Damn Necromancer - Chapter 17

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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 (17)
By morning, the fervor had grown even more intense than it had been at dawn.
It was only natural.
People who’d slept through the night were now learning the news themselves.
While the early hours had focused purely on celebrating the World Record, the mood had shifted entirely.
―Yo, isn’t that the Black Heart Set? The skeleton’s equipped gear is better than my full setup lmao
―How much does that cost then?
―At least 3 grand per piece minimum. Full set runs 200 million, lol — and that’s without the weapon lmaooo
―That’s insane;; So 300 skeletons means minimum 60 billion?
―Yeah; thought it was impossible but he’s actually decking them out lol
―(Info) Kim Min-woo has spent over 300 billion at the auction house so far.
―……300 billion, not 30?
―Yep. 30 billion is just commission lol Equipment, consumables, Spirit Medicine, Skill Books sold in one shot — do the math and it’s at least that much lol
―You gotta spend that much to be a Super Rookie? lololol
―Even the government wouldn’t fund someone like that lol lololol
Now it was how much he’d spent that had become the hottest topic of all.
Most people assume Awakeners must be filthy rich, but the reality was somewhat different.
Spending scaled with earnings.
More accurately, most spent far more than they made.
Skill Books, equipment, Spirit Medicine, Potions, and so on.
Money flowed out in endless directions.
Because of this, even famous Awakeners often turned out to be financially struggling when you looked closer. The system demanded constant spending to grow stronger.
A suffocating consumption treadmill.
Yet even so, there had never been a madman who spent 300 billion at Level 1.
Except for Kim Min-woo, who’d appeared like a meteor today.
[(Breaking News!) Foreign Scout Powerhouses Enter Korea en Masse! Recruitment War Looming? Kim Min-woo’s Market Value Estimated at 1 Trillion Won Minimum!]
―Yo, come on journalist lol isn’t a trillion a bit of a stretch?
―You see those skeleton soldiers he summoned? 300 of them lol His potential is off the charts lolol His potential is off the charts lol
―True. He cleared Isabella’s dungeon at Level 1; that’s worth it lol With just 300 billion in investment lol
―Yeah even if they offer a trillion he won’t go lolololol
―Real talk. Abandon Korea where Ilsung is? Go overseas? 10 trillion is the starting bid lol
―Even so, 10 trillion seems too high lolol But if I were Kim Min-woo I wouldn’t budge for a trillion either lol His dad’s the chairman lol
Unlike his usual anxious scrolling through recruitment articles, this time he browsed with relaxed ease, even chuckling to himself.
He’d mentioned 10 trillion in jest, but truthfully, that was probably the minimum threshold needed before any recruitment attempt would be worth considering.
After all, Kim Min-woo’s circumstances were far from ordinary.
―(Breaking!) Kim Min-woo opens NewTube channel lololol
―For real?
―Yeah. Channel name is Mangnani lololol
―Whoa, that’s crazy. Over 400k subs in just 20 minutes;;.
―Wait, he just posted a livestream notice. Says he’ll go live once subs hit 2 million?
―There he goes, striking while the iron’s hot lolol
―I’m subbing lol
500k, 600k, 700k…
The subscriber count climbed at a staggering pace.
* * *
Strike while the iron’s hot.
The phrase fit perfectly.
With public interest at its absolute peak,
now was the perfect moment to launch a NewTube channel.
In just two hours, he’d hit 2 million subscribers.
He activated the livestream through his smartphone.
[Live Viewers: 512,321]
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Min-woo.”
―Yo lol Is this his house? But why’s it so massive lolol
―Bigger than the chaebols’ mansions in dramas lolol First time his home’s being revealed?
―So Ilsung really is Ilsung…
―So what’s today’s stream topic?
700k.
900k.
The viewer count climbed frighteningly in mere moments.
The camera cut away shortly after.
A kitchen filled with furniture on display.
“Impressive, isn’t it? These are kitchen fixtures from Ilsung. They run on Mana Stones—the efficiency is really excellent.”
Cedric stood before the refrigerator and gave a thumbs-up with the door hanging open.
―?
―??
―???
―????
―What is this? An ad?
―This is insane lololol
―What’s with this skeleton giving a thumbs-up smh lololololol
“I have some homework to get through, so I appreciate your patience.”
―Lol I immediately got why the channel’s named that lol
―An ad on the first broadcast? Are you serious?
―If it bothers you, leave. Plenty of others want to watch lololol
―The lag was already choking the chat, but the ant sweep was nice lol
―Pest control broadcast from the get-go lololol
“Since the house is quite spacious, there’s plenty to show you. Shall we go on an adventure through it today?”
―(Translation) Today I’m advertising every piece of furniture in this house.
―This is actually making me dizzy lol
―I’m not falling for the ant sweep lol I’m definitely watching till the end
―You’re so handsome lol I became a fan after watching the news yesterday! Your voice is nice too lol
“Hey, Cedric. Go sit over there for a moment.”
―Understood, master.
―?
―??
―???
―????
―Did that skeleton just talk?
―What is this? A ventriloquist skeleton?
“How’s that? Comfortable?”
―It appears so.
“Appears so? I told you to say it feels good.”
―Master, a knight does not lie.
“Tch, talking back again?”
―……Ilsung is the best. I love you.
―What am I even watching right now? lololol
―Seriously though, what is that skeleton? Seriously though, what is that skeleton? I’m on my fiftieth time asking.
―Now that you mention it, doesn’t it look a bit different from regular skeletons?
―Did he summon it with an S-rank skill? The effects aren’t just one or two.
―Probably. Honestly, 300 regular summons would be a bit plain lol
―Lol S-rank summons rare skeletons too lol
―But didn’t he just say it was a knight? Was it a knight in a past life or something?
―Foreign skeleton lololololol
Hiss!
Min-woo cracked open a soft drink made by Ilsung and took a sip, his eyes still on the chat as he spoke.
“His name is Cedric, and he’s my summoned subordinate. Say hello.”
―……I am Cedric. Greetings, humans.
From that moment on, the viewer count began to explode.
The jump from one million to three million happened in what felt like an instant.
It seemed real-time news alerts were going out somewhere.
‘Well, this works out.’
Time to dump all the ads at once. Exercise equipment, bedroom furniture, bathroom fixtures, air conditioning units, Mana Stone vehicles, computers, even Ilsung’s smartphones.
He worked through showcasing all manner of products.
With so much to present, the advertising portion took a fair bit of time.
“Phew. I’ve gotten my homework done more or less.”
―Honestly, it’s better than I expected? lol
―Yeah. The back-and-forth with the skeleton just makes it flow lololol
―I’ve been meaning to upgrade my computer anyway. Maybe I’ll switch to Ilsung this time.
―I’m thinking of replacing my fridge. Electronics are tricky, but… well, Ilsung doesn’t seem so bad.
It was an advertisement, but the audience’s reaction to it wasn’t bad at all.
The interior of the house, revealed for the first time through this NewTube broadcast, was lavishly decorated.
And the existence of Cedric, the talking skeleton, had completely captured the viewers’ attention.
“Before we wrap up the stream, should we do a quick Q&A session? If there are too many questions, it’ll be hard to answer them all…….”
[Minimum donation for sponsored chat has been raised to ten million won!]
―?
―??
―???
―????
―Ten million won?
―Haha, if you don’t have money, just lurk lol
―Someone will do it haha, I bet there’s more than a few people dying of curiosity right now lol
That prediction turned out to be exactly right.
[Han A-ri has donated ten million won!]
―Cedric, is that one of the effects from an S-rank summoning skill?
“Yes.”
[Ppubbuppang-ya has donated twenty million won.]
―How powerful is he?
“This one? A bit stronger than your average skeleton.”
[Shanghai-Chicken has donated forty million won.]
―I heard scouts came by—would you accept their offer if they threw a trillion won at you?
“A trillion? Why would I?”
[Demonia has donated ten million won.]
―Are you thinking of joining a guild?
“I don’t know. I hate anything bothersome.”
[Sun-Sal-Chicken has donated ten million won.]
―Do you have a destination picked out for your next F-rank Gate?
“Still thinking about it.”
[Cho Il-han has donated twenty million won.]
―S-rank skills usually have three effects—summoning lots of skeletons, summoning a talking skeleton, so what’s the third one?
“Not telling.”
[Shanghai-Chicken has donated twenty million won.]
―What do you think about the Necromancer class?
“If you don’t have money, don’t do it.”
[Shanghai-Chicken has donated thirty million won.]
―So it’s fine if you do have money?
“If you’re curious, try it out yourself.”
Soon after, Min-woo clapped his hands together.
“I’ll wrap up the stream now. Next broadcast? Well… whenever. That’s all for today.”
The moment he turned off the stream.
[(Breaking) Talking Skeleton Appears! Does Necromancer Show New Potential?]
[(Breaking) Kim Min-woo’s First Broadcast—Ilsung Product Ads Come Flooding In!]
[(Breaking) Kim Min-woo Shoots Down Recruitment Offers! A Trillion? Nowhere Near Enough!]
[(Breaking) Kim Min-woo’s Star Power Proven! Stream Hits 4 Million Viewers, Even During Ads!]
.
.
Articles were already pouring across the internet.
* * *
He’d said he was still thinking about it on stream, but his next destination was already decided.
He’d gotten the hint while tearing through Osiris’s Tomb.
‘There was a mural drawn in a hidden chamber.’
A painting of a ferocious gorilla.
Min-woo knew exactly what it meant.
‘A Boss Monster.’
E-rank Gate, Wolfa-ulu Forest.
The gorilla was its boss.
“The feeling about this is very good.”
Just to find a single necklace gem, the difficulty had jumped up a full tier.
What came next?
Naturally, like a chain quest, the difficulty would keep climbing.
If I’m lucky, the chain might continue all the way up to S-rank.
‘Wolfa-ulu Forest—that’s nothing. I can just forge an ID and head in.’
Of course, I had no intention of entering the Gate in my current form.
E-rank Gate monsters typically range from level 51 to 100.
Wolfa-ulu Forest has a difficulty rating of 90. With such a high difficulty, the average monster level hovers close to 100.
Clearing it itself isn’t a problem.
But a level 25 going in alone and sweeping the whole thing clean?
Every assassination organization on the planet would be throwing offers my way.
That’s how demonic my growth would appear.
I’d already thought of a solution, naturally.
Ilsung—the king of Korean conglomerates.
Forging an Awakener ID at the C or D-rank level is as easy as breathing; S or A would be a different story entirely.
I just needed to disguise myself accordingly and enter the Gate.
Instead of Kim Min-woo, the newly recognized Super Rookie, it would be D-rank Awakener Park Cheol-woong tackling an E-rank Gate.
Solo clearing a Gate one rank below your own level happens frequently enough that no one would find it strange.
“There’s a lot to prepare.”
With such a large level gap, one full circuit through Wolfa-ulu Forest should push me past level 51.
Starting with the next-tier Spirit Medicines to consume immediately after.
‘I need to max out the next Skill Book to 9-star too.’
Skeleton Mage Summoning.
It was the next summoning skill available at level 51, in the E-rank Awakener bracket.
I was planning to max that out to 9-star before entering the Gate as well.
That way, the moment I hit level 51 in the forest, I’d learn it immediately.
Time to put an end to trudging around with only the basic skeletons.
And then there was equipment to procure for the skeletal mages.
Moving up to the next bracket meant expenses were piling up.
But there was one saving grace.
‘I made a lot of money.’
By setting a new world record, I’d secured full backing from Chairman Kim once again.
And that amount alone—
‘One trillion won.’
Trillion, as in the denomination.
That’s why I’d gone all-in on advertising by revealing Cedric today.
After all, I had to earn back the money I’d been given.

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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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