Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Spendthrift Necromancer (56)

Dragon-Phoenix Gathering (4)[‘Choi Aeng-Aeng’ is displayed on the map.][Duration: 15 minutes]Seo Yerim was in second place with 6 points.

Her location appeared on the map.

Before long, Minwoo found her.

“Wanna team up?”

Seo Yerim nodded.8 points and 6 points.

First and second place joined forces.‘Ten people left.’Subtract the two of them, and there were eight enemies remaining.

He recalled the latest rankings.[1st Baek Socheon, 8 points][2nd Choi Aeng-Aeng 6 points][3rd Seok Woncho, Baek Muhan 4 points][4th Namgung Hyeji 3 points]..

Seok Woncho and Baek Muhan.

Those two had 4 points, while Namgung Hyeji had 3.

The remaining small fry all had 1 point.‘It's over.’Even if all eight remaining people attacked together, the structure no longer allowed them to win.

Seok Woncho, Baek Muhan, and Namgung Hyeji might still contribute somewhat.

But the other five only had 1 point.

The moment Minwoo killed even one of them, his stats would multiply again.

Worse.

The survivors belonged to different organizations.

Martial Alliance, Demonic Cult, Unorthodox Alliance.

All mixed together like a stew.

Forget cooperation.

They'd be lucky if infighting didn't break out.

There weren't many choices left for them now.

Gang up.

Run around and aim for third.

Or else…….[Someone has died.][Someone has died.][Someone has died.][Rankings are being calculated.][1st Baek Socheon, 8 points][2nd Baek Muhan 7 points][3rd Choi Aeng-Aeng 6 points][4th Seok Woncho 4 points][5th Namgung Hyeji 3 points]..

“Ah, fuck! My second place!”

Seo Yerim ground her teeth at the ranking board.

She'd been shoved down to third in an instant.

No wonder she was furious.

“That bastard killed all his own lackeys, didn't he?”

“Looks like it.”

Among the remaining 1-point small fry were several familiar names.

Third Young Master and two warriors from the Unorthodox Alliance.

It looked like they'd been traveling as a group and funneling points into Baek Muhan until now.‘He killed them all.’Discarded the hunting dogs once the rabbit was caught.

Exactly that situation.[‘Baek Muhan’ is displayed on the map!][Duration: 17 minutes]

“Let's kill him. I'll take the points. I'll give you the next kill instead.”

“Sure.”

Seo Yerim nodded readily.

They had already agreed beforehand that Minwoo would take first place.

This was why trustworthy party members mattered.

The two began running across the island together.

Baek Muhan could be seen fleeing in panic.

First and third place.

Their own positions were probably showing on his map too.

He must have realized there was no answer if they attacked together.

And he was right.

“I'll circle around and get ahead of him. Just buy me some time.”

Nod.

Seo Yerim sprinted away.

About ten minutes into the chase.

The sound of swords clashing rang out in the distance.‘She caught him.’Seo Yerim and Baek Muhan.

The two Swordsmen were swinging their blades fiercely.

Baek Muhan had one more point than Seo Yerim, but Seo Yerim was still a Swordsman regarded as beyond A-rank.

She wasn't being pushed back easily.‘This place is about to get crowded.’First, second, and third had all gathered in one place.

If the remaining small fry had any brains, they'd obviously come too.

Their only realistic chance was to profit while the strongest people fought each other.

It didn't matter.

Minwoo had minions of his own.

The moment he extended his hand.

Dolsoe and nearly three thousand Skeletons were summoned.

Hundreds of Mages appeared as well.

The power of his inflated stats.

“Attack anyone who comes near.”

Clatter!

The Skeletons nodded and formed a huge circular formation like an arena.

Anyone trying to get inside would have to waste some time.

Minwoo charged toward Baek Muhan.

Baek Muhan's eyes trembled violently when he saw him.

He already had to fight at full power just to handle one maid.

If Baek Socheon joined too?

The result was obvious.

“I'll concede second place to your maid! Cooperate with me!”

“Nope.”

Baek Muhan's score was unnecessarily high.

He could become a variable.

Better to kill him now.

Once Minwoo joined in, Baek Muhan was driven onto the defensive instantly.

“H-Help me! If I die, it's all over! Those two bastards will kill every last one of you!”

Baek Muhan desperately shouted around him.

Only then did several candidates reveal themselves and begin attacking the Skeletons.

They were frantically trying to open a path.

Unfortunately, their decision had come far too late.‘Not that I can't understand it.’First, second, and third could have met and fought.

But they could also have cooperated.

Two of them even shared the surname Baek.

They had probably hidden until now because they feared that possibility.‘Too late.’Though even if they'd helped Baek Muhan from the beginning, there probably wouldn't have been an answer.

Baek Muhan's head flew into the sky.[Level increases by 3.][You have acquired 7 points.]

As expected of the strongest young-generation elite among the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering participants.

Killing him alone raised Minwoo by three levels.

And the points were even more explosive.

A dizzying amount of power wrapped around his body.15 points.

Multiplicative scaling was glorious.

His stats had risen to nearly four times their original values.

He saw the remaining candidates turn to flee.[Dolsoe uses Taunt(A)

on Seok Woncho!]

Seok Woncho had been turning away.

Taunt forcibly seized the target's attention.

His body twisted back around.

A brief opening.

Minwoo closed the distance instantly and cut through his leg.

“Aaagh!”

Seok Woncho rolled across the ground while clutching the severed leg.

Minwoo instantly cut off the head of a fleeing woman.[Level increases by 1.][You have acquired 3 points!]Since she'd given 3 points, she was probably the woman named Namgung Hyeji.18 points.

Now even if the remaining contestants killed everyone else, first place was guaranteed to Minwoo.

Seo Yerim cut off Seok Woncho's head.

Only four people remained.

Two of them had only 1 point.

The game was effectively over.

“Let's split up and find the rest.”

Whoever got discovered first would die.

Minwoo felt no particular emotion about it.

The candidates must have prepared themselves for that possibility the moment they entered.

The trial wouldn't end until only three remained anyway.

Then.

Seo Yerim stared at him.

“You said you're staying here afterward, right?”

“Yes.”

“What's your exact plan?”

“Don't tell me you're planning to stay too?”

“……

If I think your plan is doable. You're not planning to get attacked by thirty thousand people from the very start, are you?”

Minwoo pulled a white bead from his inventory.

He'd asked around beforehand about what the Clue to Ascension looked like and had this bead made to match.

Naturally, it possessed no special effect whatsoever.

Just a completely ordinary trash item.

“I'm going to wrap this in cloth and throw it to the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.”

“……

You think that'll work?”

“The Dragon-Phoenix Gathering happens once every hundred years. Meanwhile, the Alliance Leader, Martial Alliance Leader, and Heavenly Demon are all supposedly in their eighties.”

The previous Dragon-Phoenix Gathering had occurred before any of them were even born.

“……

So they won't know exactly what the Clue looks like? That's why you're wrapping it in cloth?”

“Yes. According to old records, each of the three organizations won once over the last three hundred years. Every time, the reward was described as some kind of white bead like this.”

Kim Minwoo looked at the bead and continued.

“But no matter how I look at it, this thing seems like a consumable that disappears when used.”

“……

A consumable?”

“There has to be some kind of power stored in the bead, right?”

“Probably……?”

“Then they probably obtained the bead and used it. If the power gets drained and leaves behind an empty shell…… wouldn't they still keep that empty shell displayed somewhere?”

Seo Yerim nodded.

For an object that precious, preserving it somewhere made far more sense than throwing it away.

“But there isn't any record of such a thing in any of the three organizations. All that remains are written accounts and rumors about the Clue.”

“So you think it's consumable?”

“Probably? Unless someone's around a hundred and twenty, nobody under a hundred years old would have ever seen one. In other words, none of them actually know exactly what the Clue looks like.”

They only knew it was roughly a white bead, and whoever obtained it became the strongest under heaven.

Seo Yerim sighed.

“……

Your plan seems full of holes. Those three might know information ordinary people don't. What if the Clue emits some mysterious aura or something?”

They didn't even know whether the Clue to Ascension was truly consumable.

Kim Minwoo shrugged.

“That's right. There are plenty of holes. But if it does something like that, then I can't duplicate it in the first place.”

No plan in the world was perfect.

It was simply a battle of probability.

He'd heard nobody had ever offered up a fake reward before.

It would be difficult for them to suspect one now.

Throw the fake bead.

The Unorthodox Alliance Leader catches it.

The other two organizations see that, lose their minds, and attack.

War breaks out.

Minwoo runs.

If it worked, his odds of survival would rise dramatically.

But if all three realized the bead was fake the instant he threw it?‘Surviving will get much harder.’Then he'd have to grit his teeth and run.

Whether he'd survive even then was questionable.‘But what choice do I have?’If he wanted to swallow the prize, he had to accept that level of risk.

Throwing the fake bead was merely a method for increasing his survival odds, even slightly.

If it worked, jackpot.

If not, nothing he could do.

“You're seriously insane…….”

“That's why I'm telling you not to join me. The odds of dying are high.”

“……

You know that and you're still doing it?”

“Clearing isn't always easy.”Hunt an Outer God within seven years.

If he wanted to achieve that objective, he couldn't hesitate when the time came to run.‘And the stakes are huge.’Ascension?

The word alone practically made his mouth water.

It was worth risking his life at least once.

“Anyway, that's what I'm doing. You decide for yourself.”

If she helped, Minwoo would welcome it.

But that was his circumstance.

She had no obligation to participate.

They split up to search for the remaining candidates.‘There.’With his overwhelming stats.

And with the stage having shrunk considerably, finding someone hiding wasn't difficult.

“W-Wai—”

Minwoo cut off the man's head before he could finish.[Level increases by 1.][Only 3 participants remain.][The trial has ended.][Results][1st

- Baek Socheon][2nd

- Choi Aeng-Aeng][3rd

- Cho Wonhwi]‘Well, he hid well.’Cho Wonhwi had taken third place with only 1 point.

The name wasn't familiar, so he was probably from either the Demonic Cult or Martial Alliance.

In the end, luck was also a kind of skill.‘Level 130.’Ten levels from a single tournament.

Completely insane power leveling.[Rewards will now be granted!][You have acquired the Clue to Ascension!]

A fairly heavy bead appeared in his hand.

Its pure-white appearance looked remarkably similar to the fake.‘Can't really feel any energy from it.’He checked the details.[Clue to Ascension][Rank: Legendary+][A reward granted to the first-place winner of the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.][Effect 1. While in possession, you gain the qualification to challenge the ‘Ascension Ritual.’][Effect 2. ???][Effect 3. ???][You have fulfilled part of the Gate clear conditions! (1/2)][Offer the ‘Clue to Ascension’ to the Unorthodox Alliance Leader!]‘Ascension Ritual.’He thought of Mutakta.

The Orc had been overwhelmingly strong enough to smash even Cedric at his full power.

The secret behind that strength seemed to be hidden here.

Minwoo immediately placed the genuine Clue in his inventory.

Then.

He gripped the fake Clue wrapped in cloth.[Leaving the stage!]

The scenery changed.

Three masters stood in front of him.

The Unorthodox Alliance Leader, the Martial Alliance Leader, and the Heavenly Demon.

After the barrier vanished.

Everyone's expressions hardened upon seeing that only three had returned alive.

Only the Unorthodox Alliance Leader began to smile.

Baek Socheon.

The boy was holding a bundle wrapped in cloth.

From the shape inside, it was obviously a bead.

The Clue to Ascension!

He must have taken first place.

The fact that none of his other sons had returned alive.

As a father, it did pain him.

But he had already prepared himself for that the moment he sent them into the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.

What mattered was the Clue.

As long as he possessed that, this generation could mark the beginning of the Unorthodox Alliance's reign over the world.

“My son, you've worked har—”

“Father. I offer you the reward!”

Whoosh.

Baek Socheon threw the cloth-wrapped bead.

Whirr.

The three old masters stared at the flying bundle without even breathing.

Then the bead landed in the Unorthodox Alliance Leader's hand.

At that instant.

The Heavenly Demon and Martial Alliance Leader, eyes blazing red, kicked off the ground simultaneously.

“Baek Hakseong! Put that down at once!”

“Ascension belongs to our Martial Alliance! Kill every last bastard from the Unorthodox Alliance!”

Thirty thousand people drew their weapons at once.

Everyone had already been prepared for a bloody calamity.

One hundred years ago.

Two hundred years ago.

It had always been the same.

As long as the person who obtained the Clue returned safely, their organization would enjoy an age of glory.

The Unorthodox Alliance warriors instantly formed ranks.

As long as they could protect the Alliance Leader, they didn't care if their bones were buried here.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

Then.

After blocking the attacks of the two masters, the Unorthodox Alliance Leader tilted his head.‘What?’The Clue to Ascension.

He'd heard that when someone obtained it, mysterious words would appear before their eyes.

It was one of the sayings passed down from generation to generation among Alliance Leaders.‘Then why is there no reaction……?’Strange.

Could the saying passed down since ancient times have been false?

Or…….

Baek Hakseong urgently looked around.

Weapons clashed and sparks flew across the battlefield.

Baek Socheon and his maid had already vanished without a trace.‘Wait. Don't tell me?’The Alliance Leader's eyes widened as one possibility struck him.

“W-Wait! Stop! This is fake!”

“Bullshit! Is my sword too sharp for you?”

“Hahaha! Baek Hakseong! You've become pathetic! Even making your own son look unfilial!”

The Martial Alliance Leader and Heavenly Demon went completely berserk.