Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Spendthrift Necromancer (99)

Giant Dungeon (2)Second clear.

Once Kim Minwoo and the rest of the summons joined in, their speed more than doubled.

Park Siwoo's eyes widened as the mobs were swept away one after another.‘Wow…….’Honestly, after achieving an SSS-rank Achievement, he'd gotten a little full of himself.‘Hyung really is in a completely different class.’A different class.

He could feel those words in his bones.

Only two months ago, during their spar on the deserted island, Minwoo had summoned around five hundred Skeletons.

Now things were different.

Not only was he dragging around Specters, summons far above Skeletons, but the number of Skeletons he could summon had increased enormously too.

And these weren't just crappy summons.

They knew how to fight.‘They've improved. A lot.’Comparing the Skeletons now to the ones he'd fought on the deserted island was like comparing heaven and earth.

Back then, their combat sense was only a little better than a Goblin's. Now they felt like seasoned Awakened.

Even these basic summons alone would take quite a bit of effort to deal with.‘And those aren't even the real monsters.’The Golem called Dolsoe.

Siwoo couldn't help wondering just how high that Golem's stats were.

Several Giants were beating on it at once, yet not only was it stubbornly enduring, it could even counterattack. Its tanking ability was incredible.

And that wasn't all.

Cedric was completely different from before too.

For one thing, his frame had grown much larger.‘……

Strong.’Overwhelming stats.

And exquisite spearmanship on top of that.

Every time the Skeleton swung his spear, holes appeared all over the Giants' bodies.‘Could I beat him one-on-one?’No matter how he looked at it, probably not.―Vmmm!

The Holy Sword hummed as though agreeing.

He'd probably need to declare Sanctuary and receive the stat bonuses just to fight Cedric evenly.

And Minwoo had somehow added yet another monstrous summon Siwoo had never seen before.

Banshee Queen Merhen.

She was a Mage.

And one so extraordinary that Siwoo couldn't even guess where her ceiling was.

This was their second run through the Gate.

Ever since she began participating in combat, not a single Giant had managed to cast magic properly.

Every one of them tried, coughed blood, and collapsed.‘Does this even make sense?’Of course, he'd heard that truly accomplished Mages could do things like that.

Read an opponent's magic, react one step ahead of the caster, and shut the spell down.‘But I heard only a tiny handful can do it…….’And to pull that off, you couldn't be some hollow Mage who only read Skill Books and cast preset magic.

He'd heard it was a feat only the tiny handful of true Mages capable of creating their own magic could perform.

Even those genuine Mages probably couldn't shut down spells every single time like Merhen did.

And then there was Kim Minwoo rampaging around while scattering curses.‘Insane.’After destroying another group.

During a brief rest, Park Siwoo asked.

“Hyung.”

“What?”

“How do Levels work for Legion Commanders like those?”

“They rise with mine.”

“……

Then strictly speaking, when you gain one Level, Hyung, it isn't really just one Level, is it?”

“That's kind of the whole reason you pick a summoning Class.”

Park Siwoo was right.

Did leveling make only Minwoo stronger?

No.

Merhen, Cedric, Dolsoe, the Skeleton troops, the Specters.

Every one of them grew stronger together.

That was exactly why he'd chosen Necromancer.

With Kim Minwoo's potential, he'd thought any other Class would be hopeless.‘They've leveled quite a lot too.’Through all the hunting so far, the Skeleton troops had reached an average Level of 99.

The Mages were in their sixties, and the Specters were in their forties.

They shared experience, but what mattered was that they were growing stronger.

As long as they kept killing monsters, their Levels would inevitably keep inching upward.

And now that the Level 200 cap had been broken.‘Even I don't know where the ceiling is anymore.’Indulging in a little self-admiration, even Kim Minwoo couldn't imagine how far this synergy would go.

He'd never seen or heard of a Necromancer like this. Park Siwoo stared at Cedric and spoke.

“Hyung. I'll work hard, so, ahem. You…… won't throw me away, right?”

“Instead of wasting time thinking stupid things like that, swing your sword one more time. Okay?”

“……

Okay!”

His expression brightened instantly, and he ran forward. Kim Minwoo smirked as he watched.‘Come to think of it, this is my first time making a guild.’Even when he played other characters, he hadn't done party play.

He could clear things without it.

He'd tried once while playing Kim Minwoo, but gave up almost immediately.

How was he supposed to party when people kept calling him lowborn and worse?

He'd be lucky not to get stabbed in the back. A guild, which was basically the next step above a party, went without saying.‘Well…… maybe it isn't bad.’Hunt the Outer God within seven years.

Put differently, he might end up living here for as long as seven years.

That was far too long to live without a single human relationship. This was part of why he'd made a guild too.

Anyway.

They were far more familiar with the Gate on the second run, and Kim Minwoo was actively participating, so the time shortened dramatically.Two hours.

That was all it took to clear the Gate.

When they came back out.

There were even more reporters gathered than before.

The reporters stared at them desperately.

“Mr. Kim Minwoo! Please give us an interview!”

“A two-hour clear! How in the world did you do it?”

Three people.

Two consecutive runs, cleared in four hours and then two.

Korea had already exploded into chaos long ago.―What the hell? Am I seeing this right? Two hours? There's not a missing zero??―Did they hypnotize the monsters or what? What kind of clear time is this lol―Where are all the people saying Ilseong would crush them? Feels like even their first team couldn't clear in two hours lol―They might. If they pushed forward like absolute maniacs. A few people would probably get injured or die, though.―Yeah lol This is already their second run, right? Nobody injured, right? Game over, right?―Whoa, I seriously don't know anymore. I honestly thought Spendthrift would get wrecked in the Guild Battle, but they might actually win.―That is impressive; starting to understand the valuation a little;―60 trillion? Is that expensive? Maybe Chairman Kim is actually getting a family discount on the shares?―Oh fuck off lol The nationalist hype addicts are flooding back in lololol How the hell is that a discount, you lunatics lol―Either way, isn't their potential seriously insane? A-rank in two hours?―Yeah. That performance is genuinely nuts. At that point they basically smashed straight through the Gate.―The peaceful Giants suddenly crying blood lol―I'm an A-rank Awakened and it took thirty of us three hours just to kill Giant Prince. Is this for real?―Completely normal lol Took us four hours lol―People kept saying they're good and turns out they're actually good lol I'm an A-rank Awakened and I think they're gonna tear Ilseong apart lol gg.―Look at that A-rank dude switching sides at lightspeed lol―If three people clear in two hours, why wouldn't I switch sides? Humans have to stay flexible. Remember your hyung's words.―They might even be able to clear an S-rank Gate. That's not nationalist hype, I'm saying this objectively.―For real, there's a chance. Need to see the Guild Battle first, but those three definitely have something.―Ah; I was gonna skip the Guild Battle because it looked obvious, but now I have to watch.―For real lol It's in the evening, so I'm ordering fried chicken and beer and watching live.―Chicken places are gonna sell out everywhere that day lolThe questions and answers continued even while internet forums were exploding.

How had they cleared so quickly? Was it because of Sword Phoenix? How much had Park Siwoo contributed? And so on.

Kim Minwoo gave suitably vague answers to the barrage of questions.

Put differently.

He answered only the superficial parts and left out everything important.

Just as frustration began filling the reporters' faces at the empty answers.

“You must be frustrated. Curious, right? Then come watch the Guild Battle the day after tomorrow. I'll show you everything then.”

Then he glanced at his watch and grinned.

“Ah, it's past midnight now, so I guess it's tomorrow. See you.”

“Mr. Kim Minwoo! Mr. Kim Minwoo!”

“Wait! We still have questions……!”

Despite the reporters' desperate shouts, the three figures only continued moving farther away.* * *After finishing two runs.

They spent the rest of the day resting for the Guild Battle the next day.

Then, as evening approached.

Sangam Awakened Stadium.

The three gathered once again before the massive stadium. It was enormous enough to seat 200,000 people.

Even international events could fill the place completely.

Yet despite this not being an international event, every seat had sold out.

And only a few hours after the Guild Battle announcement went up.

It was an absurd number of tickets for a single exhibition match.‘I heard sales were slow at first.’Had they sold around fifty thousand out of two hundred thousand seats?

Most were probably fans of Seo Yerim and Minwoo buying tickets out of sheer fandom.

Some were likely Ilseong Guild fans too. The reason sales had been slow was obvious.

A match that looked predetermined was boring at a glance.

People cheered loudest when destined rivals clashed.

A match that had looked obvious.

But then Spendthrift smashed an A-rank Gate?

In a time so short that even a first team would struggle to match it?

Then maybe this match wasn't obvious after all?

From that point onward, ticket sales went insane until every seat sold out.

The inside of the stadium was already buzzing. Commentators, broadcast cameras, everyone.

They were all moving frantically.

The three entered the competitors' waiting room.

Before long, staff came in and gave them the signal.

“Let's go smash them.”

Seo Yerim and Park Siwoo.

The two nodded and stood.

Then.―It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call these the hottest Awakened in Korea right now! Their moves are every bit as explosive as their guild name! Please welcome Guild Master Kim Minwoo and the two Awakened of Spendthrift Guild!

Waaaaah!

A tremendous roar erupted.The three emerged into the center of the stadium packed with 200,000 people.

Ilseong Guild was already waiting on the opposite side.―Guild Masters, please step forward!

Nam Cheolmin and Kim Minwoo.

The two walked onto the stage.

They were handed microphones.

The commentator looked at them and spoke.―I've heard there's a story behind this Guild Battle. There has been some controversy over the investment from your parent group, Ilseong, correct?

Nam Cheolmin cleared his throat and raised the microphone.

“It is true that Ilseong Guild expressed concern over the excessive investment amount.”―Has your opinion on that changed at all?

“No. Honestly, it does feel expensive.”―Wow, he says what needs saying! Nam-Cola! Guild Master Kim Minwoo, what do you think about that?

“Caster. Don't families usually give the good stuff to family first?”―Of course. Family is who you split even a single bean with.

“That's why I'm selling it to Ilseong. At a special discount.”―Wow. So you're saying even sixty trillion is actually a discounted price?

“You'll find out by watching today's match.”―Now that's confidence! Of course, it's true that Spendthrift Guild has already done something incredible! A two-hour clear of an A-rank Gate! And not just any easy Gate either, but the Land of Giants!

The crowd nodded.―But if we're being completely honest! Looking at it coldly, it still seems a little expensive. Right?

Nod.

The crowd clearly agreed.

Kim Minwoo grinned.‘He's good.’So this was what a top-tier commentator was like.

A professional was a professional.

He knew exactly how to scratch the itch.―I hope today's match lets both sides cleanly settle their claims and doubts! And of course, we can't skip your final words before the battle!

The commentator looked at Nam Cheolmin.―A super rookie who appeared like a comet twenty years ago! His reputation is still going strong! When Koreans think Archer, they think Nam Cheolmin. When they think Nam Cheolmin, they think Archer. That's how synonymous the two are! I'm sure the crowd has high expectations.

“I'll do my best to show you what you're expecting.”

Nam Cheolmin answered modestly.―And when Korea thinks Necromancer these days, there's only one name: Kim Minwoo.

“Well, that's obvious. But did you say Korea's Archer is Mr. Nam Cheolmin?”―Yes. Guild Master Nam Cheolmin is Korea's number-one Archer.

“Our guild's Archer would be pretty upset to hear that.”

With those words, Kim Minwoo stared directly at Nam Cheolmin.

Then.

“Guild Master Nam Cheolmin. I think it's about time you took off that heavy crown.”

He spoke calmly.―Time to set down the crown. Then who will inherit it?

“Our guild has an Archer too.”―You mean Bow Phoenix, Seo Yerim?

Bow Phoenix.

It sounded similar to Sword Phoenix, and since she hadn't shown much to the world yet, it was basically a makeshift nickname someone had slapped together.

Then it became a meme and stuck.

“Sword Phoenix, Bow Phoenix. Aren't we getting a little tired of Phoenix by now? It's time for a new nickname. I think after today, the world will call Ms. Seo Yerim this.”―What?

“Divine Archer.”

It was Iperin's epithet.

And the word that would now become her new one.