Damn Necromancer - Chapter 25

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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 (25)
New Guild
“Hm…….”
Park Si-woo’s eyes opened. The room around him was unmistakably luxurious.
Kim Min-woo was sitting nearby.
“Where is this place?”
“My room.”
“……Your room?”
A message materialized before his eyes.
[All Achievement Settlement has been completed.]
[Settlement Result: SSS-rank]
[You receive a Class Skill Book (SSS)!]
[Please select your desired class.]
“Huh? Something’s……?”
“What is it?”
“Well, something looks strange. The achievement settlement… there are three S’s attached to it…….”
“Triple S?”
“Yes. It looks like it, anyway…….”
“Then that must be right.”
Kim Min-woo’s casual reply left Park Si-woo momentarily stunned.
It was common knowledge that no achievements existed beyond S-rank. Triple S clearly exceeded even that ceiling.
Yet he remained so unperturbed?
‘Now that I think about it…….’
Kim Min-woo’s words echoed through Park Si-woo’s mind.
―S-rank? No, you’re definitely going to become an Awakener beyond that. Let’s do this. I’ll help you.
He’d spoken with such certainty that something higher existed. Back then, Si-woo had merely taken it as encouragement and moved on.
“Are you saying you also……?”
Then.
Kim Min-woo smirked and pointed skyward with one finger.
“That’s right. I’m beyond it too.”
“Ah…… so that’s why…….”
“Exactly.”
“I should have known. That Cedric alone seemed far too formidable.”
An enormous throng of summoned creatures.
And Cedric among them.
There had been a reason Kim Min-woo was so powerful.
“You’re going to unlock Swordsman, right?”
“Yes.”
“Open the skill book. I’m curious what comes out.”
Park Si-woo nodded and selected his class.
“……This is incredible! You should see this too!”
He immediately shared the skill details with Kim Min-woo.
[Holy Sword Arphesia (SSS)]
[Effect 1. You can summon a Holy Sword. The Holy Sword grows alongside its master.]
[Effect 2. You acquire qualification to wield the Holy Sword.]
[Effect 3. When equipped with the Holy Sword, you receive powerful stat bonuses.]
[Effect 4. You can declare a Sacred Domain within a certain radius.]
Kim Min-woo’s reaction was.
“Oh, weapon secured, huh?”
Remarkably understated.
“……I thought you’d be more surprised.”
“It befits SSS-rank. Summoning a Holy Sword and all. Congratulations.”
“Thank you. But I’m a bit worried…….”
“About what?”
“Isn’t a Holy Sword opposed to the undead? I’m concerned it might cause problems working alongside you.”
“Is that so?”
Kim Min-woo nodded.
Now that he thought about it, that seemed plausible. Holy Swords were naturally antithetical to darkness, weren’t they?
Death Lord.
That job class certainly looked dark enough.
“Hold on.”
He summoned Cedric and several skeletons into the room.
“Try calling it now. Let’s test it.”
“Yes.”
Park Si-woo summoned the Holy Sword.
Above his palm, a pristine white blade materialized in a cascade of brilliant light.
Then.
The Holy Sword began trembling violently, as if possessed.
A message materialized before Kim Min-woo’s eyes.
[The Holy Sword beholds you in shock!]
[Witnessing the Holy Sword’s radiance!]
[The gap in rank is overwhelming! Unaffected by the Holy Sword’s light!]
“Unaffected?”
Kim Min-woo wasn’t the only one left unmoved—the skeletons stared at the Holy Sword with vacant, empty eyes.
“Min-woo. Wait a moment. The sword—it seems to be trying to say something.”
“What is it saying?”
“Just… these babbling sounds, like, ‘Eek, hate Death Lord, scared, scary’ and all that—”
Then.
Cedric, who had tilted his head in thought while gazing at the Holy Sword, spoke.
―Could that be… a Holy Sword?
“You know it?”
―I remember. The so-called Heroes where I came from carried blades like that. Its name was… Arphesia, I think?
Well, it really does seem they know each other.
Connected like this, of all things?
“…So… you’re saying you two know each other?”
A nod.
Cedric nodded at Park Si-woo’s words before continuing.
―It was common for the thing to charge headlong at Lords and break. The Heroes who went along with it, the ones boasting indestructibility, all died off. After about a hundred times of that, it finally went quiet.
The Holy Sword trembled violently at those words.
“Cedric. Just a moment. According to the sword, it was ninety-nine times, not a hundred.”
―Either way.
Cedric shrugged and continued.
―Then later… we all fell apart together, friend and foe. We couldn’t stop those others.
“Cedric. Those others you mention—what do you mean?”
―Think of it as a third force, roughly speaking.
Park Si-woo scratched his head at that.
“So… to sum it up… Light and Darkness fought, Light lost, and then eventually both sides fell apart anyway?”
―Your comprehension is sharp.
“But if they fell apart together as allies, aren’t we essentially not enemies anymore? After all, their home base is already gone.”
―Which is why we stay quiet now.
“Ah…”
Park Si-woo nodded as if understanding.
“You heard? Min-woo and I aren’t enemies. We’re comrades who’ll keep walking this path together. So don’t do that either. Okay. Got it. Right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“The Holy Sword apologizes. It suddenly sensed a Death Lord’s aura and had a fit.”
“So it has PTSD.”
“Yeah. It must’ve been traumatized from getting so badly broken. From the voice, it sounds like such a little kid, but… it says you’ve got lots of years? Sure, think of yourself as a grandfather.”
Park Si-woo’s face brightened as he coaxed the Holy Sword.
“I think we can form a proper party. According to what the sword says, it has no effect on you or the undead?”
“Well, that’s one thing, but… the undead too?”
“Yes. Your undead have a Death Lord’s aura clinging to them, and its rank is high. So it says its own power can’t compete. Anyway, that’s what it amounts to.”
―That’s probably right. The undead under a Lord were nearly immune to light attributes. The rank difference was that severe…
…That’s pretty sweet.
He’d stumbled upon another unexpected benefit of the Death Lord effect.
Immunity to light attributes.
Of course, if an EX-rank entity unleashed its radiance, he had no idea what would happen.
‘Well, I’m not meeting one anyway right now.’
He was in a state where even if he wanted to, he couldn’t meet one at the moment.
Then.
Park Si-woo’s eyes widened as if a realization had struck him, his gaze alternating between the Holy Sword and Kim Min-woo.
“Hold on a second, brother.”
“What?”
“The Holy Sword is SSS-rank, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“But if you can’t lose to it…… what level are you actually at?”
“I don’t know. A step or two above, I guess?”
“The way that old man was poking fun at you, it doesn’t seem like just that?”
“Shh. Knowing too much is dangerous.”
“Y-yes…… ”
Seeing Si-woo immediately shrink back, he let out a soft laugh.
“I’m joking. Anyway, my achievement rank is just a bit higher than most. That’s all you need to know.”
“Yes, sir. Um, brother. What should I do now? I’ve awakened, and I should probably head to a Gate soon…… ”
“I suppose so.”
Park Si-woo.
An SSS-rank Awakener.
A Holy Sword holder.
He’d even changed the kid’s dirty diapers to awaken him. If he just left him alone like this, some other guild or an overseas outfit would snatch him up in no time flat.
Letting him slip away would be nothing short of stupidity.
“I don’t really do party play, you know?”
“Ah…… right. Someone at your level could solo-clear Gates without breaking a sweat…… ”
Park Si-woo’s face fell in an instant.
“Yeah. But that doesn’t mean I’m about to let a talent like you just walk away, you know?”
“Really! I’m a Holy Sword holder, after all!”
His face brightened as if he’d never been downcast at all.
“Let’s make a guild.”
“A guild? But there’s already a guild in Ilsung, isn’t there?”
“That one’s already rotten to the core. The territorial squabbles are brutal too. I don’t know about me, but you’d have a rough time if you went there.”
While Ilsung’s financial circles ranked first, the quality of the guild itself was debatable at best.
It was better to just make a small private guild and keep things among ourselves.
“I’ll set up a guild for us, so train there for a bit. Level up while you’re at it.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best! Guild Master!”
Park Si-woo bowed his head respectfully.
Kim Min-woo.
He was truly a remarkable person.
Not only had he helped with his awakening as though he’d known the conditions all along, but he was also a hidden master who’d achieved greater feats than Si-woo himself.
To repay the debt of gratitude he owed.
And because he was curious about the future he would paint.
‘I want to stay with him.’
Whatever form it took, he was content to walk this path alongside him.
If it was a guild, then all the better.
Because he was certain that he would guide his clumsy, inexperienced self well.
“Guild Master? That’s awkward. Just call me brother.”
“Yes, brother!”
“Let’s go. Time to establish the guild.”
He needed to see the Chairman’s face.
* * *
Ilsung Group.
At the sight of the colossal headquarters, Park Si-woo’s jaw dropped.
The way tens of thousands of employees moved busily about!
For someone who’d been an ordinary citizen, it was an overwhelming sight.
“Don’t get nervous. What’re you going to do? You’ll have to meet the Chairman in a bit.”
“H-haha…… yes, you’re right.”
He was smiling calmly enough, but beads of cold sweat rolled down his face as if he was burning up inside.
After patting his shoulder a couple of times, they entered through the main entrance. The entrance was equipped with a stringent security system.
They approached where the security guards were stationed.
“Good day. You must be working hard. The Chairman is in, yes?”
“Ah, yes, sir!”
“Thank you.”
They passed through the entrance naturally.
Then boarded the exclusive VVIP elevator to the Chairman’s office. The elevator rose to the 130th floor and its doors slid open.
He was able to meet with Chairman Kim.
“Ha! So you’ve finally graced the company with your presence, and today the sun rises from the west! Well then, what brings you here? And who’s your friend?”
“A younger brother I’ve recently taken under my wing. Please say hello.”
“Park Si-woo, sir! I’m honored to make your acquaintance, Chairman!”
Park Si-woo delivered a ninety-degree bow, and the Chairman burst into hearty laughter.
“Excellent! A fine young man with real spirit! Take good care of my son for me.”
He settled into the plush sofa beside Park Si-woo. It was time to broach the real matter.
“Father. I’m thinking of founding a guild.”
“A guild?”
The Chairman’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“We already have a guild in Ilsung….”
“We do. But it’s stale.”
“Stale?”
“Yes. Honestly, does the Ilsung Guild perform anywhere near the level our company’s name commands?”
“…Hmm. Well, they do fall short in some respects….”
The Ilsung Guild’s ranking hovered around fifth place.
For the sheer amount of capital poured into it, the returns were underwhelming at best.
Which was why he’d secretly hoped his eldest son would join the guild and distinguish himself there instead.
“Honestly, it’s been stagnant for quite some time. When people think of the Ilsung Guild, the first thing they feel is exhaustion.”
“And so?”
“I want to build a guild for only the finest few — true elites.”
“The finest few….”
The Chairman nodded thoughtfully.
With such intentions, he could understand why his son wouldn’t anchor himself to the Ilsung Guild.
The Ilsung Guild already housed countless Awakeners.
They were even running various business ventures with monster byproducts and Magic Stones obtained through the guild’s activities.
To achieve such a goal, his son would need to cut loose all those Awakeners at once, which was simply impossible.
Chaos would erupt from all quarters.
“So then, this friend of yours is one of those elite members?”
“That’s right. You’ll be satisfied with him, Father. I’m not exaggerating.”
“Ho…. To what degree?”
“He’s an Awakener with an SSS-rank Achievement Settlement. Frankly, S-rank might as well be practice for him.”
Gulp.
The Chairman swallowed hard.
His son had already shown him the astonishing example of EX-rank, so he’d considered that S-rank and above could theoretically exist….
‘SSS-rank right from the start?’
He could barely imagine what kind of guild his son intended to build.
“This… Park Si-woo, you said?”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Is that really true?”
“Yes. My brother directly guided my awakening. Thanks to him, I was able to achieve an Achievement Settlement of this grade.”
Park Si-woo finished speaking and looked toward Kim Min-woo.
At the sight of him nodding, Park Si-woo nodded in understanding as well, and then shared his status window.
“…. My goodness. Holy Sword summoning, you say?”
“Isn’t it impressive, Father?”
“…. Haha. It certainly looks formidable. But you don’t intend to reveal all of this, do you?”
“No. We’ll simply pass him off as S-rank. Besides, once he summons the Holy Sword publicly, it would be difficult for anyone to imagine SSS-rank anyway.”
At Kim Min-woo’s gesture, Park Si-woo summoned the Holy Sword.
A blade of pure white light burst forth.
A pure white blade of light blazed into being.
“Indeed…. Someone who didn’t know better would think it was just an S-rank skill.”
The Chairman nodded in agreement.
Since he already knew the truth, he recognized just how extraordinary that blade was, but to the uninformed eye, it would appear to be nothing more than a reasonably impressive sword summon.
“I intend to gather talents like this. Imagine it, Father — the guild taking shape now is remarkable, but what it will become is even more so.”
Gulp.
The Chairman felt his throat tighten as he swallowed. Already, just his son and Park Si-woo alone were Awakeners who could shake the world.
And if more of these ‘genuine articles’ continued to be gathered into the guild…?
‘I’ve already secured one exceptional piece.’
He had, in a sense, proven that his eldest son possessed an eye for talent.
There was nothing to stop one from becoming two, and two from becoming three.
“You’ll accept investment, won’t you?”
He already owned a guild anyway—or something like that.
But that wasn’t the real issue.
The question now was whether Ilsung could plant a foot into this small two-person guild that was just beginning to take shape.
“Of course. I’ll charge Ilsung the standard rate, and only Ilsung. Now is the only time. An opportunity like this won’t come again.”
Kim Min-woo smiled, as if he understood everything perfectly.

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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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