Damn Necromancer - Chapter 105

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Donzirah Guild’s Necromancer (105)
I returned home and met with Chairman Kim.
“I’ve finished talking with Dorim. We’ve agreed on taking over the production facility, and for the rest—why don’t we invest in the Maseok Battery sector now, Father?”
“The Maseok Battery? It’s certainly a necessary field, as you say, but can we really compete with the United States?”
“Well, even a thousand-league journey begins with a single step. And besides, we’re not starting from nothing—we’re acquiring Dorim’s division.”
“Hmm… what about the price?”
“The operational team will need to review it, of course, but I don’t think we’ll be overcharged.”
Chairman Kim fell into contemplation, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the table.
“Is it a cash flow issue?”
“No. Things are selling like hotcakes these days, so we can manage it easily. But if—assuming we succeed in development—can we really handle the pressure the Americans will bring?”
As Chairman Kim had pointed out, Ilseong alone couldn’t withstand it, even if they developed the technology.
The American pressure would be formidable.
But then again…
If the Donzirah Guild were behind us, things would be different. True, they lack influence over the United States now, but will they always?
“There’s no reason we can’t. Battery development doesn’t happen overnight, so we’ll have plenty of time to prepare.”
“You’re right. I heard Chairman Cho spent money for ten years on this. In the end, he couldn’t beat the American batteries, but…”
“Once we develop it, we can capture that market too. It’ll become a reliable cash cow for Ilseong.”
Chairman Kim nodded in agreement.
His son was right.
The problem was development. But if we succeed?
The demand alone is overflowing.
Everything from Mana Stone vehicles to smartphones, energy storage systems, submarines, all manner of electronics, and satellites.
We could dominate the entire market.
Beyond that, simply being able to use it in Ilseong products was a tremendous advantage.
All else being equal, people naturally prefer products with batteries that last longer, charge faster, and are more durable.
Right now, we can’t do that, which is why Ilseong Phones use American batteries.
And we pay a steep price per unit for the privilege.
‘The fact that Min-woo brought this to me specifically means there’s something here.’
Dorim’s battery division.
Honestly, it wasn’t worth that much on its own. That’s probably why Chairman Cho let it go so readily.
But Dorim had divisions aplenty worth as much or more. So why bring specifically the battery sector?
Time was, he’d have dismissed it as the reckless whimsy of a spoiled young man.
But things were different now.
After everything Min-woo had shown him.
Chairman Kim already had deep faith in his eldest son.
He’d seen what Min-woo could do.
Even if he hadn’t, the boy had likely sensed something and seized on it deliberately.
‘Yes. Let’s give it a try.’
How long could Ilseong keep crawling along on a leash held by America?
Besides, Ilseong had EX-rank and SSS-rank Awakeners as its backbone.
By the time we develop the battery, we might have grown strong enough that even the United States couldn’t easily stop us.
“Very well. We’ll acquire it.”
“You won’t regret it.”
“Good. By the way, the advertisement endorsement—they agreed to both?”
“Yes. They’ll do both.”
“Hah. The per-person rate is quite steep, isn’t it.”
Kim Min-woo nodded.
Five hundred billion per advertisement appearance.
You’d need to be among the absolute elite of the world rankings to command that kind of price.
It seemed Chairman Kim was betting on the future rather than the present.
‘Nothing wrong with that.’
Friendships can blossom through these back-and-forth dealings, after all.
If we tie the guild members to Ilseong one by one this way, when things really take off, Ilseong will be the first to extend its hand.
“I saw them on broadcast. The guild members are truly impressive.”
“They’re SSS-rank, after all.”
“We don’t need to worry about overseas scouts trying to poach them, do we?”
“Well, not right away at least.”
“Good. I trust you’ll handle things wisely.”
The advertisement shoot was scheduled to begin tomorrow.
Better to handle minor business quickly and focus on leveling up.
After leaving the study that way.
I ran into Hyeong-seok.
“Hey, little brother.”
“Hey, hyung. You were killing it out there today?”
“Yeah, thanks for the compliment. By the way, there’s something I need to ask you.”
“A favor? What is it?”
“I have to head back in about a week, right? I need you to go ahead and get settled first.”
“Go back to the United States early? Why?”
“The Skill Books.”
“B-grade already? Really?”
Hyeong-seok’s eyes widened as he asked. The level requirement for a B-grade Skill Book was 251.
Which meant Kim Min-woo’s level had already climbed close to that threshold.
To reach that level only three months after awakening—I knew he was progressing fast, but it really exceeded imagination.
“Yeah. I’ve been sweeping through the Auction House whenever I get the chance, but the inventory keeps drying up. It’s nowhere near enough.”
Korea, as a weak Awakening nation, fundamentally lacked high-tier Awakeners.
Naturally, high-grade Skill Books were in short supply as well.
But the United States was different.
The world’s strongest Awakening power.
The number of B-grade and higher Awakeners was enormous.
Just gathering Skill Books in the United States could, with luck, get a B-grade to 9-Strengthen level.
“You want me to sweep them up for you?”
“Yeah. This isn’t pocket change, you know. If I trusted some random guy with it, he might just take the money and vanish.”
“Fair point.”
He nodded in agreement.
B-grade 9-Strengthen.
That was clearly a job that would run into the trillions.
Even entrusting hundreds of billions felt sketchy, but trillions?
Someone could disappear with the cash and no one would bat an eye. Which was exactly why I’d turned to my brother for this.
He was perfect as a purchasing agent.
Being the one who’d inherit the company, he wouldn’t be tempted to bolt with that kind of money anyway.
And besides, he was family.
‘If I can’t trust him, there’s no one in this world I can trust.’
Convenient that he had to head back to the United States anyway.
If he went first and kept accumulating Skill Books, then handed them over once I arrived, it’d be perfect. He wouldn’t waste time waiting around for new inventory to appear.
“So you want me to get it all to 9-Strengthen?”
“Yeah. I’ve already brought it to 4-Strengthen here.”
“Wow. If you master the Durahans Summoning, just how much stronger do you get?”
“Stronger than before, definitely. Oh, and while you’re at it, could you also gather some Attribute Items?”
“Attribute Items? Oh, that creature that eats items, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll deposit plenty of funds, so just grab whatever you can find.”
The investment execution had come through, so it was time to start raising Ha-yang-i’s attributes too.
With so many high-tier Awakeners in the United States, there should be quite a few decent Attribute Items available.
“Got it. I’ll head out early for something like this. But wait—are you coming to the United States directly? No, actually. I’ll just buy everything myself and swing through Korea one more time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. For an Awakener like you, time is money. I’m just a college student—I can spare the time.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
With his help, it looked like I’d be able to secure the Skill Books without much trouble.
* * *
The next morning.
I headed toward the advertisement set.
I’d heard the concept in passing.
‘An Awakener performance, I think?’
The idea was a nighttime skill-casting performance.
But the background extras in the audience were—
‘Half people, half skeletons.’
Something along those lines.
There shouldn’t be any major censorship issues with it, as far as I could tell.
A Necromancer had appeared on broadcast television more than once before.
While it was an uncommon profession, it had shown up on TV plenty of times.
The same went for the West.
Maggot-ridden zombies or ghouls were one thing, but skeletons didn’t cause much fuss even on television.
To be honest, zombies and ghouls could air too, but it’s a bit awkward when you’re eating.
In that respect, these repulsive Undead were usually pixelated as a matter of course.
Skeletons at least had a cute charm to them, so they could dodge the censor’s blade.
Dressing them up, of all things.
The concept was to outfit the skeletons in everyday clothes just like real people, place one next to each human audience member, and have them wave their phones around like concert attendees.
It might actually work.
It was fresh, at least.
After all, there had to be a company crazy enough to attempt advertising with a Necromancer’s Summoned Creatures.
Usually, companies just recruit attractive male or female Awakeners and run a clean advertisement.
That approach rarely becomes a massive success, but it seldom fails catastrophically either.
This approach, on the other hand?
It was so unconventional that it would either be a roaring success or a complete disaster—nothing in between.
I suddenly remembered something Chairman Kim had said a few months back.
“Once you become famous, people will applaud even if you take a dump.”
Something along those lines, anyway.
Maybe he was right.
My NewTube subscriber count had been climbing steadily.
After yesterday’s Guild Tournament, it reached its peak.
Subscribers broke through seventy million.
Most comments were desperately asking about Cedric and Merchen.
By the way, those two would be the main stars of the advertisement as well.
We arrived at the stadium soon after.
It was a more modest venue than the Sangam Awakener Stadium.
Since we needed to fill the interior with skeletons, filling a place like Sangam was out of the question.
Instead, we rented a reasonably sized stadium.
Seo Ye-rim and Park Si-woo were already waiting inside.
I could see the two of them continuously reading the script they’d been given.
Seo Ye-rim would pull it off just fine on her own.
She was a reasonably famous Awakener.
She had experience shooting a few commercials.
Park Si-woo was the wildcard.
Well, he barely had any lines anyway.
The performance itself was simple.
It wasn’t dancing or singing. Everyone just used their skills to fill the stage as spectacularly as possible.
Then we’d just grab a phone, shout “Ilseong” once, and we’d be done.
“Kim Min-woo! You’ve arrived!”
The director hurried out in his socks to greet me.
He was a renowned director whose market value was second to none in Korea.
“Si-woo, Ye-rim, and my Summoned Creatures are all doing this for the first time, so please take it easy on us.”
“Oh my! Of course! Everyone has a first time! We all understand. Hehe. We can do retakes dozens, no, hundreds of times, so please don’t worry too much.”
Hundreds of times?
Well, surely it won’t take that many.
I summoned the skeletons.
“Go get dressed.”
While thousands of skeletons moved busily about, Cedric also donned his costume—a sleek black suit.
Merchen remained in her dress.
The skeletons then received a brief lesson. Nothing difficult.
All they had to do was wave their phones at the same speed as the person standing beside them.
“Alright, let’s start filming now! Min-woo! Please place the skeletons next to the audience members!”
And so half the audience and half skeletons filled the seats in harmonious arrangement.
“Then let’s begin filming!”
And so—
Filming commenced according to plan.
A dark night.
Brilliant lights burst across the stage.
First, Dolsoe’s form appeared. Park Si-woo sat atop the enormous bone golem’s shoulders.
He then leaped into the air and conjured a Holy Sword.
The Holy Sword traced brilliant white arcs as it slashed through the sky.
The Ilseong logo bloomed magnificently along the blade’s trail.
The crowd roared in response, and the skeletons began waving their Ilseong Phones like fluorescent lights flickering in unison.
Coordinated. Flawless.
Now it was Seo Ye-rim’s turn.
She summoned the Divine Bow and unleashed a rapid barrage of arrows skyward.
Hundreds of arrows arced through the air, descending to trace an enormous shape.
The form of an Ilseong Phone.
Through the screen drawn by arrows, a colossal water dragon emerged—Merchen’s magic, unveiled for the first time today.
An airborne camera caught every angle of Merchen and Cedric astride the water dragon without missing a single frame.
In advertising, an Awakener with Telekinesis is practically indispensable.
They make filming so much easier.
The ground crew were filming just as intensely.
The skeletons and spectators throughout the stadium were recording the two Undead riders on the water dragon with their phones, phones everywhere.
When Merchen and Cedric finally descended.
Park Si-woo was the first to speak, phone in hand.
“Ilseong.”
Seo Ye-rim raised her phone.
“Ilseong.”
This time, Cedric lifted his phone.
―Ilseong.
Merchen’s turn.
―Ilseong.
Kim Min-woo grinned as he held up his phone.
“My joy—Ilseong.”
Then.
“Ahhh! That was absolutely, absolutely wonderful! Absolutely flawless!”
“So we’re done?”
“It was so perfectly perfect! I think it would be really great to shoot just one more time for a comparison take, you know? What do you say we rest for just two minutes and do one more take?”
“……All right.”
“You’re so straightforward! Excellent! One more round, then!”
A brief pause.
Park Si-woo approached with a grin on his face.
“I’ve never done an ad before, but it’s not that hard. This should be wrapped soon, right?”
“Is that so?”
“Yes? Why? The director said it went great.”
“……Look over there for a second.”
Where Kim Min-woo was pointing.
Near where the director sat, dozens upon dozens of premium-grade Mana Potions were stacked.
“Uh…… What’s all that?”
“Isn’t that the mana we’ll need today?”
At those words, Park Si-woo’s face went deathly pale.
Right.
He shouldn’t have opened his mouth.
A hellish all-night shoot began.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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