Damn Necromancer - Chapter 127

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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 Extravagant Necromancer (127)
Raid
The moment Ifrax revealed himself, the Awakeners shuddered.
‘Can we actually take him down?’
Setting aside the sheer size and grotesque appearance,
a pressure so overwhelming descended upon them that breathing became difficult.
What they called a difference in class.
That was precisely the gap between Ifrax and themselves.
If that massive explosion hadn’t detonated, they would still be standing there dazed, staring at the monster.
Whoosh!
The brilliance was so intense that it was nearly impossible to open one’s eyes and face it directly.
―Kuooooo!
A cry of agony tore free. Several of the creature’s enormous eyes burst open, ruptured and collapsed.
‘It works!’
The Light Bomb—the crucial item of their strategy. It was proving devastatingly effective against Ifrax as well.
Hope flickered in the eyes of Awakeners who had been drowning in fear.
‘If this keeps up…….’
‘We have a real shot.’
Eleven bombs still remained.
By Kim Min-woo’s calculation, their odds were sound. Mana stirred through the Awakeners’ bodies.
Forty-two in total—that was the count.
Awakeners each accomplished in their own right, drawn from nations across the globe, which meant their skill composition was abundant.
Shimmer!
Buffs crashed down from all directions.
[Thomson casts Light Blessing (S)!]
[Party members’ weapons gain light attribute…….]
[Sophia uses Mana Inscription (S)!]
[Party members’ Mana recovery speed…….]
[Victor channels Battle Cry (A)…….]
[Party members’ Damage…….]
Taken individually, the effects were hardly overwhelming.
But when ten, twenty such buffs stacked atop one another, the story changed entirely.
Kim Min-woo belonged to this group as well, and he was reaping the benefits of the cascading buffs in full.
‘This is why we raid.’
As one climbed toward higher-tier Gates, there was a reason parties went in with twenty, thirty members.
A well-composed team transformed raw strength into something else entirely.
Exactly like this moment.
And the buffs still weren’t finished.
[‘Law of Victory’ activates!]
[All Ability Scores increase by 150%!]
[All Damage increases by 150%!]
A whopping 150% increase.
‘That’s a high Level.’
At bare minimum, the mid-1700s.
Definitely an elevated Level.
Low enough that Awakeners below Level 500 would feel fear the moment they saw it—no question there.
Then it happened.
As though black ink had been poured across a blank white canvas, Ifrax’s pupils turned pitch black.
―Bow before me…….
A bizarre voice echoed through their minds.
“Urgh!”
Thomson clutched his head.
The surrounding Awakeners were all in the same condition. Thought itself grew sluggish, as though fog had settled over their brains.
“……Achoo!”
A sudden sneeze shattered the spell, and clarity snapped back into the Awakeners’ minds.
Cold sweat drenched Thomson’s back.
‘That was close.’
Even after draining three types of Potion, he’d nearly lost consciousness. The power of mental attacks was more formidable than expected.
If they dragged this out, destruction awaited.
“Kill it!”
Awakeners and Undead surged toward Ifrax all at once.
―Vermin…….
Two long tentacles burst from the clustered mass of eyes.
Tentacles that descended like fly swatters.
“Scatter!”
The Awakeners dispersed in all directions.
Crash!
The floor caved inward under the tremendous size and weight.
Skeletons and Dullahans caught off-guard vanished in an instant, unsummoned.
Magic, arrows, and thrown weapons began pelting Ifrax’s eyes.
Kim Min-woo charged forward as well.
‘End this fast.’
He could hold out against the mental assault with Potions, but not forever.
This was a race against time.
Just as he began closing in.
Suddenly, all of Ifrax’s eyes snapped toward him.
Hundreds of eyeballs fixing on him with a stare that rivaled any horror film.
[You are currently dealing the most damage to Ifrax!]
[Ifrax is targeting Kim Min-woo!]
―You too…… shall suffer pain…….
[Ifrax casts a curse on Kim Min-woo!]
[Curse of Pain (SS) activates!]
[For 2 hours, a portion of the damage Ifrax receives will be redirected to Kim Min-woo!]
[Curse of Ruin (SS) activates!]
[For 2 hours, Kim Min-woo’s Strength and Stamina decrease by 50%!]
[Curse Explosion (SS) activates!]
[If the curse’s target dies within 2 hours, the same curse spreads to two random party members!]
Kim Min-woo’s eyes narrowed.
The loss of Strength and Stamina wasn’t the real problem.
The inflated stats from buffs were enough to absorb it.
The real threat was the damage redirect and Curse Explosion.
‘If I die, two others get it.’
If those two die, four more.
If those four die, eight.
It was a devastatingly cruel mechanism.
The Awakeners hammering Ifrax’s body rolled their eyes in horror.
They were sharing the messages too, so they understood exactly how this would play out.
‘What kind of curse is this?’
If Kim Min-woo died mid-fight, everyone was wiped out.
What were they supposed to do?
“Keep attacking! Don’t worry about it!”
Kim Min-woo shouted.
A full two hours of duration.
If they held back out of fear of the damage redirect, a total wipe was guaranteed.
“Damn it!”
The Awakeners gritted their teeth and pressed the assault.
Seo Ye-rim hurried over to him. “How much damage is being redirected to you?”

“About 5%? Hack—!”
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Seo Ye-rim’s face went rigid.
The redirect ratio itself wasn’t enormous.
The problem was Ifrax’s health pool itself. To put it simply: from now on, Kim Min-woo had to absorb 5% of all damage Ifrax took.
Sure, 5% sounds manageable.
But 5% of a Raid Boss’s health pool?
That was basically a death sentence.
Even the continuous onslaught from the Awakeners alone was making him cough blood.
What would happen when he unleashed the Light Bomb, which dealt far more damage?
“Hold off on the bomb for now…….”
“I can’t do that.”
Kim Min-woo drained a Premium Recovery Potion in haste and spoke with resolve.
“We never planned to go that far in the first place. We need to finish this quickly.”
They were barely managing the mental assault with potions that dulled the pain, but it was only a temporary measure at best. After just one hour, problems would cascade.
Every Awakener would be dead.
That wasn’t a solution.
‘In the end, I have to endure the explosive damage myself.’
Death Load was said to grant immunity to light attacks, but this curse transfers the damage dealt itself—immunity wouldn’t apply.
The odds were heavily against it.
What he needed was overwhelming healing.
An item came to mind immediately.
“Then how will you hold out? Even premium potions won’t be enough…….”
“Ye-rim. Have you forgotten what the shop sells?”
“……Do you have a million points?”
“Yes.”
Color returned to Seo Ye-rim’s face.
Elixir.
She too had unlocked the VIP Shop, so she’d read the item description before.
A recovery item that lasted a full seventy-two hours. The price of a million points was brutally steep.
‘With that, I might actually be able to endure this…….’
Of course, since the Elixir provided steady recovery rather than explosive healing, it wouldn’t cover every bit of burst damage that came in…….
‘I just need to regulate the damage taken.’
By carefully balancing the Elixir’s healing against the incoming damage, he could make it work.
With Kim Min-woo’s ability, it was entirely possible.
Hadn’t he proven it already?
In that moment.
Kim Min-woo summoned Popo.
―You called…… Wait, why on earth are you waking me up like this……!
“Elixir. Now.”
―Y-yes, right away! Best of luck!
Popo, who had been startled at the sight of Ifrax, needed no further explanation—as if understanding at once, he quickly handed over the Elixir and snapped a salute.
[Elixir]
[Grade: Special]
[A recovery potion crafted from mysterious ingredients. Legend says it can even resurrect the dead.]
[Effect 1. Upon consumption, all recovery is maximized for seventy-two hours.]
‘Good thing I saved the points.’
Two hundred thousand points remaining when the first trial ended.
Add another eight hundred thousand from defeating the dark mage and priest. He’d had nearly a million points left over.
He’d considered buying a few more Light Bombs then but decided against it. Eleven felt like enough damage output.
‘And if it’s not enough, I can just summon the shop again and buy more, anyway.’
So he’d held back.
That restraint had just become his ace.
A potion shimmering with golden light.
Gulp.
Kim Min-woo swallowed the contents.
[Elixir consumed!]
[All recovery maximized for seventy-two hours!]
His health, which had been draining away like an ebbing tide, suddenly surged upward as if he’d doped himself.
“……How is it?”
“It’ll work. Let’s proceed as planned.”
Points were divine, and the Elixir was invincibility itself. Add to that the premium potions and the blood vampire’s regenerative ability…….
‘I can hold.’
Even if he unleashed Light Bombs and hammered damage, he knew he could endure.
* * *
Tremendous power dwelling in his flesh.
Hardened skin.
Devastating mental assaults and total annihilation from hundreds of massive tentacles.
Ifrax was undeniably powerful.
‘But even so.’
Numbers always win in the end.
Boom!
Every step unleashed a bomb worth five hundred thousand points, detonating whenever it pleased.
No matter how much the creature tried to evade, there was no escaping the blast radius entirely.
The monster thrashed about, its entire body laced with cracks.
‘It’s over.’
Together with the guild members, he’d hurled ten Light Bombs in total.
The creature’s body, suspended in mid-air, plummeted to the ground as if it could no longer endure the punishment.
And now, weakened thoroughly by the barrage, slashes from every Awakener poured down upon it.
Attacks that wouldn’t normally land found purchase now—softened by the bombardment.
“Die!”
Knights’ greatswords pierced its eyes; towering shields came down hard on its tentacles.
High-tier magic descended from all sides.
Seo Ye-rim and Park Si-woo dealt their own surge of damage.
[The Divine Archer declares Lethal Zone!]
[It will hold for twenty minutes!]
[Agility increased by 50%.]
[Mana arrows generated three times as abundantly!]
[The Holy Swordsaint declares Holy Ground!]
[It will hold for twenty minutes!]
[All Ability Scores increased by 20%.]
[Holy attribute rises by 50%!]
The weapons of the Hero Party.
Their power was incomparable to the ordinary arms of other Awakeners.
Kim Min-woo, too, steadily accumulated damage.
Ha-yang-i’s fire attribute resonance.
Damage and Ability Scores inflated by the Law of Victory.
Stacked attacks layered with buffs that clung to his body.
His damage alone was substantial, and he had his assistants besides.
[Merchen uses Earth Binding!]
[Cedric uses Shadow Spear…….]
Merchen and Cedric.
Between them alone, their damage rivaled that of the guild members.
And beyond them came the Dullahan, the Specter, and swarms of Skeletons, all unleashing their assault.
While their absolute damage output wasn’t high, they excelled at drawing aggression away from the Awakeners and soaking up attacks in their stead.
‘They’re pulling their weight as meat shields.’
The raid proceeded smoothly despite his deliberate restraint, thanks to the number of eyes on the field.
‘Thorough preparation made the difference.’
He’d poured everything into this single hunt. Without it, defeat would have been certain.
After all, this wasn’t a monster he’d been set to hunt from the start.
Hadn’t Popo himself flinched at the sight of Ifrax?
The reason for recommending Light Bombs was likely connected to the dark mage.
‘Had I known we’d be hunting Ifrax, I might’ve suggested an Elixir instead.’
Either way.
Weaving between the tentacles, he plunged inward and hurled the last Light Bomb.
The instant the light erupted.
“Cough.”
Blood spattered from his mouth as the five percent damage reflection took its toll; he drained a Premium Recovery Potion and stared at the message materializing before him.
[The Accursed Lord of the Damned Earth, Ifrax, has fallen into eternal slumber.]
[The Second Trial has ended!]
[Settlement begins!]
[Total participants: 50]
[Deceased: 8]
[Survivors remaining: 42]
[* Unusual circumstances detected. Calculating rewards. Please stand by.]
One message hung in the empty air.
And Ifrax lay motionless, utterly still.
“……Did we actually break it?”
“……Seriously?”
“……Looks like we did?”
The silence lasted only a moment.
“Yes! We’re alive, you bastards! We’re alive!”
“Yes! I can go home!”
Everyone let out a cheer.
Though their nationalities differed, the feeling they shared was universal.
The overwhelming relief of surviving against a monster.
And the satisfaction that came with it.
They embraced one another, jumping and shouting—it was pandemonium. Having fought together, some bond had formed between them, and several of the bolder female Awakeners approached those who caught their fancy and planted kisses on their cheeks.
Park Si-woo, standing in the middle of it all, found himself caught from every direction, receiving kisses on his cheek. He looked flustered, his face slack with bewilderment at what to do.
“……It’s gotten properly out of hand.”
“Well, we see this sort of thing often enough.”
Kim Min-woo, noticing Seo Ye-rim approaching beside him, shrugged his shoulders as he spoke.
Awakeners had always been a rather passionate lot by nature. On top of that, this was a result they’d achieved after rolling through all manner of suffering. What else could you expect?
From the look of the mood, it seemed international couples might be born here tonight.
“You seem quite composed, Min-woo.”
“I came well prepared.”
There was a significant difference between “I will definitely catch it” and “Can I catch it?”
He’d even brought a nuclear bomb as backup for the worst case scenario.
From the beginning, failure wasn’t an option he’d entertained.
That was the reason he could remain so unflustered.
“What sort of reward do you think they’ll give?”
“Hard to say. Given how unusual this situation is, it seems they didn’t plan for this. But the more unexpected it is, the larger the reward tends to be. So I’m hopeful.”
That was when it happened.
[The Test Administrator has arrived!]
With the message, Popo materialized in empty air.
―I apologize for the brief delay in appearing. We have deliberated, and the results have been decided.
Popo spoke, looking out at the Awakeners.
‘What’s going on?’
‘Why the sudden formal tone?’
‘Does catching it mean we’ve been recognized?’
The Awakeners tilted their heads in confusion.
Popo clapped his hands and spoke.
―The test ends here! From now on, your Contributions will be calculated. According to those calculations, you will receive rewards proportionate to your performance.
[Second Test Contributions are being calculated.]
[Contribution Rankings]
[1st Place: 42%]
[2nd Place: 20%]
[3rd Place: 15%]
[4th Place: 1.2%]
[5th Place: 1.1%]
.
.
.
[42nd Place: 0.32%]
Information scrolled into view.
Moments later, small boxes were placed into each Awakener’s hands.
The Indian warrior Arush, who had placed 42nd, was no exception.
[Equipment Draw Box (Unique)]
[Level Requirement: 450 or higher, Warrior class.]
[A box from which equipment appears, excluding accessories.]
[Effect 1. Upon use, Warrior-exclusive equipment appears, excluding accessories.]
Arush, examining the box without any particular expectation, widened his eyes.
‘Unique?’
0.32% Contribution.
He’d already inwardly accepted that figure as fair.
To be honest, he’d been carried by the other Awakeners—he’d basically been riding their coattails.
And yet the reward was…….
‘This is way better than I expected.’
Unique items were Unique items for a reason; they weren’t something you could easily obtain anywhere. Equipment with high level requirements were even rarer.
Without exception, their price tags were brutal.
‘They’re giving me something like this?’
Arush was not alone in his shock.
Thomson and Sophia, Awakeners from the United States who’d earned over 1% Contribution, were equally stunned.
It was barely more than 1% Contribution.
Yet they’d received an Equipment Draw Box.
A Legend-grade one, at that.
Of course, they’d fought risking their lives, but was this really their first time experiencing something like that?
Usually, even after grinding through raid after raid, people came away empty-handed more often than not. Those bound to Guilds felt it even more keenly.
But this time was different.
They’d gotten a genuine reward.
‘Can we really get away with this?’
The thought itself was almost dizzying.
And yet, at the same time……
Every eye in the room turned toward Kim Min-woo as if by unspoken agreement.
‘If 1% nets us this, what in the world is 42% going to bring?’

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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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