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Chapter 251:Necklace
Skeleton Summon.
This skill held an incredibly special meaning for Kim Minwoo.
Why wouldn't it? The skeletons learned on their own.
They even acquired jobs by themselves.
This was an amazing advantage that other necromancers didn't have.
Furthermore, the summoning mana cost was halved, allowing him to summon twice as many as others.
That wasn't all.
As their levels increased, they even evolved on their own.
However, even this versatile skill had a clear weakness.
'Against enemies of a certain level, numbers don't matter.'
This was the biggest problem.
Even if he summoned 8,000 skeletons, could they take down the High Priest's clone or an apostle-level monster like Hardronox?
Absolutely not.
Eventually, there would come a time when quantity couldn't compensate.
In such cases, there was only one solution.
He and his legion commanders had to step in directly.
In those situations, skeleton summoning was meaningless. Strictly speaking, whether it was a Mage, Dullahan, or Specter, they were all the same.
The same applied to the most recently learned summoning skill, Bone Dragon.
It was undoubtedly a powerful and versatile summon, but its limitations were clear against top-tier opponents.
In that context, this 'Descent' was...
'The solution.'
First of all, there were many.
Moreover, even though the skeletons were weak, they had a basic level of health. What if there were 8,000 of them?
Combined, they would have a health bar that surpassed even most raid bosses. It was a perfect example of the saying, "United we stand, divided we fall."
"And I can share that health bar?"
This was precisely why Kim Minwoo was shocked.
What was the weakness of humans?
Wasn't it the limitations of their innate stats?
4 per level.
Considering that monsters often gained 10 or 20 stats per level, this was truly a racial limitation.
Although he compensated with items, titles, and elixirs, the limitations were clear.
'Level 655.'
His current stats were close to an average of 2,200.
In other words, it was a mere 2,200.
Stats were the alpha and omega of everything.
Especially for someone like him, without the talent to freely utilize profound insights like the Sword Saint's Heart Sword, his reliance on stats was even greater. In such a situation, a breakthrough had emerged.
Moreover, it was a crazy breakthrough called 'Descent'.
'Then, my health is practically unlimited, isn't it?'
His existing health + the health of 8,000 Skeleton Priests. Of course, as Skeleton 'Priests', their health wasn't high, but with their overwhelming numbers, the total would be immense.
Of course, 'Descent' had its drawbacks.
First, the Skeleton Priests were currently defenseless.
They were just praying without moving an inch. It seemed like even a goblin could inflict critical damage with a single headbutt.
"...Can't they move?"
Even with those words, the Skeleton Priests didn't budge. If an enemy used an area-of-effect attack, it was clear they would all be wiped out.
In other words, while Kim Minwoo's health had increased, the Skeleton Priests supporting him had become extremely vulnerable.
'I shouldn't just recklessly summon Skeleton Priests.'
It seemed like he needed to have at least half Skeleton Priests and half other summons for defense to survive.
The second weakness was the damage mechanism of 'Descent' itself.
"Merhen?"
—Yes, Minwoo.
"Can you attack me? With a strong spell."
—Okay.
Rumble!
The moment a thrilling lightning bolt struck his head, a dark energy surged over the armor covering his body...
[Descent state activated!]
[Intermediate Skeleton Priests will take the damage instead!]
[Current damage transfer rate: 300%]
Crack!
Nearly 1/5 of the praying Skeleton Priests were swept away in an instant.
"Uh, um. Merhen?"
—Yes, Minwoo.
"Your magic is strong, but it shouldn't wipe them out like that in one hit, right?"
—Right? Probably?
Damage transfer rate 300%.
This meant that if he received 100 damage, 300 damage would be transferred to the Skeleton Priests. That was why the skeletons crumbled.
'It's not just advantages.'
There was no need to use it in large-scale battles.
He could just use the existing undead. 'Descent' would shine in one-on-one situations, especially when facing a High Priest-level opponent.
'If I use it then, it could definitely save my life.'
At least three or four times, he could attack without worrying about defense, in a "you die, I die" manner. That was the biggest appeal of 'Descent'.
'Crucially, it has a bright future.'
The current skeletons?
They were intermediate.
In terms of Awakened, they were roughly C-rank. Yet, such a monstrous skill had appeared. What if these Intermediate Priests grew into High Priests or even Saints?
'...Wouldn't the efficiency of 'Descent' also increase?'
At the very least, the damage transfer rate would become more reasonable than 300%.
Now he was starting to understand why the growth path emphasized filling the skeletons' job classes. Just by changing the class of one priest, a tremendously helpful skill had appeared.
What if he filled all ten job classes?
'Maybe something special will appear then too.'
Considering that, he needed to fill the skeletons' job classes quickly.
He already had the next job in mind.
'Assassin.'
One of the damage dealers capable of inflicting critical damage in a single blow. They also had the advantage of being excellent at stealth.
'Warrior, Mage, Priest, Assassin, Archer. The national 5-member party composition.'
It was so good that even in the world where the Death Lord existed, three of those classes were included.
These five classes were famous for having the best balance when grouped together.
The warrior takes on the defense.
Ranged attacks are handled by the mage and archer.
The priest provides support, and the assassin exploits openings while the warrior defends.
'What if I arrange them in groups of five?'
What if he formed groups of five skeletons and assigned these five classes to them?
And if there were hundreds of such groups?
Compared to simply grouping them together, having such combinations would have a much brighter future.
That was why he chose Assassin as the second melee class for the skeletons.
'I can't do Archer right now.'
Although Seo Yerim had the "Divine Archer" title, she was currently away somewhere, making it impossible to learn from her.
So, he had to train Assassins instead.
Fortunately, he had a suitable teacher.
"Lee Seoyoon."
"What."
"You have to take on this role. Skeleton teacher."
"...Well, if you say so."
"Don't worry. I'll make sure your revenge is fulfilled. Actually, if you want, I can even take revenge right now."
Although Joongyong Pharmaceuticals was a large corporation ranked 31st in the business world, it was nothing compared to Ilsung.
Moreover, now that he had insider information through Liang Xiaojun, it wouldn't be difficult to exploit their weaknesses.
"No. It's okay for now."
"You're just going to let them be?"
"Not that. Just torment them. If they suddenly collapse, it would be too anticlimactic for that chairman."
"You want them to fall apart slowly?"
"Yeah. Killing them is always possible."
Lee Seoyoon said with a chilling glint in her eyes. It was an understandable motive.
Even Kim Minwoo would be consumed by revenge if his parents were killed in a hit-and-run accident and the perpetrator was living comfortably.
"Alright. Would about six months be enough? If I cut off their funding, they should collapse around then."
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"Six months... Okay. That should be enough. So, you want to make these skeletons Assassins? Like how you made them Priests?"
"Yes."
Lee Seoyoon wasn't a talent like Han Siah or Seo Yerim with SSS-rank achievement. But she was just below that level.
In fact, even at this level, she was one of the top talents in the world.
'If it's an Assassin at that level... only one comes to mind.'
One of the main characters in "Gate Hunter".
A three-star difficulty character, Namgoong Min.
Class: Assassin.
Talent: Assassin.
He was truly a talent optimized for assassination. Then why was his gameplay difficulty three stars if it should be easy?
It was because his background was a mess.
'It's random.'
His starting point was random. His character background was also random. Moreover, as an assassin, he rarely used his real name.
When playing other characters, Namgoong Min always used aliases.
The common characteristic was that he was always involved with criminal organizations.
In other words, there was a high probability that he was currently active somewhere in a criminal organization, using an alias.
'How do I find him?'
If he only operated in Korea, it would be one thing, but since his location was random every time he started, there was no way to know where he was.
Moreover, he wasn't like Park Siwoo, who hadn't even Awakened, making him an easy target to manipulate.
'Crucially, he's dangerous.'
Because he's strong.
Furthermore, unless directly controlled by a player, Namgoong Min's basic personality leaned towards psychopathy.
Finding him was a problem, and even if found, controlling him would be difficult.
That's why he had been leaving him alone for now.
'I should start looking for him soon...'
The main characters had all received the equipment of the previous Hero's party.
Except for Han Siah, who had switched her class from Mage to Priest.
Namgoong Min would probably also receive the Hero's party equipment (SSS) if found.
It was true that he was a talent too valuable to miss.
However, there was something to worry about.
'Hopefully, he hasn't joined the Shadows.'
The Shadows, a global criminal organization that had grown in this 6th playthrough.
Namgoong Min's characteristics.
Psychopath.
Excellent assassin.
Often involved with criminal organizations.
Wasn't this the perfect setup for him to join hands with the Shadows?
Perhaps even at this moment, he was wreaking havoc in the Third World under an alias.
Wearing the emblem of the Shadows.
'Moreover, there's no telling what will happen when all the Hero's party equipment is gathered...'
The one who set the stage.
The one who brought Kim Minwoo to this world. That being, presumed to be a high-ranking angel, was desperate to give him the Hero's party equipment.
The Death Lord had said it.
It might be bait to raise his level.
'Could this be turning into a dark and twisted story?'
What if, after gathering them all, the legion commanders were thrown as bait, and all the guild members were sacrificed...?
This was one of the reasons why he hadn't sought out Namgoong Min yet.
'But I can't avoid finding him forever.'
Eventually, he had to find him.
SSS-rank Awakened were that rare.
Moreover, he had grown strong enough to search the entire world.
'I'll just do some exploration for now.'
He could ask the Ilsung Group and the US for help. Then, they would eventually narrow down the list of potential candidates.
He could consider approaching him after that.
"Oh, Lee Seoyoon."
"What."
"Follow me this time."
"Where are we going?"
"A Gate. We're not going to fight."
"...You're going to a Gate but not fighting?"
"Yeah. It's a special place."
To be precise, it was the Gate embedded in the necklace. The Jewel of Dragon and Witch.
It was an item that allowed entry into the Orc Gate once every three months.
You could consider it a kind of dimensional travel device.
The Path of Growth instructed him to visit the Gate within the necklace.
He had gained something good after giving the skeletons a class, so it would probably be the same this time.
That was his plan.
There were about five days left until he could enter the S-rank Gate.
'That should be enough.'
He was taking Lee Seoyoon with him to train the skeletons as Assassins there. Time was precious, so he had to make good use of every spare moment.
[Activating the special effect of the necklace, Jewel of Dragon and Witch!]
[The entrance to the already liberated Gate is opening!]
Flash!
A blue portal, large enough for one person to pass through, opened in the room.
The moment he entered with Lee Seoyoon.
"Huh?"
Kim Minwoo tilted his head after seeing the message that appeared before his eyes.
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