NSE-Chapter 044

Chapter 44

Debut

A huge forge located underground.

Clang!

Clang!

Countless Skeletons could be seen pounding hammers, handling the crafting.

Bubble, bubble!

In another spot, they were putting materials into a cauldron and using Alchemy. Plus items were being copied in real time.

The crafting process was kept under strict security. After materials were purchased in bulk, they were transported covertly through Spatial Rings.

Passing through several rounds of transport, the materials were delivered to this hidden forge underground.

Then, once enough of the items made this way had piled up, they were put into a Spatial Ring and brought to Ilseong Group.

‘They seem awfully curious about who’s making them.’

The hottest topic these days was the craftsman who kept copying out Plus items.

News came that corporations were burning with eagerness to find the craftsman everyone was talking about.

‘Their effort is admirable, but.’

The problem was that what they were finding was a craftsman, not a Necromancer.

Kim Min-woo could walk around here and there without arousing any particular suspicion.

They couldn’t even imagine that a Necromancer was supplying this much volume using Skeletons.

Before long, a great deal of equipment was piled up haphazardly on the floor.

He picked up one of them.

[Ratman’s Spine Sword]

[Grade: Normal+]

[Required Level: 10 or higher]

[A beginner’s weapon touched by a craftsman’s hand. Holding it feels like it will save your life.]

[Effect 1. Strength +2, Agility +1]

[Effect 2. A low chance of slight Bleeding occurs on hit.]

One of the Skeletons’ mass-produced items.

For a Normal item, its effects were remarkably solid.

‘Did we sell this for 9,000,000 won?’

To get a similar weapon, you’d have to spend 20 million won at the auction house.

Because the 10% fee there made the price measured a bit higher.

A price close to half.

What was scarier was that even selling at this price left plenty of profit.

It was only a Ratman spine with a few monster by-products and finishing materials added.

‘Counting the cost price, it wouldn’t even be 2,000,000 won.’

The craftsman’s labor costs and other miscellaneous expenses got attached, inflating the price.

Of course the Awakened knew that too.

But they bought.

Why?

Because no one skimps on money for their own life.

And because crafted equipment was relatively cheaper than buying at the auction house.

That was why every kind of large corporation had jumped into the equipment market.

Because once they got a foothold, the money copied itself.

Then.

A familiar figure came into the underground.

It was none other than Park Si-woo.

“Big brother, I’m here.”

“Yeah. Dump the materials over there.”

“Okay. And I got quite a lot of Attribute items too. When I went to the auction house this time, a fair number of listings had been released.”

The fellow poured out the contents from his Spatial Ring all over.

Security was the lifeblood of this transport job.

If he entrusted it to someone untrustworthy, the identity could be exposed in an instant and cause an uproar around the world.

That was why Kim Min-woo had chosen Park Si-woo.

They were in the same boat, so there was no reason to run his mouth.

His temperament was also trustworthy.

In fact, Park Si-woo was maintaining security thoroughly.

He even had the diligence to sweep up goods in his spare moments, despite being busy hunting.

“Whitey, let’s eat.”

―Coo! Cooo!

When he spoke while pointing at the Attribute items, the thoroughly excited creature immediately rushed at the items.

Whitey, having approached the items imbued with each Attribute, opened its mouth wide.

Soon after.

[The Fire Attribute contained in the Sharp Flame Sword is completely absorbed!]

[The Wind Attribute contained in the Wind-Imbued Armor is completely absorbed!]

[The Lightning Attribute contained in the Static Staff is completely absorbed!]

.

.

[Fire Attribute rises by 0.05%…….]

[Wind Attribute rises by 0.06%…….]

[Lightning Attribute…….]

He had fed it Attribute items in large quantities these past few days. Thanks to that, the feathers on Whitey’s nape had divided into several colors.

‘Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth.’

As for the Ice Attribute, he planned to find a Fragment in the next Gate and feed it.

Those were the 4 Attributes raised besides that.

A total of 5 Attributes.

With this much, it should be able to handle just about any Gate.

The remaining 2 Attributes he planned to decide on later.

“Wow, it’s amazing every time I see it. Every time it eats an Attribute, the item’s grade turns to Normal…… I bet a ferocious amount of money goes in, doesn’t it?”

Park Si-woo said, pointing at the item that had become an empty shell.

It was exactly as the fellow said.

Items ranging from Magic to nearly Rare were all turning into Normal items each time their Attributes were absorbed.

‘Of course.’

What’s the core of an Attribute item?

The Attribute, naturally.

With that pulled right out, being left an empty shell was only natural.

“Think of it as an investment.”

“Big brother, does the Attribute go up much when you feed it like this?”

Let’s see.

[Calling up the Status Window of the Divine Beast Whitey!]

[Name: Whitey]

[Species: Seven-Colored Bird]

[Held Attributes: Ice 20%, Fire 0.52%, Wind 0.51%, Lightning 0.5%, Earth 0.53%]

“So all 4 Attributes have gone up about 0.5% so far.”

“What? 0.5%? The cost of the items I’ve fed it alone seems like it’d be 200 billion won…….”

“Big brother had prepared himself for all of it.”

The Fragment of Winter, which had frozen the entire northern part of the continent, had filled only 20%.

He had roughly guessed from back then.

Ah, to raise Attributes, you really have to pour in a ridiculous amount of money.

‘And it’s not like I can go looking for Hidden Gates for all 7 Attributes.’

He did know how to open a few Hidden Gates, but they weren’t all connected to Attributes.

And even if there were, it was uncertain whether he could fill it to 100%.

So spending money was the only way.

If anything, the money to spend could be obtained somehow, but the problem was that he couldn’t get hold of Attribute items.

‘Since they’re not common…….’

For now he was sweeping up goods at the auction house as they came and giving them as food.

―Cuurp.

Whitey, having absorbed tens of billions of won’s worth of goods this time as well, came flying over, burping.

“Was it tasty?”

―Coo.

“Yeah, yeah. Dad will work hard and get you more.”

―Cooo.

As he gently stroked its head, the creature let out a happy cry.

He looked at Park Si-woo.

“What Level are you?”

“About 93 now.”

“Oh, you’ve raised quite a bit.”

“There’s still a little left to Level 101, but…….”

The fellow glanced at him.

It seemed he really wanted to put his seal on the Guild.

“Are you confident? Like I said, if you come to my Guild, a lot of tiring things will probably happen.”

“I’ve been through everything, every kind of battle, mountain, water, and air, all this time. Now I’m confident even if an Assassin comes! Really.”

True.

Come to think of it, the fellow too had been through a lot after his refreshing debut match with the Sword Immortal.

Not only had he gained fame as the Sword Immortal’s disciple, he had received recruitment offers from all 10 of the top Guilds.

He’d heard they had offered every kind of sweet deal. Rejecting all of them and clinging to this side showed he really did have loyalty.

“Right. Come join our Money-Splurging Guild.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Good timing. I was about to stop the crafting soon anyway. Let’s set up a press conference. You need to take a turn in the spotlight.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Oh, before that. About your younger sibling. Send them to the Sword Sea Pavilion for the time being. I’ll contact them in advance.”

“Okay. I was planning to.”

Park Si-woo nodded.

As he said, there was no telling what would happen once he joined the Guild. Especially in a situation like now, where the children of chaebol families were being lumped together and criticized.

Would brats blame themselves?

They were specialists at blaming others.

They were probably gnashing their teeth at Kim Min-woo.

‘Big Brother and I would be fine, but……’

His sibling was an ordinary person, a different story. Even in an expensive apartment, security wasn’t perfect.

That was why he agreed gladly.

The Sword Sea Pavilion was famous as one of the places with the tightest security in Korea. It was the perfect place to entrust his sibling’s safety.

“But isn’t it better to keep crafting? You said it’s copying money.”

“Stock alone has piled up to about 100,000 pieces already. And I’ve built up Proficiency as much as I can. Time to start running hunts.”

He examined the Skeletons’ crafting Skills.

[Summon Skeleton(F)+9]

[A Skill enhanced to its limit.]

[Consumes 10 Mana to summon 2 (1+1) Level 51 Skeletons.]

[* Possesses Melee Weapon Art(F), Dwarven Crafting Method(E), Elven Alchemy(E).]

[Melee Weapon Art(F): The damage of all melee weapons increases by 10%.]

[Dwarven Crafting Method(E): Through the Dwarves’ crafting Arts, equipment with additional effects can be crafted.]

[Elven Alchemy(E): Through the Elves’ alchemy Arts, alchemical goods with additional effects can be crafted.]

Many changes had come about through making so many crafted goods all this time.

The Skeletons’ average Level had shot up to 51, and.

‘Both crafting Skills went up a grade each.’

Pouring out tens of thousands a day, the Proficiency filled in a flash.

Thanks to that, the Skeletons could now even make Plus items up to Magic for low-level goods.

Naturally, he had also made equipment suited to Level 51 for the Skeletons to use.

With Equip Armament, he could have them equipped without any burden.

On top of that, using the bones he had purchased, he had exchanged the bones of 2 parts for them.

It wasn’t a Great Success and had settled for Success, but still, the Stat increases were tremendous.

In other words, while attempting crafting, he had even finished the setup for the next hunt.

‘The Mages’ Level is lagging, though.’

He would have to think about that later or something.

For crafting, summoning the plentiful Normal Skeletons was far more profitable, so it couldn’t be helped.

Be that as it may.

He had a huge stockpile piled up, as the saying goes. Even if he stopped producing crafted goods for the time being, there would be no case of the equipment stores failing to sell for lack of stock.

It was time to start moving for the next hunt. He had already decided on the destination.

‘Before long, a new Gate will appear in the Gyeonggi Province area.’

The process of a Gate popping out was simple. Before it appeared, Mana would surge explosively into the nearby area, and soon the Gate would pop out.

‘The difficulty is B-rank.’

A-rank was a bit tough.

C-rank was too easy.

It was a Gate of exactly the right difficulty.

‘I should take the first-clear reward, right?’

Whatever it is, the word first carries meaning.

Gates were no different.

The party that first entered a Gate was often given a special mission.

‘The difficulty jumps.’

It feels like B+ rather than B.

In exchange, the reward was also higher than a typical Gate clear.

It gave special rewards.

It was something like a Hidden Gate.

Naturally, as soon as signs of a Gate forming appeared, Guilds and all sorts of organizations swarmed in like a pack of hounds.

For a guaranteed jackpot first clear. Even so, they didn’t just charge in blindly.

A newly created Gate’s rank shows up as a question mark.

An investigation is needed before the rank becomes clear. After the investigation, one of the gathered organizations is chosen to attempt the clear.

‘Originally, this Gate was taken by the Dorim Guild.’

According to the game’s story, several years from now, the Dorim Guild Master reveals some of the rewards he obtained.

‘Yuger’s Ring.’

Normal – Magic – Rare – Unique – Legendary – Ancient – Mythic.

Among these 7 grades, a ring of no less than Legendary grade.

He still remembered vividly what the guy had said during his lecture.

―I know many of you have been curious about my ring. I was truly lucky. A few years ago, you remember the B-rank Gate that appeared in the Gyeonggi Province area, don’t you? I obtained a starter item there…….

The conclusion.

It was along the lines of: if you join the Guild, you can get opportunities like that, so please give your strong support to the Dorim Guild.

After that, some of the options were revealed and there was a stir for a while. Because, befitting Legendary, the effects were fantastic.

The guy had certainly been lucky.

He’d gotten an item far beyond his own ability.

‘In the end, I never managed to buy it once.’

When he had played Kim Min-woo.

Back then the start was from far later in the future than now, and the Legendary-grade ring was already on that guy’s finger.

He never sold it to the end, even when love calls were sent offering trillions of won for it.

The options that hadn’t been revealed must be that fantastic, too.

‘I’m taking that.’

The Dorim Guild Master wouldn’t feel wronged either.

Of course not, since it would be used to stop the Outer Gods, not for personal glory.

He should yield for the sake of the world.

‘It’s time to start moving in earnest.’

The situation was very different from when he had cleared the Tomb in the past. He had gained the strength to protect himself.

‘If it’s to get what I want…….’

He was willing to make the whole world noisy once more.