Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Spendthrift Necromancer (68)

Repercussions (1)

The interview was being broadcast live.

Before tens of millions of viewers, reporters bombarded them with questions.

“Ms. Seo Yerim! What exactly do you mean when you say you're an Archer instead of a Swordsman?”

“I changed Classes.”

Then Seo Yerim shared the Class section of her Status Window.

“This is fucking insane……!”

“She really became an Archer?”

“Her Class changed?”

“How the hell……!”

The reporters were horrified.

And understandably so. Once a Class was chosen, it could never be changed.

At least, that had been true until a moment ago.

But hers really had changed.

Information displayed through the Status Window was tied to the System, making it impossible to falsify.

“Ms. Seo Yerim! H-How did you change your Class?”

“I obtained a special reward from the Gate.”

“But nothing like that has ever appeared even from an S-rank Gate!”

“Just because it hasn't appeared until now doesn't guarantee it never will.”

“That's true, but…… then what happened to the Swordsman skills and Achievements you already possessed?”

“Those changed as well.”

“Why did you specifically switch from sword to bow?”

At one reporter's question, everyone stared intently at Sword Phoenix.

She'd trained with the sword since childhood.

And it wasn't as though she was bad at it either.

Her swordsmanship could overwhelm most high-ranking Swordsmen. Yet she'd changed Classes overnight. Of course they wanted to know why.

Kim Minwoo took the microphone instead.

“Ms. Seo Yerim is good with a bow. Good enough to create a skill the instant she picked one up.”

“……!”

Shock flashed across the reporters' faces.

She created a skill the instant she picked up a bow?

If true, that was monstrous talent rare even on the world stage.

“Sword Phoenix had talent like that hidden all along?”

“Yes. The Gate reward happened to provide the opportunity, so she changed while she could.”

“Then, in your evaluation, Mr. Kim Minwoo, Ms. Seo Yerim's skill with a bow is…….”

“World-ranker level.”

“……

Ranker?”

“The entire Archer landscape will be overturned soon. Feel free to bet against me.”

Back when he'd challenged the previous record.

His evaluation then had been the exact opposite.

He'd dismissed her swordsmanship as lousy, yet now he was calling her archery world-ranker level.‘Are we supposed to believe him or not?’Of course, unless Seo Yerim was an idiot, she wouldn't have changed Classes for no reason.

Her archery skill was certainly better than her swordsmanship.

It was simply hard to believe it was truly world-ranker level.

“You'll see plenty of her accomplishments from now on, so her ability will reveal itself naturally.”

The reporters nodded.

“Mr. Kim Minwoo! Dorim released a formal apology. Do you intend to accept it?”

“Dorim? Who sent it?”

“It was simply an official corporate statement.”

Kim Minwoo snorted.

“They tried to bury a man alive, and you think that's enough?”

“Then…….”

“I suspect this entire incident may have been deliberately ordered by Dorim.”

“Deliberately ordered?”

“Dorim's sales have fallen considerably lately because of my advertisements, haven't they? Maybe they intended to sacrifice one useless son to bury one successful son from their competitor.”

“Are you saying Dorim Chairman Jo ordered his own son to carry out some kind of suicide attack?”

“I'm saying it's possible. From Dorim's perspective, that's a worthwhile trade. Frankly, trading one complete piece of trash like Jo Pilwook to get rid of me would be profitable, wouldn't it?”

Maybe. Maybe not.

Logically speaking, it didn't fit perfectly.

If Dorim truly wanted to commission a murder, they'd use some unrelated third party rather than Jo Pilwook.

But so what?

That wasn't Kim Minwoo's problem.

First, sprinkle a little conspiracy theory around.

When rumors spread, the side forced to deny them usually had far more to prove than the side spreading them.

Especially now, with public opinion firmly behind Minwoo.

These words alone would probably inflict serious damage on Dorim's sales.

Hadn't he emerged as a national hero after clearing an A+-rank Gate?As Korea's second-largest conglomerate, Dorim overlapped with Ilseong in many industries.

Dorim falling was practically the same as Ilseong rising.

Simply smashing Dorim's sales would be fine.‘Could squeeze something big out of them while I'm at it.’Making them surrender an entire business wouldn't be bad either.

Whatever happened.

Dorim had thrown the first punch, and Minwoo had no intention of letting it go quietly. Besides, his backing was bigger anyway.[(Breaking News) Gate Clear Contribution 50:50! A D-rank Awakened Rampaged Through an A+ Gate?][(Breaking News) Sword Phoenix Confirms It! 50:50 Contribution Is Absolutely True!][(Breaking News) No Longer Sword Phoenix but Bow Phoenix? Seo Yerim Changes Class to Archer!][(Breaking News) International-Class Super Rookies Unite! Seo Yerim Joins Spendthrift Guild!][(Breaking News) Dorim Chairman Jo Ordered His Son to Murder Kim Minwoo?][(Breaking News) Dorim Dismisses Claim as Absurd Conspiracy Theory…….]* * *After the interview ended.

Kim Minwoo looked at Seo Yerim.

“Want me to come with you to Sword Sea Pavilion?”

“……

No. Thinking about it, this feels like something I need to handle myself.”

“You'll be okay?”

“……

It's just telling them my Class changed. It's not like the result was bad either. I'll be fine, so go take care of your own things, Mr. Minwoo.”

If she said so.

Kim Minwoo nodded.

Seo Yerim returned alone and sought out Sword Immortal.

“I heard. Your Class changed to Archer, Yerim?”

Seo Yerim nodded and shared her Status Window with Sword Immortal.

Sword Immortal's eyes widened as he read her Skills.

Skills Possessed: Divine Bow Iperin(SSS), Ghost Step(A), Precision Snipe(A)…….

“SSS-rank…….”

Even he had never seen a Skill of that rank.

“Is this the Skill you obtained from that Gate reward you mentioned?”

“Well, actually…….”

Seo Yerim explained what had happened.

Starting with Kim Minwoo recognizing her talent for archery, then taking her to a mysterious space where she underwent the Reassessment. Sword Immortal looked astonished.

It was a talent even he and Korea's other top Awakened had failed to discover. How had Kim Minwoo recognized it at a glance?

And beyond that, he'd even led her through the special process called a Reassessment.‘……

What a mysterious child.’Sword Immortal's gaze deepened.

Then.

Seo Yerim stared directly at him.

“Grandpa.”

“Speak.”

“I always wanted you to acknowledge me. But not once did I ever earn that acknowledgment.”

Sword Immortal nodded.

He knew his granddaughter longed for his recognition.

He'd known since she was a child.

Ever since his son and daughter-in-law died in an accident and he'd taken the girl in to raise her.

But Sword Immortal had never given her what she wanted.

No.

He couldn't.

Her talent had fallen far short of the level needed to earn his recognition.

What meaning would there be in lying under those circumstances?

None.

At some point, he'd even begun avoiding sparring with her.

Because he didn't want to see his granddaughter look dejected.

Seo Yerim's eyes turned serious.

“I may be holding a bow instead of a sword now, but my goal hasn't changed. So please spar with me.”

“……

Stand.”

Sword Immortal headed toward the training ground with her. Naturally, instructors and disciples began gathering.

“What is this? Are they actually going to spar?”

“They're heading to the training ground, so it looks like it……?”

“Wasn't their last spar almost three years ago?”

The two stood facing each other in the training ground.

Seo Yerim summoned her weapon.[Activating Divine Bow Iperin(SSS)

!]

Flash!

The Divine Bow appeared in her hand amid a burst of light. A bow that settled into her grip far more naturally than the sword she'd wielded for decades.‘Iperin. Help me.’Tremble……!

As though reading her thoughts, Iperin trembled.

Sword Immortal drew his sword as well.

Tension filled the training ground.

Then.

“Begin.”

Nod.

Their spar began.

Seo Yerim immediately used the Divine Bow's Skill.[The Divine Bow declares ‘Killing Zone’!][Duration: 20 minutes!][Agility increases by 50%.][Three times as many Mana Arrows are generated!]

Killing Zone.

One of the Divine Bow's effects.

She drew the string toward the charging Sword Immortal. Blue Mana gathered and took the form of arrows.

Three arrows.

Holding her breath in concentration, she released the string.

Fwing!

All three arrows flew directly at Sword Immortal. Midflight, the wind caught them and their trajectories split three ways.

Sword Immortal's eyes flashed as the arrows approached as though surrounding him from three sides.‘Troublesome.’They were precisely timed so that if he knocked one away, another would pierce him in that opening. Meaning she'd calculated the wind's flow and the relative speed of each trajectory before she even fired.

It had been only a single pull of the bowstring, yet he had already seen a glimpse of her talent.

Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't stop them.

He swung once and knocked all three arrows away.

Then a barrage descended from both the sky and directly ahead. Nine arrows in total flew toward every part of his body.

A cluster of arrows approaching with exquisitely staggered timing.

Whoooosh.

Wind gathered around Seo Jincheol's sword.

He spun it, and the arrows falling in staggered intervals crashed helplessly into the ground.

This was the first time he'd actively used Wind Swordsmanship against her during a spar.

Which, put another way, meant the arrows were threatening enough to require it.

Sword Immortal rapidly closed the distance.

His blade shot forward in a straight line.[Using Ghost Step(A)

!]

Seo Yerim activated a Skill.

Her Skills had changed when she became an Archer.

Ghost Step, transformed from Moon Step, was excellent for creating distance.

Her blurred figure appeared far behind him.

The problem was Sword Immortal kept closing the gap as though he'd predicted exactly what she'd do.

Shooting arrows didn't help.

He knocked down every one.‘Don't panic.’Sparring with Sword Immortal had always been like this.

Grandpa always predicted everything she would do. She'd be pushed around miserably, then lose.

And Sword Immortal had recently proven to the entire world that he'd grown even stronger by setting the fastest clear record for an S-rank Gate.

He had already been strong.

Even at full power, she doubted she could scratch him.‘Still, I can do this.’She had the Divine Bow.

At the very least, she wouldn't repeat the same helpless defeats of the past.

Seo Yerim's eyes flashed.

She'd expected the distance to close.

She raised the Divine Bow and blocked the sword.

Clang!

An S-rank Awakened and an A-rank Awakened.

Sparks exploded in every direction as the two exchanged attacks at tremendous speed.

The powerful bonuses granted by wielding the Divine Bow.

And on top of that, her innate genius for archery.

Archery did not mean merely the technique of shooting arrows accurately.

Terrifying talent.

That talent extended into the realm of martial combat performed with bow and arrow.

The S-rank martial arts manual she'd obtained inside the Gate.[Seven Killing Steps]

Strangely, this martial art specialized in close combat.

Seven steps ending with an arrow driven through the enemy's throat.

She had only read the martial arts manual once, yet her talent was already succeeding in turning it into a Skill.[You perfectly reproduce Seven Killing Steps!]

A Mana Arrow in one hand.

The Divine Bow in the other as she met Sword Immortal's attacks head-on, Seo Yerim frowned.

Fifth step.‘As expected. This won't work.’Sword Immortal's swordsmanship had advanced far beyond where it had been during their last spar three years ago. There was no way Grandpa would fall to something this simple.

She needed something deadlier.

Something more threatening.

Only then would she have even a chance of producing some result.

A thought suddenly flashed through her mind.

Seven Killing Steps.

What if she mixed three Precision Snipes from Killing Zone into it?

Skills were essentially standardized movements.

Combining them was nearly impossible.

But Seo Yerim did it.

On the seventh step.

Her figure suddenly blurred.

She appeared at point-blank range before Sword Immortal and drew the string.[Seven Killing Steps and Precision Snipe are perfectly linked!][Killing Zone assists the effect!][A new Skill is created!][Seven-Step Strike(SS)

has been created!]

Three arrows fired from point-blank range.

At that moment.

With a chilling burst of sound, all three arrows shattered.

Seo Yerim's eyes went blank.

Her finishing move had simply been stopped.

She hadn't even seen what happened.

The arrows were already destroyed, and Sword Immortal's blade rested against her throat.

Was even the bow not enough for her?

Then.

Sword Immortal spoke with open admiration.

“……

This old man is a little surprised.”

“……

What?”

“To think you would force me to use the Mind Sword. Hah, truly…….”

“The Mind Sword……

?”

She tilted her head.

Was he talking about the enlightenment he'd mentioned in passing before?

“Congratulations. You've found an excellent Class perfectly suited to you. This old man acknowledges you. You have talent.”

“……

R-Really?”

“Yes.”

A lifetime of training.

She might be holding a bow instead of a sword now, but that no longer mattered.

At last, she had achieved the lifelong wish she'd wanted more than anything.

Seo Yerim's eyes trembled violently.* * *“……

Huh?”

Kim Minwoo narrowed his eyes at the messages that suddenly appeared.

“What the hell? Why are my Achievement Points suddenly…….”

Duplicating like crazy?