Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Spendthrift Necromancer (73)

Shadow (1)

Arms and legs.

For a Warrior specialized as a tank, the legs were far more important body parts. Lose one arm and you could still hold a shield with the other, but lose one leg and you simply couldn't function as a tank anymore.

Without a stable lower body, you couldn't defend properly at all.

And with only one leg, that went without saying. A prosthetic wouldn't change things either. Jo Pilwook's career as an Awakened had been completely destroyed from this moment onward.

Of course, that wasn't Kim Minwoo's problem.

Who was the bastard who'd tried to crush his shoulder first?

“Take him away.”

At those words, the Dorim bodyguards who had been anxiously hovering outside rushed in, hoisted Jo Pilwook up, and ran off with him. A few of them could be seen carrying the mangled leg.‘Not like they can reattach it anyway.’The System had already sentenced him to crutches.

Even Hua Tuo himself couldn't put it back on now.

The Awakened who had served as guarantors approached. Every one of them had astonishment in their eyes.

They had watched the battle clearly with their own two eyes rather than through a broadcast.

Naturally, neither the sense of presence nor the nerve-racking tension could even be compared to what the viewers had experienced.‘Honestly, I figured he probably wouldn't lose…….’‘But I never thought it'd be this one-sided…….’He was an Awakened who had performed inside an A+-rank Gate.

From the moment he'd readily accepted the Duel, they'd naturally assumed he had some kind of trump card.

Kim Minwoo had proven his value perfectly. An unbelievable number of summons for someone only around Level 100.

Even if Skeletons were clumsy, the story changed once enough of them gathered. A thousand alone would've been enough to make anyone faint, but two thousand?

The sight was overwhelming the instant you saw it.

A truly enormous horde, exactly what one imagined from a textbook Necromancer.

And that wasn't all.

Kim Minwoo possessed special summons besides the Skeletons.

The gigantic Golem.

They couldn't even imagine what its stats might be.

The astonishing strength to stop Jo Pilwook's charge head-on!

And even the undead named Cedric.‘……

Even I'd have a hard time fighting that thing one-on-one.’With terrifying spearmanship and battle experience, it had toyed with Jo Pilwook from beginning to end.

There was a reason even hot-tempered Jo Pilwook had ignored every attack and desperately charged Kim Minwoo instead.

Even from the Awakened's perspective, that had been the correct decision. After all, the standard strategy against summoning classes was to kill the summoner.

The problem was.‘……

Monster.’‘That swordsmanship is just…….’This Necromancer's strongest asset was actually the summoner himself.

Jo Pilwook was an Awakened with a fair amount of experience rolling through Gates, yet Minwoo had played with him like a toy.

Especially when Minwoo read the motion of a Warrior Skill, moved a step ahead, and counterattacked—the Awakened had been so stunned they nearly fell over.

That was one of the highest-level techniques even most S-rank Awakened couldn't demonstrate.

Only then did they understand.

Why Sword Phoenix had insisted the Gate contribution was fifty-fifty. Looking at him now, Kim Minwoo wasn't merely a Necromancer.

He was some freakish mutation whose main body was the strongest part.

And even more frightening was.‘……

There's no way he showed everything he has against someone as insignificant as Jo Pilwook.’That fact.

Even summoning that many creatures had probably been part of a calculation.

He had enough skill to cut Jo Pilwook apart with a sword even without them. Perhaps he'd intended to erase the lingering doubts surrounding the recent Gate clear.

“……

That was an incredible spar.”

“Your swordsmanship is truly remarkable. I can see why you cleared an A+-rank Gate.”

“Impressive. Here, this is my business card…….”

The Awakened crowded around him, desperately trying to establish even the slightest connection.

An Awakened who was obviously destined to reach the top if given enough time. There was nothing to lose by forming even a tiny bond with him.

Kim Minwoo smiled and handed out his own business cards in return.

“You flatter me. I'm still only a beginner.”

Conversation continued in a warm atmosphere.* * *‘Now I just need to supply goods through crafting…….’Nearly a month had passed while he was away inside the Gate. Fortunately, he'd made a large amount of inventory before entering.

Thanks to that, sales had continued without anything selling out.

He had no idea how long the Death Lord's second Arrangement would take. So before leaving, it would be best to supply enough stock that nothing went wrong.

The profit he'd earned from supplying one hundred thousand pieces of equipment last time had been around 600 billion won. That structure was only possible because he took every bit of margin after subtracting material costs.

And this time, he wasn't pouring out F-rank gear but equipment for E-rank Awakened.

The Skeletons' crafting Skill had improved as well, so the quality of what they produced had risen.

With higher-grade materials, a decent percentage should come out Magic-grade too.‘I could make trillions from one equipment-production run.’He'd heard Ilseong's equipment sales were an unbelievable success. Some Awakened even pitched tents outside the stores, bought gear, then immediately resold it at the entrance.

It made sense. One resale alone could earn at least several million won in profit.

That was vastly more than most low-rank Awakened made in a day.

No wonder things had gotten so crazy.

He didn't particularly resent that kind of reselling.‘Not like telling them not to would stop them.’He was selling cheap in the first place precisely to generate this kind of buzz. Once the market grew larger, overseas Awakened might hear the rumors and come looking too.

Or Ilseong could open directly operated stores abroad. The equipment market was practically infinite. As long as he kept producing, money would duplicate itself.

After leaving the Training Center, he headed to the workshop. Mountains of materials had already been delivered.

That was because Park Siwoo, wearing a whole stack of Spatial Rings, had kept transporting materials even while Minwoo was away.

He sent a quick KakaoTalk message.[Kim Minwoo]―At the workshop. You moved a lot. Good work.[Park Siwoo]―Haha!(Thumbs-up emoji)[Kim Minwoo]―Level?[Park Siwoo]―127.[Seo Yerim]―Huh? Already 127? Weren't you in the 90s last time? That's fast.[Park Siwoo]―Noona, that was a month ago. Holy shit…… I need to level if I want to keep up with Hyung too;[Kim Minwoo]―Yeah. Honestly, it's not even that fast. Work harder.[Park Siwoo]―Sob…….(Crying-face emoji)[Seo Yerim]―But what's this workshop?[Park Siwoo]―Hyung, can I tell her?[Kim Minwoo]―Yeah. Already told her inside the Gate. Doesn't matter.[Park Siwoo]―It's where Hyung makes equipment. I've been moving materials here with Spatial Rings haha![Seo Yerim]―Ohhh.[Kim Minwoo]―Then I'm off to craft equipment.(Zooming-running emoji)

Before entering the Murim Gate.

There was a considerable difference between his stats then and now.[New Title List][1. Monster Among Beginners][Effect: All stats +20]

A new title he'd acquired at the Trial Grounds.‘Premium stuff.’Clearing Murderous difficulty had been worth it. On top of that came the Ring of Ascension's +100 to all stats, the +50 to all stats from the high-grade elixirs he'd bought earlier, the +20 from the Golden Dragon Pill the Unorthodox Alliance Leader gave him, and even the Sword Shadow Pill.

Kim Minwoo began taking off his equipment one piece at a time.‘This is always the best part.’Accessories were things he practically never needed to replace. After removing every other piece of equipment and checking his nearly pure stats—that was when he felt most strongly that risking his life had been worth it.

His current stats were…….‘Status.’[Name: Kim Minwoo(24)][Class: Necromancer][Level: 151][Mana: 7,150/7,150][Titles: 24][Skills Possessed (9/72): Death Lord(EX), Summon Cedric(SSS), Land of Death(S), Summon Bone Golem(A), Bone Replacement(B), Bind Equipment(B), Curse of Aging(D)+9, Summon Skeleton Mage(E)+9, Summon Skeleton(F)+9][Strength: 596(+59)] [Agility: 596(+59)] [Stamina: 572(+57)] [Magic: 650(+65)]‘Damn.’Every stat easily averaged over 600.

Until now, Strength and Agility had been higher thanks to the Mutakta title, but things had changed. His highest stat was Magic.‘Makes sense.’The Ring of the Four Apostles gave +50 Magic. Master of a Divine Beast added another 10. It wasn't strange that Magic had started racing ahead.‘Already have three good accessories.’The Ascension Ring went without saying.

The Ring of the Four Apostles he'd gotten after killing Belitas and the Dark Pursuer's Ring from Lee Seoyoon were both excellent pieces too.

And that wasn't all.

The necklace he'd obtained after finishing the Orc Gate. The one that allowed him to enter again at Level 251 had two grooves carved into it.

What happened if he killed the Witch and Ice Dragon, then inserted the jewels?‘Guaranteed mega-jackpot.’Four premium accessories.

He'd built the foundation to leap beyond the upper ranks and into the absolute top tier.

It had only been a little over two months since he'd possessed Kim Minwoo's body. Judging by overall progression, he was still practically in the tutorial.

His evaluation so far.‘Top-tier.’The rewards for gambling his life had been incredibly sweet. Every other Kim Minwoo he'd played had only averaged around 400 in stats at Level 151.

And they'd taken another two or three months just to reach Level 151.

Compared to them, he'd arrived at a demonic starting point. That wasn't the only thing that had changed.

Cedric.

He had also gained a new Skill upon reaching Level 151.

Shadow Spear(SS).

The effect was simple.

It copied a spear made of shadow. He'd clearly be attacking with one spear, yet the shadow spear would mirror the movement and hit again. A ten-minute event that effectively doubled his attack power.

Exactly what you'd expect from an SS-rank Skill.

Kim Minwoo equipped his Level 151 setup piece by piece.[Equipping ‘Gloomy Necromancer Set’!][Strength +50, Agility +40, Stamina +50, Magic +100!]

His stats inflated once again from the newly prepared equipment.

With the 10% bonus from Indomitable Soul added in, his total Magic reached 825.

Mana 8,250.[3,300 Skeletons are summoned!]3,300 summons stared at him.

“What are you doing? Start crafting.”

Clatter!

The Skeletons began moving.

Goods started pouring out almost immediately.

“Snowy. Time to eat.”―Coo.

Snowy came flying over in a panic and began devouring attribute items.‘Make money for a few days.’Once the 60 trillion came in, it would be time to go shopping.* * *Over the past few days, he'd crafted equipment and supplied it in bulk. Both the quality and quantity of the gear had increased, so the margins were enormous.

Nearly fifteen million won in margin per piece.

The higher the level bracket climbed, the more sharply equipment prices jumped. That was why there was still plenty of profit even after selling cheap.

Craft it, hand it over immediately, and receive the margin upfront.

Whenever he duplicated money like that, he spent the spare moments buying C-rank Skill Books. Around three days into that routine.

Inside the auction house.

Someone began approaching him.‘Finally here.’An ordinary-looking face.

The only unusual feature was a long scar near one eye.

A common enough wound among Awakened.

Even so, Kim Minwoo recognized him instantly. After all, the man was one of Gate Hunter's most famous villains.‘Leader of Shadow. Han Baekgil.’His appearance condition was simple.

Build up a certain amount of fame in the game.

Then one day, this bastard would casually approach.

To scout you.

Of course, if you played with an extremely good alignment, he'd skip the scouting pitch and go straight for assassination instead.‘I'm probably not that kind of alignment right now.’It wasn't like he'd done anything especially righteous. A wastrel turning over a new leaf didn't exactly count as a saintly path.

If he had to label his alignment, it would probably be something like Chaos.

Soon, Han Baekgil spoke with a broad smile.

“Mr. Kim Minwoo! I'm a huge fan. Could I possibly get an autograph?”

“Sure. Why not?”

A normal scouting approach.

So far.

The moment Minwoo began signing the paper Han Baekgil held out.

Crawl.

Something strange appeared between the sheets. Bizarre markings like hundreds of worms writhing across the page.

Han Baekgil's face immediately stiffened.

“Mr. Kim Minwoo, you are an extraordinarily talented Awakened, aren't you?”‘What?’Minwoo had encountered Han Baekgil hundreds of times, but he'd never once seen a pattern like this.

Showing him some bizarre image and then getting worked up all by himself?‘What the hell kind of new pattern is this?’He stared at Han Baekgil.