Chapter 44

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 44: Debut (1)

Deep beneath the earth’s surface lies a colossal smithy.

Clang! Clang!

Countless skeletons wield hammers, tirelessly crafting items.

Bubble, bubble!

In another corner, a cauldron brims with ingredients, where alchemy is at work.

Real-time replicas of + items materialize.

The production process is shrouded in secrecy.

After bulk purchases of materials, transportation is conducted discreetly via subspace rings.

Through multiple transfers, the materials arrive at this hidden underground smithy.

Once a sufficient quantity of items is produced, they are stored in subspace rings and delivered to the Ilsung Group.

“I wonder who’s behind it all.”

The hottest topic of late revolved around the craftsman who replicated + items.

Rumors abound that corporations are burning the midnight oil, desperately seeking out this enigmatic Blacksmith.

“Impressive effort, though misguided.”

The irony lied in their pursuit of a craftsman, oblivious to the fact that they’re dealing with a necromancer.

Kim Minwoo, unassuming as ever, continued his rounds, raising no eyebrows.

The thought of a necromancer wielding skeletons to produce such a massive output is simply inconceivable.

Before long, a heap of equipment piled up on the floor.

Kim Minwoo picked up one of the items.

[Lettman’s Spine Blade]

[Rank: Normal+]

[Required Level: 10 or higher]

[A beginner’s weapon crafted by a skilled artisan. Its presence instills a sense of reassurance.]

[Effect 1: Strength +2, Agility +1]

[Effect 2: Low chance of causing minor bleeding on hit]

Mass-Produced Items with Extraordinary Stats

Among the skeletons’ mass-produced items, one stood out with exceptional stats.

“They sold this for 9 million won?”

Acquiring a similar weapon would cost at least 20 million won in the auction house.

The higher price was due to the 10% auction fee.

This was practically half the price.

Even more shocking was the fact that they still made a hefty profit at this price.

The materials used were nothing more than Lettman’s spine, a few monster byproducts, and some finishing agents.

“The cost can’t be more than 200,000 won.”

The labor cost of the craftsman and other miscellaneous expenses inflated the price.

Of course, Awakened were aware of this.

Yet, they still bought it.

Why?

No one skims on their own life.

And the crafting equipment was cheaper than buying from the auction house.

This is why large corporations were flocking to the equipment market.

Once they established a foothold, the money would flow in like a river.

Just then, a familiar figure descended into the underground workshop.

It was Park Siwoo.

“Hyung, I’m here.”

“Oh, just dump the materials over there.”

“Yes. And I also got a bunch of attribute items. There were more listings at the auction house this time.”

Siwoo unloaded the contents of his subspace ring with reckless abandon.

This transport job was paramount to security.

Entrusting it to an untrustworthy individual could expose their operation and cause chaos worldwide.

Kim Minwoo chose Park Siwoo for this job.

They were in the same boat, so there was no reason to be suspicious of each other.

He also trusted Siwoo’s character.

In fact, Siwoo had been maintaining security very well.

He was also diligent enough to collect items even while he was busy hunting.

“Hey, Whitey, it’s time to eat.”

— Coo, coo

When Minwoo pointed to the attribute items, Whitey like an excited dog immediately flew towards them.

Whitey opened his mouth wide as he approached each item with an attribute.

Soon after,

[The fire attribute in the sharp flame sword has been completely absorbed!]

[The wind attribute in the wind-filled armor has been completely absorbed!]

[The Lightning attribute in the static staff has been completely absorbed!]

…

[Fire attribute increased by 0.05%…]

[Wind attribute increased by 0.06%…]

[Lightning attribute…]

Minwoo had been feeding Whitey a lot of attribute items for the past few days.

As a result, the color of Whitey’s feathers on his neck had become a variety of colors.

‘Fire, wind, Lightning, earth.’

Minwoo planned to feed Whitey the ice attribute fragment he would find in the next gate.

He had already raised four attributes.

A total of five attributes.

This would be enough to handle most gates.

He would decide on the remaining two attributes later.

“Wow, it’s amazing every time I see it. The item’s rank drops to normal every time it absorbs an attribute… It looks like it’s going to cost a fortune.”

Minwoo was impressed by Whitey’s ability to absorb attributes.

However, he was also concerned about the cost.

The attribute items were expensive, and they would need to be purchased in large quantities.

Minwoo knew that he would need to make a lot of money to support Whitey’s growth.

He was determined to make it happen.

He would become the richest man in the world and use his wealth to support Whitey.

He would make Whitey the strongest creature in the world.

That was Minwoo’s dream.

Siwoo pointed to the items that had turned into cans.

He was right.

As the attribute items, which were close to rare in terms of magic, were absorbed, they all turned into common items.

‘Of course they would.’

What’s the essence of an attribute item?

Of course, it’s the attribute.

It was natural that they would turn into cans after that was extracted.

“You have to think of it as an investment.”

“Hyung, does eating like this increase attributes a lot?”

Let’s see.

[Retrieving Whitey’s status window!]

[Name: Whitey]

[Race: Rainbow Phoenix]

[Possessed Attributes: Ice 20%, Fire 0.52%, Wind 0.51%, Lightning 0.5%, Earth 0.53%]

“All four attributes have increased to about 0.5% so far.”

“Huh? 0.5%? The value of the items You’ve fed him so far must be around 200 billion won…”

“I was already prepared for that.”

The fragments of winter that froze the entire northern part of the continent only filled 20%.

He had a rough idea from then on.

‘Ah, I guess I’ll have to spend a lot of money to raise attributes.’

‘But I can’t go around finding hidden gates for all seven attributes.’

He knew how to open a few hidden gates, but they are not all connected to attributes.

Even if they are, it’s uncertain whether he can fill 100%.

So, he had no choice but to spend money.

On the contrary, he can somehow get the money to spend, but the problem was that he couldn’t get attribute items.

‘They’re not common, so…’

They are currently feeding Whitey items from the auction house as much as they can.

—Coo.

Whitey, who had absorbed hundreds of billions worth of items this time as well, flew over with a groan.

“Did you enjoy it?”

—Coo!

“Okay, okay. Daddy worked hard and made some money, so I’ll find some more for you.”

—Coo, Coo!

The bird whimpered as if it was happy when Minwoo stroked its head gently.

He looked at Park Siwoo.

“What level are you?”

“I’m level 93 now.”

“Oh, you’ve leveled up a lot.”

“I was aiming for level 101, but…”

He glanced at Minwoo.

It seemed he wanted to join the guild.

“Are you sure? As I said, if you come to my guild, you’re probably going to have a lot of hard work.”

“I’ve been through a lot of battles, both air and ground. I’m confident that I can even take on assassins now! Really!”

It was true.

Come to think of it, Siwoo had also been through a lot since his cool debut with Sword Saint.

He had not only gained fame as Sword Saint’s disciple, but it had also received recruitment offers from all the top 10 guilds.

From what he heard, they had offered all sorts of sweet deals.

The fact that it had rejected all of them and stuck with Minwoo showed that he was definitely loyal.

“Okay. Come to our Money Talks Guild.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, that’s good. I was about to stop crafting anyway. Let’s have a press conference. We need to get some spotlight.”

“Yes!”

“Oh, before that. Your younger sister. For now, send her to the Black Tower. I’ll contact them in advance.”

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

Park Siwoo nodded.

It was true that if he joined the guild, he couldn’t predict what would happen.

This was especially true in a situation where the chaebol families were being criticized for everything.

Would those spoiled brats blame him?

They were specialists in blaming others.

They were probably criticizing Kim Minwoo.

‘My sister and I will be fine, but…’

He wasn’t an ordinary person..

Even an expensive apartment didn’t have perfect security.

That’s why he readily agreed.

The Black Tower was known as one of the most secure places in Korea.

It was the perfect place to entrust his sister’s safety.

[TL/N: This is how it was in the raws, so context might change further down the story as more information is provided by the author]

“But isn’t it better to keep crafting? You said it was like copying money.”

“I’ve already accumulated about 100,000 in stock. I’ve also gained as much proficiency as I can. It’s time to go hunting.”

He checked the skeletons’ crafting skill.

[Skeleton Summon (F) +9]

[A skill that has been strengthened to the limit.]

[Consumes 10 mana to summon 2 (1+1) LV51 skeletons.]

[ Proficiency in melee weapons (F), Dwarven crafting (E), Elven alchemy (E)]*

[Melee Weapon Skill (F): Increases the damage of all melee weapons by 10%.]

[Dwarven Crafting (E): Can craft equipment with additional effects using Dwarven crafting techniques.]

[Elven Alchemy (E): Can craft alchemy items with additional effects using Elven alchemy techniques.]

There had been many changes as he crafted numerous items.

The average level of the skeletons had skyrocketed to 51.

‘The two crafting skill levels have each gone up by one.’

It didn’t take long for proficiency to rise as he churned out tens of thousands of items a day.

As a result, the skeletons could now create + items even for low-level items.

Of course, he had already crafted equipment suitable for the skeletons’ level 51.

Since they had the equipment slot, he could equip them without any burden.

He also exchanged two bone pieces through the bones he had purchased.

It wasn’t a great success, but he settled for a success, and the increase in ability values was still enormous.

He had even finished setting up for the next hunt while trying to craft.

‘The mages level is a bit behind, though.’

He would think about that later.

It was much more advantageous to summon a large number of ordinary skeletons for crafting, so there was no helping it.

Anyway.

He had accumulated a lot of so-called stock.

Even if he didn’t make any crafted items for a while, there would be no shortage of items to sell at the equipment store.

It was time to start moving for the next hunt.

He had already decided on his destination.

‘A new gate will appear in Gyeonggi-do soon.’

The process of a gate popping up is simple. Mana explodes into the surrounding area before it appears, and soon after, the gate pops up.

‘The difficulty is B-rank.’

A-rank is a bit too tough.

C-rank is too easy.

It was a gate with just the right difficulty.

‘I have to get the first clear reward, right?’

Anything with the word “first” has meaning.

The same was true for gates.

Parties that were the first to enter a gate were often given special missions.

‘The difficulty level is higher.’

It feels more like B+ than B.

In return, the rewards were also higher than those for clearing a normal gate.

They give special rewards.

It’s similar to a hidden gate.

Of course, as soon as there were signs of a gate being generated, guilds and all sorts of organizations would flock to it like a herd of wildebeests.

They didn’t just rush in for the guaranteed jackpot of a first clear.

The rank of a newly generated gate is initially shown as a question mark.

The rank becomes clear after investigation.

One of the groups that gathers after the investigation is selected to attempt the clear.

‘Originally, this gate was cleared by Dorim Guild.’

In the game story, several years from now, the Dorim Guild Master reveals some of the rewards he received.

‘The Ring of Yuger.’

Normal – Magic – Rare – Unique – Legend – Ancient – Mythical.

A ring that belongs to the legendary tier, one of the seven tiers.

He still vividly remembered the words of the guy who bragged about it at a lecture.

“I know many of you are curious about my ring. I was really lucky. Do you remember the B-rank gate that appeared in Gyeonggi-do a few years ago? I got a starting item from there…”

In conclusion.

He said that if you join the guild, you will have the opportunity to get such items, so please support Dorim Guild a lot.

After that, some of the options were revealed and it was a big deal for a while.

That’s because the performance was amazing, as befitting a legendary rank.

The guy was definitely lucky.

He got something that was way too good for his skills.

‘I never got to buy it after all.’

When he played as Kim Minwoo.

Back then, he started at a much later time than now, and the legendary ring was already on the guy’s finger.

He even refused to sell it even after he offered him a ridiculous amount of money.

The fact that he didn’t disclose all the options must mean that they were that good.

‘I’m going to get it.’

It wouldn’t be unfair for the guild master of Dorim Guild.

Anyway, Kim Minwoo would use it to block the foreign powers, not for his own personal gain.

So the guildmaster should make a concession for the world.

‘It’s time to make my move.’

The situation is very different from when he cleared the ancient tomb in the past.

He has gained enough strength to protect himself.

‘To get what I want…’

He was ready to make the world noisy again.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]