NOVEL NEXT [Translator – Pr?ks]
[Proofreader – Pr?ks]
Chapter 206: Seal release.
As experienced before, the appearance of the Legion Commanders began to change.
Crack.
Crackle.
The sound of bones rearranging echoed around Cedric.
In the first seal release, his size had grown rapidly, but this time, his body was gradually shrinking.
On the other hand, the bones that made up his body became thicker, giving him a more robust appearance than before.
The changes weren’t just external.
Cedric’s bone spear,
A large weapon made of dark iron, began to gradually turn golden.
‘Huh? That’s…’
The weapon felt familiar.
When they first met in the First Trial.
It was the weapon Cedric had wielded as the Golden Skeleton Dragon Rider.
The black parasol Merhen held was also transforming.
In the first seal release, a sinister magic circle had been engraved on the parasol.
In the second seal release, the colors of the ribs supporting the parasol began to change, like a seven-colored rainbow.
[2nd seal released!]
[Exclusive weapons of the two Legion Commanders unlocked!]
[Direct Knight Order Summon (SS) added to Cedric’s skill list!]
[Direct Magic Corps Summon (SS) added to Merhen’s skill list!]
Knight Order and Magic Corps summons?
He immediately checked the details.
[Direct Knight Order Summon (SS)]
[Cedric Exclusive Skill]
[Summons the Knight Order that once followed the Dragon Knight for one day. The level of the Direct Knight Order is the same as Cedric’s.]
[Cooldown: 7 days]
[Direct Magic Corps Summon (SS)]
[Merhen Exclusive Skill]
[Summons the Magic Corps that once followed the Banshee Queen for one day. The level of the Direct Magic Corps is the same as Merhen’s.]
[Cooldown: 7 days]
Skills with a whopping 7-day cooldown.
Their rank was also SS, extremely high.
He approached the two Legion Commanders.
“You two. You had your own direct troops?”
—We are Legion Commanders, after all. It would have been stranger not to have them.
—Same here, Minwoo. Looking at it… it’s fascinating. The souls of my subordinates are still preserved.
“Their souls are preserved?”
—Simply put, that human. The Chinese subordinate. What was his name?
“Liang Xiaojun.”
—Right. Remember the skeleton under him? That barbarian, Varian.
“I remember. It’s still vivid.”
The skeleton with the slurred speech.
He had said it was one of Cedric’s comrades. He remembered it bowing its head, calling him “Successor.”
And Liang Xiaojun’s expression, his eyes filled with despair, as if his lover had been stolen by a blonde, tanned delinquent.
—My direct Knight Order is made up of guys like Varian. It seems like I can only summon regular knights for now.
“Regular knights? Does that mean there are higher ranks?”
—There are.
Cedric’s eyes grew distant, as if reminiscing about the past.
Then he said,
—But it’s pointless right now. I won’t be able to summon them. Maybe if I level up more. For now, it seems I can summon about twenty.
Kim Minwoo’s eyes sparkled.
‘He can summon twenty individuals on par with Varian?’
Varian.
Liang Xiaojun’s elite summon.
Its strength could be inferred from the Gate clearing time alone.
He could summon twenty of those?
And their level would match the Legion Commander’s…
‘That means he can summon twenty elite summons over level 500?’
This skill was insane.
It wasn’t just SS-rank.
It was a skill worthy of SSS-rank.
“Is it the same for Merhen?”
—Yes. It’s similar for me. It seems I can only summon regular mages. But, I wonder if it’s okay?
“What is?”
—It seems like the summons from Earth are included in the list here.
“What are you talking about?”
—The Necromancers that Minwoo raised. Their summons are included in the summon list. That’s how it feels.
“Cedric, is it the same for you?”
—Yes. Out of twenty, exactly twelve are from Earth.
—For me, it’s nine out of twenty.
What was this about?
He tilted his head in confusion for a moment, then something clicked and he asked quickly,
“So, if you summon your direct troops, the Earth Necromancers’ summons will come?”
—That’s right. The order of summoning prioritizes us.
“Then what happens if the Earth Necromancers are in the middle of a hunt or something?”
—Minwoo, we have the highest priority in the summoning order. After all, they’re not just human Necromancer subordinates, they’re our Legion Commander subordinates, right? Of course, they’ll be recalled from there.
Huh?
Then, if he summoned the Direct Knight Order while the Earth Necromancers were hunting…
‘Could they be in danger?’
In Kim Minwoo’s terms, it would be like Cedric and Merhen, his elite summons, suddenly disappearing in the middle of a hunt.
What would happen then?
Their lives would obviously be at risk.
‘Then I can’t use it carelessly.’
The Earth Necromancers had their uses. Their influence was small now since they had just awakened, but given time, they could become influential figures in each country.
That was his plan, after all.
But if they died because he recklessly summoned his direct subordinates…
‘That would be troublesome.’
—It’s alright, Minwoo. There’s a way.
“Really?”
—Yes. Minwoo, you’re worried about your subordinates, right? Then just summon someone other than the ones from Earth. There are plenty of options in the summon list.
“Plenty of options, what do you mean?”
—Hmm… Simply put, I can summon regular mages from the Magic Corps now, right? But there must be more than one or two regular mages. It’s a corps, after all.
“There would be. A lot.”
—Right. So, I can bring in the remaining idle personnel besides the ones from Earth. Since their souls are preserved, it’s not difficult to summon them.
“So, it’s adjustable?”
—Exactly. It’ll be the same for Cedric. Hehe… So… You know how to use this, right, Minwoo?
Merhen gave a mischievous smile.
Kim Minwoo’s face mirrored hers.
As soon as he heard it, a hunch struck him.
‘This is a leash.’
It was no different from a snare for the Earth Necromancers.
‘I needed a tighter leash anyway…’
He had created the Death Cult and they had started to operate as a group, but their bond was still weak.
The only thing keeping it together was the fact that the Earth Necromancers couldn’t refuse his orders, and the benefits from runes and information.
Liang Xiaojun had chosen complete submission, but would all the other Necromancers feel the same?
‘Probably not.’
They had gone from being top Awakened to being treated like slaves overnight. There was no way these proud individuals would accept that easily.
There would definitely be those who would take the benefits and stab him in the back when the opportunity arose.
For example, the Russian Necromancer, Mikhail.
But with this ability?
‘I can tighten their leash even more.’
A structure where he could pluck out the elite summons of the Necromancers.
If he wanted to, he could turn their Gates into graves while they were raiding.
It would be a strong warning to any followers who might harbor ill intentions.
Their spines would chill.
They would have to enter Gates, and each time, they would tremble in fear.
They wouldn’t dare betray him easily.
Okay.
He was very satisfied with the second seal release.
‘And the future growth potential is good too.’
[Translator – Pr?ks]
[Proofreader – Pr?ks]
A skill with the potential to summon not just regular mages or knights, but also those of higher ranks.
He felt full without even eating.
When he returned to the group, Seo Yerim, with curious eyes, asked,
“Oppa. The Legion Commanders seem to have changed a bit…”
“Uh… Before that, Ms. Seo Yerim.”
“J, Just call me comfortably. We have an age difference.”
What was this new pattern?
He had played many characters and met Seo Yerim before, but this was the first time he had seen her call him ‘oppa’.
When he played as Park Siwoo, it made sense since he was her younger brother.
[TL/N: Don’t ask me why was she calling Siwoo ‘Oppa’. It is what it is]
Even when he played as Namgoong Min, the oldest, they had a professional relationship.
When he played as Kim Minwoo, even though they partied together, they were like strangers…
He didn’t know how to react to this sudden closeness.
But one thing was for sure.
Even veteran players probably haven’t encountered a scene like this.
It was only natural.
How could they change their classes and nurture them like this?
The Sword of Justice Seo Yerim herself.
Perhaps because his thoughts wandered, an ominous silence fell for a moment, and Seo Yerim’s face flushed red.
Park Siwoo hastily intervened in the conversation.
“Whew! You’re finally speaking casually to each other. Do you know how frustrating it was for me to watch? Both of you were too formal. You’ve known each other for a while now. It’s great! Let’s both get a little more comfortable, okay?”
“S…Should we? Is it okay?”
“…I’m okay with it. But… what about… o…oppa?”
“No, well… I’m good with it too. If we get closer. Okay, got it. I’ll speak casually too.”
“Yes…”
Ah, awkward, awkward.
At least for now.
“Did anyone get any rewards? Like a title or something?”
Han Siah shook her head.
“The three of us only leveled up a bit. How about you, Mr. Minwoo?”
“I got a title. Other than that…”
Kim Minwoo’s gaze turned towards the Abyssal Lord’s corpse.
He saw the collapsed body, melting like ice cream.
And Leluya, examining the corpse with interest.
Thump!
Something was moving inside the corpse. A jet-black, mist-like blood vessel.
—Found it.
—It’s a blood vessel.
—Lucky it came out on the first try.
“It doesn’t always come out on the first try?”
—No. Then we have to find another nest.
—I have a few places in mind. But it’s done in one go. That’s fortunate.
—Congratulations.
“Nest?”
—The Lord doesn’t have just one dwelling. Those places are called nests.
I see.
Besides the blood vessel, a few other items were dropped. A cloak, a jet-black stone-like gem, and a piece of paper that looked like a recipe.
There were quite a few items.
“I’ll loot them first and check them out.”
“Nah, it’s all yours, hyung. Hayang, your pet, took it down.”
The two guild members nodded in agreement with Park Siwoo’s words.
They had come here to explore and support the new Abyss stage, not for the rewards.
“There might be something useful for you guys too. Anyway, let’s see.”
[You acquire the Abyss Lord’s Blood Vessel.]
[You acquire the Abyss Essence.]
[You acquire ‘Recipe – Abyssal Insight Potion’…]
‘That’s a lot of loot.’
The blood vessel was a material for creating the Divine Dragon.
The essence was…
[Abyssal Essence]
[The essence of abyssal power condensed. Using it in crafting may add special effects.]
It was a crafting material that could be used when making equipment.
Next, he examined the cloak named “Wings of Chaos.”
[Wings of Chaos]
[Rank: Legend]
[A dark cloak that distorts space.]
[Effect 1: Allows three uses of Blink per day.]
‘Wow.’
Kim Minwoo was inwardly impressed as he saw the ability.
Shoes, pants, top, hat, gloves…
Usually, standardized equipment consisted of five types.
There were other types of equipment, but they usually had little to no options.
Cloaks were typically like that.
Just decorative items.
Belts, bracelets, decorative pins, brooches, knee pads, glasses, goggles, and the like were also considered decorative equipment.
But this cloak was different.
It had an effect.
And a very useful one at that.
‘It’ll be expensive. If it’s like this.’
No, it wouldn’t even be on the market.
Because it wouldn’t be sold.
It was an item that might appear once or twice a year at places like the Celestial Auction House.
‘Blink, huh.’
The Shadow Sword had a similar effect, but it could only be used when there was a shadow.
But Blink?
There were no such restrictions; it could be used freely. Upon checking, the teleportation range was roughly 20 meters.
Although the range was much smaller than the Shadow Sword’s, it was still an extremely useful ability.
However, taking it for himself felt a bit greedy.
“Can I buy this? I’ll pay you generously.”
“I’ll just give it to oppa. I also received a sponsorship ticket.”
Seo Yerim gave up.
Han Siah and Park Siwoo, who were also expecting sponsorship tickets in the future, encouraged him to take it.
He gratefully accepted.
He draped the black cloak over his body.
Lastly, the Abyssal Insight Potion was…
[Recipe – Abyssal Insight Potion]
[Rank: Legend]
[Upon registration, you can learn the recipe for the Abyssal Potion.]
[Effect 1: Temporarily read and disrupt the mental state of all living creatures around you.]
[Effect 2: Grants a short period of foresight.]
[Effect 3: Temporarily greatly increases the user’s mental strength.]
“Oh…”
It was a Legend-rank potion.
The crafting materials were quite daunting…
‘But the effects are good.’
It seemed like an item that could be useful in various situations.
None of the guild members seemed interested in this item.
He looked at the other shareholder.
“Leluya, what about this?”
Even without a recipe, if you knew the crafting method and ingredients, you could create an item.
Then why were recipes so valuable?
It was simple.
Registering a recipe made your body move automatically. It would craft the item on its own.
But without a recipe?
Even if you knew the ingredients and the method, you had to manually adjust each step of the crafting process.
The failure rate would skyrocket until you successfully crafted it once and registered the recipe.
That’s why recipes were valuable.
Especially Legend-rank recipes. The crafting process was complex, and even a slight mistake in the ingredient amounts could cause everything to explode.
—Since your pet did all the work…
—I’ll give you the recipe.
—But could you write down the crafting method for me?
Fortunately, the witch wasn’t greedy for the recipe. It was an attitude she could afford because she was confident in her ability to recreate it as long as she knew the method.
This was convenient for him, as he could give it to either the skeletons or Choi Yuna, who lived in the basement of his house.
With that, the distribution was settled.
—So.
—We’ve achieved our goal, but…
—Should we continue?
“Well…”
Kim Minwoo’s gaze fell to the ground.
—Coo Coo.
Hayang lay sprawled on the ground, her belly protruding like a mountain.
“Let’s check out the new attribute we got first.”
[Translator – Pr?ks]
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