Damn Necromancer - Chapter 116

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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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Spendthrift Necromancer (116)
Preliminary Contest
The Preliminary Contest crept up faster than expected.
During that time, Kim Min-woo had focused on building his foundation. Most notably, he’d thrown himself into raising the skeleton crafting skill.
‘I’ll find plenty of uses for it down the line.’
Magic Grade Plus Items were only a step below Rare Grade.
Special summons like Cedric or Merchen were another matter entirely.
For the rest, simply equipping them with crafted gear was far easier on both body and mind than anything else.
As a bonus, he’d leveled up Alchemy too. Skeleton Apprentice Blacksmiths and alchemist squads.
They were a form of specialized summon, each equipped with techniques related to their own function.
The effect revealed itself quickly.
[Skeleton Apprentice Blacksmith 3 gains a sudden epiphany!]
[Shared experience!]
[All hammering becomes more skillful!]
[Apprentice Blacksmith 143 gains…….]
Before, he’d make ten items and be lucky if nine turned out Normal Grade with maybe one Magic Grade piece.
‘Now I’m pulling two or three without even trying.’
And that was before the sudden epiphanies in between.
Thanks to that, his proficiency was rising at a remarkable pace.
All from just a week of grinding.
[Dwarven Crafting Method has grown to D!]
[Elven Alchemy has grown to D!]
Both equipment crafting and alchemy had reached D-rank.
“Oh, we finally got there?”
Inside the underground forge.
Thousands of skeletons turned to look at him all at once.
“Alright, let’s make you all some gear. We’ll use these materials.”
Snap!
The tireless skeletons launched into another round of labor.
Thousands upon thousands of equipment pieces emerged.
[Items with matching resonance are gathering!]
[A new Set Item Recipe is registered!]
[You possess Dwarven Crafting Method!]
[The Apprentice Blacksmiths gain new insight!]
[Set Items are being constructed as Plus items!]
[1. Blue-backed Iron Armor Set (+)]
[2. Skilled Mage’s Wanderer Set (+)]
Kim Min-woo’s eyes lit up as he read the messages.
‘Finally, the recipe unlocked.’
Once he’d reached D-rank, the recipe effect had activated.
Recipe.
It was the alpha and omega of crafting.
The effect was simple.
When you crafted an item registered in the recipe, you gained bonus effects.
In the case of Set Items like now.
‘They’d be treated as a proper set.’
What if you made a Set Item without a recipe?
They’d all be treated as individual items.
You wouldn’t receive the set effect.
Individual items could also grant special effects during crafting once registered in a recipe.
That’s why recipes were the closest thing to secret techniques for craftspeople.
Usually you’d find them through ancient texts inside Gates, or seek out a master and learn by transmission.
‘But sometimes you can discover them through crafting itself.’
However, finding recipes through crafting alone required considerable effort.
For Set Items especially, you had to craft every single piece with matching resonance before the recipe registered.
The process of finding materials with ‘matching resonance’ was particularly grueling.
Head, chest, legs, feet, hands.
Sets usually consisted of these five pieces.
Monster A byproducts for gloves, Monster B byproducts for the chest piece, Monster C byproducts for the boots…….
You had to hunt down each combination before it would register as a Set Item.
‘This is going to be a monumental grind.’
But the bigger problem was that even if he happened to craft items that could form a set…
‘The recipe doesn’t always register all at once.’
Then the crafter would simply proceed without knowing any better.
Thinking maybe that wasn’t it after all.
This was why most set items in circulation came from monster drops.
Figuring out the crafting recipe was too much of a hassle.
The saving grace was that since the game had been such a cesspool, Kim Min-woo retained quite a few recipes in his memory.
He’d discovered some in-game, and beyond that, user guides often revealed information.
‘Not all of them, but…’
The ones worth using, the ones called masterpieces.
He remembered the recipes for all those items.
The two sets he’d just registered were like that.
Level restriction: 101.
The skeletons could equip them right away.
And thanks to the Dwarven Crafting Method, he’d achieved the remarkable effect of turning all the set items into Plus items.
[Blue-backed Iron Armor Set]
[Grade: Magic+]
[Set Item Effect]
[1. Strength, Vitality +60]
[2. Iron Armor Defense (C) usable]
[Skilled Mage’s Wanderer Set]
[Grade: Magic+]
[Set Item Effect]
[1. Magical Power +100]
[2. Magic Shield (C) usable]
‘Oh.’
Kim Min-woo let out an impressed sound as he read the set item effects listed in the recipe.
The Iron Armor Set.
Originally, when you collected it all, it only raised Strength and Vitality by 30 each.
But the numbers had doubled, and on top of that, an additional skill had appeared.
It seemed like it had gone from a simple Magic item set to a Plus set with additional effects.
The Wanderer Set had undergone the same kind of transformation.
‘If Equipment Mastery stacks on top of this…’
A 20% boost to item stats.
At this point, the skeletons wouldn’t just be thugs—they’d be outright gangsters.
‘The mage will hit level 100 before long.’
He’d equip the mage set then. While the skeletons kept diligently crafting items.
“Ha-yang-i, let’s eat.”
—Caw.
Ha-yang-i fluttered over, and he saw her draining the attributes from the items.
[Summoning the status window of Divine Beast Ha-yang-i!]
[Name: Ha-yang-i]
[Species: Seven-colored Bird]
[Attributes held: Ice 20%, Fire 10.2%, Wind 10.31%, Lightning 10.11%, Earth 10.23%]
‘She’s come a long way.’
Not just Ice, but the other attributes had climbed to around 10% as well.
‘I did invest a lot of money.’
Getting four attributes to 10% cost him roughly four trillion won, maybe?
Of course, it was worth every penny.
10% was a number you couldn’t dismiss. Against enemies weak to those elements, the damage would spike all the way to 20%.
And if overlapping attacks stacked on top of that?
It’d be absolutely devastating.
‘At this point, the preparation is done.’
The Preliminary Contest was approaching fast.
After that ended, the next thing would be…
Kim Min-woo stared intently at the Mysterious Necklace.
Continent Salvation.
An S+ Grade Gate.
He’d already fulfilled the entry level requirement of 251 long ago. His plan was to stop by the Heavenly Auction House and head straight in.
There’s quite a bit to gain here.
‘An accessory paradise.’
Necklaces.
And then there’s the Four Apostles’ Ring, still missing pieces I haven’t collected yet.
Loot was waiting.
* * *
“Big brother!”
Na-ye came running and wrapped her arms around one of his legs. He met her eyes.
“I heard about you at kindergarten today. I cheered you on!”
He lifted Na-ye up and asked her.
“Really?”
“Yeah! When I said it was you, the teacher and everyone said you were really amazing!”
Only one day remained until the Preliminary Contest.
Beyond the state designating the participants, there was no particular format to speak of.
‘Usually in situations like this…’
There was a high probability that the designated participants would be dragged off somewhere on the day itself.
‘And the tournament would begin that way.’
The date had drawn so near that it was even being discussed at the kindergarten Na-ye attended.
Shortly after, Chairman Kim and Mrs. Choi approached.
“Go safely. Take care of yourself.”
“Your ranking doesn’t matter at all to me, just come back without getting hurt. You understand, right?”
“I’ll be careful.”
Kim Min-woo nodded.
The details of the Preliminary Contest had spread long ago. Even the clause stating that death was possible and the responsibility fell on the individual. It was perhaps natural that worry followed.
‘But there’s no option not to participate anyway.’
Awakeners are a profession where you risk your life. If you get spooked at this, you can’t do anything.
“You’ll come back soon, right?”
“Of course. You stay well while I’m gone. Don’t eat too much meat.”
“Okay! I’ll eat lots of vegetables too!”
Kim Min-woo let out a small laugh.
Sure.
This morning he’d watched her push the bell pepper to the edge of her plate.
But it was cute enough to let slide.
After exchanging farewells with his family.
He stepped outside the house.
He headed for the Guild Headquarters.
Numerous journalists were already stationed there. After joining his team, he did interviews with the reporters and waited in the building.
Soon a message appeared.
[You are a participant designated by ‘Korea’.]
[You are participating in the Preliminary Contest!]
[Your number is 123!]
The scenery before his eyes shifted.
Fifty participating nations.
Three Awakeners dispatched per nation.
A total of 150 people stood positioned on the Barren Plain.
It seemed everyone had already mentally prepared themselves, as no one showed great panic. They merely whispered quietly among their respective teammates.
Strangely, all the different languages were being converted to Korean so he could hear them.
“Seems like all foreign languages are being interpreted?”
“Yeah.”
They wouldn’t be providing interpretation just for nothing.
‘They probably thought we might need to talk to each other.’
Then, a sharp gaze stabbed from somewhere. The cluster of Chinese Awakeners was staring directly at him.
They all looked familiar.
Awakeners in the 400-level range belonging to the Jiulong Guild. These were the ones who would establish themselves as China’s secondary banner-bearers when the mid-stages arrived over time.
Among them, one with a yellow mohawk stepped forward.
‘His name was… Liu Wei, wasn’t it?’
An Awakener with the uncommon job of Druid.
He was a Chinese Awakener who had made quite a name for himself by shapeshifting into various animals to fight.
The man spat on the ground and spoke.
“Are you Kim Min-woo?”
“Why ask if you already know?”
“Arrogant bastard. An Awakener from a minor nation dares to disparage our Jiulong Guild members?”
He laughed mockingly.
“Lecturing us about fakes? That’s rich.”
“Now listen here, you little—”
The atmosphere turned hostile.
Every foreign Awakener’s gaze converged on the scene.
After all, there was nothing in the world quite as captivating as a good fight.
The Chinese Awakeners reached for their weapons.
Park Si-woo and Seo Ye-rim, their eyes narrowed, drew theirs as well.
The situation hung on a knife’s edge.
Then it happened.
Whoooosh—!
Wind gathered in empty air, coalescing into a tangible form.
The violent gust of pressure sent Liu Wei and the other Chinese Awakeners spinning around.
Kim Min-woo’s gaze snapped to the same direction.
‘Hm?’
“What in the—”
Seo Ye-rim gasped.
Kim Min-woo’s eyes narrowed too.
The bear doll they’d met during the trial grounds.
That very same bear doll was now hovering in mid-air.
—Ahem! Delighted to see you. I am the great Evaluator, the distinguished Popo.
Arms crossed, Popo surveyed the Awakeners below with undisguised arrogance.
“What is this now?”
“A… bear doll?”
The Chinese contingent spoke with furrowed brows.
—Quiet! Who dares speak during my explanation, Popo’s explanation?!
Eyes wide, the bear doll glared at the assembled Awakeners, then fixed its gaze squarely on Liu Wei.
—Number 73. That’s a warning. Zip it.
“You warn me? What exactly are you going to—Gaack!”
Liu Wei, who’d been running his mouth, flew through the air in an instant.
He tumbled across the distance and crashed to the ground, bile spilling from his lips as though he’d taken a direct blow to the gut.
Popo, now hovering before Liu Wei, delivered the warning in measured tones.
—There won’t be a second one.
Liu Wei, vomiting and weeping in panic, nodded frantically. Seeing this, the foreign Awakeners’ faces twisted into wicked smiles.
‘Show disrespect to an unknown entity?’
‘These fools don’t even know the basics.’
Everyone gathered here was a seasoned veteran.
Underestimating an opponent based on appearance was one of the gravest mistakes an Awakener could make—yet the Jiulong Guild members had done exactly that.
Excessive national pride and an air of contempt: these were hallmarks of Chinese Awakeners, particularly those from Jiulong.
They’d earned a brutal lesson right from the start. The previously amused Awakeners’ expressions hardened as they studied Popo.
‘As expected. They had a hidden card.’
‘Best not to rush in.’
No one had seen what actually happened.
Whatever this creature was, one thing became abundantly clear: beneath that adorable exterior lay something utterly monstrous.
—Ahem!
Popo cleared its throat again, striking a pose as it hovered in the air.
—Numbers one through one hundred fifty! You’re extraordinarily fortunate. Normally, the system’s grace hardly ever reaches such a low-level dimension as this… er… so…
The creature’s confident tone shriveled in an instant.
Their eyes locked.
And at the end of that gaze stood Kim Min-woo.
‘W-what?’
He’d heard that a preliminary contest had been assigned to the lowest dimension.
‘That… that human’s planet?’
Popo’s eyes trembled visibly.

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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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