remember, you only have one life.〉The opening message had seemed strangely chilling.[Your mind is beginning to inhabit Kim Minwoo's body!][Mental traits are undergoing major changes!]

The messages appeared.

And just like that, it had already been three days since he'd been thrown into this damned world.

Words filled the memo app on his phone.[Day 1]―All 23 years of Kim Minwoo's memories have been injected into me. This technology is ridiculous! Were the rumors about the game company torturing aliens actually true?―The senses are as vivid as reality. I'm pretty sure raising sensory synchronization above 50% is illegal?―Something's wrong. I can't log out. The broadcast stopped working ages ago too.―I'm starting to wonder whether this is even a game or reality.―Don't tell me I've actually been kidnapped into the game or something?―There were 300,000 viewers on my last stream! And they kidnapped me? Has the game company lost its mind?―I can't leave the room. The bodyguards stop me.―Apparently I still have two days left on the confinement order from the chairman. At least they bring me meals…….[Day 2]―No dehydration or nutrition warning messages. No warnings about needing to relieve myself. No forced logout for extended playtime.―It's almost…… as if my body isn't inside the capsule at all. That's a terrifying thought.―One day left until Kim Minwoo's confinement ends.[Day 3]―If my body were inside the capsule, rescue workers should've come long ago. I've been playing for 72 hours straight!―Looks like things are unfolding according to the worst-case scenario I imagined.―Hunt an Outer God within 7 years. If I can't accomplish that goal, I might never be able to leave this place…….‘No one's coming to rescue me.’He'd waited long enough.

And his confinement had finally ended.

It was time to move.Stage 6 difficulty, not Stage 5.

One wrong step would probably mean death.

“……

At least it isn't the absolute worst.”

He'd devoted half his life to Gate Hunter.

No one knew this world better than he did.

An overwhelming advantage in information.‘And it said my mind had changed drastically too.’He thought back over the past three days.

He hadn't been particularly lazy, prone to whining, arrogant, or easily frightened.

He did still dream of cheesing his way through things, but that was only natural for a gamer.

His mind definitely seemed to have improved.‘Talentless. Looks like this god-awful physical aptitude is still here, though…….’Still, having a better mind was already something.

And that wasn't his only advantage.‘Status.’[Name: Kim Minwoo(23)][Class: Unawakened.]

Kim Minwoo, of all people, was actually unawakened!‘Just not being stuck as that rage-inducing Swordsman is already a blessing.’Kim Minwoo's physical abilities were close to the worst possible.

And that was putting aside the fact that he'd never trained in the first place.‘He just has no talent whatsoever.’Utterly, horrifyingly talentless.

He had consumed countless elixirs while undergoing brutal training.

Yet even then, his growth had stopped at the level of an intermediate Awakened.

He'd turned to artifacts instead, but the limitations had been obvious.

Even with the world's greatest virtual reality player piloting him against the Dragon Lord.‘I only took off half its health.’And now his target was an Outer God. It would be far stronger than the Dragon Lord, at the very least.

Conclusion.

Melee classes were a dead end.

Then were ranged classes the answer?‘Not really.’Kim Minwoo's lack of talent wouldn't care about distance.

But even he had one advantage.‘I've got a titanium spoon.’Ilseong Group.

Number one in the domestic business world.

Twentieth in the world.

At least in Gate Hunter's version of Korea, no chaebol family could rival Ilseong.

If he could restore his standing within the family, which had sunk past rock bottom and drilled straight through to the Earth's core…….

Show me the money.

He could spend cash like a literal cheat code.

In other words, he could obtain vast amounts of equipment.

So what class could make the best use of that?‘A class that uses summons.’Tamers, Spirit Masters, Summoners, Elementalists, and the like.

Summoning classes were Kim Minwoo's true calling. After all, summons could use equipment too.

“And Necromancer is the best of them all.”

Skeletons, Dullahans, Liches, Death Knights—most summons were close to humanoid.

An Awakened market numbering close to a billion people. That made equipment for his summons the easiest to obtain.‘Perfect for throwing money around.’And that wasn't the only benefit.

Undead were immune to fear.

In other words, he could load them with even more offensive equipment.

“And I won't have to worry about getting stabbed in the back.”

Necromancers had it incredibly easy when it came to managing their summons.

Did they need to eat? No. Did they need to shit? No. Did they demand praise?

Tell them to run into a sea of fire and they'd charge in without hesitation—absolute loyalty!

And on top of that, they could overwhelm enemies with sheer numbers.

Those were the advantages of a Necromancer.

“It's my turn to cheese the game for once.”1,832 days.Nearly six years of swinging a sword through blood, sweat, and tears.

Surely he'd earned this much of a reward?

He opened the door.

The grim-faced bodyguards stood outside.

“I'm heading out. That's fine, right?”

“Yes, Young Master. You'll have to travel with us, so if you'd just tell us where you're going…….”

“I'm going to the Sword Sea Pavilion. Contact them for me.”

“……

The Sword Sea Pavilion?”

The bodyguards tilted their heads.

Their confusion was understandable.

The Sword Sea Pavilion.

The residence of the Sword Immortal, an S-rank Awakened and Korea's number-one ranked Awakened.

They probably couldn't imagine why Kim Minwoo would want to go there.

He grinned.

“Yes. There's something I need to do there.”

Everything started with awakening.* * *Five cars carrying the bodyguards glided smoothly down the road. Sitting in the back seat, Minwoo thought.‘In Gate Hunter, anyone can become Awakened.’Provided they discover their awakening condition.

The condition differs for every person.

Drinking water, eating food, breathing out.

Some awaken through a series of simple actions like those.

Others awaken only through relentless repetition.

Swinging a sword at least ten thousand times a day, every day, for an entire year.

Imagining magic at least ten thousand times a day, every day, for an entire year.

And then there were difficult conditions such as meditating in the rain for over thirty hours, or surviving a lightning strike.

The opportunity to awaken was equal for everyone.

Whether chaebol heir or homeless man, anyone who discovered the condition suited to them could become Awakened.

But the results were anything but equal.‘This is where the difference begins.’Once awakening is complete, an ‘Awakening Achievement’ from F to S rank is awarded according to the process.

And what could you do with that achievement?

Simple.

Create a class skill book.

Not merely becoming an F-rank Awakened.

An F-rank Swordsman.

An F-rank Mage.

An F-rank Priest.

You could create the first skill that would form the foundation of the class you'd carry for the rest of your life. Plenty of people fulfilled easy conditions. That was why low-rank Awakened were everywhere.‘The problem comes after that.’Easy conditions usually resulted in low-grade achievements.

And naturally, the class skill books created from them were low quality too.‘And from there, the snowball starts rolling.’The gap only grew more hopeless with time.

Take Park Siwoo, the swordsmanship genius Woojin had played first.[You have overcome extreme difficulty and achieved Awakening Achievement Rank S!][Creating the Swordsman's first class skill book!][Seeker of the Sword(S)][Effect 1. All swordsmanship damage increases by 30%.][Effect 2. After striking the same location at least three times, that spot becomes the opponent's weak point.][Effect 3. For every ten sword strikes, one attack is guaranteed to critically hit.]

The moment he'd achieved S-rank in his Awakening Achievement, a monstrous first skill like this had appeared.

Meanwhile, what about the F-rank Swordsmen who made up more than half the cannon fodder of the Awakened world?[Slash(F)][Effect 1. Damage increases by 10% when using Slash.][Thrust(F)][Effect 1. Damage increases by 10% when using Thrust.]

Exactly.

The difference was overwhelming from the very first skill. So overwhelming that most would never catch up.

That was why it mattered.

What your awakening condition was.

And how you would achieve an S rank through it.

“Kim Minwoo's awakening condition was…… getting beaten up by an Awakened.”

The eldest son of Ilseong Group.

Kim Minwoo's spoon was closer to titanium than diamond.

Even an S-rank Awakened couldn't casually beat him up.

They'd incur Ilseong's wrath.

The man who actually beat Kim Minwoo was none other than his father and chairman, Kim Kangcheol.―I can overlook everything else. But you dared touch drugs? Chief Lim, bring it here!

The wrath of Kim Kangcheol, a C-rank Awakened and chairman of the group!

Kim Minwoo had been beaten nearly to death with a golf club that day, and because he hadn't managed even a token resistance, the result was miserable.

Achievement Rank E.

In other words, completely hopeless.

Worse yet, he'd thought a swordsman in a drama airing that year looked cool and chose Swordsman for his class skill book…….[Spinning Slash(E)][Effect 1. Unleashes a sword strike dealing 120% damage to up to two enemies.]‘……

Ha, I get pissed off just thinking about it.’Thanks to that, he still vividly remembered spending the past 1,832 days using Spinning Slash until he wanted to die.

But now things were different.

Kim Minwoo had yet to awaken.

This was his one and only chance to undo everything that had gone wrong!‘Fortunately, the awakening condition itself isn't bad.’It wasn't something like breathing, a condition so simple there was barely any room to alter it.

The Awakening Achievement would probably vary depending on who beat him, where they did it, and how.

‘First, I need to get beaten by someone strong.’But he couldn't just stand there and take it.

He needed to put up a proper struggle if he wanted a high achievement rank.

And in that sense, the Sword Immortal was perfect. There was no stronger Awakened in Korea.

On top of that, Woojin had spent the past six years swinging a sword like his life depended on it.

That sensation remained vivid even now. Compared to other professions, a swordsman would be easier for him to face.‘S rank. It's worth aiming for.’“Young Master. We've arrived at the Sword Sea Pavilion.”

The bodyguards got out first and checked the surroundings before opening the rear door.

A magnificent wooden building straight out of a wuxia novel stood before him.

Just then, a middle-aged man standing at the main gate approached Kim Minwoo.

“……

I am Kim Woon, an instructor of the Sword Sea Pavilion. You said you wished to look around inside?”

His manner was polite, but the eyes watching Kim Minwoo were cold. Perhaps that was only natural.

A chaebol wastrel and a lecher.

Kim Minwoo's public reputation after causing countless incidents was close to rock bottom.

The only reason they hadn't refused his visit outright was probably Ilseong Group's influence.

After all, it had been the largest donor when the Sword Sea Pavilion was built.

“I'd appreciate it.”

“……

Very well. I'll show you around. However, our disciples are currently training, so I ask that you observe quietly.”

In other words, don't cause trouble.

“Of course.”

He nodded and entered with the bodyguards.

“This is the training hall where our third-line disciples practice. Recently, even swordsmen from overseas have begun entering the Sword Sea Pavilion.”

Perhaps the cluster of suits had drawn their attention. The disciples, drenched in sweat from training, kept glancing toward the bodyguards.

“Isn't that…… Kim Minwoo?”

“Looks like it from all the bodyguards. Why's that wastrel here……?”

The disciples began murmuring among themselves. Kim Woon's brow creased slightly at the sight.

“You barely have enough attention to devote to the sword, yet you let yourselves be distracted by something else!”

At his thunderous shout, the disciples flinched and hastily looked away.

Minwoo clapped his hands and said.

“As expected of the Sword Sea Pavilion. Haha, even the third-line disciples have incredible presence!”

“……

Ahem. They still have a long way to go.”

No one in the world disliked praise. His answer was brusque, but Kim Woon's eyes brimmed with pride he couldn't conceal.

The second-line disciples' training hall.

Then even the first-line disciples' training hall, which was rarely shown to outsiders. By the time they'd reached deep into the heart of the Sword Sea Pavilion with Minwoo pouring out praise all the way.

“Did you enjoy the tour?”

Kim Woon stopped as if to say this was as far as they would go.

“Can't I see anything else?”

“No. I'm sorry, but outsiders are forbidden beyond this point.”

“That's a shame. I wanted to meet the Sword Immortal.”

“He is currently undergoing closed-door training. And even if he weren't…….”

Kim Woon stared at Minwoo with thoroughly unimpressed eyes. Minwoo could more or less guess the words left unsaid.

He's not someone the likes of you can summon on a whim.‘Something along those lines, probably.’Minwoo nodded.

He already knew the Sword Immortal was undergoing closed-door training.

That was precisely why he'd come as close as he possibly could.

He drew in a deep breath.

Now all he had to do was.

“Sword Immortal! I, Kim Minwoo, challenge you to a duel!”

There wasn't even a trace of mana behind his voice, but a grown man shouting at the top of his lungs was plenty loud.

His voice thundered through the interior, and Kim Woon's eyes flew wide.

“W-What are you doing!”

Ignoring the flustered Kim Woon, Minwoo continued.

“I'll wager 100 billion won on this duel! Whether I win or lose, every last won goes to the Sword Sea Pavilion!”

Kim Woon wasn't the only one stunned.

The bodyguards were staring at Kim Minwoo with equally dumbfounded expressions.

“I'm pretty good with a sword! I guarantee it'll be an entertaining duel! You're still not coming out? What, scared?”

“S-Stop this! Have you lost your mind!”

Kim Woon hurriedly grabbed Minwoo by the shoulder. What the hell was this lunatic doing?!

Then…….

Hoho.

Laughter echoed through the Sword Sea Pavilion, followed by a terrifying pressure.

A towering old man appeared before Kim Minwoo.

His pitch-black pupils looked as though they might swallow everything whole.

“So, you were looking for me?”

“Yes. I was. Let's have a match. Man to man.”