Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Spendthrift Necromancer (72)

Duel (2)

Duel.

One of the special functions administered by the System, and its advantage was simple. Anything resulting from a Duel, even murder, was legally innocent.

The reason this was possible.

Was because the moment a country punished the outcome of a Duel, the System punished that country in return.

After getting burned badly enough, nations around the world eventually reached an agreement.

No legal punishment whatsoever would be imposed for the results of a Duel.

There was, however, a condition.

What if someone held a knife to another person's throat and forced them into a Duel?

Because it could easily be abused as a means of legal murder, every Duel required at least five verified guarantors.

Without them, countries could impose every kind of legal punishment, from assault to murder charges, and the System wouldn't retaliate against those penalties.

The nation and the System.

Both sides had found their own compromise.

A verified guarantor usually meant.‘A B-rank or higher Awakened who counts as a third party.’A third party.

Simply put, someone with little vested interest in either side.

Otherwise, six friends could simply swarm someone, force a Duel, and murder them legally.

The System normally judged those relationships itself. Unlike the bodyguards here, merely using the Training Center's free facilities didn't count as a meaningful connection.

“Oh, guarantors?”

Several Awakened soon walked out of the Training Center.

Because it offered top-tier facilities for free, quite a few high-ranking Awakened trained there. Some belonged to famous guilds.

“Our Pilwook says that's what he wants. You all don't mind acting as guarantors, right?”

The Awakened nodded.

There was no downside to serving as guarantors, and this level of request was easy enough.

Besides, they were curious too.

Just how strong was Kim Minwoo, the man surrounded by all those rumors?

Being a guarantor gave them the perfect excuse to observe his skill from nearby.

The group moved toward one of the Center's training grounds.

When they arrived at the vast arena.

“I, Kim Minwoo, challenge Jo Pilwook here to a Duel.”―Daaaaamn lol―This matchup is fucking amazing lol―Is this Conqueror's Haki? Is this Conqueror's Haki? Is this Conqueror's Haki?―If they set the conditions too brutal, the stream might get banned.―Yeah; probably gonna get cut off midway. Can't really help that.[‘Duel’ activates!][Please set detailed conditions!]

“Pilwook, what conditions do you want?”

“…….”

Jo Pilwook glared at Kim Minwoo with a twisted expression. He'd expected him to get scared, but Minwoo had accepted the Duel instantly.

Seeing him act that confident, he clearly had something he trusted.‘……

Whatever.’It didn't matter.

Jo Pilwook was confident in his own strength too.

And even though Minwoo had cleared an A+-rank Gate, nobody knew exactly what he'd done inside.

Maybe he had found the escape route well.

Solved gimmicks well.

Distracted enemies well.

And so on.

There were plenty of ways to earn high contribution without directly fighting.

And after proposing a Duel himself in front of millions of viewers, he was supposed to back down?

Was there anything more pathetic in the world?

Jo Pilwook's gaze turned cold. As long as he won, that was all that mattered.‘Killing him would be too much of a burden, but…….’Crippling one part of him should be fine.

Cut off an arm and destroy it so it could never be reattached.

Not even the world's greatest Healer could regenerate a limb that no longer existed.

If Jo Pilwook turned Minwoo into a one-armed man, Chairman Jo would probably feel secretly delighted too.

He'd been grinding his teeth ever since Kim Minwoo spread all those conspiracy theories during the interview.

“I'll need to wreck at least one of your limbs. That's fine, right?”

“Sure. Sounds fine. Pilwook seems like he'd walk around cheerfully on crutches.”[Condition set: ‘Victory upon permanently destroying one of the opponent's limbs’!][The Duel area is limited to this training ground!][Until the victory condition is fulfilled, nobody may enter or leave the Duel area!][Five or more guarantors confirmed!][Duel established!]

At that moment.

White energy spread through the training ground, and Kim Minwoo and Jo Pilwook were moved to opposite ends.

Once a Duel was established, neither side could stop it voluntarily.

That was also why Duels weren't commonly used.

Once you started one, you truly had to see it through.

Normally, if people were determined to Duel, they'd set milder conditions like losing after receiving a certain amount of damage.

But our dear Jo Pilwook was a simple, brainless tank of a man, so he'd boldly chosen permanently destroying one limb. Making him one-armed felt too generous since he could still enter Gates like that.

Then he'd be the one using crutches.[Duel begins in 10 seconds!][10 seconds remaining.][9 seconds remaining.]..[Duel begins!]

At that moment.

Kim Minwoo extended a hand.[2,000 Skeletons are summoned!]Nearly two thousand Skeletons appeared.

And the summoning didn't end there.―Grooo!

A gigantic Golem began rising among the skeletal soldiers.

Cedric too.

“……?”

Jo Pilwook tilted his head.‘What…… is this?’How many are there?

After setting the Gate record.

The most Minwoo had ever publicly summoned was around three hundred Skeletons. So even accounting for his level rising, Jo Pilwook had assumed a thousand summons would already be an enormous number.

It wasn't merely that much.

There were far, far too many summons.

Enough to send chills down his spine.

The stream chat exploded too.―WTF. How many is that?―Do Necros normally summon that many?―If they could summon that much, everyone would play Necro lololol―I'm a Level 100 Necromancer, and at this level summoning 200 Skeletons is already considered good…….―Then why the hell does he have another zero on his number lololol―What's that Golem too? Necros get summons like that?―Pilwook's crutch ending looking real sharp today lolololKim Minwoo calmly pointed at Jo Pilwook.

“Cut off one of his legs. And don't forget to destroy it so it can't be reattached.”―Grooo!

The Golem and summons charged enthusiastically. From a safe distance, Kim Minwoo used his spare Mana to cast a curse.[Curse of Aging(D)+9 activates…….]

It failed several times due to the level difference.

Eventually, Jo Pilwook was cursed.[The target's level is high!][Ring of Ascension amplifies the curse's effect by 50%!][‘Jo Pilwook's’ Defense and Speed decrease by a total of 17%!]

Jo Pilwook, slowed dramatically, began sweating coldly.‘What the fuck!’Considering the level gap, even at +9 the curse should've reduced them by less than 8%.

But 17%?

Then the Skeletons began stabbing their weapons into him.

Jo Pilwook's Class was Warrior.

A Class naturally gifted with high Defense, and thanks to his gear and level advantage, the attacks didn't deal much damage…….

But that didn't mean they dealt none at all.

He was cursed.

There were too many enemies.

Like clothes slowly soaking through in a drizzle, he would gradually be worn down.

Jo Pilwook's expression turned serious.‘I have to open a path.’The Duel had already started.

It couldn't be stopped now.

If he wasted time fighting summons, he would be the one exhausted first.

Warriors didn't have much in the way of area attacks. Ultimately, he had to crush Kim Minwoo, the summoner.

Mana wrapped around Jo Pilwook's body.[Jo Pilwook uses Skeletal Armor(B)

!][Jo Pilwook uses Iron Charge(A)

!]

Then he charged with his shield raised, looking ready to bulldoze through everything.

Boooom!

The Skeletons he struck went flying in every direction.

But his heroic charge didn't last long.―Grooo!

Whoosh!

Dolsoe swung with a full-power strike like a Troll swinging a club, and Jo Pilwook's charge stopped with a solid thump.

The Golem was far stronger than expected.

“Get lost!”

Jo Pilwook swung his mace.[Dolsoe uses Defensive Stance(B)

!]

But when it came to sturdiness, Dolsoe wasn't losing either.

While Dolsoe clung to Jo Pilwook, Cedric approached and began attacking.‘What the hell is this now?!’Jo Pilwook nearly screamed.

He'd assumed the Golem would be the most troublesome summon.

He was wrong.

This Skeleton called Cedric.

Its performance was completely insane.

It kept stabbing straight into openings, making Jo Pilwook feel like a turtle being eaten alive by a predator.

The stream erupted as well.―Isn't Jo Pilwook supposed to be pretty strong?―Yeah, B-rank level and an A-rank Awakening Achievement. That's definitely considered a strong Awakened in Korea.―Then why does it look like he's gonna lose just to the summons?―Kim Minwoo's summons are way stronger than I thought;; Cedric especially is absurd. Is this what an S-rank Skill looks like?―……

Could it be above S-rank?―Don't overdose on hype lol There is nothing above S-rank lol―Yeah. Another S-rank Achievement Awakened wouldn't get pushed around easily by Jo Pilwook either. But…… forcing him back this hard really doesn't make sense…….―He's spent tons of money all this time. There are rumors he cleared Hidden Gates too. Makes sense to me.―Yeah. Think about it. Why would Sword Phoenix give him 50% contribution for nothing? Obviously he did enough to earn it lol―Exactly; if all you're judging is 50% contribution on an A+ first clear, then Jo Pilwook getting smashed is obvious lol―For real. Would Pilwook even earn 5% contribution inside an A+ Gate? lololol Feels like even that would be hard.―Jo Pilwook probably assumed Minwoo earned his contribution through something other than combat. That's why he challenged him to a Duel lol He's fucked lolThen.

“Aaaagh!”

Jo Pilwook roared in fury and activated another Skill.

Despite being beaten all over, he charged toward Minwoo.

Apparently he'd decided to ignore the summons completely.

Well, if Cedric used all the new Skills he'd gained after reaching Level 151, Jo Pilwook would probably get stopped dead anyway.‘I've shown enough.’There was no reason to reveal every card he held.

The Skeletons were fighting in stupid meat-shield mode.

Cedric wasn't using Breath or his other Skills either.

For roughly the same reason.

There was no need to shake his underwear at the audience just to defeat Jo Pilwook.

This alone was more than enough to make Minwoo's value soar.

Besides.‘I can handle the rest myself.’Necromantic Sword.

He drew the Legendary-grade blade.

Jo Pilwook charged forward covered head to toe in blood. True to being a sturdy Warrior, he still hadn't suffered anything fatal.‘Cutting off a leg will be easy.’Heavy armor?

Consecutive attacks worked just fine on that too. Strike the same place a few times and the Necromantic Sword would eventually slice straight through.

Thirty seconds of combat followed.―Whoa, what? Why is Kim Minwoo so good with a sword? He's redirecting every attack.―;; Jo Pilwook's seriously fucked. He probably charged in thinking he'd only have to reach the Necro. What now? lol―When your Class is Necro, but you're secretly a sword genius too. Damn.―That's an entire light novel right there lol―Forget the sword, he's getting completely destroyed in the taunt mind game too. Kim Minwoo times his movement exactly to the provocation. A Warrior has no answer to that lol―Is his leg actually getting cut off?―Yeah. Once a Duel starts nobody can stop it. But I don't think that'll be enough to end the Duel.―Probably; they both said they'd cripple the other guy, so they'll probably have to destroy it beyond reattachment before the System accepts it.―Who can he blame lol He's the one who suggested it first with bloodshot eyes lol―Look at Jo Pilwook's steel pants getting shredded lol One more hit and that leg's coming off.―That's already the fourth consecutive hit. Damage is inflated as hell. Next one's definitely cutting through.―Is that really a consecutive attack? I've only heard rumors about those…….―First hit barely scratched it, but by the fourth the armor's cracking apart lol That's definitely consecutive attack lolThen.

The camera angle abruptly tilted slightly upward.

Slash!

Something was severed, and Jo Pilwook's body collapsed to the ground.

Because the camera pointed upward, his lower body couldn't be seen.

Kim Minwoo looked at the camera and shrugged.

“Oops. The Duel isn't over. You can see it, right? The Duel field still hasn't disappeared.”

Just as he said, the white energy covering the training ground remained intact.

A signal that the Duel hadn't ended.

Nobody could escape until the condition was fulfilled.

“Looks like the System wants a more definitive result. Anything beyond this will probably violate broadcast standards, so I'll see you later.”

Then.[The broadcast has been forcibly terminated.]

The stream ended.―Wow…… Pilwook's life is ruined;; He really got the crutch ending lol―But why is Kim Minwoo so good with a sword? Jo Pilwook couldn't do anything.―Yeah; he redirected every attack and kept hammering the same spot…… Honestly, even without summons, Minwoo probably would've beaten him with just the sword.―For real; Sword Phoenix wasn't praising his swordsmanship for nothing…… insane…….

Kim Minwoo stared at the fallen Jo Pilwook.

Victory upon destroying one limb.

Here, ‘destroying’ included making the body part impossible to reattach ever again.

Because that was what both Kim Minwoo and Jo Pilwook had wanted.

He stared at Jo Pilwook's severed leg.

Tears and snot streaming everywhere.

Jo Pilwook looked up at him with trembling eyes.

“Pilwook. Can't end the Duel otherwise. You know that, right?”

“N-No…… please……!”

“Get used to those crutches.”

Dolsoe stomped down on the severed leg.

And that wasn't enough.

The Skeletons hacked it apart relentlessly.

Until even Hua Tuo himself couldn't have reattached it.[Victory condition fulfilled!][You have won the Duel!]

Only then did a satisfying message appear before Minwoo's eyes.