Damn Necromancer - Chapter 115

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

The Spendthrift Necromancer (115)
Is it really happening?
The arrival of SS-rank Achievements.
The world was in uproar.
Like water overflowing the banks of a dam, SS-rank Achievement Awakeners began appearing one after another among the world’s great Awakening powers.
[United States, SS-rank Achievement Emerges!]
[Germany and France Follow Suit!]
[Japan Releases Official Statement!]
The numbers weren’t large, but the trend was decidedly encouraging.
[World Awakeners Association Agrees to Use ‘Super Rookie’ Title for Those Who Achieve SS-rank Achievement…….]
[New Standard After 50 Years? Strong Possibility of Creating New ‘SS-rank’ Classification System.]
[Current leading theory: Awakeners above Level 1,000 to be classified as SS…….]
Until now, all Awakeners above Level 500 had been lumped together as S-rank Awakeners. But now that Achievement grades had reached SS, there was a pressing need to raise the Level threshold accordingly.
Level 1,000.
A realm reached by only an elite few among Awakeners.
At that point, whether the Achievement grade was SS or not hardly mattered.
The levels accumulated thus far were enough to command respect in themselves.
Such a level accumulation naturally brought with it countless other qualities, from raw potential onward.
Moreover.
Serious discussions about the potential of Necromancers were underway in nations across the globe.
Kkammeok, who had become Korea’s 7-million subscriber—up from 6 million—NewTuber, was riding that wave with a live broadcast.
[Kkammeok Live] ―Is the Age of the Necromancer Really Upon Us?
“Hello, viewers. I’m Kkammeok, hosting today’s Awakener program. And I’ve got to tell you, we have an absolutely extraordinary guest with us. If you don’t know this person in Korea by now, you might as well be a spy. The man with 100 million NewTube subscribers! The world’s greatest Super Rookie as they say! I’m delighted to present Kim Min-woo!”
“Hello. I’m Kim Min-woo.”
In an instant.
Live viewers poured in like a flood.
One million.
Two million.
The viewer count reached 5 million in what felt like moments.
―Wow, seriously
―His entrance, man
―The channel’s grown so much, lol he even got Kim Min-woo as a guest lol
“I did send out feelers, but I never imagined he’d actually accept. With the preliminaries coming up soon…….”
“That’s just something I’m preparing for naturally. Besides, I’ve been enjoying your broadcasts regularly.”
“Ha, this is truly an honor. Thank you so much for making the time despite your busy schedule. Shall we get to the main topic then?”
Kkammeok, turning his attention to Kim Min-woo, spoke.
“The world’s been quite noisy lately. People are asking if the SS-rank era has truly arrived. And you yourself are of that very rank, aren’t you?”
“That’s correct.”
“As an Awakener, what are your thoughts on this current trend?”
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch. That’s what they say.”
“You mean to say that as higher-ranking Awakeners emerge, greater dangers may follow?”
“If Awakeners can reach SS-rank, there’s no reason Gates can’t either.”
“That’s certainly a fair point. The world is actively debating that very topic. And Necromancers have become quite hot as a subject thanks to it.”
Kim Min-woo nodded.
Higher-tier Awakeners had appeared.
Stronger Gates would inevitably follow. Naturally, the question of what profession those who achieved SS-rank Achievements would choose had become unavoidable.
Their career choices would shape the future itself. Kkammeok, glancing sideways at Kim Min-woo, posed the question on everyone’s mind.
“The Necromancer. Just four months ago, when newcomers would ask if they should pursue this profession, the first thing people would ask in return was about their parents’ well-being, you know? It was a career notorious for requiring an astronomical amount of money.”
“That’s true.”
“It was essentially the most fringe of fringe professions, but lately the Necromancer has been drawing considerable attention. Not to mention you, but that fellow from the neighboring country, Liang something, has also put up respectable results. Even a knockoff, as they say, breaking the 47-hour range is certainly…….”
“A workable time frame, no doubt.”
―Lol real talk
―The shockwave from that knockoff was pretty intense lol
―Even a fake can clear the Sword Warrior, apparently lol
“That’s where the debate gets heated. Whether it was possible because of the SS-rank Achievement, or because of the Necromancer class itself. What does Kim Min-woo, the top instructor of the Necromancer community, think?”
“That Liang Xiaojun fellow doesn’t handle a sword well.”
“If he’d been skilled, he would’ve switched to Swordmaster instead?”
“That too. But amateurs show themselves the moment they start walking. You can tell at a glance.”
“Ah, so an incompetent man reveals himself even in his gait. Something like that?”
“Your analogy was quite apt, actually. But Kkammeok, are you going to be alright? Looks like building an audience in China might get rough from here on.”
“Ha, I’m swamped just trying to shower love on everyone watching this live stream. And yeah, I do like kimchi.”
Kkammeok, delighted by the repartee, turned his gaze toward Kim Min-woo.
“So in your assessment, this knockoff Min-woo is a novice with the blade. That’s the impression you’re giving, isn’t it?”
“Well, more or less.”
“Ah, I just have to ask this question. How would it compare if we put it next to Seo Ye-rim?”
“You’re underselling the Divine Archer. I did strike a bit hard back then, but at Ye-rim’s level of swordsmanship, this knockoff would be cut down around seventy exchanges.”
“You’re speaking under the assumption that physical abilities are identical, yes?”
“That’s right.”
―Even so, seventy exchanges against someone called the Divine Archer isn’t half bad?
―Probably, but back in the Swordsealing days, there weren’t many in Korea who could weather fifty exchanges, let alone seventy lol
―The epithet “Swordsealer” didn’t come out of nowhere lol
“With swordsmanship at that level, a forty-seven hour clear? Hmm… if he’d chosen the Swordmaster class, it would’ve taken longer.”
“Are you saying it was only possible to clear in such a short timeframe because he was a Necromancer?”
“Precisely.”
Though there were premises involved, naturally.
That man Liang probably threw considerable money at Level 1.
Had he been a Swordmaster, the investment would’ve been reduced to a quarter of a quarter.
The forty-seven hours was a record achieved through Necromancer plus financial investment.
But there was no real need to emphasize that here.
‘Countries will only look at the clear time anyway.’
Money?
Before Level 100, the investment might barely amount to tens of billions at most.
No power among the Awakener nations could fail to manage that sum.
Once you crossed Level 200 and the investment figures reached tens of trillions, that’s when even they’d begin to break a cold sweat.
But Level 100 or Level 200—
‘It takes months just to reach either milestone anyway.’
A fairly distant future, in other words.
Meanwhile, record challenges or striking performances were something that could be done right now.
From the political establishment’s standpoint, which needed to rack up achievements immediately, it made more sense to deploy some safe SS-rank Swordmaster or Mage and come out with mediocre results, or just go with a Necromancer and pour in three hundred billion won and—
‘—score Isabella and ride the national pride wave?’
After all, China had just waltzed in with impressive credentials.
Wait.
Even though Kim Min-woo hadn’t matched them, the reaction was turning out to be…
…better than expected?
China was actually firing off celebrations, insisting this was just the beginning.
And for good reason—they’d just eliminated France’s Isabella from the equation.
Moreover, the time gap between their record and the current fastest was only within eight hours.
A large gap, certainly, but not an insurmountable dimensional divide.
As Awakeners leveled higher, more and more variables inevitably emerged.
Other nations had already seen China’s example. They’d confirmed that targeting just Isabella was sufficient.
This would be fanning those ambitions a little.
“In your view, does the Necromancer have advantages?”
“Highest potential, I’d say.”
“Highest potential.”
“If both have similar talent at the same level, I’d wager there’s no class that a well-funded Necromancer can’t outpace.”
“True enough. Conversely, though, without money…”
“Then obviously you should pick something else.”
“Is there perhaps some baseline? A certain net worth one should have? Something like that?”
“I’d say it’s convenient to have at least tens of billions in hand. To give an example, enhancing a D-grade Skill Book to the ninth level cost me a trillion won.”
“A, to make one Curse you mean?”
“It shattered at the eighth.”
―lol D-grade is 101 level and you threw trillions at it?
―(Info) Kim Min-woo has a track record of pouring three hundred billion won into Level 1.
―Wow… doesn’t Isabella’s Elixir cost in the trillions?
―High-Grade combined doesn’t quite hit a trillion. The Highest-Grade she ate through a secret agreement so who knows lol
―Kim Min-woo probably consumed up through High-Grade too, so likely spent about the same.
―How much has he spent in total anyway?
―Spending roughly triples with each bracket.
―F-grade three hundred billion. E-grade under a trillion. D-grade under three trillion. C-grade around eight to nine trillion?
―Yeah. Unless the Skill Book itself broke, that’s probably what it costs. For B-grade… the Durahan book alone probably ate ten trillion lol
―Yeah ㅋㅋ bone prices haven’t dropped yet ㅋㅋ Ilsung’s always buying bones ㅋㅋ
―So that’s why you’re always getting investment from the chairman ㅋㅋㅋ the spending’s getting out of hand ㅋㅋㅋ
―(Bizarre) Nearly twenty trillion spent already?
―(Horrified) and we haven’t even bought Highest-Grade Elixirs yet ㄷㄷ
―(Nightmare) but even after spending all that, forty-five trillion’s still left……
―Oh right, he got sixty-five trillion invested? What the ㅋㅋ
―Still, if we just grab one decent Gate, we break even ez ㅋㅋ
Kkammeok, who’d been watching the chat, blinked slowly and turned his gaze toward Kim Min-woo.
‘……Forty-five trillion?’
It was a moment when he viscerally grasped just how staggeringly wealthy the man was.
Meanwhile, Kim Min-woo continued.
“Then I need to equip the skeletons, buy Elixirs, acquire Inherited Skills like I do, and purchase bones—you know, all that. There’s really a lot to spend money on.”
“Is there anything we could compromise on?”
“If you’re going to compromise at the early stages, don’t even attempt it in the first place. If I had to pick something, maybe around B-grade and up would be fine to skip.”
“Ah, the Durahans Summoning skill, right?”
“Right. From that point on, I can pull my weight without spending heavily.”
In other words.
if things looked bad, you could abandon the path starting from Level 251.
From then on, you’d reach a level where you automatically carry your own weight just by learning Durahans—and if you add an SS-rank Skill on top of that?
At minimum, you wouldn’t reach a point where you’d pick Necromancer and then think “I’m screwed.”
It was no different from offering the nations a sweet choice.
Just give it a try once.
Even if it tastes bad, we’ve got ways to fix it.
That was roughly the nuance.
Then.
A breaking news alert appeared.
[United States draws its sword first!]
[John Harrison, SS-rank Achievement Awakener from the United States, has changed his class to Swordmaster!]
[Challenging Liang Xiaojun’s Gate clear record…….]
“There we go. In the middle of our conversation, a second Awaker has undergone class change after Liang Xiaojun! Swordmaster. The safest choice, you’d say.”
The SS-rank Achievement Awakeners who’d appeared across the nations—most of them still hadn’t undergone class change.
“It seems like everyone was just hesitant until now, don’t you think?”
“Looks like it. They couldn’t have been sure whether Necromancer was genuinely that good.”
“Exactly as you said, the United States drew its sword first. If they’re challenging as a Swordmaster, it looks like they want to compare clear times.”
Kim Min-woo nodded.
Someone had to try eventually anyway.
Without another data point, there’d be no way to tell if Necromancer was genuinely superior or if it was just the SS-rank that made it seem powerful.
The United States, already playing the role of big brother among awakened nations with two SS-rank Awakeners to its name, seemed to have stepped forward as an example.
Kkammeok played a video on the screen—John Harrison surrounded by reporters, fielding questions.
“John Harrison also appears to be attempting a 90-point Gate. What’s your take on this, Min-woo?”
“My thought is…….”
* * *
[(Breaking News) Kim Min-woo says Harrison’s in over his head from the start? He mentions the US Gate conquest will take over 60 hours…….]
[John Harrison sharply rebuts and enters the Gate…….]
[60 hours, 2 minutes, 3 seconds! Harrison emerges from the Gate battered!]
[France—at least they held onto their final pride!]
Just as expected.
Kim Min-woo chuckled as he read the article.
John Harrison.
An Awakener who wielded his blade somewhat better than Liang Xiaojun.
‘But same old, same old.’
Did he really think he’d set records at that level?
Against a Necromancer that’d had money dumped into it from the start no less?
“Yeah, cut at the French line.”
The Chinese Necromancer never stood a chance; he got cleanly schooled by the baguette-wielding martial master line and wrapped up with a heartwarming ending.
There was a twelve-hour gap even compared to Isabella.
Not only did the pride of America, once called the strongest nation of Awakeners, collapse, but the fallout didn’t end there.
Precious SS-rank Awakeners.
Nations that hadn’t yet assigned them a class began to move, one after another.
[(Breaking News) Necromancer boom incoming? Majority of SS-rank Awakeners pick Necromancer!]
[Necromancers flooding out across Japan, India, Russia, Canada—everywhere!]
The Achievement scores began copying themselves as a bonus.

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