Damn Necromancer - Chapter 50

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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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Prodigal Necromancer (50)
Inmyeonjiju
“So what do you think that task will be?”
“Who knows? But they’ll give us something worth clearing. Ryeon-ju will want to push me up no matter what.”
“……You said you were aiming for first place. And after you get this Ascension thing or whatever it is—what then? I heard you’re supposed to hand it over to the higher-ups no matter what.”
“Naturally, I’ll swallow it down myself.”
Seo Ye-rim’s expression hardened slightly.
“……You’re not counting Ryeon-ju? And if the Jianghu lord and the Demon Lord or whoever are after it too, won’t there be war?”
“These days, even handmaidens know about such things?”
“……That fool Jang Sam flapped his mouth. I picked up a few things while waiting.”
Ah, Jang Sam.
That chatterbox would spill everything.
He nodded.
“Ryeon-ju is pretty fierce. In a straight fight, you definitely can’t win. Probably not you either, I’d guess. War will definitely break out.”
“……But you’re going to swallow it anyway? Looks to me like the Gate name will change. To something like the Heavenly-Earthly Net or whatever. Won’t that make the Gate rank A?”
“Oh. You know about the Heavenly-Earthly Net too?”
“……Hmph. Do you really take me for some ignorant brute who does nothing but eat and swing a sword? I’ve read a few martial arts novels.”
“Well…… I can’t say it’s impossible. Actually, now that you mention it, that sounds quite plausible.”
The Heavenly-Earthly Net.
A net spanning heaven and earth.
Roughly speaking, it meant an enormous encirclement. If I bolted with the clue to Ascension, all three factions would chase after me with their eyes blazing red. The odds of such an encirclement actually materializing were high.
“You have nothing to worry about, Ye-rim.”
“Why is that?”
“The Clear is likely to trigger the moment the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering ends and the rankings are set.”
“Then you could just bolt with the Ascension too. But they wouldn’t let something that valuable slip away so easily, would they?”
“So they won’t suspect me. To be precise—I think the Clear will only trigger once I hand over the clue to Ascension to Ryeon-ju.”
Since handing it over was the rule, the act of handing it over itself was likely the Clear condition.
What if I didn’t hand it over?
The Gate would probably get very angry and upgrade instead.
But Seo Ye-rim’s side?
Second or third place didn’t have any obligation to present things to the higher-ups like that.
Just take it and be done.
So after that, she’d likely be able to escape the Gate.
“……So you’re telling me to slip out first? Just grab the prize and run?”
“Or you could break through the Heavenly-Earthly Net with me.”
“……Ha. This is driving me crazy. Kim Min-woo. Let me ask you something. If the Heavenly-Earthly Net really does appear, are you confident you can break through it?”
“I can’t say for certain. We might all die.”
“And you’re going to do it anyway?”
“If I’d only walked the easy, comfortable path, it would have been me screaming under Sa-gongja’s fists today.”
“……”
“Now and in the future, I will keep challenging.”
Seo Ye-rim, who had been silent, spoke.
“I don’t know you well. I don’t. But on the surface, you seemed to live a satisfactory life?”
“Did I?”
A nod.
Seo Ye-rim nodded and opened her mouth.
“But why go that far? You’re wealthy, you’ve awakened, you have nothing to envy others for. Usually people just want to live comfortably then, don’t they?”
“Why do you do the same?”
“……What do you mean?”
“With a face like yours, you’re attractive, your grandfather is a Sword Saint, you’re already a star making money hand over fist. So why spend all day swinging nothing but a sword?”
“……I just…… ”
After a long moment of hesitation, she spoke.
“It’s just my life’s goal. I swing the sword, wanting my grandfather’s recognition, so I work like a hamster wheel. I’m not sure what that makes me…… ”
Hearing those words, Kim Min-woo smiled faintly.
“I too have a goal, just like you. Clearing. That is my life’s purpose. It became my occupation, and now my body itches if I don’t do it.”
“……That’s severe, isn’t it?”
“Is it?”
Seo Ye-rim stared intently at Kim Min-woo. She couldn’t be sure about anything else.
But there was one thing she could feel.
‘He means it.’
His eyes were telling her everything.
At least on this one goal—the Clear—he was being utterly sincere.
“……Do you have a plan?”
“I’ve thought of something. Whether it’ll work, I can’t say for certain.”
“Assuming things go well, what would you estimate the survival rate to be?”
“30%?”
“If things don’t go well?”
“Maybe around 1%? We’d be pretty much dead.”
“What if I’m involved?”
“If it goes well, 40%. If it fails, maybe 2%.”
“Fine when things go right, but only 1% higher if they go wrong? That’s barely anything.”
“If it fails, we fall into the abyss. We have to assume the worst. And I’m sorry to say this, but when Ryeon-ju gets involved, you won’t last even ten minutes.”
“And you?”
“Twelve minutes?”
“……You’re stronger than me?”
“Not stronger so much as I have more tools at my disposal.”
Inside a Gate, anything could happen. Naturally, he’d brought everything he could cram into his subspace.
He’d have plenty of use for it later.
“……All right. I’ll think about it.”
“You’re considering this?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Don’t. Really, your chances of dying are high. I’m not joking.”
No matter how much the Clear was her life’s goal, Seo Ye-rim was someone who’d rushed headlong into danger to save his life.
He had no intention of dragging her into the jaws of death again.
“……You’re already jumping to conclusions? I haven’t decided, I said?”
“Which is why you shouldn’t…….”
Then it happened.
Bang!
The door burst open.
“Both of you, you need to come quick! A posting’s up! A big one!”
A mission had been issued.
* * *
[Mission (Urgent Special Grade)]
[Hunt Inmyeonjiju on Cheon-gong Mountain]
[Points: 30,000]
[Challengers: Baek So-cheon, Choi Aeng-aeng, Jang Sam]
[Details: Those who retrieve the carapace of an Inmyeonjiju shall receive 15,000 points each, to be awarded to Baek So-cheon and Choi Aeng-aeng.]
[This mission has been voted on by the Elder Council, and Ryeon-ju consents.]
[Notice: Anyone who obstructs this mission shall face Dismemberment Execution and the erasure of their bloodline, regardless of rank.]
The warriors of Sadoryeon murmured as they read the postings scattered throughout the sect.
“An Inmyeonjiju on Cheon-gong Mountain? Are they talking about that Demon Beast?”
“Even Peak Masters have gone there and come back as corpses…….”
“Who are Choi Aeng-aeng and Jang Sam anyway?”
“Jang Sam? Isn’t he just a servant? And Choi Aeng-aeng is a maidservant?”
“A maidservant and a servant as challengers? Are they telling them to go die? And they’re including Sa-gongja…….”
“Haven’t you heard the news yet? Sa-gongja took down Sa-gongja in a single blow…….”
Then.
Sa-gongja and the maidservant and the servant.
The three figures emerged from afar. The murmuring warriors parted to let them through. The three of them looked at the posting. Of the three, only Jang Sam’s face had gone pale.
Trembling from head to toe.
Jang Sam turned to look at him.
“Uh…… Something’s felt off since just now, but why is my name up there?”
“Jang Sam. You said it yourself just a moment ago. That you were my only loyal servant.”
“But, my lord……! That and this are two different things!”
“So what, you were planning to slip out on your own?”
“No, that’s not…….”
Jang Sam felt like he was going mad.
A servant’s fortune had always followed their master’s.
Sa-gongja had been hiding his strength!
He’d endured those hidden years with tears and sorrow.
Finally, after a whole year, he thought he might see the light of day.
‘Inmyeonjiju?’
The Inmyeonjiju of Cheon-gong Mountain.
A notoriously vicious Demon Beast—the sort of monster known to devour even Peak Masters without breaking a sweat.
And that wasn’t all.
He’d heard that Cheon-gong Mountain was choked with lethal poison at every turn, and covered in sticky webs so adhesive that a single misstep would strip the skin clean off your feet.
‘But we’re going after that thing?’
The three of us?
No—he didn’t count, so really just the two of them.
This was suicide, plain and simple.
Sure, Kim Min-woo had beaten Sa-gongja, but even if Sa-gongja brought reinforcements, Jang Sam doubted they could so much as touch a hair on the Inmyeonjiju. Thirty thousand points wasn’t thirty thousand points for nothing.
‘Ah, so this is when Ryeon-ju finally shows her true, wicked nature.’
She hadn’t even deigned to treat Kim Min-woo as her child—and now, at last, her cruel fangs were bared for all to see.
What the Elder Council had decided could not be overturned, not even by Ryeon-ju.
Why?
Because the decision itself required her consent to pass in the first place.
There was no way she’d commit the absurdity of approving something and then reversing it herself.
“At least no one will stand in the way.”
As Jang Sam watched Kim Min-woo nod calmly, humming to himself, he felt his temper flare to the breaking point.
“Aren’t you even worried, sir? This is a death sentence!”
“We’ll find out whether I die or live once we get there. Come on. There’s a lot to prepare.”
Kim Min-woo turned and walked away without hesitation.
Seo Ye-rim did the same.
“Wait, I’m coming with you!”
Jang Sam scrambled to his feet and rushed after them.
It wasn’t as if he could run away from this.
No matter what, he had no choice but to follow the two of them.
* * *
When they returned to their quarters, a familiar face was waiting.
It was Elder Second.
He handed over a sword.
[Phantom Sword]
[Grade: Unique]
[Level Requirement: 110]
[Effect 1. Greatly increases the chance of the target experiencing hallucinations upon being struck.]
[Effect 2. Each swing has a set probability of summoning a phantom to aid in combat.]
[Effect 3. Mana +40]
Kim Min-woo let out a low whistle at the sight of the blade.
Swords with mana bonuses were rare.
People didn’t usually make them, because what good was mana for someone who wielded a melee weapon?
No inventory, no demand.
It was the kind of item that fell through the cracks.
‘For me, it’s perfect.’
And the other two effects were quite useful besides.
The Judgment Sword.
Destroying a Rare-grade blade to forge a Unique one—it was nothing short of a miracle.
“Does it suit your tastes?”
“It’ll do the job.”
“It’s a gift from Ryeon-ju.”
“It feels like something’s missing, though.”
“Heh heh. Sharp as ever. Take this as well.”
He handed over a martial manual.
[Gwisalgeombeop]
Kim Min-woo flipped through it quickly.
‘Decent enough.’
A B-rank martial art.
From Ryeon-ju’s perspective, it was something she could release without much burden, yet not so common that just anyone could lay hands on it.
It was precisely calibrated to that level.
What he’d asked Ryeon-ju for was a sword and a martial manual. Having received both, the transaction was complete.
“Please tell her I’m grateful.”
“So be it.”
Elder Second nodded, his form growing indistinct.
Seo Ye-rim approached, curiosity bright in her eyes.
“You’re learning martial arts?”
“No. I can’t learn them.”
“……Given your talent, I’d think you could master it in a day if you set your mind to it?”
No, that wasn’t how it worked.
Martial arts manuals were nothing like skill books.
These were more like training guides—study them diligently enough and skills would eventually manifest.
But when that would happen depended entirely on talent.
And Kim Min-woo’s talent?
Even if he followed a martial arts manual his entire life until he withered away, he’d never learn a thing.
He wasn’t disappointed about it.
‘Anyway, learning more than one type of martial art was practically forbidden in these circles.’
It was a perfect structure for ambitious people with modest talent to get themselves killed.
The moment your lineages tangled, Demonic Qi Intrusion would come calling.
For instance.
If you learned a lower-tier technique from the Empty Sky School, you were locked into learning only Empty Sky School techniques going forward.
To avoid that dead end, you’d need to find and master an S-rank, top-tier technique all at once.
‘That’s rough.’
The problem started with simply finding such a stage in the martial world to begin with.
Then there was the matter of actually obtaining an S-rank technique there.
‘I figured it’d be around B-rank at most.’
Anything A-rank or higher—even Ryeon-ju couldn’t simply hand out without permission.
The Elders would foam at the mouth in protest.
You’d need to hunt an Inmyeonjiju and prove yourself first—maybe then they’d grudgingly consider it.
‘They won’t give it though.’
The moment you came back from hunting one, you’d have to depart immediately for the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.
How were you supposed to master high-level techniques in those few days? You’d be better off not learning anything at all.
So the better play was to win first place and then receive it as a prize when presenting the bribe.
Which meant they wouldn’t give it.
Regardless.
This manual wasn’t something Kim Min-woo was seeking for himself.
“Jang Sam, come here.”
“You called for me, sir!”
“Take this.”
“……?”
Jang Sam’s eyes darted back and forth between the manual and his own face.
“You’re… giving this to me?”
“Don’t want it?”
“No, no! I’ll take it! Of course I’ll take it!”
The Gwisalgeombeop.
Just from the name alone, it sounded like something formidable.
And it wasn’t as though an Elder had randomly handed it over, either.
This was no cheap, half-baked technique.
Everything Jang Sam had learned so far came from a wandering Taoist on the street—the Tonab Method and the Samjae Sword Style.
The same familiar heart technique and sword forms that even village gangsters in the mountains shared!
His eyes practically bulged out of his head.
He snatched up the manual with trembling hands.
“The Ghost-Slaying Heart Technique, Ghost-Slaying Steps—everything is written there. Memorize it all. We’re heading out to hunt spiders soon, and starting tomorrow, I’m testing you. Fail to memorize it, and you’re dead.”
“Yes! I’ll memorize it, sir!”
Jang Sam’s voice rang out eagerly.
If there was one mistake he made in that moment.
It was taking the threat about dying if he failed to memorize far too lightly.

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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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