Chapter 144

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 144: Gold

He had beaten Han Baekgil and earned 600 points.

After spending those, he had been holding on without using any more points.

This was to aim for something bigger when the next store opened.

500 points for Silver.

3,000 points for Gold.

‘I don’t know how many points the next stage will be, but…’

One thing was certain.

He couldn’t resist shopping.

Just as limited-edition items for Necromancers were released, an exchange system was also added.

How could he resist this?

Isabella asked, tilting her head.

“Did something good happen?”

“Something urgent came up. Let’s talk later. I’ll be going now.”

“Wait a minute…”

He got on the Voltron and started the engine. Fortunately, there was no dreadful 10-minute time limit like with Seo Yerim last time.

10 hours would at least give him enough time to look over and consider the items.

Leaving behind Isabella, who was reaching out blankly, he dashed towards his home.

Upon arriving,

He immediately opened the store.

[Opening the Achievement Store!]

[Rank: Gold (Total points earned: 3,030)]

[Achievement Points Remaining: 1,530]

[The Exchange System has been unlocked!]

He had plenty of remaining points.

Moreover,

One more line was added. He immediately checked the exchange rate.

[Entering the Exchange System.]

[The current exchange rate between Earth Credits and Achievement Points is 1 trillion to 1.]

“Wait, what?”

Is this right?

Kim Minwoo blinked his eyes.

He thought it was a one-to-one ratio, but there was something extra at the end.

1 ‘trillion’ to 1.

In other words, he had to offer 100 trillion to earn 100 points.

He had 40 trillion left after the Sky Auction House.

Plus, he was supposed to receive around 100 trillion after selling his 5% stake in the US first, as agreed upon.

When the Guild Battle ended, Wall Street offered 60 trillion for a 10% stake, so the stake price had almost tripled compared to then.

It was only natural.

His value had increased after participating in the Super Rookie Tournament and showcasing the amazing Education function.

Honestly, this was still a bargain.

Regardless,

He was supposed to deliver the 100 trillion in about a month.

Even considering the installments from China that he would receive next month,

‘It’s only about 200 trillion.’

China gave me a lot of miscellaneous resources and real estate instead of cash. Even if he put all of that in, it was only 200 points.

‘Of course, the Achievement Points are not necessarily that valuable in monetary terms…’

It would be too simplistic to judge the items in the Achievement Store as expensive or cheap based solely on money.

While random equipment draw tickets or S-rank skill books might not be worth their price anymore,

On the other hand, items like the Limit-Breaking Potion or the Cocktail of the Dead were still worth spending trillions on.

They were that good.

Moreover, now that he had reached Gold rank, even better items were expected to be unlocked in the store.

‘Still, it’s expensive.’

Spending 200 trillion just to earn 200 points was borderline insanity.

If there was absolutely no way to earn Achievement Points, that would be one thing. But the situation involves SS-rank Necromancers being active.

Every time they do something, he got a steady 100 points. Considering that, the cost-effectiveness doesn’t add up.

However, there was still hope.

‘If the Earth’s exchange rate goes up, it’ll be fine.’

Instead of 1 trillion to 1 point.

Maybe 500 billion to 1 point.

Or even lower than that. As long as the value of Earth’s money increases and he could buy achievement points cheaply, that’s all that matters.

If enough time passes, he might be able to exchange 200 trillion for 2,000 points.

So how does the Earth exchange rate increase?

‘There are some things I can guess.’

Nurturing the budding talents of geniuses like Seo Yerim and Park Siwoo, or eliminating villains like Shadows.

Actions that earn Achievement Points are likely to increase the Earth exchange rate.

Awarding Achievement Points is like giving a “Good job!” sticker as praise.

‘So creating Necromancers is also an act that increases value?’

Thinking about it, that seemed to be the case.

If it was a sign of Earth’s destruction, Earth’s money should have become worthless.

But when the 11th Necromancer was born, the Exchange System was activated?

The money’s value increased enough to be exchanged for Achievement Points?

Doesn’t that mean Earth got one step closer to being saved?

“Hah.”

Kim Minwoo sighed, realizing something new.

Looking back, he was really a fool who only cared about Earth.

‘For now, I should save up some money.’

He would spend when necessary, but otherwise, he should focus on saving. Then, when the exchange rate rises, he can exchange it all at once. As he grows, Earth’s value will naturally increase.

Coincidentally, he had also set up a way to duplicate money – the Slime Battery.

10% of the sales proceeds Ilsung earns will be deposited into the guild.

It was a fair price for pioneering a massive market.

Putting the exchange issue aside for now,

He looked at the list of newly stocked items.

[Item List]

[5. (New!) SS-rank Soulbound Skill Book.]

[Required Achievement Points: 1,000]

[6. (New!) Body Potential Amplification Potion]

[Required Achievement Points: 1,200]

[7. Blood Prison Stone

]

[Required Achievement Points: 1,500]

[8. Necromancy Vision Book]

[Required Achievement Points: 3,000]

[9. ???]

[10. ???]

.

.

The four newly unlocked Gold-rank items had brutal prices.

Leaving aside the SS-rank Soulbound Skill Book, he checked the details of the other items.

[Body Potential Amplification Potion]

[Rank: Special]

[Usage Limit: Kim Minwoo]

[Effect 1. Temporarily unlocks Kim Minwoo’s restricted body potential.]

[Effect 2. Applies for only 1 hour.]

‘…What is this?’

Kim Minwoo tilted his head after reading the description. It doesn’t permanently increase his potential, just temporarily unlocks it.

And it only applies for a measly 1 hour.

‘This costs 1,200 points?’

Did they really value a 1-hour unlock at that much?

He pondered deeply.

‘…It might not be completely unreasonable?’

Drinking it would allow him to attempt many things for 1 hour.

First, the Wind Sword Technique.

It was the Sword Saint’s main sword technique.

No matter how much he practiced it, it never registered as a skill. But if he drank this potion, he could try registering it.

Removing the dreadful potential restriction essentially means he could register skills through actions like normal people.

However, there was a variable.

If his restricted potential was unlocked, what exactly was Kim Minwoo’s ‘original potential’?

That was the problem.

When fighting the Dragon Lord, he fully exploited his equipment advantage to slash the Dragon Lord’s potential by half to reveal his swordsmanship potential.

‘That was the highest I had seen.’

Even then, no skill was created.

Simply loosening the restriction was not enough to create skills.

Even if the potion completely removed the restriction, what if his original potential was just average?

‘Then the points would be wasted.’

Unlocking that potential would be meaningless.

Normal people don’t suddenly gain SS-rank skills just from swinging a sword either.

At best, an A-rank skill might be created if he’s lucky.

Of course, the opposite possibility of Kim Minwoo’s potential going berserk once unrestricted was not zero either.

It was either a jackpot or a bust.

‘Setting that aside for now…’

He looked at the other items.

[Blood Prison Stone]

[Rank: Special]

[A round bead that stores blood.]

[Effect 1. Absorbs the blood of desired corpses.]

[Effect 2: When the blood level rises above a certain level, the structure can be changed to ‘Blood Jade’.]

[Effect 3: You can strengthen the undead by putting them inside the Blood Jade. However, the amount and type of blood that each undead can accept is different. (Applicable undead: All)]

‘…Nice.’

Unlike the ambiguous Body Potential Amplification Potion, the limited-sale Blood Prison Stone was purely a high-performance item.

‘It’s similar to the Bone Exchange.’

Blood?

Couldn’t he just dump money into it like bones?

Blood was also an unpopular commodity like bones.

Money can buy anything.

But it had a far better advantage than the Bone Exchange.

‘The applicable range is much wider.’

The Bone Exchange’s range was quite limited.

Only skeletons, bone golems, and Cedric benefit from it. Unfortunately, it didn’t apply to Merhen, Specter, and Dullahan.

It couldn’t be used on undead that didn’t rely on bones.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

That was the Bone Exchange’s downside.

But the Blood Prison Stone was different.

As long as he collected enough blood, he could enhance anything.

Of course, the extent of enhancement was still unknown.

‘Considering it’s 1,500 points and a limited sale, the strengthening will be quite strong.’

Great.

In some ways, it was even more appealing than the SS-rank Skill Book.

Kim Minwoo checked the final item.

[Necromancy Vision Book]

[Rank: Special]

[A book containing the secret techniques of Necromancers.]

[Effect 1: Good things may happen if you read and practice.]

The Vision Book.

Upon seeing it, he roughly understood.

‘It’s similar to a martial arts manual.’

Those usually state that good things can happen according to one’s talent if you read and practice them, like gaining new skills.

‘But it’s meaningless for me…’

Kim Minwoo’s lack of talent was astounding. And it wasn’t just limited to sword techniques.

Even with Necromancer skills, it likely wouldn’t be any different.

But they’re selling it?

That must mean,

‘They want me to drink the Potential Potion?’

No matter how he looked at it, that was the only picture that came to mind.

But the price was outrageous.

To buy the Potential Potion together with the Vision Book would require a whopping 4,200 points.

He couldn’t fathom purchasing them right now.

‘Alright.’

For now, he should buy the limited sale item first.

[Would you like to purchase the Blood Prison Stone?]

“Of course.”

[The Blood Prison Stone has been awarded to you!]

The passionate support of all the world’s SS-rank Necromancers had transformed into the round bead in his hand.

‘I need to buy blood before going to the Orc Gate.’

Just like buying bones, he could bring blood in pouches and pay per liter based on the type.

Since he had this opportunity, he should try to obtain high-quality blood.

* * *

Isabella headed sluggishly towards the Sword Sect.

‘What should I offer him?’

The endless question tormented her mind. Kim Minwoo was right – money held no meaning.

So she had to offer something else.

‘…But nothing I have is an equal trade for his Secret Arts.’

Everything she possessed paled in comparison to his profound skills. Even her ancient-rank equipment was insignificant.

Kim Minwoo was not a martial artist.

Offering those to him would only result in him selling them for money, holding no true value.

The only thing that seemed to hold meaning for Kim Minwoo was…

‘…Should I become a brand ambassador?’

Isabella was well aware of her status in the advertising world. Any product she endorsed was considered the best.

Naturally, she had her own philosophy and pride in that aspect.

The Voltron?

It was a decent vehicle, scoring about 91 out of 100 points, impressive for an East Asian vehicle.

But it wasn’t the world’s best.

Something like the Slime Battery would be a 100 out of 100.

That’s why she had rejected the offer before.

But…

‘No matter how I look at it, he seems to be hung up on that…’

The subtle hint of disappointment.

From her perspective of earnestly desiring something, she couldn’t help but sense that aura.

…What if, instead of just the Voltron, she became the brand ambassador for the entire Ilsung Group? Would Kim Minwoo be satisfied then?

Suddenly, she violently shook her head in shock.

‘What am I even thinking…!’

Not only would it weigh on her conscience, but more importantly, it would be deceiving the consumers who trusted and purchased products based on her endorsements.

“Calm down, Isabella… Don’t let greed consume you.”

She muttered to herself soothingly.

But her eyes wavered slightly, a testament to how impactful the Secret Arts shown by the Fist King had been.

The pure desire to become stronger.

It was so intense that it shook her heart. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been so greedy.

‘But first… that’s not it.’

Surely Kim Minwoo must also desire something, just like her.

It didn’t have to be a brand ambassadorship. There must be other things. It was just a matter of finding them.

As she entered the Sword Sect, she noticed a commotion inside.

Through her translation earpiece, she heard mentions of Kim Minwoo, purchasing, Ilsung Group, dragon, blood, and more.

The news articles she checked on her smartphone corroborated the information.

They were purchasing blood, regardless of type.

And they were willing to pay a premium for dragon’s blood.

‘He needs blood?’

Particularly dragon blood?

She had finally found it.

What he needed!

It felt like a ray of light shining through the darkness.

She had finally figured out what he desired. While dragons were hard to find, it wasn’t impossible.

Of course, simply providing dragon’s blood alone would not be enough to gain such profound enlightenment.

But wasn’t it said that even the longest journey begins with a single step?

By gradually providing what Kim Minwoo wanted, one thing at a time, eventually she too might learn that enlightenment.

‘I need to act quickly…’

At that moment, she saw four familiar-faced elders hurriedly leaving.

Having spent some time at the Sword Sect, she had picked up a bit of Korean.

In her broken Korean, she asked, “Where… are you going?”

The four old men stopped at her question.

Among them, the Fist King answered.

“Hm? Ah, we’re going to make a delivery.”

“…Delivery? Deliver what?”

“Blood. Didn’t Minwoo say he needed it?”

“Minwoo, blood?”

“Yes! Dragon’s Blood!”

Isabella’s eyes widened.

“…A lot?”

“Yup, a lot. We’ve been collecting it here and there. Our inventories are packed full.”

The translated words pierced into Isabella’s mind like thunderbolts.

“…Why?”

Why on earth were they collecting dragon’s blood?

Of course, it wasn’t completely useless. As a byproduct of dragons, it was used here and there.

“Ms. Isabella, we have a saying in the East: foresight. We’ve been preparing for this moment for months.”

Divine Spear answered with a grin.

It wasn’t the ancient dragon they had given him last time. No more dragons of that level had appeared in the Dragon’s Tomb.

However, there were plenty of other dragon bosses.

So whenever they had time, they went to the gate, defeated them, and diligently collected the dragon corpses.

Kim Minwoo’s job was Necromancer.

It wasn’t strange for a Necromancer to need corpses and other byproducts.

All four of them had very high levels, so their inventories were also very large.

Inventory was one of the mysterious byproducts given by the system.

It was superior to Subspace Rings in terms of internal storage. It could even perfectly preserve corpses.

They had worked hard to collect it.

Now it was time to give the gift to Kim Minwoo.

“I, I also need to give…”

“Oh, thank you for your kindness, but there’s no need for you to get involved, Ms. Isabella. We’ve collected plenty on our own. This should be enough for a while, right? You must be tired from driving, so just get some rest today. Make yourself at home here.”

The Fist King replied with a playful tone.

Then, he looked at the old watch on his wrist and shouted,

“Oh my, we’ll be keeping Minwoo waiting too long! Let’s go, brothers!”

If the four of them wanted to, they could reach the Ilsung family home in an instant. And so, the four old men disappeared in a flash.

“Ah…”

Isabella watched their departure with a dazed expression.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]