Winter Kingdom (1)

After some back-and-forth, Minwoo handed over a ten-percent stake to Ilseong. The price was set at five trillion won.

Park Siwoo's presence had been the biggest factor in that valuation. Minwoo had brought in someone with an SSS-grade achievement practically overnight. Who was to say it would end with Siwoo? Expectations for the future had inflated the price of the stake enormously.

'If I'd founded the guild alone, five trillion would have been out of the question.'

He had already received a trillion won in support. Even in the best case, he probably would have gotten around two trillion.

'Well, in the long run, even this is dirt cheap... '

An EX-grade awakener, plus an SSS-grade awakener. Honestly, if they revealed all their abilities, plenty of countries would show up with even bigger bags of money.

'But then they'd have me on a tight leash.'

Before he could even spread his wings, he would be caged like a zoo animal. That wasn't a particularly good option.

Ilseong, on the other hand, had offered a contract more akin to a generous benefactor's patronage: a huge investment with almost no interference.

'That's the family buff for you.'

What else was family for? Since he would need to keep making use of Ilseong's power, selling the stake at a reasonable price was a win-win.

'Now I've got money.'

Of course, this wasn't money he could spend exclusively on himself. Park Siwoo needed some investment too. That was what the funding was for in the first place.

He looked at Siwoo.

"You heard earlier, right? Once you get past level 101, you'll join the guild I'm founding."

"Yes, I understand. Joining now would draw too much attention."

Siwoo nodded in understanding.

When Kim Minwoo had taken on the Tomb of Osiris, he had been an unproven newbie.

A new record attempt? Had he suffered a serious head injury?

That had been the prevailing public opinion.

But things were different now. He had already proved himself in spectacular fashion.

What if Siwoo drew attention as an S-grade achiever on top of that? There was a reason people said even a cousin buying land could make you sick with envy. People were always tempted to trip up someone successful.

And now a baby level-one awakener with an S-grade achievement came into view? Sinister hands would reach for Siwoo from every direction, ranging from persuasion and temptation to assassination attempts inside gates.

Attempts to poach him weren't much of a concern. They hadn't known each other long, but their friendship was hardly shallow. With all the support Minwoo was providing, he didn't need to worry much about Siwoo going elsewhere.

Assassination attempts inside gates were another matter.

'We need to be careful about those.'

He had easily wrecked Lee Seoyun, but Siwoo was still a work in progress. An assassin of that caliber would make things damn tough for him.

That was why he had worked out the terms with the chairman. He would establish the guild immediately, but Siwoo would join a little later. That was the gist of it.

The threshold was level 101—the starting point of D-rank.

By then, Siwoo would have accumulated some practical experience and grown familiar with his skills. At the very least, he would be able to join the guild with the strength to protect himself.

"I'll tell you what you need to do until then."

"Yes, senior."

Minwoo gave him Choi Yuna's number.

"Contact her and ask her to make you elixirs. Tell her to prioritize yours over my order. Start dosing yourself with lowest-grade and low-grade elixirs."

"Yes."

"Solo gates with suitable difficulty levels until you reach level 101."

Siwoo, too, was inherently ill-suited to party play. The moment he started slaughtering monsters with his holy sword, people would inevitably wonder: Huh? Just how high is this guy's achievement grade?

But playing in a party while keeping most of his true strength hidden would slow his growth to a miserable crawl. Soloing was his only choice.

Fortunately, not every gate was difficult. Even within the same rank, some had difficulty ratings of thirty while others scored ninety. Soloing a low-scoring gate wouldn't attract much attention.

On top of that, Minwoo handed him several IDs. Every one of them had been registered quite some time ago, yet their holders had never advanced beyond their respective brackets...

'IDs for old-timers stuck grinding the same content.'

I'm an F-rank gate specialist. I'm an E-rank master.

One of these IDs was all it took to swagger around making claims like that.

"Use these to enter gates of the appropriate ranks. I've made sure the photos look like you."

Veterans who had languished in their respective brackets for years. If people like that cleared low-difficulty gates, they would stand out even less. Even the soldiers at the entrances would probably think nothing of it. Every bracket had people who had stagnated there.

Siwoo examined the IDs and nodded.

"I'll also find you a teacher, so work hard on your swordsmanship."

"A teacher?"

"Yeah. Give me a second."

He immediately made a call. A moment later, a familiar voice came over the phone.

"Is that you, Minwoo? It's been a while."

"Yes, it has. I'm calling because I've found a promising talent. I was hoping you might take him under your wing, Sword Immortal."

"Promising, you say? If you're calling him that, he must be something special."

"I think you'll find this quite enjoyable. Could I ask you that favor?"

"Send him over. I'll take a look myself."

"Thank you. I'll come visit when I have some time, too. Yes. Of course."

He ended the call and looked at Siwoo.

"Whenever you have time, go to the Sword Sea Pavilion and learn swordsmanship. Okay?"

"... Wow, senior. You're amazing. You can just call the Sword Immortal directly..."

Even the instructors at the Sword Sea Pavilion couldn't easily meet the Sword Immortal. Naturally, receiving personal instruction from him was something most people could only dream of.

Yet Kim Minwoo had created that opportunity with a single casual phone call.

'He really is incredible.'

Siwoo swallowed as he thought this. He also realized just what an opportunity he had been given.

"Thank you! I'll work hard!"

'What are you thanking me for? I'm the one who should be grateful.'

Minwoo grinned.

Five trillion won in investment funds. He intended to put that money to very good use.

'A swordsman doesn't really need +9 skills, after all.'

Sure, they would be nice to have. But they would be far less efficient for Siwoo than for someone commanding an army. There was a reason people talked about choosing where to focus your resources.

He had helped Siwoo awaken, found him a teacher, provided elixirs, and even outfitted him. Hadn't he done everything he ought to?

After doing that much, surely it was fine to funnel the investment funds into himself. This was money multiplication at peak efficiency.

"Good. Keep working hard."

It was about time he went off to clear a gate himself.

* * *

[(Breaking) Kim Minwoo Is Now a Guild Master? Establishes New One-Man Guild Instead of Joining Ilseong Guild!]

[(Breaking) Guild Reportedly Named 'Money-Blowing'...]

[(Breaking) Money-Blowing Guild Living Up to Its Name? Receives Generous Investment from Ilseong! A Partial Stake Reportedly Sold for an Enormous Sum...]

[(Breaking) Ilseong States New Guild Members Will Be Selected in Consultation with the Guild Master...]

Han Baekgil turned from staring at the television to look at his members. Over the past week, he had poured Shadow's resources into finding whoever had hunted down Lee Seoyun.

Number One through Number Seven had gathered once again.

"Number Three. How did the investigation go?"

"For starters, it wasn't an A-rank or higher awakener. Every one of their movements checks out. None of them had time to enter that gate."

"Number Seven. Anything from the low-rank gates?"

The man in the green mask shook his head.

"Boss, things have gotten a little tricky."

"In what way?"

"Around five hundred people entered low-rank gates alone that day... I've more or less checked out the rest, but this one's different."

Number Seven handed Han Baekgil a document containing personal details.

[Park Cheolung (32)]

[Awakener Rank: D]

[Class: Swordsman]

It was a profile of an utterly ordinary awakener.

Number Seven continued, "This guy's identity is fake."

"... Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I went to his address, and the place was empty. Records say he's lived there for ten years, but not a single neighbor knows the bastard. That doesn't make sense, does it?"

Han Baekgil nodded. Nine times out of ten, that meant a forged identity.

"And?"

"The black-market guys are usually the only ones who do this sort of thing. So I dug around, right? But I couldn't find anything."

"Are the dealers keeping their mouths shut?"

"No, it's beyond that. This is way cleaner than their work. The identity was even linked to the government's system network."

Forging an ID usually meant making a reasonably convincing copy of its format. The soldiers and awakeners guarding gate entrances didn't scrutinize every detail, especially for IDs used at low-rank gates.

But an identity linked to the government network? That meant someone had tampered with the administrative system. The identity had been thoroughly laundered.

Money alone couldn't accomplish that. It took political clout as well.

Han Baekgil's expression gradually hardened.

"And maybe they noticed us investigating, because they cut the trail immediately. This identity's been completely erased. Thirty-two-year-old D-rank awakener Mr. Park Cheolung now never existed in Korea at all. All overnight."

"... They must have connections to a conglomerate or politicians."

"Yeah. And not just ordinary connections. This guy must have some serious backing. Like that Kim Minwoo on TV over there."

The television was still covering Kim Minwoo's new guild. A few members watched as though mesmerized, then snorted.

"Hey, Number Seven. You're not seriously suspecting him, are you?"

"Do I look that crazy? It was just a comparison."

Ilseong's eldest son. Laundering an identity to this extent would be child's play for him.

But it was hard to believe Kim Minwoo was the culprit. No, impossible. The guy had been level one just days ago.

A mere low-level necromancer taking down a level-three-hundred assassin with an A-grade achievement? Even if he summoned a hundred skeletons—no, a thousand—Kim Minwoo couldn't win that fight.

An assassin only had to sneak up and stab him in the back of the head. Game over.

Even if her stealth were detected beforehand, the problem remained. She could simply charge straight ahead and bring skeletons crashing down in droves with a single swing of her dagger. How could a necromancer possibly resist that?

There were rumors he knew his way around a blade, but even so, overcoming the gap in levels and equipment was impossible. That was common sense.

As accomplished awakeners, Shadow's members were eminently sensible people. Han Baekgil was no exception.

"... Go through all the conglomerates and political circles. Find out whether anyone has awakened recently, and if so, exactly how capable they are. Everything."

"Okay. I'll start at the top. You'd need that much pull to make something like this happen in the blink of an eye."

It was hardly surprising that their investigation had veered a little off course.

* * *

[Consuming Limit-Breaking Elixir!]

[Level potential increases to 250!]

[Consuming Limit-Breaking Elixir!]

[Level potential increases to 300!]

[Consuming Limit-Breaking Elixir!]

[Level potential increases to 350!]

"Ahh, now that's what I'm talking about."

He cried out in delight at his vastly higher ceiling. Never again would he weep bitter tears, trapped behind the wall of an intermediate awakener.

Level 350 was the very end of B-rank. Just one level above that was A-rank, the realm where everyone acknowledged you as a high-ranking awakener.

All he needed was one more Limit-Breaking Elixir, so it wouldn't be difficult. By then, he'd be beating down Shadow and anyone else who got in his way. Achievement points would practically multiply themselves.

'It's about time I went in.'

He looked at the necklace in his hand. A D-rank gate. He knew nothing about what awaited him or what kind of gate it would be.

But this was hardly his first time in that situation. Kim Minwoo was confident. His preparations were complete. There was no reason to hesitate.

"Let's go."

[Mysterious Necklace activates!]

[Passage opens!]

A red portal soon formed in his room. The moment he stepped inside, the scenery before his eyes changed.

WHOOOOSH!

Winter, with a blizzard raging. Inside a small village, Kim Minwoo materialized in a spacious clearing.

There was just one unusual detail.

"What's that, snort?"

"Snort? Human? Looks like a human."