Ripples (2)

● Seo Yerim, one of the main characters, has fulfilled her cherished wish!

● You are awarded 200 Achievement Points!

● You possess the Achievement Vending Machine! You receive double the points!

[Opening the Achievement Shop!]

[Rank: Silver (Total Points Earned: 1,030)]

[Achievement Points Available: 500]

'Fulfilled her cherished wish...'

It seemed she had finally earned the Sword Immortal's recognition. With her talent for archery, that was entirely possible.

Thanks to her, his points had shot up to 500 in an instant.

'The vending machine really is a godsend.'

He looked through the products.

[Product List]

[1. Limit-Breaking Elixir]

[Achievement Points Required: 100]

[2. Cocktail of the Dead]

[Achievement Points Required: 100]

[3. Random Necromancer Equipment Draw Ticket (Legend–Ancient)]

[Achievement Points Required: 300]

[4. S-Rank Bound Skill Book]

[Achievement Points Required: 500]

[5. ???]

[6. ???]

'Cocktail of the Dead, huh?'

What was it that made it cost a whole 100 Achievement Points?

He checked the details.

[Cocktail of the Dead]

[Grade: Special]

[A cocktail the dead can drink. Drinking it grants special effects.]

[Effect 1. Can only be consumed by undead.]

[Effect 2. Increases all stats of the consuming undead by 10%.]

[Effect 3. Has a low chance of granting the undead a skill.]

[Effect 4. Slightly activates the consuming undead's senses.]

It was a kind of undead enhancement item.

'Not bad.'

Summons couldn't use elixirs, skill books, or titles. Naturally, barring special cases like Cedric, they were far weaker than ordinary awakeners.

'Stat increases and skills.'

And heightened senses on top of that.

It was tempting. Especially since he had Cedric.

The guy already more than earned his keep. What if Minwoo gave him a few cocktails?

He would go absolutely wild.

Still, he was reluctant to buy it right away. He might be earning double the Achievement Points, but they were still a precious resource.

Besides, every other item on sale was just as good as the cocktail.

The Limit-Breaking Elixir went without saying.

'The equipment draw ticket looks good, too.'

Legend- and Ancient-grade equipment.

Even if they weren't accessories, items like those were difficult to obtain in the first place.

'That's why I kit myself out in Rare gear at each level bracket.'

Of course, he would have loved to get equipment of Unique grade or higher.

But there had to be something for sale first.

Items of Unique grade or above were hard to find even at the auction house. And Legend or Ancient items?

People didn't list those there. They sold them separately at places like VVIP auction houses. Their prices generally started in the hundreds of billions of won, making the 10% commission a devastating expense.

'I'll have to visit the Sky Auction House sometime, too.'

The most extravagant auction house of all, run by the system and held once a year.

Its offerings ranged from high-grade equipment for high-level users to accessories. Even its commission was very reasonable, at around 2%.

Unfortunately, it wasn't something he could attend simply because he wanted to.

'You need an invitation to get in.'

The system selected just one thousand people worldwide and sent them invitations. It generally considered their level, reputation, and available funds.

It was early February now.

'They'll start sending invitations around April.'

After selecting the attendees, the Sky Auction House would open about a month later, sometime in May.

That was one reason he had begun making moves in earnest.

Their selection criteria were rather strict; an overnight rise to fame alone wasn't enough to earn an invitation. Even if he started building up his credentials now, there was no guarantee he would get one.

In any case...

'Equipment for 300 Achievement Points is a good deal.'

It was guaranteed to be necromancer equipment. Some pieces might be better than others, but there would be no outright duds.

'The S-rank skill book is good, too.'

It was bound, meaning there would be no dud there either. An S-rank skill would serve him well for quite some time.

'This is a tough choice.'

The problem was that every single item was good. If he had points to spare, he would have swept them all up.

'I do need to buy something...'

There was no point in hoarding points, especially when he would soon have to tackle the Death Lord's second arrangement.

After a long deliberation, Kim Minwoo made his choice.

The S-rank bound skill book.

He didn't need to buy the Limit-Breaking Elixir right now. The Cocktail of the Dead was good, but strengthening himself took priority over strengthening Cedric.

Ultimately, he could only invest in Cedric if he had points left over.

'As for equipment...'

It was a bit of a shame to pass it up, but the skill book was still the better choice.

[Would you like to purchase an S-rank bound skill book?]

"Of course."

[You receive an S-rank bound skill book!]

[Using the skill book!]

Light burst forth.

A moment later...

[You have obtained the necromancer skill book, Land of Death (S)!]

'Land of Death, huh?'

He checked the details.

[Land of Death (S)]

[Level Requirement: 151 or higher]

[Consumes 1,000 mana to turn a designated area into a land of death for two hours.]

[Effect 1. Enemies standing within the Land of Death have their movements hindered and are continuously drained of vitality.]

[Effect 2. Enemies who die within the Land of Death rise again as undead.]

[Effect 3. Undead standing within the Land of Death receive a bonus to all stats.]

'An area-of-effect skill.'

It wasn't particularly worthwhile against a single target, given its enormous mana cost.

But against a crowd?

'It could make a huge difference.'

His side would get stat buffs, while the enemy would lose vitality and suffer all sorts of hindrances. As if that weren't enough, they would rise as undead when they died.

When he tried using the skill, an enormous circle appeared before him.

'That's its range.'

It was much larger than he had expected. Everything he could see around him fell within its boundaries. It was nearly the size of several playing fields put together.

"Nice."

The skill's greatest strength seemed to be its area of coverage.

If The Death Lord's Call involved a mass battle like the one with Cedric, this skill would be tremendously effective.

'That's an S-rank skill for you.'

He nodded in satisfaction.

* * *

News had spread throughout the world.

The general public weren't the only ones paying attention.

Shadow was watching, too.

Everyone from Number One to Number Seven had gathered in one place. All this time, Shadow had been carrying out their assigned missions while searching for Lee Seoyun's killer.

Despite digging relentlessly through forged IDs, conglomerates, and political circles, they hadn't found a single plausible suspect.

They had all but given up on the investigation when the news broke.

News about Kim Minwoo, who had cleared an A+-rank gate with only the Sword Phoenix at his side.

"Do you think that's true?"

"That Sword Phoenix bitch has sky-high pride. She'd cut out her own tongue before making something up."

"And here I was wondering why we couldn't find a single decent suspect..."

"No matter how I look at it, he seems like the one who killed Lee Seoyun."

Everyone nodded.

Kim Minwoo had the clout to create forged IDs and erase their traces with ease.

And that wasn't all. He was said to have contributed as much to the clear as the Sword Phoenix despite being only in the level 100 range.

With that much innate skill and talent, he must have been unimaginably strong even at lower levels.

He was already running wild in A+-rank gates. Could he really have been incapable of killing a single B-rank awakener in the past?

Lee Seoyun had been nothing more than a rising prospect. He could easily have disposed of her inside a gate.

Han Baekgil's eyes gleamed.

'Kim Minwoo. So it was you.'

At last, they had found the newcomer who had taken out Lee Seoyun.

"Boss, don't you want him?"

Han Baekgil nodded.

Of course he did. Even setting aside his wealth, there was that incredible leveling speed, along with tremendous skill and talent.

Comparing him to Lee Seoyun almost felt like an insult to him.

If they could recruit him into Shadow, he would become an enormous asset down the line.

"I'll try approaching him."

"... Even you might have trouble recruiting him, Boss. He's got everything. And he isn't crazy like Lee Seoyun, either."

"We can't just leave him alone, though, can we?"

"That's true, but..."

Everyone nodded at Han Baekgil's words.

Most of those gathered here held high positions in society. Most had posts in successful guilds, and some were even Guild Masters.

That was precisely why they knew.

An awakener growing that quickly was certain to stir up a storm. Before long, he might encroach on their interests.

Did a typhoon uproot trees on purpose?

No, the trees simply got torn out by the wind.

He was a typhoon.

An exceptionally powerful one.

Doing nothing was the worst possible option. He had grown that much in barely two months.

In another six months, he would very likely be far beyond Shadow's ability to touch.

Then they really would have no choice but to keep their heads down, unable to do a thing.

Whether they recruited him or eliminated him, they had to engage with him somehow.

Of course, Han Baekgil wasn't planning to act without a plan.

"We can give him special power. At least we aren't completely empty-handed."

"... Boss, don't tell me you're going to offer him the baptism right away?"

"If it means we can recruit him, we'll have to offer at least that much."

"Hmm..."

Everyone from Number One to Number Seven fell silent.

The baptism.

It granted power from a great being, allowing rapid growth. Of course, it wasn't free.

They had to offer regular "sacrifices" and carry out missions.

It was worth the price, of course. Otherwise, they wouldn't be sitting here.

That was precisely why they had to take this seriously.

The baptism's power was, fundamentally, shared among all of them.

If only one person had received the baptism, that person would receive all the power alone and could grow faster than anyone else.

But as their numbers increased?

The power was divided.

From Number One to Number Seven, everyone gathered here had proven their worth through countless undertakings under Han Baekgil, the man they called Boss.

That was how they had earned their baptism. Even Lee Seoyun, for all the dirty work she had done, hadn't received it right away.

Han Baekgil broke the silence.

"Of course, I know none of you are keen on it. But without that, do we have any way to persuade him?"

"... No, I don't think so. Frankly, he's too far above the likes of Lee Seoyun and the others to make him work his way up from the bottom."

Everyone nodded.

This monster leveled even faster than Isabella herself.

What could he possibly lack that would make him agree to that?

If anything, they were the ones who needed to cling to him now. Winning him over would be an enormous boon.

"All right. I'm in favor."

"So am I."

The decision was unanimous.

"But what if we can't win him over? Will we eliminate him?"

The question silenced everyone.

Eliminating him would be anything but easy. They couldn't simply swarm him, kill him, and be done with it. Given the target's identity, the process would be extremely complicated.

For one thing, killing him in the real world would be very, very difficult. No, practically impossible.

They would inevitably get caught afterward.

That meant they would have to deal with him inside a gate...

"... We'll discuss that later."

Everyone nodded.

With that, Han Baekgil, the leader of Shadow, vanished.