Volume 47 Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Second Profession
The world of the giants.
“Attack. Fight!”
“There are three of them. We can do it.”
“Gra.s.s porridge, gra.s.s porridge, gra.s.s porridge!”
An expedition led by high level northern users entered the land of the giants. The Crimson Wings Guild were the main spearhead behind venturing into new territories.
-Kuwaaaaah!
-The giant Valdeskar has roared.
Fighting Spirit is broken.
Movement speed is reduced.
The proficiencies of all skills have temporarily decreased by 25%.
Maximum health has halved.
All attacks received in the next 10 seconds will cause deadly damage.
The giants were strong but they could gain many things when winning.
It was an opportunity to secure weapons, armour, magic materials and a large number of minerals on the Versailles Continent.
For elves, they received a large number of quests to plant seeds in the land of the giants.
“Captain-nim. Ready to attack.”
Users approached Pale who replied.
“Yes. Then we will use a forward strike to kill Ginger.”
“Go.”
The giants had high health so a minimum of 100 people was needed to catch them!
Pale was unanimously chosen to be the expedition leader.
“Everyone. Why do you believe in me enough to make me the leader?”
“You are Weed-nim’s battle slave.”
Weed’s battle slave was a nickname he was given in Royal Road.
Maylon, Romuna, Irene, Surka, Bellot, Hwaryeong and Zephyr also led small groups.
Teros and the Crimson Wings Guild willingly handed over the leaders.h.i.+p.
“Making us representatives of the expedition? It is due to the hard work of the Crimson Wings Guild that pioneering is possible.”
Zephyr had some doubts about the proposal to take over the expedition.
They had received decisive achievements in the expedition, so there wouldn’t be any advantage in stepping back from leading the expedition.
‘What are their intentions…?’
Teros laughed at Zephyr’s suspicions.
“We have to give it to you. Our strength alone isn’t enough. It isn’t our place to lead the northern users.”
“People have forgotten the incident related to the Crimson Wings in the past.”
“It is fine when it is a small adventure. But we would rather live stably than lead an expedition. I hope that later we can receive a small piece of land in the Arpen Kingdom from Weed-nim.”
After an internal meeting, the Crimson Wings Guild had decided to settle in the Arpen Kingdom. The northern users were constantly developing the villages and it seemed fun to live in the Arpen Kingdom.
“Then… I understand what you are saying. I will mention it to Weed-nim.”
“Please.”
Pale and Zephyr faced each other, but soon turned away.
‘They still trust in people. Still, I’m afraid of the consequences so I won’t let them know.’
‘Their perception compared to the reality of the world… There is a big difference.’
Weed had appointed Pale as a lord in the Arpen Kingdom.
The Northern Continent was filled with wide plains, granaries and beautiful rivers. However, he was given a mountainous area.
“Why of all things…”
“An archer. Archers suit the mountains. And there are secrets hidden in the ground.”
“Secret?”
“That might be enormous resources sleeping in the mountains! If you dig them then you can become the richest on the continent.”
A horse was good, but in the end the lord of the mountain village had to walk in by foot due to the tough road. He needed to determine if there were any resources in the mountains, but labour and money was necessary for that.
“Yes, Lord-nim. I am hungry.”
“There is nothing to eat and no place to sleep.”
Pale couldn’t ignore the residents.
He needed money for the poor residents of the mountain village.
Zephyr was given a fis.h.i.+ng village on the river with a population of 200 people.
“The scenery is wonderful.”
It was fortunate that it wasn’t a mountain village. He thought he would get an even worst position because he liked Weed’s sister.
But Weed gave him the following requirements.
“Develop a port and make it the centre of trade.”
“T-trade? Isn’t there no market or trading office in this area?”
“Don’t stop developing. Connecting all the surrounding roads. I also want you to build luxury villas, housing, a recreational city and production facilities. You need to make full use of such a good land.”
“Even with funding from the Arpen Kingdom…”
“This is a big and beautiful river. Why do you need money when there is the river?”
“Once you develop a city, I will come to visit you with Yurin. Can’t you develop a port city in 6 months?”
Zephyr inwardly thought.
‘A devil. Devil.’
He couldn’t give up on Yurin so he poured all his money into the village.
He had a lot of money after his life as a fisherman. But after investing all his money, he became poor and came to the land of the giants to hunt.
He needed to recoup the monthly deficit of his city.
‘Sob.’
‘Aigoo.’
Teros left without realizing Pale and Zephyr’s misery.
‘Maybe a free life is better.’
‘It is risky to become a lord in the Arpen Kingdom.’
Pale made maps of the land of the giants based on users.
“This is a pretty large continent. The mountains here stretch high up and the ponds are the size of a sea.”
Level 400~500 northern users were in a meeting.
“The fortress is the home of the giants. There are many of them.”
“One giant is level 700 so I can’t imagine a bunch of them.”
“It is impossible. Certainly.”
Among the hundreds of users, there was one famous person quietly waiting for Pale’s command.
The warrior Python.
He was a strong warrior who could beat anyone in a one on one match, yet he was listening to Pale.
‘I acknowledge anyone who has been hunting with Weed all along. Wah. Shouldn’t he be recorded separately in the history books?’
Pale, Seasoned Crab and Python were tightly bound by the devil called Weed.
Their friends.h.i.+p couldn’t be broken.
* * *
The expedition to the land of the giants.
Adventurer Chase returned to the expedition after a few days with some information.
“There are prisoners.”
“Prisoners?”
“People are trapped into the giant’s fortress. Fairies and elves. There are various species.”
The expedition erupted at Adventurer Chase’s words.
“Really?”
“Yes. Rather than explain in detail… It would be faster to see the quest.”
Adventurer Chase shared his quest with the expedition members.
Ddiring!
-Captive Slaves
Surprisingly, you have heard information of slaves imprisoned by the giants. Rescue the prisoners from their miserable lives!
Those who you save will be truly appreciative and cooperate with everything.
Level of Difficulty: S
Compensation: Cooperation of the prisoners and the treasures of the giants.
Quest Restrictions: The land of giants.
“Ohhh. A S-grade difficulty quest.”
The expedition members noticed it.
In the past, S-grade difficulty quests were absolute impossible.
They only watched Weed solving them on broadcasts. However, the Crimson Wings Guild uncovered the land of the giants through a S-grade difficulty quest.
‘If it is a fighting quest… It will be complicated like Weed-nim’s quests.’
‘The best users of the north are gathered here. Can’t we do it if we try?’
‘Even if it is tough, we should try it at least once.’
There were only a thousand northern users.
Starting with the Crimson Wings Guild, the number of high level users entering the land of the giants kept on increasing. Even users from the Central Continent who weren’t part of the Hermes Guild came to explore the land of the giants.
“Let’s try once. Isn’t Royal Road cool because of such quests?”
“The risk is too large. Hundreds of people could die. Giants are guarding the fortress containing the prisoners, so it is more likely that we will fail.”
“We have to find a way. How? This can’t be an impossible quest.”
“Realistically, it isn’t advantageous to have a large number of people. The giants will notice a full a.s.sault. Then we will be trampled to death.”
“What about the defenses of the giants’ fortress?”
“There only seem to be walls. It is because every giant is a siege weapon.”
“Even if we don’t capture the fortress, we should try it.”
After a heated debate, the people waited for Pale’s choice.
“What should we do?”
“That…”
Pale couldn’t make a decision and hesitated.
He had to quickly make a decision about this quest.
‘If we die after fighting with the giants…’
He didn’t want to consider what would happen if they failed.
‘I can’t tell the others yet. It is an important decision.’
Pale decided to send a whisper to Weed who had completed the star sculpture.
Weed had become a sculpting master so he left his whispers open for a while to receive compliments and gifts from people.
“This is the situation. There is a quest. What is your opinion?”
-Weed: Nice. Accept the quest.
“I understand.”
After confirming it with Weed, Pale said to the expedition members.
“Let’s do the quest.”
“Wah. A S-cla.s.s difficulty quest!”
The higher the level of the users, the greater the death penalty.
However, what would be the fun if they stuck to low level quests and battles forever?
The atmosphere of the high-level users was very bright as they thought about fighting the giants and doing the quest.
“I will share the quest.”
Adventurer Chase handed out the quest to the northern users.
After making the decision, Pale felt better and whispered Weed.
“Thank you very much.”
-Weed: That’s okay.
“Can Weed-nim tell me the odds of succeeding?”
Pale firmly believed in him.
Pale and his colleagues had seen Weed complete quests with an incomprehensible difficult and he just became a sculpting master.
‘He must have a strategy or is convinced about victory. If the path is followed then the quest won’t be so difficult.’
Pale made a reasonable judgement while waiting to hear from Weed.
-Weed: The odds? I’m not sure?
“Huh?”
-Weed: How would I know?”
“Excuse me… Didn’t you tell me to accept the quest because you thought we could succeed?”
-Weed: It may or may not succeed. It is up to you. Life is like that.
“Then why did you want us to accept the quest?”
-Weed: It doesn’t involve me so I was curious.
“Heok!”
Pale’s complexion turned white.
* * *
Lee Hyun cleaned his house and cooked some dishes.
“How about abalone samgetang (ginseng chicken soup)? I want to eat it regardless of the cost.”
He had gained a large amount of money, fame and popularity from the broadcast of the sculpting master quest.
The other thing that mattered in life was money!
Riches were only not important at the moment of death.
“You guys should get something good as well.”
Lee Hyun gave some leftover shrimp crackers to the dogs and chickens he was raising.
The chickens competed over the shrimp crackers while the dogs ran away yawning.
The fur of the puppies shone as they played around.
Seo-yoon was feeding them luxury food so every day was like a paradise for the dogs.
“They must be full.”
Lee Hyun thought while hiding the shrimp crackers.
“The next day I will feed them after starving them.”
There was a little bit of time left.
Due to his leave of absence from university, his routine of playing Royal Road every day was unchanged.
He visited his grandmother every two days and nagged at Lee Hye-yeon.
“Your skirt is too short.”
“Oppa. What do you mean? Isn’t my skirt below the knees?”
“Well. Have you been doing the laundry these days?”
“Just wash it. It isn’t going anywhere so I’ll just stay home for two days.”
Lee Hyun and Lee Hye-yeon would talk like this to each other.
His sister knew when Lee Hyun was in a good mood due to his tone.
Lee Hye-yeon just remembered her brother trying really hard to provide food for them when he started nagging.
‘It will be fortunate that he has a girlfriend to nag to. Unnie is so pretty.’
Lee Hye-yeon was occasionally surprised to see Seo-yoon playing with the dogs.
The scene in the suns.h.i.+ne couldn’t help being beautiful.
‘I’m envious of her beauty.’
Women also like pretty women.
She glimpsed the smooth leg that was exposed by wearing shorts. Then Lee Hyun appeared.
Dudung!
Lee Hyun appeared like a villain as he frowned at Seo-yoon.
“Rice?”
“I ate.”
“Side dishes?”
“They are packed in the refrigerator.
Lee Hye-yeon who was sitting in the yard, smiled gently.
The sight of her brother talking to Seo-yoon was really cute and made her happy.
“What type of pants are those?”
“I only wear it at home.”
“If you squat for too long then the blood will rush out of your legs.”
“The hospital said I was healthy. And it is just for a few minutes.”
“Dog allergies..”
“None.”
“Shouldn’t you cover up today?”
“I will do it tomorrow.”
* * *
Lee Hyun, Seo-yoon and Lee Hye-yeon ate samyetang.
In the past, he would buy a small chicken from the market and spread it out over a few days. However, now they were eating one whole chicken!
“Keook!”
Lee Hyun lay down in the living room.
‘I ate a lot. This is happiness.’
As Lee Hyun closed his eyes, Seo-yoon came up and carefully placed his head on her knee.
Lee Hye-yeon’s cheeks were red as she looked at the scene, but her eyes were filled with love towards Lee Hyun.
Lee Hye-yeon held her tongue.
‘That unnie… Did Oppa save the universe?’
Lee Hye-yeon was grumpy towards Lee Hyun and Seo-yoon.
‘I’m envious. Really.’
She stayed in the living room and turned on the television.
It was a large curved television that was received as a gift from the broadcasting stations!
Lee Hye-yeon liked dramas but nothing was good these days.
The heroine’s appearance was inferior to Seo-yoon so she wasn’t as immersed.
It was like a firefly heading into the sun.
If there was a misunderstanding between the female and male character, just Seo-yoon’s appearance would ruin the situation.
‘Hyorin unni isn’t active in music these days.’
Then she turned the channel to KMC Media!
“Eh. Hye-min unni.”
s.h.i.+n Hye-min was one of the most famous broadcasters related to Royal Road.
She ran the special program, Story of the Versailles Continent with Oh Joo-wan.
The land of giants.
A S-cla.s.s difficulty quest.
-Hye-min ssi, are you also adventuring there?
-Yes. Just a while ago, I headed there with my friends.
-It is a shame that you can proceed with the quest due to the live broadcast.
-It can’t be helped. Still, I will be glad to explain the scenes to the viewers.
Lee Hye-yeon focused on the television immediately.
‘Oh yeah. Oppa’s colleagues are on an adventure. As well as the northern users.’
She was always interested in the northern users.
Lee Hyun called the northern users ‘chickens that he was raising.’
‘I would be able to go if I was stronger.’
Lee Hye-yeon watched the television for a while.
Seo-yoon didn’t care about the broadcast and Lee Hyun was sleeping.
It seems that the broadcast of the adventure in the land of giants will need to be relayed through Hye-min ssi.
-Hey. Don’t go that far. My colleagues are really good.
-Can you tell us specifically about your colleagues?
-That… There are too many people.
-What if I just picked a name? Isn’t the leader known as Weed’s battle slave?
-Yes. I would like to keep chatting. However, the northern users are now arriving at the giants’ fortress.
Rumours about s.h.i.+n Hye-min’s a.s.sociation with Pale had already spread so it was used as material for the broadcast.
She received the joke and switched to Royal Road in a timely manner.
There were Pale and a thousand northern users.
Some northern and central users hurried after hearing the news, causing their number to swell by 200.
The fortress of the giants was huge and looked like a big mountain.
The walls were 100 metres in height.
-This is a spectacular sight. It is a little foggy so the high parts of the walls can’t be seen properly. Hye-min ssi. What is their strategy?
-The most common strategy of siege weapons won’t work. The information gathered about the fortress states that it is quite a poor place.
-If it is poor… Perhaps there are holes?
-Yes. It is possible to sneak through holes in the walls.
-Infiltrating the fortress. It sounds dangerous just hearing it. Then will they wait until night?
-At night, the giants’ eyesight and hearing are more sensitive. So, the infiltration will probably start soon.
Pale and the northern users emerged with equipment.
Wearing bright and colourful armour, they also brought equipment such as ropes and hooks.
It was aimed at the nature of the giants who hated dark things.
-Now the northern users are entering the giants’ fortress.
KMC Media put on solemn background music.
More than a thousand high level northern users lowered their bodies and approached the giants’ fortress.
The giants that could be seen were snoozing.
“Enter. Everybody, please be careful.”
“Come back alive. Fighting!”
The northern users scattered to various different holes in the walls.
From then on, the screen switched to show the perspective of each user.
There was a vast square and large buildings inside the giants’ fortress.
The giants weren’t moving around because it was time to sleep.
“Secure the area. Send the ranger and a.s.sa.s.sin squads.”
“Yes. I understand.”
The northern users had been together for a while, but their levels were high so they could act by themselves.
Northern users scattered all over for scouting.
They found prisoners in each building of the fortress.
Adventurer Chase released a lock.
“Come on.”
“Shhh. Quiet. We have come to rescue you.”
-82 slaves have been freed.
7 metal technicians, 4 magicians and 3 artists are included.
They rescued humans, elves, dwarves and fairies and led them out of the fortress.
“Are there many more trapped?”
“Yes. There are at least 1,000 people underground.”
“Isn’t that a lot?”
“That area is a goldmine. Sometimes solid metal can also be found under the fortress.”
“What is it?”
“The giants use it to make things. It is very hard and doesn’t break easily.”
The northern users guessed that the size and rewards for this quest were great as they received information from the prisoners they rescued. The rescue operation continued. It took a while as there were many prisoners.
The northern users and prisoners moved quietly next to sleeping giants.
“Kururung.”
“Puweechi!”
But there was one giant that woke up.
“The fresh smell of humans…”
The giant noticed the prisoners escaping through the gap in the walls.
“Kuwaaaaah! The prisoners are running away!”
The giants quickly reacted to the yell.
“Kul. What? The prisoners are getting away?”
“Rise. Everybody get up!”
Roars came from all over the fortress as the giants woke up. The movements of the giants were slow, but the ground shook whenever they moved.
“It is wrong to run away. The giants are gathering at the walls.”
“d.a.m.n. The fight is over.”
“Let’s just fight and die.”
“We should hide and fight. Hadn’t we guessed that this would happen when we received the quest? If we try to run away then we will be chased.”
The northern users decided to combine their strengths.
Pale conducted the users through the communication channel.
-Pale: We were caught. I won’t give a long explanation, but the quest hasn’t failed yet. In this situation, users can still escape with prisoners. Those who are trapped inside the fortress, prepare to fight with your colleagues. Even if it means dying, you have to buy some time. The quest can be successful even if you die.
Hoping for the quest’s success!
The northern users had been aware of the difficulties from the beginning.
“I don’t mind dying once or twice.”
“I will be shown on the live broadcast. I don’t want to run away and die. I will fight in a cool manner.”
“Those who are trapped, come on out! We’ll guide you to a safe place.”
The movements of the northern users accelerated. Some rescues the prisoners while others prepared to fight the giants.
The broadcasting stations cheered as they noticed the audience ratings rise once the users were discovered by the giants.
“7%. It has only been 5 minutes and it has soared by 2%.
“The other stations?”
“We took 2%.”
“The editorial team should do more… Secure more simultaneous video relay!”
Colourful videos were broadcasted live. The elite northern users were gathered together so they showed an excellent performance against the giants.
It was like prestigious guilds joining together to hunt boss monsters in the past.
“Insects. You won’t be able to escape your fate.”
The giants stomped on the ground and hit the northern users.
The northern users fought back courageously while others escaped with the prisoners.
“We can do it. Take down the giants!”
Some users destroyed buildings within the fortress.
Obstacles were created when the huge buildings fell down.
It was inconvenient for users, but it provided them with hiding spots.
It also prevented the giants from running around freely.
“Gra.s.s porridge, gra.s.s porridge, gra.s.s porridge!”
The northern users chanted those words like it was a drug.
Gra.s.s Porridge Cult!
Many shouted gra.s.s porridge while fighting.
They had the ability to turn the impossible into reality.
The enemies were powerful.
But as long as those words were there, the users were confident that their colleagues wouldn’t abandon them.
“Gra.s.s porridge, gra.s.s porridge, gra.s.s porridge!”
The northern users rushed at the giants with all the skills they had.
* * *
-Amazing. It isn’t easy to push them back. Everyone is demonstrating amazing combat power. One person died, but another used that gap to jump on the giant’s head.
-Yes. This opportunity can’t be missed.
-There is great concentration. s.h.i.+n Hye-min ssi, do you think this quest will succeed?
-It is an expedition filled with northern users. I think that the quest will be a success.
-The reason?
-I think it is their absolute will to never back down.
Oh Joo-wan and s.h.i.+n Hye-min didn’t hide their excitement.
The video on the screen was fierce and spectacular.
If they abandoned their colleagues and fled then they could survive.
However, none of the users left through the holes and continued a.s.saulting the giants.
Priests and paladins didn’t budge from the shaking ground as they healed their colleagues.
The big buildings in the fortress were being broken by magic spells.
“Um.”
Lee Hyun opened his eyes and watched the television.
“Oppa. Would you like me to lower the volume?”
“No. Just leave it.”
Lee Hyun watched the giants and northern users battling for a while.
Of course, he was praying for the northern users to win.
‘It is like seeing a chicken I raised go out to fight.’
In fact, the wealth and magic materials from the land of the giants were processed and sold in the Arpen Kingdom.
Not only did production occupations improve, but the wealth from the expedition was also important to the Arpen Kingdom.
Lee Hyun’s eyes sharpened.
‘Let’s see… I need to make a decision on my next profession.’
He might have chosen wrongly, but he didn’t change his profession of sculptor and saw it through to the end.
The next profession was certainly important.
The blacksmithing and tailoring skills were just as difficult as sculpting, so he was proud that he raised them higher than the intermediate level.
It was possible to master production based professions, based on sculpting and handicraft.
It wasn’t as hot as a combat profession, but it would act as support to being a sculptor!
Considering the distant future, it might be good to pick a production profession.
‘The desert warriors and swordsmen require conflict.’
His swordsmans.h.i.+p was advanced level 6.
It was also tempting to master swordsmans.h.i.+p.
It would increase his health, attack power, various ranged techniques and his wide area skills.
He had made sculptures in the Desert of Tranquility, but he had also obtained Lava River and Devastating Sandstorm from Hestiger.
He would become complete if he changed to a combat profession.
Lee Hyun had trouble making a decision on his future profession. However, he made up his mind while watching the northern users fight.
‘The strongest combat profession. In fact, there isn’t anything like that. Each profession will have advantages depending on the situation. Yes… I need to catch up on the levels I couldn’t gain due to the quest.’
Stats and skill proficiency.
He wouldn’t be pushed by the top ranked players in Royal Road. But Lee Hyun recalled his time in Continent of Magic.
‘I need to raise my level and beat everyone. It is okay to run a little faster because I have the basics.’
Lee Hyun got up from where he was laying down on Seo-yoon’s legs.
“I will go back.”
* * *
It was night time in Royal Road when Weed connected.
-Awoooo.
A wolf’s howl was heard near the Tower of Light at Morata. After making the sculpture, he was returned to the Versailles Continent through Hestia’s power.
“Hum hum. It is something important so shouldn’t I look at it once?”
Weed looked up at the night sky.
There was a star s.h.i.+ning brightly in the northern sky.
-Magnum Opus! You have viewed the Wife and Child sculpture.
A sculpting of a wife and child s.h.i.+ning in the night sky!
You have viewed the sculpture that made history.
Due to mastering sculpting, the effects from appreciating the sculpture will double.
Intelligence has permanently increased by 5. Luck will increase by 17.5% during the day. Maximum health and mana will increase by 57.5% during the day.
All stats increased by 125.
Long distance movement speed will increase by 87.5%. All stats will permanently increase by 3.
Due to completing the Master Quest, the effects of Wife and Child will overlap with other sculptures.
Indeed, a magnum opus sculpture!
“The effect of the sculpture is fearsome.”
Due to mastering sculpting, the effects of the sculpture have increased by 50%.
Even if all the additional effects were subtracted, it wasn’t weak for a magnum opus.
But due to it s.h.i.+ning in the night sky, the effects from the sculpture would benefit everyone.
“The Hermes Guild. I will punish the ones who don’t pay taxes to the Arpen Kingdom.”
The sculpting master quest. After gaining the final secret sculpting technique, it was the work that had the most impact on the Versailles Continent.
“I was good as a sculptor.”
His regret about becoming a moonlight sculptor had disappeared.
He had turned the disadvantages of a sculptor into benefits.
Honestly, he had learnt various skills such as sculpting, blacksmithing, tailoring, cooking, fis.h.i.+ng, s.h.i.+pbuilding, mining, herb gathering etc.
He was already at the peak so it didn’t matter what type of second profession he got.
“Now. Should I go and get a second profession?”
Weed’s steps were very light. Of course, he needed to save time so his steps were very fast.
Shasasak!
* * *
A dark tunnel led down from an underground area to a back alley in Morata.
There were numerous people wearing dark robes and holding skeleton sticks coming and going.
“Doesn’t it seem like the price of the market has gone up?”
“Ah. I’m going to die. The toad eyeb.a.l.l.s are hard to buy so I have to, even if they are scamming us.”
“Want to buy zombie flesh? I have five kilos of fresh flesh.”
Necromancer users!
The novice users raised their skill levels through magic research and undead summoning rather than hunting. Weed entered wearing his usual novice clothes.
He finished the sculpting master quest so there was a lot of pressure on where he would appear next.
“Um… I just need to wear it. People won’t expect a king to be here.”
Despite being conscious of his clothes, the necromancers just continued what they were doing.
“Buying oyster sh.e.l.ls.”
“Rotten eggs. 1 silver for a basket.”
An overly plain appearance in a dark alley.
None of the users bothered Weed.
“Hum hum. They don’t want to corner a hero. Their bodies are shaking from charisma.
The humiliated Weed convinced himself as he entered the Necromancer’s Guild.
* * *
“You, n.o.ble one. Would you like to walk the path of domination over death and explore the principles of darkness?”
“Yes.”
“A necromancer has to think carefully about exploring life and death.”
“I know everything.”
“A hard heart, cold brain and the gazes of the people…”
“I know, do it quickly.”
Weed saw a necromancer who gave him a quest a long time ago.
‘I don’t need to struggle to get the profession.’
The king of the Arpen Kingdom.
In addition, he was able to talk to the necromancer due the previous encounter.
A necromancer was a top profession for a magician!
It was a profession that required high wisdom, knowledge of magic and pa.s.sing through complex quests.
In Weed’s case, he had Barkhan’s Tome so he could change to a necromancer at any time.
“I understand. Please take control of death and obtain immortal life.”
He raised a thin hand above Weed’s head.
Ddiring!
-Becoming a necromancer.
You can learn black magic and how to summon the undead.
Maximum health will increase by 10%.
Maximum mana will increase by 150%.
The influence of fame will be reduced by 20%.
The effect of Faith is reduced by 35%.
Due to becoming a sculpting master, his sculpting skills weren’t penalized after receiving a new profession.
Magicians had weak health.
Since a sculptor’s health was also low, there was a small increase.
If he changed from a warrior to a magician profession then strength or agility would have been adversely affected.
‘Sculpting is a really sloppy profession. It caused the effects to be better.’
He gazed at the hand of the instructor.
“Learning the magic that governs death…”
“I got it.”
Weed ignored him and pulled out a book from his backpack.
-The Necromancer’s Spellbook written by Barkhan himself: Durability 30/30.
A spellbook containing information about how to manufacture the undead, the second most difficult area of research in black magic. Recipes for every undead, ranging from basic to advanced, are described.
Written by the genius magician Barkhan himself, it isn’t difficult to understand.
However, it takes a lot of mana to create undead so not everyone can use it.
Restrictions: Magician profession. Level 200, 500 wisdom, 8000 mana.
It is because to change to a necromancer.
Options: Black magic resistance +25.
Ability to create undead +2. Undead bosses with intelligence can be made.
Improves the health of the dead and creates resistance to holy magic.
‘The preparations are complete.’
He had already secured Barkhan’s full set!
Barkhan’s magic made it possible to stand at the top of all necromancers. The real value was the undead summoning and manufacturing magic.
‘There are various types of magic.’
Weed learnt the undead summoning magic from the spellbook.
Ddiring!
-You have learnt the skill: Summon Undead.
Summon Undead Beginner 1 (0%): Can turn corpses into the undead.
“Um. I am finally a full-fledged necromancer.”
In the past, he had used sculpture transformation to become a lich and summon the undead. However, now he had to start from the beginning.
Nevertheless, he didn’t mind at all.
‘I had a little bit of experience and playing as a necromancer isn’t hard.’
Necromancers were famous for their hard beginnings.
It was difficult to hunt, mana was scarce and most of the undead produced were weak and would soon collapse.
Necromancers that could maintain this would grow rapidly, but they had to walk the road of patience before that.
However, Weed was already level 454.
He also had a wide variety of skill proficiencies.
‘I can use the sculptural lifeforms to hunt and raise the bodies to utilize them. And while staying as a necromancer, I can raise my swordsmans.h.i.+p and other production skills.’
By the time he mastered necromancy, he would be able to target his production skills, blacksmithing, martial arts or a desert warrior depending on the situation.
He was already calculating his second, third, fourth professions!
‘That would be enough to beat a dragon.’
The Hermes Guild was a target, but his end goal was a dragon!
He was equipped with the Devil’s Helmet, the Fallen Saint’s Staff, Barkhan’s full set and his sculpting skills.
-You have learnt the skill: Corpse Explosion.
Corpse Explosion Beginner 1 (0%): Powerful magic will explode a copse and destroy the surrounding area.
The strength will depend on the size and quality of the corpse.
He then acquired golem, curse and bone defense magic.
Weed’s necromancy skill would improve as more skills were learnt.
‘I’m a novice necromancer but I have nothing to fear.’
He was different in all aspects from a beginner necromancer.
His necromancy skill would be able to rise quickly in the early stages due to his stats and equipment.
It was the gap between working in a convenience store and a conglomerate!
Weed leisurely said.
“Character information.”
Character Name
Weed
Alignment
Righteous Person Recognized by the G.o.ds
Level
454
Profession
Legendary Moonlight Sculptor Master
Necromancer
t.i.tle
World-changing Sculptor
Fame
305,399
Position
King of the Arpen Kingdom
Health
97,845
Mana
69,141
Strength
1,847
Agility
1,255
Vitality
322
Wisdom
440
Intelligence
517
Fighting Spirit
634
Endurance
449
Perseverance
1,315
Art
3,513
Charisma
723
Leaders.h.i.+p
956
Luck
304
Faith
764 + 435
Charm
954 + 30
Resilience
631
Dignity
556
Concentration
322
Courage
414
Honour
887
Affinity to Nature
2,288
Attack
9,502
Defense
2,693
Insight
101
Magic Resistance
Fire
49%
Water
46%
Earth
43%
Black Magic
44%
+ All stats have an additional 20 points added.
+ The Art stat is granted an additional 80 points.
+ All stats will increase by 30% on a moonlit night.
+ Specialized items.
+ All production skills can be learnt up to the master level. Preferential treatment will be applied to the skills of all items manufactured with Smelting. You can learn the best skills.
+ Unusual sculptures or sculptures will high artistic value will increase your fame.
+ All stats have been raised by 381 points due to sculptures, production skills, combat experience and quests.
+ The skill proficiencies for all skills will be faster by 6%.
+ All stats will increase by 15 thanks to wearing Baharan’s Bracelet.
His character information window contained a huge amount of information!
‘There is a lot of work to be done quickly. I should head to the land of the giants before it disappears.’
It had only been 20 minutes since he connected to Royal Road.
The b.l.o.o.d.y battle of the northern users was still occurring in the land of the giants.
Most of them didn’t want to die but it didn’t matter.
The more delicious the food was, the less there was to eat.
“You want dirty mud?”
“Eung. Give me a bunch of it.”
“One bundle is three silver but… For Your Majesty, I am willing to sell it for two silver.”
“I will pay one silver.”
“That can’t be done.”
“Uh… I am the king.”
“It still isn’t possible. 2 silver.”
-The bargain has failed.
Intimacy with Necromancer Greg has dropped.
Fame has decreased by 1.
Weed purchased a few simple magic materials from the Necromancer’s Guild. They were materials essential for creating a golem. It was difficult to make good quality golems in the field.
‘Let’s go now.’
At that moment, a necromancer came up to him and said.
“The Necromancer’s Guild is lacking good souls.”
“Soul?”
“Souls with might power can be made into undead and they are suitable for researching the origin of life. It is a tough request, but I will compensate you if you bring me souls.”
Ddiring!
-Capture Strong Souls
The Necromancer’s Guild wants souls.
If you gather strong souls then they will give you a reward.
Level of Difficulty: B
Quest Restrictions: The skill Soul Extortion.
Accomplish it within a month.
* * *
‘B-grade difficulty.’
Weed couldn’t stop smiling.
S-grade difficulty!
It was nice to have a quest that wouldn’t have an influence on the continent.
It was like asking a student enrolled at Seoul National University to suddenly do simple multiplication!
‘A simple quest to secure materials. It means it is a combat quest.’
With hard, it was hard to guess the result even if he put in effort. This wasn’t as complex and difficult as sculpting quests.
It was a simple combat quest involving loot acquisition for the guild.
He could get compensation from fighting and completing the quest, so it was like killing two birds with one stone.
‘Simple is good.’
Soul Extortion was a necessary skill for a necromancer.
It had little to do with the undead, but could be used to remove intermediate or higher protection magic and to curse someone.
It was a skill written in Barkhan’s spellbook.
“It isn’t too hard. I’m willing to gather them.”
-You have accepted the quest.
“Defense formation!”
“Kyaack!”
“Don’t move in place. Scatter while changing positions.”
The northern users were persistent. However, their original number of more than 1,200 had been reduced by half.
“Gra.s.s porridge, gra.s.s porridge!”
Even so, none of the users ran away.
They would attack the giants until the end!
“Go faster.”
“Giants are gathering in this direction. Change directions.”
“The rescue of the prisoners?”
“Four teams haven’t come yet. We need more bait to distract the giants.”
As the leader of the expedition, Pale didn’t want reckless deaths.
‘The victims should help the quest be a success.’
The northern users collaborated to rescue the prisoners from the giants’ fortress.
‘So far we have saved 400 people. There are still many prisoners left.’
Pale jumped on the roof of a big house built by the giants.
He pulled out an arrow and fired it like lightning.
“Multiple Piercing Arrows!”
The arrow split into dozens of pieces and hit the giants.
“Kueeoh!”
The giants suffered but didn’t die thanks to their high health.
“Bug!”
The giants found Pale and started running over.
Pale ran and jumped between buildings.
He couldn’t afford to fire any arrows.
-Faint blow!
You have caused 3 damage due to the opponent’s hard skin.
He threw an arrow.
It was an archer’s secondary attack skill for emergency use, but is only dealt 1 or 2 damage.
“That tingles. Bug!”
The giants ignored Pale’s attacks and smashed the buildings as they ran after him.
“Kuk!”
Pale jumped into the air to avoid falling with the building.
He was an agile archer who could jump dozens of metres in height, but he only reached the level of the giants’ eyes.
A fis.h.i.+ng line appeared as Pale was about to be smashed between a giant’s hands.
“Hold on!”
Pale held on firmly to the fis.h.i.+ng line. At that moment, he was pulled by an incredible force and was able to escape.
The fisherman who saved Pale’s life was Zephyr.
“Thank you.”
“That’s okay.”
Pale landed on another building and fired his arrows towards the giants.
In addition to arrows, magic spells and skills also hit the giants’ bodies but they didn’t deal large damage.
The northern users mercilessly a.s.sault one giant and brought it down, before being trampled by another enemy.
“We can’t…”
Pale was desperate.
As the battle continued, more northern users lost their lives.
They exhausted their mana on the giants and their strength, resilience and health couldn’t compare to the giants.
The giants quickly replenished their health after leaning against a wall, but the northern users were chased from every direction.
They were barely able to take a breath in small niches of shattered buildings.
“It is difficult. This…”
Pale and the northern users lost their strength and vitality.
Thoughts about their dead colleagues popped up if they tried to run away. However, they didn’t see a way of winning.
Then some lyrics were heard from the direction of the walls.
-Today the weather is great.
I’ll press and dry the laundry. Wash the blanket, and underwear too.
The sun is bright.
I am here. Yes I am.
“Keook.”
“This, this is…”
The northern users heard the odd lyrics and off strange singing skill.
It sounded crisp even when barely dodging behind trampled by the giants’ huge feet.
They didn’t understand the significance of the lyrics.
“This?”
“I’m used to this noise!”
“Ack. I think my ears are rotting.”
Surka was barely holding on.
Irene was pouring all her mana into healing the injured.
Romuna was casting magic on a big house.
They were the first to uncover the protagonist of the song.
“I could never forget hearing such tone-deaf singing in the karaoke room.”
“Is it Weed-nim?”
“There is no one who sounds like Weed-nim!”
The northern users turned towards the direction that the song was coming from.
A magician wearing a novice robes with the sun behind him.
Weed the G.o.d of War had emerged.
“Weed-nim.”
“Weed-nim is coming!”
The high level northern users knew Weed’s face.
It was thanks to watching the broadcasts and the war against the Haven Empire.
Pale cheered as Weed emerged.
“Come!”
The situation where they were being pushed by the giants no longer felt meaningful.
They were filled with expectation for the impossible miracle that Weed would create.
-Piyak piyak.
The chicks are also G.o.ds.
Kokio.
Half Seasoned Half Fried is crying.
Today the weather is good.
Let’s start cleaning.
Weed finished the song and enjoyed it for three seconds.
The inspiration and joy of music!
The surviving northern users were watching with thrilled eyes.
‘That song isn’t suited for a king.’
‘We would be 100 screwed if he chose a bard instead of a sculptor.’
Weed shouted.
“Stop fighting. Everybody hide!”
-Skill: Lion’s Roar has been used.
The morale of all allies within the influence of Lion’s Roar has increased by 200%.
All confused states are released.
Your Leaders.h.i.+p will increase by 300% for 5 minutes.
Lion’s Roar was used after a long time.
Although he wasn’t the leader of the northern users, the loud voice meant that people in the fortress could hear it.
“Ara.”
“What?”
“Why is he telling us to hide? Shouldn’t we squeeze out more of our power to fight?”
Weed suddenly appeared so it was hard for the northern users to follow his instructions.
Considering his status as ruler of the Arpen Kingdom and his accomplishments, they should respect him.
Even so, the sacrifice of countless colleagues meant they wanted to hold on.
Yet Weed told them to hide as soon as he appeared.
Then Pale the expedition leader screamed.
“Everybody hide! Weed-nim will be responsible for this battle.”
Pale was Weed’s faithful battle slave. The northern users regained their spirits after hearing his words.
“Let’s follow his words first.”
“Yes. He is Weed-nim.”
“We don’t know what he will do.”
They belatedly recalled Weed destroying the Earth Palace.
All the northern users rushed to find cover.
* * *
Weed scanned the giants in the fortress.
‘The giants are level 700. They are simple guys who rely on their health and fight without any skills. Still, their numbers is a burden.’
Despite not using any combat skills, the many giants were hard to fight.
They stomped on the users, crushed them or killed them by destroying the buildings.
The northern users struggled with their incomparable size and power. If they didn’t have fighting experience and courage then it would have been impossible to survive up to now.
‘They are hard to hunt. The high level bodies will be a great material to use for the undead.’
There were 55 living giants.
22 were already dead.
In addition, more than 600 northern users had died.
‘This is a wild ginseng field for a necromancer. I will dig them up.’
Weed took out a sculpture and used a skill.
“Sculptural Destruction! Everything into wisdom.”
-You have used Sculptural Destruction.
The pain of destroying a Fine sculpture! The grief!
The Art stat is permanently reduced by 5 points. Fame has decreased by 100.
The art stat is converted into wisdom at a rate of 1:4 for one day.
Due to the art stat being too high, not everything will be converted at once.
1,250 wisdom has been changed to the level 2 advanced skill ‘Mental Concentration.’ The effect of magic and skills will increase to 220%.
620 wisdom has been changed to the level 1 advanced skill ‘Hazy Area of Destruction.’
The range of attack skills will increase.
882 wisdom has been changed to the level 5 advanced skill ‘Thick Darkness.’ Necromancy skills and black magic will be strengthened.
1,030 wisdom has been changed to the level 6 advanced skill ‘Reclaim Magic.’ Mana recovery rate will speed up.
1,600 wisdom has been changed to the level 1 advanced skill ‘Golem Production.’ A golem that protects the necromancer can be created.
1,000 wisdom has been changed to the level 1 advanced skill ‘Shaky Vision.’ An illusion that can only be seen by the enemy will keep you safe.
The art stat points he acc.u.mulated had been transformed into wisdom!
Considering that he originally only had 440 wisdom points, it had increased by 7,670.
If Weed was originally a necromancer then his wisdom stat would be at least 3,000 points and he would have been close to mastering the skill.
Even so, this was a stunning effect that only worked with Sculptural Destruction.
“I wish I could cause a disaster but… All of the prisoners will die.”
It would have been perfect to start the battle with a masterpiece level disaster.
He would be able to customize a disaster for the giants and then cooperate with the northern users.
“Many users have died. Anyway, the world forces us to live in it.”
Weed grumbled but changed his equipment.
He put the novice magician’s robe away and pulled out new equipment.
“Lululu. There are many.”
Barkhan’s Skull, Dark Lord’s Boots, h.e.l.l Cloak, h.e.l.l Monarch’s Robe, Ring of Extermination and Eternity and Necklace of Purgatory.
The full set equipment owned by Barkhan who controlled the Immortal Legion!
The basic level limit was 600 and the equipment had special options related to undead summoning, curses and black magic.
Weed had put them away but now he wore all of the equipment.
-Barkhan’s full set has been worn.
The set effect is applied.
The effect of the Summon Undead skill will be enhanced.
You can absorb 1% of health and mana from the undead.
The limits of health will disappear. The added health will be stored in a corner. You won’t suffer damage unless it is a strong attack to your body or a blow by holy magic.
Weak!
Creatures who approach within a 50 metres radius will lose 30% of their physical abilities and some of their health will be lost every second.
Experiencing horror!
Feeling terrible fear.
Creatures will low morale will lose their lives and become the undead.
Item effects!
But before he could check the status of the equipment, a message window appeared.
-Stats are temporarily reduced due to the penalty of wearing the equipment.
Faith has decreased by 340.
Luck has decreased by 106.
Charm and dignity will be halved.
You won’t get the effect caused by the honor.
Intimacy with the inhabitants of the Versailles Continent will be reduced.
Some residents will feel severe terror and oppression when meeting you.
Bargaining is disabled in this state.
A huge penalty!
Weed had received few penalties when picking the necromancer profession.
However, Barkhan’s equipment were dangerous enough to be a curse.
If someone had weak faith or mentality then they could lose themselves to the equipment!
Excellent blacksmiths like Herman and Fabio could wear the equipment despite the restrictions. However, they would lose themselves and become the incarnation of Barkhan.
‘It won’t happen to me.’
Anyway, he wouldn’t have to think about it if he was a warrior or knight.
Weed grew as a sculptor while hunting monsters.
He reached the peak of swordsmans.h.i.+p during his days as a desert warrior.
His stats and useful equipment steadily acc.u.mulated due to hard work, he had the divine power and the desert warrior skills.
He had grown better than others, even if he only used sculpting.
In the case of a necromancer, there were various restrictions and rejection by holy powers.
He wouldn’t receive blessings and heals from priests, fame would fall and intimacy decreased.
The higher the Summon Undead skill, the more penalties that would be added.
If he dragged a large number of undead along with him, he could theoretically increase his hunting speed by 10 or 20 times. But there were enormous constraints.
‘If I hadn’t got the secret sculpting techniques then I might not have been able to master necromancy.’
Weed’s eyes sharped as if he had seen money on the street.
He wasn’t satisfied being a little better than others.
As a peak sculptor, he was going to be the best in Royal Road.
* * *
s.h.i.+n Hye-min and Oh Joo-wan.
They were about to finish the broadcast about the giants.
Although the northern users were fiercely fighting, it wasn’t necessary to show them being wiped out.
The quest was determined to be a failure so the station was preparing to send a message to end the broadcast.
“The power of the northern users is amazing.”
“This time they failed, but I can admit that they challenged a difficult quest.”
“Maybe there will be better results next time.”
s.h.i.+n Hye-min was suffering from the thought of Pale dying but kept on talking.
Then there was a huge fuss by the crew members in the studio and the writer waved to them.
‘What? This is?’
The shaky voice of the youngest writer could be heard in s.h.i.+n Hye-min and Oh Joo-wan’s earphones.
-Weed… Weed the G.o.d of War has appeared at the giants’ fortress!
s.h.i.+n Hye-min was familiar with Weed, but this moment felt different.
‘The results… They might be different.’
More than 1,000 northern users attacked the giants’ fortress.
Only one person was added but the situation would have to change greatly.
All those familiar with Weed would say something similar.
“Weed appeared for a reason. It means that we won’t be bored. Because he always has an estimate.”
A cheap estimate!
In fact, that had a larger meaning.
It meant he had figured out everything on the battlefield and was ready to overturn it.
It made sense why people called him G.o.d of War in Continent of Magic.
‘Weed is coming!’
Oh Joo-wan was even more surprised.
The ratings were different when it came to Weed’s hunting or adventures.
s.h.i.+n Hye-min and Oh Joo-wan quickly looked at each other.
‘Continue?’
‘Yes!’
A decision was made to extend the broadcast about the land of the giants. It was ridiculous for the broadcasting station to stop airing when Weed appeared.
In particular, KMC Media’s audience rating and contents regarding Weed was the biggest.
“The land of giants. The giants are really great.”
“The users have persisted and aren’t giving up yet. It is for the sake of creating a miracle.”
s.h.i.+n Hye-min and Oh Joo-wan continued broadcasting.
-There are three minutes remaining until Weed emerges. Shorten it more.
The youngest writer’s voice was heard again.
Weed hadn’t appeared in the live video yet.
The time difference between reality and Royal Road was 4 times.
The editing, directing and application of music meant there was a delay of a few minutes.
Sometimes the delay would be for more than an hour. However, the best directors would shorten it as much as possible for a live broadcast.
If they didn’t do their best then they would lose viewers.h.i.+p to other stations.
“Ah. It is really a pity.”
“The giants are simple but strong. There are too many giants and the structure of the fortress is an advantage for them.”
Although they were aware of Weed’s emergence, they had to carry on a normal conversation in order to maximize the dramatic effect.
‘The viewers who are only roughly watching the television… Won’t they be shocked when Weed comes out?’
After a while, Weed appeared on screen.
The worst singing!
The music was the worst, but it was a song that gave them a strange antic.i.p.ation.
“Viewers. Don’t be alarmed. The G.o.d of War! King of the Arpen Kingdom and sculpting master. Weed had appeared.”
s.h.i.+n Hye-min felt happiness well up in her chest.
As a host, she had the joy of announcing Weed’s appearance. The explosion ratings and reaction from the audience caused all her fatigue to disappear.
Oh Joo-wan’s tone of voice increased.
“A sudden emergence. Although it can’t be called cool… He is singing the song with a lot of enthusiasm!”
Oh Joo-wan relaxed after Weed appeared.
But this turned to amazement when the hosts discovered the new equipment Weed was wearing.
“He is changing equipment. The robe has skulls and rib bones on it. That is the equipment of a necromancer. Obtained after hunting Barkhan, it is his full set!”
“Necromancer set? Then… Viewers. It seems like after mastering sculpting, his new profession is a necromancer!”
At that moment, the viewers on the bulletin boards exploded.
* * *
“Heeok…”
“The ratings are continuing to climb. It is going over 30%.”
“Director-nim. Every Internet message board is being flooded with posts regarding Weed and Royal Road.
“My friends and colleagues are watching the television while talking to each other on their phones.”
Weed’s sudden emergence in the land of the giants was a jackpot for the broadcasting stations.
The audience ratings were rising and companies rushed rapidly to secure advertising spots.
“Emergency call. Everyone will now focus on this program. What was next?”
“After 20 minutes, a 24 hour dungeon capture program.”
“Delay the regular broadcasts. I don’t know when this battle will end, but we will show it all.”
s.h.i.+n Hye-min and Oh Joo-wan had some questions the moment they saw that Weed was wearing Barkhan’s full set.
‘Necromancer.’
‘Why a necromancer?’
They were curious about Weed’s new profession.
In fact, there had been an in-depth a.n.a.lysis about what would happen after he became a master.
It was so difficult to master a profession in any field that they never thought he would pick a second profession.
‘And the second profession… It will take a long time to become stronger.’
Mastering the sword and then becoming a magician to complement the weaknesses wasn’t a good choice.
A magician would have superior attack power than a swordsman.
It was difficult to start a profession in an entirely new field.
Especially when it came to production or art professions.
If a knight changed to a warrior then it would be okay because there were a few familiar skills to learn.
Weed mastered an art profession so the number of options were endless.
‘A magician type. Is there a reason he chose a necromancer?’
Oh Joo-wan wasn’t a person to think about it for a long time. It was necessary to answer the question for the viewers.
“Hye-min ssi. Wouldn’t you say that Weed could choose from a large number of professions due to the quests and his experiences in the past?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“When looking at traditional battles, it is a swordsman or martial artist. Or a profession similar to the black knight.”
“He mainly uses swordsmans.h.i.+p. He also has a variety of techniques.”
“He is someone that no one can really follow. All types of great skills. The secret sculpting techniques as well as the amazing sword scenes… Why did he pick a necromancer as his second profession?”
s.h.i.+n Hye-min was a bit embarra.s.sed because she had no answer. She hadn’t heard anything about Weed’s second profession. But she could guess.
“I think it is probably not for a common reason.”
“Not a common reason?”
“The reason people usually choose necromancers is for rapid growth. But their weaknesses… Weed had great adventures so far but now he became a necromancer.”
“That’s right. A necromancer is rater better than other professions in the early stages of hunting and combat, but too many weaknesses have been exposed since then.
“Right now, the popularity of a necromancer has decreased and few users are selecting it.”
Necromancers can fight like they are 100 people.
That is under the premise that they have undead prepared!
An endless wave of undead.
The hunting speed would be enough to sweep through a dungeon in an instant.
Most necromancers raised their level quickly.
However, they would suffer from a decline in faith and other penalties from using the power of the dead.
Although a necromancer grew faster than other professions, there was a major deficiency in terms of harmonious growth.
Moreover, they were vulnerable to holy attacks from priests and the undead couldn’t be revived after being exposed to holy magic.
It was very difficult to conquer the continent with an undead army.
They could be attacked in the air or magic could be aimed at the necromancer from a distance.
s.h.i.+n Hye-min carefully opened her mouth.
“In my opinion. The advantage of a necromancer is the quick hunting. I don’t know about ordinary users, but Weed won’t be satisfied with just that. His original hunting speed is fast. His compet.i.tors are also Bardray and the Haven Empire, so he won’t be able to catch up with them just because he became a necromancer.”
“Those are also my thoughts. The Haven Empire held the main hunting grounds in the Central Continent and had high level equipment. The Hermes Guild actively supports them. Even if his hunting speed increases after becoming a necromancer… It will be very difficult to pa.s.s them alone.”
Weed’s level was known to be quite low.
Oh Joo-wan was just speculating, but he didn’t think Weed would be able to overthrow Bardray just by becoming a necromancer.
There was no reason to fight the Hermes Guild one-on-one so it was meaningless from the beginning.
When it came to large scale combat, Weed had the support of the northern users and the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult.
There was no need to summon undead to fight a war.
“Yes. If there are profession penalties… It isn’t good for growth. Although the main stat that decreases is faith, other ones like honour, mental power, strength, agility and vitality would fall gradually.
“Necromancers have the worst penalty in that every stat except for knowledge and wisdom falls. His stats will decrease. Even though wisdom and knowledge will rise…”
“Weed-nim is the type of person who will begrudge every decrease in stats. For example, I asked why he always ate barley break with his right hand.”
“So?”
“If he changes to his left hand then his right hand will feel deprived of barley bread.”
“…Hrmm. It is strangely persuasive. Anyway, a necromancer isn’t a good choice in terms of balanced growth.”
Oh Joo-wan was uncertain about necromancers and had a lot of questions.
As host of the broadcasts, he had a lot of knowledge about Royal Road but didn’t know that much about Weed.
When it came to Weed’s understanding of quests and hunting, no one could follow him?
‘A necromancer isn’t bad. But why did he do it?’
s.h.i.+n Hye-min carefully opened her mouth.
“There are famous necromancer users such as Krobidyun-nim, Weed was the one to unlock the profession.”
“Yes. It was one of his many achievements.”
“There are other professions, but the understanding and utilizing of a necromancer might change in the future. We needed to see what advantages Weed thought about for becoming a necromancer… We will see it in the future.”
“Showing us something new? When thinking about a necromancer dragging the undead, I can only think about hunting.”
“Weed-nim doesn’t like to hunt conventionally. It wouldn’t be surprising if he shows us some miracles.”
* * *
A vast number of posts appeared on bulletin boards related to Royal Road.
-Necromancer!
-Kuooh… He is taking it on. Royal Road’s strongest solo profession.
-A necromancer? They are a pain to the people around them. It is hard to hunt if there is a necromancer in the dungeon.
-That’s right. Like the broadcast said, there are many disadvantages and the people around them hate them.
-I have a friend who said that being a necromancer is complicated, dirty and difficult. He was level 410.
-Disappointing. I thought his next profession would be a gardener. I wanted to see Weed’s flower arrangements.
-That wouldn’t happen even if the Versailles Continent is destroyed.
-Kuhuhu. Haven’t we seen Weed change into a lich on quests? He just wiped out everything.
-It was because he transformed using sculpting. It would be hard to grow steadily in that way. No. Why did he choose a necromancer in the first place?
-The Versailles Continent will be painted with death, corpses and fear in the future. The blood necromancer Weed has appeared.
-Kill the future devil Weed!
-The person above me. That isn’t a good joke!
* * *
“Okay.”
Weed felt refreshed like he had just swatted a fly.
The robe and cloak seemed like they were from hundreds of years ago, and there was a rotten stink from the skulls. However, the effects made them luxury items.
Rare magic items were worth it. A few options greatly changed his magic power.
Barkhan’s full set gave a necromancer the best capabilities.
Due to his blacksmith skill, the restrictions were lowered but the power wasn’t complete.
In order for Barkhan’s set to be properly activated, he had to be an undead like a lich.
“It isn’t over yet.”
He finished by wearing the Fallen Saint’s Staff and Devil’s Helmet that he obtained separately.
“It is time to show them h.e.l.l.”
Weed tapped the Fallen Saint’s Staff against the ground and ordered.
“Rise. Open your eyes, ghosts that never sleep. Live and get revenge on those that killed you! Undead Rise.”
Stage 1 Summon Undead magic!
A large area around Weed became black.
“Kukuk!”
“Hukieeeek!”
The corpses of over one hundred northern users were replaced by zombies, ghouls and skeletons.
There were two giant sized zombies.
The bodies of nearby dead giants were summoned as undead.
“Undead Rise!”
His Summon Undead skill was low but he continuously used it to call the zombies.
-The skill Summon Undead has increased to level 2.
Control of the undead will increase and they will have a little more health.
The level of Summon Undead rose!
Because the undead he summoned were powerful, the skill easily rose from beginner level 1 to level 2.
Apart from the northern users, the bodies of the giants gave a lot of experience.
The effect of mastering sculpting also creased the skill proficiency to increase quickly!
Most skills grew quickly up to level 3 or 4, but it was still pleasant to see a fast growth.
“Heh. My happiness has gone up by one. This is the sense of accomplishment after hard work.
Weed was curious about the abilities of the giant zombie.
“Check the status of the undead.”
Name
Clover
Alignment
Chaotic Darkness
Species
Low Grade Undead
Level
301
Profession
Weak Zombie
Fame
5
Health
723,021
Mana
50
Strength
310
Agility
150
Wisdom
5
Intelligence
5
Resilience
10
Luck
-200
Faith
-200
An undead born from the giant Clover.
The great body of a giant has become a zombie and severely lost its physical abilities.
Due to the penalty of the Undead Summon only being level 1, the body can only be maintained for 3 minutes and 20 seconds.
If it obtains the blood and flesh of its own kind then this duration can increase.
Poisonous possession!
The giant zombie stood up but he was staggering.
‘Apart from his size, he is defective. The zombie won’t be able to embark on the battlefield.’
Weed had no expectations of the giant’s combat ability, but the health was still usable.
‘It would be great if I use him for Corpse Explosion.’
A giant was a complete level 700 monster. It was large, powerful and had a lot of health so dozens of people were needed to hunt one.
However, a level 700 dragon could destroy the entire expedition just by flying in the sky and using a breath attack.
A magician. In addition to being able to use large scale attacks, his attack power had greatly increased.
After his experience as ruler of the desert, Weed judged that the giants’ actual combat power was in the low to mid 600s.
They were only a burden to hunt due to their great health and resilience.
“Start attacking.”
Weed issued a command to the undead.
“Kya kya.”
“Kilkil! The Lord of Death has given a command.”
The undead started attacking the nearby giants.
The giant zombie staggered while the ghouls jumped. The skeleton army followed behind.
“Kuwaooooh!”
“Ugly seeds. I must get rid of the soul that polluted my fellow kindred!”
“That person uses a dirty power!”
The giants rushed towards Weed at once.
Even though there were many northern users, the eyes of the giants only looked towards Weed and the undead.
‘Such a thing… Although this is a side effect that I predicted.’
Necromancer!
They had extreme disgust for the necromancer who turned their kin into an undead.
He also frequented online cafes a.s.sociated with necromancers in Royal Road.
-I finished a quest and my intimacy dropped.
-The more I hunt, the less people like me. The guards tried to kick me out.
-Infamy has piled up. Where should I go?
-If it isn’t night then I can’t enter a city. Sob sob.
A necromancer was the most dangerous occupation with the greatest hostility during the battle!
Weed gave an order and the undead quickly retreated.
“Deal with the cowardly worms.”
The earth shook as the ground rang.
The skeletons used their bones as weapons, but they were trampled like ants being stepped on by an elephant.
Some giants had a contest with their former fellow giant.
“Poor Clover. Have a comfortable rest.”
The giant zombie was destroyed, but the body was rebuilt again.
It was due to the effect from the Ring of Extermination and Eternity!
-Ring of Extermination and Eternity: Durability 30/30, Defense 25,
Barkhan’s ring.
It has been filled with an aura of death for a long time. A weak mentality will be eaten by this ring
Some research about the undead have been sealed in the ring.
Restrictions: Level 650
2,000 wisdom
200 concentration
Options: Magic absorption.
Restores the destroyed undead.
Magic ‘Destroyed’ is available.
Wisdom +150
Knowledge +100.
The mana cost of necromancer magic will be decreased by 25%>
When a lich wears it, a certain amount of health will be absorbed from all living creatures in the surrounding area.
It can’t be lost.
Combat fame of 8,000 is required.
The skeleton bones were shattered and restored, but it was hard for them to stop the giants.
“Rise. Open your eyes, ghosts that never sleep. Live and get revenge on those that killed you! Undead Rise.”
Summon Undead was used again, raising two more giant zombies and one hundred skeletons.
This was just a quick headcount of the undead as they were quickly torn apart by the giants.
A necromancer could be called a one-man army, but the giants dealt almost no damage to the undead.
‘A minimum of death knights or liches are needed.’
Weed had gone through a lot so this much was expected.
A necromancer was a strong profession but his skills were only level 1 or 2.
The giants ignored the hiding northern users and ran straight for Weed.
“Let’s not hide and just help Weed.”
Python was among the hiding northern users.
Next to him was Pale who was also hiding.
“Hey. You people.”
Python signaled for them to sit with hand gestures.
Pale whispered in a low voice.
“Just stay put. I don’t know what that plan is, but it will be detrimental to us if we interfere.”
“Huh?”
“Weed-nim is someone that we don’t have to worry about.”
“Shouldn’t we worry since they are getting closer to him?”
“That’s not… He had a very broad vision. There are an endless number of tricks inside Weed’s head. Anyway, Weed-nim is already expecting the giants’ actions.”
“Are you sure?”
Python also heard the words.
“He has everything in his grasp. Not just the power of the enemies, but his allies as well. I start to sweat every time I think about hunting with him…
He is a human with eyes in the back of his head.”
The northern users in the communication channel heard the opinions and decided to wait and see.
Weed had create equipment and undead summoning magic, so he wasn’t likely to easily fall into a crisis.
The giants were great, but their opponent was a c.o.c.kroach who wouldn’t die when stepped on.
Weed grinned.
“It is good that their movements are lacking.”
The giants were furious as they approached the undead.
“Die. Abominable bug!”
Three giants stretched out their hands to grab Weed. A critical moment!
Weed spread out his cloak.
“s.p.a.ce Distortion!”
Ddiring!
-The protection skill of the h.e.l.l Cloak has been used.
The s.p.a.ce will be distorted to block the enemy’s approach.
Remaining skill uses left: 2
Weed disappeared and reappeared 5 km away from the three giants.
-Bugggg!
-Kill himmmmmm.
The cries of the giants echoed.
The defensive skill of the h.e.l.l Cloak distorted s.p.a.ce in proportion to the size of the opponent, causing the giants to float in the air!
Magic resistant enemies could fight against it, but the giants were helpless.
The giants had huge health but even they would die if they hit the ground. The users were frightened as the saw the falling giants.
“Kuwaaaaah.”
“This way? This side?”
They feared that a huge hole would be created from the giants’ falling from that height.
Nearby users were busy avoiding it, but the giants were swept away by the wind and crashed in a distant place.
Kukukukung!
The damage was verified.
The giants chasing after Weed saw their kin fall and threw rocks or pieces of buildings at him.
“Drop dead. Bug!”
“Get rid of it. The ugly and evil seed!”
Despite the giants not using skills, the rocks they threw from a distance had terrifying destructive power.
They would instantly kill users with moderate defense or health.
Weed had debris equivalent to a whole building throw towards him.
A regular user wouldn’t have been able to withstand it.
“This should be fun.”
Weed had no idea how much fragments were flying towards him.
Advanced level 1 rock throw.
Weed looked at the giants scattered in many places.
Weed quickly jump up to avoid the rocks.
There was a perception that necromancers had a weak body.
Generally they didn’t invest in stats like strength and agility, so it was hard for them to have close encounters with monsters.
The rocks destroyed the buildings around him but Weed was fine.
“Wah. Look at those movements.”
“Crazy. A human isn’t capable of that.”
“Look at his judgement. Does it make sense?”
“It is like an illusion.”
The northern users admired him with open mouths.
Weed didn’t do any damage but the users’ eyes were s.h.i.+ning. They had struggled painfully against the giants!
‘Weed-nim’s actions?’
Pale watched nervously. Dodging the rocks that the giants were throwing was a spectacular sight.
Even if someone had a dozen lives, it would be difficult for them to challenge.
‘This much is needed.’
Weed firmly believed in it.
Moment Sculpting!
If he couldn’t avoid it then he stopped time just before the rock hit him.
He didn’t use if frequently but it was certainly effective.
“Kuoohhh!”
The giants ran while throwing rocks and building debris.
Weed led the giants to an area where a lot of corpses were piled up.
The undead had gathered the corpses scattered throughout the fortress in one place.
Once the giants arrived at the appropriate place!
“Corpse Explosion.”
The strongest attack magic for a necromancer.
Kukukukung!
The power would depend on the health contained in the corpses.
Weed had his summoned undead and the giant zombies gathered in one place.
There were also a lot of corpses of northern users piled up. The appointed place was where the three giants had fallen.
The bodies exploded at once due to his magic.
-The body of the giant Alex has exploded.
It will deal damage proportional to its health in a 43 metre radius.
-A ma.s.sive number of corpses have exploded!
The range of the explosion is magnified.
Additional effects of stun, numbness, poison and addiction will be given.
-The skill Corpse Explosion has increased to level 2.
The destructive power has increased by 6% and the range will widen.
Although the skill was only level 1, the power was enormous.
The northern users felt the ground shaking.
“T-this…”
“What is this magic?”
“Grab onto something!”
A huge explosion!
So far, they hadn’t since such a huge corpse explosion from a necromancer. Every time Weed chanted the spell, a body burst and caused a ma.s.sive explosion. The giants were swept away by the explosions and suffered great injuries.
It was the heaviest damage they suffered since fighting the northern users!
Four giants lost their lives and the others were hit hard.
-Combat achievement! You have ‘turned the sky and the land upside down.’
The area has been decimated. Over 7 million magical damage was achieved at once.
All stats have increased by 1. Wisdom and knowledge have permanently risen by 3.
Maximum mana has increased by 1,300.
-Your level has risen.
Fame has increased by 3,784 due to the great combat achievement.
His level rose and there were achievements from the deaths of four giants.
Corpse Explosion caused 10 times the damage due to the high health. Weed skill level was still low, so it was impossible for him to kill them if the giants weren’t close to each other.
It would have been better to gather more giants together but that would have required the active cooperation of the northern users.
It was difficult to collect the giants in one place and he would have also needed to direct the northern users away.
This achievement was the result of his compromise.
“Rise. Open your eyes, ghosts that never sleep. Live and get revenge on those that killed you! Dead Rise.”
Weed used the summon undead magic again.
He continued to use mana to summon the undead.
The undead rose from the scattered corpses.
Hundreds of low grade undead ran towards the giants.
TL Note: Next chapter is also long, though not as long as this one. I’m going to translate it slowly and take a break around Christmas time. Therefore, this chapter will be posted on the 1st or 2nd of January.
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