Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Spendthrift Necromancer (26)

Winter Kingdom (1)

After some bargaining, he handed 10% of the shares to Ilseong.

The price settled on was 5 trillion won.

The most important factor in that valuation was Park Siwoo's existence.

Minwoo had brought in an SSS-rank Achievement holder overnight.

Who said Park Siwoo had to be the last?

Expectations for the future had massively inflated the price of the shares.‘If I'd founded the guild alone, 5 trillion would've been impossible.’He had already received one trillion won in support.

Even if things went extremely well, he probably would've received around two trillion at most.‘Well, looking at the distant future, this is still incredibly cheap…….’An EX-rank Awakened and an SSS-rank Awakened.

Honestly, if they revealed all their abilities, plenty of countries would come running with even larger sacks of money.‘But then they'd get a proper leash on us.’Before they could even spread their wings, they'd be locked inside a cage like zoo animals.

Not exactly a good method.

Ilseong, on the other hand, had signed something closer to a generous patron arrangement.

A massive investment with almost no interference.‘That's the blood-relation buff for you.’What was family good for?

Since he planned to keep using Ilseong's strength in the future, selling at a reasonable price was a win-win for both sides.‘Got money now.’Of course, this wasn't money he could use entirely for himself.

Park Siwoo.

He needed to invest in him to some extent too.

That was what the investment was originally for.

Minwoo looked at him.

“You heard earlier, right? Siwoo, once you pass Level 101, that's when you'll join the guild I made.”

“Yes. I understand. If I join now, I'll stand out too much.”

Park Siwoo nodded in understanding.

When Minwoo cleared Tomb of Osiris.

Back then, Kim Minwoo had been a newbie who had proven nothing.

A world-record challenge?

Did he hit his head too hard?

That had been the dominant public opinion.

But now things were different.

He had already proven himself spectacularly.

And if Park Siwoo now drew attention as another S-rank?

There was a reason people said even watching your cousin buy land made your stomach hurt.

When someone succeeded too much, people naturally wanted to knock them down.

And suddenly there was a Level 1 baby Awakened with an S-rank Achievement?

Hands from the darkness would reach for Park Siwoo from every direction.

Starting small with persuasion and temptation.

Escalating all the way to assassination attempts inside Gates.

Persuasion didn't particularly matter.

They hadn't known each other long, but the friendship built between them wasn't shallow.

Minwoo's support was generous enough that he didn't need to seriously worry about Siwoo leaving for somewhere else.

But assassination attempts inside Gates were different.‘Need to be careful about that.’Minwoo had casually crushed Lee Seoyoon, but Park Siwoo wasn't finished developing yet.

If an Assassin at that level came after him, things would get extremely difficult.

That was why Minwoo had negotiated conditions with the chairman.

The guild would be created immediately.

But Park Siwoo would join a little later.

Roughly that.

The benchmark was Level 101.

The beginning of D-rank.

By then, Siwoo would have accumulated some real combat experience, and his skills would have become familiar to him.

He would enter the guild after gaining at least enough strength to protect himself.

“Your hyung will tell you what to do until then.”

“Yes.”

He gave Siwoo Choi Yuna's number.

“Contact her and tell her to make elixirs for you. Prioritize your order over mine. Use them to juice yourself with lowest-grade and low-grade elixirs.”

“Yes.”

“Solo Gates of appropriate difficulty until Level 101.”

Siwoo was naturally ill-suited to party play too.

The instant he equipped a Holy Sword and began massacring monsters.

Wait.

Just what rank is this guy's Achievement?

There was no way people wouldn't grow suspicious.

But if he joined a party while deliberately hiding most of his strength, his growth speed would become horribly slow.

So he had no choice but to solo.

Fortunately, not every Gate was difficult.

Even within the same rank, difficulty could range from 30 points to 90.

Soloing a low-score Gate didn't attract tremendous attention.

On top of that.

Minwoo handed him several IDs.

Every one of them had been registered a long time ago.

Yet each belonged to someone still stuck in that same bracket…….‘Veteran-stagnant IDs.’F-rank Gate specialist.

E-rank master.

With just one of these IDs, you could boast like that.

“Match the ID rank to whichever Gate you're entering. I adjusted the photos to resemble you.”

Someone who had remained stuck in each rank for years.

If such a veteran cleared a low-score Gate, they'd stand out even less.

The soldiers at the entrance would probably think nothing of it.

Every bracket always had people who remained stuck.

Park Siwoo looked at the IDs and nodded.

“I'll get you a teacher too, so train your sword properly.”

“A teacher?”

“Yeah. One second.”

He immediately made a call.

A moment later.―Minwoo? It's been a while.

A familiar voice came through the phone.

“Yes, it has. The thing is, I found a fairly promising talent. I'd like the Sword Immortal to provide some guidance.”―Promising, you say. If you're saying that, he must be no ordinary child.

“I think you'll enjoy yourself quite a bit. Could I ask this favor?”―Send him over. I'll examine him myself.

“Thank you. I'll visit when I have time as well. Yes, yes.”

He ended the call and looked at Park Siwoo.

“Whenever you have time, go to the Sword Sea Pavilion and learn swordsmanship. Got it?”

“……

Wow, Hyung. You're incredible. You can just call the Sword Immortal directly…….”

Even instructors at the Sword Sea Pavilion found it difficult to meet the Sword Immortal.

Receiving direct instruction from him was something most couldn't even dream of.

Yet Kim Minwoo had created that opportunity with one casual phone call.‘He really is incredible.’Park Siwoo swallowed.

And he realized what kind of opportunity he'd seized.

“Thank you! I'll work hard!”‘Why are you thanking me? I'm more grateful.’Kim Minwoo grinned.5 trillion won in investment.

He planned to put it to very good use.‘Swordsmen don't really need +9 skills anyway.’Of course, having them would be nice.

But the efficiency was far lower than for someone like Minwoo, who operated an army.

There was a reason people talked about selection and focus.

He'd awakened him.

Found him a teacher.

Provided elixirs.

Even geared him up.

Hadn't he already done everything he was obligated to do?

After that much, concentrating the investment money on himself seemed perfectly reasonable.

Truly, highly efficient money multiplication.

“Good. Work hard.”

It was about time for Minwoo to go clear his own Gate.* * *[(Breaking News) Kim Minwoo is now a Guild Master? Creates new one-man guild instead of joining Ilseong Guild!][(Breaking News) Guild name reportedly ‘Spendthrift’…….][(Breaking News) Does the Spendthrift Guild truly live up to its name? Receives massive investment from Ilseong! Partial equity traded for an enormous sum…….][(Breaking News) Ilseong states future recruits will be selected after consultation with the Guild Master…….]Han Baekgil stared at the TV before looking toward his members.

For the past week.

Shadow had poured its strength into finding whoever killed Lee Seoyoon.

Numbers One through Seven.

They gathered in one place again.

“Number Three. What did your investigation find?”

“Not an A-rank or higher Awakened, at least. Every single one of them has a clean timeline. None had time to enter the Gate.”

“Number Seven. Anything from the low-rank Gates?”

The man in the green mask shook his head.

“Boss, things got a little complicated.”

“How?”

“About five hundred people entered low-rank Gates alone that day…… We've more or less finished checking the rest. But this guy's different.”

Number Seven handed Han Baekgil a document containing personal details.[Park Cheolwoong(32)][Awakened Rank: D][Class: Swordsman]

A document listing the details of an extremely ordinary Awakened.

Number Seven said.

“This guy's identity is forged.”

“……

Certain?”

“Yeah. I visited the registered address. Empty house. Records say he lived there ten years, but not one neighbor knows him. That's impossible.”

Han Baekgil nodded.

Nine times out of ten, that meant a forged identity.

“So?”

“Usually only black-market guys handle this stuff, right? So I dug around. Couldn't find anything.”

“The merchants kept their mouths shut?”

“No. It's beyond that. The laundering itself is way cleaner than what they can do. This identity was connected all the way into the government's systems.”

Usually, when forging an ID, people simply copied the format convincingly.

The soldiers or Awakened guarding Gate entrances didn't inspect every tiny detail.

Especially for an ID intended for low-rank Gates.

But connected all the way into government systems?

That meant someone had tampered with the administrative network itself.

A truly thorough laundering job.

Money alone couldn't accomplish that.

You also needed power.

Han Baekgil's expression gradually hardened.

“And maybe they noticed we were investigating, because they immediately cut the tail. This identity is completely destroyed now. There is no longer any thirty-two-year-old D-rank Awakened named Park Cheolwoong in Korea. Gone overnight.”

“……

So there's a connection to either a chaebol family or politics.”

“Yeah. And not some weak connection either. Whoever's backing this guy is serious. Like that Kim Minwoo brat on TV.”

The broadcast was still discussing Kim Minwoo's guild creation.

Several members stared at it as though mesmerized before scoffing.

“Hey, Number Seven. You're not seriously suspecting him, are you?”

“Do I look that insane? I'm just saying the backing is on that kind of level.”

The eldest son of Ilseong.

Identity laundering on this level would've been child's play for him.

But believing Kim Minwoo was the culprit was difficult.

No.

Impossible.

He had only been Level 1 a few days ago.

A low-level Necromancer defeating a Level 300 Assassin with an A-rank Achievement?

Even if he summoned a hundred Skeletons, no, a thousand, it was a fight Kim Minwoo couldn't win.

An Assassin?

Sneak up and stab the back of his head once, game over.

Even if Stealth was discovered in advance, the problem remained.

The Assassin could simply walk straight forward and swing a dagger once.

Skeletons would collapse by the dozens.

What could a Necromancer possibly do against that?

Sure, rumors said he was good with a sword.

But no amount of sword skill could overturn the difference in level and equipment.

That was common sense.

Shadow's members were excellent Awakened and therefore extremely sensible people.

Han Baekgil was no exception.

“……

Search every chaebol family and political connection. Find anyone who's awakened recently, and if so, determine their level.”

“Okay. I'll start at the top. You'd need that much influence to make something like this disappear overnight.”

Their investigation drifting slightly off course wasn't particularly strange.* * *[Consuming Limit-Breaking Elixir!][Level potential increases to 250!][Consuming Limit-Breaking Elixir!][Level potential increases to 300!][Consuming Limit-Breaking Elixir!][Level potential increases to 350!]

“Damn, now this is it.”

He cried out happily at the newly distant ceiling.

No longer would he shed tears after being blocked by the wall of a mid-ranking Awakened.350 was the very end of B-rank.

Raise it by just one more level and he would enter A-rank.

From A-rank onward, anyone was acknowledged as a high-ranking Awakened.

He only needed one more Limit-Breaking Elixir, so it shouldn't be difficult.

By then, he'd be capable of smashing Shadow and anything else into the ground.

Achievement Points would practically multiply themselves.‘About time to enter.’He looked at the necklace in his hand.

A D-rank Gate.

He knew nothing about what was inside or what kind of Gate it would be.

But how many times had he faced things like that before?

Kim Minwoo was confident.

Preparations were finished too.

There was no reason to hesitate.

“Let's go.”[Mysterious Necklace activates!][Passage opens!]

A red portal appeared inside the room.

The instant he stepped into it.

The scenery changed.

Whoooooosh!

A winter blizzard.

A small village.

Kim Minwoo appeared in a wide clearing.

There was one unusual thing.―What is that, gruk?―Gruk? Human? Looks human.―Gruk! Intruder! I kill intruder!

Instead of people, the village was packed in every direction with muscular Orcs!

“Uh…… hi?”

At the human's greeting, the Orcs politely responded by raising their axes.