Damn Necromancer - Chapter 18

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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 (18)
Ulpauloo’s Forest
Choi Yu-na of the Alchemist Guild.
Her luck was truly extraordinary.
A corporation that had placed a massive order went bankrupt, yet she’d found another buyer for her potions.
And her decisiveness was equally impressive.
The moment she’d sold through her entire stock of Lowest-grade Potions, with no new orders in sight, she’d begun churning out Low-grade Potions in volume.
It was all because of the information Kim Min-woo had left her.
He’d bought an enormous quantity of Lowest-grade Potions.
So someday, he’d surely buy Low-grade Potions in bulk as well.
Obsessed with performance, she’d seen nothing but that single possibility and moved first.
‘All that patience finally paid off!’
A bold gamble on the future.
The reward came far sooner than she’d dared hope.
—It’s Kim Min-woo. I’ll buy all the Low-grade Potions you have.
A single, simple text.
The moment she saw it, she cried out.
Eureka!
—I have eight hundred in total……
—I’ll take them all.
His reply came back with perfect calm.
Truly a man possessed of insane wealth.
At this point, she couldn’t help but think the collapse of that company had actually been a blessing.
Thanks to it, she’d managed to stockpile Low-grade Potions and land herself a premium customer!
She’d come to the cafe to conduct the transaction in person.
Kim Min-woo arrived not long after.
“Oh my, you’re here!”
Choi Yu-na waved her hand with an exaggerated, cheerful lilt to her voice.
“The goods?”
“Right here.”
She transferred all the Low-grade Potions from her inventory to him.
Potions boasting an average price of three hundred million each—a sum that made her hands tremble.
“I’ve received them. I’ve transferred 240 billion to the guild account.”
“T-thank you so much.”
Choi Yu-na answered while swallowing hard. Even most major corporations would struggle to wire such an amount in a single payment.
He was something else, this Kim Min-woo.
A text arrived shortly after.
[Dad]
—Our girl, you’ve worked hard. ^^
She grinned and began typing on her phone.
[Yu-na]
—Hehe. This much is nothing—I need to talk business with the customer now…
[Dad]
—Right, the customer comes first. Do your best. (bunny fighting emoticon)
Her ordinarily stoic father had sent an emoticon.
She’d truly delivered results today.
Coffee was placed before them both.
Kim Min-woo took a sip and spoke.
“You’re quite proactive. You made these in advance, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I had a feeling you’d be placing an order.”
“That’s an excellent mindset.”
“Hehe…… Would you perhaps be interested in Mid-grade Potions as well?”
Choi Yu-na asked carefully.
Just as with equipment and Skill Books.
The prices of potions climbed steeply with each grade.
A Mid-grade Potion cost a billion per unit.
If he bought around eight hundred as he had before?
That would be eight hundred billion.
Manufacturing that quantity in advance was an enormously risky undertaking, even for her. But if she didn’t, and he placed an order she couldn’t fill, her life would be ruined.
Even her father, the guild master, would have difficulty scraping together such a sum.
“I’ll need to use them.”
She swallowed hard, her eyes fixed on Min-woo with desperate intensity.
Please.
That thing.
Can you take an order from me?
Please, I’m begging you…….
Kim Min-woo fell silent for a moment before speaking.
“I’m thinking of placing large orders whenever I need them, but there’s one problem.”
“A problem?”
“Since I’d be using the money as it comes in, I’m afraid I can’t offer an advance payment. And I won’t know exactly when I’ll need to buy them. I’ll need to raise my Level considerably.”
“Ah…… I see.”
“Yes.”
Silence stretched between them.
Choi Yu-na grasped the situation.
This was a turning point.
It was clear there were many obstacles to signing a bulk contract.
Advance payment? None.
Purchase schedule? Unknown.
So he was asking if she’d trust him and stockpile inventory first?
That’s what Kim Min-woo was proposing.
“……Deal.”
“Deal?”
“Deal!”
Choi Yu-na shouted with her eyes squeezed shut. She could find the budget for Potions somehow.
This was a contract she had to land.
And he wasn’t just any Awakener — he’d just set a world record!
Leveling up would be a breeze for him.
As for money…….
With all the advertising he’d be doing, she was sure they’d find a way to earn it. Choi Yu-na decided to trust in his power.
“Then starting now, prepare this much more in Mid-grade.”
“……Understood.”
“Don’t overwork yourself. But when you do sell, I’ll pay full price — no haggling.”
“Yes!”
The contract was sealed.
* * *
‘That’s one hurdle cleared.’
Even for Kim Min-woo, it wasn’t easy to find someone who would manufacture Potions worth eight hundred billion won without collateral.
That’s why he’d formed a connection with Choi Yu-na.
Otherwise, when he reached Level 101 and entered the D-grade zone, he’d have to wait forever for Mid-grade Potions to be produced.
True to her money-hungry nature, she’d agreed on the spot.
With her father as the Guild Master, she’d find a way to make it happen.
‘Superior-grade is where the real problem starts.’
That’s where things get genuinely difficult.
The quantities needed exceed trillions, making advance production impractical.
In truth, what made Kim Min-woo special was rather clear.
No-talent.
Thanks to his monstrous physical Talent, he consumed far more Potions than anyone else.
‘Normally, two hundred would be enough.’
Achieving an S-grade Achievement typically meant one’s Talent was excellent too.
Such talents often saw their ability scores rise by 2 instead of 1 per Potion.
‘But even those people start running into funding walls at Superior-grade.’
Most Super Rookies managed Potion investment up to Low-grade.
Up to that point, national support or backing from large organizations made it feasible.
Two hundred Lowest-grade and two hundred Low-grade.
Average investment around eighty billion won.
It was manageable.
And from Mid-grade onward.
‘The real separation of wheat from chaff begins.’
To invest in Potions at that level required roughly two trillion won.
At that point, things got uncomfortable.
Only Super Rookies who’ve made one massive breakthrough get this kind of investment.
‘And from Superior-grade onwards…….’
National governments or massive organizations putting in this much money?
That’s what a true Mega-class Rookie is.
A single Superior-grade Potion runs around 3 billion won.
Even accounting for roughly 200 of them, that’s pouring out somewhere in the ballpark of 6 to 7 trillion.
The pure potion investment alone approaches trillions of won in total capital.
Isabella was a typical example of such an Awakener.
‘Even so, she’s no match for me.’
Still, for a human, she’s impressive enough.
Either way.
I decided to think about Superior-grade later.
There’s still plenty of time before I reach that tier.
While thinking, I arrived at the Auction House.
[Connected to Skill Book Sales Portal.]
[Search Level: 51–60. Class: Necromancer.]
[Searching by specified criteria.]
[Skeleton Mage Summon (E)]
[Restriction: Necromancer, Level 51 or higher]
[Price: 6 million won.]
‘Hm.’
Exactly triple the price of Skeleton Summon.
‘Well, that’s reasonable enough.’
Items at the next tier usually jump by roughly that much.
In fact, since Necromancer is an unconventional class, you could argue it only tripled instead of jumping higher.
One saving grace was that the Auction House’s basic structure made reselling impossible.
If it were possible?
I’d wager Necromancer-related Skill Books would be far pricier than they are now.
Resellers would’ve crawled out of the woodwork.
If someone with money to burn started hoarding related Skill Books, who could resist matching that?
‘Well, if that happened, I’d just go to another country and sweep up their stock instead.’
Auction House inventory was integrated by nation, not globally.
Anyone who’d hoarded niche Skill Books would’ve been thoroughly crushed.
Since that path was blocked from the start, it worked out as a win-win for everyone.
I swept up every listing that appeared.
[Purchased all 53 Skill Books…….]
[Identical Skill Books added to Inventory…….]
I cleared the messages from view.
This pittance of a quantity wouldn’t accomplish anything anyway.
Once I finish shopping, I’ll convert everything in one go.
I checked the going rate for Skill Books.
‘The average price didn’t jump that much.’
Skill Book prices could rise without any hoarding scheme.
That said, unlike before, the market knew Kim Min-woo—a mega-scale buyer—was out there waiting.
Whenever I show up, they know I’ll sweep everything in sight.
With that thought hanging over them, prices naturally crept upward bit by bit.
‘About 5%?’
There was definitely some inflation built in.
But honestly, that was within acceptable range.
If it’d been 10% or more, I might’ve gone abroad on a hunting expedition instead, regardless of my confidence.
Not so much because it’s expensive—just irritating, you know?
So, as a matter of principle.
I could see traces of them playing it carefully.
‘Well, at this level, it’s cute.’
I let out a short laugh.
“Under 2,000 won, Level 50 or below, E-grade Skill Books. One more condition: only items with price fluctuations of 5% or less in recent history. Sweep all of those.”
I was setting a clear standard for the suppliers.
I’ll allow a 5% premium—that’s it.
‘Any higher and they get the treatment.’
Incidentally, even failed auctions still cost a 10% commission.
If I botched the game of reading signals, I deserve to take the hit.
To prevent Skill Book prices from spiraling out of control, I needed to send a clear message at least once. Otherwise, starting from D-grade, I’d have to tour internationally for decent earnings.
[Purchasing 8,424 listed items.]
[Purchase completed!]
[126.36 billion won withdrawn…….]
[10% commission withdrawn…….]
“Phew, walking the middle path truly isn’t easy.”
It really wasn’t.
Starting from E-grade, the units jumped to hundreds of billions.
By C-grade, I’d be dealing in trillions.
It was a grueling path.
But this was the only way to build up steadily and become a true Awakener.
‘At least there’s volume available right now.’
The moment I hit A-grade alone, all the listings would dry up.
Awakeners grew exponentially fewer the higher you climbed — that was just how the structure worked.
By then, even a world tour of every auction house wouldn’t guarantee I could attempt the ninth tier.
If I burned out midway with no more items to purchase, the game would simply end.
That’s roughly how I figured it would go.
While running Skill Book synthesis in the background, I bought equipment to outfit the mages.
When you summon a mage, it starts as a level-one baby mage.
Low-level gear didn’t cost much.
A Black Heart Set and similar loadout for each ran around 200 million per unit.
I bought 250 sets generously.
Beyond that, there were no more listings.
Finally came the luxury equipment sets for Cedric and myself for the next level bracket.
Both combined came to roughly 15 billion.
With shopping done, Kim Min-woo began grinding out Skill Books.
* * *
Ulpauloo’s Forest.
Conquest difficulty: 90 points.
It boasted a notoriously brutal difficulty, but unlike Osiris’s Tomb, this place swarmed with Awakeners eager to enter. Unlike the tomb’s wheel, the gorillas here — the zone’s primary monsters — dropped nothing to waste. They were pure profit.
Their thick hides went into armor crafting, their bones into weapon processing.
Especially the Thunder Staff dropped by the boss Ulfaru — that item commanded a price tag of 3 billion, making it a premium piece.
Three billion meant a five-person party would net 600 million per person even split.
That was absolutely jackpot.
The drop rate was low, sure, but what mattered to Awakeners was precisely that possibility itself.
Even today, soldiers at the entrance were diligently handing out Entry Permits.
“Yes, your identity confirmed. Here’s your Entry Permit. Stay safe. Next?”
The soldier who looked up gazed at the Awakener before him. A face lined with time, whiskers scattered across the jaw.
Something about his bearing screamed veteran experience.
“Going in alone?”
A nod.
The soldier nodded in return. Solo attempts weren’t unusual.
High-grade Awakeners occasionally ran solo on gates with jackpot potential, since the loot alone paid better than clearing an equivalent-difficulty gate with a party. Why split the take when you could take it all?
“ID, please. Yes, D-grade Awakener Park Chul-woong. Confirmed. Here’s your Entry Permit. Stay safe.”
“You too, sir.”
The voice sounded somehow familiar.
The soldier, slightly puzzled, tilted his head and turned to the next party.
And so Park Chul-woong — or rather, Kim Min-woo — approached the gate.
[Ulpauloo’s Forest]
[Grade: E]
Right before the gate entrance.
A handful of soldiers and one Awakener stood waiting.
“Five people. Go ahead.”
One party passed through into the gate. The luminous entrance flared briefly then darkened again.
“You’re up next, sir.”
Kim Min-woo nodded and sprinted toward the gate.
Then.
A faint shimmer.
A transparent silhouette slipped into the luminous gate.
There was an Awakener stationed on watch, but the movements were so covert that even a D-grade couldn’t detect them.
And so the Gate fell dark.

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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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