Chapter 44: Debut (1)
A massive forge located underground.
Clang!
Clang!
Skeletons wielding hammers were busy with production work.
Bubble bubble!
In another area, they were tossing ingredients into cauldrons and employing alchemy. Plus items were being duplicated in real time.
The production process was under strict security. Materials were bought in bulk, then transported discreetly via subspatial rings.
After several rounds of transport, the materials arrived at this hidden underground forge.
Once a sufficient quantity of items had been produced, they were stored in subspatial rings and delivered to Ilsung Group.
‘They’re all dying to know who’s making them.’
Lately, the hottest topic was the craftsman duplicating plus items.
Word was that corporations were frantically searching for the mysterious artisan, eyes blazing.
‘Admirable effort, sure.’
The problem was, they’d find a craftsman—not a necromancer.
For Kim Minwoo, there was no real cause for suspicion no matter where he went.
No one could even imagine a necromancer using skeletons to churn out this volume.
Soon enough, piles of gear began stacking up on the floor.
He picked one up.
[Ratman’s Spine Sword]
[Grade: Common+]
[Required Level: 10+]
[A beginner weapon touched by a master’s hand. It feels like it could save your life just by holding it.]
[Effect 1. Strength +2, Agility +1]
[Effect 2. Low chance on hit to cause minor bleeding.]
One of the skeletons’ mass-produced items.
Its effects were impressively potent for common gear.
‘Sold this for 9 million won, right?’
Similar weapons went for at least 20 million at auction.
Auction houses factored in a 10% fee, driving prices higher.
Nearly half off.
Even scarier? They still turned a huge profit at that price.
All it took was a ratman spine, some monster byproducts, and finishing agents.
‘Production cost’s under 200k, probably.’
Craftsman labor and miscellaneous expenses inflated the price.
Awakeners knew that, of course.
But they bought anyway.
Why?
No one skimps when their life’s on the line.
And crafted gear was cheaper than auction buys.
That’s why every major corporation was diving into the equipment market.
Once you claimed a spot, money multiplied like crazy.
That was when a familiar figure entered the underground space.
Park Siwoo.
“Bro, I’m here.”
“Yeah. Dump the materials over there.”
“Got it. Oh, and I snagged a bunch of attribute gear too. Saw some listings pop up at the auction house.”
The kid emptied his subspatial ring, spilling contents everywhere.
Transport security was paramount for this job.
Hand it to someone unreliable, and your cover could blow sky-high, sparking global chaos.
That’s why Kim Minwoo chose Park Siwoo.
They were in it together—no reason for loose lips.
Plus, the kid’s character was trustworthy.
In fact, Park Siwoo had kept everything airtight.
Even while grinding hunts nonstop, he made time to sweep up goods diligently.
“Hayangi, dinner time.”
―Kyu! Kyuuu!
Pointing at the attribute items, the excited beast bolted straight for them.
Hayangi approached the attribute-infused gear and gaped its mouth wide.
Soon after.
[The fire attribute in the Sharp Flame Sword is fully absorbed!]
[The wind attribute in the Wind-Infused Armor is fully absorbed!]
[The lightning attribute in the Static Staff is fully absorbed!]
[Fire attribute increased by 0.05%…]
[Wind attribute increased by 0.06%…]
[Lightning attribute…]
He’d been feeding it attribute items nonstop these past few days. Hayangi’s neck fur had split into multiple colors as a result.
‘Fire, wind, lightning, earth.’
Ice attribute next—from fragments in the upcoming gate.
Those four, minus ice.
Five attributes total.
That covered most gates handily.
The last two would come later.
“Man, it’s wild every time. The gear’s grade drops straight to common once the attribute’s sucked out… Gotta be costing a fortune, huh?”
Park Siwoo remarked, pointing at the now-junk items.
He was spot on.
Magic-grade pieces bordering on rare turned to plain common trash after attribute drain.
‘Obviously.’
What made attribute gear special?
The attribute, duh.
Yank that out, and it was scrap metal.
“Think of it as an investment.”
“Bro, does feeding it like this raise attributes a lot?”
Let’s check.
[Opening status window for divine beast Hayangi!]
[Name: Hayangi]
[Species: Seven-Colored Bird]
[Held Attributes: Ice 20%, Fire 0.52%, Wind 0.51%, Lightning 0.5%, Earth 0.53%]
“Those four attributes are up about 0.5% each so far.”
“What? 0.5%? The items we’ve fed it must’ve cost over 200 billion…”
“I knew what I was in for.”
The Winter Fragment that froze an entire northern continent only hit 20%.
He’d gauged it then.
Yeah, pumping attributes was gonna burn cash like wildfire.
‘Can’t hunt hidden gates for all seven, either.’
He knew opening methods for a few, but not all tied to attributes.
Even if they did, hitting 100% wasn’t guaranteed.
Money it was.
He could always scrape up funds, but attribute items were the real bottleneck.
‘They’re rare as hell…’
For now, he was hoovering auction listings and feeding whatever.
―Kyurk.
Hayangi let out a satisfied burp after inhaling hundreds of billions in goods, then fluttered back.
“Tasty?”
―Kyu.
“Good, good. Daddy’ll work hard and get more.”
―Kyuuu.
A gentle head pat drew a pleased chirp.
He glanced at Park Siwoo.
“What’s your level?”
“Hit 93 now.”
“Not bad, big gains.”
“Was just shy of 101…”
The kid shot him a sidelong look.
Guild stamp fever, clearly.
“Confident? Like I said, join my guild and you’ll be swamped with headaches.”
“Been through land, sea, air battles. Could take an assassin blindfolded now! For real.”
Fair point.
The kid had debuted spectacularly alongside the Sword Sage, then weathered a storm of events.
Fame as the Sword Sage’s disciple, recruitment offers from all top ten guilds.
Heard they dangled insane perks. Kid turned ’em all down to stick here—loyalty proven.
“Alright. Welcome to Lavish Guild.”
“For real?”
“Yeah. Perfect timing. Was gonna wind down production anyway. Let’s set a press conference. Time to steal the spotlight.”
“Sir!”
“Oh, before that. Your sister—send her to Sword Sea Pavilion for a bit. I’ll give ’em a heads-up.”
“Was planning to.”
Park Siwoo nodded.
Smart call. Joining a guild meant unknown fallout, especially now with chaebol heirs catching flak.
Playboys blaming themselves? Nah.
They were blame-shifting pros.
Probably grinding their teeth at Kim Minwoo already.
‘Bro and I can handle it…’
Not his civilian sister. Fancy apartment or not, security wasn’t foolproof.
Sword Sea Pavilion was one of Korea’s tightest fortresses. Perfect for her safety.
“But shouldn’t we keep producing? You said it prints money.”
“Already got 100k in stock. Proficiency maxed out. Time to hunt.”
He checked the skeletons’ production skills.
[Skeleton Summon (F)+9]
[Skill reinforced to its limit.]
[Consumes 10 mana to summon 2 level 51 skeletons (1+1).]
[* Possesses Close Combat Mastery (F), Dwarven Crafting (E), Elven Alchemy (E).]
[Close Combat Mastery (F): 10% damage increase for all close-range weapons.]
[Dwarven Crafting (E): Dwarven techniques allow crafting gear with added effects.]
[Elven Alchemy (E): Elven alchemy techniques allow crafting potions with added effects.]
Endless production had brought big changes.
Skeletons’ average level shot to 51.
‘And both crafting skills leveled up once.’
Cranking out thousands daily skyrocketed proficiency.
Now they could plus even magic-grade low-level gear.
He’d equipped them with level 51-appropriate weapons, of course.
Armament slots made outfitting effortless.
Plus, he’d swapped bones using purchased stock.
Not grand successes, but solid ones—stats soared anyway.
Production trials doubled as prep for the next hunt.
‘Mage skeletons are lagging…’
Deal with that later.
Mass summons favored quantity over mage types.
Anyway.
Stockpiles overflowed. No sales shortages at the shops anytime soon, even without new production.
Time to move for the next hunt. Destination locked.
‘New gate popping in Gyeonggi soon.’
Gates spawned simply: mana surged locally first, gate followed.
‘B-rank difficulty.’
A-rank was rough.
C-rank too easy.
Just right.
‘Gotta snag that first clear reward.’
“First” always meant something.
Gates too.
Pioneering parties got special missions.
‘Difficulty spikes.’
B turning B+ vibes.
But rewards topped normal clears.
Special goodies.
Like a mini-hidden gate.
Guilds and orgs swarmed at the first signs.
For guaranteed jackpots. No reckless rushes, though.
Fresh gates showed question mark grades.
Surveys confirmed ranks. Then one group was picked to raid.
‘This one went to Dorim Guild originally.’
Game lore: years from now, their guildmaster spilled some rewards.
‘Yuger’s Ring.’
Common - Magic - Rare - Unique - Legend - Ancient - Mythic.
That ring? Legend-grade.
The guy’s lecture words stuck vividly.
―I know many are curious about my ring. Got lucky. Remember that B-rank gate in Gyeonggi a few years back? Got my starter item there…
Point: join Dorim Guild for shots like that—please support us.
Some options leaked later, buzzed for ages. Legend-worthy power.
Kid got lucky.
Item way above his paygrade.
‘Never could buy it.’
When he had played as Kim Minwoo, he had started much later in the timeline, when the ring was already on the man’s finger.
Trillions offered, still no sale.
Hidden options must’ve been killer too.
‘That’s mine now.’
Dorim Guildmaster wouldn’t mind.
After all, not for personal gain—blocking outer gods.
Gotta yield for the world.
‘Time to get serious.’
Unlike the tomb clear back then, he could protect himself now.
‘For what I want…’
He was ready to rock the world again.