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Chapter 229: Lee Seoyoon
—Ack! Stop! Stop it, I said!
The secret technique, infinite summoning and beating.
It had been a while since Cedric.
'His level has risen quite a bit.'
Back then, he was level 1.
Now he was a whopping level 645.
Naturally, the Legion Commanders' stats weren't to be taken lightly either. Even the freshly summoned Vulcan was nearing 2,000 in stats, so that said it all.
'But, it's meaningless.'
Vulcan was alone, while they were three, including the Legion Commanders.
And they were Legion Commanders fully equipped with gear. There was no way the newly summoned Vulcan could win.
Cedric's spear, split into dozens of branches, checked Vulcan's movements.
Merhen's magic, filled with resentment, struck Vulcan's body.
—Why are you doing this! I'll pledge my loyalty! I'm sincere!
“I know. You're somewhat sincere.
After showing him the masquerade invitation.
Perhaps a change had occurred in Vulcan's heart, as his loyalty had risen considerably.
From 52 to 72.
"But, it's not enough."
—...Not enough?
"I want absolute loyalty."
Loyalty 100.
Completely stamping the seal on a slave contract.
That's what Kim Minwoo wanted.
'Just in case.'
What if he made him a demon lord with loyalty less than 100, and he had a change of heart?
It would be troublesome.
Because betrayal was possible below 100.
'That can't happen.'
He was already a strong Legion Commander.
If he was given the power of a demon lord on top of that, it wouldn't be strange if he had other thoughts.
That's why.
He was performing the infinite summoning ritual.
He had to reach 100 at least before going to the masquerade.
It was while his loyalty was increasing after being resummoned dozens of times.
—Waiit!
Vulcan shouted.
Then, looking at Kim Minwoo with burning eyes, he said.
—I know what you want.
"What is it?"
—You want a slave contract, don't you?
"There's also the nice term 'loyalty oath'."
—It's the same thing! Fine! I'll do it! But, you also have to set a condition!
"A condition?"
—Yes. You must make me the greatest demon lord. The deadline is 5 years! If you agree, I'll roll around like a dog under you. I'll do whatever you ask! But! If you can't, the contract is void. After that, I'll never work under you again! Will you still do it?
Kim Minwoo pondered for a moment.
Of course, he could raise the loyalty by simply beating him up. But that wasn't a perfect solution.
There were bound to be those who would never bow their heads.
'It would take a long time to raise it by force, wouldn't it?'
Vulcan had already been burned by the Death Lord.
So, without a definite promise, it would be difficult to easily break his spirit.
He had to attend the masquerade in a week, and there wasn't much time.
Then what could he do?
He had to compromise.
But...
"Instead of 5 years, let's make it 7."
—7 years?
"It's only a 2-year difference, it doesn't matter. Balrogs aren't a short-lived race."
Stopping the Outer Gods within 7 years.
It was knowledge only he possessed.
'This is safer.'
He would make Vulcan a demon lord. However, Kim Minwoo didn't know exactly 'how' to do it.
The lords were supposed to have Ranking Battles.
But Vulcan wasn't even a lord yet, was he?
That meant he had to make him a lord first, and he was still in the dark about how to do that.
'Should I kill all the lords above him?'
Or was there another way?
Since he didn't know the method, he had no choice but to set up a safety device. He would try his best to keep the promise, but if it really didn't work out, at least they had to stay together until the Outer Gods were dealt with.
—Alright! 7 years it is! Will you make the contract?
[Your summon, 'Vulcan', proposes a contract!]
['Temporary Loyalty Oath']
[Condition: Make Vulcan the number 1 Demon World lord within 7 years.]
[If not fulfilled, the summon contract will be voided!]
[Do you agree?]
"I agree."
[The contract has been established!]
[Vulcan's loyalty increases to 100!]
[Now Vulcan will gladly jump into hell if you command him!]
—Hey? Minwoo. Then I can't vent my frustration anymore?
"No? It's actually easier now. Vulcan, attention!"
Snap!
Vulcan's feet came together neatly.
He assumed an impeccable attention stance.
—This guy, don't tell me...
"From now on, call me 'Master' instead of 'this guy'."
—Master, don't tell me...
"Merhen is still angry, so just take it quietly."
—Damn it...!
It was then.
Merhen's eyes gleamed mischievously.
—Wouldn't it be bothersome for Minwoo to keep summoning you while you're here?
"I'm fine with it."
—No. It'll be inconvenient. You don't have to do that anymore. You can punish him in a different way.
She snapped her fingers.
At that moment.
Countless brushes appeared around Vulcan, leaving no room for escape.
—You, I'll get my revenge.
Vulcan's face turned pale at the sight of thousands of brushes slowly approaching.
—W-Wait. Stop! What nonsense are you trying to...
—Tickle tickle.
—Hmph! Such tickling won't work on this Vulcan!
—How about this?
One of the brushes grazed his toes.
At that moment.
—Pfft, hahahahaha!
Vulcan burst into laughter.
—Found it. Your toes are your weak spot, huh?
—S-St... Kyaaaak!
Vulcan screamed.
He tried to move his body from the terrible tickling, but it wouldn't budge.
Because the 'attention' stance ordered by his master hadn't been released.
—Minwoo, you can go now. Do what you need to do.
"Uh... Okay. Make sure to give him some water from time to time. His salivary glands might dry up."
—Hee hee. Got it.
—Master, don't go! Save me! Tell her to hit me instead!
"Sorry. That's even more troublesome."
If he got caught after being beaten, he'd have to summon him again.
He shouldn't have made enemies in the first place.
Besides, Merhen had a much higher rank than Vulcan and had been one of the core summons so far.
If he had to choose between a newcomer and a veteran, of course, he'd choose the latter.
'I should go see Choi Yuna.'
The alchemist residing in the basement of his house.
He happened to have obtained quite a few recipes this time.
***
"H-Hieeek!"
Choi Yuna's eyes darted around.
It wasn't just one or two recipes pouring in front of her.
[Recipe - Abyssal Insight Potion (Legend) acquired.]
[Recipe - Baal's Spirit Orb (Ancient+) acquired...]
[Recipe - Hellfire Refined Spirit Orb (Legend) acquired...]
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.
.
.
Potions and Spirit Orb recipes, each with unusual names.
"Jackpot! Jackpot!"
Her eyes lit up as if she had taken a stimulant, and saliva flowed like she had bitten into a lemon.
For an alchemist, precious recipes held immense value.
Moreover, their ranks were extraordinary.
'A, Ancient?'
Starting from Unique at the low end, there were even the rare Legend-rank recipes and...
Ancient-rank recipes, of which only a very limited number were said to exist!
One could see how valuable each of these recipes was just by looking at the American example.
The recipe for the Highest Rank Potion.
It was the recipe obtained by the witch Christine, which the United States used very effectively when it was leading the world's hegemony.
It was once a very famous item, an elixir that couldn't be bought even with money.
'Of course, it's much less so now...'
Limited to Korea, the rarity of the Highest Rank Potion had significantly decreased.
Thanks to Kim Minwoo's efforts, it had become an item that top guilds could taste at a relatively affordable price.
As a result, the United States also changed its policy from providing it only to its top allies to lowering the standards a bit and providing it to other friendly nations.
Anyway.
A proper recipe held the power to lead the world order.
The recipes Kim Minwoo was showing now were also like that.
Just the item called Baal's Spirit Orb...
[Recipe - Baal's Spirit Orb]
[Rank: Ancient+]
[Upon registration, you can master the crafting method of Baal's Spirit Orb.]
[Effect 1. Upon consumption, increases all stats by 50. A maximum of ten can be consumed.]
[Effect 2. Upon consuming five, the special effect - 'Baal's Recovery' is permanently activated.]
[Effect 3. Upon consuming all ten, one of Baal's skills is randomly generated.]
[Ingredient List]
[1. 20mg of Baal's bone.]
[2. 6mg of Baal's teeth.]
[3. Five strands of each of Baal's three hairs.]
[4. 3 fragments of Hellfire Devil's flame.]
[5. 5 Baphomet horns.]
.
.
.
The list of ingredients went on endlessly.
"...Baal? What kind of monster is this?"
"It's a kind of boss monster."
"Ah... Is it the boss of a Hidden Gate?"
"Something like that. The ingredients are in my inventory."
"Then it'll be hard to get more in the future, right? Once you enter and clear a Hidden Gate, that's it..."
"Probably."
Choi Yuna nodded as if she understood.
So this could be seen as a Spirit Orb that only Kim Minwoo could supply.
Moreover, it was a far superior version of the Highest Rank Potion, with limited quantity, making any comparison impossible.
Not only did it increase stats, but it also had bizarre effects like recovery and skills, even though it was just a Spirit Orb?
"Are you really giving me all these recipes? They seem really precious..."
"That's my intention."
Kim Minwoo nodded.
Starting from the Insight Potion recipe obtained from the Abyssal Lord quest to the recipes obtained from this arrangement.
He intended to give everything related to alchemy to Choi Yuna.
'As far as I know, she's the most outstanding alchemist.'
Korean alchemist, Choi Yuna.
Her skills and talent were by no means lacking. The reason she hadn't received recognition was ultimately due to the lack of good recipes.
Any decent recipes were all sucked into the United States.
That's why the American witch Christine was so famous.
But now it was different.
Choi Yuna's alchemy proficiency had risen considerably as she had been crafting Highest Rank Potions non-stop. It was the result of her natural talent and Kim Minwoo's dedicated(?) support.
'If I don't give them to her, there are only two other options.'
First.
Use the 'Dragon and Witch's Jewel' necklace's once-every-three-months entry permit to enter the Orc Gate.
Various races lived there.
There were also alchemy geniuses, the Elves.
Giving it to the Elven alchemists.
'But, it's a bit iffy right now.'
However, even the Elves weren't absolutely superior in alchemy itself. It was because the Caesar Continent had been properly destroyed.
All the successful alchemists were dead, and the conditions weren't suitable for utilizing alchemy properly.
If time passed and the next, or even the next generation, arrived, the Elves might prosper...
'But not yet.'
Right now, they were inferior to Choi Yuna.
With low proficiency, even if he gave them the materials and recipes, they would probably mess up during crafting.
They were all precious materials, so failure would be a devastating loss.
Also, the fact that he could only enter once every three months was a disadvantage.
What if they finished crafting and then left?
Wouldn't that mean he had to go back and get it 3 months later?
'Wait around doing nothing until then?'
No way.
That couldn't happen.
'In that sense, the Skeleton alchemists are also useless.'
They were only at the intermediate level at best.
They would probably blow up all the materials like the Elves while practicing crafting.
The ingredients for high-level recipes weren't easy to obtain.
Baal's bones and hair were a prime example. The Baal of the past was dead, and he didn't even know if the current Baal was alive or not.
Even if he was alive, the best he could do was obtain them once more...
"Huh?"
"Yes? What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing. A sudden inspiration just struck me."
"...Inspiration?"
"I can raise them."
"...?"
Choi Yuna tilted her head at the incomprehensible muttering.
Raise?
Raise what?
Meanwhile, Kim Minwoo's thoughts continued endlessly.
With Vulcan's title, he could now subjugate demons.
But, wasn't Baal also a demon?
If the current Baal was alive and well?
'There's a high chance, right?'
Vulcan said he pulled the stone out of his own heart and ran away.
Then, most likely Baal would have the stone, and he would be much stronger...
'There's a high probability he's alive, right?'
The past of the arrangements didn't affect the present.
If Baal was indeed alive...
'I could actually raise him, couldn't I?'
Subjugate Baal, raise him, and then...
Couldn't he just cut off a bit of bone or teeth and let it regenerate for infinite duplication?
Demons had fast recovery.
'Okay, let's keep this in mind.'
He would have to go to the masquerade and see if he was alive.
Anyway.
The recipes were too high-level to entrust to the skeletons.
Of course, since they were high-level, their proficiency would increase rapidly if they attempted to craft them, but he couldn't just hand them over for the sake of raising proficiency.
The most suitable candidate was, as always...
'Choi Yuna, there's no one else.'
Choi Yuna, who lived in the basement for 7 years, was safe in terms of security and had a low chance of betrayal, making her perfect.
He would have her register them first and make the items, and then later, when Choi Yuna's skills improved, she could teach the Skeleton alchemists, creating a beautiful picture.
Of course, besides these, there was a third option, the last resort.
'The Eastern Witches' Coven.'
Handing them over to them.
They were witches.
A group of monsters roaming all dimensions.
It was a given that their alchemy skills were more overwhelming than Choi Yuna's.
If Ananke herself used alchemy?
The failure rate would be extremely low.
But there was also a problem with this...
'Communication is one-way.'
They weren't beings he could meet just because he wanted to.
Moreover, Kim Minwoo didn't trust the Eastern Witches' Coven 100%.
He was just going along with them because it was advantageous to do so.
He couldn't entrust precious items to such an uncontrollable group.
So...
"Really? Can I really register them? Can I make them? For real?"
"I told you, you can."
Then, Choi Yuna's body flashed brightly.
Her eyes were soon filled with joy. Invaluable recipes that couldn't even be priced were being registered one after another!
"Here are the ingredients. Make Baal's Spirit Orbs first. As many as you can. Got it?"
"Yes! Boss!"
Leaving Choi Yuna behind, who was giggling as if she would even give him her gallbladder, he went out of the basement. He had set the auto-crafting macro to run for now.
'Now, what I need to do is...'
The Death Lord's Crown.
One of the functions attached to this crown was...
[Effect 4. 'Treasure Trove of Knowledge' - Various undead crafting techniques are activated in your mind.]
This was it.
Literally, after wearing the crown, numerous crafting techniques were emerging like bursting waves.
"It reminds me of the old days."
A long time ago, when he was a newbie.
He entered an E-rank gate, and a B-rank assassin secretly followed him.
"Lee Seoyoon."
An Awakened with the alias "Shadow."
Also, a psycho killer.
In the distant future, she was a talented assassin who hindered the story at every turn.
But she died before her talent could bloom.
Because she encountered a rotten water like himself.
Her corpse was carefully stored in his inventory.
He took out the corpse.
A corpse with a terrified, dead face vividly preserved.
Numerous inspirations popped into his head.
What materials to use, and what kind of undead to create, all of it.
'Shadow Walker.'
One of the hero-rank undead of the assassin class.
He intended to pour in the overflowing materials from his inventory without hesitation.
Not as a killing machine of shadows, but as a Necromancer's Shadow Walker.
"It's time to wake up, Lee Seoyoon."
It was time to open her eyes once again.
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