Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Spendthrift Necromancer (34)

Divine Fruit (1)

The Mother Tree's Divine Fruit.

It wasn't an item you could easily obtain through force.

To do that, you'd have to break through the forest and slaughter the Elves, and even if you managed that.‘The Elves would destroy it first.’They'd smash the Divine Fruit with something like, I'd rather destroy it than give it to the likes of you!

That was why he'd secured Elise's promise beforehand.

Thanks to that, even after dealing with one elder, Minwoo entered the deepest part of the Mother Tree without any trouble.

“……

Take it.”

Where she pointed.

A single Divine Fruit rested inside a box made of wood.

“Thank you.”

Minwoo picked up the fruit.[Mother Tree's Divine Fruit][Rank: A+][A fruit that only very rarely grows upon the Mother Tree. Eating it looks like it would make you healthier.][Effect: All stats +20.]

“Oh.”

Kim Minwoo exclaimed at the fruit.

Then he looked at Elise.

“The effects are better than I expected. This Mother Tree must be rather old.”

“……

It's a descendant of the World Tree. And it's the only Mother Tree remaining on the continent.”

Minwoo nodded.

The World Tree.

One of the standard fixtures of any fantasy world.

The Elves' favorite tree.

But Elves didn't necessarily live only around the World Tree itself.

Seeds of the World Tree.

They sometimes carried those seeds and migrated elsewhere.

Trees grown from those seeds were called Mother Trees.‘Like living in Gyeonggi instead of Seoul.’Anyway.

The Divine Fruits he'd seen until now had usually been around B to A-rank at best.

But this one was A+, a full step more effective.

“Did the World Tree survive?”

“……

No. It burned and fell.”

That explained it.

Kim Minwoo nodded.

When the World Tree was destroyed, the oldest Mother Tree inherited its role.

Since this Mother Tree was the only surviving one, it was probably in the process of evolving into a new World Tree.

That was likely why the fruit's effect was so strong.‘Excellent.’He grinned.

The stat increase from the Divine Fruit was impressive enough, but another property was even more broken.‘It doesn't count toward stat limits.’Elixirs often came with restrictions such as Cannot be applied above XX stat.

Stats gained from Divine Fruit didn't count toward that limit.

There was a reason he'd fought so hard to obtain one.‘Because they're a pain in the ass to get outside situations like this.’Ordinary Gates barely had anything resembling a story.

You went in, smashed everything, and came back out.

Even when Elves appeared, they were usually hostile, and building favorability was difficult.

Hidden Gates were different.

A vast stage.

Countless races, along with conflicts between them that could be resolved.

Because of the nature of this stage, the notoriously difficult Elves had approached him first, giving him the opportunity.

In the end, obtaining a Divine Fruit meant meeting Elves inside a Hidden Gate and either building enormous favorability or granting them a favor large enough to save their entire race.

“Difficult.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Thank you for giving me the Divine Fruit so readily despite what happened.”

When Minwoo bowed slightly, Elise shook her head.

“……

No. I learned a great deal too. In circumstances like these…… perhaps your methods really are the correct ones.”

Had she learned something?

Not bad for an Elf.

“Will you eat the Divine Fruit now?”

“I intend to.”

It was better to save the Sword Shadow Pill.

Because of the stat restriction.

But the Divine Fruit was different.

Eating it now wouldn't interfere much with his next round of elixirs.‘Before the Apostle moves.’He had to get crafting and alchemy skills into the Skeletons' hands as quickly as possible.

For that, summoning even one more would be useful.‘Twenty Magic means 22 after Indomitable Soul's 10% effect.’That would let him summon another 88 Skeletons.

And there were the stat advantages he'd gain in the coming battle with the Apostle.

There was no reason not to eat it.

Crunch!

Minwoo bit into the Divine Fruit.

Along with its sweet fragrance, a refreshing energy spread throughout his body.[All stats increase by 20!]

A pleasant message appeared before his eyes.* * *[Skeleton Unit's crafting experience greatly increases!][Concentrated crafting experience creates a new skill!][Skeletons can now use Dwarven Crafting Method(F)

!][You are currently learning another production-type skill! Proficiency rises more quickly!][Skeleton 507 learns alchemy more quickly…….][Skeleton 801…….][The power of collective intelligence!][The Skeleton horde grasps the principles of alchemy!][Skeletons can now use Elven Alchemy(F)

!]

“Did it proc?!”―Gruk! Big Brother! What happened!

Urkan, who had been camping nearby, jerked awake and looked around in alarm.

“Ah, sorry. Go back to sleep.”―……

Snore! Hoo! Gruk!

Urkan immediately fell back into a deep sleep.

Cold winter.

The Orcs slept ruggedly with only a few hides wrapped around them.

They had wiped out every nearby monster and now had to travel far away to hunt.

That was why they were camping.―Gruk! Big Brother! Going out?

“Yeah. Eat this and keep a good watch. Don't doze off.”

Minwoo handed jerky to the Orcs standing night watch around the camp.

Their faces instantly brightened as they nodded.

After stepping outside.

He canceled the summons of around ten Skeletons, then called them back.

Clatter!

Ten Skeletons rose.‘Have to test it, right?’There was no resisting this.

Minwoo pulled a large pile of materials from his Spatial Ring.

Every one of them was a byproduct from a high-level monster.

Properly using the skills would require a forge or alchemy facility.

But lacking infrastructure didn't mean the skills couldn't be used.

It merely lowered the success rate quite a lot.

“Use these to make equipment or potions, whatever. Keep trying until one succeeds.”

Nod!

The Skeletons extended their hands.[Skeleton 1 uses Dwarven Crafting Method(F)

!][Skeleton 501 uses Elven Alchemy(F)

!]..[Catastrophic Failure!][The materials are far above the user's ability to handle! Proficiency accumulates!][Catastrophic Failure!][The materials are far above the user's ability…….][Catastrophic Failure!]..[Crude Success!][A Very Crude Minotaur Bone Sword has been crafted!][Dwarven Crafting Method(F)

proficiency greatly increases!][Success!][A Somewhat Strange Invisibility Potion has been crafted!][Elven Alchemy(F)

proficiency increases tremendously!]

Materials exploded everywhere before they finally produced one result each.

Minwoo examined the items.[Very Crude Minotaur Bone Sword][Rank: Normal+][Required Level: 230 or higher][A sword made from Minotaur bone. The work of an inexperienced beginner.][Effect 1. Strength +10, Agility +10][Effect 2. Weight +20%][Somewhat Strange Invisibility Potion][Rank: Normal+][A potion that looks like it will make you invisible when consumed. However, it also seems likely to have side effects.][Effect 1. Become invisible for 5 minutes upon consumption.][Effect 2. Suffer a random side effect upon consumption.]

“Hehe.”

He couldn't suppress his laughter.

Catastrophic failures?

They had only just learned the skills and were handling high-level materials.

Of course that would happen.

What mattered far more was.‘The possibility is open now.’Every crafted item had a + attached to it.

That would've been difficult to achieve with ordinary crafting or alchemy.

Dwarves and Elves.

Specialists in their respective fields.

This was probably possible precisely because the Skeletons had learned directly from both.

Using a skill accumulated proficiency and eventually raised its rank.

Of course, that didn't apply to Kim Minwoo.

His horrific body refused to improve at any skill whatsoever.

But the Skeletons were different.

They could accumulate proficiency and improve their skills.

Crafting skills were no exception.

The higher the level of the materials used, the faster their crafting proficiency rose.‘Materials are everywhere.’The auction house or Gates.

He could obtain them anywhere.

And he had an absurd number of Skeletons.

While other crafters made one or two items to accumulate proficiency, his Skeletons could have a thousand or two thousand individuals attempting production simultaneously.

The ceiling was insanely high.‘And even trash items like these…….’There would always be demand.

After all, they were + items.

Price them cheaply and everything would sell.

This wasn't merely a system for investing money.

It was a structure that let him recover the investment as well.

A virtuous cycle capable of printing money at an absurd rate.

No other Necromancer could even attempt something like this.

Skeletons had no intelligence.

But using intelligent undead for production left you desperately short on numbers because they consumed so much mana to summon.

Once you reached the Dullahan level, most Necromancers couldn't summon even ten.‘And they wouldn't have Dwarven and Elven crafting techniques either.’This was an exploit possible only because he was Kim Minwoo.

“Death Lord is a god, and I am invincible.”

He declared solemnly.

Rapid leveling.

Two crafting skills.

The Divine Fruit, followed by a Bound Skill Book.

Even with only those rewards, this Gate run had already been an outrageous jackpot.‘And there's still more.’Apostle Belitas.

If he was indeed the boss of this B-rank Gate, he'd surely drop something worthwhile.

There was a reason Awakened chased Hidden Gates like moths to flame.

Rewards unimaginable in ordinary Gates were scattered everywhere inside Hidden Gates.

Of course, the difficulty was just as extraordinary.

Minwoo checked the faction status.[Current Resistance Army Strength][Leader: Kim Minwoo][Members: Human 1, Orcs 6,363, Dwarves 532, Elves 421][Level: Well-Armed Regular Army][Average Level: 161][Food Situation: Extremely Poor.][Morale: Burning with Fighting Spirit][Enemy Alert Level: 31 (They have realized there is a major problem.)]

Ten days since he'd eaten the Mother Tree's Divine Fruit.

In that time, enough Orcs had gathered to push their numbers beyond six thousand, and their equipment had improved considerably.

Their average level had also risen significantly.

Weak Orcs were wiped out during hunts.

Higher-level, stronger Orcs increasingly survived.

Naturally, the average level kept climbing.

Everything was proceeding smoothly.‘Except for one thing…….’Enemy Alert Level.

It had risen sharply from 5 to 31.

At that level, even if the Witch didn't care yet, the Apostle should've been highly wary.

Yet he still hadn't attacked first.‘He must already be wary of the Orcs.’Minwoo had heard plenty from the Dwarves and Elves over the past days.

One thing in particular.

The Witch was extremely wary of Orcs.

During the height of the war, even the slightest report that Orcs were rising up would bring an army crashing down to annihilate them.

Considering that, an army should already have arrived.

They must already know the Orcs had risen.

Yet they still weren't coming?

That meant the enemy understood the core of this conflict.‘Time.’Orcs ate a lot.

The food problem was slowly tightening around their throats.

The fruit supplied by the Elves wasn't remotely enough.

That was why Minwoo had gone so far as to camp during hunting expeditions.‘No reason to hurry. I'd do the same.’The past and present were very different.

As the cold grew more severe, countless living creatures died.

Even if Orcs rose up, they couldn't gather an army beyond a certain size.

After a few days, they'd all starve to death anyway.‘So he's probably camping inside the fortress.’Just wait.

Let's see how long you can avoid coming to me.

Something like that.

Apostle Belitas.

The bastard was far more cautious than Minwoo had expected.

“Too bad. I've got a trump card.”

Belitas had failed to account for one extremely important fact.

Gates possessed an excellent base known as the midway zone.

An Awakened who entered a Gate could leave from the midway zone and reenter afterward.

Of course, it couldn't be done endlessly.‘One use only.’If you returned within three days after leaving, you'd reappear at the midway zone.

After that, you couldn't leave again until the Gate was cleared.

One trip outside.

Normally, that wouldn't matter.

Going out once couldn't solve the Orcs' food problem.

But Kim Minwoo was different.

He was overflowing with cash.

What if he put on a stack of Spatial Rings, bought every scrap of food he could find, then returned?

Spatial Rings were vacuum-sealed, so food wouldn't even spoil.

Kim Minwoo grinned.

For the past week.

He had wandered around with the Orcs searching hard for the midway zone.

And found it.

He simply hadn't left immediately.

If he went shopping for food and Belitas happened to attack during his absence, that would be disastrous.

So he'd spent time probing whether the bastard intended to come out or not.

And now he was certain.

They had marched this far away, even camping to hunt, and Belitas still hadn't come?

A born camper.

The bastard had no intention of leaving his fortress at all.

Thanks to that, Minwoo had managed to hit Level 101, the next major spending bracket, while letting the Skeletons absorb as much technique as possible.

Food was finally becoming urgent.

Now was the perfect time to use his one-use golden ticket.

“Big brother's going to show you there's always someone flying above the guy who thinks he's running ahead.”

Belitas was going to be very shocked.

Even when the Orcs numbered ten or twenty thousand, every last one would still be nice and plump.