Cedric was dumbfounded.

He had some idea that his master, Kim Minwoo, was an accomplished swordsman. He had seen him wield his sword on the battlefield. One expert could recognize another. The man was certainly an oddity—a necromancer who handled a sword better than most knights.

'But that isn't why I acknowledged him as my master.'

The courage to stand his ground against an overwhelming enemy. An indomitable fighting spirit that refused to surrender. And the chivalry to risk his life protecting someone he had never even met before.

It was those qualities of character that had moved Cedric.

That feeling was starting to fade now. How could he ever have imagined the man would be such an unreasonable brute? Even the Death Lord had never treated him with such disrespect. If anything, they had respected one another.

Cedric had seen countless knights over the years. That was how he knew exactly what state Kim Minwoo was in.

'He's gone beyond being full of himself. He's utterly delusional.'

A little talent, and he thought nothing could stand in his way. It was an attitude often seen in fledgling knights who had learned a bit of swordsmanship.

Cedric spun his spear.

His once near-perfect spearmanship felt strangely dulled. Becoming level 1 seemed to have placed restrictions even on his technique.

'It doesn't matter.'

He wasn't the only one at level 1. His master was, too. What mattered was their skill with their weapons, and Cedric had never lost to anyone in spearmanship.

'I have the better weapon, too.'

When a sword faced a spear, the spear won eight or nine times out of ten. The reason was simple: it was much longer.

He held an overwhelming advantage in both weapon and skill. Cedric was confident.

He certainly had been...

* * *

THWACK!

The wooden sword of justice came crashing down on the wicked summon's skull.

Gritting his teeth, Cedric swung his spear. There was certainly an edge to his technique, but Minwoo evaded it with absurd ease.

'Another one.'

THWACK!

'And another.'

THWACK!

The wooden sword kept battering Cedric's body.

If he had been summoned in the same state as on the battlefield, Minwoo wouldn't have picked a fight in the first place. How was he supposed to beat a monster riding a bone dragon?

But things were different now. Cedric was only level 1, and his stats barely put him on par with level 50.

And Minwoo? His stats alone were close to level 70. Nor was the person at the controls some random nobody.

'Does he think the world's number one is a pushover?'

Gate Hunter might have been an old game, but its difficulty was second to none. He had claimed first place in it by an overwhelming margin. That was why Kim Minwoo was tacitly recognized as the world's number one among all three billion virtual-reality players.

It might have been different if Cedric's spearmanship had remained at its battlefield peak. But with it slashed down every which way...

'Easy.'

He was nothing more than prey for Kim Minwoo.

[Accumulated damage exceeds the limit!]

[ Cedric is being unsummoned!]

[Death Lord (EX)'s effect activates!]

[Cedric revives!]

"Hi there."

Gritting his teeth, Cedric charged again. A few more blows, and he was unsummoned once more.

That didn't matter. Minwoo had more than enough mana to summon him.

[Activating Summon Cedric (SSS)!]

"We meet again."

"..."

A beating.

Unsummoned.

A beating.

Unsummoned.

A beating.

"... Wait!"

Cedric spoke urgently. He had probably realized on instinct that something was wrong.

"Who did you say was the senior here?"

"..."

"Looks like you still need more loving discipline."

THWACK!

An endlessly repeating cycle.

Wasn't he starting to relive his nightmare by now?

"Whew."

Once his stamina and mana had dropped enough, Minwoo drank a potion. His body was brimming with energy again.

"Reforming someone really is hard work."

Guiding someone down the right path was never easy. That was what made success all the more rewarding.

[Activating Summon Cedric (SSS)!]

Loyalty 100.

He would get there, no matter what.

* * *

Day 1.

"... How long do you intend to keep this up?"

"Until you accept my love."

Day 2.

"... I understand that you are strong, Master. I was certainly rash. I will acknowledge you."

"No. That's nowhere near enough. Neither were the beatings, apparently."

Day 3.

"... I concede."

"Who's the senior here?"

"... You are, Master, I think."

"You hesitated a little, didn't you?"

"Ah..."

Day 4.

"You are my senior, Master. I mean it."

"Then can you swear loyalty to me?"

"...!"

"So I was the only one who meant it. Again."

THWACK!

Day 5.

"Enough...! I'm going mad! How many times a day must you summon me? My skull is ringing! Stop hitting my head already!"

"How rude."

Day 6.

"... I'm sorry. It was all my fault. Truly."

"Then shall we swear that oath of loyalty?"

"I... will."

"Did you just hesitate?"

"No. I believe you are worthy of my loyalty, Master."

[Dragon Knight Cedric swears loyalty to you!]

[A knight's rock-solid oath!]

[Cedric's loyalty is fixed at 100!]

An oath of loyalty.

Put simply, it was a slave contract. Loyalty was fixed at 100. If the master ordered a summon to leap into a fire, it had to leap. Refusing orders was no longer an option.

Naturally, high-ranking undead were reluctant to swear such an oath. That was why loving discipline had been necessary.

"Urgh..."

"Your senior will treat you well from now on."

Minwoo stroked Cedric's head.

It had been an arduous six-day journey. He had even cut back on sleep to keep diligently summoning Cedric.

His efforts hadn't been in vain. Cedric had finally become a true summon, one he could lavish all his love on without reservation.

A warm sense of satisfaction filled him.

"Come to think of it, I've been wondering for a while. Who wiped you guys out?"

"... I cannot say. A restriction has been placed on me."

"A restriction?"

Cedric nodded.

"I believe the Lord left it in place. Presumably because knowing now would do you little good, Master."

"Because they're too strong?"

"Something like that. Grow stronger first, Master. Once I regain my original strength, you will learn naturally."

"I was planning to start leveling up soon anyway."

His growth had already reached its limit. He needed to level up to break through that ceiling.

'Level 51.'

That was the level range generally classified as E-rank awakeners.

'First, I'll get there as quickly as possible.'

He looked at Cedric.

"Cedric. From now on, you're the skeleton commander. Train the skeletons hard."

"... Understood."

He summoned skeletons around Cedric. As a former legion commander, Cedric should be perfectly capable of handling their training.

"The training grounds have all the weapons you need. Help yourselves."

CLATTER!

The skeletons nodded vigorously. With his training macro set to run automatically, Minwoo headed back to his room.

'Time to get moving in earnest.'

He had received 300 billion won in funding so far. Money was hard to earn, but spending it like water was all too easy.

'One more round of equipment purchases will wipe it all out.'

Buying skill books. Buying equipment and consumables. The money poured out.

Even the skeleton equipment he had bought last time had been swallowed up by that Battlefield of Eternity or whatever it was called.

'I need money.'

He could ask for more, but he was starting to feel awkward about it. It felt as though the goodwill from the Sword Immortal was slowly reaching its expiration date. Even the chairman would begin to feel the strain if this went much further.

'I need to pull off something big.'

Then he could accept funding freely without feeling self-conscious.

'And I'm getting some attention right now.'

Rumors about his recent spar were gradually spreading online. He read a few GateNet posts on his smartphone.

—So what grade is Kim Minwoo's achievement? What if he's actually dogshit?

—He went one-on-one with the Sword Immortal. He's gotta be B to A at the very least lol. You think the top 1% of awakeners are dogshit?

—Nah. Grade depends on the awakening condition, remember? Could be lower.

—Bullshit lmao. You think that much light would've poured out if he was C or below?

—Even A is a problem. A high achievement doesn't mean everyone makes it big. Plenty of them vanish into obscurity halfway through.

—(Fact) Sure, some As do, but not a single awakener with an S-grade achievement has faded into obscurity lol. You think an S-grade skill book is a fucking joke? lol

—Isn't S pushing it, though?

—You're hyping him up way too much. Bet Kim Minwoo didn't pick swordsman. If he did, why the hell would he buy out all that equipment? lmao

—Was it actually Kim Minwoo buying it? Could've been someone else.

—Who else would blow over 70 billion won on low-level gear? lol. He swept it all up just like those skill books lol

—Heard he picked necromancer. Apparently necro skill books were the first to sell at the auction house. Buying gear in bulk makes sense if he's a necro.

—Holy shit lmaooo. He went toe-to-toe with the Sword Immortal and picked that fucking class? Is he some kind of crap connoisseur? lol

—So is Kim Minwoo all hype or not???

—Who knows? Guess we'll have to see him enter a gate lol

There was more buzz than he had expected. It seemed the intelligence team had fanned the flames a little.

Well... if he was going to debut as Ilseong's advertising model, greater name recognition was a good thing.

'Perfect timing.'

He had been thinking it was about time to raise his market value anyway. He thought of the F-rank gates available at level 1.

When did an awakener's value rise the most?

Simple. When their future looked far more promising than their present.

That was precisely why awakeners with S-grade achievements were called super rookies. While everyone else started with F- or E-grade skills, they started with an S-grade skill.

They built up that anticipation, then made a huge splash by showing how quickly they could clear a gate.

Kim Minwoo intended to do the same—on a truly grand scale.

He promptly made a call.

"Director Im? It's me, Kim Minwoo. I'd like you to gather some reporters. I'm going to clear a gate. Alone, of course. Please bring in everyone you know."

He would gather every reporter he could. Then, with all eyes on him, he would deliver the most shocking debut imaginable.

'The world's fastest time. And a solo clear on top of it.'

Party play was standard for gates. Even super rookies usually formed a party for their first attempt. There were that many dangers.

But for Kim Minwoo...

'F-rank? That's just a stroll around the neighborhood.'

Besides, the current Kim Minwoo was stronger than any version of Kim Minwoo he had played over those six years. He might be level 1, but his stats were monstrous.

His skills also worked in harmony: Death Lord, Cedric benefiting from its effects, and the skeleton soldiers. He intended to join the fighting himself, too.

Korea—no, the entire world—would be abuzz.

Because Kim Minwoo was strong?

No.

Because of the future he promised.

[Breaking News! Ilseong Group's Kim Minwoo Announces His Awakening! He Really Has Awakened! But His Class Is Necromancer, Not Swordsman?!]

[Experts Estimate Achievement Grade of at Least B!]

[The Crown Prince's Spectacular Return! Kim Minwoo Announces Solo Attempt at His First Gate, 'Tomb of Osiris'! Vows to Clear It in Record Time!]

['Tomb of Osiris' Is Known as One of the Most Difficult F-Rank Gates...]

Korea began to buzz.