NSE-Chapter 2

Chapter 2

‘How did it come to this?’

Woo-jin, no, now Kim Min-woo, let out a sigh.

〈(Tip) Phase 6 is ‘Reality.’ Keep in mind that you have only one life.〉

The opening phrase that had somehow felt eerie.

[Your mind begins to dwell in Kim Min-woo’s body!]

[Your mental traits change drastically!]

A message had popped up.

And just like that, it was already the third day since he was possessed into this damned world.

Words showed through the notepad on his phone.

[Day 1]

―Kim Min-woo’s entire 23 years of memories have been injected. This is absurd technology! Could it really be true that the game company tortured an alien?

―The senses are as vivid as reality. Raising the sensory implementation rate by over 50% is definitely illegal, isn’t it?

―Something’s off. I can’t log out. The stream has been dead for a long time, too.

―I’m starting to get confused about whether this is really a game or reality.

―Don’t tell me, was I kidnapped into the game or something?

―The viewers of my last stream numbered 300,000! And they kidnapped me anyway? Has the game company gone insane?

―I can’t leave the room. The bodyguards block the way.

―They say the confinement the Chairman gave me still has two days left. Thankfully, they do bring me meals, but……

[Day 2]

―No hydration or nutrition warning messages. No bladder or bowel warning messages. No forced logout function for prolonged game use.

―It’s as if…… my body isn’t inside the capsule. It’s chilling.

―One day left until Kim Min-woo’s confinement ends.

[Day 3]

―If my body were inside the capsule, a rescue team should have come long ago. I’ve been playing the game continuously for 72 hours!

―It seems things are flowing exactly according to the worst-case scenario I imagined.

―Hunt the Outer God within 7 years. If I can’t achieve this objective, I might never be able to leave here……

‘There’s no rescue team.’

He had waited long enough.

The confinement had also just been lifted.

It was time to move.

A Phase 6 difficulty, not even Phase 5.

One misstep, and the result would be death.

“……Luckily, it’s not the worst.”

He had devoted half his life to Gate Hunter.

No one knew this world as well as he did.

An overwhelming advantage in information.

‘And the message did say my mind changed greatly, too.’

He recalled the past three days.

There had been nothing in particular like being slothful, being a crybaby, being arrogant, or getting scared easily.

He did dream of freeloading a bit, but that was only natural for a gamer.

His mind had definitely seemed to improve.

‘Talentless. It seems this horrific physical talent remains, but…….’

Even so, an improved mind was no small thing.

That wasn’t the only advantage.

‘Status Window.’

[Name: Kim Min-woo(23)]

[Class: Unawakened state.]

This Kim Min-woo, of all people, was in an Unawakened state!

‘Not being that maddening Swordsman is already something.’

Kim Min-woo’s physical ability was close to the worst.

Even setting aside the fact that he hadn’t trained in the first place.

‘He simply has no talent to begin with.’

Horrific talentlessness.

He had taken countless Elixirs and trained at high intensity alongside them.

Yet his growth had stopped at the level of a mere mid-tier Awakened.

He had turned his eyes to Artifacts, but the limits were clear.

Even though the best player in virtual reality had been the pilot in the fight against the Dragon Lord.

‘And he only took off half its Health.’

Not to mention, the current target was an Outer God. It would surely be far stronger than the Dragon Lord, at the very least.

Conclusion.

There was no answer in melee Classes.

Does that make ranged the answer, then?

‘Not really.’

Because Kim Min-woo’s talentlessness, after all, didn’t discriminate by distance.

But even someone like him had an advantage.

‘He’s a Titanium Spoon.’

Ilseong Group.

Number one in the domestic business world rankings.

Number twenty in the world business rankings.

At least in Gate Hunter’s Korea, there was no conglomerate family that could keep up with Ilseong.

If he could just revive his standing within the family, which had not merely hit rock bottom but drilled through to the inner core……

Show me the money.

He would literally be able to draw out and spend money like a cheat code.

In other words, he could acquire countless pieces of equipment.

What Class could make the best use of that?

‘A Class that uses Summons.’

Tamers, Soul Callers, Summoners, Elementalists, and so on.

Summoning-type Classes were precisely Kim Min-woo’s true calling. Because Summons could also use equipment.

“And among them, Necromancer is the best.”

Most Summons, such as Skeletons, Dullahans, Liches, and Death Knights, are close to humanoid.

An Awakened market with a population close to one billion. Equipment for Summons is the easiest to find.

‘Just right for splurging money.’

That wasn’t the only advantage.

Undead are immune to fear.

In other words, he could provide even one more piece of offensive equipment.

“And there’s no chance of being stabbed in the back.”

Necromancers have it quite easy managing Summons.

They don’t eat, they don’t relieve themselves, and it’s not like they expect praise, either.

Blind loyalty that charges in without hesitation even if you tell them to jump into flames!

On top of that, a barrage of sheer numbers.

That’s the Necromancer’s strength.

“Let me freeload for once, too.”

1,832 days.

For nearly six years, he had swung a sword mixed with tears.

So this much compensation is fine, right?

He opened the door.

Bodyguards with fierce faces came into view.

“I’m going out for a bit, is that okay?”

“Yes, Young Master. Since you’ll need to move together with us, if you could just tell us where you’re going…….”

“I’m going to the Sword Sea Pavilion. Please contact them.”

“……The Sword Sea Pavilion?”

The bodyguards tilted their heads.

They had reason to wonder.

The Sword Sea Pavilion.

The place where the Sword Immortal, an S-rank Awakened and the number one ranked Awakened in the country, resided.

Because they couldn’t figure out why Kim Min-woo wanted to go there.

He said with a grin.

“Yes, there’s something I need to do there.”

It starts with Awakening.

* * *

Five vehicles carrying the bodyguards ran smoothly along the road. Min-woo, seated in the back seat, thought.

‘In Gate Hunter, anyone can become an Awakened.’

Provided, of course, that they find their Awakening Condition.

The conditions differ for each individual.

Drinking water, eating a meal, exhaling a breath.

There are people who Awaken through a series of simple actions, and then.

Swinging a sword more than ten thousand times a day, all year round.

There were also cases of Awakening through relentless actions, such as imagining magic more than ten thousand times all year round, and.

There were also conditions that were tricky to achieve, such as meditating in the rain for more than thirty hours or surviving a lightning strike.

The opportunity to Awaken is fair to everyone.

Whether a tycoon or a homeless person, anyone who figures out the condition that fits them can become an Awakened.

But the results were not equal.

‘The difference starts here.’

Once Awakening is complete, an ‘Awakening Achievement’ is settled, graded F~S, depending on the process.

What can you do with this Achievement?

Simple.

Crafting a Class Skill Book.

Not simply an F-grade Awakened.

F-grade Swordsman.

F-grade Mage.

F-grade Priest, and so on.

You can craft the Skill that will become the first framework of the Class you’ll live with for life. Many people achieve easy conditions. That’s why low-tier Awakened are overflowing.

‘The problem comes after that.’

Easy conditions usually come with low Achievement results.

The Class Skill Books made that way are naturally low in quality, and.

‘That’s how the snowball rolls.’

That gap grows vast as time passes.

For instance, take the case of Park Si-woo, the Swordsmanship Genius from the first playthrough.

[Breaking through the most brutal difficulty, you have attained Awakening Achievement grade S!]

[Crafting the Swordsman’s first Class Skill Book!]

[Seeker of the Sword(S)]

[Effect 1. All swordsmanship damage increases by 30%.]

[Effect 2. If the same spot is stabbed three or more times, it becomes the opponent’s weak point.]

[Effect 3. For every ten sword strikes swung, one attack is guaranteed to land as a critical hit.]

The moment the Awakening Achievement was attained at S-rank, a monstrous first Skill like this popped out.

On the other hand, what about the F-grade Swordsmen, who make up over half and play the role of doormats in the Awakened world?

[Slash(F)]

[Effect 1. Damage increases by 10% when Slash is used.]

[Thrust(F)]

[Effect 1. Damage increases by 10% when Thrust is used.]

That’s right.

The difference was overwhelming right from the first Skill. To the point that it could hardly ever be caught up with.

That was why it mattered.

What the Awakening Condition was.

And how to attain that Achievement at S-rank.

“Kim Min-woo’s Awakening Condition was…… getting beaten up by an Awakened.”

The eldest son of Ilseong Group.

Kim Min-woo, closer to a Titanium Spoon than even a Diamond Spoon.

Even for an S-rank Awakened, beating him up was not easy.

Because they would incur Ilseong’s wrath. The one who beat up such a Kim Min-woo was none other than his father and the Chairman, Kim Gang-cheol.

―I can turn a blind eye to everything else. But how dare you touch drugs? Director Im, bring that over here!

The wrath of Kim Gang-cheol, a C-rank Awakened and the Group’s Chairman!

Kim Min-woo was beaten half to death with a golf club that day, and the result of not putting up even a decent resistance was disastrous.

Achievement grade E.

In other words, utterly hopeless.

On top of that, saying the Swordsman from that year’s drama looked cool, he chose Swordsman for his Class Change Skill Book……

[Spinning Slash(E)]

[Effect 1. Launches a sword strike dealing 120% damage to up to two enemies.]

‘……Ha, the more I think about it, the more pissed off I get.’

Thanks to that, the memory of using Spinning Slash like mad over the past 1,832 days was still vivid.

But now was different.

Kim Min-woo had not yet gone through Awakening.

The only chance to undo everything that had gone wrong!

‘Luckily, the Awakening Condition isn’t bad.’

It’s not a condition like simple breathing, where it’s hard to even introduce variation.

Depending on who he’s hit by, where, and how, the Awakening Achievement will differ.

‘First, I need to be hit by someone strong.’

At the same time, merely taking a beating won’t do.

Because only by putting up a struggle in his own way would the Achievement grade rise.

In that sense, the Sword Immortal was perfect. There was no Awakened in Korea stronger than him.

On top of that, he had been swinging a sword like mad for the past six years.

That sensation was still vividly there. That swordsmen were easier to deal with than other Classes.

‘S-rank, worth aiming for.’

“Young Master. We’ve arrived at the Sword Sea Pavilion.”

The bodyguards got out first and checked the surroundings, then opened the back seat door.

A grand wooden building, like something you’d only see in a martial arts novel, came into view.

Then a middle-aged man standing at the main gate approached Kim Min-woo.

“……I am Kim Un, an instructor of the Sword Sea Pavilion. You said you wished to look around inside, correct?”

His attitude was polite, but the look in his eyes as he regarded Kim Min-woo was cold. It was perhaps only natural.

A conglomerate family’s brat and a lecher.

Because Kim Min-woo, who had caused countless incidents, had a public reputation close to the worst.

The only reason the visit hadn’t been refused was surely the halo of Ilseong Group.

Since it was the company that had donated the most when the Sword Sea Pavilion was built.

“I’d appreciate your help.”

“……Understood. I’ll guide you. However, the trainees are in the middle of training, so I would like you to look around quietly.”

He meant don’t cause trouble.

“Yes.”

Nodding, he went inside together with the bodyguards.

“This is the training ground where the Third-Line Disciples train. Recently, even Swordsmen from overseas have been entering the Sword Sea Pavilion.”

Were their eyes drawn by the onslaught of suits? The trainees, who had been training while shedding beads of sweat, glanced at the group of bodyguards.

“Isn’t that…… Kim Min-woo?”

“Judging by the bodyguards, it seems so? Why’s that brat here…….”

The trainees began to murmur. Seeing it, the corners of Kim Un’s eyes creased slightly.

“Even focusing on the sword isn’t enough, so where is your attention wandering off to!”

At his bellow, the trainees turned their eyes away, startled.

Min-woo clapped his hands and said.

“As expected of the Sword Sea Pavilion. Haha, even the Third-Line Disciples have a tremendous presence!”

“……Ahem, they still have a long way to go.”

No one in the world dislikes praise. Though he spoke bluntly, Kim Un’s eyes were full of pride he could not hide.

The Second-Line Disciples’ training ground.

And on top of that, even the First-Line Disciples’ training ground, which was not easily opened to outsiders. By the time he had entered the heart of the Sword Sea Pavilion, showering praise one after another.

“Did you enjoy the tour?”

Kim Un stopped as if to say this was as far as it went, and said.

“Can’t I see more?”

“No. I’m sorry, but from here on outsiders cannot enter.”

“What a shame. I wanted to meet the Sword Immortal once.”

“He is currently in closed-door training. Even if he weren’t…….”

Kim Un looked at Min-woo with eyes gone cold. The unspoken remainder was easy enough to guess.

He’s not someone a nobody like you can order to come and go.

‘That’s probably roughly what it is.’

Min-woo nodded.

He already knew that the Sword Immortal was in closed-door training.

That was why he had approached as close as he could.

He drew in a deep breath.

What he had to do now was.

“Sword Immortal! I, Kim Min-woo, request a spar with you!”

Though it was a voice carrying not a speck of Mana, the volume of an adult shouting with all his might was by no means small.

At the voice ringing resoundingly through the interior, Kim Un’s eyes flew wide open.

“Wh-What are you doing!”

Leaving the flustered Kim Un behind, he continued speaking.

“I’ll bet 100 billion won on this spar! Whether I win or lose, I’ll donate all of this money to the Sword Sea Pavilion!”

Kim Un wasn’t the only one flustered.

Because the bodyguards, too, were staring at Kim Min-woo with dumbfounded eyes.

“I’m quite good with a sword! I guarantee it’ll be a fairly fun spar! Still not coming out? Don’t tell me you’re scared?”

“S-Stop it! Are you insane!”

Kim Un hurriedly grabbed Min-woo’s shoulder. What on earth was this lunatic doing!

Then…….

Heh heh.

Along with laughter echoing through the Sword Sea Pavilion, a terrifying pressure was felt. Immediately afterward, an old man with a towering, powerful frame appeared before Kim Min-woo.

Pitch-black pupils that seemed to suck in everything came into view.

“So, you were looking for me?”

“Yes. I was. Let’s have a match. Like a man.”