Chapter 6
“So much to do.”
Do-jin was standing deep in the mountains, where there was not a single sign of another person.
He stepped into the cheap one-person tent he had bought.
It was low quality, but since he only planned to use it once or twice, it suited him perfectly.
Compared to sleeping outdoors and barely getting any rest before my regression, this is practically a hotel.
Apostle and the other minions had scattered through the area and perched on tree branches surrounding the tent.
They constantly watched every direction.
If anything approached, they would immediately warn Do-jin.
Thanks to that, Do-jin could leisurely check his reward windows.
“Let's see...”
The reward window appeared and began processing.
[Processing reward for the seventh Overflow...]
[...]
[...]
[Reward: <Necromancy> Skill Level Increased]
[Lv.1 → Lv.3]
[<Necromancy (E / Lv.3)>]
[Description: Active Type. Can turn small animals or monsters among the dead into minions.]
[MP Cost: 5 per use]
[Minion List: 5 / 10]
[Available Minion Type: Skeleton - Bone Attribute]
“I already got a Skill Level increase.”
In the F-rank Arena, Do-jin had already experienced just how useful multiple minions could be.
Naturally, increasing the number he could control was more than welcome.
“But I'd prefer my next minions to be something other than birds.”
Do-jin turned his attention to the next reward window.
[Processing debut Overflow reward...]
[...]
[...]
[Reward: Pyramid (B+)]
“What?”
Do-jin was momentarily caught off guard by the sudden appearance of a B+ rank Item.
Wheeeeng...
Mana gathered in the air.
Then something dropped onto Do-jin's palm.
“A bracelet...”
It looked like an ordinary circular metal bracelet.
The moment Do-jin put it around his left wrist, something happened.
“...!”
The bracelet seemed to melt into his wrist and disappeared.
In its place, a thin triangular symbol appeared on the back of Do-jin's hand.
It resembled a pyramid.
At the same time, another window appeared.
[Pyramid (B+)]
[Description: A subspace Item that stores the owner's minions. Capacity may be expanded by fusing Magic Stones.]
[Classification: Bound Type / Growth Type]
[Effect: Minion Storage]
[Restriction: Lv.1 or higher / Owner's minions only]
“This is better than I expected.”
After becoming a Necromancer, the most useful thing had been his minions.
Ironically, they were also the most troublesome.
Simply put, he now had more baggage to carry around.
“But with this Item, transporting my minions won't be a problem.”
In other words, he had obtained an Inventory specifically for his minions.
“Next...”
Receiving his rewards did not mean his work for the day was finished.
There was something else Do-jin needed to examine.
Rustle!
A handful of business cards fell onto the floor of the tent.
They were all cards Do-jin had received from Guilds and officials from the Awakening Department at the Arena earlier that day.
Most of them were basically garbage.
They would probably make decent kindling when he boiled water tomorrow morning.
“Let's see...”
There were only a few worth examining.
After all, very few organizations survived long enough to remain active in the future.
Do-jin read through the news on his smartphone while checking whether anything differed from his memories.
[Miracle Guild Rookie Cha Yu-ri Makes a Spectacular Debut!]
[Kim Sang-hwan Awakens as a Magic Swordsman! South Korea Finally Produces a Magic Swordsman Class...]
The F-rank Arena Quest <Disc Breaking> had been covered noisily by media outlets everywhere.
Naturally, Do-jin was not excluded.
[The World's First Necromancer Appears?]
[Player Lee Do-jin Displays Exceptional Potential...]
[Spearman or Necromancer? Has the World's First Double-Class Player Appeared?!]
The media was overflowing with expectations and rumor-like speculation about Do-jin's unusual debut.
But that was not the information he wanted.
As Do-jin scrolled through the news site, his green eyes suddenly sharpened.
“Cosmo Guild...”
Found it.
Do-jin stared at the headline as though he wanted to devour it.
[Cosmo Guild Player Kim Su-ho Finally Challenging an A-rank Arena?]
Cosmo Guild.
Kim Su-ho.
Those were names the regressed Do-jin needed to keep in mind first and foremost in Korea.
As targets for elimination.
While his eyes remained fixed on the article like a statue, Do-jin's mind moved rapidly.
Three years remain before the Main Scenario begins.
Two of the five tutorial years had already passed.
During the remaining three years, he needed to calculate his time day by day and grow as much as possible before the tutorial ended.
That was why Do-jin had openly displayed his abilities from his very debut.
The power of the world's first Necromancer.
His spear skills and combat techniques, polished through eight years of surviving a world that had turned into hell.
[Competition Between Guilds and Government Intensifies Over Contracts With Young Players...]
[Babel Guild Announces Unprecedented Contract Terms! Rival Guilds Protest...]
There were many Players.
But truly talented Players were rare.
Because of that, governments and Guilds offered all kinds of tempting benefits to recruit exceptional Players.
I need somewhere that can deal with Guilds, the Awakening Department, and the media for me while guaranteeing me complete freedom.
Right now, even seconds felt too valuable to waste.
I have to calculate everything carefully.
There were already many Players with higher Levels than Do-jin.
Someone might think it would be easier to simply reveal the truth to them, ask for cooperation, and entrust the future to those stronger Players.
But Do-jin could not reveal the truth.
If I make one wrong move, those bastards might act early.
Before his regression, humanity's enemies had certainly been powerful.
And it was true that Players had been relatively weak.
But that was not the entire reason humanity had fallen.
When people were cornered, traitors inevitably appeared.
Do-jin still did not know exactly how they had managed it.
But the traitors who concluded humanity had no chance of winning somehow made a contract with the System and escaped the framework of Players entirely.
They became humanity's next enemy after the monsters.
The Traitors.
Afterward, until the final shapeless monsters appeared, those Traitors essentially became a new species of monster.
And the leader of the Traitors who appeared in Korea was none other than Kim Su-ho, Guild Master of the Cosmo Guild.
A so-called perfect elite who had succeeded at everything in life.
Until the terror of unavoidable defeat and destruction, along with the crushing weight of responsibility, finally drove him into surrendering to humanity's enemy.
“...And thanks to you, all the idiots who followed you lost their nerve and surrendered one after another.”
Fear of death.
Fear of extinction.
The very people who should have endured that fear and become humanity's pillars were the first to switch sides.
Those who had relied on them lost their psychological support, wandered in confusion, then followed them into betrayal.
It had been one of the darkest periods of the apocalypse.
“So this time, I'll deal with you beforehand.”
Traitors had appeared among famous overseas Guilds as well.
But first, Do-jin intended to thoroughly deal with the ones in Korea.
“...”
He silently continued scrolling through the articles.
[Kim Su-ho, the Model Korean Player!]
[Secures Medal After Representing Korea in the International Arena Tournament. Domestic Experts Say...]
[Cosmo Guild Signs Contract With North America's Largest Guild, Hero Guild! Korean Netizens Celebrate...]
Just like before his regression, Kim Su-ho and Cosmo Guild currently had an excellent reputation.
Without any evidence, Do-jin could not confront them.
They had enough influence to socially bury an ordinary Player without effort.
Right now, I can't stop him either socially or by force.
Revealing information carelessly would not put Do-jin in a better position.
There was also no telling how the future Traitors might respond.
“...”
After organizing his thoughts, Do-jin looked down at two business cards before him.
One belonged to Cosmo Guild, run by the future Traitor Kim Su-ho.
The other came from a somewhat unfamiliar organization.
Test Guild.
Naturally, Cosmo Guild had offered the better conditions.
The Cosmo headhunter who approached Do-jin earlier that day had said:
“Our Guild evaluates your potential very highly, Mr. Lee Do-jin.”
“Cosmo Guild will spare no support in helping you Level up.”
If necessary, joining Cosmo Guild and taking everything those bastards have wouldn't be such a bad idea.
Then what about Test Guild?
“Right. I almost forgot because the Guild itself disappeared so long ago. It was called Test Guild.”
A woman had approached him after the crowds had finally passed.
She had carried only a single business card.
With a face like a perfectly carved marble statue, she had said:
“If you want to operate freely, Mr. Lee Do-jin, our Guild will be your best choice.”
“...”
Now he remembered.
The granddaughter of the Hangang Group chairman.
“Around this time, Hangang Group was trying to develop an independent Player Guild. And one of the people placed in charge of it was...”
Choi Ra-hee.
One of the final surviving Players.
And one of the few Koreans who remained alongside Do-jin until the end.
“Well, back then there was nothing left to lose, so all the survivors revealed our Skills to one another.”
The Classes provided by the System were broadly divided into four categories.
Warrior.
Mage.
Monk.
Rogue.
Choi Ra-hee belonged to the Monk category.
A Monk specialized in healing and support.
Then what Skill had made Choi Ra-hee memorable even to Do-jin?
“<Blessing of Prosperity (S)>... Maybe I'll monopolize it for a while.”
<Blessing of Prosperity (S)> could practically be called a Skill specialized entirely in Player growth and buffs.
It increased all Stats of the target Player.
More importantly, regardless of whether the Experience came from Stats, Skills, or Levels, it increased all Experience gain by fifty percent.
Of course, there's a limit to how many targets it can affect.
If its range had been unlimited, <Blessing of Prosperity> would have been EX-rank rather than S-rank.
Ra-hee probably understood that too.
That was why she was carefully choosing Players instead of aggressively expanding her Guild.
While pretending to be nothing more than an ordinary viewer.
Do-jin's eyes moved between the two business cards.
Then finally stopped on one.
“I'll come meet you soon, Cheerful Mask.”
