Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Spendthrift Necromancer (96)

Ilseong Guild (1)

Chairman Kim rubbed his forehead as though he had a headache. It was true that Ilseong Guild had been making quite a lot of noise lately.

Their parent company, Ilseong, was pouring tens of trillions into another guild instead of them, so it wasn't strange that they were angry.

Sure, that other guild belonged to the Chairman's eldest son, but structurally it had no direct connection to Ilseong Guild. It wasn't as though Spendthrift Guild receiving sixty trillion meant any of that money would trickle down to them.

“I'm sorry, son. Still, don't worry too much. The investment will be executed soon…….”

“No. I'm not asking you to hurry the investment. I still have some breathing room.”

Kim Minwoo shook his head.

“I've heard roughly what they're arguing. That our guild hasn't shown enough to justify investing that much.”

“Yes. That is what they've been saying.”

Looking at it very coldly.

Honestly, he could understand the dissatisfaction to some degree.

Clearing an A+ Gate.

Two people had done it.

With one of them being a low-level Awakened, no less.

It was unquestionably an astonishing achievement.

But was it enough to sell 20% equity for sixty trillion won?‘By ordinary social standards, no.’Minwoo might casually throw trillions around every day, but that didn't mean trillions of won were pocket change.

It was an enormous amount of money.

People online said things like even a hundred trillion wouldn't be enough to buy Kim Minwoo.‘But that's basically just nationalistic hype.’Looking at reality, most people would probably accept a combined valuation of around twenty trillion won for Minwoo and Seo Yerim.

Why?

Because even a guild capable of clearing an A+ Gate wouldn't be valued at twenty trillion.

They'd be lucky to receive three or four trillion for 100% of the guild's equity.

No matter how important Gates had become.

No matter how much the economy had expanded and developed because of them, valuations usually didn't inflate to that extent.

Clearing an A+ Gate?

Globally, even guilds around the second-and-a-half-tier could manage that.

Normally, there was almost no chance someone's valuation would jump this sharply.‘The truly insane price increases start with the absolute top-tier Awakened.’Priceless.

There were Awakened to whom that description genuinely applied.

Sword Immortal, for example. Not hollow S-ranks, but Awakened who could truly fight.

The real monsters whom nations treated as treasures, obsessing over their every move and cherishing them beyond measure. Those were the people whose market value truly went through the roof.

Seo Yerim and Minwoo weren't at that level yet.

The reason was simple.‘How would anyone know when I haven't shown them?’He hadn't revealed his full strength. Of course, if he exposed everything, people might acknowledge him as being on that level.

But that would actually be a loss.‘There's a reason the real monsters are called the real monsters.’Beyond ordinary super rookies.

Beyond even the title of mega rookie.

The tiny handful of S-rank Awakened acknowledged as genuine monsters.

Those people had spent several years at minimum, sometimes decades, entering Gates and surviving battlefields.

Even the famous Isabella had taken ten years to go from super rookie to being accepted as one of the real monsters.

That alone was incredible.

It meant she'd reached a level comparable to—or only somewhat below—the proper first-generation Awakened who had spent decades fighting and surviving.

But if Minwoo were recognized at that level only three months after Awakening?

Even he couldn't predict what kind of backlash would follow.‘It's better to succeed in moderation.’Too much success simply became exhausting. That was why he wasn't exposing everything.

Anyway.

The reason Chairman Kim was willing to invest sixty trillion was because Minwoo had revealed his true value to him.

Korea—no, the world—didn't know that. So it was hardly strange for people to criticize the investment as excessive. Judging by how quiet things remained, the Chairman seemed to be controlling public opinion somewhat for now.Still, once it became public that Ilseong had bought 20% for sixty trillion, people would definitely talk.‘They might call it some inheritance loophole or disguised gift.’Though with the lingering impact of the Gate clear, it probably wouldn't be viewed as outright corruption.

In the end, the issue was simple.

Is this actually worth paying that much for?

Isn't this way too much?

That was exactly what Ilseong Guild kept arguing.‘Then I just need to show them it isn't.’The solution was simple.

“Father. Let's arrange a Guild Battle.”

Guild Battle.

Another System-administered contest, similar to a Duel. Naturally, rules could be set just like in a Duel.

Chairman Kim tilted his head.

“……

A Guild Battle?”

“Yes. The two guilds fight it out. Publicly, nice and clean. Then there won't be anything left for people to complain about, will there?”

“Don't tell me…… against the first team?”

“Obviously the first team, right? If we only beat the second or third team, people will keep talking.”

Ilseong Guild ranked around fifth in Korea. Naturally, its members were fairly high-level.The first team had thirty people total.

Roughly ten of them were S-rank Awakened.

The other twenty were A-rank.‘The one reasonably useful Awakened among them is…….’Guild Master Nam Cheolmin.A S-rank Archer Awakened in his forties.‘Achievement Rank S.’He'd Awakened twenty years ago and drawn attention as a super rookie.

Even now, his skill hadn't faded much. For an Awakened, one's forties were close to a mature physical prime.

Most of the other S-ranks possessed Achievement Ranks between A and B.‘The guild's level is so-so.’They had enough power to somehow clear upper A-rank Gates through lower S-rank Gates. Put differently, defeating the first team meant.‘The potential to clear an S-rank Gate.’It would demonstrate exactly that. Naturally, their market value would explode.Sixty trillion in investment would become justifiable to some degree.

“……

Will you be all right? If you lose, this whole deal could collapse.”

Chairman Kim asked uneasily.

If things simply continued as they were, people might talk, but the investment could still happen.

But if Spendthrift Guild lost?

The investment could still happen, but the amount might be slashed dramatically.

At that point, public opinion would become impossible to ignore.‘Winning is a problem too.’Only three people defeating the first team?

If they won, major Awakened powers might genuinely start offering investment. Clearing A-rank Gates and clearing S-rank Gates were entirely different matters.‘Ugh. That won't do…….’The world might not know, but Chairman Kim did.

A guild containing EX-rank and SSS-rank Awakened.

Ilseong absolutely had to keep one foot inside.

Especially while the guild was still being sold at a ridiculous discount.

But by then.‘Will that boy really still accept our investment?’That was why Chairman Kim couldn't help worrying.

What if Minwoo raised the price?

Ilseong was already short on liquid cash.

For the first time in his life, Chairman Kim had reached the point of worrying about money.

Seeing his expression, Kim Minwoo grinned as though he understood everything.

“Don't worry. I'll definitely accept the investment. The price stays fixed too. Sixty trillion, 20%.”

“……

Truly?”

“Of course. In this world, who can you trust besides family?”

Ilseong was a family company.

He wasn't about to stab his own family in the back.

Better to grow the company properly and make use of it in all sorts of ways.

“Even if you win…… I'd appreciate it if you didn't humiliate Ilseong Guild too badly. It still carries the Ilseong name.”

“Well…… I'll try.”

Kim Minwoo nodded.

If he hadn't already told Chairman Kim about the assassins today, maybe things would be different, but he had.

Minwoo had already slaughtered S-ranks alone, and now Seo Yerim and Park Siwoo would be joining him?

Chairman Kim had probably guessed internally.

Spendthrift Guild had a high chance of winning.‘He was probably uneasy because of the investment issue.’Either winning or losing would create problems.

That was why Minwoo had given him a firm answer.‘Now I've got permission.’He had secured approval for the Guild Battle from the Chairman, who was practically the real owner of Ilseong Guild.

All that remained was to fight.

Honestly, it was a little cruel to Ilseong Guild.‘But maybe this is a good chance to teach those veterans some reality…….’Wouldn't be a bad thing?

It wasn't as though Ilseong Guild was some corrupt old-guard organization. If this had been a Stage 5 world instead of Stage 6.‘This level probably would've been fine.’Korea had only a handful of S-rank Gates. Growing stronger would be good, but even if they remained where they were, it might not have been disastrous.

But now things were different.‘The stage has grown wider.’Humanity's potential had increased.

There was no reason Gates couldn't do the same. It wouldn't be particularly surprising if Gates above S-rank began appearing.‘I've already seen worlds beyond that level too.’The stage where the Death Lord had run rampant.

The Demon Realm Ranking Tournament where all the Lords participated.

And even the Trial Grounds.Various stages that had never appeared in Stage 5 were emerging.

Even in Stage 5.‘I saw EX-rank.’The Dragon Lord.

Minwoo remembered a single use of Dragon Tongue turning his equipment into scrap and dropping him to the ground.

He already knew there was a world far beyond S-rank.

In other words.‘Soon, S-rank alone might not be enough.’They said lobsters continued growing throughout their entire lives. They molted, growing larger and hardening their shells.

Eventually, however, the shell became too hard for them to molt anymore.‘That's when they die.’Awakened were similar.

They grew well up to a certain point.

Then they hit a wall.

A stage where attempting another molt looked dangerous.

Usually, there were two choices.

Grit your teeth and attempt to molt, or settle down and stagnate there. Unfortunately, Ilseong Guild belonged squarely to the latter group.

A guild full of lobsters who had given up molting. They settled for reality, cleared Gates at a comfortable pace, and made money. That was why they'd remained fifth place forever.

“Let's coordinate schedules and hold the Guild Battle.”

“……

I'll tell the Guild Master. But are you really going to make it public?”

“We need at least this much of a performance if we want people to stop talking.”

Hold a private Guild Battle, win, then announce it on the news?

A little boring.

To the general public, there would be no impact. They'd simply think, Oh, I guess they won.

But broadcast the fight live, show everyone the action, and win?

Korea would be turned upside down in an instant. The stalled investment would go through in one shot.

If Minwoo fought alone, he'd have to reveal every card he possessed, but with three people, things were different.

They could hide a reasonable amount while still toying with Ilseong Guild.

“Then I'll be going.”

“Ah, wait. Minwoo. About that…… Chairman Jo from Dorim keeps contacting me…….”

“That man?”

“Yes. He says he'd like to meet you. Ahem. It seems the Blue House has started saying a few things too.”

Well…….

Minwoo had beaten Dorim quite badly.

He'd heard they'd not only become the nation's most hated company, but their sales had also fallen by more than 50%.

Apparently they could no longer endure it and were preparing to raise the white flag.‘Then why did they keep resisting?’If they'd surrendered sooner, at least they would've bled less.

“I suppose people would start talking. They are still the second-largest business group, for what that's worth.”

“If you truly hate the idea, we can ignore them. Still, squeezing them too hard isn't ideal either. It may be better to take something from them around now and let them go. We can't exactly kill them off entirely just because we dislike them.”

“Fair enough. After tomorrow's Guild Battle, I'll go meet him.”

“Good.”

Minwoo left the study.‘I'll take that, then.’There was one Dorim business he'd had his eye on.

It wasn't particularly large yet, so demanding it as compensation should be easy enough.‘They're hardly in a position to be picky.’He'd collect that tomorrow.

Then he opened the guild group chat.[Kim Minwoo]―[Notice] We're having a Guild Battle.[Park Siwoo]―?(Question-mark emoji)[Seo Yerim]―?(Tilting-rabbit emoji)[Kim Minwoo]―We're fighting Ilseong Guild's first team. This is all to secure money for feeding, clothing, and housing everyone, so I ask for your full cooperation.

That was that.