Chapter 75

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 75: Second Betrayal (1)

The Shadow was one of the toughest groups to hunt down.

While it’s true they committed brutal crimes like sacrificing people, they were skilled at leaving little to no evidence behind.

Simply attacking them head-on wasn’t an option.

That would only turn the tables against him and make him look like the criminal.

‘They’re quite formidable.’

The key figures were all awakened individuals of at least A-rank or higher.

If he engages them in battle?

It’s hard to guarantee victory.

Moreover, the current Shadow might be much stronger than before.

‘If the experience points copying event is true….’

If that’s the case, their average level would definitely be much higher than when he previously encountered them.

Supported by equipment, skill books, and stats.

Hunting them alone is challenging.

Of course, he wasn’t completely without tricks up his sleeves.

‘The Sword Secr.’

Including the Fist Emperor and the Divine Spear, even the Venomous Stallion.

He has built friendships with Korea’s top players from our last encounter.

With their help, taking down the Shadows wouldn’t be too difficult.

Even if the Shadows tries to escape, they won’t stand a chance against their skills.

The problem is.

‘Will they give us full achievement points?’

That’s the question.

Are achievement points only given when he completes 100% of the task?

Or is it enough to just contribute partially to receive points?

It’s still unknown.

If getting help from skilled players results in a significant reduction of points?

‘It’ll be quite upsetting.’

Especially in the current situation where points are doubled by the achievement vending machine.

Of course, if the situation became truly dire, he would not hesitate to utilize them to the fullest.

But for now, he still had time.

‘If they’re targeting anything, it’ll be an assault from within the gate.’

Targeting him in reality?

Especially someone like the eldest son of the Ilsung Group, practically a prince of Korea?

Korea might have its differences, but its security was renowned.

Especially in Seoul.

Even if he couldn’t win, he could still hold out and buy time.

Just enduring for five minutes would bring all the awakened rushing in.

Even if the Shadows had grown stronger with the experience points event, there was no matching the sheer numbers.

So, if they were targeting him, they would aim for a breach in the gate.

‘At least I’m fortunate that…’

Han Baekgil hadn’t recognized him.

There were three possibilities.

Either the entity he serves isn’t an outer god, to begin with, unrelated to Kim Minwoo.

Or they do serve an outer god but haven’t been given a clear target.

‘Or…’

They’re just servants of an outer god with entirely different objectives.

‘Whatever the case may be…’

Didn’t he learn that when he captured Lee Seoyoon?

They have an achievement point copier.

The Shadow is a target to hunt down.

‘And there might be bonuses involved.’

He recalled Han Baekgil mentioning baptism.

The experience point copying event.

If he could obtain that, there might be a way for him to utilize it as well.

‘One month.’

When it comes to growth, nothing beats accepting a new legion commander.

Just having someone like Cedric would make us feel more secure.

It seemed like it was time to respond to the summons.

* * *

[Obtained Specter Summon (C)+9!]

[Specter Summon (C)+9]

[Skill enhanced to its limit.]

[Summon two LV1 specters (1+1) by consuming 100 mana.]

Since it would take some time for the investment to be executed, he just sold some equipment and used the advance payment to buy skill books.

Crafting materials turned into money.

Especially when it wasn’t just ordinary grade, but Magic Plus grade, it often fetched more than ten times the usual price.

‘But they don’t come out that easily.’

Would one appear after crafting ten times?

Still, it didn’t matter.

The number of skeletons attempting production had increased significantly.

With over three thousand skeletons, magic poured out like a torrent.

After crafting for a few days, he managed to copy a C-rank 9th-grade skill book.

The enhancement also succeeded straight through without any failures.

‘I finally learned it.’

Specters.

As one of the mid-level undead, they had quite decent performance.

The biggest advantage is that they belong to the ghost type, so physical damage doesn’t affect them much.

‘Constant 30% reduction in physical damage.’

But that’s not the only advantage of specters.

‘You can efficiently deal damage.’

Even with a large number of skeletons, it was difficult to deliver efficient attacks.

The reason was simple.

Overlap in space.

After surrounding the target, only a certain number could wield weapons.

In contrast, specters are one of the flying undead types, floating freely.

It means they can efficiently deal damage even when there’s no space around due to the skeletons surrounding the target.

They can simply fly in from above and attack the head.

Of course, specters also had weaknesses.

While typical undead take double damage from holy attributes, specters could take up to triple damage.

This was because the ghost attribute overlapped with the undead property.

Being sliced by silver or mithril weapons was just the cherry on top.

And they couldn’t wear equipment.

Well, strictly speaking.

‘They can wear them, but…’

Special equipment was needed.

Specially finished equipment that specters could wear.

Naturally, such equipment was scarce in demand and supply.

Only the soul merchants could get them, making them practically nonexistent in the market.

‘But I can just make them myself.’

He has skeletons with crafting skills.

If he just makes the finish a bit more special, that’s it.

So, the weakness of not being able to wear equipment disappears.

‘They’re also immune to light.’

Unless it’s an EX-level light attack like Death Lord, light attacks won’t work.

A specter invincible to light attributes.

It’s quite exhilarating.

And beings carrying plated weapons inside the gate are very rare.

‘I’ll have to summon a mix.’

Summoning only three thousand skeletons?

Unless it’s an all-out war, battles become quite inefficient.

That’s why ordinary necromancers often mixed up their summons.

And Kim Minwoo was thinking the same.

Now that he had a new summoning skill.

‘I should start with around a hundred.’

Thanks to the Death Lord effect, he was able to summon two for 50 mana.

Summoning a hundred specters.

For an ordinary necromancer, mana consumption would be overwhelming, but Kim Minwoo was different.

He could handle it just fine.

And even after summoning, he still had mana left over.

‘Preparation is complete.’

He had already prepared and equipped specter-exclusive gear in advance.

And he had plenty of consumables stocked up.

‘Let’s go.’

It was time to head to the second bet.

[Would you like to participate in the second trial of the Death Lord?]

“Let’s go.”

[The Death Lord is calling for you.]

With the familiar message, the surroundings began to change.

* * *

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Gun]

A familiar space appeared before him.

A dim space.

It was the same space he had come to when he received the first call.

Unexpectedly, Whitey looked around as the surroundings suddenly changed.

Kim Minwoo felt the same.

‘It’s a bit different from last time.’

Last time, he just heard a stored voice.

But now, a dim figure was wavering.

—……You’re the one.

“…Death Lord?”

—That’s right. It’s the first time one of the prepared consciousness has awakened. Did you acquire Cedric?

“Yes.”

—That’s good, well done. I hope you pass the second bet as well.

“May I ask you something?”

—It’s possible, but time is short.

Hmm.

It seemed like the duration was short.

Well, it’s not the main body, it’s just a consciousness.

‘The main body must have already disappeared.’

He’s not sure what’s going on, but anyway, didn’t they say they were done for if they were attacked by strange beings?

If time was short, rather than asking trivial questions, he needed to throw the most crucial one.

“Someone is intentionally gathering artifacts from hero parties around me. What do you think the reason could be?”

—Gathering artifacts from hero parties?

“Yes. It seems like they intend to gather all four, so what could they be planning?”

—You are my successor. That doesn’t mean you inherit my power entirely. I’ve already vanished, so I can only pass on incomplete authority.

Incomplete?

But Cedric’s summoning alone is SSS-grade, isn’t it?

He couldn’t tell how high this gentleman’s status was.

“So?”

—Could they be gathering them to help you?

“I’m considering that possibility, but…”

—Then it might be to supply prey to increase your power.

He frowned.

Supplying prey?

“I heard hero party artifacts were said to be indestructible.”

—That’s how it was.

But not anymore?

Then, the figure presumed to be the Death Lord looked directly at me and said,

—-The second bet has begun…

“No, wait…”

The scenery changed once again.

Everything became blurry.

[Participating in the Academy of the Frail Empire!]

[Participated in the ancient learning space!]

[Achieved the title, ‘Fossil Freshman’!]

* * *

When he opened his eyes again,

In a space frozen in time, an unusual scene unfolded.

Inside the training ground.

Numerous students were sitting on the ground, and in front of them, a knight seemed to have stopped swinging his sword midway.

It looked like a place for swordsmanship classes.

[This is a fragment of the past created based on the regrets of the human era of the ‘Banshee Queen Merhen’!]

[The player is participating.]

“Whitey, for now, stay hidden.”

Whitey nodded.

She’s a clever one, so she’ll know how to hide well.

Time resumed its flow.

“The most important thing in the Empire Swordsmanship First Style is to bite the wrist when piercing the body from above…”

Did they say it was the Empire Academy?

As they said, the students’ attire was truly fantastical.

‘It must have been from their human days.’

There was a difference from Cedric I met in the undead state.

‘It’s not even a virtual body.’

When talent disappears with a virtual body, the body feels a bit lighter, which was a bit disappointing.

However, since he could gain experience points, it wasn’t all bad.

‘Who is Merhen?’

Judging by the name, it seems to be a woman.

It was while I was looking around.

“Cairn!”

A middle-aged knight glared at him with a fierce look.

“You finished last in the last exam, and now you’re not focusing again? Do you think the Swordsmanship Department is easy?”

…Swordsmanship Department?

Why would a necromancer like him be enrolled in the Swordsmanship Department?

He’d understand if it were the Magic Department.

As he was thinking that,

“You insolent brat! Ignoring the professor’s words? Come forward!”

The knight started to rant furiously.

Rumble!

Students nearby murmured in response.

The content was generally the same.

Like being scolded by a professor named Charles or something, and Cairn was in big trouble now.

Or how his attitude in class was a mess because of being last.

Or how he was going to get beaten up.

“Annoying.”

I needed to find Merhen first.

I stepped forward.

“Cairn! Pick up your sword!”

“Professor, if I win, do I have to attend class?”

“…?”

Who is this crazy person?

That kind of look was directed at me.

Kim Minwoo didn’t care about all this.

Where’s the time to waste on useless swordsmanship training?

Learning it wouldn’t mean anything to him anyway.

It would be a hundred times better to spend that time finding Merhen and figuring out what regrets are all about.

After a brief silence, Professor Charles’s eyes widened, and he started to rant furiously.

“You insolent brat! The one who finished last dares to provoke the professor? Come at me! If you beat me, don’t attend class! I’ll give you a perfect score!”

Sweet deal.

Charles charged forward immediately.

Clang!

The swords clashed.

Judging by his speed, he’s around level 400.

‘About the skill level of a seasoned palace guard.’

He’s pretty good.

But it didn’t matter.

His stats had increased significantly over time.

A knight like him can be toyed with using just a sword.

As the confrontation continued, Charles started to retreat, reflecting.

By the time it reached twenty exchanges, Charles was covered in wounds.

He even started using skills against a student, which was pathetic.

But it was pointless.

Thirty exchanges.

His sword reached Charles’s neck.

“Well then, work hard in class.”

“…”

Ignoring the stunned students, he left the training ground.

It seemed like it was time to find Merhen.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Gun]