Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Spendthrift Necromancer (22)

CommanderWhile the Skeletons equipped their gear, Minwoo looked at Cedric, who had grown alongside him.[Cedric][Class: Dragon Knight][Level: 51][Skills Possessed: Spear Master(S), Dragon Strike(S)][Loyalty: 100][Special Note: Most skills and stats are currently sealed.][Strength: 84(+42)] [Agility: 82(+41)] [Stamina: 84(+42)] [Magic: 86(+43)]

A summon that shared its master's level.

Upon reaching Level 51, Cedric had also unlocked a new skill.

Dragon Strike.

According to the description, it was a finishing move that increased the damage of a single attack by 700%.‘Now that's more like it.’It was on a completely different level from crude skills like Slash or Thrust.

An SSS-rank summon really was built differently.

“Cedric.”―Did you call, Master?

“How come your appearance isn't changing back toward that golden Skeleton form? Doesn't look cool enough.”

Summons usually changed in appearance as their level rose.

But Cedric hadn't changed much.

His bones hadn't begun taking on a golden sheen, nor had his body suddenly grown larger.

At most, the spear in his hand had become a little darker.―……

That body was personally crafted for me by Death Lord. No matter how high my level rises, I cannot return to that body. It vanished long ago.

“He crafted it personally? Out of what?”―The bones of a Gold Dragon Lord. Those formed the frame.

“Wow. So you really were a silver-spoon Skeleton.”

Not just a dragon, but a Dragon Lord.

It sounded like the kind of monster you didn't encounter easily.―Then he processed the bloodline of an Abyss Lord and attached it, along with the feathers of a Seven-Colored Bird…….

“So basically, he dumped all sorts of stuff into you?”

―Correct. In contrast, I am currently being summoned without any special medium. Naturally, the bodies would differ.

He understood.

“Not much I can do about it right now.”

―I understand. Master currently has no undead-creation skills. Even if you did, hunting the monsters I just mentioned would still be far beyond you.

“Okay. I'll rebuild your body later. Trust your big brother?”

―……

I trust you.

“Put these on.”

Minwoo tossed Cedric the ‘Savage Warrior's Roar’ set.

Like Minwoo's Harvester of Ruin Set, it was a Rare set item that would remain extremely useful until Level 101.―……

Master's equipment looks impressive. Why does mine look like rags?

Cedric complained while looking at the leather armor riddled with holes.

“It's what savage warrior bros used. Looks aside, it's premium stuff. Hurry up and wear it.”

―…….

Cedric equipped the leather Savage Warrior Set.

His Skeleton body already had gaps all over it, and now it was covered in hole-riddled leather gear…….‘He looks homeless.’His appearance was downright shabby.‘Performance is what matters.’It wasn't as though Minwoo had to wear it.

Looks were irrelevant.

“Let's go.”

A clearing deep within the forest.[The boss of Ulfawlu Forest, ‘Thunder Priest Ulfaru,’ appears!]―Wooo!

A gigantic gorilla stared at the Skeleton horde.

A purple staff crackling with electricity rested in its hand.

Thunder Staff.

An item that dropped at an extremely low rate when Ulfaru was hunted.

Its effect amplified lightning-related magic.

Woooo!

Ulfaru excitedly pointed the Thunder Staff toward the Skeleton horde.

Crackle!

Lightning swirled around the staff.[Ulfaru casts Thunder Smash(E)

!]

Then a massive bolt of lightning crashed over the Skeletons.

The old Skeletons would've helplessly taken the entire barrage.

But now things were different.[Skeleton Mage 1 activates Shield(F)

!][Skeleton Mage 2 activates Shield(F)

…….][Skeleton Mage 150 acti…….]

A spectacular display of Shield magic cast by a full 150 Mages!

The overlapping layers of magic glowed so intensely blue that they were almost painful to look at.

Thunder Smash slammed into them.

Boom!

Fsssssh.

Smoke rose.

Even so, only around one-third of the Shields had shattered. The rest remained perfectly intact.

The Mages were only Level 1, but the equipment they wore was premium gear usable all the way to Level 40.

Their magical power had risen significantly.

Blocking a boss monster's attack wasn't particularly difficult.

“The hunt begins.”[Skeleton Mage 151 uses Ice Bolt(F)

!][Skeleton Mage 157 uses Small Poison Cloud(F)

!]..The remaining 150 Mages launched attack spells.

Magic poured in from all directions and struck Ulfaru.

Cedric charged toward the flustered gorilla.―Pierce and kill![Cedric uses Dragon Strike(S)

!]

His spear turned pitch-black and slammed into Ulfaru.

Booom!―Woooo!

The terrifying impact drove Ulfaru backward several steps.

The gorilla screamed in pain.

By then, Skeleton soldiers had already surrounded it.

Clatter!

The soldiers stabbed and slashed at its body.

Hundreds of spells rained down from range, carving away Ulfaru's health.

It was a boss monster, but that didn't mean it was invincible.

Ulfaru was rapidly being dismantled.‘I don't even need to participate.’It was only the boss of an E-rank Gate.

Cedric and the armed soldiers were more than enough to clear it.

Of course, Ulfaru still resisted by blasting lightning around itself, but it couldn't reverse the tide.[Gate boss Ulfaru has fallen!][Skeleton Unit's combat experience greatly increases! Level rises to 17…….][Skeleton Mage Unit's combat experience greatly…….][Level up…….]Minwoo leaped from Level 51 to 55 in one go.

The Skeleton Unit reached Level 17, and the Mages jumped from Level 1 straight to Level 10.

“Cut.”

Boss kill time, 15 minutes.

The auto-battle had succeeded.

Then.

The staff tightly gripped in Ulfaru's hand fell limply to the ground.‘Hm?’Normally, it would've vanished with the smoke.‘The staff actually dropped?’It remained on the ground instead of disappearing.

“Is today seriously my lucky day?”

A one-percent drop-rate item had actually fallen.

Fucking sweet.

He grabbed the Thunder Staff.[Ulfaru's Thunder Staff][Rank: Rare][Class Restriction: Mage][Required Level: 10 or higher][Effect 1. Lightning magic damage increases by 20%.][Effect 2. Static Cloud(E) can be used.][Effect 3. Magic +20, Stamina +10.]

Such strong effects with such a low level requirement.

As expected.

Expensive things were expensive for a reason.

A premium item difficult to obtain even with money.

“Mail, come here.”

Mage Number 1.

When he called for Mail, Skeleton Mage 1 scampered over.

“Use this from now on. It's expensive, so don't lose it.”

Clatter![You have given a valuable item!][Skeleton Mage 1 is delighted by the master's favor!][You may appoint Skeleton Mage 1 as commander of the Skeleton Mage Corps!][Would you like to appoint ‘Mail’ as commander?]

“Huh?”

He had handed out a considerable amount of equipment to Skeletons before.

Yet this was the first time he'd seen a message like this.

“Cedric. A message popped up saying I can appoint Mail as a commander. Know anything about this?”

―Death Lord's armies were similar. A small number of favored undead were occasionally given ranks.

“Does it happen if I give them something expensive?”

―Not for an ordinary Necromancer. Skeletons normally have no learning ability to speak of. Nor do they really possess emotions.

“Why can't you understand a simple question? So does it happen if I give them something expensive?”

―……

Probably. However, the number of available positions is limited, so I recommend choosing carefully.

He roughly understood.

The mass-produced equipment he'd handed to Skeletons.

All of that was Magic-grade.

But this item was Rare.

And not just any Rare item, but a premium piece worth three billion won.

That was probably the threshold for ‘favor.’

“Fine. You're a commander for now.”[‘Mail’ has been appointed Commander!][Mail's learning ability greatly increases!]

At once.

Mail snapped into a crisp salute.‘Oh.’Did it seem a little smarter already?

“That's a good effect.”

Minwoo rummaged through his inventory.

He took out an appropriate Rare item.

“Hail, you come here too.”

He called Skeleton Soldier 1.

Also known as Skeleton Number 1.

Hail.

He handed over the Rare item he'd pulled from his inventory.

“You get something nice too.”[You have given a valuable item!][Skeleton 1 is delighted by the master's favor!][You may appoint Skeleton 1 as commander of the Skeleton Corps!][Would you like to appoint ‘Hail’ as commander?]

“You're a commander too.”[‘Hail’ has been appointed Commander!][Hail's learning ability greatly increases!]

Clatter!

Hail gave an energetic salute.[Unit command structure completed!][Unit Level: Inexperienced Skeleton Unit][Commander-in-Chief: Cedric][Commanders: Hail, Mail][The unit's movements become slightly more coordinated!]

Then Hail and Mail ran over to Cedric and saluted.―So. You two are the newly appointed commanders. I look forward to working with you.

Clatter!

The two Skeletons rubbed their hands together toward Cedric as though sucking up to him, making Minwoo snort.‘Nothing wrong with them getting smarter.’He called over several more Skeletons and tried handing them Rare items.

Unfortunately.[Your unit is very small!][You cannot appoint additional commanders!]

He couldn't appoint any more.‘Still, getting two of them is a win.’After collecting Ulfaru's miscellaneous drops.[Gate clear reward granted!][Special condition fulfilled!][You possess the Worn Necklace!][Osiris's Arrangement is granted!]

Along with the message, a jewel shaped like a dragon appeared.[Peculiar Jewel][Rank: ??][A jewel that looks like it would fit perfectly into a certain groove.][Effect 1. Inserting it somewhere seems likely to cause something special.]

He had obtained the Peculiar Jewel.

He immediately inserted the tiny jewel into the necklace's groove.[Worn Necklace begins activating!][Mysterious Necklace][Rank: ??][A necklace beginning to flow with mysterious power.][Effect 1. May open a passage connected to a Special Gate(D)

. If you go there, you may be able to undertake Osiris's Arrangement.][Effect 2. This Gate has an entry limit of 1.]‘It's a hidden-Gate item?’Ordinary Gates were known to the public and remained open.

As long as you had government permission, you could enter and leave freely.

But some Gates were hidden deep away.

Gates impossible to enter unless you found some point of connection.

These were usually called Hidden Gates.

“This is good.”

Hidden Gates had more than one advantage.

For starters, there was no need to leave an entry record. Perfect for secretly growing stronger.‘And naturally, the rewards are much better.’But they weren't all advantages.

Unlike normal Gates, which remained even after repeated clears, most Hidden Gates were one-use only.

Once cleared, they closed.

Perhaps because of that, their difficulty was significantly higher than others of the same rank, and they contained many gimmicks.

The problem was that the clear methods were unknown.

What monsters would appear.

What kind of map it used.

How the gimmicks were structured.

Everything was pitch-black.

Charging in blindly while thinking only of the reward was the perfect way to get a taste of hell.‘I should reorganize first.’Normally, when you cleared a Hidden Gate, you emerged at the place where you'd activated the medium.

If you used the necklace at home to open the Hidden Gate, you'd return home.

If he used this item here?

Naturally, after clearing it, he'd return to Ulfawlu Forest.

The problem was that he'd killed Lee Seoyoon here.

Shadow would probably learn of her death before long.

Then?

They'd search for the culprit.

The net would gradually tighten.‘Staying here too long would be bad.’It wasn't time for Shadow to catch his tail yet.

So he'd return first.

Activating the Gate could come afterward.