Chapter 144: Gold
The 600 points earned from beating Han Baekgil.
After burning through those, he'd been holding out without touching his points.
All to aim for something bigger when the next shop tier unlocked.
500 points for Silver.
3,000 points for Gold.
‘I don’t know how many it’ll take for the next stage…’
One thing was certain, though.
He couldn’t resist shopping.
Perfect timing, too. Right after the limited-time necromancer items, they’d added a currency exchange system.
How was he supposed to hold back from that?
Right then.
Isabella tilted her head curiously.
“Is something good happening?”
“I just got some urgent business. Let’s talk later.”
“W-Wait a…”
He hopped onto Bolttron and fired it up. Fortunately, unlike with Seo Yerim last time, there was no brutal 10-minute limit.
Ten hours gave him plenty of time to browse and mull over the items.
Leaving Isabella standing there blankly with her hand outstretched, he sped off toward the Ilsung estate.
He opened the shop as soon as he arrived.
[The Achievement Shop has opened!]
[Grade: Gold (Total Points Earned: 3,030)]
[Current Achievement Points: 1,530]
[The Currency Exchange System is now available!]
Plenty of points to his name.
And then.
There was one more line of text. He checked the exchange rate right away.
[Entering the Currency Exchange System.]
[The current exchange rate between Earth Credits and Achievement Points is 1 trillion to 1.]
“No, hold on.”
Was this for real?
Kim Minwoo blinked.
He’d assumed it was 1:1, but there was an extra digit tacked on.
One trillion to 1.
In simple terms, it meant coughing up 100 trillion credits for just 100 points.
The 40 trillion left over from the Sky Auction.
Plus the roughly 100 trillion he’d agreed to receive for selling off 5% of his US shares upfront.
After the Ilsung guild war wrapped up, Wall Street had offered 60 trillion for 10%, so compared to that, his share price had nearly tripled.
Not surprising, really.
He’d jacked up his value during the Super Rookie Selection Tournament. And that wasn’t even counting the groundbreaking education feature he’d unveiled. Honestly, it was still a bargain.
Anyway.
The 100 trillion was slated to arrive in about a month.
Even factoring in the installments from China due next month and everything else.
‘It’s around 200 trillion total.’
China had paid mostly in miscellaneous resources and real estate instead of cash. Even liquidating all that and dumping it in would only net him about 200 points.
‘Sure, it’s not like Achievement Points are worthless…’
But judging them purely on cash value was tricky, since the shop’s items were so damn good.
Random gear pulls and S-grade skillbooks were starting to feel a bit underwhelming.
On the flip side, limit-break elixirs and Dead Man’s Cocktails were still worth trillions apiece.
That’s how valuable they were.
And now that he’d hit Gold, even better stuff would unlock soon.
‘Still pricey, though.’
Dumping 200 trillion for 200 points? That was straight-up insane.
It wasn’t like he had no way to earn points—SS-grade necromancers were out there racking them up for him.
Every time, 100 points would roll in steadily. Compared to that, the cost-performance sucked.
But all hope wasn’t lost.
‘In the end, Earth’s exchange rate just needs to improve.’
Instead of 1 trillion per point.
Maybe 500 billion per point.
Or even lower. Once Earth credits gained enough value to buy points cheaply, problem solved.
Give it time, and 200 trillion might snag him 2,000 points.
So how did Earth’s rate go up?
‘There are some obvious ways.’
Things like blooming the geniuses’ potential—Seo Yerim, Park Siwoo, and the rest—or wiping out villains like Shadow.
Actions that earned Achievement Points in the first place were probably what boosted Earth’s credit value.
Handing out points was like giving out “good job” stickers.
“Then making necromancers is basically boosting the value too, right?”
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
If necromancers were the signal for Earth’s doom, the currency should’ve tanked to worthless.
But the 11th necromancer pops up, and suddenly the exchange system activates?
Earth credits valuable enough to trade for points?
Didn’t that mean they were one step closer to saving the planet?
‘Ha.’
Kim Minwoo let out a sigh.
Looking back, he’d been such a fool, only caring about Earth.
‘For now, I’ll stockpile cash.’
Spend where needed, but hoard the rest. Once the rate improved, he’d exchange in bulk. Growth would handle the rest—Earth’s value would rise on its own.
Conveniently, he’d set up a cash-duplication pipeline: the slime batteries.
Ten percent of Ilsung’s sales revenue would flow straight to the guild.
Fair compensation for opening up a massive market.
He tabled the exchange issue for now.
Time to check the new stock.
[Item List]
[5. (New!) SS-Grade Bound Skillbook.]
[Required Achievement Points: 1,000]
[6. (New!) Physical Potential Amplifier Potion]
[Required Achievement Points: 1,200]
[7. Blood Water Prison [Limited Time, 9 Hours]]
[Required Achievement Points: 1,500]
[8. Necromancy Secret Manual]
[Required Achievement Points: 3,000]
[9.???]
[10.???]
Four new items unlocked this time.
Gold-tier prices were no joke.
An SS-grade bound skillbook was one thing. He inspected the rest.
[Physical Potential Amplifier Potion]
[Grade: Special]
[Use Restriction: Kim Minwoo]
[Effect 1. Temporarily unlocks Kim Minwoo’s restricted physical potential.]
[Effect 2. Lasts exactly 1 hour.]
‘…What the hell?’
Kim Minwoo tilted his head at the description. Not a permanent boost—just a temporary unlock.
And only for 1 measly hour, too.
‘1,200 points for that?’
They valued it that highly?
He pondered.
‘…Maybe not that unreasonable?’
Drinking it opened up a ton of possibilities for that hour.
First off: Thunder Wind Swordsmanship.
The Sword Sage’s signature technique.
No matter how much he swung, it never registered as a skill. But with this? Worth a shot.
Lifting the potential curse meant he could acquire skills the normal way, like everyone else.
One catch, though.
Even with the restriction lifted.
What was his “true potential” like?
That was the question.
He’d once bloated his swordsmanship potential with gear during the Dragon Lord fight and shaved off half its health.
‘That was my peak.’
Even then, no skill generated.
Easing the restriction a bit wouldn’t cut it for skill creation.
Even if this potion fully lifted it, what if his base was just average joe level?
‘Points down the drain.’
Unlocking it wouldn’t mean squat.
Normal folks didn’t whip up SS-grade skills just by swinging a sword, either.
A-grade at best, if he was lucky.
On the flip side, maybe his potential would go berserk once freed.
A happy fantasy, but not zero chance.
Big win or total bust.
‘Anyway, moving on…’
He checked the other items.
[Blood Water Prison]
[Grade: Special]
[A round orb that imprisons blood.]
[Effect 1. Absorbs blood from desired corpses.]
[Effect 2. Once blood fills to a certain level, it can transform into a ‘Blood Prison’ structure.]
[Effect 3. Insert undead into the Blood Prison to strengthen them. (Note: Blood absorption capacity and type vary per undead. Applicable Undead: All)]
‘…This is good.’
Unlike the vague potential potion, the limited-time Blood Water Prison was pure performance.
‘Like the bone exchange, but better.’
Blood?
Just buy it in bulk like bones.
Blood was another unpopular byproduct.
Money fixed everything.
And the best part over bone exchange?
‘Way broader application.’
Bone exchange had narrow scope.
Only skeletons, bone golems, and Cedric benefited. Merhen, specters, and dullahans sadly didn’t qualify.
Non-bone-focused undead? No dice.
Blood Water Prison changed that.
Stockpile blood, strengthen everything. Exact gains unknown, but…
‘1,500 points, limited-time? Must be strong.’
Very good.
Arguably more tempting than the SS-grade skillbook in some ways.
Kim Minwoo eyed the last item.
[Necromancy Secret Manual]
[Grade: Special]
[A tome of necromancer secret techniques.]
[Effect 1. Reading and practicing may yield good results.]
Secret manual.
He got the gist.
‘Like a martial arts manual.’
Read, practice, and talent decides the payoff.
Skill generation, maybe.
‘Useless for me…’
Kim Minwoo’s talentlessness was horrifying. Not just swordsmanship.
Necromancer skills wouldn’t differ.
But the seller?
Implying…
‘Pair it with the potential potion?’
That’s the only picture that came to mind.
Pricey combo, though.
Potion plus manual: 4,200 points.
Not feasible yet.
‘Whatever.’
Prioritize the limited item.
[Purchase Blood Water Prison?]
“Obviously.”
[Blood Water Prison acquired!]
The fervent sponsorship of necromancers worldwide—every bit crystallized into the orb in his palm.
‘Gotta buy blood before the orc gate.’
Like bones: bag it up, pay per liter by type.
Might as well go for quality.
* * *
Isabella.
She trudged toward Sword Sea Pavilion.
‘What the hell do I even give him?’
The nagging question tormenting her mind. Kim Minwoo was right—money meant nothing.
So something else.
‘…But nothing matches the value.’
Everything paled for a Heart Seal exchange. Even her ancient-grade gear.
Kim Minwoo wasn’t a martial artist.
He’d just convert it to cash. No real meaning.
The only thing that seemed to matter to him was…
‘…A promo line?’
Isabella knew her clout in advertising. Products she endorsed became the best.
She had her philosophy and pride in it.
Bolttron?
Decent ride, sure.
91/100 points. Solid for East Asian vehicles. But world’s best? No.
Something like slime batteries hit 100/100.
That’s why she’d refused.
But…
‘He seemed hung up on it…’
The subtle disappointment in his vibe.
For someone desperate, it stung.
…What if she endorsed the whole Ilsung Group, not just Bolttron? Wouldn’t Kim Minwoo be thrilled?
Suddenly.
She jolted, shaking her head violently.
‘What am I even thinking…!’
Small scale: against her conscience.
Large scale: deceiving consumers who trusted her buys.
“Calm down, Isabella… It’s just greed.”
She soothed herself. But her eyes wavered slightly. The Heart Seal’s shock lingered.
Pure desire to grow stronger.
It shook her to the core—strongest craving she’d ever felt.
‘Not that, anyway.’
Kim Minwoo surely had desires like hers.
Didn’t have to be promo lines. Other things existed. Find them, done.
That’s when she entered Sword Sea Pavilion. The inside buzzed. Her earpiece translator caught it.
Kim Minwoo, procurement, Ilsung Group, dragons, blood… Her eyes lit up. Smartphone articles confirmed it.
Blood buy-up, type irrelevant.
Dragon blood gets premium pricing.
‘He needs blood?’
Especially dragonkin blood.
She’d found it.
What he craved!
A ray of light in the dark. She’d nailed his need. Dragons were rare, but findable.
Supplying dragon blood alone wouldn’t grant enlightenment, sure.
But a thousand-mile journey starts with one step. Keep fulfilling his wants, and someday she’d learn it too.
‘Gotta move fast…’
Then.
Four familiar old men dashed out. She’d picked up some Korean during her stay.
“Where… going?”
The four halted at her shaky Korean.
Fist King answered.
“Hm? Oh, just making a delivery.”
“…Delivery? What?”
“Blood. Minwoo needs it, right?”
“Minwoo… blood?”
“Yeah! Dragon blood!”
Isabella’s eyes trembled wide.
“…A lot?”
“Hell yeah. We’ve been stockpiling. Inventory’s stuffed.”
The translated words hammered her skull like lightning.
“…Why?”
Why hoard dragon blood?
Useful byproduct, sure. But not hoard-worthy. Why so much?
“Miss Isabella, we Easterners have a saying: foresight. Prepared for times like this over months.”
Spear Star smiled gently.
Not ancient dragon-grade like last time—no more from the dragon tomb. But lesser dragon bosses? Overflowing.
So they’d farmed gates in downtime, smashing and collecting corpses.
Kim Minwoo was a necromancer.
Needing corpses and byproducts? Normal.
All four were high-level; inventories massive.
System-granted wonders outclassed subspatial rings. Perfect corpse preservation.
So they’d hoarded diligently.
Now, time to gift Kim Minwoo.
“I-I should give too…”
“Nah. Appreciate it, but no need. We’ve got tons. This’ll last him a while. You must be beat from the ride—rest up. Treat this place like home.”
Fist King waved it off casually.
He glanced at his battered wristwatch and shouted.
“Whoops, Minwoo’ll be waiting! Let’s roll, brothers!”
To Ilsung HQ? Four top tiers could zip there instantly. Their figures vanished in a blink.
“Ah…”
Isabella stared, dazed.