Damn Necromancer - Chapter 71

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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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The Spendthrift Necromancer (71)
The Duel
‘With this, I’ve secured 60 trillion.’
60 trillion was nearly all of Ilseong’s surplus cash reserves.
Since Chairman Kim understood the true potential of this guild, he would spare no effort convincing the board of directors.
Once we secured the investment, our equity stake would be around 70 percent, and Ilseong’s around 30 percent.
We’d claim the equipment that dropped from the Gates, while Ilseong would take novel materials and Mana Stones found inside them.
That was what Ilseong had aimed for with this investment in the first place, no doubt.
‘Getting future funding from Ilseong is going to be rough going forward.’
A company needed time to grow.
60 trillion was cash Ilseong had accumulated over decades.
Once we burned through it all at once, it would take considerable time to gather the next sum.
Based on recent growth trends, it wouldn’t be as extreme as multiple decades, but at minimum, it would take several years.
Still, that wasn’t a problem.
‘I can always sprinkle the remaining shares in small portions among wealthy entities.’
Ilseong’s stake was a powerful allied share.
The kind of share from an ally who’d unfailingly vote our way on any resolution.
The rest of the equity I planned to divvy up and sell to various nations and wealthy individuals.
That way they couldn’t conspire against us.
Of course, not yet.
‘They don’t recognize the true value yet—nowhere near enough.’
3 trillion per percent.
That was genuinely a mega-clearance-sale price.
Frankly, if the United States knew what we’re really worth, they’d bid 100 percent equity plus money in the hundreds of billions—those bastards would scrape together dollars from anywhere just to dump them on us relentlessly.
The obsession with the title of “world’s strongest Awakener nation” ran that deep.
Probably within a year from now, they’d be scrambling desperately to approach us however they could.
‘But they’re not quite that desperate yet.’
The United States?
S-rank Awakeners are rotting in abundance there.
There’s no reason the United States would cling to my coattails and beg for investment just because I showed some activity in Korea.
At most, it’s more like: Oh, that guy’s pretty impressive.
There was an Awakener like that in Korea?
That’s probably the extent of it right now.
The same went for other Awakening superpowers.
If I tried to secure investment from other nations at this very moment?
They might price each percent slightly higher than Ilseong’s offer.
‘But that’s just asking to get played for a fool.’
Kim Min-woo is a Super Rookie, sure.
But being completely objective, I wasn’t being valued on the level of a thriving S-rank Awakener at this moment.
Still, I was at a lower level.
The core reason for the high valuation:
Low level, but exceptional performance—which is why there’s such a hefty premium attached.
This made it difficult to broker favorable terms with national powers.
The United States?
They’d strut around arrogantly, throw some money on the table, and bark orders to follow their command.
That kind of money was like spoiled food—eating it would only give you heartburn.
But Ilseong’s money?
That was wholesome wellness money—it filled you up healthy.
‘I need to raise my market value even higher.’
I had to keep proving that with each level gain, I’d become overwhelmingly stronger.
At some point, I needed to make them realize:
This is beyond anything I can handle now.
I should’ve brought all my wealth from the start…….
If I don’t pour money in right now…….
I needed to cultivate that specific blend of regret, desperation, and obsession.
I looked toward Chairman Kim.
“By the way, sir. Can we put Cho Pil-wook away?”
“Hmm…… Now that you’ve made it back alive, things won’t proceed smoothly anymore. He’s staking everything on this. He won’t want to be branded.”
Once the trial handed down a verdict, it would be a black mark. Then naturally, the public’s view of Do-rim would sour as well.
The reaction was predictable.
Just as I thought.
I saw this coming.
An accident? That’s nonsense.
I’d probably get cynical pushback along those lines anyway.
And it looked like he’d started thrashing desperately to avoid it.
‘Well, that’ll make things tricky.’
If I’d died as Chairman Kim suggested, they’d try to pin anything on me—murder or otherwise. But I survived. Besides, Do-rim is ranked second, so he’ll have a heavyweight legal team backing him.
“Will it go to a third trial?”
“Probably.”
Meaning it’s uncertain whether we can actually lock him up, and it’ll take time anyway.
‘I’ll have to use him differently.’
Just then, an idea for how to use Cho Pil-wook occurred to me.
An A-rank Awakener in the 300 Level bracket.
To put it bluntly—a rookie destroyer.
What if I demolished him instead?
‘Perfect proof.’
Of my true strength.
So far, all people had seen was an F-rank Gate record-breaking run and my first A-rank Gate Clear.
The Hidden Gate was just speculation—people assumed I’d cleared it and moved on.
And my performance in the A+ Gate Clear? I had to rely solely on Seo Ye-rim’s endorsement.
Of course, she’s incapable of lying, so people believed her to some degree.
‘But there’s a world of difference between hearing something secondhand and seeing it with your own eyes.’
Cho Pil-wook was perfect—no pressure in fighting him, and an ideal target for demonstrating my power.
And besides…
‘It’s time I did a broadcast.’
My subscriber count had jumped to 40 million after the last Gate Clear.
Might as well do some promotion and call him out at the same time.
A broadcast didn’t sound like a bad idea.
* * *
A notice posted a few hours earlier.
[Streaming tonight. Something big coming.]
The deliberately provocative announcement had viewers glued to their screens all evening.
[Mangnani’s live broadcast is beginning.]
[Viewers: 103,230]
[Viewers: 302,324]
[Viewers: 504,453]
.
.
The moment the stream went live, viewers flooded in.
―What’s this big thing you promised??? What’s this big thing??? What’s this big thing???
―Is it actually something big? Is it actually something big?
―Did you really not stream for two months? Two months??? Two months???
―Please stream at least once a week lol Please stream once a week lol
―Is this Mr. Kim’s broadcast?
―People are watching from overseas now lol
The chat exploded into a dizzying blur as the viewer count crossed the million mark.
“Welcome. I’m Kim Min-woo. It’s been a while, everyone.”
―It’s Cedric.
I exchanged greetings alongside Cedric.
“I said something big was coming. That’s right. Something big is coming. But…”
I glanced at the viewer count.
The numbers had already climbed past 5 million.
The steep rise suggested overseas subscribers were pouring in as well.
This was about the right time to proceed.
“Before I tell you what’s big, there’s one important piece of news.”
―Important news?
―What is it?
―I’m getting hyped.
“Ilseong has released some new products. Premium versions—they really are effective.”
―I see lol
―That’s important news. Ha ha.
―But we already knew about it, so…
“So, shall we do a review?”
―Yeah.
―What?
The chat exploded, bristling with agitation and outrage.
Ignoring it all, Min-woo and Cedric launched into their advertisement performance.
You couldn’t stream like this very often. Most days were packed with Gates to clear and content to produce.
So when the chance came to squeeze out every drop of entertainment, you took it.
When two hours had passed, Min-woo glanced at the viewer count. It had climbed to ten million.
―Watched the whole thing again lol
―Getting addicted to the ads too lol
―Honestly it’s perfect snack-watching material?
―What is that?
“Ten million. You’re all honest with your bodies, aren’t you? You enjoyed it?”
―All the foreigners looking totally confused lol
―This is the spice of Korea lol You getting it now?
―Is this… that famous advertisement?
―I’m getting a bit dizzy.
―Please, something big now… Please, something big now… Please, something big now…
―Ha ha, let’s get to the main event now.
“Soon Ilseong will be releasing new Plus Items. The level requirement should be between 51 and 100, one tier higher than last time. We’d really appreciate your support.”
―Will Magic items be included?
―Oh damn lol around level 100 I should grab some too lol
―Will the price be the same as before?
―Please give a discount… the auction house is way too expensive…
“A discount? Of course we should. The same discount will apply as with the last batch of items.”
―Ilseong is god! Ilseong is god! Ilseong is god! Ilseong is god!
―Lol what, eventually Plus Items are gonna come out for high-level gear too?
―If they keep selling like that Ilseong’s gonna buckle under the pressure haha
―So damn good lol literally pitching a tent outside the equipment shop lol
Having dropped the news about the equipment, it was time to move to the main topic.
“About Cho Pil-wook. I see he’s hired quite the legal team, didn’t he? From our side we’re hearing it might be tough to lock him up.”
―D: Something big’s coming
―Cho Pil-wook? Yeah. Heard he’s sharpening his teeth to counter the lawsuit.
―Hilarious asshole lol the one who got the ball rolling and now he’s grinding his teeth lol
―And Do-rim covering for him is the real problem lol heard it’s just chaebols playing among themselves lol
―Hey, point the gun somewhere else.
―Ah of course, this isn’t about Ilseong ^^
―Cho Pil-wook, we know too. A famous guy.
“Since I don’t really want things dragging on like this either, let me make you a proposal.”
The chat fell silent all at once.
Then Kim Min-woo locked his gaze on the camera and spoke.
“Pil-wook. You watching? Let’s throw down, you and me. If you win, I’ll drop the lawsuit. But if you lose, you’re getting the absolute shit beat out of you, got it?”
―Oh my god lolololol
―The level difference alone has gotta be at least double? lol
―Conqueror’s haki lol
―This guy’s insane lolol
―There’s no way you’re not watching this right now? You’re literally losing half your life lolol
“Come to the Ilseong Training Center. I’ll be waiting.”
Kim Min-woo stood up.
Whether Pil-wook was watching or not didn’t matter. With this many viewers, the word would spread like wildfire in a heartbeat.
Cho Pil-wook.
Would he really be able to stay put after hearing this?
He had a temperament, that one.
And besides.
Someone like Cho Pil-wook had a very high probability of launching into blame-shifting before ever reflecting on his own failures.
It would be perfectly natural for him to come charging out, thinking this was his chance.
‘And tear it all to shreds.’
Prove it.
our value.
He stepped outside, the broadcast still rolling.
Camera operators scrambled after him, never missing a frame.
Once he’d climbed into the car.
“You all get one sports car each.”
He gestured toward the row of parked vehicles as he spoke.
—Wow; how many cars is that?
—Sports car parade lol
Moments later, dozens of sports cars tore down the avenue in a glittering convoy.
Before long, a massive structure came into view.
The Ilseong Training Center.
Korea’s largest Awakener training facility, equipped with everything from specialized tools to assist Awakeners in their development all the way to full martial training grounds.
And for Awakeners of a certain level, admission was completely free.
It was all thanks to Ilseong’s deliberate efforts to cultivate relationships with high-ranking Awakeners.
Kim Min-woo had never set foot in the place before.
There was no point—even with the finest equipment, his ability scores would never increase.
But today was different.
There was nowhere else quite suited to settling things with Cho Pil-wook.
Soon after.
Another fleet of sports cars arrived. And stepping out of them was, of course, Cho Pil-wook himself.
“Hey, Pil-wook! So you’ve still got some guts in you? Even came on your own.”
“You goddamn bastard! When the hell did we get that close? Do you have any idea what kind of hell I’ve been through because of your slander?”
Cho Pil-wook launched into a torrent of curses the moment he saw him.
He shrugged.
Probably Hayng, perched on his shoulder, was shrugging right along with him.
“Pushing people around and calling it slander? Did our Pil-wook here sniff something he shouldn’t have? Look at those eyes rolling back in his head…”
“You goddamn son of a bitch!”
Cho Pil-wook looked ready to launch himself forward, but Do-rim’s security team quickly cut him off. Millions of viewers were watching this live broadcast right now.
Fighting during the duel itself was one thing, but if something went wrong here, it would be a complete disaster.
Then.
Cho Pil-wook, still huffing and puffing, fixed his gaze on him and spoke.
“Alright, let me go! I’ve calmed down.”
The guards cautiously released their hold.
The moment they did, he stepped closer and jabbed his finger repeatedly at Kim Min-woo’s chest as he spoke.
“Listen, Kim Min-woo. I’ve been thinking about this, and you can’t possibly want to fight like some weakling either, right?”
“So?”
“Then I’m challenging you to a duel, you bastard.”
“A duel?”
“Yeah, a duel. All you need is a sponsor. What, getting scared already?”
He’d been waiting for those exact words.
Perfect.
Completely legitimate.
The stage was set to reduce Cho Pil-wook to a cripple.
Kim Min-woo smiled coldly.

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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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