Damn Necromancer - Chapter 106

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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 (106)
The exhausting advertisement shoot had finally wrapped. The crew filed out looking utterly drained.
“You all worked incredibly hard! Absolutely perfect!”
Next to the Director snapping finger guns sat a line of empty potion bottles.
As they made their way out of the film set.
Park Si-woo let out a tired sigh, his tongue lolling slightly as he spoke.
“Commercials really aren’t easy, are they?”
“You’re getting paid five hundred billion. You should expect some hard work.”
“That’s true, but… it doesn’t feel real, you know? Five hundred billion just for this? I’m not sure I deserve this much money……”
“You’ll get used to it.”
At Kim Min-woo’s words, the boy nodded and turned his gaze toward Seo Ye-rim.
“Ye-rim.”
“Hmm?”
“What are you planning to do with your money?”
“Well, I’ll donate some to Geomhaegak…… and save the rest. I’ll need it when the time comes to buy equipment.”
“The guild supplies all our equipment though.”
“True, but there are limits. Good equipment that lasts long-term is hard to come by.”
“Yeah, that’s definitely tough to find.”
Equipment worth wearing for years to come.
Items that were difficult to obtain even with money were commonly called Luxury Equipment.
Typically, this referred to gear rated Legend Grade or higher.
Such items were usually traded quietly among those in the know, or otherwise controlled by governments to prevent export.
You planning to sell that?
What, you couldn’t find a buyer among our country’s Awakeners?
Then we’ll pay fair market price—just sell it to our government.
What? You won’t sell?
You want to watch our nation fall to ruin?
Such brutal pressure was common. It was possible precisely because Gates represented a real, tangible threat.
Most of the time things stayed quiet, but when one happened to break open, countless lives were lost.
Good equipment could make a crucial difference in such situations.
Naturally, governments had to control exports to some degree.
Of course, those who obtained equipment could keep quiet and secretly smuggle it overseas.
If successful, they could fetch far higher prices than the official rate.
‘But it’s not easy, is it.’
Individuals rarely came by such equipment—usually Guilds or organizations obtained them.
Even if they kept it quiet, there was always the risk of exposure as time passed.
And if it came to light?
First came the public backlash.
It wasn’t as if the government wasn’t offering fair prices!
They paid proper rates, yet you sold your nation’s security for greed?
Something along those lines.
There was one exception: listing items at the Heavenly Auction House.
Each nation could register a set number of items to gain participation rights in the Auction House.
If a nation failed to register items?
Its citizens didn’t receive invitations.
That was actually a disadvantage.
Our nation needs archer-related equipment, but we only have warrior gear?
Rather than stupidly hoarding it, wouldn’t it be better to list it, participate in the Auction House, and acquire archer equipment instead?
And since the Heavenly Auction House is fundamentally a stage where money talks—
‘Wealthy developed nations naturally have the advantage.’
So listing items at the Heavenly Auction House wasn’t censured even if discovered.
Advanced nations even encouraged it.
Awakeners benefited from selling expensive items at low commission rates.
Nations benefited from gaining participation rights.
The listed items would be sold to wealthy Awakeners at the Auction House, who would then repurchase them for their countries.
Though of course, nations couldn’t buy everything back. Even the United States couldn’t manage that.
The sums involved were simply too vast.
Essentially, they relentlessly repurchased only items considered ‘critical equipment.’
‘Necromancer gear should be relatively easy to acquire, I’d think.’
After all, not many people used it, and few Awakeners could fully maximize the performance of such equipment.
There’s no compelling reason for a nation to throw money at this with eyes wide open.
‘The real problem will be finding swordsman and archer equipment.’
But those two classes were among the most mainstream professions.
Getting gear for them would cost serious money.
Every other nation would be scrambling just as frantically to secure mainstream-class equipment first.
“If we do end up going to the Heavenly Auction House this time, I’ll try to acquire swordsman and archer equipment for us.”
“……The Heavenly Auction House?”
Seo Ye-rim’s eyes widened as she asked.
She nodded in understanding a moment later.
“Right. With your wealth and reputation, you might actually qualify for an invitation. There’s a real chance you could receive one…….”
“Exactly! Someone like you should definitely get invited, shouldn’t they?”
“Well, we’ll see. Nothing’s certain yet.”
“But do you think we can actually acquire what we need? The price range for our equipment has to be enormous…….”
“We may not be able to get everything, but we should be able to secure several pieces.”
The Awakeners participating in the Heavenly Auction House—their backing came from nations.
A nation was essentially an organization.
As such, there were numerous considerations when it came to purchasing items.
How to allocate and distribute purchases across each class, how to maintain fairness, how much money could be spent at auction without inciting serious public discontent—there were countless factors to weigh.
An enormous amount to consider.
You couldn’t simply throw around astronomical sums blindly just because something was a Legend Grade item.
Roughly speaking, standardized price points were already established for each item.
Bid higher than that?
Then the money had to come from somewhere.
Usually, it was taxes.
Naturally, that meant public discontent.
But him?
A wealthy individual.
Someone who could pour unlimited money into a single item without anyone raising objections.
‘Of course, even I can’t spend excessively without consequences…….’
In any case, he had far greater flexibility in terms of maneuverability than any nation could manage.
It was a battle worth fighting.
‘And my money will only grow soon enough.’
There were countless ways to generate more funds.
When one’s hands are already dirty, the methods multiply.
“……If I actually end up participating in the Heavenly Auction House, I’ll transfer all the money I received this time to you.”
“Me too, hyung. It’s not much, but…….”
“We still don’t know if I’ll participate or not…….”
It was just as Kim Min-woo said this.
Suddenly, a golden ticket materialized in his hand.
[Condition achieved!]
[You have received an invitation to the Heavenly Auction House!]
“Huh?”
He examined the item.
[Heavenly Auction House Ticket]
[Grade: Special]
[A ticket that allows you to participate in the Heavenly Auction House while in possession.]
[Effect 1. You may enter the Heavenly Auction House on May 5th.]
Both Seo Ye-rim and Park Si-woo stared at the ticket in Kim Min-woo’s hand, their eyes widening in shock.
“That’s…….”
“A Heavenly Auction House Ticket, isn’t it?!”
“Yeah. They’re sending this already?”
It was currently early March.
He’d heard tickets were usually distributed starting in April, but he’d received his invitation nearly a month early.
‘Is it because of the sixty trillion investment?’
That was probably why the financial condition had been satisfied.
But as for fame…….
‘The advertisement hasn’t even aired yet, has it?’
The impact of the guild tournament he’d participated in must have been that significant.
Significant enough that his fame condition was already satisfied, despite the global advertisement campaign not yet having been released.
‘That’s true.’
Seventy million YouTube subscribers isn’t something you can just ignore.
As for his level.
‘It’s a bit low, sure, but the guy’s got guts, doesn’t he?’
Either way, getting it early wasn’t a bad thing.
“We’ll deposit everything we received this time.”
I looked at Seo Ye-rim and Park Si-woo.
Watching the two of them announce, with such determined faces, that they’d deposit five hundred billion won—I couldn’t help but laugh.
Yeah, well.
For the two of them, it’s a substantial sum. Or honestly, it’s a substantial sum for most Awakeners.
Combined, one trillion won.
It was enough to hunt down some decent Legend Grade items.
‘What should I switch out for them…….’
Accessories seemed like they’d be a tough sell.
Look, I’m sorry, but accessories are seriously expensive.
‘I think it’d be good to swap out some of their equipment.’
Both of them were currently stacked with Rare Grade gear. If I just threw in one Legend Grade item, their combat power would skyrocket.
Nearly Commander Sword level firepower.
“You two better be grinding levels while I’m gone.”
“Where are you going, hyung?”
“Yeah. Looks like I need to take a trip overseas.”
“……Overseas?”
Kim Min-woo nodded.
April was when the Super Rookie Selection Tournament took place.
Once that happened, you’d get invited to the Heavenly Auction House in less than a week.
‘The only time to make up the schedule gap is right now.’
In other words, I had to rake in serious cash during March if I wanted to make waves at the Heavenly Auction House.
Since this was an event that only happened once a year, I needed to squeeze every last drop of profit out of it.
Sixty trillion felt a bit short.
A decent accessory drops?
You’re jumping past the trillions with ease.
‘If it’s not enough, I’ll just copy some more.’
So that’s exactly what I was planning to do—go money-duping.
* * *
[(Breaking) Il-Sung Phone ads sweep the globe! Pre-order volume surpasses five million units…….]
[(Breaking) Il-Sung Phone takes over New York Times Square!]
[(Breaking) Donzirah Guild advertising model fee estimated in the trillions?]
[(Breaking) Advertising costs already recouped! Il-Sung celebrates!]
.
.
―This is insane. The Il-Sung Phone price went up 50% from the last version, and the pre-order volume is what now? Seriously? At this price point, it’s competing with Apple prices.
―Il-Sung’s been going all premium lately anyway, right? Looks like they’re going high-end with the phone too this time. Apple’s probably making a killing off it ㅋㅋㅋ
―And it’s still selling like this ㅋㅋ
―The ad looked really slick though. The clunky design got cleaned up. And that skull logo on the back seems to be a big deal. It already has a nickname overseas.
―A nickname?
―Skeleton Phone ㅋㅋ They’re shortening it to Skel-Phone ㅋㅋ
―The specs are seriously pushed up too. Actually better than Apple phones in some ways ㅋㅋ
―Wasn’t pre-order volume usually considered good at over a million? Starting at five million? Kim Min-woo syndrome is seriously insane;
―Park Si-woo and Seo Ye-rim were pulling their weight too though? The ad was pretty cool ㅋㅋ
―Does everyone not know Merchen’s a carry on this? Honestly.
―For real ㅋㅋ The US magic community is in an uproar right now ㅋㅋ Solo player stealing all the attention ㅋㅋ
―So what if it’s in an uproar~ Can’t do magic, that’s the fact ㅋㅋ
―Did you not feel anything watching the Water Dragon summon? It’s just a different tier ㅋㅋ
―For real ㅋㅋ
―Mages? All cut down to Kim Min-woo’s summon tier ㅋㅋ
―Looking at it this way, it really is becoming grand. That rascal channel’s subscriber count even hit over 100 million with the ad. Is Kim Min-woo’s era finally really coming? ㄷㄷ
―100 million ㅋㅋ Twice the population of Korea ㅋㅋㅋ
―(True story that’s scary) This is a newbie who just awakened three months ago ㄷㄷ
―Three months? And we thought it was thirty years ㅋㅋㅋ This is actually crazy
―We’re living in the age of Kim Min-woo…….
―But what’s the Donzirah Guild doing? Aren’t they supposed to be raising their level?
—Park Si-woo and Seo Ye-rim went to the Gate alone. But where the hell did Kim Min-woo go?
—Is he out hunting Hidden Gates again?
Then.
A breaking news alert popped up.
[(Breaking News) Kim Min-woo Leaves the Country? Destination Reported to Be Saudi Arabia!]
—Huh?
—Saudi Arabia?
—Why the hell would he suddenly go to the oil kingdom?
—No clue?

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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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