Damn Necromancer - Chapter 4

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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 (4)
His eyes closed as though he were losing consciousness.
In an instant, Kim Min-woo’s mind scattered. Everything became hazy, like a dream.
‘Am I passing out?’
Well……
He was past exhaustion, standing on the very edge of collapse. Fainting wouldn’t have been strange at all.
In that moment, he saw messages beginning to surface.
[Beginning Achievement Settlement.]
[You possess the worst possible talent. A correction factor will be applied to all Achievement Settlements.]
[Achievement ‘Ten Billion Practice Bouts’ Unlocked!]
[Now that is pure extravagance!]
[Grade: B]
[Achievement ‘What Exactly Are You?’ Unlocked!]
[One of the game’s main characters has begun watching you closely!]
[Grade: B+]
[Achievement ‘Ultra-Intense Combat Continuation’ Unlocked!]
[You demonstrated the will to transcend limits with a wretched body!]
[Grade: A]
[Achievement ‘Genius Swordsman from the Start’ Unlocked!]
[You granted great enlightenment to over a hundred master swordsmen!]
[Grade: A+]
[Achievement ‘Ordinary Person Gone Mad’ Unlocked!]
[You engaged in fierce combat with an S-rank Awakened Individual!]
[Grade: S]
[Achievement ‘Teacher of the Sword Immortal’ Unlocked!]
[Geom-seon has begun confronting the wall that stood in his way!]
[Grade: S+]
[Achievement ‘Founder of a Sword Method’ Unlocked!]
[You created a sword method of astonishing caliber during an Awakening!]
[Grade: ??]
[Tallying all Achievements.]
[Calculation in progress…….]
[This is an unprecedented Achievement outside all existing categories.]
[Current Grades are insufficient to express this level.]
[A new Achievement Grade must be opened.]
[A meeting is convened!]
As more messages continued to appear, Kim Min-woo’s eyes flew open.
The highest Achievement Grade he had ever received was S.
These were phrases he had never seen at S rank.
‘Could it be something beyond that?’
His heart thundered in his chest.
If he could achieve grades beyond S from the very beginning!
He would stride far ahead of the Kim Min-woo who had only learned the E-ranked Spinning Slash before.
‘But what’s this “meeting” about?’
It was just as Min-woo tilted his head in confusion.
Unlike before, messages in a blue hue began to appear.
‘This is……’
He had seen it only once while playing the game.
The message that appeared before moving to Stage Six!
It was identical to that one.
〈1. Remarkable. A being who has transcended the limits of species and accumulated such deeds has finally appeared.〉
〈1. They have shown possibility. Should we raise humanity’s growth threshold?〉
Soon after, not only blue but messages of several different colors began to emerge.
[2. Is there really a need for that? That human is merely a special exception.]
[3. Zero and one are different. If one has appeared, two and three may follow. The possibility itself matters.]
[4. If we intervene, ??? will begin to exercise power as well. It’s dangerous.]
〈1. Is it not true that without risk, there is no reward?〉
[3. I agree with her assessment. We have stagnated. The moment calls for bold action.]
‘What is this?’
The messages were conversing with each other as if they were alive. It was a sight he had never witnessed in his entire life.
Right then…….
[2. I still object…… Wait. Don’t tell me this person is eavesdropping on our conversation right now?]
[Warning!]
[The entities behind the veil have sensed an anomaly!]
Min-woo trembled at the inexplicable chill that ran through him.
〈1. We have no time for idle talk. We must resolve this agenda before the author awakens. I vote yes.〉
[3. I will place my hopes in humanity. I vote yes.]
[4. ……They actually sensed us. Very well. Why not give them a push? I vote yes.]
[2. Are you all prepared for the consequences? This is madness——.]
● Motion carries. 3 in favor, 1 opposed.
● Agenda passed.
● The World Line shifts!
● Transcendence of Species!
● The latent potential of all ‘humans’ increases dramatically!
● Achievement unlocked: ‘One Who Opened the Horizon’! This achievement merges with your existing achievements!
● Warning! Warning! Warning!
● ??? senses the anomaly!
● ??? begins searching for the cause!
● Exercise caution. ??? will not take this matter lightly!
* * *
The fragrance of medicinal herbs drew Min-woo’s eyes open. A basin filled with warm, brownish liquid.
His body was submerged within it.
‘This is…….’
The Tears of the Sword—a curative remedy passed down through the generations at Geom Hae Gak.
Its primary effects were to ease muscle tension, improve blood circulation, and purify the meridians.
‘This is a rather precious remedy.’
A medicine concocted by mixing monster byproducts, spiritual elixirs, and Magic Stones.
He knew it cost a considerable sum, and seeing it used so liberally suggested he’d earned some favor with Geom-seon.
“Feels light.”
The muscle soreness had vanished as if washed clean.
The fatigue too had long since faded. As Min-woo rotated his arms, a message blossomed before his eyes.
[All achievement settlements complete.]
[Settlement result: EX]
[Class Skill Book (EX) has been awarded!]
[Please select the class of your choice.]
‘EX grade!’
His eyes brightened.
It was the same rank attached to the skills Yong Gun-ju had wielded.
‘A single Dragon Proclamation had reduced even the highest-tier Artifacts to scrap metal.’
A grade that possessed overwhelming superiority over S-rank. There could be no better beginning than this.
Knock, knock.
A rapping sound echoed from within the bathhouse.
“Who is it?”
“Get dressed and come out now that you’re awake.”
A lukewarm voice reached him.
Somehow, it was a familiar one. Soon after, several memories surfaced in Kim Min-woo’s mind.
Seo Ye-rim—Geom-seon’s granddaughter.
Including the memory of himself gazing at her with lecherous intent.
‘Ugh.’
So be it.
It wasn’t something he had done anyway. That was all Kim Min-woo’s doing.
There was no reason to feel ashamed. He simply wouldn’t do such things going forward.
He changed into the clothes hung in the bathhouse and stepped outside.
“Is there something you need?”
“Grandfather told me to bring you to him once you woke up.”
“Let’s go.”
As Kim Min-woo walked ahead with casual composure, her emotions grew complicated.
Something—something was different.
Not long ago, he couldn’t even meet her eyes, and yet now he conversed with her as if it were nothing——.
‘His eyes are different.’
There was not a trace of malice in the black pupils fixed on him. What on earth had he polished in the meantime?
As they walked through the silence, Seo Ye-rim opened her mouth.
“…That swordsmanship from before—where on earth did you learn it?”
“I haven’t learned it.”
“You’re lying!”
Elegant and perfect distribution of power.
The seamless linking of successive forms.
Even without mana, even with the wielder’s body in poor condition, what Kim Min-woo had swung was undoubtedly a refined and intricate sword technique.
And a formidable one that surpassed Geom-seon’s Wind Sword Technique!
If he hadn’t learned it, then surely…
“You’re saying you created a sword technique on the spot?”
“I just swung however it came to me. I wouldn’t call it sword technique…”
Seo Ye-rim, who had mustered the courage to ask, was utterly speechless.
Swinging however it came to him was superior to Geom-seon’s technique.
Did that even make sense?
Her pupils trembled as if she’d gone mad.
“How, how is that… possible?”
I couldn’t do it, and I’ve trained my whole life.
She swallowed the rest of her words with superhuman patience and spoke.
“You can’t do it?”
At Kim Min-woo’s genuinely puzzled question, tilting his head slightly, she felt an abyss of despair open beneath her.
“…I can.”
It seemed impossible to continue the conversation any further.
Thus they arrived at Nae Won, where Geom-seon was waiting.
“You’ve come.”
“Yes. Thank you for treating me.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Geom-seon chuckled softly as he spoke.
“Congratulations on your Awakening. With your brilliant talent, you’ll soar to new heights.”
Seo Ye-rim, listening to Geom-seon’s words, gritted her teeth out of sight.
From seven years old until now at twenty-two, she had not missed a single day of wielding the sword.
Praise and admiration had poured in from those around her, but Geom-seon was different.
She had never once heard him say she had talent.
Until now, she had held it lightly in her heart. After all, at her age, no one else had heard such words from Geom-seon either.
But now…
“Take this.”
Geom-seon handed over a small box. Min-woo took it and opened it to see inside.
A fragrant aroma wafted out.
A small red pill gleamed within.
A Sword Shadow Pill.
One of the finest elixir pills made at Geom Hae Gak. A treasure difficult to obtain even with money.
“It seems to be a precious medicinal pill…”
Even as he said this, he slipped the box containing the elixir into his arm pouch.
There was no reason to refuse.
For the enlightenment he’d given to Geom Hae Gak’s disciples, this much was entirely deserved.
“I’ll make good use of it.”
“Good. Ah, and Min-woo, would you consider becoming my disciple…”
“No.”
“I see, so you wouldn’t…”
Geom-seon’s words caught in his throat.
“Are you saying you have no intention of becoming a swordmaster?”
“That’s right.”
“Why?”
Why, indeed…
Geom-seon was laboring under a grave misunderstanding.
The reason he appeared to be a genius was that he was wielding sword techniques created by his future self.
With an expert’s body moving, he would certainly look like a prodigy.
‘But the expiration date is short.’
After becoming an Awakened Individual?
A swordmaster relies most heavily on the physical body. Growth will eventually hit a wall.
Kim Min-woo’s physical talent was, to put it mildly, the worst possible.
Conclusion.
Min-woo, you’d suit a Necromancer far better than a swordsman.
It was the verdict of a pilot who’d weathered every kind of battle—land, sea, and sky.
He had no intention of rambling through all that in front of Geom-seon…….
“I have glimpsed the boundaries of my own limits.”
“The boundaries……you’ve seen them?”
An eerie glint flickered across Geom-seon’s eyes.
“What did you see?”
“Illusion and the boundary between it. The realm of No-Self that exists in that threshold.”
What kind of nonsense was that?
Truth be told, he didn’t know either.
Since creating the Thunder Wind Sword Method.
He was simply parroting the exact words Geom-seon had once spat out like thunder after breaking through his own wall.
‘This old man does love his cloud-chasing talk.’
A heavy silence descended.
“Illusion, boundary, No-Self…….”
Geom-seon stood alone with his eyes closed, murmuring softly as though sensing something profound.
“I’ve grasped it instinctively—that I cannot advance beyond this point. But I’m not ready to declare my limits so soon. Perhaps if I venture into a realm other than swordcraft, there might be another way.”
Geom-seon closed his eyes quietly.
As expected…….
Cloud-chasing was always the way out.
“I’ll take my leave now. The donation will reach you shortly.”
Kim Min-woo turned and left Nae Won, leaving the silent Geom-seon behind.
Seo Ye-rim, who’d been frozen between doubt and confusion watching her grandfather with his eyes closed, collapsed into her seat.
‘Illusion? Boundary? No-Self? What on earth was any of that?’
She understood none of it.
Just then, Geom-seon’s eyes snapped open.
“……How distant it is.”
“……Pardon?”
“It wasn’t merely brilliant talent—that man Kim Min-woo is a true genius!”
“Is that……so?”
Seo Ye-rim’s voice dropped low as she repeated the words.
“Indeed. A genius the likes of which appear once in ten thousand years! A monster has emerged from the Ilseong Group. This is no time to waste. Bring me my phone at once! Quickly!”
Geom-seon himself didn’t know the precise meaning behind Min-woo’s earlier words.
But he could grasp a faint thread.
It was an awakening of the spirit.
If he could only crystallize this tingling sensation a little further!
He might glimpse not just the next stage, but the one beyond.
And so Geom-seon made a decision.
He would forge a deeper bond with the Ilseong Group, which had maintained a careful distance until now.
In doing so, wouldn’t he have more opportunities to meet with Kim Min-woo?
He’d long since abandoned the absurd notion of taking him on as a disciple.
Kim Min-woo was already a complete seeker of the sword who’d seen its end.
‘I don’t need him to be a swordsman.’
Now Geom-seon simply wanted to speak with him more. Or better yet, much more.
“Ah, Chairman Kim? This is Seo Jin-cheol. The matter is…….”
* * *
On the way out of Geom Hae Gak.
The bodyguards’ gazes converged upon him. Their eyes brimmed with countless unasked questions.
‘Hold back, friends.’
Now came the most important and sacred task.
There was no time to waste mental energy on casual conversation.
Fortunately, the bodyguards seemed to sense his mood and refrained from asking, professional as ever.
After settling into the rear seat of the vehicle.
“Take me to the Main Residence.”
He drew the connecting window shut with curtains, transforming the interior into a pitch-dark chamber.
Now it was time to craft the EX-rank Class Skill Book.
[Using Class Skill Book (EX)!]
[Class Necromancer selected!]
[Warning: Once a class is chosen, it cannot be changed again!]
[Will you create your first EX-grade skill as a Necromancer?]
‘Of course!’
Light erupted before him…….
[You have advanced to the class of Necromancer.]
[Your stats have been generated.]
[Your inventory has been opened.]
[You have been granted an EX-grade skill.]
Messages materialized before Kim Min-woo’s eyes.

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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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