Damn Necromancer

Chapter 116

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 116: Tournament (1)

The tournament was fast approaching.

During that time, Kim Minwoo focused on strengthening his foundation. He concentrated on improving his skeleton crafting skills.

‘I’ll have a lot of use for this in the future.’

Plus items of Magic rank are slightly inferior to Rare rank.

Unless it’s a special Summoned being like Cedric or Merhen.

For the rest of the Summoned beings, it was physically and mentally easier to just equip them with crafted gear.

In addition, he also leveled up his alchemy. A group of Skeleton Apprentice Blacksmiths and Alchemists.

They were a kind of specialized Summoned being, each summoned with skills related to their profession.

Their effectiveness was immediately apparent.

[Skeleton Apprentice Blacksmith 3 has a sudden epiphany!]

[Experience shared!]

[Everyone’s hammering becomes more proficient!]

[Apprentice Blacksmith 143….]

Previously, if he made ten items, nine would be Normal rank and maybe one would be Magic.

‘Now I can easily get two or three.’

And in between, there were sudden epiphanies.

Perhaps because of that, the proficiency level increased quite quickly.

With just a week of grinding.

[Dwarven Crafting grows to D!]

[Elven Alchemy grows to D!]

Both equipment crafting and alchemy reached D level.

“Oh, it’s up?”

Inside the underground workshop.

Thousands of skeletons turned to look at him.

“Alright, let’s make the equipment you guys will be wearing. Use these materials.”

Chuck!

The tireless skeletons once again began their labor.

Thousands of pieces of equipment were produced.

[Items with compatible energy gather!]

[A new set item recipe is registered!]

[You possess Dwarven Crafting!]

[Apprentice blacksmiths gain new insights!]

[Set items are composed of + items!]

[1. Blue Steel Armor Set (+)]

[2. Skilled Mage’s Wanderer Set (+)]

Kim Minwoo’s eyes gleamed as he saw the message.

‘Finally, the recipe has been unlocked.’

Upon reaching D-rank, the recipe effect was activated.

Recipe.

This was the alpha and omega of crafting.

The effect is simple.

If you make an item registered in the recipe, you can get additional effects.

Like in the case of set items.

‘It makes them treated as a set.’

What if you make set items without a recipe?

They are all treated as individual items.

They cannot receive the set effect.

Individual items can also be registered in a recipe to gain special effects each time they are crafted.

Therefore, recipes were like secret manuals for crafting professions.

Usually, they were obtained by discovering ancient books inside Gates or by learning from a master.

‘You can also discover them like this through crafting.’

However, finding recipes through crafting required a lot of grinding.

In the case of set items, all items with matching energy had to be crafted before the recipe could be registered.

The process of finding materials with “matching energy” was quite difficult.

Head, top, bottom, shoes, gloves.

Usually, a set consists of these five items.

Put material A from mob A in the gloves, material B from mob B in the armor, material C from mob C in the shoes….

You had to find them all one by one to register them as a set item.

‘It’s a lot of grinding.’

The bigger problem was that even if you happened to craft items that could be a set item….

‘Sometimes the recipe doesn’t register right away.’

Then the crafter would move on without knowing anything.

Thinking, “Oh, I guess this isn’t it.”

Therefore, most of the set items distributed in the market were dropped by monsters.

Because it’s hard to figure out crafting recipes.

Fortunately, since the game was stagnant, Kim Minwoo’s memory contained quite a few recipes.

He had discovered some in the game, and even if he hadn’t, information was often found in user strategy guides.

‘Not all of them, but….’

Those that were useful or called masterpieces.

He remembered the recipes for all of those items.

The two sets he just registered were like that.

Level restriction 101.

The skeletons can wear them right away.

Thanks to Dwarven Crafting, all the set items were uprankd to +, creating an amazing effect.

[Blue Steel Armor Set]

[Rank: Magic+]

[Set Item Effects]

[1. Strength, Stamina +60]

[2. Steel Armor (C) usable]

[Skilled Mage’s Wanderer Set]

[Rank: Magic+]

[Set Item Effects]

[1. Mana +100]

[2. Magic Shield (C) usable]

‘Oh.’

Kim Minwoo admired the set item effects written in the recipe.

Steel Armor.

Originally, when you collected them all, it only increased your strength and stamina by 30 each.

But not only did the numbers double, but an additional skill was added.

It seemed to be an effect added when it became a Plus set, not just a Magic item set.

The Wanderer set had also changed.

‘If you add weapon equipment to this….’

Item stats increased by 20%.

At this level, they’re not skeletons, they’re thugs.

‘The mages will soon reach level 100 as well.’

He could give them the mage set then. As the skeletons diligently crafted items.

“Whitey, let’s eat.”

―Coo.

Whitey, who had flown in, was seen absorbing the attributes of the items.

[Summoning Whitey’s status window!]

[Name: Whitey]

[Species: Rainbow Phoenix]

[Attributes: Ice 20%, Fire 10.2%, Wind 10.31%, Electricity 10.11%, Earth 10.23%]

‘It’s increased a lot.’

Not only ice, but other attributes had also increased to about 10%.

‘I did invest a lot of money.’

It cost about 4 trillion won to get the four attributes to 10%, right?

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Of course, it was worth it.

10% is not a negligible amount. Damage against enemies with opposing attributes is increased by 20%.

And if overlapping attacks are added?

It would be amazing.

‘With this, the preparations are complete.’

The tournament was fast approaching.

After that, the next step is….

Kim Minwoo stared intently at the mysterious necklace.

Saving the continent.

S+ rank Gate.

He met the level requirement of 251 a long time ago.

He was planning to stop by the Sky Auction House and then enter immediately.

There were a lot of things to get there.

‘It’s an accessory paradise.’

Necklaces.

And the Ring of the Four Apostles, for which he hadn’t yet collected all the remaining fragments.

Loot was waiting for him.

* * *

“Oppa!”

He met eyes with Naye, who ran up and hugged his leg tightly.

“I heard about you at kindergarten today. I cheered for you too.”

He asked while lifting Naye up.

“Really?”

“Yes! When I said it was you, the teacher and everyone said you were amazing!”

Only one day remained until the tournament.

Apart from the fact that the state designated the participants, there wasn’t really any format for participation.

‘Usually in cases like this….’

On that day, there was a high probability that the designated personnel would be taken somewhere.

‘That’s how the competition will start.’

The date was so close that it was even being talked about at the kindergarten Naye attended.

Soon after, Chairman Kim and Mrs. Choi also approached.

“Have a safe trip. Be careful.”

“Your ranking doesn’t matter to me at all, just come back without getting hurt. Okay?”

“I’ll be careful.”

Kim Minwoo nodded.

The details of the tournament had already been spread far and wide.

Even the clause stating that death was possible and the responsibility lay with the individual. It was only natural for them to be worried.

‘But there’s no option not to participate.’

Originally, being an Awakened was a life-threatening occupation. If you were scared of this, you couldn’t do anything.

“Oppa, you’ll be back soon, right?”

“Of course. You take care, Naye. Don’t eat too much meat.”

“Okay! I’ll eat a lot of vegetables too!”

Kim Minwoo chuckled.

As if.

Even this morning, she pushed the bell peppers to the corner of her plate.

But she was cute, so it was okay.

After saying goodbye to his family, he left the house.

He headed towards the guild headquarters.

Numerous reporters were already gathered there. He joined his group, had interviews with the reporters, and waited at the headquarters.

Soon, a message popped up.

[You are a participant designated by ‘Korea’.]

[Participate in the tournament!]

[Your number is 123!]

The scenery before his eyes changed.

50 participating countries.

3 Awakened per country.

A total of 150 people were standing on a vast empty field.

Everyone seemed to have prepared themselves mentally, as no one was particularly flustered. They only whispered amongst their fellow countrymen.

Strangely, the different languages were all being translated into Korean.

“Hyung, it seems like all foreign languages are being translated?”

“Yeah.”

There must be a reason for the translation.

‘Maybe they want us to talk to each other.’

At that moment, he felt a piercing gaze from somewhere. A group of Awakened from China was staring at them.

They were all familiar faces.

Awakened in their 400s belonging to the Nine Dragon Guild.As time passed and they reached the mid-level stages, they became known as the sub-headliners of China.

Among them, a guy with a yellow mohawk stepped forward.

‘His name was… Liu Wei, wasn’t it?’

An Awakened with the rare profession of Druid.

He transformed into various animals to fight, and was a well-known Chinese Awakened who used his skills well.

He spat on the ground and said,

“Are you Kim Minwoo?”

“You know that, so why ask?”

“Insolent bastard. How dare a small country’s Awakened oppress a member of our Nine Dragon Guild?”

He chuckled.

“What oppression are you talking about, you guys are the ones who only produce knockoffs?”

“Ha, this bastard…”

The atmosphere turned hostile.

The eyes of the Awakened from other countries were all drawn to them.

The most interesting thing in the world is a fight, isn’t it?

The Awakened from China were seen gripping their weapons.

Park Siwoo and Seo Yerim, frowning, also drew their weapons.

The situation was on the verge of exploding.

That’s when it happened.

Whoosh…!

The wind gathered in the air and began to take shape.

With the strong gust of wind, Liu Wei and the other Chinese Awakened turned around.

Kim Minwoo also looked in the same direction.

‘Huh?’

“That’s…”

Seo Yerim was surprised.

Kim Minwoo also narrowed his eyes.

The teddy bear they met at the testing site.

The teddy bear was floating in the air.

―Ahem! Greetings. This is the great overseer, Popo-nim.

Popo crossed his arms and looked down at the Awakened with arrogance.

“What’s this?”

“…A teddy bear?”

The Chinese Awakened frowned and spoke.

―Silence! Who dares to talk while I, Popo-nim, am explaining!

The teddy bear glared at the Awakened. Then, Popo stared at Liu Wei and said,

―Number 73. This is your Last Warning. Shut your mouth.

“What are you going to do after you warn me… Kuwek!”

Liu Wei, who had been acting cocky, was instantly thrown into the air.

Liu Wei, flung far away, lay collapsed. He retched violently, as if he’d been punched in the gut.

Popo, who had approached Liu Wei, warned him.

—There won’t be a second chance.

Liu Wei, vomiting and crying, hurriedly nodded his head. The Awakened from other countries smirked, enjoying the scene.

‘Acting cocky in front of someone you don’t know?’

‘They don’t even have the basics down.’

Those gathered here were seasoned veterans.

Underestimating an opponent based on appearance was one of the biggest mistakes an Awakened could make.

But the members of the Nine Dragon Guild had done just that.

Excessive nationalism and arrogance.

These were common traits among Chinese Awakened, especially those from the Nine Dragon Guild.

Thanks to that, they had received a harsh lesson from the start.

The Awakened, who had been amused, now looked at Popo with hardened expressions.

‘As expected. They had a hidden card.’

‘It wouldn’t be wise to rush into things.’

No one had seen what had just happened.

They were not sure what that thing was up to, but one thing was for sure. Despite its cute appearance, it was a complete monster inside.

―Ahem!

With another fake cough, Popo floated in the air, assuming a pose and said,

― From 1 to 150! You guys are very lucky. Normally, the grace of the system hardly extends to such lower dimensions… um… right?

His confident tone diminished in an instant.

A stare met squarely.

At the end of it was Kim Minwoo.

‘Wait… WHAT?’

He had heard there was a tournament competition in the lowest dimension.

‘T-That was this human’s planet?’

Popo’s eyes trembled.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]