Damn Necromancer - Chapter 68

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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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Donzirah Necromancer (68)
Ripples
An interview conducted live on air.
Streams of questions poured in from reporters watching thousands of millions of viewers.
“Seo Ye-rim! What do you mean you’re an archer, not a swordsman?”
“I changed my profession.”
Seo Ye-rim promptly shared her Status Window, specifically the profession field.
“This is insane……!”
“She really became an archer?”
“Her profession actually changed?”
“How is that even possible……!”
The reporters erupted in shock.
And no wonder — a profession, once chosen, could never be changed. That was absolute law.
At least, it had been until now.
But it really had changed.
Information displayed through the Status Window was linked to the system itself, making tampering impossible.
“Seo Ye-rim! H-how did you manage to change your profession?”
“I received a special reward from a Gate.”
“But even S-Rank Gates have never granted such rewards before!”
“Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future, does it?”
“That’s true, but……then what became of your existing swordsman Skills and Achievements?”
“Those changed as well.”
“Was there a particular reason you switched from the sword to the bow?”
At the question, every eye fixed on Geom-seon with laser intensity.
She had trained with the sword since childhood. And it wasn’t as though she couldn’t wield one.
Her swordsmanship was good enough to outclass most top-tier swordsmen. Yet here she was, having abandoned her profession overnight. Everyone wanted answers.
Kim Min-woo took the microphone and spoke instead.
“Seo Ye-rim is naturally gifted with the bow. Skilled enough to manifest a Skill the moment she picked one up.”
“……!”
A visible wave of astonishment swept across the reporters’ faces.
She manifested a Skill the instant she grasped a bow?
If true, it was a talent so rare you’d struggle to find its equal anywhere in the world.
“So Geom-seon was hiding such a talent all this time?”
“Yes. The Gate reward was opportune, so I decided to make the switch.”
“Then, in your assessment, how would you rate Seo Ye-rim’s archery skill?”
“World-class level.”
“……World-class?”
“The archery landscape will be completely overturned before long. I’d bet money on it if you’d like.”
When he’d challenged the record last time.
The evaluation he’d delivered then was a complete one-eighty from this. He’d trashed her swordsmanship as pathetic, yet now he was calling her archery world-class.
‘Should I believe this or not?’
Of course, unless Seo Ye-rim was a fool, she wouldn’t have switched professions for nothing.
Her archery must genuinely surpass her swordsmanship.
It was just hard to believe it reached world-class level.
“Since she’ll continue to accomplish great things, her true skill will become apparent in time.”
The reporters nodded in agreement.
“Kim Min-woo! Dorim released an apology statement — are you willing to accept it?”
“Dorim? Who sent it from there?”
“It was just an official statement from the company.”
Kim Min-woo let out a short laugh.
“You try to bury one person, and that’s supposed to settle it?”
“Then…….”
“I suspect this whole incident was a deliberate plot orchestrated by Dorim.”
“A deliberate plot?”
“Hasn’t my advertising campaign been cutting into Dorim’s sales significantly? Could it be they threw one useless son as a sacrifice to eliminate a successful one?”
“Are you suggesting that Chairman Cho of Dorim ordered his own son to conduct a kind of suicide bombing?”
“Well, it’s certainly possible. For Dorim’s interests, it’s a profitable exchange. Frankly, trading a worthless thug like Cho Pil-wook to eliminate this threat — that’s a gain, isn’t it?”
Or maybe not.
Logically speaking, it didn’t quite fit perfectly.
If Dorim were going to hire an assassin, they’d use some third party with no apparent connection to them, not someone like Cho Pil-wook.
But what could he do about it?
It wasn’t Kim Min-woo’s problem to begin with.
First, scatter the conspiracy theories far and wide.
The burden of proof fell far more heavily on those who had to refute rumors than on those who spread them.
Now that public opinion had coalesced.
This alone would deal a considerable blow to Dorim’s sales.
Wasn’t he himself rising to prominence as a national hero, having conquered an A+ Grade Gate?
As the second-ranked guild, Il-sung overlapped with Dorim in quite a few sectors.
Dorim’s collapse was tantamount to Il-sung’s ascent.
Simply crippling Dorim’s revenue was gain enough.
‘Might as well squeeze something bigger out of this while I’m at it.’
Getting them to abandon one operation would do just fine.
Either way.
Since Dorim had thrown the first punch, he had no intention of backing down gracefully. Besides, his backing was stronger anyway.
[(Breaking) Gate Conquest 5:5 Split! There’s a D-Grade Awakener Running Wild in an A+ Grade Gate?]
[(Breaking) Geomhaegak’s Guarantee! The 5:5 Conquest is Undeniable Fact!]
[(Breaking) No Longer Geomhaegak, But Bow-Master? Seo Ye-rim Changes Job to Archer!]
[(Breaking) International Super Rookies Unite! Seo Ye-rim Joins the Donzirah Guild!]
[(Breaking) Dorim Chairman Cho Orders Son to Murder Kim Min-woo?]
[(Breaking) Dorim Side Dismisses as Absurd Conspiracy Theory…….]
* * *
After the interview ended.
Kim Min-woo looked at Seo Ye-rim.
“Will you come with me to Geomhaegak?”
“……No. On second thought, this is something I need to handle myself.”
“Will you be alright?”
“……It’s just about my job changing, nothing more. And the results aren’t bad either. I’ll be fine—go ahead and do what you need to do.”
Then so be it.
Kim Min-woo nodded.
Seo Ye-rim, returning alone, sought out Geom-seon.
“I’ve heard the news. Your job changed to archer, didn’t it?”
Seo Ye-rim nodded and shared her Status Window with Geom-seon.
Geom-seon’s eyes widened in surprise as he gazed at the skills.
Owned Skills: Divine Bow Epherin (SSS), Ghost Step (A), Precision Sniping (A)……
“SSS Grade……?”
Even he had never seen a skill of that grade before.
“Is this the skill you obtained as a reward from that Gate you mentioned?”
“Well, actually……”
Seo Ye-rim explained the situation.
Starting from how Kim Min-woo had recognized her talent for the bow, through the process of entering a mysterious space and taking a re-examination—Geom-seon’s eyes filled with astonishment at her account.
This was a talent that even Korea’s top-tier Awakeners, including himself, had failed to discover. How had Kim Min-woo perceived it at a glance?
Moreover, he’d even orchestrated this special re-examination process for her.
‘……Truly a mysterious child.’
Geom-seon’s gaze deepened.
Then.
Seo Ye-rim fixed her stare on Geom-seon and spoke.
“Grandfather.”
“Speak.”
“I’ve always wanted to earn your recognition. But I never managed it, not even once.”
Geom-seon nodded.
He knew his granddaughter craved his acknowledgment—that was a fact he’d always understood.
From childhood.
From the moment his son and daughter-in-law had died in an unforeseen accident and he’d taken this child into his care, he’d known it.
But Geom-seon had not given her what she wanted.
Or rather, could not have.
Her talent fell far short of what warranted his recognition.
What good would it do to lie in such circumstances?
It would be meaningless.
From some point onward, he’d even avoided sparring with her.
He couldn’t bear to see the sadness in his granddaughter’s eyes.
Seo Ye-rim’s eyes grew serious.
“Though I’ve exchanged my sword for a bow, my purpose remains unchanged. So please, train with me.”
“……Rise.”
Geom-seon moved with her toward the Training Grounds. Instructors and disciples naturally began to gather.
“What is this? Are they actually going to spar?”
“The way they’re heading to the Training Grounds… it certainly looks that way, doesn’t it?”
“Wasn’t their last match nearly three years ago?”
The two of them took their places in the Training Grounds.
Seo Ye-rim drew her weapon.
[Activating Divine Bow Epherin (SSS)!]
Brilliant light flashed.
The Divine Bow materialized in her hands, wreathed in radiance. The bow fit far more smoothly into her palm than the sword she’d wielded for decades.
‘Epherin. Help me.’
Thrummmm——!
As if reading her thoughts, the bow trembled in response.
Geom-seon drew his own blade.
Taut silence descended over the Training Grounds.
Then.
“Begin.”
She nodded.
Their match commenced.
Seo Ye-rim immediately activated the bow’s skill.
[Divine Bow declares ‘Slaughter Zone’!]
[Maintained for 20 minutes!]
[Agility increased by 50%.]
[Mana Arrows generated at triple rate!]
Slaughter Zone.
One of the Divine Bow’s inherent effects.
She drew the bowstring against Geom-seon’s advance. Azure mana coalesced and took the form of arrows.
Three shots.
Holding her breath in concentration, she released.
Ping!
Three arrows flew straight toward Geom-seon. As they traveled in a line, they caught the wind and their trajectories split into three separate paths.
Arrows approaching as if to encircle him from three sides—Geom-seon’s eyes gleamed.
‘Tricky.’
They were arriving with perfect precision: strike one arrow and another would find its mark in the opening. She had calculated wind flow and trajectory speeds from the moment of release.
It was only a single draw of the bowstring, yet he glimpsed flashes of genuine talent.
Of course, none of it was unblockable.
A single sweep of his blade and all three arrows were deflected in one smooth motion.
Then came a barrage from above and ahead—nine arrows in total, targeting his entire body.
A volley arriving with staggered timing, each shot precisely placed.
Whoooosh.
Wind infused Geom-seon’s blade.
As he spun it in a wide arc, the cascading arrows—each falling at different intervals—rained down toward the ground in a torrent.
This was the first time he’d seen her actively employ the Wind Sword Technique against him.
In other words, the threat posed by her arrows was considerable indeed.
Geom-seon closed the distance rapidly.
A blade thrust forward in a direct line.
[Activating Ghost Step (A)!]
Seo Ye-rim deployed the skill.
Becoming an archer had altered her skill composition as well.
The Ghost Step, evolved from her previous technique, was ideal for creating distance.
Her figure blurred and materialized far behind where she’d been standing.
The problem was that Geom-seon seemed to have anticipated it—he continued closing the gap.
Her arrows proved useless.
He parried them all.
‘Don’t panic.’
Matches with Geom-seon were always like this.
He predicted her every move. Falling back in such helplessness, losing—it had become routine.
Moreover, in their last encounter he had cleared an S-Rank Gate in record time, proving to the world that he had grown stronger still.
Geom-seon was already formidable.
Even fighting with everything she had, she doubted she could land a single wound.
‘Still, I can do this.’
She had the Divine Bow Epherin.
At the very least, she wouldn’t repeat the helpless defeat of her past.
Seo Ye-rim’s eyes gleamed.
She’d anticipated the distance closing.
She raised the Divine Bow Epherin and blocked the blade.
Clang!
An S-rank Awakener and an A-rank Awakener.
Sparks flew from all directions as the two exchanged blows at superhuman speed.
The powerful boost that came with equipping the Divine Bow Epherin, combined with her innate talent for archery—natural and formidable.
Archery wasn’t merely the technique of shooting well.
It was a terrifying talent.
That talent reached even into the realm of martial arts through bow and arrow.
An S-rank Martial Arts Manual from a Gate.
Seven-Kill Technique.
This martial art was unusual in that it dealt with close-range combat.
A technique where seven steps were taken, and the arrow found the enemy’s throat.
Having read the manual’s contents only once, her talent was already manifesting the skill perfectly.
“Seven-Kill Technique reproduced flawlessly!”
In one hand a Mana Arrow.
In the other the Divine Bow Epherin as she deflected Geom-seon’s attacks, Seo Ye-rim’s eyes narrowed.
Fifth step.
‘No, this won’t do.’
Geom-seon’s swordsmanship had advanced far beyond what it was three years ago when they’d last sparred. Grandfather wouldn’t fall to just this.
She needed something deadlier, something more threatening. Only then would anything come of this clash.
Then a thought suddenly struck her.
Seven-Kill Technique.
What if she wove in three shots of Precision Sniping through the Slaughter Zone?
Skills were a kind of standardized movement. Mixing them together was nearly impossible.
Yet Seo Ye-rim did it.
On the seventh step.
Her form suddenly blurred.
Before she knew it, she was at close range with Geom-seon, and she drew the bowstring.
“Seven-Kill Technique and Precision Sniping perfectly linked!”
“Slaughter Zone amplifies the effect!”
“A new skill is being created!”
“Seven-Bow Strike (SS) has been created!”
Three arrows were loosed at close range.
In that instant.
With a sickening crack, all three arrows shattered.
Seo Ye-rim’s eyes went hollow.
Her finishing blow had been stopped completely.
She hadn’t even seen how.
Yet there Geom-seon’s blade was, pressed against her neck—the arrows reduced to splinters.
Should she not be wielding the bow?
Then came the moment.
Geom-seon spoke, a note of genuine admiration in his voice.
“I must admit, this old man was surprised.”
“…What?”
“To think you’d make me resort to the Deep Heart Sword. Well, I’ll be…”
“The Deep Heart Sword…?”
She tilted her head in confusion.
Was he speaking of that realization he’d mentioned in passing before?
“Congratulations. You’ve found a profession that suits you perfectly. This old man acknowledges it. You have talent.”
“…Is that truly so?”
“It is.”
A lifetime of training.
Though she wielded a bow instead of a sword, it no longer mattered. At last, she’d fulfilled the lifelong wish she’d always carried.
Seo Ye-rim’s eyes widened sharply.
* * *
“……Huh?”
Kim Min-woo narrowed his eyes at the message that suddenly materialized.
“What is this? Why are my Achievement points suddenly…….”
Were they multiplying out of control?

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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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