Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Spendthrift Necromancer (75)

Second Arrangement (1)

Shadow was one of the more troublesome organizations to hunt.

They committed brutal crimes like sacrificing people, but there was no way people of their caliber would leave evidence lying around carelessly.

Simply charging in and attacking wasn't the answer. If he did, they could turn around and paint him as the criminal instead.‘And they're pretty damn strong.’Their key members were composed of Awakened who were at least A-rank.

If they ganged up on him?

He couldn't guarantee victory.

And the current Shadow might have been far stronger than before.‘Assuming that experience-duplication thing is real…….’If it really was, then naturally their average level would be much higher than during his previous playthroughs. They had equipment, Skill Books, and stats to back it up.

Hunting them alone would be troublesome.

Of course, it wasn't as though Minwoo had no cheat codes available.‘Sword Immortal.’And Fist King, Divine Spear, and Poison Demon.

Through their last meeting, he'd built connections with Korea's greatest masters. If he asked for their help, wiping Shadow out completely wouldn't be difficult.

No matter how impressive Shadow was, they'd be helpless before those people's skill.

The problem was.‘Would I still get the full Achievement Points?’That.

Did he need to personally earn 100% of the credit to receive the full points?

Or would partial contribution still grant everything? He still didn't know. What if he accepted the masters' help only to have his points reduced dramatically?‘That would make me very sad.’Especially now that the Achievement Vending Machine doubled every point.

Of course, if things became truly dangerous, he'd use them without hesitation. But for now, he still had time.‘If those bastards target me, they'll attack inside a Gate anyway.’Try something in reality?

Against the eldest son of Ilseong Group, practically Korea's prince?

Whatever else Korea lacked, its public security was famous.

Especially in Seoul.

Minwoo might not be able to win outright, but he could certainly hold out and buy time. Survive five minutes and Awakened would swarm in from every direction.

Even a Shadow strengthened by boosted experience couldn't answer sheer numbers. So if they wanted him, they'd probably try to intrude on a Gate.‘One fortunate thing, at least…….’Han Baekgil hadn't recognized who Minwoo truly was.

There were three possibilities.

The being he served wasn't the Outer God and had nothing to do with Kim Minwoo. Or he did serve the Outer God, but hadn't been given a clear target.‘Or else.’He really was an Outer God's servant, but had been assigned a completely different objective.‘Doesn't matter either way.’Hadn't Minwoo learned when he killed Lee Seoyoon?

Those bastards were Achievement Point duplicators.

Shadow needed to be hunted.‘There might even be a bonus.’He remembered the Baptism Han Baekgil mentioned. The experience-duplication effect.

If Minwoo obtained that orb, there might be a way to make use of it himself.‘One month.’For growth, the best move would probably be accepting a new Legion Commander.

If he gained even one more being like Cedric, that alone would be reassuring.

It seemed time to answer the Call.* * *[You learn Summon Specter(C)+9!][Summon Specter(C)+9][This Skill has been enhanced to its limit.][Consumes 100 Mana to summon 2(1+1)

LV1 Specters.]

The investment was taking a while to execute, so he simply sold equipment, collected advances, and swept up Skill Books.

Crafted equipment made money.

Especially when something came out Magic+ rather than Normal-grade. It wasn't uncommon to earn more than ten times the cost.‘Though they don't appear that often.’Maybe one in every ten crafting attempts?

Still, that didn't matter.

The number of Skeletons attempting to craft had risen dramatically.

More than three thousand Skeletons were practically vomiting out Magic-grade goods nonstop.

After only a few days of crafting, he'd practically duplicated enough money for a +9 C-rank Skill Book.

The enhancements had also succeeded straight through without a single failure.‘Finally learned it.’Specter.

One of the intermediate undead, with fairly solid performance.

Its greatest advantage was that, as a ghost-type creature, physical damage didn't work very well against it.‘Permanent 30% physical damage reduction.’That wasn't the Specter's only advantage.‘They can cram damage in efficiently.’Even with huge numbers, Skeletons had trouble attacking efficiently.

The reason was simple.

They took up space.

Once they'd surrounded an enemy completely, only a limited number could actually swing their weapons. Specters, on the other hand, were flying undead that floated through the air.

Meaning they could still pour in damage even when Skeletons had filled every bit of space around an enemy.

They could simply fly overhead and attack the enemy's skull from above.

Of course, Specters had weaknesses too.

If normal undead took double damage from an attribute they were weak against, Specters could take as much as triple.

That was because their undead and ghost properties overlapped into a double weakness.

Getting butchered by silver or mithril weapons was another bonus.

And they couldn't equip gear.

No. More precisely.‘They technically can…….’They needed special equipment.

Gear finished specifically so ghost-type creatures could wear it.

Naturally, demand and supply for that kind of equipment were nearly nonexistent.

At most, Spirit Masters might seek it, but that was such an obscure class that the market was practically nonexistent.‘But I can just make it myself.’He had crafting Skills.

All he had to do was apply a slightly more specialized finish.

So the weakness of being unable to equip gear was effectively gone.‘And Light doesn't work either.’Because of Death Lord, attacks below EX-rank Light wouldn't affect them.

Specters immune to the Light attribute.

Just thinking about it made his chest swell.

And very few creatures inside Gates walked around carrying plated weapons.‘I'll mix them into the summons.’Summon nothing but three thousand Skeletons?

Unless it was a genuine mass battle, combat efficiency dropped considerably.

That was why ordinary Necromancers generally mixed various types of summons together.

Kim Minwoo planned to do the same.

He had a new summoning Skill now.‘About a hundred should be enough for now.’Thanks to Death Lord, he could summon two for 50 Mana.

One hundred Specters.

An ordinary Necromancer would choke at that Mana consumption, but Kim Minwoo was different.

He could easily afford it.

He'd still have plenty of Mana left afterward.‘Preparation's done too.’He had already crafted and equipped Specter-specific gear while preparing everything else.

Consumables were stocked generously as well.‘Let's go.’Time to run the Arrangement.[Would you like to participate in the Death Lord's second Trial?]

“Of course.”[The Death Lord begins calling you.]

Along with the familiar message, the scenery around him began to change.* * *A familiar space appeared before him.

A pitch-black space.

The same place he'd entered when he received the very first Call.―Coo.

Snowy looked around as the surroundings abruptly changed.

Kim Minwoo did the same.‘This is a little different from last time.’Last time, he'd only heard a prerecorded voice.

Now some pitch-black figure was rippling before him.―……

So it's you.

“……

Mr. Death Lord?”―Correct. This is the first time the mental body I prepared has awakened. Did you obtain Cedric?

“Yes.”―Good. Well done. I hope you pass the second Arrangement as well.

“Can I ask you something?”―You may, but this time will not last long.

Damn.

Apparently it couldn't maintain itself for long.

Well, it wasn't the original body, only a mental construct.‘The original must already be gone.’Hadn't Cedric said he'd been destroyed after getting attacked by some strange group or whatever?

If time was short, Minwoo needed to skip the small questions and ask the most important one.

“Someone is deliberately gathering the Hero Party's weapons around me. Why do you think they're doing it?”―……

Gathering the Hero Party's weapons?

“Yes. I think they intend to gather all four. Does something happen if all four come together?”―You are my successor. But that does not mean you inherited my power in its entirety. I have already ceased to exist, and therefore could only pass on incomplete Authority.

Incomplete?

Summon Cedric alone was SSS-rank.

Just how absurdly high had this man's standing been?

“……

So?”―Do you believe whoever is gathering them intends to help you?

“For now, that's what I think…….”―Then perhaps they're supplying prey to raise your standing.

Minwoo frowned.

Supplying prey?

“I heard the Hero Party's weapons were indestructible.”―They were then.

Not anymore?

The figure that appeared to be the Death Lord stared directly at him and spoke.―The second Arrangement has begun…….

“Wait, hold on…….”

The scenery shifted once again.

Everything blurred.[Entering Frail Imperial Academy!][You have entered an ancient place of learning!][You have acquired the title, ‘Fossil Student’!]* * *When he opened his eyes again.

In a space where time had stopped, a strange sight met him.

The inside of a training ground.

Countless students sat on the floor, while a knight at the front seemed frozen halfway through swinging his sword. It looked like some sort of swordsmanship class.[This is a fragment of the past created from the human-life regrets of ‘Banshee Queen Merhen’!][The player enters.]

“Snowy. Hide for now.”―Coo.

Snowy nodded.

Smart little thing. It would handle itself just fine.

Time began flowing again.

“The most important part of the First Form of Imperial Swordsmanship is twisting the wrist when thrusting down into the body from an overhead position like this…….”

Hadn't it said Imperial Academy?

True to the name, the students' clothing looked incredibly fantasy-like.‘This is when she was human.’Different from Cedric, whom he'd met as an undead.‘And this isn't a Virtual Body either.’With a Virtual Body, his lack of talent disappeared and his body felt a little lighter, so that was disappointing. On the other hand, he could gain experience here, so it wasn't all bad.‘Who's Merhen?’Judging by the name, probably a woman.

He was looking around when.

“Kern!”

A middle-aged knight glared at him with a vicious expression.

“You came last in the previous exam, and now you're not even paying attention? Do you think the Swordsmanship Department is a joke?”……

Swordsmanship Department?

Why the hell was a Necromancer enrolled in the Swordsmanship Department?

The Magic Department would at least make sense.

As he thought that.

“You insolent brat! Ignoring your professor? Come forward!”

The knight flew into a rage.

Murmur!

The nearby students began whispering.

Most of what they said was similar.

Kern was screwed now because Professor Charles or whatever had marked him.

A dead-last student whose attitude in class had gone to shit too.

He was about to get his whole body smashed apart.‘Annoying.’For now, Minwoo needed to find Merhen.

He stepped forward.

“Kern! Draw your sword!”

“Professor. If I beat you, can I skip class?”

“……?”

What the hell is wrong with this lunatic?

Every gaze around him seemed to say exactly that.

Kim Minwoo didn't care.

Why waste time on some useless swordsmanship lesson?

Learning it wouldn't mean anything to him anyway.

He'd be a hundred times better off spending that time finding Merhen and figuring out what she regretted.

Professor Charles stood silent for a moment, then his eyes turned bloodshot as he exploded.

“You insolent bastard! A dead-last fool dares provoke his professor? Fine! Beat me and you can stop attending! I'll give you full marks!”

Fucking sweet.

Charles charged.

Boom!

Their swords collided.

Judging by his speed, he was around Level 400.‘About the level of an experienced Imperial Guard.’Meaning he knew what he was doing.

Still, it didn't matter.

Minwoo's stats had risen tremendously.

A knight at this level was someone he could toy with using nothing but a sword.

After ten exchanges, Charles began retreating with a pale face.

At twenty exchanges, wounds covered Charles's entire body. He even shamelessly started using Skills against a student.

Didn't help.

Thirty exchanges.

Minwoo's sword rested against Charles's throat.

“Then enjoy your class.”

“…….”

Leaving the slack-jawed students behind, he walked out of the training ground.

Time to find Merhen.