NSE-Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Cedric was baffled.

His master, Kim Min-woo.

That he was an excellent Swordsman was something he knew to some extent.

He had seen it on the battlefield.

The sight of him swinging a sword.

A master recognizes a master.

Indeed, though he was a Necromancer, he was an oddity who wielded a sword better than most knights.

‘But I did not acknowledge him as master because he is an excellent Swordsman.’

The guts not to back down against an overwhelming enemy.

The indomitable fighting spirit that never gives up.

On top of that, the chivalrous spirit of staking his life to protect him when they had never even met.

He had simply been moved by those spiritual qualities.

That feeling was now beginning to fade a little.

And no wonder, since who could have imagined he’d be this unruly?

Even the Death Lord had never treated him this rudely.

If anything, they had shared mutual respect.

Cedric had seen countless knights until now. That was why he could grasp exactly what state Kim Min-woo was in.

‘He is not merely intoxicated with his ego, he has fallen into outright delusion.’

A state of seeing nothing else just because he had a little talent.

Usually, green knights who had learned a bit of swordplay showed that kind of attitude.

Cedric spun his spear.

His own spearmanship, which had been close to perfect, had somehow grown quite dull. Apparently, as he’d become a Level 1 body, even his spearmanship was being restricted.

‘Still, it does not matter.’

It wasn’t only he who was Level 1.

His master was also Level 1.

What mattered was the skill of handling the weapon itself.

Cedric had never lost to anyone with the spear throughout his life.

‘The weapon favors me, too.’

If a sword and a spear clash, nine times out of ten the spear wins.

The reason was simple.

Because it is far longer than a sword.

In a situation where both the weapon and the skill to handle it gave him an overwhelming advantage.

Cedric was confident.

He definitely was, but…….

* * *

Thwack!

The Wooden Sword of justice struck down on the wicked Summon’s head.

Gritting his teeth, Cedric swung his spear. That spearmanship certainly carried sharpness.

But Min-woo dodged that spear all too easily.

‘One more hit.’

Thwack!

‘Another hit.’

Thwack!

The Wooden Sword kept striking Cedric’s body.

If the guy had been summoned in the state he’d seen on the battlefield, he wouldn’t even have started the fight.

How could anyone beat a monster riding a Bone Dragon?

But now was different.

Cedric now was only Level 1.

Even counting Stats, it was barely Level 50.

By contrast, what about this side?

Counting Stats alone, it was close to Level 70. Moreover, the pilot was no mediocre nobody.

‘Does he take the world’s number one ranker for a pushover?’

Gate Hunter may have been an old game, but in difficulty alone it had been the best.

He had taken an overwhelming first place there.

That was why Kim Min-woo had been tacitly recognized as the world’s number one among the entire virtual reality population of three billion.

Unless the guy’s spearmanship was at its peak as it had been on the battlefield, but in a state of being hacked up here and there……

‘Easy.’

He was nothing but Kim Min-woo’s prey.

[Damage beyond the limit has accumulated!]

[Cedric is unsummoned!]

[Death Lord(EX)’s effect is activated!]

[Cedric revives!]

“Hi there?”

Gritting his teeth, Cedric charged again. After a few more beatings, the guy was unsummoned.

It didn’t matter, though.

Because he had Mana to spare for summoning the guy.

[Activating Summon Cedric(SSS)!]

“We meet again?”

―…….

Beat.

Get unsummoned.

Beat.

Get unsummoned.

Beat.

―……Wait!

Cedric said urgently.

He had probably realized it instinctively.

That something was wrong.

“Who did you say was the big brother?”

―…….

“Looks like you still need more tough love.”

Whack!

An endlessly repeating cycle.

Wasn’t he probably starting to ruminate on his own nightmare again by now?

“Phew.”

When he felt his stamina and Magic Power had worn down a fair bit, he drank a Potion.

His body became lively again.

“Discipline is hard work, you know.”

Guiding someone onto the right path really isn’t an easy thing. That was why it was more rewarding when it succeeded.

[Activating Summon Cedric(SSS)!]

Loyalty 100.

He would hit it without fail.

* * *

Day 1.

―……How long do you intend to keep doing this?

“Until my love is accepted.”

Day 2.

―……I understand that Master is strong. Admittedly, I was rash. I shall acknowledge Master.

“No. That’s far from enough. And my beating was not enough either.”

Day 3.

―……I lost.

“Who’s the big brother?”

―……Master seems to be the big brother.

“You hesitated a little?”

―Ah…….

Day 4.

―Master is the big brother. I mean it.

“Then, can you swear the Oath of Loyalty?”

―……!

“Was I the only one sincere again?”

Whack!

Day 5.

―Stop……! I’m going mad! How many times a day do you summon me! My skull is ringing! I’m telling you to stop hitting my head already!

“Such bad manners.”

Day 6.

―……I’m sorry. It was all my fault. Truly.

“Then shall we do the Oath of Loyalty?”

―I will……swear.

“Did you just hesitate, by any chance?”

―No. I believe Master is worthy of my loyalty.

[Dragon Knight Cedric swears loyalty to you!]

[A Knight’s Oath, Firm as a Rock!]

[Cedric’s Loyalty is fixed at 100!]

Oath of Loyalty.

Put simply, it was a slave contract.

Loyalty is fixed at 100.

If the master says to jump into fire, they have to jump. They become unable to refuse orders.

Naturally, high-ranking Undead tended not to swear Oaths of Loyalty.

That was the reason the tough love had been necessary.

―Ugh…….

“Big brother will treat you well from now on.”

He patted Cedric’s head.

A grueling six days.

Even saving on time to sleep, he had kept summoning the guy diligently.

That effort was not in vain.

Because Cedric had now finally become a real Summon deserving of boundless love.

A corner of his heart swelled with pride.

“Come to think of it, something I’ve been wondering about for a while, who was it that wiped you guys out?”

―……I cannot say. Because I have been restricted.

“Restricted?”

Cedric nodded.

―It seems the Lord left it behind. Probably because it would not mean much for Master to know right now.

“Because those guys are too strong?”

―Roughly. For now, grow, Master. On the day I regain my original power, you will naturally come to know.

“I was just about to level up anyway.”

Growth had already reached its limit.

He had to raise his Level to break through the growth limit.

‘Level 51.’

It was the Level range that the world usually classified as E-rank Awakened.

‘First, I’ll climb quickly up to there.’

He looked at Cedric.

“Cedric. From now on, I appoint you Skeleton Commander. Train the Skeletons diligently.”

―……Understood.

He summoned Skeletons around the guy. Since he had been one of the Legion Commanders, he’d surely handle the training well on his own.

“All the weapons are provided at the Training Ground, so use them as you see fit.”

Clatter!

The Skeleton horde nodded vigorously. After running the training auto-macro like that, he went into the room.

‘It’s time to move in earnest.’

He had received 300 billion won in support so far.

Money was hard to gather, but very easy to spend like water.

‘If I buy equipment one more time, it’ll all be gone.’

Buying Skill Books.

Buying equipment and consumables.

Money was flying out.

On top of that, the Skeleton equipment he had bought last time had been sucked into the Eternal Battlefield or whatever it was.

‘I need money.’

He could ask for more.

But he was starting to feel self-conscious.

It felt like the Sword Immortal’s shelf life was gradually running out.

The Chairman would also begin to feel a bit of a burden from here on.

‘I need to set off something big.’

Only then could he take money cleanly without worrying about appearances.

‘And conveniently, some attention is gathering on me.’

Rumors about the spar he had fought last time were gradually spreading on the internet. He read a few posts on Gate Net on his smartphone.

―So what’s Kim Min-woo’s Achievement grade, anyway? Isn’t it actually small potatoes?

―He went toe-to-toe with the Sword Immortal, so at worst it’s B to A lol. Does the top 1% of Awakened look like small potatoes to you?

―Nope. The grade splits depending on the Awakening Condition, you know. Might even be lower than that.

―Bullshit lolol If it were C or below, would the halo have burst out like that?

―Even if it’s A, there’s still a problem. A high Achievement doesn’t mean everyone does well. How many guys get buried out of nowhere halfway through?

―(Info) Even if some A’s are like that, not a single S Achievement Awakened has ever been buried lol Do you think S-grade Skill Books are garbage lol

―But isn’t S a bit much?

―You’re overhyping way too much right now. I bet Kim Min-woo didn’t pick Swordsman? If he had picked Swordsman, why the hell would he sweep up all the equipment lolololol

―Was it really Kim Min-woo who bought the equipment? Could be someone else, no?

―Who else would spend over 70 billion on low-level equipment? lol He swept it all up just like he did the Skill Books lol

―There’s a rumor he picked Necromancer. They said the first thing sold out at the Auction House was Necro-related Skill Books. If you think the bulk equipment purchase was for a Necro too, it makes sense.

―Crazy lololol He goes toe-to-toe with the Sword Immortal and then picks that? Is he a poop sommelier or something? lolol

―So is Kim Min-woo a bubble or not???

―Dunno? Guess we’ll only know once we see him go into a Gate lol

It was noisier than expected, so it seemed the Intelligence Team had lit a bit of a fire under public opinion.

Then again……

If he was going to debut as Ilseong’s ad model, high name recognition was a good thing, after all.

‘Perfect timing.’

He had been meaning to raise his value soon anyway. He thought of the F-rank Gates that could be entered at Level 1.

When does an Awakened’s value rise the most?

Simple.

When the future is far more anticipated than the present.

That was precisely why Awakened who attained S-grade Achievements were called super rookies.

Because while others started with F- to E-grade Skills, they started with a whole S-grade Skill.

So they gathered anticipation.

And then showed their clearing speed in a Gate and burst out with a bang.

Kim Min-woo planned to do it that way, too.

And, by really blowing it up to scale.

Soon, he made a phone call.

“Director Im? It’s me. Kim Min-woo. The reason I’m calling is that I was hoping you could gather some reporters. I’m going to clear a Gate this time. Alone, of course. Please round up everyone you know.”

Gathering every reporter there was.

When public opinion focused like that, he would stage the most shocking debut.

‘Shortest time in the world, and a solo clear on top of that.’

Gates are normally party play. Even super rookies often formed parties on their first outing.

Because there were so many risks.

But for Kim Min-woo.

‘F-rank? That’s just a stroll around the neighborhood.’

What’s more, Kim Min-woo now was stronger than any Kim Min-woo he had played in six years. His Level was 1, but his Stats were monstrous.

His Skill composition was organic, too.

Death Lord and Cedric receiving its effects. And the Skeleton soldiers.

On top of that, he planned to take part in the fighting himself.

Korea.

No, the whole world would be shaken.

Because Kim Min-woo was strong?

No.

Because of the future he would paint, which people would be looking forward to.

[Breaking news! Ilseong Group’s Kim Min-woo declares Awakening! He really did Awaken! But his Class is Necromancer, not Swordsman?!]

[Experts judge Achievement grade B at minimum!]

[The Crown Prince’s Splendid Return! Kim Min-woo declares solo clear of first Gate, ‘Tomb of Osiris’! Voices ambition to clear it in the shortest time!]

[‘Tomb of Osiris’ is known as the hardest even among F-rank Gates…….]

Korea began to buzz.