BXBX NOVEL Chapter 73
Chapter 73
Chapter 73: Shadow (1)
Arms and legs.
For a tank-specialized warrior, legs were much more crucial than arms.
Even if one arm was chopped off, they could still hold a shield with the other, but without one leg, they couldn’t function as a tank at all.
Weak lower body meant defense was practically nonexistent.
And if it was a single leg, it was as good as useless.
Even prosthetics wouldn’t suffice.
This moment was a complete ruin for Cho Pilwook, the awakened warrior’s life.
Of course, it wasn’t Kim Minwoo’s doing.
Who was the one trying to break his shoulder first?
“Take him away.”
Upon these words, the guards waiting outside rushed in and surrounded Cho Pilwook, carrying him away.
Some of them were seen carrying his shattered leg.
‘There’s no use in trying to fix it anyway.’
The system had already judged it as a broken leg.
Even if a healer were to come, it wouldn’t help.
The awakened witnesses stepped forward, their eyes filled with astonishment.
They had witnessed the battle with their own eyes, not through a broadcast.
From the intensity of the moment to the palpable tension, it was beyond anything the viewers could imagine.
‘Honestly, I didn’t think it would be this overwhelming…’
‘I never expected it to be this one-sided…’
An awakened fighter who had performed in A+ grade gates.
When he readily accepted the duel, they naturally assumed he had his own strategy.
Kim Minwoo had proven his worth.
Summoning a number of creatures that was unbelievable for someone who was barely level 100.
Even if they were just juvenile skeletons, the situation changed with numbers.
Just reaching a thousand would be staggering, but two thousand?
It was an overwhelming sight.
Truly, a textbook example of an immense horde by a necromancer.
Is that all?
In addition to skeletons, Kim Minwoo had some special summons.
A giant golem.
The sheer stats were unimaginable.
It astonishingly blocked Cho Pilwook’s charge head-on with incredible force!
Even Cedric, an undead.
‘…Even if I went one-on-one, I’d struggle?’
Displaying terrifying spear skills and mastery, Cedric truly toyed with Cho Pilwook.
To the observers, it seemed like the right call.
Normally, to deal with summoners, you’d go after the summoner.
The issue was.
‘…A monster.’
‘His swordsmanship is just…’
Ironically, this necromancer was actually the strongest summoner himself.
Cho Pilwook, a seasoned awakened fighter who had rolled through gates, was just played with like a toy.
Especially when he moved faster than expected after seeing the warrior’s skill motion and countered, it was so astonishing that he almost fell over.
That was one of the top skills that even most S-grade awakened fighters couldn’t display.
Then the awakened fighters realized.
Why the Sword of Justice insisted on a 5:5 attack ratio.
Now it was clear, Kim Minwoo wasn’t just a simple necromancer.
His main body was the strongest aberration.
What’s even scarier is.
‘…He wouldn’t have shown his all, even to someone like Cho Pilwook.’
That was the truth.
Even summoning so many creatures might have been just part of his plan.
From the start, he probably had the skill to handle things without them.
Maybe it wasn’t to dispel doubts about this incident, but to show his intent.
“I really enjoyed the duel.”
“Your swordsmanship is truly impressive. You didn’t just tackle A+ grade gates for nothing.”
“Remarkable. Here’s my business card…”
Awakened fighters crowded around, striving desperately to build even a slight rapport.
Given time, this top-tier awakened fighter would undoubtedly rise to the top.
It wouldn’t hurt to establish even a small connection.
Kim Minwoo also smiled and handed out his business card.
“You’re too kind. I’m still a beginner, really.”
The conversation continued amidst a cheerful atmosphere.
* * *
‘Now all that’s left is to supply the goods through production…’
Nearly a month had passed since the gate expedition.
Fortunately, they had made a substantial amount of stock before leaving.
Thanks to that, they could continue selling without interruption.
With the uncertainty of how much time the second wave of Death Road would consume, it was wise to supply the stock smoothly before departure.
The profit from supplying 100,000 pieces of equipment last time was roughly around 600 billion.
It was a feasible structure to consume all the margins except for material costs.
Moreover, this time, they were producing equipment not for F-grade novices but for E-grade awakened fighters.
As the skeleton crafting skill had improved, the quality of the products had also increased.
With the increase in material grade, the proportion of magic would also be quite high.
‘I’ll make a fortune with just one equipment crafting.’
The equipment sales of Ilsung were reported to be extremely successful.
Some awakened fighters even camped out, waiting to buy, and resold them at the entrance afterward.
It was because buying and reselling once could yield a profit of at least several million won.
It far surpassed the daily income of most lower-grade awakened fighters.
So it’s no wonder there was such a frenzy.
Regarding such resale, there was no particular resentment.
‘It’s not like I told them not to do it.’
Originally, they were selling cheaply to stir up such issues.
If the market expands later, they might even attract awakened fighters from overseas.
Or they could open their own branches overseas to sell.
The size of the equipment market was infinite.
Once they produced it, money would simply duplicate.
After leaving the training center, they headed to the workshop.
The materials were already piled up like mountains, thanks to Park Siwoo steadily moving them while they weren’t looking.
He sent a quick message on his phone.
[Kim Minwoo]
― At the workshop. You moved a lot of stuff. Well done.
[Park Siwoo]
― Hehe!
(Thumbs up emoji)
[Kim Minwoo]
― What’s your level?
[Park Siwoo]
― It’s 127.
[Seo Yerim]
― Huh? Already 127? You were in your 90s last time we talked. That’s fast?
[Park Siwoo]
― Unnie, that was a month ago, you know… I have to level up if I want to keep up with hyung.
[Kim Minwoo]
― I see. It’s not that fast, actually. Keep up the good work.
[Park Siwoo]
― …
(Sad face emoji)
[Seo Yerim]
― But what’s the workshop again?
[Park Siwoo]
―Hyung, can I tell her?
[Kim Minwoo]
―Sure. I already mentioned it inside the gate. It’s irrelevant.
[Park Siwoo]
―It’s where we make equipment, unnie. I’ve been moving materials with the spatial ring hehe!
[Seo Yerim]
―Okay.
[Kim Minwoo]
―Then I’m off to make equipment.
(Vroom vroom emoji)
Before entering the martial arts gate.
There was a significant difference in abilities between then and now.
[New Title List]
[1. Monster of the Beginner Level]
[Effect: All abilities increase by 20]
A new title obtained at the trial site this time.
‘It’s top-notch.’
There was satisfaction in clearing the deadly difficulty.
Plus, with all abilities increased by 100 due to the Ring of Ascension, all abilities increased by 50 due to the consumption of high-grade potions bought last time, an additional 20 from the Gold Dragon Medal given by Sado Leader, and even the Sword Sect.
Kim Minwoo began to remove his equipment one by one.
“This is the best feeling.”
Accessories practically never needing to be replaced.
Releasing all other equipment and checking the abilities that were close to pure.
This was the moment when he felt the strongest sense of accomplishment, risking his life.
His current abilities were…
“Status.”
[Name: Kim Minwoo (24)]
[Occupation: Necromancer]
[Level: 151]
[Mana: 7,150/7,150]
[Titles: 24]
[Owned Skills (9/72): Death Lord (EX), Summon Cedric (SSS), Land of Death (S), Original Golem Summon (A), Bone Exchange (B), Weapon Equipping (B), Curse of Aging (D) +9, Skeleton Mage Summon (E) +9, Skeleton Summon (F) +9]
[Strength: 596 (+59)] [Agility: 596 (+59)] [Stamina: 572 (+57)] [Mana: 650 (+65)]
“Wow.”
All abilities were comfortably surpassing an average of 600.
Previously, due to the Unarmed Combat Title, Strength and Agility were higher, but now it was different.
The highest figure was indeed mana.
‘That makes sense.’
An increase of 50 in mana due to the Four Sages’ Ring.
Plus, it rose by 10 as the master of divine beings.
It was not strange that mana was skyrocketing.
“I already have three decent accessories.”
The Ring of Ascension was a given.
The Four Sages’ Ring obtained from defeating Veltus, or the Shadow Tracker Ring obtained from capturing Lee Seoyoon, were all top-notch.
But wait, there’s more.
The necklace obtained after completing the Orc Gate.
The necklace, which allowed re-entry at 251, had two slots carved inside.
Capture a witch and an ice dragon, insert some gems?
‘Jackpot confirmed.’
Four premium accessories.
The foundation for leaping beyond the upper echelons to the top echelon was established.
It had been just over two months since Kim Minwoo’s body was possessed.
Judging by the progress, it would be close to a tutorial.
The evaluations so far were…
‘Top-notch.’
The sweet reward for risking his life was truly satisfying.
Until now, other Kim Minwoos had an average ability level around 400 at level 151.
Moreover, it took them another two or three months to reach level 151.
Compared to that, it’s like starting from a devilish starting point.
But the change wasn’t the only thing that happened.
Cedric.
As he also reached level 151, he gained a new skill.
Shadow Spear (SS).
The effect was simple.
It duplicates a spear made of shadows.
It looks like he’s just wielding one spear, but the shadow spear follows and strikes again.
It’s a 10-minute attack power doubling event.
It was an SS-grade skill.
Kim Minwoo put on each piece of the level 151 setup.
[Eerie Necromancer Set equipped!]
[Strength +50, Agility +40, Stamina +50, mana +100 increased!]
The stats were boosted once again due to the newly equipped gear.
With the bonus of 10% from the Indomitable Spirit, the total mana was 825.
Mana: 8,250.
[3,300 skeletons are summoned!]
3,300 summoned creatures stared intently in this direction.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to make something?”
Clatter!
The skeletons began to move.
And it was only a moment before the items started pouring out.
“Whitey, let’s eat.”
―Cooo.
Whitey, who flew in with a flutter, greedily absorbed the elemental items.
“I’ll earn a few more days.”
Once 60 trillion is deposited, I’ll have to go shopping.
For the past few days, he has been making new equipment and supplying it in bulk.
With both the quality and quantity of the supplied equipment increasing, he could earn a tremendous profit margin.
Almost close to fifteen hundred per equipment.
As the tier rose, the price of the equipment also skyrocketed, making it possible to sell cheaply and still make a lot of profit.
He would make it, hand it over immediately, and receive the margin as an advance payment.
Thus, he had been buying C-rank skill books little by little each time he made money copies.
About three days had passed since then.
Inside the auction house.
Someone started approaching this way.
‘He’s coming now.’
He looked ordinary.
The only peculiar thing was a long scar on his forehead.
For an awakened, it was a common wound.
Still, Kim Minwoo could recognize him at a glance.
That’s because he was one of the infamous villains in Gate Hunter.
“The Leader of Shadows, Han Baekgil.”
The conditions for his appearance were simple.
Just build up a certain level of fame within the game.
Then this guy would quietly come one day.
To propose a scout.
Of course, if you have an extreme evil tendency, you might just attempt assassination instead of scouting.
‘But I’m not in that kind of mood right now.’
Well, you need to show some evil tendency for that.
It’s not like a scoundrel’s turning over a new leaf would be recognized as an evil tendency.
If he had to express a tendency, it would be something close to chaos.
Han Baekgil then smiled brightly and said,
“Mr. Kim Minwoo! I’m a big fan. Could I possibly get an autograph?”
“Sure. There’s no reason not to.”
It was a simple scout offer.
So far, Han Baekgil reached out with the paper and pen for my autograph.
Suddenly.
A strange sight appeared between the papers.
It looked like a bizarre phrase, as if hundreds of worms were crawling.
Then Han Baekgil’s face stiffened.
“Mr. Kim Minwoo, you’re a very talented awakened, aren’t you?”
‘What’s this?’
He has encountered Han Baekgil hundreds of times before, but this pattern was completely new to him.
Showing him a strange drawing and then acting alone like he’s on cloud nine.
‘What kind of pattern is this?’
I stared fixedly at Han Baekgil.