Debut (1)

In a massive underground forge...

CLANG!

CLANG!

Countless skeletons hammered away, crafting equipment.

BUBBLE, BUBBLE!

Elsewhere, others were putting ingredients into cauldrons and practicing alchemy. Plus items were being churned out in real time.

The production process was kept strictly confidential. Materials were purchased in bulk, then transported discreetly using spatial rings. After passing through several stages of transport, they arrived at this hidden underground forge.

Once enough finished items had accumulated, they were packed into spatial rings and delivered to Ilseong Group.

'They really want to know who's making these.'

The craftsman mass-producing Plus items was the hottest topic lately. Word was that companies were going all out to track down the mysterious artisan.

'Admirable effort, I'll give them that.'

The problem was that they were searching for a craftsman, not a necromancer. Kim Minwoo could go wherever he pleased without arousing much suspicion. They would never imagine a necromancer was using skeletons to supply such enormous quantities.

Before long, heaps of equipment piled up on the floor. He picked up one piece.

[Ratman Spine Sword]

[Grade: Common+]

[Required Level: 10 or higher]

[A beginner's weapon bearing a craftsman's touch. It feels as though carrying it could save your life.]

[Effect 1. Strength +2, Agility +1]

[Effect 2. Hits have a low chance of causing minor bleeding.]

It was one of the skeletons' mass-produced items, with remarkably solid effects for Common equipment.

'Were we selling this for nine million won?'

Getting a comparable weapon at the auction house would cost twenty million won. Prices there ran higher because of the ten-percent commission.

This was nearly half the price.

The scarier part was that even at that price, the profit margin was enormous. All it took was a ratman's spine, a few other monster by-products, and some finishing agent.

'The materials probably cost less than two million.'

Craftsmen's labor and assorted other expenses were what inflated the price.

Awakeners knew that, of course. But they bought it anyway.

Why?

Because no one pinched pennies when their own life was at stake. Besides, crafted equipment tended to be cheaper than buying from the auction house.

That was why so many major corporations had entered the equipment market. Once they established a foothold, it was practically printing money.

Just then, a familiar figure entered the basement.

It was Park Siwoo.

"Minwoo, I'm here."

"Hey. Dump the materials over there."

"Sure. I also got a lot of elemental items. There were more listings available when I checked the auction house this time."

Siwoo began pouring the contents out of his spatial ring.

Secrecy was everything in this transport job. Entrusting it to someone unreliable could expose Minwoo's identity in an instant and cause an uproar worldwide.

That was why he had chosen Park Siwoo. They were in the same boat, so Siwoo had no reason to talk. His character was trustworthy, too.

In fact, he had been maintaining strict security. Even while busy hunting, he was diligent enough to find time to buy up supplies.

"Snowy, time to eat."

COO! COOO!

At Minwoo's words and gesture toward the elemental items, the excited bird immediately rushed over. Snowy approached the items imbued with their various elements and opened its beak wide.

Moments later...

[All of the fire attribute contained in the Sharp Flame Sword is absorbed!]

[All of the wind attribute contained in the Wind-Imbued Armor is absorbed!]

[All of the electricity attribute contained in the Static Staff is absorbed!]

.

.

[Fire attribute increases by 0.05%...]

[Wind attribute increases by 0.06%...]

[Electricity attribute...]

He had fed Snowy plenty of elemental items over the past few days. As a result, the feathers on its nape now sported several different colors.

'Fire, wind, electricity, earth.'

For ice, he intended to find another fragment in the next gate and feed it to Snowy. Those were the four attributes he had raised apart from ice.

Five attributes in total. That should let him handle just about any gate.

He would decide on the remaining two attributes later.

"Wow, that's amazing every time I see it. The items turn Common whenever Snowy eats their attributes... This must cost a terrifying amount of money."

Siwoo pointed at the now-gutted items.

He was right. Equipment ranging from Magic to nearly Rare was turning into Common gear as its attributes were absorbed.

'Naturally.'

What was the essential part of elemental equipment? The element, of course. Take that away, and naturally all that remained was an empty shell.

"I just have to think of it as an investment."

"Does feeding Snowy like this raise its attributes much?"

Let's see.

[Opening divine beast Snowy's status window!]

[Name: Snowy]

[Species: Seven-Colored Bird]

[Attributes: Ice 20%, Fire 0.52%, Wind 0.51%, Electricity 0.5%, Earth 0.53%]

"All four have gone up by around 0.5% so far."

"What? 0.5%? The items you've fed it must have cost at least two hundred billion won..."

"I was prepared for this."

The Fragment of Winter, which had frozen the entire northern part of the continent, had only filled twenty percent. He had had a rough idea ever since then.

Ah. Raising these attributes was going to take a truly shitload of money.

'It's not like I can go looking for hidden gates for all seven attributes.'

He knew how to open a few hidden gates, but not all of them were connected to elements. Even if they were, there was no telling whether they could fill an attribute to a hundred percent.

So spending money was his only option. In fact, he could find the money somehow; getting hold of elemental items was the real problem.

'They're not exactly common... '

For now, he was buying up whatever he could from the auction house to use as feed.

COOORP.

Having absorbed tens of billions of won's worth of goods once again, Snowy flew over with a burp.

"Was that tasty?"

COO.

"There, there. Daddy will work hard and get you some more."

COOO.

As he gently stroked its head, Snowy cooed contentedly.

He looked at Siwoo.

"What level are you?"

"About ninety-three now."

"Oh, you've made good progress."

"I've still got a little way to go until level 101, but..."

Siwoo cast him a sidelong glance. He clearly wanted to sign up for the guild.

"Are you sure you can handle it? Like I said, joining my guild will probably bring you plenty of trouble."

"I've been through hell and back by now. I'm confident I can handle even an assassin! Seriously."

Fair enough. Thinking back, Siwoo had been through a lot since his spectacular debut alongside the Sword Immortal. Not only had he gained fame as the Sword Immortal's disciple, but all ten of the top guilds had tried to recruit him.

Apparently, they had offered every enticing perk imaginable. The fact that he had rejected them all and remained so set on joining Minwoo proved he was loyal.

"All right. Come join the Money-Blowing Guild."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Good timing, too. I was about ready to stop production. Let's schedule a press conference. Time to step into the spotlight."

"Yes, sir!"

"Oh, before that. About your younger sibling—send them to the Sword Sea Pavilion for a while. I'll call ahead."

"Yes. I was planning to."

Siwoo nodded.

As Minwoo had said, there was no knowing what might happen once he joined the guild. Especially now, with conglomerate heirs being condemned indiscriminately.

Would those spoiled brats blame themselves? They were experts at blaming others. They were probably grinding their teeth at Kim Minwoo right now.

'Minwoo and I will be fine, but... '

His younger sibling, an ordinary civilian, would not. Even an expensive apartment did not offer perfect security.

That was why he readily agreed. The Sword Sea Pavilion was renowned as one of the most secure places in Korea. It was the perfect place to entrust his sibling's safety.

"But wouldn't it be better to keep producing? You said it was practically printing money."

"I've already stockpiled around a hundred thousand items. They've built up plenty of proficiency, too. Time to get back to hunting."

Minwoo checked the skeletons' crafting skills.

[Summon Skeleton (F)+9]

[This skill has been enhanced to its limit.]

[Consumes 10 Mana to summon 2 (1+1) LV51 skeletons.]

[* Possesses Melee Weapon Proficiency (F), Dwarven Crafting (E), and Elven Alchemy (E).]

[Melee Weapon Proficiency (F): Increases damage from all melee weapons by 10%.]

[Dwarven Crafting (E): Allows the creation of equipment with additional effects using dwarven crafting techniques.]

[Elven Alchemy (E): Allows the creation of alchemical items with additional effects using elven alchemical techniques.]

Producing so many items had brought plenty of changes. The skeletons' average level had shot up to fifty-one.

'And both crafting skills went up a grade.'

Churning out tens of thousands of items a day had filled their proficiency in no time. Now, for low-level equipment, the skeletons could produce Plus items even at Magic grade.

Naturally, he had already made suitable level-fifty-one equipment for the skeletons. With Equipment Binding, he could gear them up without worry.

He had also used the purchased bones to replace bones in two parts of their bodies. He had settled for successes rather than great successes, but the stat gains were still enormous.

While working on production, he had also finished preparing for the next hunt.

'The mages are lagging behind in levels, though.'

He would have to worry about that later. Summoning the far more numerous ordinary skeletons had been much more profitable for crafting, so it couldn't be helped.

In any case, he now had a sizable reserve stock. Even if he stopped producing for a while, the equipment stores wouldn't run out of merchandise to sell.

It was time to make his move toward the next hunt. He had already chosen his destination.

'A new gate will appear in Gyeonggi Province soon.'

The process by which gates appeared was simple. An explosive surge of mana gathered in the surrounding area, and before long, a gate emerged.

'And its difficulty is B-rank.'

A-rank would be a little tough. C-rank was too easy. This gate was just right.

'I should claim that first-clear reward, shouldn't I?'

The word "first" always meant something. Gates were no exception. The first party to enter a gate would often receive a special mission.

'The difficulty jumps.'

It felt more like B+ than B. In exchange, the rewards were better than those for an ordinary clear. There were special rewards, making it somewhat similar to a hidden gate.

Naturally, whenever signs of a gate's formation appeared, guilds and all sorts of organizations swarmed in like packs of dogs, eager for a first clear that promised a jackpot.

That didn't mean they charged in blindly. A newly formed gate's rank initially appeared as a question mark. Its rank only became clear after an investigation. Once that was done, one of the assembled organizations would be selected to attempt the raid.

'Originally, Dorim Guild got this gate.'

In the game's story, a few years from now, Dorim's Guild Master would reveal some of the rewards he had obtained.

'Yuger’s Ring.'

Common - Magic - Rare - Unique - Legend - Ancient - Mythic.

Of those seven grades, the ring was no less than Legend grade. Minwoo still vividly remembered the man's speech at a lecture.

["I understand many of you are curious about my ring. I was incredibly lucky. You remember that B-rank gate that appeared in Gyeonggi Province a few years ago, don't you? That's where I obtained the starting item..."]

His conclusion? Joining the guild could offer opportunities like that, so everyone should apply to Dorim Guild.

Some of the ring's effects were later revealed, causing a stir for quite some time. Its effects were incredible, befitting its Legend grade.

The man certainly had been lucky. He had obtained something far beyond what his own abilities deserved.

'I never did manage to buy it.'

When he had played Kim Minwoo, the starting point had been much later than the present, and the Legend-grade ring had already been on that man's finger. Even offers of trillions of won had failed to persuade him to sell.

That probably meant the undisclosed effects were just as impressive.

'I'm taking it.'

Dorim's Guild Master wouldn't have any reason to feel wronged. After all, Minwoo would be using it to stop an Outer God, not for personal advancement.

He ought to yield it for the sake of the world.

'It's time to get serious.'

Things were very different from when he had cleared the tomb. He had gained enough strength to protect himself.

'If it's what it takes to get what I want... '

He was willing to set the whole world buzzing once again.