S-Rank Judgment
The successful raid on the Dark Cave left me certain of one thing.
Swordsmanship training raised my undead control ability.
“Sir Isra. Training time.”
【We are not entering any more gates?】
“Right now I need to push my undead control itself higher.”
The promotion exam covered two subjects.
Crafting.
And Control.
“Practice will help more than more real combat experience.”
I had slipped on the D-class promotion exam so many times I had lost count. After the tenth failure I stopped keeping track.
So until the day before the test, I would swing my sword one more time whenever I could.
【A fine notion. Tempering the body will drive idle thoughts away as well.】
Well… “getting beaten black and blue by Sir Isra” would be more accurate than “tempering.”
For the two remaining days I swung my sword like a madman in the mountain training yard.
“Argh!”
【Too much force in the chest.】
Imperial Sword Style proficiency has increased.
After two days of pouring out bucketfuls of sweat, the day of the decisive battle finally arrived.
“Uggghhh.”
Ding-dong~♬
The alarm dragged me awake. I grabbed my phone. A message from the bank.
Balance: 427,103,200
Looks like the new Hwarang guys finally sent the money.
“Heh.”
Look at that number. In my entire life I had never seen a balance with “hundred million” written on it.
And not just any hundred million.
Four hundred million!
【Honey is dripping from your eyes, my lord.】
“At this rate I’ll be rich before long, right?”
【Greed only clouds a warrior’s vision. Do not waste your heart on such trifles.】
“I’m not a warrior.”
【If you are my lord, then strive to cultivate the dignity that befits the role.】
“Says the one who used to claim she only served me because she had no choice.”
She really did whatever she wanted.
Still, I didn’t nag Sir Isra any further. Every hundred-million-won sum I held now existed thanks to her.
Byproduct disposal — 26,135,100
Hush-money fee — 400,000,000
The catch was that the hush money was twenty times larger than what I had earned from actual hunting. Even so, the Dark Cave haul itself had been substantial.
The skill book alone went for twenty million won. The D-class magic stone the mutant Grounder spat out sold for three hundred thousand. Adding the rest of the E-class stones brought the total a little over four million.
Even setting aside lucky skill-book finds, an amount that used to take a full month of work had dropped into my lap in a single day.
“Still doesn’t feel real.”
【As long as I walk beside you, my lord, you shall grasp ever greater honor and wealth.】
“Who was it that just said greed is bad?”
【I spoke of the wealth that naturally clings when one pursues honor.】
Honor can wait. Making a ton of money is plenty for me. A whole lot of money.
【Is coin truly so important?】
“You think undead crafting happens by digging holes in the dirt?”
The materials for Sir Isra’s body alone had cost around a million won. Monster hide and sinew were expensive. They went into light armor or bowstrings. Even without the special options only I could see, buying byproducts burned a serious amount of cash.
“I have to earn as much as I can while I still can.”
【Then should we not also dispose of the corpse we brought back last time?】
She meant the mutant Grounder boss.
“I’m saving it.”
Once I promoted, the E-class skill Corpse Crafting would advance as well. That would let me create stronger undead. Turning a rare mutant corpse into a mere zombie would be a waste. Better to wait for the promotion and craft a higher-tier entity.
【Understood.】
“Your body can be upgraded too.”
【I look forward to it.】
While we bantered I finished getting ready to leave.
【May I ask one question?】
“Shoot.”
【Surely you do not intend to disassemble me again……】
Why wouldn’t I?
Instead of answering I reversed Corpse Crafting and split Isra into six neat pieces.
Somewhere I thought I heard a death-scream, but it must have been my imagination.
My hand tightened hard around the doorknob. Certain that this exam would be different, I shoved the door open with force.
Hunter promotion exams took place inside Seungcheon Tower.
A structure several kilometers tall that had risen on the former National Assembly site. It looked like someone had slapped concrete buildings together at random—a bizarre construct that openly defied the laws of reality. For that very reason Seungcheon Tower had become the symbol of the Great Hunter Era.
As always, the same thought hit me.
“There are way too many people.”
The carrier holding Sir Isra felt especially cumbersome. Now that I had the hush-money windfall, I really needed to buy a spatial backpack.
While I was walking slowly toward Seungcheon Tower, a noisy clamor rose ahead.
“Mir Guild’s big-shot newbie is challenging Seungcheon Tower!”
“It’s the promotion exam for the nation’s first Creation-type caster!”
“This is a scoop!”
Reporters with cameras hanging from their necks sprinted as if their feet were on fire. Nearby people began flocking in one after another. In moments a crowd packed the space around me.
Ugh. What a pain.
Promotion exams could be taken on the 10th of every month. Since Korea’s only Seungcheon Tower stood in Yeouido, every time a celebrity hunter challenged it the place turned into a circus. It was practically an annual tradition.
“Coming through.”
I moved in the exact opposite direction of the surging crowd and dragged the heavy carrier to the tower entrance. Maybe because the structure’s footprint was larger than the nearby 63 Building, dozens of entrances led inside. I placed my hand on the nearest door.
Hunter — Park Minho
Rank — E
You are eligible for the promotion exam.
Proceed with the examination?
Y / N
My heart hammered. I popped the calming pill I had bought for this exact day into my mouth.
Ugh. Bitter. So bitter.
I had purchased it two years ago, intending to take it only when I was certain of passing. Only now did I finally swallow it. After performing my little success-ritual, I pressed the Y button with all my strength.
Creeeak.
I stepped through the opening door; it slammed shut behind me with a heavy thud. An isolated space sealed off from the outside. That did not mean I would overlap with other hunters using the tower. The interior, like a gate, formed a separate domain. Depending on the purpose—promotion exam or climbing the tower itself—you were transported to the appropriate floor.
The promotion examination will now begin.
User’s class confirmed as Necromancer-lineage.
Examination content and evaluation have been set to the Necromancer test accordingly.
A single kobold corpse suddenly materialized in the center of the room. A corpse generated without any warning, shattered so badly you could barely recognize its original form.
I wasn’t particularly surprised. The type and condition of the corpse changed every exam. This one was a little worse than usual, but I had seen the sight so many times that it no longer stirred any emotion.
Craft an undead within the time limit.
📍 Evaluation: Completeness of the undead
⏱ Time Limit: 120:00:00
A kobold corpse? I could turn it into a top-grade zombie in twenty minutes, never mind two hours.
Before starting work I pulled Sir Isra out of the carrier I had prepared in advance.
【I am not an object!】
“I know, but what choice do I have?”
【You could have left me to guard your home or workshop!】
“The landlord would have a heart attack if she saw you.”
I used the landlord as an excuse, but the real reason was different. I was worried Sir Isra would wander off under the pretext of studying this era’s civilization or some other nonsense. I couldn’t say that out loud.
【Then why did you summon me here?】
“I might miss something. Keep an eye on the work with me.”
I took out a carving knife, hammer, and chisel. If the corpse had been in slightly worse shape I would have made a skeleton and finished far faster.
【What you create is your own will, is it not?】
“You have to consider the corpse’s condition.”
Turn a body that still has plenty of muscle and flesh into a skeleton and you get docked for missing the examiner’s intent. This kobold was so thoroughly shattered that reading the intent was hard, but after handling countless monster corpses I had a decent feel for it.
“Let’s begin.”
Two modification points for a zombie: hardness and power.
【If you join the bones like that, will the movements not become sluggish?】
“Yeah. That’s the point of the modification.”
I didn’t need the agile footwork of someone like Sir Isra. The core of the first exam was completeness itself—how well you could bring out a zombie’s strengths.
Shhhk!
The carving knife traced the arteries. After draining the blood quickly I used Corpse Processing to raise the decay level, artificially advancing rigor mortis. A straight trade of firmness for agility.
I joined and ground broken bones, reconnected torn muscle. The ruined kobold corpse gradually took on a respectable shape.
“Awaken.”
A portion of my mana drained away. The reassembled kobold slowly rose to its feet.
Evaluating crafted undead…
A blue radiance swept over the zombie’s entire body.
【Bold of you. Not a single breath out of place even at the moment of judgment.】
“I’m used to it.”
Fail more than ten times yourself and you’ll reach a point where the exam itself stops registering as anything special.
All conditions for a zombie have been fulfilled.
Perfect! Completeness beyond anything expected of an E-class Necromancer.
Exam Judgment — S-RANK
So far, exactly as expected.
【What does an S-rank signify?】
“Highest possible score.”
【Hahaha! So they have acknowledged my lord’s skill.】
“I’ve received that score before.”
If I flunked the next test, the top score would mean nothing.
Testing control over the raised undead.
This was the real deal.
【How do they measure precision, then?】
“You’ll see.”
The far side of the pitch-black room brightened.
Have your undead mimic the movements of the figures shown on the screen.
Appearing on the illuminated screen was a currently popular idol group famous for their razor-sharp, disciplined performances. The only reason I knew that much was because the landlord’s daughter, Kim Yeondo, was completely obsessed with them.
【Hmph. They look rather lacking in spirit. A true man ought to……】
“Shh. I need to concentrate.”
Make a stiff-as-wood zombie copy dance moves. That had always been the reason I failed Stage Two.
But this time was different. I would pass no matter what.
Eyes blazing, I ordered the zombie to follow every motion.
Snap! Snap!
Even though the kobold zombie should have been rigid with rigor mortis, the correction from Heavenly Martial Body transferred intact. It moved smoothly and copied the idol group’s choreography with surprising competence.
“It actually works.”
A complicated feeling colored my voice. A dancing zombie. To anyone else’s eyes it would look ridiculous, but to me it was a magnificent performance.
Three minutes that felt like thirty passed. The residual images of the idol group vanished.
Evaluation in progress. Please wait.
【Splendid.】
“I think so too.”
Common sense said that performance guaranteed a pass. Even so, learned fear kept my hands clenched tight. Before I could even wipe the sweat from my palms, the result arrived.