Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Spendthrift Necromancer (36)

Buying (2)

Sword Immortal Seo Jincheol.

Countless reporters had gathered around him.

“Sword Immortal! Is it true you're attempting Dragon's Grave with only five people?”

“It is.”

The reporters murmured.

The higher the Gate rank, the larger the required party size became.

And Dragon's Grave was infamous as one of the hardest S-rank Gates. Even filling all thirty slots hardly seemed enough, yet he was going with only five?

Worse still, those five weren't even all S-rank Awakened from the previous generation's prime.

There were only four S-rank Awakened on the raid roster.

Sword Immortal, Divine Spear, Poison Demon, Fist King.

And the remaining member.

Park Siwoo.

An Awakened so utterly unknown that none of them had ever heard his name before. When they hurriedly checked with the ranking bureau, they learned he was merely an F-rank Awakened who had awakened only a few weeks ago.

It was absurd.‘They're attacking an S-rank Gate with this lineup?’‘Doesn't look like they'll even reach the midway zone……?’Several reporters even wondered whether the Sword Immortal had gone senile.

That was how nonsensical this sounded.

It was true that S-rank Awakened barely aged compared to ordinary people and enjoyed vastly extended lifespans.

But that didn't mean they never aged at all.

And it had already been twenty years since the Awakened of the Sword Immortal's generation last entered a Gate.

Normally, Awakened of that generation focused on raising younger talent instead of entering Gates themselves.

The reason they still occupied the very top of Korea's Awakened rankings was largely out of respect for their past accomplishments. Naturally, people had doubts.

The reporters hurriedly asked.

“Why is an F-rank Awakened included in the raid roster?”

“Level does not determine everything.”

“Are you saying he possesses extraordinary potential?”

The Sword Immortal nodded.

“This child will be more useful than most of the greenhorns running around today.”

“……!”An F-rank Awakened useful inside an S-rank Gate?

The Sword Immortal's certainty carried that much weight.

The reporters instantly began hammering away at their keyboards at the possibility of a new super rookie.

Yet their mouths never stopped asking questions.

“Dragon's Grave is a place even top guilds avoid! The White Tiger Guild was the last to challenge it, and they failed after suffering catastrophic casualties! Are you truly confident?”

White Tiger Guild.

Once ranked third in Korea.

Years ago, it had boldly challenged Dragon's Grave and lost most of its fighting strength.

They had been fortunate just to escape alive from the midway zone.

Their raid party had contained six S-rank Awakened and twenty-four A-ranks.

And they had still failed.

The White Tiger Guild had declined afterward. Of course people had doubts.

Then…….

The Sword Immortal quietly spoke.

“The current Awakened system classifies people primarily by level. Is that not correct?”

The reporters nodded.

Of course, level wasn't literally the only factor.

There were cases where low-level Awakened with extraordinary skills, titles, or other advantages were recognized at a higher rank.

The problem was that Awakened rarely wanted to reveal everything they possessed. Who wanted to expose their entire combat capability to the public?

That was why level had become the standard for ranking.

It was the easiest metric to distinguish.

And one Awakened could reveal without much hesitation.

Besides, those with higher levels were generally more likely to possess powerful titles, skills, and other advantages as well.

That was why.

The world classified Awakened by level.

“But precisely because it's easy to classify, this system has been adopted as a worldwide standard, hasn't it?”

“I don't oppose the system. But level is not the entirety of an Awakened. We'll show you. That we are not dead yet.”

“Sword Immortal!”

“Just a little more of the interview……!”

He walked away from the waiting area and toward the Gate.

An enormous Gate stood ahead.

Dragon's Grave, located in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. The fully prepared Awakened were waiting for him.

Fist King stepped forward and snorted.

“Damn, brothers. We really have gotten old. People are questioning us over clearing one lousy Gate like this.”

“That only proves how much time has passed.”

Divine Spear answered calmly.

His gaze shifted toward Park Siwoo as he wiped his spear with a cloth.

The child Sword Immortal had brought.

He'd heard the kid was an F-rank Awakened.

“Big Brother. You called us out after all this time, so of course I came, but just what is that kid?”

“My disciple.”

“……

Isn't Yerim your disciple, Big Brother?”

“I took another.”

“Must have some decent talent.”

Divine Spear's eyes gleamed.

If that picky Sword Immortal was willing to call the boy his disciple, there was no need to ask whether he had potential. Fist King and Poison Demon seemed equally surprised, glancing repeatedly toward Park Siwoo.

Instead of the quiet Poison Demon, the wild-stallion-like Fist King spoke first.

“Hey, brat.”

“Yes!”

“Confident you won't die?”

“I can at least protect myself!”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes!”

“Big Brother says you're good, so I'll keep an eye on you.”

“Yes, sir!”

Park Siwoo answered with cold sweat pouring down his back.

He was unbelievably tense.

After Kim Minwoo introduced him to the Sword Immortal.

All he'd done so far was spar with him a few times.‘And now I'm his disciple?’On top of that, the man had suddenly called him over, and there was an S-rank Gate right in front of him.

As though that weren't enough, legendary S-rank Awakened had gathered in one place.

He was far beneath them in age, experience, and fame. No wonder he'd snapped into full military discipline.

Kakao!

He hurriedly checked his phone.

The last chat messages he'd sent Kim Minwoo appeared.―Hyung, sob... I suddenly ended up joining an S-rank Gate raid. Is it okay if I go? I'm only Level 52, but the Sword Immortal says I should come…….[20 minutes ago]―Yeah. Free carry, fucking sweet. Guess he likes you. Go for it.[1 second ago]‘Is it really okay for me to go?’Sure, level wasn't everything.

And those four had all been legends of the previous generation…….

“Hey, brat! What are you doing standing around? Move it!”

“Yes! Coming!”

At Fist King's shout, Siwoo hurriedly grabbed his things.‘Fuck it!’Hyung must have had some reason for answering so casually.

He stepped into the Gate.

Soon, the glowing Gate gradually darkened.* * *The Sword Immortal's S-rank Gate raid.

That was an event Minwoo hadn't expected.

He knew the Sword Immortal viewed him favorably, but he hadn't thought the old man would go this far.‘Even better.’The Sword Immortal's strength was far beyond the S-rank Awakened of this era.

This was a time when even people barely above Level 500 were treated as S-rank Awakened.

The Awakened of Sword Immortal's generation were on a completely different level.

Sword Immortal, Divine Spear, Fist King, Poison Demon.

Real Awakened who knew how to fight.‘They're old now and stepped back to raise younger talent, that's all…….’If these people were still active, Korea would never have been called a weak nation when it came to Awakened.

From the look of things, Sword Immortal had gathered all his old comrades to hunt down dragon bones.

Dragon's Grave?‘They'll probably clear it while picking their noses.’That was why he'd sent Park Siwoo without hesitation. Even if that bastard somehow contributed negative ten people's worth, those four could drag him through by the collar.‘And even if he just pokes things with the Holy Sword…….’Experience would pour in.

For Park Siwoo, this was practically a fortuitous encounter.‘Drawing this much attention isn't bad either.’Once they cleared it, Park Siwoo would attract an enormous amount of attention too.

Then, when he reached Level 101 and joined Minwoo's guild?

Public opinion wouldn't merely heat up.

It would explode.

People would finally understand what Minwoo meant when he said he accepted only the absolute best.[Skill Book Enhancement succeeds!][Curse of Aging(D)+9 completed!]

“Oh.”

The Necromancer's basic D-rank skill.

He checked the details.[Curse of Aging(D)+9][Consumes 30 mana to inflict the Curse of Aging on a target. A cursed target's Defense and Speed are reduced by 20(10+10)%.]

The effect had exactly doubled.‘Cost me one trillion won to make this.’The failure at +8 had hurt badly.

Thanks to that, the money burned had nearly doubled.

If Summon Skeleton was the starting point of all summoning skills.

Curse of Aging was the starting point of all curse skills. It was an important skill, so the money didn't feel wasted.‘And the effect is definitely worth what I poured into it.’Defense and Speed dropping that much?

Once the curse landed, the target was fucked. Of course, curses didn't automatically succeed just because you cast them.

Success rate depended on factors like the target's magic resistance, size, and evasion.

And even when a curse landed, if the level difference was too great, its efficiency would be reduced.

Against an Apostle, he'd probably have to spam it like mad just to make it stick once.

Still, if it landed, the battle would become much easier.

There was no reason not to learn it.

Kim Minwoo calculated his remaining funds.

He'd sold 10% of the guild's shares and received 5 trillion won.

Adding the 300 billion he'd already had brought him to 5.3 trillion won.

Subtract one trillion for the curse skill and he had 4.3 trillion.‘Then subtract 800 billion for intermediate-grade elixirs.’Considering how much Orcs ate, he'd need to budget at least 500 billion for food.

And that wasn't all.

He hadn't even calculated the cost of bones yet.

Average 25 million won per party.

Plenty of parties would start running those Gates after seeing the purchase notice.

Other Gates didn't guarantee a minimum income, while these now guaranteed bone money.

And if they ran them repeatedly every day…….‘Call it two thousand parties, that's around 50 billion.’Seven hundred billion over two weeks.

He also needed dragon bones, though he'd have to meet the Sword Immortal before knowing how much those would cost, so he'd leave that aside.

He needed to replace all his Level 101 equipment with Rare gear too, which would cost at least 50 billion. Both his own and Cedric's.

Altogether, it looked like he'd spend close to 3 trillion won.

How much would remain?

A little over 2 trillion.

High-grade elixirs cost around 3 billion each.

Eight hundred of them?2.4 trillion.

He wouldn't even have enough money for the elixirs.

“Whew. Thank god I learned crafting skills…….”

The high-grade elixir stage.

From around Level 151 onward, gearing became truly brutal. Even with Ilseong's support, the burden remained.

No matter how large a corporation was, that kind of money couldn't possibly feel light.

An amount so large it was suffocating to simply hand over.‘Time to grow Ilseong too.’He couldn't support his spending by growing only himself.

He needed a second job.

Ilseong.

His automatic money-printing machine.

The money tank itself had to grow larger if he wanted to keep drawing from it whenever needed.

That was also why he'd happily accepted the advertising-model work.‘I heard sales rose somewhat thanks to the ads…….’But that wasn't enough.

They needed a real explosive hit.‘Time to start selling equipment and potions?’Of course, corporations weren't idiots.

They had already entered these industries.

Including Ilseong, countless companies were competing in an ultra-red-ocean market.

But…….‘How are they supposed to beat mass-produced + items?’Even huge corporations possessed only a limited number of master craftsmen.

Minwoo, on the other hand, could supply unlimited craftsmen simply by increasing his mana pool.

And there were no wages to pay.

He could flood the market with items stamped with Ilseong's name.

“And sell them. Cheap.”

A price war?

He welcomed it.

When he held the advantage in both quality and quantity, there was no way to lose.

First, take the low-level equipment market. Then take the mid-level market.

Kill every competitor that way.

After that?

Take the entire market.‘And it doesn't have to stop at outright equipment sales…….’They could use a rental model too.

The market possibilities were endless.

If Ilseong completely seized the equipment market?

Its value would reach tens of trillions. If they later expanded overseas, it might surpass a hundred trillion won.

Then he'd have all the justification he needed to ask for more money.

The plan was perfect.

Then…….

Breaking news came from a TV near the auction house.―Huh? Uh……? Dragon's Grave is glowing right now…… G-Green! It's green! The Sword Immortal did it! And he cleared it at an insane speed……! Wait? Isn't this a world record?! Everyone! It's a world record!

The Sword Immortal had shattered the world record for an S-rank Gate.