Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Spendthrift Necromancer (67)

Interview (1)

After the Trials ended.

The scenery changed in an instant.

The two had returned to the hospital room.

They stared at each other and asked simultaneously.

“Where did you go…….”

“The Archer Skill Book…….”

After a brief silence, Seo Yerim nodded and spoke.

“I got it. SSS-rank. Where did you go, Mr. Minwoo?”

“I took a Trial too. Not the kind that changes your Class. Apparently there's another way to take separate Trials.”

“A Trial?”

“Yes.”

“How did you take one? Did that angel help you?”

“Something like that. She gave me some sort of sponsorship certificate. Apparently you need one to take a Trial.”

“……

Ah. Then I can't take one.”

Seo Yerim nodded with obvious disappointment.

It was an understandable reaction.

Now that she'd become an Archer, what she wanted was probably to become stronger as quickly as possible and earn her grandfather's recognition.

“There may be a way.”

“……

Really?”

“Yes. But you'll probably need to wait a few months.”

The Heavenly City Travel Pass he'd obtained.

It seemed the Trainee Trial would be taken there. Perhaps he could obtain more travel passes or sponsorship certificates in that city.

He needed to reach Level 300 before he could go, so it would take some time.‘If I can help, I should.’From Sword Immortal, who had given him the Ancient Dragon's corpse and byproducts, to Sword Phoenix, who had risked her life helping him inside the Gate.

He owed Sword Sea Pavilion a great deal.

So if possible, he intended to help.

Of course, before that, he'd need to get something out of it himself.

“Ms. Seo Yerim.”

“Yes?”

“Don't you want to become stronger?”

“If I can?”

“Then join our guild.”

“……

Th-The Spendthrift Guild?”

“Yes. A premium guild that accepts only talent capable of becoming world rankers. You don't have a guild right now either, do you?”

“I don't, but…….”

“Then join. I'll treat you well.”An SSS-rank Archer.

It was obvious her value would skyrocket from here.

And the more it did, the more prestige his guild would gain.

Keeping her as a guild member would be perfect for increasing future investment.

Sword Phoenix Seo Yerim.

Her name carried weight not only in Korea, but internationally too.

So he needed to lock her down first.

“……

Do I have to do guild activities or anything?”

“No. I can't be bothered with that kind of thing myself.”

Necromancer was a Class meant for solo play.

Outside special circumstances, Minwoo had no intention of bothering with party play. Seo Yerim tilted her head at that.

“If a guild doesn't do group activities, what's the point…….”

He turned on his phone.

Tapped a few times, then showed Seo Yerim the group chat.[Park Siwoo]―Hyung, I'm seriously glad you made it back from the Gate safely! I was scared shitless thinking something might've happened. You're okay, right?(Emoji biting its thumb while sweating)[1 hour ago][Kim Minwoo]―Yeah. All good.[1 second ago]

“Like this. Think of it as a kind of community. If someone's having a hard time, they say so and we help each other. You can manage that much, can't you?”

“I suppose…….”

“The benefits are excellent too.”

“Benefits?”

“I changed your Class for you this time, didn't I? Think something like that will only happen once?”

“Come to think of it, I was curious about that…….”

“To summarize, I have something like a shop. I buy things using resources other than money.”

“Something like that exists?”

“Yes. That's where I got it for you. So, want to join?”

“……

Fine. I'll join.”

Minwoo grinned and held out his hand.

“Welcome to our guild.”

“……

Please take care of me.”

They shook hands.

“I'll add you to the guild group chat too. Ah, you should learn your Skill Book while we're at it.”

“……

Right.”

She pulled the Skill Book from her inventory.

Then.

Flash!● The fate of ‘Seo Yerim,’ one of the main characters, begins to twist greatly!● Achievement Points are awarded!● You possess the Achievement Vending Machine! Double points are awarded!

Brilliant light swallowed the room.

Minwoo checked the Achievement Shop.

From the previous 0 points.‘……100 points?’Wait.

That's double?‘Way too low.’That meant it only gave 50.

Getting her to practice archery had given him 200.

But actually turning her into a full-fledged Archer only gave 100?

The math didn't add up.

Combined, they made 300 points.

By complete coincidence, exactly the same amount he'd received for making Park Siwoo awaken.‘What?’There was nothing he could do about points already awarded.

He looked at Seo Yerim.

“What did you get?”

“……

This.”[Seo Yerim shares her Skill Window!][Divine Bow Iperin(SSS)][Effect 1. Summons the Divine Bow. The Divine Bow grows together with its master.][Effect 2. Wielding the Divine Bow grants powerful bonuses.][Effect 3. Uses Mana to fire arrows. Mana arrows contain a random attribute.][Effect 4. Can declare a ‘Killing Zone’ over a designated area.]

A bow materialized in her hand.

Park Siwoo's Holy Sword had been a similar kind of skill.‘Is there some connection?’Or was it coincidence?

There wasn't enough information to know yet.

“Does it know me?”

“……

My weapon?”

“Yes.”

Then she blinked.

She alternated her gaze between the bow and Kim Minwoo.

“……

What's the Death Lord?”

“Cedric.”

Cedric appeared abruptly and tilted his head.―What is it?

“Do you know what that weapon is?”

Cedric stared at Seo Yerim's bow, then nodded.―……

I think I do. Divine Bow Iperin?

Seo Yerim's eyes widened.

“How do you know my Skill's name?”

Cedric stared at Kim Minwoo. When Minwoo nodded, he looked at Seo Yerim and spoke.―Because another person in Master's guild possesses a weapon similar to yours.

“A similar weapon?”―That one was a Holy Sword. It was a weapon that once targeted my former master, the Death Lord. Iperin was much the same.

“Why would my bow and that Holy Sword target your former master?”―Because they were part of the same party.

“A party……?”―A Hero Party. Something like that.

“A Hero Party?”―Yes. My former master was an extraordinary undead. They formed a party and came to stop him. They failed in the end.

Kim Minwoo listened with interest as well.‘A Hero Party.’Park Siwoo and Seo Yerim.

Was it really pure coincidence that these two had received weapons once wielded by the Hero Party that opposed the Death Lord?‘Doesn't feel like it.’No matter how he looked at it, it wasn't.

Someone seemed to be interfering.

But who could interfere with something like this?

“Cedric.”―You called?

“About the Lord's arrangement. Could it be involved in this too?”―……

Probably not. Even the Lord likely couldn't freely manipulate the weapons of the Hero Party.

Then some being other than the Lord had interfered.‘……

Could it be the being Angel Ziphael mentioned?’The one she was reluctant even to name aloud.

Thinking about it, the possibility seemed fairly high.

Even at the same Achievement rank, the Skill you received varied completely.

Yet both SSS-rank Skill Books had produced weapons like these.

To manipulate probabilities like that, perhaps it really would require a being of that level.

The problem was.‘Why?’Why attach the Hero Party's weapons to Minwoo's side?‘To defeat me?’Too many things made that interpretation strange.

This time alone.

A Class Change Ticket discounted by 99%.

Then Minwoo being dragged into the Reassessment alongside her.

And even sponsorship from Middle Angel Ziphael.

Could all of that really be coincidence? It felt far more like that powerful being was actively helping him.‘Why stab me in the back now?’There was no reason.

At least, judging from everything he'd seen so far.‘Then does it think giving me these weapons will benefit me?’What benefit came from attaching the Hero Party's weapons to the Death Lord's successor?

Was there some kind of synergy?

For now, he had no idea.

“Cedric. How many members were in the Hero Party?”―Swordsman, Archer, Mage, Assassin. Four in total.‘……

It fits perfectly.’Swordsmanship genius Park Siwoo.

Magic genius Han Sia.

Archery genius Seo Yerim.

And the last one, Namgung Min.‘His talent was assassination.’Four main characters gathered together in the Stage 6 difficulty.

And the four-member Hero Party.‘If I want Achievement Points, I'll need to approach Namgung Min and Han Sia too.’And if he did, those two might somehow end up obtaining similar weapons.

No matter how he looked at it, someone had arranged a much larger board.‘A powerful being. A powerful being I've met…….’One possibility suddenly came to mind.

Right after sparring with Sword Immortal for the Achievement.

The beings he'd seen while unconscious.[Warning!][The beings behind the veil have noticed an anomaly!]

That message.

Afterward, he'd seen the phrase about opening the horizon.‘And that led to the Achievement Shop.’Because of the Achievement Shop, he'd approached the main characters, and those main characters had ended up obtaining weapons from the Hero Party.‘1, 2, 3, 4.’The four beings, each assigned a number.

Among them, Number One had been particularly unusual.

First, even the style of brackets used in its messages had been different.

It resembled the messages he'd seen immediately before entering the Stage 6 scenario.

And.〈1. He has shown possibility. Shall we raise humanity's growth ceiling?〉It had been the first of the four to express an opinion.〈1. We don't have time for idle chatter. We must resolve this agenda before he awakens. I am in favor.〉It had also been the most strongly supportive.‘Number One. This one is the most likely to have arranged the board. Could it be the being who brought me here?’And if he made one more inference.

Based on Ziphael's remarks, Number One might be a high-ranking angel. Of course, there was nothing conclusive about that. There simply wasn't enough information to draw firm conclusions.‘……

Then the 200 points and the 100 points. Those might not be coincidence either.’Turning Seo Yerim into an Archer.

If the entire change was worth 300 points, normally he should've received them as 100 first, then 200.

But he'd received them in reverse.‘Was it deliberately adjusted so I'd have exactly enough for the discounted Class Change Ticket?’Or maybe that was simply the only moment when the discount could be offered?

Either way, judging by the outcome alone, it wasn't exactly bad.

Seo Yerim had become an outstanding Archer, while Minwoo had obtained an Achievement Vending Machine he could keep using.‘For now…….’He decided to continue earning Achievement Points.

The shop's products were simply too attractive.

Even if someone had ulterior motives, the benefits were tempting enough for him to accept the risk.

“Finished thinking?”

“More or less.”

“What were you thinking about so seriously? You looked like nobody could even talk to you.”

“……

It's complicated to explain right now. I'll tell you later.”

“Fine. Then answer one thing I'm curious about. Is this Death Lord connected to you somehow?”

“You can think of me as roughly his successor.”

“Popo told me there were ranks beyond SSS. Then you…….”

“That's right.”

He admitted it cleanly.

Even all the Hero Party's weapons together had failed to kill the Death Lord.

Naturally she'd assume he was above SSS.

And once Seo Yerim talked with the sentient bow, she'd learn roughly that much anyway.

“Wow…… No wonder. You didn't feel even remotely S-rank…….”

Then.

A knock came from the hospital-room door. A bodyguard carefully opened it and stepped inside.

“Y-Young Master. I think the reporters have realized you're awake. Would you like to leave quietly?”

“No. I should do the interview.”

It wasn't something he could hide forever no matter how desperately he tried.

He'd already decided to make the world noisy.

Now it was time to reveal his value in earnest.

He looked at Seo Yerim.

“Let's go. Time for the interview.”

“……

H-How much should I say?”

“Since you've already become an Archer, why not announce it boldly while you're at it? Announcing that you joined the guild would be good too.”

“Grandpa's going to be really surprised…….”

“I'll go with you when you tell him, so don't worry. Let's go.”

They left the hospital room together.

Immediately afterward.

A storm of camera flashes poured over them.

“Mr. Kim Minwoo! The public is desperate to know what happened during the Gate clear! Even one sentence, please explain…….”

He took the microphone.

And spoke.

“The inside was Murim-themed, and our contribution was fifty-fifty.”

“Excuse me? Fifty-fifty? What do you mean…….”

That meant he'd contributed at the same level as Sword Phoenix.

Did that make any sense?

As the reporters began murmuring over the unbelievable statement.

Seo Yerim, standing beside him, spoke.

“Mr. Kim Minwoo is telling the absolute truth. I, Sword Phoenix, guarantee it. Ah, I suppose I'm not Sword Phoenix anymore.”

She raised her bow.

“I'm no longer a Swordsman. I'm an Archer now. I've also joined the guild led by the man standing beside me. A lot has changed, but who I am hasn't. I'll continue working hard. Thank you.”

“……?”

“……?”

“……?”

“……?”

The reporters were left speechless by the consecutive bombshells.