Damn Necromancer-Chapter 290
Chapter 290: Earth. (1)
As Andromalius snapped his fingers, a translucent window appeared in the empty air.
Profits and dividends accumulated during the Ranking Battle were stamped as numbers in rows.
“Huhu.”
Andromalius can find treasures.
Treasure is not just objects.
Life, humans too, are all within the realm of treasure.
When he saw Kim Minwoo for the first time, he recognized it at a glance.
That he is a supreme treasure.
That was the reason he gave him temporary authority even after his proxy proposal was rejected.
The reward for his persistent clinging returned in an ecstatic manner.
Because he came up here sweeping away both the Lower and Middle Ranking Battles.
[Andromalius's Odds]
[7.8x]
[You receive a dividend of 7,832,502 Demon Realm Coins.]
It was 12x in the Lower Ranking Battle, and 7.8x this time.
Looking at the win probability alone, it was no different from a lottery.
Still, he never hesitated in betting even once.
“One must have an eye for things.”
The rank of 72nd was a laughing stock for hundreds of years.
Only the demon who endured that mockery and went all-in on the underdog meets a day like today.
Demon Realm Coins were just being copied wildly.
Even the odds for this Upper Ranking Battle weren't bad.
[Kim Minwoo]
[5.2x]
Two map fragments.
The top 23 Lords were glaring at Kim Minwoo, harboring killing intent. Vulcan was laughing as if drunk on the proxy's performance, but the one who should really be laughing was someone else.
“They do not know.”
Kim Minwoo is not just strong.
He is one who flips the board itself.
It was so in the Lower, and in the Middle too.
“Will the Upper be any different?”
Andromalius's lip corners twisted.
Of course, the proxies of the Upper Lords are overwhelming powerhouses one by one.
Every single one will likely go crazy trying to kill Kim Minwoo.
That must be why the high odds are maintained despite his overwhelming performance.
But…….
“All-in.”
[You have designated Kim Minwoo as the winner of the Upper Ranking Battle!]
[Betting 7,832,502 Demon Realm Coins!]
[You will receive a dividend of 5.2x upon Kim Minwoo's victory!]
Once the 72nd Lord, now fallen to just one of the highest-ranking demons…….
But Andromalius was confident in at least his eye for things.
“If I rise to 2nd place in the next Ranking Battle…….”
These Demon Realm Coins will be a very great strength in recruiting retainers and reorganizing territory.
A wait of about 100 years for that was nothing to him.
“It's going to get even more interesting from now on.”
He smiled quietly, recalling the upcoming Upper Ranking Battle.
＊ ＊ ＊
The Demon God’s voice filled the space.
<I will give you one week until the next Ranking Battle.>
The giant eye closed slowly.
<Return to your respective domains and prepare.>
The Demon Lords disappeared one by one.
Kim Minwoo also stepped onto the return magic circle.
‘One week.’
Time remaining until the Upper Ranking Battle.
It was a time that could be considered short or long.
‘I should stop by Earth for a bit.’
Time in the Demon Realm flowed differently from Earth.
A day felt like ten days sometimes, or ten days passed like a day. To check the guild situation and handle backlog work as well.
Light wrapped around Kim Minwoo’s body.
The sensation of teleportation wrapped around his whole body.
Familiar dizziness brushed past, and solid ground was felt beneath his feet.
It was Seoul.
His cellphone buzzed.
[47 Missed Calls]
[Emergency: Liang Xiaojun.]
[Emergency: Ilsung Group HQ.]
[Emergency: Korea Awakened Association.]
[Emergency: President Lee Kanghoon.]
.
.
Kim Minwoo looked down at the screen.
Was I this popular?
“What is this.”
While he was in the Demon Realm.
It seemed something had exploded on Earth.
It was then.
Ding!
Right at that moment.
Ring―.
A system window appeared.
[User Kim Minwoo, welcome back to Earth.]
[Earth 2.0 Update has been applied.]
‘What?’
Kim Minwoo’s eyes narrowed.
[Major Changes]
[1. Dungeon Difficulty Increase ― Earth gates summoned up to SSS rank.]
[2. New Field Open ― Tower of Training Open.]
[3. Awakened Limit Release ― Promotion Exam Open (Up to SS).]
[4. All Awakened’s Potential Level increases to minimum 500!]
His finger stopped.
The last item.
Three question marks.
‘Does that refer to the Outer God?’
Furthermore, the wording itself was unusual.
The eye descends?
Does it mean the bastard's eye has settled on Earth?
[An individual message has arrived for ‘Kim Minwoo’.]
[Warning!]
[???'s eye descends to the lower world!]
[Time remaining until the Outer God's Advent has been shortened!]
[Existing 7 years -> Current 5 years 11 months]
Kim Minwoo’s face hardened stiffly.
It meant the Outer God's advent had been hastened by a whopping 1 year.
‘The eye descends to the lower world, huh…….’
Shadows.
Is it perhaps because of those guys?
First, I should properly find out how Earth has changed.
＊ ＊ ＊
A massive hologram floated above the Seoul sky.
[Emergency Breaking News ― SS-rank Gate appears near Haeundae, Busan.]
[Awakened Association decides to dispatch Emergency Response Team.]
[Hall of Fame Awakened including Sword Saint confirmed for on-site deployment.]
The footsteps of citizens passing through the streets quickened. If it were in the past, an S-rank alone would have caused an emergency, but now SS-rank appears on the news.
Kim Minwoo looked out the taxi window.
‘The atmosphere has definitely changed.’
He opened the community window.
[Lol my father hit Level 300]
[Fr? Can ordinary people raid dungeons now too?]
[Anyone got the Promotion Exam notification? Reviews please]
[Heard France's Isabella became SS-rank [shivering]]
Earth 2.0.
It seemed the System had pulled the world up a notch.
＊ ＊ ＊
Blue House Office.
President Lee Kanghoon personally came out to the door to greet him.
“You’ve arrived, Guild Leader Kim Minwoo.”
“You didn't have to come out like this, Mr. President.”
“Not at all. Are you not our country's best Awakened? I should run out even in my socks. Haha!”
Kim Minwoo bowed his head lightly.
Guided to the reception room and seated, Lee Kanghoon opened his mouth first.
“You saw the Earth update, right?”
“Yes. So how did the Earth situation turn out?”
Lee Kanghoon’s expression hardened subtly.
“It was a week ago. A system message popped up simultaneously for Awakened all over the world.”
“Earth 2.0 Update.”
“Correct.”
Lee Kanghoon took out documents and spread them on the table.
“The potential level cap for ordinary people rose to 500. The number of civilian Awakened also exploded. This is good news, but the real problem is…….”
His finger pointed at the red dots on the map.
“These are Upper Gates. SS-rank gates have started appearing simultaneously all over the world. Currently, Hall of Fame Awakened including the Sword Saint are blocking them. The support from the Money Talks Guild has been a great help as well.”
“Are there no SSS-rank gates yet?”
“Fortunately, there are none yet, but…… the atmosphere…….”
That it seemed likely to pop out sooner or later― was written clearly on President Lee Kanghoon's face.
Kim Minwoo nodded.
Fortunately, it seemed Korea was blocking them well for now.
“How about other Awakened powerhouses?”
“No place has collapsed. Yet. However…… as you saw in China's case, the aftermath of an SS-rank gate explosion transcends imagination…… so if one place bursts, it might cause chain reaction chaos.”
“That is true, but…… the Shanghai Gate was a somewhat special gate.”
“Special?”
Kim Minwoo explained to the puzzled President Lee Kanghoon. The Shadows, the High Priest, and even the Outer God's Apostle called Hardronox.
“So…… are you saying those Shadow guys intentionally detonated the gate to directly summon the daughter of the monster called Hardronox……?”
“Probably.”
“Those crazy bastards…….”
Lee Kanghoon ground his teeth.
“Anyway, even if it is an SS-rank gate boss…… a monster of the level of Hardronox's daughter won't pop out.”
“That is at least fortunate. I thought all SS-rank gate bosses were monsters of that level. When the Chinese Awakened collapsed helplessly, my heart went cold…….”
He asked the sighing man.
“By the way, what is this Promotion Exam?”
“The System selects those it judges to have ‘qualification’ and sends them to a sort of testing ground. If they pass there…… they say the quality of the Awakened itself changes.”
“Quality changes?”
This, it's a structure I've heard a lot somewhere.
When I used the Job Change Ticket.
Wasn't what I did in the Tower of Trials exactly that kind of act?
“Mr. Minwoo, you know Miss Isabella from France, right?”
“I do.”
“She was also a subject for the Promotion Exam. She was S-rank, but when she returned, she had become SS-rank. It's said that not only did her level rise, but her skill system itself was reorganized. Like an upgrade feeling.”
“Are there more candidates?”
“Yes. Various. It seems to be a structure where invitations are given to those called the real deal among ordinary Awakened. They take a test there, and if they pass, their grade rises. Currently, Hall of Fame Awakened including the Sword Saint have also reportedly received invitations.”
Kim Minwoo’s eyes narrowed.
‘The System is raising Awakened?’
Why?
Is it because of the Outer God?
Or is there another reason?
While thoughts bit their tails, Lee Kanghoon opened his mouth carefully.
“By the way, Guild Leader.”
“Yes.”
“Do you happen to intend to occupy North Korea?”
“North Korea? What do you mean all of a sudden?”
North Korea.
It was a familiar name to Kim Minwoo as well.
When he first Awakened in the early days, he had laundered his ID a bit to be careful of assassins.
He had cited North Korean assassins as one of the reasons for that…….
A country disconnected, yet not completely disconnected.
That was precisely North Korea.
Until now, he hadn't even thought about it.
What was there to eat by unifying?
At Kim Minwoo’s words, Lee Kanghoon made an awkward expression.
“Ah, you didn't know. The Death Cult contacted us. They proposed incorporating North Korea into the Money Talks Guild territory in coordination with Liang Xiaojun’s side. So we were proceeding with the work, but…….”
“Ah, really?”
“Yes. Fortunately, we received assurances from Awakened powerhouses including the US that they would all turn a blind eye.”
It was a natural reaction.
After seeing the skill that beat down the Spider Queen, what could the US across the Pacific do other than turn a blind eye?
Unless China opposed it, there would be no hindrance to swallowing it; otherwise, North Korea was practically as good as in his hands.
‘Geographically, it’s bound to be eaten, but.’
He thought about it carefully.
If it’s something that has to be eaten anyway…….
‘Might not be bad?’
The resources and gates on North Korean land.
That is all money.
And currently, the Achievement Shop's exchange rate was…….
[150 billion : 1]
It had come down to this level from the number of 770 billion to 1.
The process of Upper Gates appearing wildly and the level of Awakened rising. That meant the process itself was making Earth money (Zimbabwe dollars) valuable.
‘In other words, it means the Money Changer doesn't view this process as entirely bad…….’
If it goes down further and further from here to a level where exchange with Earth money becomes possible…….
‘Earth money becomes gold, not shit anymore.’
Viewing it with that perspective, North Korea was no longer a nuisance.
Resources, gates, manpower.
Because all of that is money.
And, the manpower is…….
‘Prospective believers.’
If developed properly, they have tremendous value.
“Did the Death Cult not make any proposals or something?”
“They did. They attached two conditions in exchange for unifying North Korea.”
“What are they?”
“First, the legalization of the Death Cult. They asked for permission for complete official activities within Korea.”
“Hoh. Next?”
“Second, the development of North Korea…… the content was that Ilsung would take charge of everything.”
Kim Minwoo propped his chin.
“Death Cult legalization, huh. What are the specific details?”
He became a bit curious about what kind of picture Han Siah, the Saintess of his cult, was painting.
That was why he asked the question.
Lee Kanghoon opened the document.
“Establishment of a Religious Corporation.”
Lee Kanghoon handed over the document.
“Currently, it feels like a simple fan club, but if registered as an official religious organization, tax benefits, land acquisition, and even the operation of educational facilities will all be legalized. It is the condition the Cult side desires most. Also, they expressed their intention to enter North Korea first and propagate.”
Kim Minwoo propped his chin.
‘Establishment of a Religious Corporation.’
To be honest, that much could be done with just a single word from him.
Whether it was the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism or local governments, with the three characters of the name Kim Minwoo, permission procedures could be pushed through in a flash.
However…….
‘Public opinion. That’s the problem.’
Death Cult.
A group where controversy about being a cult had been constant since its establishment. The existing religious world considers it a thorn in their eye, and the media vigilantly aims for stimulating articles.
If he stepped forward directly and said, “Please permit it”?
‘The state pushes a cult.’
It’s only a matter of time before that frame is put on.
A composition where the government takes the flak, and the Cult owes a debt only to Kim Minwoo personally.
That wasn't the picture Kim Minwoo wanted.
‘So that’s why our Saintess inserted North Korea.’
The corners of his mouth twisted.
North Korea unification and reconstruction.
If Death Cult legalization is inserted into the package as part of a national-level achievement, the story changes.
From the President's perspective, he just has to say this.
―Within the big picture of unification and North Korea reconstruction, it is a process where various forces share roles.
Even if criticized, a shield called ‘national strategy’ is created.
‘It’s a benefit for me too.’
He examined it once again from Kim Minwoo’s perspective.
If he just asks and gets permission, the Cult is leashed only to him.
It’s his Cult anyway, so what’s the use of holding the leash?
It had no meaning.
But if tied within the North Korea package?
Korea, Ilsung, Death Cult.
A structure where the three sit at one table called North Korea is created.
Afterward, it becomes easier for him to take the position of ‘coordinator’ and ‘final decision maker’ in North Korea's development, religion, education, and security issues.
Not a ‘cult permitted by my single word’.
‘A Cult attached as an official partner to North Korea, which I swallowed.’
Looking far ahead, its utility is incomparably higher.
‘North Korea is…… a perfect neighborhood to increase believers.’
Kim Minwoo smirked.
“This proposal. In my opinion, it doesn't seem like a loss for the Korean side either. Isn't that so?”
This, he had to get confirmation right here.
