Damn Necromancer - Chapter 70

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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 (70)
Family
After obtaining the skill.
The first thing he did was.
“It’s been a long time, Mother.”
He’d returned to Korea during winter break to meet his family.
He’d made a promise with Chairman Kim to have a meal with the family.
“We’ve heard much about you lately. They say you’ve had it rough? Are you feeling alright?”
Choi Yeon-ok held his hand, speaking with evident warmth.
“Yes. I’ve recovered completely. I’m fine.”
“My, our son has grown so dignified in my absence.”
A man and a girl emerged from behind Choi Yeon-ok.
They were faces familiar to Kim Min-woo.
‘Kim Hyung-seok, Kim Na-ye.’
Chairman Kim had two sons and one daughter.
Fortunately, there were no complications of different mothers.
Despite being Korea’s greatest conglomerate chairman, Chairman Kim was a man of faithful devotion to one woman.
Kim Hyung-seok, the second son and middle child of the three.
He’d been marked long ago as the successor to inherit the group in place of his older brother Kim Min-woo.
And for good reason—he’d handled his Awakening smoothly as a child, caused no particular trouble, and possessed a sharp mind for academics.
Attending a prestigious American university said it all.
Kim Na-ye, the youngest.
She’d only just turned six.
Her distinguishing trait was an abundance of charm and affection.
All three were familiar faces.
How could they not be, when he’d been watching them for the past six years while playing the game.
Now that he’d possessed the body and fully absorbed Kim Min-woo’s memories, they felt like genuine family to him.
“Big brother.”
“Na-ye’s here? It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Pick me up.”
He lifted the approaching girl by her legs as she spread her arms wide.
After bouncing her a few times, he heard her laugh with delight.
Even if Kim Min-woo was a reckless troublemaker, he’d always found Na-ye adorable.
She wasn’t a rival to resent the way his brother Kim Hyung-seok was, and she was always warm and affectionate—there was no reason to push her away. Besides, their social positions were hardly different.
He found himself equally charmed by this child.
Then.
Chairman Kim approached quietly, speaking as though offended.
“So now your own father doesn’t even catch your eye?”
“Hehe, I see Dad too.”
“Ahem!”
An unmistakable smile bloomed at the corners of Chairman Kim’s mouth.
‘He’s been completely struck down in one hit.’
Well.
The child had inherited not Chairman Kim’s rugged features but the beauty of Choi Yeon-ok instead. And being the youngest on top of that, it would be abnormal not to dote on her.
He exchanged greetings with Hyung-seok.
“How’s America treating you?”
“Oh, you know. It’s fine, except the food’s a bit heavy. But brother, you seem to be doing really well lately.”
“Doing well? I still have a long way to go.”
“Wow, I just got chills. Dad said you’d changed a lot, but actually seeing it hits different.”
Hyung-seok regarded him with eyes as though observing an alien.
He’d heard over the phone from Father that his older brother had changed considerably. But hearing it over the line and seeing it in person were entirely different experiences.
Humility from Kim Min-woo?
It was an impossible combination.
Yet it was really happening.
Where he’d once shot daggers with eyes that seemed ready to kill, he now conversed as though entirely indifferent.
Had attaining S-rank Awakening loosened his heart so much?
He’d certainly changed quite a bit.
“Shall we head inside? The meal will get cold.”
“Yes.”
Chairman Kim guided Choi Yeon-ok forward.
At the dining table.
A staggering spread of food lay before them.
“Why did you prepare so much? We won’t be able to finish it all.”
“It’s been too long since the whole family gathered. Everyone, sit down.”
“Time to eat!”
Kim Na-ye plopped down beside Kim Min-woo with unbridled enthusiasm.
“Our daughter, eat plenty.”
“Okay!”
Kim Na-ye heaped bulgogi onto her rice in a mountainous pile. Of all the Kim family, she had the heartiest appetite—matched only by her looks.
“Na-ye, I told you to eat your vegetables first, didn’t I?”
Choi Yeon-ok set out several portions of leafy greens and vegetables, passing them over.
The moment she saw them, Kim Na-ye recoiled.
“No! They’re gross! I’m not eating them! I want meat! Brother!”
The girl grabbed his forearm firmly from beneath the table.
But her grip strength was unexpectedly formidable.
This wasn’t the grip of a six-year-old.
‘Has all that meat she’s been eating gone straight into her muscles?’
The thought crossed his mind for a moment.
But only for a moment.
Her eyes glistened with unmistakable pleading, and Kim Min-woo relented.
“Mother, it’s a special day. Just let Na-ye have plenty of meat today, would you?”
“…She ate four servings of short ribs by herself yesterday.”
Four servings?
He knew the girl had a good appetite, that much was true.
‘But not to this extent.’
The surprise was brief.
He looked at Kim Na-ye again.
Four servings of short ribs?
That’s crossing a line.
“Eat your vegetables.”
“Noooo! Brother!”
“Shush.”
……
“Even a little—just eat some with me. You understand?”
“Dad…”
“…Your old man is sorry.”
Chairman Kim averted his gaze.
The girl accepted the vegetable plate as though drinking poison. Chairman Kim watched with sympathy, but he offered no reinforcements either. Four servings was definitely over the line.
There was no way around it—four servings crossed the boundary.
For a moment he watched Kim Na-ye choke down the vegetables like swill, but soon Choi Yeon-ok turned to Chairman Kim and spoke.
“How are things at the company these days?”
“The company? Ha, it’s doing too well—that’s the problem. All thanks to our Min-woo.”
Chairman Kim answered with evident pride.
“We’ve overtaken Dorim in the home appliance market, and our new premium line is flying off the shelves. The same goes for other sectors. As for equipment, our market share has jumped over twenty percent in the past month alone.”
“That’s true. My friends have been saying the same thing too. Ilseong’s stock price has risen considerably.”
Chairman Kim nodded with a satisfied smile. The stock price that had been declining steadily over recent years due to Dorim’s pursuit was finally showing real momentum again.
Right after news broke that Kim Min-woo had survived the A+-rank Gate, the price had jumped eight percent in a single day.
For a group as massive as Ilseong to see such a swing happens only a handful of times a year. Considering all the subsequent advertising campaigns and countless Gate clearances to come, the market was simply pricing in the expected ripples.
Foreign buying pressure was particularly fevered. Choi Yeon-ok nodded and turned to Kim Min-woo.
“Min-woo, have you ever thought about working for the company?”
“No, not at all. I think Hyung-seok would be better suited.”
He saw Kim Hyung-seok and Choi Yeon-ok look toward him in surprise.
“…Really? That wasn’t how you felt before.”
“Being a talented Awakener doesn’t guarantee success in business. I’m already stretched thin with just this field. I focus on Awakening, and Hyung-seok manages the company. Isn’t that a perfect division of labor?”
There was a reason the term existed. Kim Hyung-seok was a competent enough successor.
‘There’s no real antagonism between us, anyway.’
Kim Min-woo was the one harboring inferiority toward his successful younger brother, not the other way around. So there was no reason not to raise Kim Hyung-seok to the top.
It would simply be a matter of Chairman Kim being replaced by Kim Hyung-seok.
After finishing the meal like this.
He entered the study with Chairman Kim and spoke.
“Father.”
“Hmm?”
“Lately, many companies have been coming to us wanting to invest in our guild, bringing stacks of cash.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Naturally I’d like to give shares to Ilseong Group, but now that the guild has more members to look after and public opinion is watching closely, I can’t simply hand out preferential treatment, can I?”
“No, of course not.”
“We need to buy C-rank Skill Books, and if we’re going to feed, clothe, and house our guild members, we need the funds.”
“That’s true.”
The chairman nodded in acknowledgment.
Yet he couldn’t entirely hide his concern. From this point forward, they’d be talking about sums in the hundreds of millions of won.
At the same time, refusing the investment made no sense either.
The Donzirah Guild.
A modest operation with only a handful of members, but its potential for the future already reached beyond the global stage.
And more than that—
‘…there’s a high likelihood they’ll perform well in the Gate Conquest War.’
His eyes sharpened.
Gates generally fall into three categories.
First, the Random Gate.
Both the time of appearance and location are entirely random. No one knows when or where they’ll emerge.
The A+-rank Gate that appeared in Gyeonggi Province was of this type.
Second, the Hidden Gate.
It exists, but remains concealed.
It’s a special Gate inaccessible through ordinary means.
And then there is the third and final type of Gate.
‘The Designated Gate.’
The reason it bears that name is simple. The system itself designates and grants the Gate.
Of course, it doesn’t simply hand them out.
An official tournament is held.
One in which nations themselves can participate.
The nations that achieve meaningful results receive Gates as their reward.
The first hallmark of such Designated Gates is that their rank is exceptionally high.
They start at a minimum of S-rank.
Korea had several S-rank Gates. The Dragon’s Tomb, which Geom-seon cleared not long ago, was one such example.
Thirty years ago, the Dragon’s Tomb was seized in a Gate Conquest War by Korea’s finest Awakeners, including Geom-seon.
Regrettably, after Korea’s top-tier Awakeners had largely retired, the nation hadn’t claimed a single Designated Gate since.
In any case.
Designated Gates carry numerous advantages. Securing the first clear is automatic, and being new territory, resources and Mana Stones pour forth—from novel materials onward.
The United States, the world’s strongest Awakening power.
The US was the nation that won most Designated Gate Conquest Wars, held once every two years.
The highest-tier Gates they possessed numbered in the dozens.
Naturally, the resources flowing from them were monopolized entirely by American corporations and Awakeners.
Of course, Designated Gates didn’t come without drawbacks.
Many S-rank Gates?
But you can’t clear them within a set period?
Hell breaks loose.
The Gates rupture in a cascade, and chaos erupts.
But the United States was the Awakening superpower.
They possessed the strength to endure it.
With each S-rank Gate capable of swaying national power, every country wagered everything on the Gate Conquest War.
Korea, naturally, exerted itself whenever the tournament was held.
The problem was the lack of capable Awakeners—they consistently failed in the preliminaries. The system only granted a Gate to nations placing third or better.
It was a goal far too lofty for Korea.
But then a new variable emerged.
The Donzirah Guild.
Each individual member had a high probability of being called upon by the state.
The Gate Conquest War welcomed participants ranging from low-level to high-level Awakeners.
Contribution rates were calculated individually, and Gates were distributed accordingly.
Once awarded to an organization or individual, exclusive usage rights lasted twenty years.
Of course, external operation was possible during that period.
In exchange, the Gate’s owner could claim up to fifty percent ownership of internal byproducts and spoils.
Of course, no one ever demanded a full fifty percent.
If they did, no party would show up to raid the Gate.
The standard national practice was around ten percent.
After twenty years passed, the Gate would shift into national ownership.
Chairman Kim.
The reason he’d poured investment into the Donzirah Guild without hesitation was
not only because of the generous terms he’d offered,
but solely because Kim Min-woo was his son.
‘Designated Gates.’
Chairman Kim was playing for bigger stakes. What if the Donzirah Guild secured just one S-rank Designated Gate?
Its economic value would range anywhere from tens of trillions to, depending on the Gate type, hundreds of trillions.
Naturally, the Ilseong Group tied to it would skyrocket in weight class overnight. It was, in short, a fight with stakes that made one’s flesh crawl.
“Do you wish to purchase equity?”
“Yes. Ideally, we’d prefer to keep it in the family.”
Kim Min-woo nodded without hesitation. In the structure of investment anyway, equity had to change hands.
That equity would find use here and there down the road.
If it was bound to be used, it was naturally better that it serve the Ilseong Group.
A structure where both sides could win.
“……Very well. I’ll convene a group meeting tomorrow. What price do you have in mind?”
Three trillion per percent. We’ll sell up to twenty percent maximum.”
“……Sixty trillion, then.”
A far steeper figure than the five trillion from the previous ten percent.
But if someone asked whether that was expensive—
it wasn’t expensive at all.
Especially now, after crushing an A+-rank Gate and gaining Seo Ye-rim on top of it.
He’d heard from his son that she was an SSS-rank Awakener as well.
What if a nation like the United States learned the true value of that guild?
An EX-rank and two SSS-ranks.
He couldn’t even imagine what they’d offer for just one percent equity.
Even now, not knowing their true worth, they looked formidable—let alone once that true value became known?
They’d print dollars if they had to, hurling money at the guild with reckless abandon.
Perhaps this was Ilseong’s final window for investment. As time passed, their real value would surface, and every nation would come swarming like madmen.
When it came to a power like the United States, even Min-woo would find it difficult to refuse their investment.
Equity would end up diluted.
Ilseong had to secure its footing first, before that happened.
‘I’ll need to persuade the board of directors.’
He resolved it firmly.

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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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