Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Spendthrift Necromancer (42)

Divine Beast (2)[Divine Beast ‘Seven-Colored Bird’ will now accompany you!][You have acquired the title, ‘Master of a Divine Beast’!][You may name the Divine Beast!]

“What should I name it?”―Hmm. How about Seven?

“Wow, you have absolutely no sense. Right?”

―Coo.

The Seven-Colored Bird nodded as though agreeing.―……

And Hail and Mail were tasteful names?

This bastard dared stab him with facts?

Minwoo smacked his insolent summon over the head.

Only then did Cedric quiet down.

“Let's see. Your whole body is white, so let's call you Snowy. How's that?”

―Coo.

“You like it? Aww, you're adorable, my Snowy.”[The Divine Beast has been named ‘Snowy’!]

After naming the Seven-Colored Bird, he tapped its beak lightly.

“Snowy. Time to eat.”―Coo! Coooo!

Flap!

When he pointed at the fragment, the excited bird immediately spread its wings.

Like a hawk swooping down on prey, Snowy approached the fragment.

When it got within ten steps.[Divine Beast Snowy activates its racial trait!][Beginning Attribute Adaptation!][Perfectly adapting to the Ice attribute!]

Its tiny body reached the fragment without any resistance.

Its small claws gripped the fragment tightly.

Then.

Peck! Peck! Peck!

It began chipping away at the fragment with its beak.

Its beak must have been incredibly hard, because the fragment crumbled like a cracker.‘Wow, it really is that easy for this thing?’Snowy pecked away frantically as though devouring a delicacy.

Each time, the surrounding temperature rose fast enough to feel.

Before long.[Fragment of Winter disappears!][‘Snowy’ consumes an Ice-attribute fragment!][Ice Attribute reaches 20%!][80% remains until the Ice Attribute fully blooms!]―Burp.

Maybe because it had eaten a fragment larger than itself.

Snowy let out a tremendous burp, then fluttered back toward him.

“Tasty?”―Coo.

It nodded while sitting on his shoulder.

Part of the feathers around its nape had changed into an icy blue.

Then.[‘Snowy’ shares its attribute with its master!][You may use the Ice attribute!][Ice Attribute Resistance increases by 20%!]

“……?”

Minwoo blinked at the message.

“Snowy. Stop sharing.”[‘Snowy’ stops sharing its attribute with its master!][You return to a Neutral-attribute state!]‘Holy shit…….’Kim Minwoo's expression stiffened.

“Cedric.”―What is it?

“Can Seven-Colored Birds share attributes with their masters too?”

―Didn't I tell you earlier? I've never seen anyone raise one. This is unknown territory even to me. Why? Did it share one with you?

“Yeah. It shared Ice with me. And I can turn it off too.”

―That is…… extraordinary.

Cedric's expression turned serious.

Kim Minwoo's did too.

Because he instinctively understood how incredible freely sharing attributes was.

At first glance, obtaining an attribute sounded like an enormous advantage.

But it was really a double-edged sword.‘Attributes have affinities.’Gain a Water-related attribute?

You'd dominate Fire.

But take a Wood-type attack, and you'd receive double damage.

And the stronger your elemental alignment grew, the more pronounced that became.

Then one might ask, why not raise every attribute evenly?‘Because you can't.’Try raising Water after acquiring Fire?

Not only would Water grow at a miserable rate, it could even weaken your Fire attribute.

The moment one attribute became fixed, the range of attributes you could develop narrowed dramatically.

That was also one reason he'd refused to consume the Ice fragment.

The risk of dying from eating it was one problem.‘But getting locked into one attribute wasn't necessarily good either.’It would be enormously useful against enemies weak to Ice.

Against an attribute that countered Ice, however, it could become a disadvantage.

Minwoo's current attribute was close to Neutral.

No particular strengths, but no weaknesses either.

If he had one dominant attribute, it would be Death.‘And that has practically no counter.’Its rank was so high that even Light, its natural enemy, barely worked against it.

Either way.

That was the situation when Snowy's ability appeared.

He could receive whichever attribute he wanted whenever he wanted.‘This is fucking broken.’Completely insane.

He hurriedly looked at Cedric.

“Do Seven-Colored Birds suffer attribute conflicts? Like if it eats Ice, then Fire gets reduced or something?”

―……

No. They don't. Otherwise they wouldn't be called Divine Beasts.

“Aww, my baby!”

He lifted Snowy high and spun around.

That single answer had multiplied Snowy's value dozens of times.

Attribute-related items from now on?

Feed every last one to Snowy.

And only the important attributes at that.

Several major ones came to mind immediately.

Fire, Wood, Wind, Earth, Lightning…….

Then simply share whichever attribute suited the current stage.‘If I raise this thing properly…….’Future Gate clears would become several times easier.

Monsters would just love getting hit by whatever countered them.

He put the happily cooing Snowy back on his shoulder and left the inner keep.

The sky that had been filled with snowstorms moments ago was now blazing with sunlight.―Gruk! Sunlight!―Warm!

Orcs lay sprawled everywhere with blissful expressions under the sun.

The Elves were equally delighted by the warmth.

A gentle breeze swept across the northern region.

Then.

Everything inside the Gate stopped as though time itself had frozen.[Gate clear reward granted!][You cleared through a special route!][The effect of the ‘Mysterious Necklace’ changes greatly!][Part of the effect of the title, ‘One Who Walks the Hero's Path,’ activates!][Your level is too low to proceed to the next stage!][Leaving the Gate!]―Coo?

“Huh?”―Hm?

The scenery had already changed back to his home.‘It kicked me out?’Apparently the next Gate had a level requirement.

He examined the Mysterious Necklace, the item he'd used to enter the original Gate.[Mysterious Necklace][Rank: ??][The wicked arrangement has vanished, and the necklace is beginning to carry the aura of a hero.][Effect 1. A medium capable of beginning ‘Salvation of the Continent(S+)’. Your previous progress will be saved until then. (Minimum Requirement: Level 251 or higher)][Effect 2. Two grooves are present. It seems possible to insert something into them.][Effect 3. This necklace can only activate while you possess the title ‘One Who Walks the Hero's Path.’]

Mysterious Necklace.

Its description had changed drastically.

At first, there had definitely been wording about carrying out Osiris's Arrangement.‘The wicked arrangement vanished?’Osiris's Arrangement = wicked arrangement.

That was obviously what it meant.

“Osiris, you son of a bitch…….”

He knew very little about the bastard.

Nobody beyond the Gate had recognized the name.

Still, it was now obvious Osiris had been planning something shady.‘The whole thing was suspicious from the start.’An ordinary Necromancer would've immediately joined the Apostle when the Chimeras arrived at the Orc village.

Then?

They would've served under him, gained levels, earned rewards, and so on.‘That was probably his goal.’He must've intended to cultivate the Necromancer and use them for something.

Steal their body, make a deal with the Witch, something like that.‘You're dead when I meet you.’Osiris.

Minwoo burned the name into his memory, then examined the necklace's grooves.‘These…….’He thought he knew what they represented.

One looked like a woman wearing a round-brimmed hat.

The other resembled a gigantic dragon.

The Witch and the Ice Dragon.

The grooves matched them.‘So killing those two drops something that fits in here?’Inserting them would obviously lead to something good.‘First I need to reach Level 251.’He checked the titles he'd gained.[New Titles][1. Professional Commander][Commanded an army of more than thirty thousand.][Effect: Morale of subordinates under your command increases by 15%.][2. Strong One Slayer][Easily hunted monsters with an overwhelming gap in strength.][Effect: Damage increases by 20% against monsters at least 200 levels higher than you.][3. Master of a Divine Beast][A young Seven-Colored Bird has acknowledged you as its master.][Effect: Magic +10][4. One Who Walks the Hero's Path][United the power of multiple races, defeated the Apostle, and drove the cold from the northern region.][Effect 1. All stats +30][Effect 2. ???]‘Oh.’All four were excellent titles.

One Who Walks the Hero's Path was especially good.

All stats +3

0.

And another effect was still hidden behind it.‘Probably unlocks as I progress through Salvation of the Continent.’Skills, titles, items.

The harvest hadn't been small.

More than enough to justify the investment.‘But the biggest jackpot is still Snowy.’This Divine Beast was easily the greatest reward.

If he hadn't entered a Hidden Gate, finding something unusual like the Fragment of Winter would've been difficult.

That would've delayed meeting Snowy by a long time.

He placed Snowy on his shoulder.

“Now we're together forever.”

Because I'm never letting you go.―Coo.

“You like that? Daddy does too.”

He stroked its beak and left the room.

There was something he'd planned to begin once he came out.

Equipment production.

Time to meet the chairman.* * *“……

What's that bird on your shoulder?”

“My child from the Gate. His name is Snowy. Say hello to Grandpa.”―Coo.

Snowy bowed.

Chairman Kim, suddenly promoted to grandfather, awkwardly returned the greeting.

“Right…… I heard you had some business with me…….”

“I want to start an equipment business.”

“Minwoo, aren't you a Necromancer? Where are you going to get the equipment? The equipment business isn't easy. Competition is brutal these days, and master craftsmen's salaries have gone through the roof…….”

Snap!

With one flick of his fingers, a Skeleton horde appeared.

“Father. Watch.”

He placed materials in front of them.

A Skeleton used its crafting skill.

The materials were around its own level, so success came quickly.

“……

Hm?”

Chairman Kim rubbed his eyes.

“Am I going senile? Why do I see a plus sign?”

“You're seeing it correctly. I told you Hidden Gates had good things. I got this there.”

“Wait, Hidden Gates give skills to those things too?”

“They didn't give it to them. They learned it. You already know my Skeletons have learning ability.”

“Damn…….”

Perhaps the sight was simply too absurd.

The chairman exhaled in disbelief for a moment.

Then his expression turned serious.

“How many can you summon?”

“Easily over a thousand.”

“And those Skeletons can use crafting skills indefinitely?”

“Not exactly. It costs mana. But there's a trick. Resummoning.”

Crafting skills consumed mana.

Eventually, the Skeletons would run out.

But there was a solution.

Unsummon them.

Then summon them again.

They came back with full mana.

“If I dedicate a whole day to production, they could make tens of thousands without much trouble. As long as we have enough materials.”

“Hoho…….”

No labor costs.

No fatigue.

High quality.

His son's summons possessed enough impact to overturn the entire equipment market.

“Price?”

“Sell them cheap. You know what I mean.”

Kim Minwoo dragged a finger across his throat.

Chairman Kim grinned too.

He could already hear the screams of the chaebol families involved in this market.

From the budget market to the mid-range market.

Every competitor would die off.

But that wasn't their concern.

Those who failed to adapt died.

That was capitalism.

That was business.

“Will you keep doing this long-term? You'll need to hunt too.”

“I don't know. But by then, Father can just sweep up all the craftsmen who end up unemployed, can't you?”

“True.”

Once that happened, the market would be set up for Ilseong to dominate.

Even if Kim Minwoo stopped focusing on production later, it would be fine.

They could release + items little by little as loss leaders.

Chairman Kim looked at his son.

“What do you want?”

“Just give me whatever margin remains from the equipment I supply after subtracting material costs.”

“……

Are you sure? Isn't that…… absurdly generous?”

Kim Minwoo supplied the gear.

Kim Minwoo was also the one letting them sell it cheaply.

That would raise Ilseong's market share until they devoured the entire industry.

The chairman had privately been willing to pay an additional premium per item on top of that.

And Minwoo only wanted the margin?

“Father. Are we strangers?”

“……

No.”

“Ilseong should use this chance to leave everyone behind. Raise your global ranking too. You've got a long way to go.”

“Minwoo…….”

“And if I want to keep climbing, I'll need Ilseong's strength plenty of times too. We should stay together for the long haul.”

“……

Minwoo, do you truly have no interest in the company?”

“I enjoy hunting. Number games aren't for me. Besides, Hyungseok is studying business, isn't he? Hand it to him. Tell him to support his big brother properly.”

“Hoho…….”

Chairman Kim laughed softly.

The succession question had already been causing considerable noise lately.

But he hadn't expected his eldest son to be this casual about it…….

If anything, that made Chairman Kim feel regretful.

Business sense.

Bold judgment.

Astonishing Awakening ability.‘He'd probably run the company incredibly well too.’Chairman Kim clicked his tongue regretfully.

Kim Minwoo, meanwhile.‘Absolutely not inheriting it.’He had no intention of taking over the company.

He was already busy hunting an Outer God.

Why would he tie an anchor to his ankle?

Becoming the successor would make everything incredibly annoying.

Staying as a good business partner like now was the best option.‘And I'm profiting already.’Crafting proficiency only increased by using the skills.

And there was a company willing to provide materials endlessly?

That meant proficiency.

Could rise for free forever.

He didn't have to care about sales at all.

Ilseong would handle everything.

On top of that, the Skeletons would gain levels too.

Crafting skills gave experience when used.

“Let's devour this market properly, Father.”

“If you lay the table this thoroughly and I still fail to eat, I'd be an idiot. Don't worry. Starting tomorrow, I'll distribute stock to equipment stores across the country.”

They understood each other instantly.

The two grinned.