Damn Necromancer - Chapter 46

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Spendthrift Necromancer (46)
“You crazy bastard! Did you just shove someone?”
Geom-seon Seo Ye-rim.
She launched herself at Cho Pil-wook with eyes blazing.
While Kim Min-woo had only been loitering near the Gate’s spawning point, she’d thought nothing of it.
Just another lunatic, she’d figured.
But then a genuinely insane man came sprinting out and shoved someone straight into the Gate.
By any measure, a high-Grade Gate—B-Grade or above.
And with a First Clear condition, the difficulty spiked accordingly.
Even B-Grade demanded a party of at least fifteen people.
A-Grade?
Catastrophic.
Recommended clearing strength was thirty people.
Kim Min-woo, on the other hand?
He was barely at the late E-Grade level now, even being generous.
There are limits to how much a person can overachieve.
This was far more desperate than the time he’d cleared a tomb at level one. Reaching even the midzone seemed questionable.
“You murderous bastard!”
“No, wait! What are you talking about! I only meant to grab your shoulder! But then something pushed me and—”
“Don’t lie! Everyone here saw you elbow me in the ribs!”
She turned her attention to the Gate’s entrance.
Light erupted brilliantly from the portal. A Gate only fully activates and divides into distinct zones once the First Clear succeeds.
Which meant.
The moment that light died, Kim Min-woo would be sealed inside forever—until he managed to clear it.
She scanned the crowd rapidly. Everyone was panicked, but they shared one crucial thing in common.
No one wanted to attempt entry to mount a rescue.
Understandable.
The Grade hadn’t even been determined yet.
They hadn’t even done proper preparations to enter.
Even with thorough planning and a curated team, clearing carried no guarantee—and someone wanted to just charge in blind?
Total annihilation wouldn’t be surprising.
But there was an even bigger problem.
Entering the Gate as an individual rather than as an established party would count as an Intrusion, and the starting zone would be different.
The survival odds were already slim. There was no guarantee you wouldn’t find him already dead when you arrived.
‘…Damn it.’
Seo Ye-rim wavered.
If Kim Min-woo hadn’t mentioned Geom-seon before, she would’ve abandoned rescue without hesitation.
Why would she stake her life for some pretty boy?
But now it was different.
―That boy Kim Min-woo—he’s going to be someone great. A true genius, a genius! Ha ha!
Grandfather’s laughter had grown so much more frequent lately. His own Swordsmanship, previously stalled, had progressed endlessly forward.
The news that the boy had cleared an S-Grade Gate in record time—how stunned she’d been. And infuriatingly, it was all because of that bastard.
‘If he dies…’
Geom-seon would grieve.
Grieve deeply.
She smiled ruefully.
They say you can’t see even an inch ahead in life.
Never would she have imagined herself willing to charge in and save that Kim Min-woo.
‘…I’ve lost my mind. Completely lost it.’
She bit her lip, then glanced back at the masters who’d come with her.
“…If I die, please put tteokbokki on my memorial altar, okay?”
Without another look, she plunged into the Gate.
“What?”
“Wait—Geom-seon just jumped in!”
“What do we do!”
Reporters turned urgently to the guild members around them.
But no one stepped forward. A successful rescue would bring great reward—if you lived to claim it. Everyone had only one life.
Besides.
If those two died, the First Clear could be claimed whenever others entered afterward. The Gate’s light faded slowly into darkness.
* * *
A new Gate appears.
It was only natural that public attention concentrated on it, given that such an event occurred perhaps once every few months, or at most once every few years.
The Grade of the Gate that emerged could dramatically shift the national balance of power.
Naturally, countless people were watching the news bulletins.
And the moment Kim Min-woo was pulled into the Gate was being broadcast without filter.
“This is an emergency report! Kim Min-woo has been sucked into a newly formed Gate in Gyeonggi Province…….”
“What the hell? What did I just watch?”
“That lunatic. He seriously just ran straight at him and shoved him in?”
“Think he was paid by overseas interests? To take out the rookie?”
“It really looks like it. Something felt off from the moment he started charging over there;;”
“So who even is that?”
“Looks like Cho Pil-wook from Dorim guild? Heard he’s the chairman’s son and a total delinquent ㅋㅋㅋ”
“Oh, the guy who made that YouTube channel and got absolutely roasted?”
“Yeah. One of those Kim Min-woo knockoffs. Looks like there was actual bad blood between them ㅋㅋㅋ”
“But why would he just shove him like that? Does he have no brain? Should’ve at least acted ㅋㅋㅋ”
“Probably just blind rage. Like he wasn’t thinking at all.”
“Did you catch those curses Seo Ye-rim was throwing? Was she close with Kim Min-woo?”
“Seems like she got pissed because someone shoved a person into a Gate. That’s literally murder ㅋㅋㅋ”
“But can Kim Min-woo even make it back alive? That’s at least a B-Grade gate;;”
“;; Seems rough…… Even if he’s leveled up, he’s probably still around E-Grade, right?”
“Even if we’re generous and say D-Grade…… This is going to be brutal. He won’t even make it to the middle tier; last time they tried one of these, it was a whole different dimension…….”
Then.
“Wait, what?! Seo Ye-rim just went in!”
Seo Ye-rim’s figure diving into the Gate was being broadcast as well.
“Are you serious;;”
“DamnDamnDamnDamnDamnDamnDamnDamn”
“PleaseB-GradePleaseB-GradePleaseB-GradePleaseB-GradePleaseB-Grade”
“If it’s B-Grade, they can clear it, right?”
“Who knows; Seo Ye-rim is an A-Grade Awakener at least, but even accounting for that, going in alone is insane;;”
“Isabella doesn’t even solo Gates like that. This is seriously messed up ㅋㅋㅋ”
“But she’s not alone? Kim Min-woo is in there too”
“What help is some E-Grade trash gonna be;;”
“If it’s A-Grade, they’re done for. Both of them are dead. They absolutely can’t clear it…….”
“If it turns out to be B-Grade though, there’s a chance, right?”
“Maybe; since this is a First Clear situation, the difficulty will scale up, so we can’t say for sure. Still better than A-Grade though…….”
“Why aren’t other guilds rushing in? They’re just leaving it at this?”
“Stop spouting nonsense; why would they go commit suicide?”
“I mean other guilds I get, but what’s Dorim doing? They made the mess and now they’re not cleaning it up?”
“Seems unclear; looking at the guild master just standing there frozen, he probably didn’t see this coming at all…….”
“What kind of lunatic would predict something like that ㅋㅋㅋ”
“Either way, it’s Dorim’s fault for not controlling their guild members. I’m starting a boycott of Dorim today.”
“For real. First, that bastard Cho Pil-wook needs to go to prison for murder, and Dorim needs to be held accountable. Since he touched a celebrity, they probably can’t just throw money at it this time ㅋㅋㅋ”
“Agreed. I’ve always been pissed that he keeps slipping away with money. Trash like Cho Pil-wook belongs in prison. And that chairman shielding him with money deserves the same ㅇㅇ.”
“Anyway, Kim Min-woo was supposedly going to show something big soon, and he showed us something alright ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
Then.
The civil servants measuring the Gate’s Grade shouted loudly.
“Measurement complete! It’s B-Grade!”
“According to the information just delivered, the Gate is classified as B-Grade, and our broadcasting station has invited expert panels to discuss the possibility of conquering it…….”
Park Si-woo, who had been watching television, dropped his jaw.
“Even if you see shocking news, try not to be too surprised.”
Could that shocking news he mentioned possibly be this?
Then.
His phone rang.
“Yes, Chairman!”
“Si-woo, have you heard anything?”
Chairman Kim’s voice came through in urgent tones.
They’d held a press conference together just this morning, so it seemed he was grasping at straws, looking for any lifeline. Park Si-woo scratched his cheek hesitantly before speaking.
“……Well, it does seem like something he intended…….”
“What? He intended it?!”
“He said something rather ominous earlier. That even if shocking news broke, I shouldn’t be too surprised…….”
―Wait… Are you saying they rigged this whole thing to bring down Dorim and swallow the Gate? But how would they even know a Gate would appear?
“I can’t say for certain myself. It’s possible those words weren’t spoken just because of this incident. But your brother isn’t your average Awakener, so… don’t you think we have to trust him?”
―Right. Fair enough. I understand. Thanks. Let’s hang up.
He set down the phone and exhaled slowly.
“…He’s got to have some kind of plan.”
Kim Min-woo was far, far stronger than the public assumed.
Even as a B-rank Awakener, he might be able to clear it. Especially with Geom-seon fighting alongside him.
One thing seemed certain enough.
Dorim—the second-largest company in the business world.
This enterprise was truly finished.
* * *
[B-rank Gate, “Murim,” commencing exploration!]
[You were the first to enter the Gate!]
[You have obtained the Title: “First Step Forward!”]
[Difficulty has changed to B+: “War of the Stars!”]
―Whine.
“Good girl. You did well, very well.”
After entering the Gate,
he reached down to ruffle Ha-yang’s fur affectionately.
‘Everything’s going according to plan.’
Dorim would handle this Gate.
And their conquest roster included Cho Pil-wook.
A 300-level A-rank Awaker.
An indispensable asset for any serious dungeon run.
‘I knew he’d show up.’
Kim Min-woo knew Cho Pil-wook well enough.
The man was an absolute maniac.
Compared to him, Kim Min-woo was practically tame.
And then there was their history.
A hothead like Cho Pil-wook would naturally blame someone else—no question about it.
Just as expected.
The bastard charged in first, true to his impulsive nature.
And he did it with his shoulder raised and fist cocked, clearly aiming to shatter bone.
‘Good luck.’
Cho Pil-wook would feel wronged, but he’d never be able to prove his innocence.
After all, Ha-yang’s Stealth was formidable enough to pierce Il-seong’s home security system and trail him all the way to this Hidden Gate.
Even an awakened swordmaster like Geom-seon couldn’t detect him.
So anyone watching would think the shove came from pure rage and resentment.
‘He was going for my shoulder anyway.’
He’d come prepared to take a blow in return.
‘Cho Pil-wook won’t be able to cover this up alone.’
Dorim—the company behind him—would catch hell too. When a parent fails to raise their child properly, the parent pays the price.
Dorim’s destruction was already written.
The Gate would be claimed.
A rival would be crushed.
Two birds with one stone.
Then it happened.
[Warning!]
[One unauthorized individual currently exists within the Gate interior!]
‘…What?’
He tilted his head in confusion.
Someone’s pulling an intrusion now?
‘An assassin? No, that doesn’t fit.’
A Gate ranking detector.
A precision instrument that measured Mana density to verify a Gate’s rank.
By its nature, it caught anyone using Mana with uncanny precision.
Even an assassin’s Stealth would be exposed—since Stealth itself was a Mana-based skill.
Not even an S-rank assassin could evade the device’s detection.
‘Only someone like Ha-yang could slip past it for certain.’
Who would attempt an assassination here, with the guild’s eyes and the entire broadcast audience watching?
Even while the measuring device was spinning?
It’s madness.
If that were the case, I’d have been caught red-handed before entry and beaten senseless by the guild before arrest. No guild worth its salt would just watch some fool walk into a Gate without stopping them.
‘So someone came to rescue me.’
It’s possible.
But…
“Came alone?”
At a point when the Gate’s Grade hadn’t even been determined?
I was deeply curious who would attempt such novel self-annihilation.
‘It’s not Cho Pil-wook, at least.’
After the body check, he didn’t get sucked in along with me—he stopped dead.
A reckless bastard like that would never stake his life charging in for my sake.
‘Then who?’
I had no idea.
Kim Min-woo glanced around the surroundings.
The interior of an antique-styled room.
‘This looks like a wuxia Gate.’
The Gate’s name itself suggested as much.
Murim, they called it.
‘Nothing strange about that.’
From C-Grade and above, odd Gates appeared frequently.
Cyberpunk Gates had shown up, yokai Gates like Hundred Ghosts’ Night Parade—so a wuxia setting was hardly surprising.
‘I should try to find whoever entered, though…’
Being the first Clear Gate, the difficulty had shifted.
I had no way of knowing how vast the stage was. The distance to the middle zone was said to be consistent, but if the stage was large, we could be separated by considerable distance. Moving without a proper grasp of the situation yet carried significant risk.
“…Well, if luck’s on my side, I’ll run into them.”
First, I needed to figure out exactly where this was and what the Gate’s objective entailed.
Kim Min-woo pushed himself to his feet.
It was time to begin the conquest.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————