Chapter 94

Chapter 94

Spendthrift Necromancer (94)

Demon (1)

“Merhen.”―Yes.

“Do you feel any strange energy or anything coming from that orb over there?”

Merhen stared intently at the pitch-black orb.

Only for a moment.

Then she tilted her head.―……

I don't know. I can't read what's inside.

“Cedric, what about you?”―Same for me.

“I see.”

He stared at the orb.

Touching it would probably bring up the item information. There was a reason he didn't immediately do so.‘Could cause trouble.’Didn't that happen in movies all the time? Someone touched the remains of some evil monster and got dragged into a bizarre mental realm or something.

Whatever monster stood behind that orb had been handing out an experience-duplication bug through just one little sphere.

There was no guarantee something like that couldn't happen.

“Hmm…….”―Minwoo. You want to check that?

“I think I'll have to touch it.”―If you're that worried, I could try sealing it first.

“Sealing?”―Yes. I don't know how powerful whoever created it is, so I can't say how long it'll hold…….

“That's enough.”

Even while sealed, the item description could still be viewed. All he wanted was information about the item. If it looked suspicious after that, he could simply abandon it.‘No need to put it in my inventory either.’Normally, putting something into the inventory prevented most problems.‘But if it belongs to an Outer God, there could still be trouble.’What if it truly was something created by an Outer God?

If he got unlucky, putting it in his inventory could let them track his location. Even if the inventory was one of the System's laws, there was no telling whether it could block detection from an Outer-God-level being. Better to simply throw it away than take that risk.‘Of course…….’Only if it truly had been created by an Outer God.

Either way.

Since he didn't know the standing of whatever being had created it, there was nothing wrong with being cautious.―I'll seal it.

Merhen extended a hand.

Mana flowed out.

Soon, her Mana began enveloping the pitch-black orb.

The energy emerging from the orb and her own energy intertwined like snakes.

Before long, Merhen's Mana completely swallowed the sphere.―Minwoo.

“Yeah?”―It's not very strong.

“That thing?”―Yes. I don't think you need to worry.

Really?

He nodded and picked up the orb.

The item information appeared.[Replication Orb (Temporarily Sealed)][Rank: Special][An orb that precisely replicates something. Its stored charge is nearly depleted. It is currently temporarily sealed by Merhen.][Effect 1. Can be recharged through prayer.][Effect 2. The stored power can be used to perform Baptism.][Effect 3. Those who receive Baptism gain increased experience.][Effect 4. The orb is destroyed when its durability reaches zero.]‘……

Replication Orb?’Kim Minwoo tilted his head.

Hadn't Han Baekgil clearly said he'd obtained this through prayer?‘So he prayed, and they gave him a replica?’That was strange.

Wouldn't receiving a copy actually reduce your faith?‘Anyway, I understand the structure now…….’Recharge it through prayer, then use that charge to perform Baptism.

Simple enough.

Of course, simple or not, Minwoo had no intention whatsoever of actually praying.‘Who knows what the hell would happen.’Doing something like that just for some extra experience would be insanity.‘At least now I know why Merhen said that.’It was only a replica.

How powerful could the energy inside it really be?

That was probably why she'd sealed it more easily than expected.

“How long do you think you can maintain this seal?”―If I wanted? Forever. It's easy.

“Then can you do that?”―Yes.

Merhen extended a hand.

The orb's Temporarily Sealed status changed to Permanently Sealed. Now the orb should remain sealed.‘Then I can probably keep it for now.’It didn't feel completely useless.

Prayer?

Someone else could do that for him, couldn't they?

There was something strangely beautiful about making some bastard who deserved to die handle the praying.‘The problem is Baptism.’He didn't know whether receiving it personally was safe.

This item needed more analysis.

He put it into his inventory.

Then he collected the various other items.

Han Baekgil's equipment was extremely good.

His full gear setup alone was worth more than all the other S-rank Awakened's equipment put together.

And then there were all the Light-attribute items they'd brought along.

Add up every price and it would easily cross into the trillions of won.‘Shame almost all of it is Class-restricted…….’Assassin, Swordsman, Mage, Warrior, and so on.

Most of it was gear for mainstream Classes. In other words, a Necromancer couldn't equip it.

The sorrow of playing an unpopular Class.‘Accessories are a bust too.’For Kim Minwoo, the most valuable accessories dropped by Awakened were Class-neutral accessories.

Items whose only requirement was Level.

Those were sweet pieces even a Necromancer could equip.

But these bastards.

As expected of high-level Awakened, every one of them wore Class-exclusive accessories.‘That's normal, though.’Class-neutral accessories versus Class-exclusive accessories.

At the same rank, Class-exclusive accessories generally had better effects.

Naturally.

Neutral accessories often came with options you didn't need.

But Class-exclusive accessories?

They came packed only with effects useful to that Class.

Naturally, accessories for popular Classes cost far more than neutral ones. Kim Minwoo would've loved to obtain such accessories too.‘The problem is they don't exist.’So he'd simply filled the remaining slots with decent generic accessories.

“Cedric. Come here.”―You called?

“Wear this.”

He handed him a ring.[Sorn's Ring][Rank: Unique][Restriction: Melee Class, Level 200 or higher][One of the rings once worn by Sorn, King of the Minotaurs.][Effect 1. Stomp(A) available][Effect 2. Strength, Agility +20]

Cedric silently alternated his gaze between Minwoo's face and the ring.

“What are you doing? Take it.”―……

Very well.

Cedric accepted the ring and slid it onto one skeletal finger.‘This bastard had to go and be a Dragon Knight.’If Necromancers were rare, Dragon Knights were basically an endangered species.

No matter how many Classes existed in Gate Hunter, Dragon Knight wasn't even a Class that naturally existed.

The only things Cedric could use were broad-category items like this one for Melee Classes. They were items Necromancers couldn't equip because Necromancer wasn't a Melee Class.

Then.―Minwoo.

A voice came from beside him.

Merhen was staring at him.―What about me?

“Uh, hold on.”

He rummaged through his inventory.

Conveniently, there was a ring he'd obtained after beating Yu Longgang.[Blue Mana Ring][Rank: Unique][Restriction: Mage, Level 150 or higher][A ring set with a beautiful jewel. It seems useful for Mages.][Effect 1. Casting time reduced by 10%.][Effect 2. Magic +30]‘Archmage counts as Mage, right?’It obviously looked like an upgraded version of the Class.

Mage-exclusive rings like this were the only things he could really hand Merhen.‘I need the Caster-exclusive ones for myself.’Necromancer was an independent Class category rather than a Mage.

In broad terms, it belonged to the Caster category.

“I do have something left over.”―Really?

“Here.”

He handed Merhen the ring.

There was something he'd discovered while making ghost-exclusive equipment.

Normally, ghost-type undead like Specters and Banshees could equip only specialized gear.‘Not her, though.’Merhen was different.

She could equip ordinary equipment normally.‘Makes sense. She looks human to begin with.’Who would look at Merhen and think undead? Appearance-wise, she was simply an ordinary foreign girl.

Banshee Queen.

Perhaps her higher rank exempted her from those restrictions.

So Minwoo had simply obtained human equipment and outfitted her with it. The ring should work without any special preparation too. Merhen took it and slipped it onto her index finger.―Thank you, Minwoo. I like it.

“Glad to hear it.”

He intended to outfit all his summons with accessories whenever possible, so whenever he had something spare, he'd hand it out one at a time.

Then.[The demon who will grant your reward has been selected!][A demon approaches!]

A gigantic demonic figure appeared before him.[‘Andromalius,’ one of the Demon Lords, appears!]‘Demon Lord?’Kim Minwoo tilted his head.

He'd run this Gate several times in the past. Back then, the highest Demon Point score he'd ever obtained after activating the gimmick had been around 90.‘How deeply you plunge the enemy into despair.’That was one of the major factors determining the score. His past characters had never been able to make enemies despair that much.

The reason was simple.

They hadn't been overwhelmingly strong like the current Kim Minwoo.

Why had intruders come in to begin with?

Because they'd thought he looked easy enough to eat.

He'd still won back then, but the battles had been far harder than this.

Now, on the other hand.‘I did farm quite a lot of points.’Every bastard who stepped out had lost their head in less than ten seconds. Han Baekgil had taken a little longer, but even he'd died after tasting extreme despair.

He'd sold his soul only to get butchered without accomplishing anything.‘At 90 points, I got a High Demon, right?’The reward had been a Unique-grade weapon. Wrong Class, so Minwoo remembered simply selling it.

But this time it was a Demon Lord?

He'd never seen one before.‘Maybe he'll give me something good?’Minwoo stared at Andromalius. He looked like a man with a snake wrapped around one hand. Andromalius stared right back at him.[‘One Who Took Valkan's Eye’ effect activates!][The ‘Demon’ before you feels considerable intimidation!]

Apparently Valkan's effect worked even on Demon-Lord-class beings.―Oh my…… well now. I wondered why I was suddenly summoned here, but I suppose this explains it.

Andromalius smiled and bowed politely.―A pleasure to meet you. I am Andromalius, Rank 72 among the Lords of the Demon Realm.‘The Demon Realm.’A stage that occasionally appeared inside Gates.

And.‘Wasn't Valkan a demon from the Demon Realm too?’Minwoo stared at him.

“Do you know a Balrog named Valkan?”―Ah, that lunatic? I know him very well. He was quite famous once.

Andromalius smiled.―More importantly, this is truly fascinating. I am very curious how someone from a dimension like this managed to accomplish such a feat. Would you care to make a deal with me?

“A deal?”―I can grant you my Authority.

“What does your Authority do?”―Wouldn't you like to know the culprit behind some incident? Perhaps recover something that was stolen? Or if neither interests you, how about the power to locate hidden treasure?

“What do you want?”―I would like you to compete as my champion.

“……

Champion?”―Hmm. Where should I begin? Very well. Let us start from the basics. The Demon Realm holds a Ranking Tournament. All 72 Demon Lords participate.

“You don't fight each other directly?”―Haha. If we did, countless demons would die. Isn't that far too steep a price merely to determine a ranking?

“So?”―We decided to choose proxies. The higher one rises, the more important one's ability to command talent becomes. Unless one individual possesses overwhelmingly superior power, of course.

“So the proxies fight each other and decide the rankings?”―Exactly! Of course, we do not choose only one proxy each, but broadly speaking, that is how it works.‘Hmm.’Kim Minwoo thought for a moment.

Andromalius's Authority.

It did sound somewhat useful.

Especially the power to locate hidden treasure.

But…….‘Compete for him just to get that…….’That felt pretty underwhelming.

First problem.

Was it really good to compete for some guy ranked only 72nd?

Second problem.

What was Minwoo's current market value in the Demon Realm?

He had no idea.

If he wasn't careful, he might sell himself for pennies.

There was an old saying for situations like this. As a general rule, never trust a demon's words.

They weren't called demons for nothing.

Even this Andromalius, smiling so pleasantly, might be planning some vicious betrayal.

So first.

“How about my 200-point reward?”

He'd take the reward before discussing any deal.