Chapter 10

Become a Legendary Necromancer - Chapter 010

After arriving at my one-room apartment.

I took a nice, refreshing shower.

In truth, there hadn't been any need for one.

'It's not like I did anything.'

I hadn't even broken a sweat.

To reach the King Orc, the boss, all I'd done was walk at a leisurely pace and draw my bow.

And as for the boss?

You could practically say the Skeletons had done everything.

Of course, during that process, I'd used Curse of Weakness and fired one arrow to deliver the finishing blow...

'But that much is practically the same as doing nothing.'

In any case, I did feel refreshed after showering.

And if I was going to lie down in bed, shouldn't I wash up first?

“Oof.”

As I lay down, I thought to myself.

I finally understood.

Why people were so obsessed with simply clicking a button.

With good skills, you could kill monsters without exerting the slightest effort. Who wouldn't love that?

Perhaps it felt even better because I'd suffered so much before my regression.

Now that I'd experienced it myself, nothing could have been sweeter.

It was so sweet that my teeth might rot.

With those silly thoughts running through my mind, I sank even deeper into my bed.

Then, a bracelet wrapped around my wrist entered my field of vision.

It was the Numbered Item I'd obtained this time.

Clear lettering was engraved on the bracelet's surface.

No.946.

Numbered Items had their numbers displayed on the outside like this.

'At least I'm lucky it's a bracelet.'

Because I could keep it concealed.

Shing—

Before long, information about the Numbered Item I'd obtained appeared before my eyes.

[Luana's Bracelet (F)]

-Description: Numbered Item No. 946. A growth-type item.

-Effects:

1) Refunds 20% of the mana consumed when using skills.

2) Grants a 20% chance of consuming no mana when using a skill.

3) Increases mana regeneration by 50%.

4) Mana +5, Magic Power +5

-Required Level to Equip: None

Just looking at it made me smile.

'This is seriously insane.'

All Numbered Items were growth-type items.

That meant their effects continued to increase as they grew.

As for why Numbered Items were so good in the first place...

'Their basic effects are already ridiculous.'

You could tell just by looking at the stats.

It increased my stats even more than the Divine Bow.

An F-rank item provided a greater stat increase than a D-rank item.

And above all, the greatest advantage of Luana's Bracelet was...

'It drastically reduces the mana required to use skills.'

The synergy between the first and second effects was unbelievable.

When the second effect activated, the first effect also applied, effectively refunding a staggering 40% of the mana.

And as its grade increased, those percentages would rise, making its efficiency truly absurd.

'That's why.'

Before my regression, when information about Luana's Bracelet was revealed to the world.

Nobody could dispute it.

There was no better item than Luana's Bracelet when it came to reducing the cost of using skills.

There was a reason I'd made obtaining it my first priority after regressing.

Anyway.

'With this, I should be able to use every skill I have at least once without any trouble.'

Immediately afterward, I took out my smartphone.

Then I accessed the Awakened Board.

The entire board was filled with discussions about me.

I tapped the post ranked at the very top.

It was the most talked-about post of the day.

[Breaking News] The 134th Numbered Item in History Has Appeared

There were countless comments beneath it.

-I'm soooo jealous.

-Me too T_T Honestly, having just one Numbered Item practically guarantees you'll become a high-ranking Awakened (A-rank), doesn't it?

-Of course. You could name your price.

-You idiot! Numbered Items are things you can't buy no matter how much money you offer. Would you sell one if you had it? Of course not.

-But that also means carrying around a ticking time bomb.

-Yeah. There are people who go around hunting down owners of Numbered Items.

-If you're weak, you deserve to have it taken. You know, survival of the fittest?

-"You know, survival of the fittest?" What the hell are you on about? lol

-That bastard better hope he never runs into me. I'll kill him on the spot and take the Numbered Item for myself. (This comment has been reported.)

The comments continued endlessly below that.

But I stopped reading there and closed the community page.

Because I felt that nothing below it would be particularly worthwhile.

I turned off my smartphone screen entirely.

“People who go around hunting Numbered Items, huh...”

I knew about them, too.

That last reported comment.

I knew it wasn't merely something said as a joke.

There was genuine intent behind those words.

“Things like that happen all the time, after all.”

This was a world where people committed murder just to steal a few tens of thousands of won.

Yet good items could easily cost hundreds of millions or even billions of won.

And what if it was a Numbered Item?

If people found out, countless individuals would come rushing with greed burning in their eyes.

No, the reality was that there were already as many such people as grains of sand on a beach.

Of course, it didn't matter.

If I'd been worried about something like that, I wouldn't have tried to obtain a Numbered Item in the first place.

It was at that moment that a voice rang out.

[That's right, Honored Master! I'll personally take care of scum like that before they can even reach you!!]

Clatter! Clatter!

I turned my head.

Yulias was on the bed, wildly throwing punches at the empty air.

I responded by telling him I was counting on him.

[Yes, sir! Just leave it to me!!]

Clatter!

He saluted me at the speed of light.

He certainly had an adorable side to him.

Afterward, I opened my smartphone again and entered my banking app.

When I checked my balance, I found that I had only about 100,000 won remaining.

'Tomorrow... I'll have to sort a few things out.'

I barely even had enough money for living expenses.

_____________

The External Awakened Management Department of the Seoul Awakened Association, located in Yeouido.

The atmosphere there was much busier than usual.

No, everyone looked incredibly busy.

Department Head Cheon Sang-hoon quickly skimmed through the documents in front of him and asked a subordinate.

“What about the entry records from the regional branches?”

“We're currently compiling the data.”

“How much have you finished?”

“About 30% so far...”

“Damn it! You've only managed that much?!”

“Because it's F-rank, there are just too many records. Even this much was only possible because every employee has been working on it since yesterday.”

“Haah... Why did it have to be F-rank?”

Tsk. Cheon Sang-hoon pressed a hand to his forehead.

Why was the department so busy?

It was because of what had happened yesterday.

The newly discovered Numbered Item.

They were trying to identify the person who possessed it.

The reason they wanted to find him was simple.

They needed to protect it.

Not that they needed to protect the person. They needed to protect the Numbered Item.

To prevent it from falling into the hands of another country or guild.

Or into the hands of villains.

They also intended to offer to buy the item on behalf of the Association while they were at it.

Anyway.

“Haah. What a complete mess.”

His superiors had been pressuring him relentlessly since morning.

Damn. I could really use a cigarette.

Thinking he'd have a smoke to refresh his mood, Cheon Sang-hoon left the office.

And as he headed outside the building.

“Huh? Isn't that...?”

A man entered Cheon Sang-hoon's field of vision.

“His name was... Yoo Seong, wasn't it?”

Right. He thought that was the name.

The man who had once been at the center of attention for receiving a Talent Stat of 100.

'More precisely, the man who used to be famous.'

If he had to make a comparison.

It was like thinking you'd won the lottery for certain, only to discover that your numbers were last week's winning numbers.

Simply put, it was a losing ticket.

Talent Stats were measured when people turned fifteen.

It was a mandatory national requirement.

And the higher someone's Talent Stat, the earlier they tended to awaken.

But this man?

He hadn't awakened for more than ten years.

Then, somehow, he'd finally awakened.

But what happened next?

Apparently, he couldn't use his Unique Skill or even Mana Release.

That fact immediately became a hot topic.

After all, the public was always more interested in someone who had once been successful falling into ruin than in articles about people achieving success.

That was the situation this man had found himself in.

But why was he here?

“Has he come to try and promote himself again?”

Before long, Cheon Sang-hoon shook his head.

That didn't seem likely.

It had only been a few weeks since he'd humiliated the man right to his face.

Besides.

“He didn't contact me separately, either.”

Why did Cheon Sang-hoon know Yoo Seong?

It wasn't because Yoo Seong was famous.

It was because Yoo Seong had been among the people Cheon Sang-hoon was responsible for 'managing.'

“Don't tell me he's finally become able to use his Unique Skill?”

Something seemed suspicious.

Cheon Sang-hoon approached Yoo Seong.

Then he greeted him cheerfully.

“Mr. Yoo Seong? Oh, it really is you. Have you been well? But... what brings you here?”

______________

He was someone I knew very well.

'Cheon Sang-hoon.'

One of the people with whom I had a bitter history.

Back when my Talent Stat was measured at 100.

There had been countless people offering to sponsor me. From all over the world.

Naturally, the Awakened Association of our country had been among them...

And Cheon Sang-hoon had been the one in charge of managing those offers.

'If I'd accepted the sponsorships, perhaps things wouldn't have been so difficult.'

My parents hadn't accepted a single penny of the sponsorship money pouring in.

When I was young, I had initially resented them for it.

Because I'd assumed sponsorships were essentially free money.

But my parents didn't see it that way.

There was no such thing as a free lunch.

People gave things because they wanted something in return.

And if you accepted something, you would inevitably have to provide something of corresponding value later.

I learned afterward that they had been absolutely right.

In exchange for their support, the sponsors had imposed conditions requiring me to join their organizations after awakening, or otherwise provide them with some kind of benefit.

It hadn't been genuine sponsorship.

I came to understand that clearly after awakening.

Perhaps I would eventually become able to use my Unique Skill or Mana Release.

And even if I couldn't, I had talent with a bow, so I could still perform well enough as an Awakened.

Therefore, I asked them to assess my archery talent just once.

Saying those things, I visited every organization that had previously offered sponsorship.

But not a single one was willing to assess my abilities.

They rejected me coldly.

And that wasn't all.

I was met with contempt and ridicule.

Of course, I understood.

That my behavior amounted to nothing more than desperately begging them.

But back then, I had been driven into such a desperate corner.

I had to do something, anything.

Because all I could do was barely cling to life while being dragged into the Tower of Trials.

Cheon Sang-hoon had been one of those people.

And I still remembered what he'd said to me.

Very clearly.

-Go say that to your wonderful parents. Beg them to help you. Why are you here begging us? What are you, a beggar?

Those had been his words.

And now, that very man was smiling as he spoke to me.

“Mr. Yoo Seong? Oh, it really is you. Have you been well? But... what brings you here?”

“...”

I looked him straight in the face.

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

Perhaps this was why people described humans as such fickle creatures.

'I'd even thought I might do something terrible if I ever ran into him again.'

Yet now, I didn't feel particularly inclined to do anything.

Perhaps that was because my circumstances were different now from before my regression, when I'd been pushed to the very edge.

Anyway.

There was no longer any need to concern myself with trash like him.

'After all, he'll eventually get everything he did to me returned to him.'

And multiplied several times over.

“I'm here to sell Magic Stones.”

“Magic Stones?”

“Yes.”

Cheon Sang-hoon smiled pleasantly and asked.

“Oh! Have you perhaps become able to use your Unique Skill?”

“No.”

“Ah, is that so?”

A suspicious look entered his eyes.

But only for a moment.

“Well, it's not like we're strangers. In that case... Hey, Won-il.”

With those words, he gestured toward someone.

“This gentleman is here to sell Magic Stones. Take care of it for him right away.”

“Ah, yes, sir.”

Then he immediately left.

I could more or less guess what he was planning.

He was probably going to investigate my recent activities.

But there was nothing to worry about.

I hadn't acted without thinking things through.

Afterward, I sold both my F-rank and D-rank Magic Stones before leaving the Association building.

The raid team already knew that I had cleared the Gate where the Gate Break had occurred.

Therefore, there was no problem with selling the D-rank Magic Stones.

'If anything, hiding them would look even more suspicious.'

After leaving the Association, I spoke to Yulias.

“Starting today, let's try challenging the records.”

I intended to begin climbing the Tower of Trials in earnest.

The flames in Yulias's eyes blazed fiercely.

[Yes, sir! Just leave everything to me!!]