LIGHTNOVELONLINE
Chapter 99
[Translator – Pr?ks]
[Proofreader – Pr?ks]
Chapter 99: Giant Dungeon (2)
Second Clear.
With Kim Minwoo and other summoned creatures joining, the speed doubled.
As mobs were being swiftly swept away, Park Siwoo opened his eyes wide.
‘Wow…’
Honestly, achieving an SSS-rank achievement had boosted his confidence a bit.
‘But this guy’s on a whole different level.’
On a different level, indeed.
It was palpable.
Just two months ago, the skeletons summoned during the duel on the unhabited island numbered around five hundred.
But now, it was different.
Not only was he accompanied by Specter, a much superior summon, but the number of summoned skeletons had also increased significantly.
And these weren’t just ordinary summons.
They knew how to fight.
‘They’ve grown. A lot.’
Comparing the skeletons from the unhabited island to now was like night and day.
Back then, if his combat sense was slightly better than a goblin, now it feels like he’s a seasoned veteran.
Even handling these basic summons alone required quite a bit of effort.
‘And that one’s the real deal.’
The Bone Golem.
It made one wonder about its stats, as it could withstand the assaults of several giants and counterattack with remarkable tanking abilities.
But that’s not all.
Cedric had changed significantly as well.
Not only had he grown larger in size.
‘…Impressive.’
Overwhelming stats.
Plus, precise spear techniques.
With each swing of the skeleton’s spear, holes were punctured through the bodies of the giants.
‘Can I beat him one-on-one?’
It didn’t seem likely no matter how he looked at it.
―Uuung!
Even the Holy Sword hummed in agreement.
It seemed like he would need to declare a sacred area and receive a stat boost just to stand a chance.
But then, another monstrous summon that he hadn’t seen before appeared.
Banshee Queen Merhen.
She was a mage.
And not just any mage, but one with magic prowess so high it was hard to gauge where her peak was.
On the second rotation of the gate.
Since she joined the battle, there hadn’t been a single giant who managed to properly use magic.
They all either tried to cast spells but ended up coughing blood or were disrupted midway.
‘Does this make sense?’
Of course, it was said that a true mage could do things like that.
Reading the opponent’s magic, preemptively countering it, and blocking the spells before they could take effect.
‘I heard they’re a rare breed…’
To achieve that, it’s not enough to just read from spell books and cast spells mechanically.
It’s a skill that only a select few true masters who can create and manipulate magic themselves can demonstrate.
Even among those masters, not all of them would be able to block magic as consistently as Merhen.
And on top of that, there’s Kim Minwoo, wreaking havoc with curses.
‘It’s insane.’
After annihilating a group.
During a brief rest, Park Siwoo asked.
“Hyung.”
“What?”
“How are those commanders ranked in level?”
“They level up just like me.”
“…So, Hyung’s ‘1-up’, strictly speaking, isn’t really a ‘1-up’, right?”
“Well, that’s originally the purpose of choosing a summoner class.”
Park Siwoo was right.
Does leveling up only make oneself stronger?
No.
From Merhen, the commanders, BoneGolem, to the skeleton units and Specter.
Everyone grows stronger together.
That’s why he chose Necromancer in the first place.
He thought there was no point in choosing anything else given Kim Minwoo’s potential.
‘My level has increased quite a bit.’
The average level of the skeleton units reached 99 through hunting.
The Mage reached their 60s, and the Specter reached their 40s.
Even though the experience is divided, the fact that they’re getting stronger is important.
Eventually, with all the hunting, the levels had to slowly increase.
Now, even surpassing the level cap of 200.
‘I don’t even know where the peak is for me.’
If he were to boast a bit, even Kim Minwoo himself couldn’t imagine how far this synergy could go.
Having been gazing at Cedric, Park Siwoo said.
“Hyung. I’ll work hard, so, uh… you won’t discard me, right?”
“Instead of wasting time with such useless thoughts, swing your sword again. Okay?”
“…Okay!”
The guy who brightened up immediately started running ahead. Seeing that, Kim Minwoo chuckled.
“Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve made a guild.”
Initially, even when playing with other characters, he didn’t do party play.
He didn’t need to.
When Kim Minwoo played, he did try it once, but he gave up right away.
How could he do party play with all that ‘Heavenly Plebeian’ stuff going on?
If he didn’t have a knife in his back, he would consider himself lucky. Needless to say, the concept of a guild, which is a higher form of party, was out of the question.
‘Well… It might not be so bad after all.’
Hunting monsters for seven years.
In other words, it means he could live here for up to seven years.
It was a long time to live without any human relationships. This was one of the reasons for creating the guild.
Anyway.
With two rotations becoming much more familiar and Kim Minwoo actively participating, the time was greatly shortened.
Two hours.
That’s how long it took to clear the gate.
When they came out of the gate like that,
There were many more reporters gathered than before.
Reporters looking at them eagerly.
“Mr. Kim Minwoo! Can we have an interview, please?”
“Two hours to clear it! How on earth did you manage to do that?”
Three people.
Even though we did two rotations consecutively, the clear time was four hours and then two hours.
Korea had already been in an uproar for a while.
— What? Am I seeing this right now? Two hours? Not a single 0 left out??
— Did they hypnotize the monsters or something? What kind of clear time is that? LOL
— Where are those guys who said they could beat Ilsung? Even the first team might not be able to clear it in two hours, ??.
— They might be able to. If they just charge forward like crazy. But some of them might get hurt or die in the process.
— Yeah, LOL. They’re already on their second rotation, right? But no one’s injured, right? The game’s over, isn’t it?
— Wow, I really don’t get this. Honestly, I thought the Guild Battle was over, but they might actually pull it off?
— Pretty impressive; starting to understand why they’re valued so highly;
— 60 trillion? Is that expensive? Maybe Chairman Kim is buying shares at a family discount?
— Lmao, those nationalistic idiots are back in force again. How is that even a discount? Damn idiots, ??.
— Anyway, the potential is insane, right? A-rank in two hours?
[Translator – Pr?ks]
[Proofreader – Pr?ks]
— Yup. The performance is really something. At that level, it’s like they just smashed through the gates.
— The peaceful giants suddenly shed tears of blood, ??.
— I’m an A-rank awakened individual, and it took 30 of us and three hours to take down the giant prince, is this for real?
— Ridiculously normal, lmao. It took us four hours, kekekeke.
— They’re really good, praising them actually works, ??. I’m an A-rank awakened individual, but I feel like I could tear through Ilsung, LOL. GG.
— Check out the speed of that A-rank gentleman’s stance switch, LOL.
— So, three of them cleared it in two hours without switching stances? People need to be flexible. Remember what Hyung said.
— There might be a chance for an S-rank gate clear? This isn’t nationalistic, just being realistic.
— Yeah, there might be. We should watch the guild battle, but either way, it seems like they’re onto something.
— Ah, I was gonna skip watching the guild battle because it seemed predictable, but I guess I’ll have to tune in.
— Yeah. It’s dinner time, so let’s order chicken and watch it, ??.
— The chicken joints are probably all sold out that day, kekekeke.
Amidst the internet forum frenzy, questions and answers continued.
How on earth did they clear it so quickly? Was it because of the sword of justice? How much did Park Siwoo contribute? And so on.
Kim Minwoo responded appropriately to numerous questions.
In other words.
He answered superficially, leaving out the core details.
It was when the reporters’ faces showed annoyance at the lack of substance in his answers.
“You must be frustrated. Curious, right? Well then, come watch the guild battle happening the day after tomorrow. I’ll answer all your questions then.”
Glancing at the clock, he smiled faintly.
“Oh, it’s already past midnight, so it’s tomorrow. Well then.”
“Mr. Kim Minwoo! Mr. Kim Minwoo!”
“Just a moment! I still have questions…!”
Despite the eager shouts of the reporters, the three figures continued to move away.
* * *
After completing two rotations.
The day after, in preparation for the guild battle to be held, they took a good rest.
As evening approached.
Sangam Awakened Fighters Stadium.
The three people gathered again in front of the massive stadium, large enough to accommodate 200,000 people.
When there’s an international event, it fills up.
But this time, even though it wasn’t an international event, all the seats were sold out.
And that happened within just a few hours of posting the guild battle announcement.
The number sold was staggering, considering it was just one event match.
“I heard the sales rate was low at first.”
They said about 50,000 out of the 200,000 seats were sold, right?
Most of them were probably bought by fans of Seo Yerim and himself.
Some might have been fans of the Ilsung Guild as well. The reason for the low sales rate was obvious without looking.
When a match seems predictable, it’s immediately uninteresting to watch.
Cheers only rise when destined rivals face off.
The match seemed predictable.
But they destroyed an A-rank gate?
And in such a short time that even clearing it with the first team would have been difficult?
Then, isn’t this match unpredictable?
From then on, the sales rate skyrocketed like crazy, eventually leading to a sold-out stadium.
Inside the stadium, it was already bustling with activity. From the commentators to the broadcasters’ cameras, everyone was bustling around.
They entered the player waiting area.
Soon after, the staff came in and gave the signal.
“Let’s go, it’s time to break in.”
Seo Yerim and Park Siwoo.
The two of them stood up, nodding their heads.
Then.
—These individuals are arguably the hottest awakened fighters in Korea right now. Their guild’s name is as fiery as their actions! Let’s welcome Kim Minwoo, the guild master of Money Talks Guild, and the two awakened fighters!”
Wow!
A tremendous roar erupted.
Amidst the 200,000-strong crowd, the three of them emerged into the stadium.
On the opposite side, the Ilsung Guild was already waiting.
“We welcome the two guild masters!”
Nam Cheolmin and Kim Minwoo.
The two of them stepped onto the stage.
As microphones were handed to them,
The commentator, looking at them, said,
— I heard there’s a behind-the-scenes story to this guild battle. There have been some discussions about investment issues with the mogul group Ilsung, right?
Grinning, Nam Cheolmin brought the microphone to his mouth.
“It’s true that we at Ilsung Guild have concerns about excessive investment funds.”
— Do you still hold the same thoughts?
“No, we don’t. Honestly, it did seem a bit extravagant.”
—Hey, let’s not hold back! Namca Cola! What do you think about this, Guild Master Kim Minwoo?”
“Mr. Commentator, isn’t it true that we typically prioritize taking care of our families?”
— That’s right. Sharing even a single bean is what family is all about.
“So that’s why we’re selling to Ilsung, especially at a discount.”
— Ah, so the 60 trillion won is actually a discounted amount! Is that what you are saying?
“You’ll find out when you watch today’s match.”
— That’s really quite a confidence! Of course, it’s true that Money Talks Guild has accomplished something remarkable! Clearing an A-rank gate in 2 hours! And that isn’t just any place, it’s the land of the giants, isn’t it?
The audience nodded in agreement.
— But honestly! Looking at it objectively, it still seems a bit expensive, doesn’t it?
Nods.
There were agreeing nods from the audience.
Kim Minwoo grinned.
‘He’s got a knack for it.’
He’s a top-tier commentator.
A pro is a pro.
They know how to scratch where it itches.
— I hope both of you can cleanly address your arguments and doubts in this match today! Lastly, your determination, we can’t ignore that, right?
The commentator looked at Nam Cheolmin.
— The super rookie who burst onto the scene like a comet 20 years ago! His fame still stands! When it comes to archery in Korea, it’s Nam Cheolmin. And when you think of Nam Cheolmin, you think of archers. That’s all there is to it, isn’t it? The audience must be looking forward to it too.
“We’ll do our best to meet their expectations.”
Nam Cheolmin replied humbly.
— On the other hand, when it comes to Necromancers in Korea, now it’s just Kim Minwoo, those three letters, right?
“Well, that’s only natural. Did you say Korea’s top archer is Mr. Nam Cheolmin?”
“Yes. Isn’t our guild master, Mr. Nam Cheolmin, the number one archer in the Korean archer rankings?”
“I’m sure our guild’s archers will be very unhappy to hear that.”
With those words, Kim Minwoo stared directly at Nam Cheolmin.
Then he continued.
“Guild Master Nam Cheolmin. It’s time to take off that heavy crown.”
He said calmly.
— It’s time to take off the crown. So, who will take up the crown?
“We have an archer in our guild too.”
— Are you talking about Bow of Justice, Ms. Seo Yerim?”
Bow of Justice
It sounded similar to Sword of Justice, and since she hadn’t revealed much to the world, it was a hastily attached makeshift nickname that stuck around.
But it had become a meme and solidified.
“Sword of Justice, Bow of Justice. Isn’t it time to change the nickname a bit? It’s time for a new nickname. In my opinion, after today, the world will refer to Seo Yerim like this.”
— How so?
“Divine Archer.”
He spoke the new nickname, which was both a moniker of respect and her new identity in the eyes of the world.
[Translator – Pr?ks]
[Proofreader – Pr?ks]
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