Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Spendthrift Necromancer (53)

Dragon-Phoenix Gathering (1)[The Human-Faced Spider falls!][Level increases by 4!]

The moment the Human-Faced Spider collapsed, Minwoo clenched his fist.

Honestly, it had been half a gamble.

Even geniuses couldn't create a skill every single time.

But she'd done it.

He looked at the Human-Faced Spider.

Maybe because it was a mid-boss-level monster, it had dropped a generous amount of experience and byproducts.

Among them was even a Bound Skill Book.

He glanced toward Seo Yerim.

She still seemed lost in the afterglow, staring blankly at the bow.

“Ms. Seo Yerim?”

“Ah, yes.”

“What are you going to do with that?”

He asked while pointing at the Skill Book.

In terms of contribution, it had been close to fifty-fifty.

Thanks to Cedric and Snowy, Minwoo had managed to force in a considerable amount of damage too.‘Normally, in a situation like this…….’Every party member could pick up the byproducts.

If nobody had made an outstanding contribution, the usual practice was to hold an auction on the spot. Once someone won the bid, the proceeds would be divided 1/n among the party members.

An auction would be perfect for Minwoo. No matter how high the price went, he planned to buy it.

Seo Yerim alternated her gaze between the bow and Minwoo.

“Just take it.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, I discovered a talent I didn't even know I had…….”

Fucking sweet.

There was no reason to refuse.

Especially for Kim Minwoo, who couldn't create skills through action like other geniuses.

He immediately walked over to the Bound Skill Book.

The moment he picked it up.[You have acquired a Bound Skill Book.][You have acquired the Necromancer Skill Book, Summon Bone Golem(A)

!]‘Damn.’A happy smile spread across his face when he saw the skill.

Summon Bone Golem.

Even without reading it, the name practically told him what it did.[Summon Bone Golem(A)][Level Requirement: 120 or higher][Consumes 200 mana to summon a massive golem made entirely of bone. The golem's level follows its master's.]

Simple and straightforward.

Seo Yerim edged closer and asked.

“What did you get?”

“This.”[Summoning Bone Golem!]A body nearly 4M tall.

A golem made entirely of bone was summoned.[Bone Golem][Class: Warrior][Level: 120][Skills Possessed: Taunt(A), Defensive Stance(B)][Strength: 240(+120)] [Agility: 120(+60)] [Stamina: 240(+120)] [Magic: 60(+30)]

“Wow, that thing looks built to take hits.”

“Yes. It's a tank.”

One glance at its stats was enough to tell it had been designed to soak damage.

Its stats were heavily weighted toward Strength and Stamina.

Once Death Lord's 50% effect was added on top, it started with grotesquely high numbers.

Its skills were the same.

Taunt drew enemy aggro, while Defensive Stance reduced all incoming damage by 30%.‘Finally. A tank.’Until now, whenever an attack came in, he'd layered Skeletons together and used them as meat shields.

Was that particularly effective?

Honestly, not really.

Skeletons weren't summons specialized in defense.

There were simply so many of them that he forced them to take hits.‘That kind of fighting style gets more inconvenient the higher you go.’When you're dealing damage from behind.

Whether or not you have a tank in front who can firmly hold the enemy's attention changes the difficulty of a battle completely.

The Golem should be able to fulfill that role properly.

He'd obtained exactly the skill he'd needed.‘And there are plenty of ways to enhance it.’Bone Replacement.

The Bone Golem was a summon made of bone too, so naturally it had capacity.

A reassuring capacity of 120.

If he picked a few monsters famous for tanking hits and replaced its bones with theirs.‘It'll become even tougher.’And there was more.

The Golem wasn't wearing any equipment yet.

Its sheer size meant he'd need to craft custom gear for it.‘Worth the investment. Absolutely doing it.’Normally, he would've hired production-class craftsmen to make a set.

But now there was no need.

Didn't he already own thousands of craftsmen?

The Skeletons' crafting skill was still E-rank.

They could produce equipment with level requirements between 51 and 100 reasonably well.‘Anything above that starts blowing up.’The success rate dropped, and even when something came out, it was usually crude.‘For now…….’He decided to make basic equipment for the Golem as a temporary measure.

He summoned the Skeletons and scattered materials around.

“Make something that fits that guy.”

The Skeletons looked at the Golem.

Then they began climbing all over its body.

Seo Yerim tilted her head at the sight of them apparently taking measurements.

“What are they doing?”

“Making equipment for the Golem.”

“……

They make equipment?”

“My Skeletons do. Stuff like this.”

There were no proper facilities or equipment here, but crafting skills could still be used on bare ground.

More than a thousand Skeletons reached toward the materials.

Soon, equipment far larger than ordinary items began taking shape.

Seo Yerim stared in shock.

“What the hell…… They're all plus items? You were the one supplying equipment to Ilseong?”

“That's right.”

“……

If this gets out, it'll cause chaos.”

“Well, as long as you don't go talking.”

“I'm not that loose-lipped.”

Minwoo nodded.

That was one reason he'd revealed the crafting.‘Though there's another real reason.’He'd put a bow in her hands, but there had been no change in his Achievement Points.

Why?

Probably because she had no intention of using it as her main weapon yet.‘The sword still carries far more weight for her.’It wasn't hard to understand.

She'd used a sword her whole life, and almost all her skills were for Swordsmen.

At best, she probably planned to use the bow occasionally as a secondary weapon.

That wouldn't do.‘I need to make her use the bow as her main weapon.’Only then would the fate of a main character truly change, and perhaps trigger Achievement Points.

If he wanted his words on that subject to carry weight, the two of them needed to become closer.

Sharing secrets was one of the best ways to build an internal sense of trust.

Why reveal a secret in the first place?

Because you trusted the other person.

It was an implicit gesture.

I trust you.

Stack enough of those moments and some random bastard gradually became a dependable companion.‘Then what I say will carry more weight too.’For Kim Minwoo, whose level cap was low, Achievement Points were an irreplaceable asset.

He was willing to accept this much risk to obtain them.

And there was one other minor reason.

“Ms. Seo Yerim. Since you're already giving me things, mind being generous all the way?”

“……?”

“I'd like the Human-Faced Spider's corpse too. Looks like useful crafting material. If you need money for it, I'll bid.”

“Forget it. Just take it.”

Nice.

After the Bound Skill Book, he'd even obtained a mid-boss monster's corpse for free.‘I'll replace the Golem's bones with it.’Cedric didn't have enough capacity left, so he couldn't use it.

That meant the Golem would get the bones.

Of course, whether it actually worked remained to be seen.* * *Inside the carriage.

Seo Yerim stole a glance at Kim Minwoo.

Before jumping into the Gate, her impression of him had leaned heavily toward the negative.―Ah, that mediocre swordswoman?―Hmm…… Is she really that bad?

How much humiliation had she suffered because of those dismissive words?

Of course, she'd also said some things about him being unable to clear the Gate, but honestly, she hadn't meant them maliciously.

She had simply thought he couldn't clear it.

Back then.

Her impression of him had been something like.

A personality-disordered bastard who somehow became good with a sword overnight.‘But maybe…… he's not quite that bad.’Around two weeks had passed since entering the Gate.

She'd learned far more about him than expected.

She'd felt it when he sent Jang Sam away.

His personality was more decent than she'd thought.‘And…… he's meticulous.’How should she put it?

It felt like he set up the entire board before making a move.

Every single action had a reason behind it.‘He's more diligent than I expected too.’Even inside the carriage, he never spent the day spacing out.

He'd replace Skeleton bones, constantly attempt crafting, summon Cedric to discuss combat, or drill coordinated movements.

Except when sleeping, he never rested.

What he'd said about being serious about clearing Gates.

It was true.

Of course, what surprised her most was simply how strong Kim Minwoo was.

She'd been genuinely shocked while fighting the Human-Faced Spider.

The moment her sword energy struggled to penetrate its shell, she'd realized it wasn't an easy enemy.

Yet Kim Minwoo had shattered its shell and forced damage through.

Had he used a skill to do it?‘……

He didn't.’You could tell when someone used a skill.

There had been none of that unnaturalness in Kim Minwoo's movements.

Meaning he had dealt that much damage using nothing but a sword.

She could hardly imagine how refined his technique had to be.

If the Human-Faced Spider hadn't fled.‘He would've killed it alone.’It gave her chills.

Only now did she fully understand why he'd been hanging around in front of the Gate.

Every part of it had been calculated.‘And his potential is beyond imagination…….’His Skeletons apparently learned things.

On top of that, he commanded a completely absurd summon like Cedric.

What the public knew was only the tip of the iceberg.

S-rank?

Absolutely not.

An S-rank skill couldn't make undead perform at that level.‘I wondered why he chose Necromancer.’Now she thought she understood.

After traveling with him for about two weeks.

The ceiling of Kim Minwoo the Necromancer seemed impossibly high.‘And even this is probably only a tiny fraction.’He was impressive enough that her grandfather privately regarded him as a master.

Would someone like that truly have created only one skill?

His Skill Window was probably overflowing with swordsmanship skills by now.

All he'd need to do was pick up a sword and swing it, and a skill would appear.

And something even more frightening.

Was the fact that his talent didn't seem limited to swordsmanship.

Even her grandfather hadn't known she possessed talent with a bow.

But Kim Minwoo?

He'd mentioned a bow immediately.

He had recognized it.

But how?

There was a saying.

All paths return to one.

At the highest reaches, all disciplines converged.

Perhaps Kim Minwoo even possessed talent for archery.‘He's seriously like an onion.’No matter how many layers she peeled away, there was always more.

Maybe he'd revealed his crafting because, to him, it barely counted as a secret.

She couldn't help wondering just how many more secrets he was hiding.

“……

Is there something on my face?”

Damn, had she been staring too much?

Seo Yerim hurriedly shook her head.

“No. I was just curious about something.”

“About what?”

Her eyes darted around.

She'd blurted something out in a panic.

But suddenly asking about his secrets would be weird too.

“Uh, well…… Ah! Martial arts! Don't those Skeletons learn martial arts? You said they can learn all kinds of things.”

“Cedric's teaching them. It isn't martial arts, but in the end, the principles of fighting all connect.”

“O-Oh. Right.”

Kim Minwoo snorted.

“We'll arrive soon. Have you prepared yourself?”

“Prepared for what?”

“Once we get the points, you'll become a star. I think a lot of people are going to pick fights with you.”

“Ah…….”

That sounded plausible.

The servant had disappeared, and the two of them had completed the mission alone.

Whenever someone rose too quickly, there were always people who wanted to tear them down.

Fifth Young Master and a maid.

Which of the two looked easier to provoke?

Obviously, it was her, the maid.

“……

You think I'll let them mess with someone destined for greatness?”

“I think the Alliance Leader will probably say something about me. Ms. Yerim, though, might be different. You were basically included as an extra.”

“Ah, fuck it. Whatever. Anyone who messes with me gets wrecked. Just so you know.”

“Do what you want.”

Kim Minwoo shrugged.

And so the carriage entered the Unorthodox Alliance.

“C-Crazy!”

“They really did it? Just the two of them?”[Score Ranking][1st, Baek Socheon - 15,000 points][2nd, Choi Aeng-Aeng - 15,000 points][3rd, Baek Muhan - 11,300 points][4th, Baek Cheolyong - 9,700 points]..

Two days before the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.

They had seized first and second place in a single stroke.

It was no wonder the entire Unorthodox Alliance descended into chaos.