Chapter 92

Chapter 92

Spendthrift Necromancer (92)

Antlion Pit (4)‘Number Six, just like that…….’Numbers One through Seven all felt chills. They had received numbers in the order they'd joined, so Number Six's level was relatively low.

Even considering that, he'd died far too quickly. He'd rushed in first and been cut in half without accomplishing anything.‘We were deceived!’Warning bells screamed inside their heads.

The close-combat ability they'd expected from Kim Minwoo was nowhere near this transcendent level. Their benchmark had simply been his fight against Jo Pilwook.

They'd assumed he might fight somewhat better than that.

But still somewhere around that line, not completely beyond it.‘Then this makes no sense.’At that level, Number Six should've endured at least twenty exchanges.

Instead, he'd died after barely one exchange, even accounting for Cedric and the strange woman's help.

That fundamentally meant Kim Minwoo's swordsmanship was beyond imagination.‘He read his movements completely.’He'd simply toyed with him.

There was no other conclusion.

Han Baekgil's mind raced.‘Can we even win this?’Yu Longgang had drunk a potion, but his Mana was tangled and he was barely functioning.

Even if he tried casting again, that witch could interfere and render it meaningless.

With Number Six and Yu Longgang removed from combat, eight S-rank Awakened remained.‘The Light artifacts failed too.’And was that all?

Why were even trash summons like ordinary Skeletons so strong? They felt like properly trained regular soldiers.

The Skeleton horde steadily tightened its encirclement as though hunting a powerful monster in formation.

They blocked with shields and threw nets from behind.

Between those movements, they precisely thrust long spears to pin Shadow's feet in place.

Were these really the same summons that had once served as nothing but meat shields?‘Killing them isn't the problem…….’The real problem was how much time these summons were consuming.

All of that cost Stamina and Mana.

They were drinking potions, but the consumption was becoming unsustainable.

The combined magic used by the Mages was unbelievably troublesome too.

Even S-rank Awakened were being affected by petty curses that narrowed their vision.

The gigantic Golem continued stubbornly enduring attack after attack.

“Boss!”

“What are we doing?”

The S-rank Awakened asked urgently.

They could feel the situation turning against them.

Lowly summons were intelligent.

Light attacks didn't work.

Kim Minwoo's swordsmanship was far beyond expectations.

And now some bizarre woman had appeared and was firing every kind of high-level magic.

They'd thought they'd prepared thoroughly and made a bold decision.‘We were complacent.’Looking at the result, there was no other word for it.

Kim Minwoo.

He had hidden far more than they'd ever imagined.

To hunt this man, it wouldn't be enough for merely the Korean branch to move.

Shadow's Central Branch itself would need to act.

They now had only two choices.

Retreat while accepting sacrifices.

Or charge straight through the undead and kill Kim Minwoo.

The problem was that fear had already begun taking root in the S-rank Awakened's eyes.

Even if every one of them charged together with one mind and fought at full strength, victory was uncertain.

And now they were panicking?‘This won't work.’A pack of frightened wolves charging a lion accomplished nothing.

Kill one or two wolves and the rest would yelp and flee.

That was the situation now.

If another one or two died, everyone would begin running.

As long as they reached the midway zone, they could escape alive.

By then, Shadow would suffer damage so enormous that the word sacrifice wouldn't even begin to cover it.

“……

Retreat!”

Han Baekgil practically chewed out the word.‘Abandon Korea.’He would defect to the Central Branch and warn them of this man's danger.

Not a creature who would merely shake Korea.

A monster capable of shaking the entire world.‘At least we've gained something.’They'd learned that Kim Minwoo's undead were extremely unusual.

Mere Skeletons could employ tactics and properly construct magic. Thousands of them possessed the ability to learn?

The implications were beyond imagination.

America alone would immediately begin treating him as a major threat.

Even Han Baekgil couldn't judge where that potential might end.

Compared to discovering that, sacrificing one or two S-rank Awakened was a minor price.‘We can produce replacements quickly anyway.’Their rapid leveling made that possible.

The S-rank Awakened hurried toward the door.

Then magic flew in and bound two of their feet.

Numbers Five and Seven.

The comparatively weaker members.

Seeing that, the others actually smiled in relief.‘Good.’‘They can buy us time.’Shadow wasn't an organization bound by deep comradeship in the first place.

Nobody had the slightest intention of saving them.

No, rather.

Slash!

They cut the legs of the trainees running alongside them.

“Ghk!”

“W-Why?!”

Han Baekgil and the other core members kept running with indifferent eyes.

Numbers Five and Seven.

And the remaining trainees.

They were sacrifices.

Their feet were bound and their legs crippled, so they'd struggle desperately and buy time.

Meanwhile, the others needed to find the midway zone as quickly as possible.* * *Numbers Five and Seven.

Plus the three remaining trainees.

Minwoo needed only three more kills to activate the hidden piece, yet they'd thrown him nearly five sacrifices.

He looked first at Numbers Five and Seven.

They were struggling desperately to break the magic binding them.‘Wouldn't be SS-rank magic if it came off that easily…….’Unlike Number Six, these two needed to be held longer, so Merhen had used SS-rank magic to bind their feet.

They'd need at least another ten seconds to break free.

Kim Minwoo, Cedric, and even Dolsoe piled onto them. These were Awakened known as pillars of famous guilds.

Yet the two S-ranks were devoured almost instantly without putting up any meaningful resistance.‘If anything, they seem weaker than before?’They were the same people he remembered from the past.

Despite their higher levels, their actual skill wasn't impressive.

Maybe because they'd relied on the doubled-experience bug to level up.

Either way.

Hunting hollow S-ranks like this was easier for Kim Minwoo than picking his nose.

Even more so now that he had Merhen, Cedric, and Dolsoe.[Level increases by 3!][Level increases by 2!]

His level rose rapidly with every kill.

Items dropped too.

Naturally, he swept them into his inventory.‘Think I've already made over 300 billion won.’As expected of high-ranking Awakened, they were heavily equipped. No true jackpot items had appeared, but they wore solid gear across their entire bodies.

The total value alone would be considerable.

“P-Please spare us…….”

The trainees stared at him in terror.

The fighting spirit that had filled their eyes when they first attacked was gone.

Minwoo smiled at them.

“Don't feel wronged. Those guys from earlier will be following you soon.”

He had revealed everything to them.

The most perfect way to keep a secret was to kill everyone who had seen it.

Like this.

Slash!

All three heads fell at once.[You have hunted a total of thirteen!][A hidden gimmick is revealed!][The map changes!][You have entered the ‘One-Way’ map!]

Rrrrrumble……!

The Gate's stage began changing. A straight road appeared high in the empty sky.

Kim Minwoo stood at one end.

Shadow's members stood at the exact opposite end.

At the center, a square platform resembling an arena had formed.

“W-What the hell!”

“Why did the map suddenly……?”

“Damn it, it's a hidden piece!”

Han Baekgil and his group stared dumbfounded at the suddenly transformed stage. There was only one path.

A perfectly straight road.

On either side was an abyss so deep they couldn't see the bottom.

Anyone could guess what would happen if they fell.[Someone has fulfilled the condition, changing the map!][‘One-Way’ begins.][‘Rules’ are given.][You are the ‘Predator.’][Move to the center and wait for the prey, then kill them all!][The greater the enemy's despair, the more ‘Demon Points’ you accumulate!][When all prey have been hunted, a demon will appear and grant rewards according to your score!]

Kim Minwoo received these messages.[You are ‘Prey’!][Through a vote, you may select the companion who will face the Predator first.][The selected companion will move to the center and face the Predator!][Falling from either side of the road guarantees death.]

Shadow received these.

“……

This is fucking insane.”

Han Baekgil's face hardened as he read them.

Put differently, the rules were telling them to go die one at a time.

“Impossible!”

“Bullshit!”

Numbers Three and Four tried moving in panic. But after advancing slightly, their bodies stopped as though they'd struck a solid wall.[Only the one selected through voting may move!][The first vote begins for 1 minute.][Please select the prey who will make the first challenge.]

Cold sweat began running down everyone's forehead.* * *One-Way.

The condition was simple.

One person from the Predator's side and one person from the Prey's side stepped forward.

Then they fought in the center.‘Evil.’The condition itself was vicious.

Someone capable of killing ten people already possessed enough strength to slaughter the survivors too.

Yet the side being eaten could no longer gang up on them.

Only one person selected through voting could enter the center.

And this map had no midway zone either.‘The setting itself is…….’A stage created for the amusement of demons.

It existed so they could watch the weak vote to sacrifice each other, struggle desperately, then get slaughtered.

The way Demon Points accumulated was especially cruel.

The deeper the enemy's despair, the greater the bonus.

Earn enough bonus points, and a higher-ranked demon would appear to give the reward.‘After that, the Demon Castle map resumes.’Which meant.‘This is even better.’If ordinary Awakened had been dragged into this with him, maybe things would be different.

But these bastards had entered with the express purpose of killing him.

There was no reason to show mercy.

He could happily hunt them one by one while watching them destroy each other.

For Kim Minwoo, it was the perfect map.‘And I get rewards too.’Three birds with one stone.

Far away, Shadow's members were screaming at one another.

They had already chosen retreat because they couldn't beat him even as a group.

And now they had to go out alone?

That was simply another way of saying die.

Naturally, everyone was desperate not to be selected.

“Han Baekgil, you fucking bastard!”

Clumsy Korean rang out.

Apparently the first sacrifice had been decided.

Chinese S-rank Mage Yu Longgang.

He was screaming curses at the top of his lungs.

Unfortunately, swearing didn't reduce his votes.

With everyone's overwhelming support.

Yu Longgang was selected.‘They're trying to buy time.’What could be more useless than a Mage who couldn't use magic?

Unfortunately, on this stage, that was exactly what Yu Longgang had become.

He was soon summoned to the center.[The first prey enters!][Battle begins in 5 seconds! Prepare yourself!]

Yu Longgang desperately began casting magic.

Unfortunately for him, Merhen had been summoned nearby and was staring straight at him.―Still so simple, aren't you?

Cold sweat poured from Yu Longgang.

His teeth chattered.‘No…….’No.

This wasn't Great Explosion.

And during the preparation time, he'd already cast many different offensive spells.

Even that witch couldn't dismantle them as easily as before.

She couldn't.

Otherwise…….[Battle begins!]

Before Yu Longgang could unleash even one spell.―Idiot.[Casting of Earth's Bind(S)

is canceled!][Casting of Flame Dragon Breath(A)

is…….][Casting of Summon Tsunami(A)

is…….][Casting of Wind Hook(B) is…….] ..

“Ah.”

A moment later, every one of his limbs was severed.