Chapter 36

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 36: Purchase (2)

Seo Jinchul from the Sword Sect was surrounded by numerous reporters.

“Mr. Seo! Is it true that you’re planning to raid the Dragon’s Tomb with only five people?”

“That’s correct.”

The reporters buzzed with excitement.

The higher the level of the gate, the more people are required to clear it.

And the Dragon’s Tomb is known to be one of the most difficult S-rank gates.

It would be difficult even with a full party of 30 people, let alone a mere five.

And to make matters worse, the five weren’t even all S-rank Awakened at their peak.

There were only four S-rank Awakened on the raid list.

Seo Jinchul, Shin Chang, Dok Ma, and Kwon Wang.

And the last one was…

Park Siwoo.

It was quite surprising to see a newly awakened F-rank individual included in the lineup. Upon checking, it was revealed that he had awakened just a few weeks ago.

“It’s ridiculous to tackle an S-rank Gate with this team.”

“It seems impossible to even reach the mid-level…”

Some reporters even doubted Seo Jinchul’s sanity because it sounded so absurd.

Some reporters even suspected Seo Jinchul’s motives.

That’s how ridiculous it all sounded.

High-ranking Awakened are said to age very little and have greatly extended lifespans, but that doesn’t mean they don’t age at all.

And it’s been 20 years since the Awakened of Seo Jinchul’s generation last entered a gate.

Typically, Awakened of that generation focused on training their juniors instead of entering gates themselves.

The only reason they were still ranked among the top Awakened in Korea was out of respect for their past achievements.

So it was understandable why people were skeptical.

“Why on earth is an F-rank Awakened included in the raid list?”

“Level doesn’t determine everything.”

“Are you saying he has great potential?”

Seo Jinchul nodded.

“This kid will be more helpful than some random mid-tier Awakened.”

An F-rank awakened individual who could assist in an S-rank Gate?

Seo Jinchul’s affirmative answer had significant implications.

The reporters quickly typed away, exploring the potential of this new super rookie.

However, their questions didn’t stop.

“The Dragon’s Tomb is a place even the top guilds avoid raiding! The White Tiger Guild, the last one to attempt it, suffered heavy casualties and failed to clear it. Are you really that confident?”

White Tiger Guild.

Once a 3rd-ranked guild, they had ambitiously challenged the Dragon’s Tomb in the past and ended up losing half of their guild’s strength.

They barely managed to return from the middle zone with their lives intact.

At the time, their lineup consisted of six S-rank awakened individuals and twenty-four A-rankers.

Yet, they failed.

After that incident, the White Tiger Guild declined rapidly.

So, it was natural to have doubts.

Then, Seo Jinchul quietly spoke up.

“The current system of ranking awakened individuals is based solely on levels, isn’t it?”

The reporters nodded.

While it wasn’t solely based on levels, there were cases where individuals with outstanding skills or titles at lower levels were recognized as higher-ranking awakened individuals.

The problem was that Awakened didn’t want to reveal everything about themselves. Who would want to bare their full power to the public?

Therefore, levels became the standard for ranking.

The easiest to distinguish and the least burdensome for Awakened to reveal.

In addition, higher level Awakened were generally more likely to have stronger titles, skills, and other factors.

That’s why levels became the basis for ranking.

“But that also means it’s an easy way to determine rank, which is why it’s the standard format used all over the world, isn’t it?”

“I’m not against that. But it’s not the whole story for Awakened. I’ll show you. That we’re not dead yet.”

“Sword Saint!”

“Just a few more questions…!”

He walked from the waiting area into the Gate.

A massive Gate came into view.

The Dragon’s Tomb, located in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do.

Prepared awakened individuals were waiting inside.

Among them, Kwon Wang stepped forward with a smirk.

“Heh, hyungs. We’ve really died a lot too. To be doubted over clearing a gate like this.”

“I guess it’s been a long time.”

Shin Chang muttered.

His gaze, as he polished his spear with a cloth, fell on Park Siwoo.

The boy brought by Seo Jinchul.

He’s said to be an F-rank awakened individual.

“Big brother. It’s been a while since you called me. Who is that kid?”

“My disciple.”

“Isn’t your disciple Yerim?”

“Another one.”

“Looks like he has some talent.”

Shin Chang’s eyes sparkled.

Kwon Wang and Dok Ma were also surprised, and they kept sneaking glances at Park Siwoo.

Instead of the quiet Dok Ma, the wild Kwon Wang spoke first.

“Hey there, kid.”

“Yes!”

“Confident you won’t die?”

“I’m confident I can at least protect myself!”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes!”

“Since hyung said so, I’ll keep an eye on you.”

“Thank you!”

Park Siwoo replied, sweating coldly.

He was currently in a state of extreme tension.

After being introduced to Seo Jinchul by Kim Minwoo.

All he had done so far was spar a few times.

‘But a disciple?’

Moreover, he was suddenly called and found himself facing an S-rank Gate.

And not only that, but the S-rank awakened individuals, who were once legends, were also gathered in one place.

In terms of age, experience, and reputation, he was far below them. It wasn’t surprising that he was extremely tense.

With a quick glance at his phone, he checked the last KakaoTalk message he sent to Kim Minwoo.

―Hyung ㅠ I suddenly got a chance to raid an S-rank gate, but can I go? I’m only level 52, but Sword Saint-nim asked me to go with him…….

[20 minutes ago]

―Oh wow. That’s awesome? You must be excited. Go for it.

[1 second ago]

‘Can I really go?’

Of course, level wasn’t everything, and those four were legendary awakened individuals from the past, but…

“Hey, what are you doing standing there? Get moving!”

“Yes! I’m coming!”

At Kwon Wang’s urging, he hastily grabbed his gear.

‘I don’t know what to do!’

Hyung must have some faith in him, right? That’s why he answered that way.

He stepped into the Gate.

And soon, the glowing gate gradually darkened.

* * *

Seo Jinchul’s plan to raid the S-rank Gate was an unexpected event.

He knew Seo Jinchul favored him, but he never expected him to go this far.

‘But I actually like it.’

Seo Jinchul’s strength was far beyond the current S-ranks.

In this era, even those who barely passed level 500 were considered S-rank awakened individuals.

But the awakened of Seo Jinchul’s era were in a league of their own.

Seo Jinchul, Shin Chang, Kwon Wang, Dok Ma.

Real awakened individuals who knew how to fight.

‘They’ve aged and stepped back to train their disciples now….’

If these guys were still active, Korea would never have been called a weak Awakened nation.

It looked like he had gathered all his old comrades to get dragon bones.

The Dragon’s Tomb?

‘Maybe I’ll break my nose trying to get in?’

He sent Park Siwoo without hesitation.

Even if the kid was worth -10 people, those four would carry him through.

‘Well, a quick swipe with a holy sword will do…….’

And the experience points would pour in.

For Park Siwoo, it was like a stroke of luck.

‘There’s nothing wrong with attracting this much attention.’

After clearing it, Park Siwoo would attract a lot of attention.

And when he reached level 101 and joined a guild?

The public opinion would explode.

Because they would realize what he meant when he said he would only take the best.

[Skill Book Enhancement Successful!]

[Curse of Aging (D)+9 has been completed!]

“Nice.”

The D-rank basic skill of the Necromancer.

He checked the contents.

[Curse of Aging (D) +9]

[Consume 30 mana to apply the Curse of Aging to the target. Defense and speed of the cursed target are reduced by 20(10+10)%.]

The effect had doubled exactly.

‘It cost 1 trillion to make this.’

The 8-star enhancement was a big deal.

As a result, the cost doubled.

If Skeleton Summoning was the starting point for all summons.

If Skeleton Summon was the starting point for all summons, then Curse of Aging was the starting point for all curse skills. It was an important skill, so the money wasn’t wasted.

‘The more I pour in, the more effective it is.’

With defense and speed reduced like that?

Once cursed, it was game over. Of course, being cursed wasn’t guaranteed just by casting the skill.

The success rate of casting depended on the target’s magic resistance, size, and evasion.

Even if the curse landed, if the enemy’s level was too high, the efficiency would be diminished.

Perhaps for someone like a Paladin, you had to cast it repeatedly until it finally exploded.

Anyway, once it exploded, the battle became much easier.

There was no reason not to learn it.

Kim Minwoo calculated the remaining money.

He received 5 trillion won by selling a 10% stake.

Adding the original 300 billion won, it totaled 5.3 trillion won.

Subtracting the cost of the curse skill, 1 trillion won, left 4.3 trillion won.

‘Let’s subtract 800 billion won for the cost of intermediate potions.’

Considering the orc’s appetite, at least 500 billion won should be set aside for food.

And that’s not all?

He hadn’t even calculated the cost of bones yet.

On average, each party cost about 25 million won.

He had seen the recruitment ads, so there would be a lot of parties coming in and out of the gate.

In other gates, there was no guarantee of minimum income, but in gates where you could get bones, the structure was such that there was a guarantee.

And if you think about it, they’ll be earning money from this gate every day…

‘If we manage to get 2,000 parties, that’s roughly 50 billion won.’

In two weeks, it would be 700 billion won.

He also had to buy dragon bones, but he couldn’t set a price until he met Sword Saint, so he put that aside for now.

The equipment for level 101 also needed to be uprankd to rare, which would cost at least 500 billion won each for both himself and Cedric.

Altogether, it seemed like he would spend nearly 3 trillion won.

The remaining amount?

Roughly around 2 trillion won.

The price of high-rank potions was about 3 billion won each.

If he bought 800 of them…

it would be 2.4 trillion won.

He was running short on potion money too.

“Phew. I’m lucky I learned a production skill….”

In the high-rank potion stage, it became really tough.

Around level 151, the costs start to become really steep.

Even with Ilsung’s support, it was the same.

It would be an amount of money that would be a burden even for such a company.

It was a staggering sum to just put out.

‘Slowly, I should start investing in Ilsung too.’

He couldn’t handle the consumption alone.

He had to turn to his side hustle.

Ilsung was like an automatic money-making machine.

Only if this money bag itself grew bigger could he take out what he needed when he needed it.

That was also why he had readily agreed to be a model for commercials.

‘I heard that sales increased from the commercials… .’

But it’s still not enough.

He needed something more impactful.

‘I should start selling equipment and potions.’

Of course, even big companies wouldn’t be foolish enough to ignore this field.

Including Ilsung, numerous companies were already competing in this saturated red ocean market.

However…

‘How can they beat mass produced +items?’

Even if they were big companies, the number of artisans they had was limited.

On the other hand, with a wide mana pool, unlimited artisan supply was possible here.

And there were no labor costs for the artisans.

He would flood the market with items stamped with Ilsung’s name with an overwhelming amount of volume

“And I’ll sell them. Cheaply.”

A chicken game?

He welcomed it with open arms.

There was no way he could lose since he was ahead in both quality and quantity.

First, he would dominate the low-level equipment market.

Then, he would move on to the mid-level market.

He would wipe out all competitors like that.

Then what?

He would dominate the entire market.

‘Not just buying and selling equipment….’

He could also go with a rental model.

The market potential was limitless.

If Ilsung completely dominated the equipment market like that…

It would be worth tens of trillions.

If he considered future overseas expansion, it could surpass hundreds of trillions.

Then, there would be a justification for asking for money.

The plan was perfect.

Then…

Breaking news aired on the TV near the auction house.

―Uh? Uh…? The gate of the Dragon’s Tomb is glowing right now… Green, green! Sword Saint did it! And he cleared it at an insane speed…! Oh, is this a world record? Citizens of the nation! It’s a world record!

The Sword Saint had set a world record for clearing the S-rank gate.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]