Damn Necromancer - Chapter 7

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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 (7)
GateNet holds the largest stake among all Awakener communities.
Recently, a single topic had been rising to prominence on the platform.
―Who’s hoarding all the Shaman Totem Summoning Skill Books? Wasn’t that an unpopular class? Since when is there demand for this?
―Fighters are going crazy too lol Hardening Skill books are completely gone, they’re getting pummeled by mobs with tears of blood lololol
―Just do direct trades then. You’ll find them quick near a few Gates.
―You haven’t heard yet? There’s mass hoarding of all low-level skills happening at Gate entrances lol
―Yeah. Those guys in black suits were buying up all the Skill Books at the Gate entrance, right? They’re purchasing every weird skill for 400.
―400? Am I the only one hearing unpopular classes screaming in pain? lol
―Some idiot sold an off-meta skill for 200 at the Auction House lol and those shoulder-brothers generously bought it for double at the entrance lolol
―And no commission fee lol
―That’s why you gotta follow the meta, I’m telling you? Don’t go to the Auction House over expensive Skill Books lol
―Mainstream ones start at 700 minimum? Prices are going up across the board;
―……huh?
―Dammit, this is bad. I need to learn Elemental Mastery but there’s nothing on the market.
―Just go to the Academy and get Awakened in magic, learn it that way. This’d be perfect timing for meditation training lol
―You serious? Why go through that hassle when you can just buy a Skill Book and learn it? lol
―URGENT BREAKING NEWS! Sword junkies, you’re done too…… Swordsmanship Mastery listings: ZERO!
There were no F-Rank Skill Books on the market.
It didn’t matter which class you played. The users who had been joking and laughing at each other were now beginning to grasp the gravity of the situation.
―This is insane. Those shoulder-brothers are here again;;
―Ugh; I was trying to buy a Skill Book but the shoulder-guy kept bidding higher next to me. I lost it; this is ridiculous…….
―I’m an Assassin and they took my skill, so I got mad and used Stealth to tail those shoulder-brothers. I think it’s connected to Il-Sung somehow?
―Pulling the ladder out from under them ㄷㄷ
―If they’re buying across all classes without discrimination, isn’t this that thing? Nine-Star Enhancement.
―Wait……? There’s a chance this is actually happening?
―They’re seriously doing Nine-Star? Did the Chairman get called up by the President? To stimulate the economy?
―Trickle-down effect lol
―But does Il-Sung have anyone who can do Nine-Star?
―Doesn’t look like it? From what I see with the low-level skill purchases, it’s for rookies…… but I haven’t heard anything about recruitment.
―I did hear something. Geom-seon and Kim Min-woo had a match.
―??? What bullshit is this?
―Summary: Geom-seon and Kim Min-woo went at it. Kim Min-woo fights like a god. Geom-seon pushed hard. After that, he Awakened. The light was incredible. Judging the Achievement alone at least A-Rank.
―I saw it directly too. It was seriously awesome, anyone who missed this is blind? lol
―……?
―Is this real?
―Testimonies are popping up all over? Something definitely went down?
“How’s it going? Is it catching on?”
“Yes, Team Lead. I think it’s about to ignite soon?”
“The Young Master’s debut is coming soon, so make sure the fire doesn’t go out. You get it? It needs to feel natural.”
“Come on. We’re professionals at this kind of thing. But that…… is it real?”
“What, the match?”
“Yes. That match.”
“I don’t know either.”
But Il-Sung’s information team lead was secretly certain of one thing.
‘It’s probably real, nine times out of ten.’
Because otherwise, the group’s aggressive moves lately wouldn’t make sense.
‘They said the light was incredible. If so, it’s at least A-Rank, and maybe…….’
Awakeners with high Achievement grades are fairly common.
Rich people with money are everywhere too.
But Awakeners with both? That’s truly handful anywhere in the world.
‘This could really be the birth of a super rookie…….’
The team lead felt a thrill run through him for the first time in a while.
* * *
[Skeleton Summoning (F)+9 has been completed!]
[You have acquired the Title ‘Auspicious Seedling’!]
“Phew, finally done?”
Min-woo wiped the sweat pouring down his forehead at the Auction House.
It had taken two whole days, even after sourcing Skill Books from across the entire country.
It was because the enhancement had failed several times starting from level 7.
Still, the price he’d paid was sweetened by returns just as rich.
[Skeleton Summoning (F)+9]
[A Skill enhanced to its limit.]
[Consumes 10 Mana to summon 2 Level 1 Skeletons (1+1).]
“Damn, that’s sweet.”
The original effect was to summon one skeleton for 10 Mana.
But now it summoned two.
Double efficiency.
An overwhelming disparity.
‘And I picked up a Title on top of it all.’
[Title Inventory]
[1. Promising Prospect]
[Reached the Growth Cap at Level 1.]
[Effect: All Ability Values +1]
[2. Spirit Elixir Slayer]
[Consumed over one thousand Spirit Elixirs at Level 1.]
[Health +1, Mana +1]
[3. A Seedling of Great Promise]
[Created a +9 Enhanced Skill at Level 1.]
[Skill Capacity +1]
Titles were typically awarded at momentous occasions—when an Awakener performed something difficult or accomplished something for the first time.
Various effects were attached to Titles: permanent Ability Value increases, damage boosts against certain monsters, expanded Skill capacity, and more.
‘If I’m going to reach the top, I need to collect as many as possible.’
Especially when it came to stat increases—Titles were among the primary means of breaking through the Growth Cap alongside leveling up.
‘Good start. Status window.’
[Name: Kim Min-woo (23)]
[Class: Necromancer]
[Level: 1]
[Skills Held (1/6): Death Lord (EX)]
[Mana: 520/520]
[Titles: 3]
[Stats]
[Strength: 51] [Agility: 51] [Vitality: 52] [Intelligence: 52]
Numbers that made it almost impossible to believe he was Level 1.
His growth was nothing short of explosive.
‘The number of Undead I can summon right now is…….’
At 2 skeletons per 10 Mana, he could theoretically summon up to 104.
And if he factored in the Death Lord’s 50% Mana reduction effect?
‘Up to 208.’
A ridiculous amount.
And these 208 skeletons weren’t mere bones.
Their Ability Values were boosted by 50%—a massive enhancement.
While an ordinary Necromancer was just beginning to command one or two skeletons, he was already racing ahead with an overwhelming advantage.
‘Hot damn, this is it.’
And that still wasn’t everything.
The Death Lord’s resurrection function—the ability to revive once.
Add equipment on top of that?
Even if skeletons were early-game summons, weaker than an adult man?
‘No one in this tier could stop it.’
He was certain of it.
There hadn’t been a single Awakener stronger than him at Level 1.
‘Now what’s left is…….’
Kim Min-woo recalled the message he’d seen before.
The call of the Death Lord.
‘I don’t know what it’ll make me do, but…….’
It didn’t feel like there’d be nothing but laughs and small talk waiting for him.
Death Lord.
Even the name looked sinister, didn’t it?
Of course he’d prepare equipment, potions, and consumables thoroughly.
‘The crucial thing is whether to level up first or answer the call.’
Even without learning the Skeleton Summoning skill, hunting within a Gate was entirely feasible.
His ability values were high.
He wielded the sword well enough to hold his own against Geom-seon to some degree.
He could sweep through an F-Rank Gate without much need for skills at all.
‘Leveling up should be easy enough. Ability values will climb steadily. The real problem is Titles…’
The easiest way to acquire Titles.
The harder the difficulty, the better.
From tasks anyone and everyone could accomplish, Titles that provided practically no benefit would drop—or wouldn’t drop at all—more often than not.
‘I imagine the Death Lord’s Calling will yield several Titles as well?’
The effect of an EX-Rank skill, no less.
If all went well, a Title bonanza might unfold.
Especially if he entered at Level 1—the lowest possible—the probability of obtaining a Title would skyrocket exponentially.
He knew it was dangerous.
But there was no reward without risk.
‘To hunt outside the gates, I need to accumulate Titles—as many as I can get.’
For Kim Min-woo, whose physical talent was utterly lacking, this was all the more true.
The moment would surely come when he’d desperately need every single ability point a Title could grant.
‘The order is decided, then.’
Enter at Level 1 and answer the Death Lord’s Calling. Clearing the Gate comes after that.
[Searching for equipment.]
[Condition: Equippable at Level 1 and above.]
Immediately after his decision.
Low-level equipment listings on the Auction House began drying up wholesale.
* * *
Common—Magic—Rare—Unique—Legend—Ancient—Mythic.
Equipment came in seven tiers total.
Among all these tiers, what equipment did beginner melee Classes aspire to?
Nine out of ten would surely name the Black Heart Set.
The so-called national standard Magic set.
Its greatest advantage was simple: the equippable level.
Level 1 minimum.
Equipment even a freshly awakened novice could don immediately.
With such a low equippable level, the performance was remarkably solid.
Piece by piece, the individual effects weren’t extraordinary.
But once you assembled the parts and triggered the Set Effect, everything changed.
Only then did it truly enter the ranks of premium gear.
It delivered perfectly serviceable performance all the way to Level 40.
The value for money was excellent too.
A full set typically ran around two hundred million won. Awakeners earned rather more comfortably than ordinary people.
Taking out a loan and going all-in wasn’t entirely out of reach.
Naturally, it was one of the most actively traded items on the market.
Even now, countless melee-Class Awakeners were saving up, dreaming of this equipment.
[Purchase all Black Heart Set items?]
“Buy everything under five thousand each.”
[Withdrawing 50 billion 728 million won…….]
[Additional 10% commission fee deducted…….]
‘Oof.’
Sorry, newbies.
Your gear—my Skeletons just claimed it.
Cut them some slack; they’re newbies too.
[Items transferring to Inventory…….]
[Weight exceeds capacity!]
“Right, I have the Spatial Ring.”
[Items transferred to intermediate Spatial Ring!]
He’d prepared a Spatial Ring precisely for moments like this.
He hadn’t bought it himself.
Chairman Kim had lent it to him free of charge.
‘Thanks to that, I just saved fifty billion won.’
Inventory capacity was limited.
It did expand as your Level increased, but even so, it never felt quite spacious enough.
Which was why items like Spatial Rings commanded such high demand.
Lower-tier Gates, you could bring porters, but higher-tier ones were too dangerous to risk it.
At that level, porters themselves needed to be mid-tier Awakeners, and their daily wage alone ran into the thousands.
Easier to just buy a Spatial Ring and pocket the difference.
‘That’s why it’s one of the hottest items on the market.’
The Auction House hadn’t had any in stock, which had been disappointing.
But the family connections made procurement easy enough.
‘Got two hundred equipment sets together without breaking a sweat.’
He’d sourced weapons for the skeletons as well, and stockpiled extras just to be safe.
On top of that, he’d loaded up on top-tier Potions and consumables.
Honestly, with this much prep, if I can’t clear it?
‘Well, then I’m not supposed to.’
Min-woo began equipping himself piece by piece.
Not some cost-effective set like the Black Heart Set, but individual rare items. His entire body ended up a motley patchwork of colors, though each piece was worth every cent.
These were genuine luxury goods—each item alone easily worth hundreds of millions.
The kind of money-burning nonsense no one bothered with unless they were desperate to level up fast.
[You have equipped: Raven’s Eerie Head!]
[Health +5, Mana +5]
[Eye of Fear (F-Rank) has been activated!]
[You have equipped: Elastic Armor of Bullfrog King!]
[Health +10]
[Elastic Skin (F-Rank) has been activated!]
[You have equipped: Purple Goblin’s Leather Pants!]
[Agility +5, Mana +5]
[Curse of Sorrow (F-Rank) has been activated!]
[You have equipped: Awkwardly Speaking Necklace!]
[Mana +8]
[Shield (F-Rank) has been activated!]
[You have equipped: Wretched Witch’s Mana Gloves!]
[Mana +10]
[Ice Ball (F-Rank) has been activated!]
[You have equipped: Swift Thief Shoes!]
[Agility +10]
[Haste (F-Rank) has been activated!]
‘Ghgh.’
Individual items, each sporting the kind of skill effects you’d normally only see on assembled sets.
With 4 ability points per level, these were pieces equivalent to leveling up two or three times just in stat boost alone.
Honestly, the raw performance wasn’t quite worth hundreds of millions.
But the equipment requirement was brutal.
They could be used from Level 1.
That advantage was more significant than it seemed.
‘The resale issue’s annoying, though.’
Individuals rarely bought them; the only real demand came from large organizations looking to rent them out.
‘Even those groups hesitate because of loss risk.’
Gates were places where accidents could happen at any moment.
Rental equipment getting lost wasn’t rare—it happened fairly often.
Which meant demand wasn’t exactly booming.
‘If they don’t sell, I’ll just warehouse them. No sweat.’
And beyond that.
[You have equipped: Excavation Knight Commander’s Sword!]
[Strength +7, Agility +3]
[Hemorrhage (F-Rank) has been activated!]
He’d equipped a sword instead of a staff.
Because if necessary, he’d be fighting himself.
[Do you wish to acquire Skeleton Summoning (F-Rank)+9?]
Preparations were complete.
Let’s see what you’ve got.
[Skill acquired!]
[You have fulfilled all conditions for the Death Lord’s first trial!]
[The Death Lord begins to call to you.]
The landscape before him began to shift.

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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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