Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Spendthrift Necromancer (98)

Giant Dungeon (1)

Ilseong Guild and Spendthrift Guild.

The moment news of the Guild Battle between the two guilds broke, articles began pouring out.[(Breaking News) Spendthrift Guild's flashy debut match? Ilseong Guild named as Guild Battle opponent! A bloody battle between brothers?][(Breaking News) Guild Battle reportedly sparked by the scale of Ilseong's investment!][(Breaking News) Bold or insane? Ilseong bets 60 trillion won on 20% of Spendthrift Guild…….]―?? Ilseong Guild and Spendthrift Guild are fighting?―Yeah, at Sangam Awakened Stadium. But what the hell is that investment amount? lololol―60 trillion for 20%? Didn't they buy like 10% for 5 trillion last time?―Yeah. But back then all he had was the F-rank record. Things are pretty different now.―Cleared an A+ Gate, Sword Phoenix joined. But 60 trillion? Do they even have that kind of money……?―Ilseong has about that much cash piled up. They're rich as hell lol―Three trillion per 1%; that's insane;―Kim Minwoo alone is worth 100 trillion, you bastards lololol―Is Ilseong for real? Did they actually price it based on what the nationalist hype addicts were saying? lol―Sorry;; I didn't know they'd seriously value him at 100 trillion…… my chest swells with pride…….―Isn't this some loophole? Guild investment doesn't count as a gift, right?―No idea. Could be a tax dodge, could not. But people are definitely gonna talk. Looks like they're paying way too much…….―Is that why they're doing the Guild Battle? If they actually beat Ilseong's first team, isn't 60 trillion cheap?―That's a 300-trillion valuation for 100%. That's tier-1.5 guild money worldwide lololol Ilseong itself is only tier 2.5 lol―Tsk, tsk. You have to look at potential. If they beat Ilseong's first team, that means those three can clear an S-rank Gate too.―Yeah. High potential always comes with a premium. If they really beat them, there'll be less complaining.―Can they even win? Ilseong Guild may be stuck at fifth forever, but they're a wall of tears for every guild below them. They fight better than you'd think;;―If they're exceptional, sure. But are three people that exceptional? Aside from Sword Phoenix, the other two haven't even been Awakened for three months.―There's a chance. Kim Minwoo tanks with summons while Bow Phoenix kills everyone lol―What chance lol One prayer from a Priest and every undead is dead lololol―Yeah. And you know Guild Master Cheolmin is an S-rank Achievement Archer too, right? You think one of Korea's top Archers is a joke?―Kim Minwoo's gonna get sniped instantly and all his summons will despawn.―Sure, Bow Phoenix will shoot all the arrows out of the air lol―You've watched too many movies. Hit arrows with arrows? You think that's possible? lol―Kim Minwoo's good with a sword. He can deflect them himself. I'm more worried about Siwoo; what the hell does he do? lol―For real lol He's probably getting eliminated first. His Level can't be that high either.―People kept telling them they're amazing and now they actually believe it lol I'm an A-rank Awakened and this is obviously a fucking overreach, gg.―Agreed. Should've fought a few months later. Kind of a shame; it'll suck if their momentum dies right when they're taking off.

Public opinion was mostly the same.

Spendthrift Guild?

Sure, they knew it was overflowing with potential.

They'd cleared an A+ Gate and were made up of super rookies overflowing with talent.

But what good was a strong roster on paper? Seo Yerim hadn't even been in the guild for a month.

It hadn't been long since she'd switched to Archer either.

They simply hadn't had enough time to practice coordination with one another.

Ilseong Guild's members, on the other hand?

They were veteran Awakened who had spent anywhere from several years to several decades working together.

They had a large number of high-ranking Awakened and excellent equipment too.

And their composition was balanced.

They had cleared low-tier S-rank Gates multiple times.

That was the strength of the first team of Korea's fifth-ranked guild.

And Spendthrift wanted to fight them?

No matter how difficult an A+ Gate was, it couldn't compare to an S-rank Gate.

No matter how they looked at it, this crossed the line.

It looked like nothing but Guild Master Kim Minwoo making an absurd gamble.

That was exactly why public opinion was negative.

Then.[(Breaking News) Spendthrift Guild enters A-rank Gate, Land of Giants! Clear team consists of 3 members…….]

Another breaking-news alert appeared, and public opinion grew even hotter.―Looks like this is their first guild activity. Did they seriously go there to practice teamwork? lololol―Guild Battle is the day after tomorrow and they're practicing now? My chest swells with pride…….―Isn't the Guild Battle gonna get canceled? Land of Giants has a small map, but it still takes like three days to clear.―Nah. A top-ten guild's first-team-level force can clear it in half a day.―Doesn't "first-team-level" mean a full thirty-person party? There are three of them lololol―They can just leave at the midway zone. At least they're practicing now.―Guess we'll find out by seeing their clear time? Whether they have a chance or not.―I'll admit it if they clear within half a day.―Half a day my ass lol Stop mainlining nationalist hype, fuck lol―Ah, is the bubble finally popping?―Hey, it was nice while it lasted. Drink up for now~* * *A scorching desert.

Sand-strewn land stretched out before them.

Soon, the undead army stepped onto the sand.

Specters and Skeletons.

And Cedric and Merhen as well.

Thousands of troops assembled in an instant. Cedric's gaze swept over the surroundings before landing on Seo Yerim.―You changed Classes?

“Yes. Somehow…….”―Good. Congratulations.

“Mr. Cedric, you look a little different too?”―The old appearance was the strange one. Park Siwoo, it's been a while for you too.

“Yes!”

He greeted him energetically.

Then his gaze shifted to Merhen.

“But who is she……?”―A Legion Commander like me. Her name is Merhen. She's a Mage.

Merhen nodded.

“Whoa, but is she really undead? She looks like an actual person.”―……

I am. A Banshee.

“A Banshee? You're completely different from the ones I know. You're really beautiful.”―……

Thank you.

“I'm only telling the truth.”

The easygoing Park Siwoo greeted her first, then Seo Yerim and Merhen exchanged greetings.

“Uh, hello.”―Hi.

Once everyone had learned each other's faces.

“Let's go, everyone. Time to hunt.”

The undead army and the three of them began crossing the desert.

Only briefly.

Seo Yerim narrowed her eyes with the Divine Bow in hand.

Her vision stretched incredibly far, almost as though she were looking through a telescope.

She saw a group of Giants far in the distance.

“There are mobs over there. Four total. One Priest, Mage, Warrior, and Knight.”

“……

Wow, Archers are awesome.”

Park Siwoo murmured in admiration.

Naturally, because there was absolutely nothing visible where Seo Yerim was pointing.

Just an endless stretch of desert.

“This is nothing. Archers are supposed to see far.”

She shrugged and looked at Kim Minwoo.

“So, Mr. Minwoo, how are we hunting? Want me to snipe one?”

“You think you can reach?”

“I can.”

Kim Minwoo nodded in satisfaction at her confidence.

How did one judge an exceptional Archer?

Usually by one thing.‘How far is their effective range?’Range was the alpha and omega of an Archer. And by that standard, Seo Yerim was already close to the absolute limit.

The powerful bonuses of the Divine Bow.

Not only did it extend her vision, its Mana Arrows could fly much farther than ordinary arrows.

Of course, there were probably S-rank Archers who could shoot about as far as she could.‘But only for now.’They couldn't match her potential.

How were they supposed to beat an archery genius holding an SSS-rank Divine Bow?

“I'll take the Priest.”

“All right.”

The Divine Bow's string pulled taut. A Mana Arrow formed upon it.

Then.

Fwish!

With a faint sound, the arrow shot away.

The Giants were clustered far in the distance.

A tiny hole popped open in the Giant Priest's skull. Blood erupted like a fountain, and the Giant Priest collapsed.

Instant death.

The startled Giants began charging toward the direction the arrow had come from.

A group of Giants nearly 4M tall.

Every time they took a step, sand exploded violently from the ground.

Thoom!

Thoom!

“Want me to take the rest too?”

Seo Yerim asked calmly as she watched the ferocious-looking Giants charge.

The Warrior and Knight were somewhat annoying because helmets covered their heads.

But if she shot their legs and made them crawl, she could finish all of them before they arrived.

“Let's do that once the groups get a little bigger. Siwoo.”

“Yes, Hyung.”

“Let's see how much you've improved.”

“You'll probably be surprised.”

Park Siwoo grinned and summoned the Holy Sword. White light gathered, and the sword appeared in his hand.

“Then I'll go first!”A Swordsman under Level 150 charged at three Giants well above Level 400.[Giant Mage uses Root Bind(A)

!][Giant Warrior uses Taunt(A)

!][Giant Knight uses Right-Angle Slash(B)

!]

The Giant Warrior's Taunt.

Then roots bound the location the taunt would drag him to, while a sword came crashing down there as well.

A clean combination.

Enough that even a decent A-rank Swordsman couldn't ignore it.

But Park Siwoo was.‘An SSS-rank Swordsman.’The level gap caused Taunt to take effect.

Park Siwoo's body naturally turned toward the shield-bearing Warrior.

Sword and magic poured toward him.

In that instant, he leaped and kicked off the Warrior's shield.

While airborne, he avoided the roots on the ground, lightly redirected the Knight's sword, and then.

Slash!

The Holy Sword was already tearing into the Giant Knight's body.

The Warrior tried desperately to hold his attention. Unfortunately, Taunt was a Skill with a cooldown.

Once the Warrior used Taunt, he became useless for several seconds.

Just like that.

Park Siwoo cut through or dodged the Mage's spells with the Holy Sword and focused solely on crushing the Knight.

Every time Taunt caught him, he responded as though he'd already anticipated it, adjusting his movements perfectly. It was unmistakably SSS-rank skill.

Before long, the Giant Knight collapsed. His next target was the Mage who'd been interfering.―Graaaagh!

The last remaining Warrior struggled desperately to the end.‘Poor bastard.’A Warrior weaker than the damage dealers was basically nothing but a meat shield.

The Giant Warrior fighting alone finally collapsed too.

It took only around three minutes to deal with all three.

After sweeping away the Giants, Park Siwoo looked over with a grin.

“What do you think? I'm pretty good too, right?”

“Well, you're better than you were on the deserted island. Back then you were basically a snot-nosed kid. You've improved.”

“I've run Gates until I wanted to puke. I better be this good.”

Minwoo nodded.

He'd gotten a rough measure of Siwoo's skill. Now it was time to try party play.

Merhen, Cedric, and Dolsoe joined the two of them.

“Everyone, let's practice working together.”

The two nodded.

From that point, their advance became incredibly fast.

They met a groupThe Priest died before reaching them, an arrow through the center of its forehead.

The instant Merhen gestured, every Mage became useless.

Collapsing while coughing blood was just a bonus.

Dolsoe, Cedric, and Park Siwoo handled the Knights and Warriors.

While reliable Dolsoe blocked the attacks pouring into the front line, Cedric and Siwoo's flowing combination made the Giants collapse coughing blood.

Four.

Eight.

Twelve.

Even as the Giant groups grew larger, nothing changed.

The only difference was that starting from twelve, Merhen and Seo Yerim actively joined the suppression.‘This is basically auto-hunting, isn't it?’Only two hours.

They had already passed the midway zone long ago. They hadn't even used the Specters or Skeleton army yet.

Kim Minwoo hadn't stepped in either.

And they still hadn't slowed down.‘Might finish within another two hours?’The clear speed was almost too fast.

Then, after a total of four hours.[Gate Boss ‘Giant Prince Operian’ has fallen!][Gate clear rewards are granted!]

The boss was destroyed, and the Gate was cleared. As expected of an A-rank boss, he'd dragged along plenty of minions and been somewhat annoying.

But so what?

How was he supposed to beat one EX-rank and four SSS-ranks?

The Skeletons they'd thrown in as meat shields had all been destroyed, but their core force remained perfectly intact.

Park Siwoo grinned from ear to ear.

“Damn, it's crazy fast with the three of us. Ten Levels in four hours? This is fucking sweet.”

“Exactly. So let's run it one more time.”

“Huh?”

“Your Mana and Stamina are both basically full. Might as well Level you some more while we're here.”

The three left the Gate and immediately found a crowd of reporters staring at them with their mouths hanging open.

They had every reason to be shocked.A four-hour clear would've been unimaginable.

And that wasn't even their top speed. If Minwoo and his summons joined in, they would be much faster.

“M-Mr. Kim Minwoo! Could we get a quick interview……!”

“I'll do it later. We'll be back soon. See you.”

Before anyone could say another word, the three disappeared back into the Gate.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“No, wait…….”

The reporters left standing alone in the late-winter cold could only stare at one another in stunned silence.