Chapter 116: Preliminary Round (1)
The preliminary round was just around the corner.
During that time, Kim Minwoo focused on building his foundation. Most notably, he threw himself into leveling up his skeleton crafting skills.
‘It’ll come in handy a lot from now on.’
Magic-grade + items were just a notch below Rare-grade ones.
Unless the summon was a special case like Cedric or Merhen, it was far easier—both physically and mentally—to equip it with crafted gear.
On top of that, he leveled up his alchemy too. Skeleton apprentice blacksmiths and alchemists.
They were specialized summons that came with skills related to their trades.
Their effects showed immediately.
[Skeleton Apprentice Blacksmith 3 gains a bolt-of-lightning insight!]
[Experience shared!]
[Everyone’s hammering becomes more proficient!]
[Apprentice Blacksmith 143…]
Before, out of ten items crafted, nine would be normal-grade, and maybe one would hit Magic-grade if he was lucky.
‘Now I’m pulling two or three no problem.’
And in between, they’d get those bolt-of-lightning insights.
Thanks to that, proficiency was rising at a tremendous pace.
In just a week of grinding.
[Dwarven Forging grows to D!]
[Elven Alchemy grows to D!]
Both equipment crafting and alchemy reached D-rank.
“Oh, coming along nicely?”
Inside the underground workshop.
Thousands of skeletons turned toward him with a rumble.
“Alright, now let’s make gear you can actually use. Use these materials.”
Snap!
The tireless skeletons dove back into the grind.
Thousands of pieces of gear came out of that.
[Items with matching energies gather!]
[A new set item recipe is registered!]
[You possess Dwarven Forging!]
[The apprentice blacksmiths gain new insights!]
[Set items are composed as + items!]
[1. Blueback Ironclad Armor Set(+)]
[2. Wanderer Set of the Skilled Mage(+)]
Seeing the messages, Kim Minwoo’s eyes lit up.
‘Finally, the recipes unlocked.’
Hitting D-rank activated the recipe effects.
Recipes.
They were the alpha and omega of crafting.
The effect was simple.
Craft something registered in a recipe, and you get bonus effects.
In cases like set items right now.
‘It makes them count as a proper set.’
If you crafted a set item without a recipe?
They’d all just be treated as individual items.
No set bonuses.
Even individual items gained special effects every time you crafted them with a registered recipe.
That’s why recipes were like secret manuals to crafters.
Normally, you’d find them in ancient tomes inside gates or learn them from a master.
‘Or discover them through crafting like this.’
But finding recipes purely through crafting required insane grinding.
For set items, you had to craft every piece with matching energies before one registered.
And finding those ‘matching energy’ materials was a nightmare.
Headgear, top, bottom, shoes, gloves.
Sets usually consisted of those five pieces.
Put A-mob byproducts in the gloves, B-mob in the armor, C-mob in the shoes…
You had to test them one by one for the set to register.
‘Insane grind.’
And the bigger issue: even if you luckily crafted items that could form a set…
‘The recipe might not register in one go.’
Then the crafter just moves on clueless.
Eh, guess it’s not this one.
That’s why most set items on the market came from monster drops.
Crafting recipes were too hard to uncover.
The lucky part was that this game had been rotten with info by the end, so Kim Minwoo remembered quite a few recipes.
He’d found some in-game, and even if not, user guides had spilled the beans.
‘Not all of them, though…’
But the useful ones, or the ones called masterpieces.
He remembered all those recipes.
The two just registered were like that.
Level restriction 101.
His skeletons could equip them right away.
And thanks to Dwarven Forging, they all turned into + versions—a stunning bonus effect.
[Blueback Ironclad Armor Set]
[Grade: Magic+]
[Set Item Effects]
[1. Strength, Vitality +60]
[2. Ironclad Defense (C) usable]
[Wanderer Set of the Skilled Mage]
[Grade: Magic+]
[Set Item Effects]
[1. Mana +100]
[2. Magic Shield (C) usable]
‘Oh.’
Kim Minwoo marveled at the set effects listed in the recipes.
Ironclad Armor.
Originally, collecting the full set just gave +30 Strength and Vitality.
But the numbers had doubled, and it even added a skill.
Seemed like the perk of turning it into a Magic+ set.
The Wanderer Set had changed the same way.
‘If I add armament mounting on top…’
Item stat boost of 20%.
At that point, his skeletons wouldn’t be skeletons anymore—they’d be thugs.
‘Meiji won’t be far from hitting 100 either.’
He could slot the mage set on then. While his skeletons busily churned out gear.
“Hayangi, time to eat.”
―Grooo.
Hayangi flapped in, snatching the item properties clean.
[Opening status window for divine beast Hayangi!]
[Name: Hayangi]
[Species: Seven-Colored Bird]
[Held Attributes: Ice 20%, Fire 10.2%, Wind 10.31%, Lightning 10.11%, Earth 10.23%]
‘Leveled up a ton.’
Not just Ice— all the other attributes were around 10% now.
‘Poured a fortune into it, after all.’
Roughly 4 trillion won to get four attributes to 10%?
Worth every penny, though.
10% was nothing to sneeze at. Against attribute-weak foes, damage ballooned up to 20%.
Stack overlapping attacks on top?
It’d be pure bliss.
‘Preparations are done.’
The preliminary round was right upon him.
After that…
Kim Minwoo stared intently at the mysterious necklace.
Continent Savior.
An S+ grade gate.
Entry level 251 was met ages ago. He planned to hit the Sky Auction House next, then dive right in.
Plenty to gain there.
‘Accessory heaven.’
The necklace.
Plus the remaining shards for the Ring of the 4th Apostle he hadn’t collected yet.
Jackpot waiting.
* * *
“Big Brother!”
Naye ran up and hugged one of his legs tight.
He met her eyes.
“I heard about you at kindergarten today. Did I cheer you on?”
He scooped her up and asked.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah! When I said it was you, teacher and everyone said you’re super amazing!”
Just one day left until the preliminary round.
Beyond the nation assigning personnel, there wasn’t much format to it.
‘Usually in these cases…’
The designated people would get whisked away somewhere on the day.
‘That’s how the event kicks off.’
Even Naye’s kindergarten was buzzing about it—the date was that close.
Soon, Chairman Kim and Madam Choi approached too.
“Come back safe. Take care of yourself.”
“Mom doesn’t care about rankings at all, so just don’t get hurt and come home. Got it?”
“I’ll be careful.”
Kim Minwoo nodded.
Word on the preliminary round’s details had spread long ago. Even the part about possible death, with responsibility on the individual. Worry was natural.
‘But sitting it out isn’t an option.’
Awakeners staked their lives by default. Getting cold feet over this meant you couldn’t do anything.
“You’ll be back soon, right, Big Brother?”
“Of course. You be good too, Naye. No eating too much meat.”
“Okay! I’ll eat lots of veggies!”
Kim Minwoo chuckled.
Sure.
That morning, she’d shoved the peppers to the edge of her plate.
But she was cute, so it was fine.
After saying goodbye to his family, he stepped out of the house.
Headed to the guild headquarters.
Reporters were already swarming there. He linked up with his team, did interviews, then waited inside the building.
Not long after, a message popped up.
[You have been designated a participant by ‘Korea.’]
[Participating in the preliminary round!]
[Your number is 123!]
The scenery flipped before his eyes.
50 participating nations.
3 Awakeners per nation.
A total of 150 people stood on the vast plain.
Everyone seemed mentally prepared—no one panicked much. They just whispered quietly among their countrymen.
Strangely, all the different languages translated to Korean in his ears.
“Bro. Seems like foreign languages get auto-translated.”
“Yeah.”
Not bothering with interpreters for nothing.
‘Guess we’ll have chances to talk.’
That’s when a prickling glare hit him. The Chinese Awakeners were staring daggers.
All familiar faces.
Nine Dragon Guild members in the 400s. By mid-game, they’d be China’s sub-ace players.
One with yellow Mohawk hair stepped forward.
‘Name was… Liu Wei?’
A rare Druid-class Awakener.
Transformed into various animals to fight, used it well enough to make a name.
He spat on the ground and said.
“You Kim Minwoo?”
“You know damn well. Why ask?”
“Cocky bastard. A pissant small-nation Awakener daring to bully our Nine Dragon Guild?”
Kim Minwoo snorted.
“Coming from counterfeit peddlers.”
“Ha, this fucker…”
The mood turned ugly.
Foreign Awakeners’ eyes swarmed over.
Nothing more entertaining than a fight to watch.
Chinese Awakeners gripped their weapons.
Park Siwoo and Seo Yerim narrowed their eyes and drew theirs too.
Tension at a boiling point.
Then.
Whoosh…!
Wind gathered in the air, taking shape.
The fierce gust made Liu Wei and the Chinese turn sharply.
Kim Minwoo looked the same way too.
‘Huh?’
“That…”
Seo Yerim gasped in surprise.
Kim Minwoo narrowed his eyes.
The bear doll from the trial grounds.
It floated lightly in the air.
―Ahem! Nice to see you. This body is the great proctor, Popo!
Popo, arms crossed, haughtily surveyed the Awakeners below.
“What the hell is this?”
“…A bear doll?”
The Chinese side scowled and muttered.
―Quiet! Who dares interrupt while I, Popo, explain!
The bear doll glared wide-eyed at the Awakeners. Then it fixed on Liu Wei.
―Number 73. Warning. Shut your mouth.
“What’re you gonna do if I——Guhk!”
Liu Wei, mid-taunt, rocketed into the air.
He crashed far off, doubled over, puking his guts out like he’d taken a gut punch.
Popo approached him and warned.
―No second chances.
Liu Wei nodded frantically, tears and snot streaming amid the vomit. Foreign Awakeners smirked in satisfaction.
‘Acting big in front of an unknown?’
‘Basic manners lacking.’
Everyone here was a battle-hardened vet.
Judging by looks alone was one of the worst things an Awakener could do. But Nine Dragon Guild did it.
Overblown nationalism and arrogance. Classic Chinese Awakener trait, especially Nine Dragon.
They got schooled right out the gate. The smirking Awakeners sobered up, staring at Popo.
‘As expected. They had a hidden card.’
‘Better not act rashly.’
No one saw what just happened.
No clue what this thing was, but one thing was clear: cute looks hid a total monster.
―Ahem!
Popo cleared his throat again, floating with flair.
―From 1 to 150! You guys are damn lucky. Normally, a backwater dimension like this wouldn’t get the System’s blessing… uh… ever?
His confident tone deflated instantly.
Staring eyes met his.
At the end stood Kim Minwoo.
‘W-What?’
He’d heard this backwater dimension got the preliminary round.
‘T-That was this guy’s planet?’
Popo’s eyes trembled.