Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Spendthrift Necromancer (50)

Human-Faced Spider (1)

“So what kind of mission do you think it'll be?”

“No idea? Still, he'll give us something we can clear. The Alliance Leader definitely wants to get me into the tournament.”

“……You said you're aiming for first place, right? What are you going to do after getting that Ascension thing? I heard you absolutely have to offer it to your superior.”

“Obviously, I'm swallowing it myself.”

Seo Yerim's expression stiffened slightly.

“……

Isn't the Alliance Leader strong? And you said the Martial Alliance Leader and Heavenly Demon or whatever are after it too. Doesn't a war break out?”

“Do maids these days know things like that?”

“……

Jang Sam wouldn't stop talking. I picked up some things while waiting.”

Ah, Jang Sam.

That chatterbox would absolutely spill everything.

Minwoo nodded.

“The Alliance Leader is pretty strong. I can't beat him head-on. You probably can't either. And yeah, a war will break out.”

“……

And you're still taking it for yourself? It looks like the Gate name's going to change again. Something like Inescapable Net. What if the Gate gets upgraded to A-rank?”

“Oh. You know what an Inescapable Net is?”

“……

Hah. Do you seriously think I'm some muscle-brained idiot who only swings a sword all day? I've read a few wuxia novels.”

“Well…… I can't say there's no possibility. Actually, now that you mention it, it sounds pretty likely.”

An inescapable net.

A net covering heaven and earth.

Basically, an overwhelming encirclement.

If he grabbed the Clue to Ascension and ran, all three factions would lose their minds and chase after him.

There was a high chance the Gate really would form that kind of net.

“You don't need to worry, Ms. Yerim.”

“Why?”

“The clear condition will probably appear the moment the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering ends and the rankings are determined.”

“Then can't you just grab the Clue to Ascension and leave too? But there's no way they'd let you take something that valuable so easily.”

“That's exactly why the clear won't appear for me. Hmm. More precisely, I think my clear condition will only trigger after I hand the Clue to Ascension over to the Alliance Leader.”

Offering it upward was supposedly the established custom.

That meant the act of offering it itself was highly likely to be the clear condition.

If he didn't hand it over?

The Gate would probably get very angry and upgrade itself.

Seo Yerim, meanwhile?

Nobody offered the second- or third-place prizes upward as part of some ritual.

You took them and that was it.

So after that point, there was a high chance she'd be allowed to leave the Gate.

“……

So you're telling me to leave first? Just take my prize and disappear?”

“Unless you'd rather break through the Inescapable Net with me?”

“……

Sigh. This is driving me insane. Kim Minwoo. Let me ask one thing. If an Inescapable Net or whatever really appears, are you confident you can break through?”

“I can't say for certain. I might die.”

“And you're still going to do it?”

“If I'd only taken the easy, comfortable path, I'd have been the one screaming under Fourth Young Master's fists today.”

“……”

“Now and in the future, I'll keep challenging things.”

After a silence, Seo Yerim spoke.

“I don't know you very well. I don't. But from the outside, you looked like you were living a pretty satisfying life.”

“Did I?”

Nod.

Seo Yerim nodded and continued.

“But why go that far? You're rich, you're Awakened, you don't seem to lack anything. Usually people in that situation want to live comfortably.”

“Why do you go that far?”

“……

What?”

“With a face like yours, you're pretty enough, your grandfather is the Sword Immortal, and you're already a star who prints money. Why do you swing a sword all day?”

“……

I just…….”

She hesitated for a long time before speaking.

“I guess…… that's just my goal in life. I kept swinging a sword, then I wanted Grandpa to acknowledge me, so I kept working like a hamster on a wheel. I don't even know what I'm saying…….”

Kim Minwoo smiled.

“I have a goal too, just like you. Clearing. That's my life's goal. I kept doing it until it became my calling, and if I stop, my whole body itches.”

“……

You're seriously addicted, aren't you?”

“Maybe.”

Seo Yerim stared at Kim Minwoo.

She didn't know about anything else.

But she could feel one thing.‘He's serious.’His eyes said it all.

At least when it came to that one goal of clearing Gates, he was absolutely serious.

“……

Do you have a plan?”

“I've thought of something. No idea whether it'll work.”

“Assuming everything goes well, what do you think the survival rate is?”

“Thirty percent?”

“And if it doesn't?”

“Maybe one percent? We'd basically die.”

“If I join?”

“If things go well, forty percent. If it all goes wrong, maybe two percent.”

“If everything goes wrong, I only raise it by one percent?”

“If it goes wrong, it'll really go straight to hell. We have to assume the worst. And sorry, but if you get matched against the Alliance Leader, you won't last ten minutes.”

“What about you?”

“Twelve?”

“……

You're stronger than me?”

“Not exactly stronger. I just have more things I can use.”

Inside a Gate, anything could happen.

Naturally, he'd packed all kinds of things inside his Spatial Ring.

There would be plenty of opportunities to use them later.

“……

Fine. I'll think about it.”

“You're thinking of joining?”

“I haven't decided yet.”

“Don't. The chance of dying is seriously high. I'm not joking.”

Clearing might be Minwoo's goal in life, but Seo Yerim was someone who had risked her own life to jump into a deathtrap and save him.

He had no intention of making her jump into another deathtrap with him.

“……

You're already celebrating before the game's even started. I said I haven't decided.”

“That's why I'm saying, don't jo—”

Then.

Bang!

The front door flew open.

“You two need to come quickly! A mission has been posted! And it's huge!”

It seemed the mission had arrived.* * *[Mission(Special Grade)][Hunt the Human-Faced Spider of Cheongong Mountain][Points: 30,000][Challengers: Baek Socheon, Choi Aeng-Aeng, Jang Sam][Details: Upon bringing back the Human-Faced Spider's carapace, Baek Socheon and Choi Aeng-Aeng will each receive 15,000 points.][This mission was approved by the Council of Elders, with the Alliance Leader's consent.][Notice: Anyone who interferes with the mission, regardless of status, will be torn apart by chariots and their entire three generations exterminated.]

Warriors murmured around the notices pasted throughout the Unorthodox Alliance.

“The Human-Faced Spider of Cheongong Mountain? Don't tell me they mean that monster?”

“Even peak experts go in there and come out as corpses…….”

“Who the hell are Choi Aeng-Aeng and Jang Sam?”

“Jang Sam? Isn't he a servant? And Choi Aeng-Aeng is a maid?”

“A maid and servant are challengers? Are they being sent to die? And Fifth Young Master too…….”

“You're way behind on the news. Didn't you hear? Fifth Young Master took Fourth Young Master down in one…….”

Then.

Fifth Young Master, the maid, and the servant.

The three appeared in the distance.

The murmuring warriors moved aside.

The three looked at the mission notice.

Of them, only Jang Sam's face turned deathly pale.

His hands and feet trembled.

Jang Sam looked toward Minwoo.

“Uh…… I've been wondering this for a while, but why exactly is my name written up there?”

“Jang Sam. Didn't you say earlier that you were the Young Master's one and only loyal servant?”

“No, Big Sis……! That's a little different from this!”

“So you were planning to slip away by yourself?”

“Th-That's not what I meant…….”

Jang Sam felt like he was losing his mind.

A servant's prestige followed his master's.

Fifth Young Master had been hiding his strength!

Jang Sam had endured an entire year of tears and humiliation while his master pretended to be weak.

He'd finally thought his time to shine had come.‘And now the Human-Faced Spider?!’The Human-Faced Spider of Cheongong Mountain.

A vicious monster said to devour even peak experts with ease.

And that wasn't all.

He'd heard Cheongong Mountain was filled with poisonous miasma so thick you couldn't breathe, and sticky webs that would peel the flesh straight off your feet if you stepped on them.‘And we're going to hunt that?’With only three people?

No, Jang Sam wasn't combat strength, so really only two.

This was nothing short of suicide!

Fourth Young Master might have lost to Fifth Young Master, but even a whole bundle of Fourth Young Masters probably couldn't touch a single hair on the Human-Faced Spider.

There was a reason the mission was worth thirty thousand points!‘Ahhh, so the Alliance Leader has finally revealed his vicious intentions!’He'd never even treated Fifth Young Master like a son.

And now he'd finally bared his cruel fangs.

Even the Alliance Leader couldn't overturn a decision approved by the Council of Elders.

Why?

Because approval itself required the Alliance Leader's consent.

There was no way he'd lose his mind and oppose something he'd personally agreed to.

“At least nobody will interfere with us.”

Seeing Fifth Young Master nod calmly while humming nearly made Jang Sam's blood pressure explode.

“Y-Young Master, aren't you worried?! This is basically telling us to go die!”

“Whether we die or live, we'll find out when we get there. Let's go. There's a lot to prepare.”

Kim Minwoo calmly turned away.

Seo Yerim did the same.

“……

Ah, wait for me!”

Jang Sam hurried after them.

It wasn't like he could run away anyway.

One way or another, he had no choice but to follow the two.* * *When they returned to the residence, a familiar face was waiting.

The Second Elder.

He handed Minwoo a sword.[Ghost Sword][Rank: Unique][Level Requirement: 110][Effect 1. Targets struck by the sword have a greatly increased chance of experiencing hallucinations.][Effect 2. Each swing has a chance to summon a specter that aids in battle.][Effect 3. Magic +40]

Kim Minwoo whistled after seeing the sword.

Swords with Magic on them were fairly rare.

Normally, nobody made things like this.

After all, what was a magic-using class supposed to do with a melee weapon?

No supply.

No demand.

That kind of item.‘Perfect for me.’The other two effects were fairly useful as well.

Judgment Sword.

He'd traded a Rare sword for a Unique one.

A genuine miracle.

“Do you like it?”

“It's usable.”

“The Alliance Leader sent it.”

“Feels like something's missing.”

“Hoho. Frugal, aren't you? Take this too.”

He handed over a martial arts manual.[Ghost-Slaying Sword Art(Ghost-Slaying Sword Technique)]

Minwoo skimmed through the book.‘Not bad.’A B-rank martial art.

Good enough that the Alliance Leader could release it without too much burden, but not something just anyone could casually browse.

That was exactly the level of manual it was.

Minwoo had asked the Alliance Leader for a sword and a martial arts manual.

He'd received both, so the transaction was complete.

“Tell him I received them well.”

“I shall.”

The Second Elder nodded, and his figure blurred.

Seo Yerim approached with curiosity in her eyes.

“You're going to learn martial arts?”

“No. I can't.”

“……

With your talent, it looks like you could master it in a day if you tried.”

Yeah, no.

Martial arts manuals were different from Skill Books.

They were more like training guides.

You followed the instructions and practiced diligently until a skill eventually formed.

Naturally, when that happened depended on talent.

With Kim Minwoo's talent?

He could follow the manual until he died of old age and still never learn the martial art.

He wasn't disappointed.‘Learning more than one martial art is usually taboo anyway.’If someone got greedy just because they had some talent, it was the perfect way to ruin themselves.

The instant incompatible systems tangled together, qi deviation came knocking.

For example.

If you learned a lower-tier art from the Kongtong Sect, every higher-tier art you learned afterward also needed to come from Kongtong.

If he wanted to avoid getting locked into a lineage like that, he'd need to find an S-rank, top-tier martial art and learn it immediately.‘Not easy.’First, finding a stage that began in Murim was already a problem.

Obtaining an S-rank martial art there would be another.‘I figured it'd be around B-rank.’Even the Alliance Leader couldn't simply take out A- or S-rank manuals whenever he wanted.

The Elders would foam at the mouth in protest.

After Minwoo hunted the Human-Faced Spider and proved himself, they might go, Hmm…… maybe we should give him one?

But.‘Obviously they won't.’The moment he returned from hunting it, he'd have to leave for the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.

How would he possibly learn such a high-level martial art in only a few days?

It would be worse than learning nothing.

So it made far more sense to hand him such a thing later as a reward after he won first place and offered the prize upward.

That was why they wouldn't give one now.

Anyway.

Minwoo hadn't obtained this for himself.

“Jang Sam. You. Come here.”

“You called, Young Master!”

“Take it.”

“……?”

Jang Sam alternated his gaze between the martial arts manual and Minwoo's face.

“You're…… giving this to me?”

“You don't want it?”

“N-No! I want it! Of course I want it!”

Ghost-Slaying Sword Art.

Even the name alone sounded impressive.

And hadn't an Elder personally delivered it?

There was no way it was some cheap, second-rate martial art.

The only things Jang Sam had ever learned were a Breathing Method and Three Talents Sword Art he'd bought from some wandering Daoist.

Those wonderfully familiar techniques shared even by thugs from mountain villages!

Of course his eyes nearly rolled back into his skull.

He snatched the martial arts manual eagerly.

“Ghost-Slaying Heart Method, Ghost-Slaying Steps. Those are written in there too, so memorize all of it. We're leaving to hunt the spider now. Starting tomorrow, I'm testing you. If you can't memorize it, you die.”

“Yes! I'll memorize it!”

Jang Sam shouted energetically.

He made one mistake.

He took the words if you can't memorize it, you die far too lightly.