“I’ve got a lot to do. A whole lot.”
Dojin was standing deep in the mountains, where not a trace of human presence could be found.
He stepped inside 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 rough and barely getting any sleep before my regression, this is a hotel.’
Apostle and the other Minions had scattered and perched on branches around the tent. They constantly kept watch in every direction, and if anything approached, they would immediately alert Dojin.
That allowed Dojin to leisurely check his reward window.
“Let’s see…….”
The reward window appeared, and the screen proceeded.
Seventh Overflow Reward Processing
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Reward: <Necromancy> Level Up (Lv.1→3)
<Necromancy (E / Lv.3)>
Description: Active Type. Can turn small animals or monsters among the dead into Minions.
MP Cost: 5 / use
Minion List: 5 / 10
Minion Range: Skeletons (Bone Attribute)
“I’m already leveling up a Skill.”
In the F-Grade Arena, Dojin had already experienced firsthand just how useful having multiple Minions could be.
Naturally, an increase in their number was more than welcome.
“But I’d prefer my next Minion to be something other than a bird.”
Dojin then turned his attention to the next reward window.
Debut Overflow Reward Processing
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Reward: Pyramid (B+)
“What?”
While Dojin was momentarily taken aback by the sudden appearance of a B+-Grade Item—
WHIR-
Mana began gathering in midair before descending onto Dojin’s palm.
“A bracelet…….”
It was an Item shaped like an ordinary circular metal bracelet.
The moment Dojin put it on his left wrist, it reacted.
“……!”
As soon as it was equipped, the bracelet vanished as though sinking into Dojin’s wrist.
In its place, a thin-lined triangular symbol appeared on the back of his hand.
It resembled a pyramid.
At the same time, a new window appeared.
[Pyramid (B+)]
Description: A subspace Item that stores the owner’s Minions. Can be expanded through Mana Stone fusion.
Classification: Bound-Type, Growth-Type
Effect: Minion Storage
Restriction: Lv.1 or above, owner’s Minions only
“This is better than I expected.”
If the most useful thing about becoming a Necromancer was his Minions, then ironically, the most troublesome thing was also his Minions.
Simply put, he had more baggage to carry around.
“But with this Item, taking my Minions around will be much easier.”
In other words, he had effectively obtained an Inventory exclusively for his Minions.
“Next…….”
Receiving his rewards did not mean his day was over.
There was something else Dojin needed to examine.
RUSTLE!
A handful of business cards spilled across the floor of the tent.
They were all cards Dojin had received today at the Arena from Guilds and people from the Awakening Department.
And most of them were nothing but trash.
They would make good kindling when he boiled water tomorrow morning.
“Let’s see…….”
There were only a few cards Dojin actually needed to examine.
After all, very few organizations had survived long enough to remain active in the future.
Dojin read the news on his smartphone, checking whether anything differed from what he remembered.
[Miracle Guild Rookie Cha Yuri’s Dazzling Debut!]
[Kim Sanghwan Awakens as a Magic Swordsman! A Magic Swordsman Class Has Now Appeared in South Korea as Well……]
The F-Grade Arena <Disc Breaking> Quest had been covered noisily throughout the media.
Naturally, Dojin was no exception.
[World’s First Necromancer Appears?]
[Player Lee Dojin Displays Outstanding Potential…….]
[Spearman or Necromancer? World’s First Double Class Appears?!]
The media was overflowing with expectations surrounding Dojin’s extraordinary debut and speculation bordering on rumors.
But the information Dojin wanted was something else.
His green eyes flashed sharply as he scrolled farther down the news page on his phone.
“Cosmo Guild…….”
Found it.
Dojin glared at the headline he had finally found as though he wanted to devour it.
[Cosmo Guild Player Kim Suho Finally Challenging an A-Grade Arena?]
Cosmo Guild.
Kim Suho.
The names the regressed Dojin needed to keep foremost in mind within Korea.
‘As targets for elimination.’
While Dojin’s eyes remained fixed on the article like those of a statue, his mind raced.
‘There are three years left before the Main Scenario opens.’
Two years of the five-year Tutorial Season had already passed.
Over the remaining three years, he needed to calculate every single day and grow as much as possible during the Tutorial.
That was why Dojin had openly displayed his abilities from the very moment of his debut.
The abilities of the world’s first Necromancer.
And the spear techniques and combat skills he had honed while struggling through eight years of hell before his regression.
[Guilds and Government Intensify Competition Over Contracts with Young Players…….]
[Babel Guild Announces Unprecedented Contract Terms! Other Guilds Voice Opposition…….]
There were plenty of Players, but not many talented ones.
That was why both the government and Guilds offered every imaginable sweet incentive to recruit exceptional Players.
‘I need somewhere that can deal with the Guilds, the Awakening Department, and the media on my behalf while guaranteeing me complete freedom.’
Right now, even a single second was precious to Dojin.
‘I have to calculate everything carefully.’
There were already plenty of high-Level Players.
Someone taking an optimistic view might think it would be better to simply tell them the truth, ask for their cooperation, and entrust the future to them.
But Dojin could not reveal the truth.
‘One wrong move, and those bastards might start moving.’
Before his regression, humanity’s enemies had certainly been powerful.
And it was also true that the Players had been relatively weak.
But that had not been the whole story.
When humans were driven into a corner, traitors inevitably emerged among them.
Dojin had no idea how it had been possible, but the traitors who concluded that humanity had no chance of victory attempted some kind of contract with the System and broke free from the framework of Players.
‘They were humanity’s new enemies who appeared after the monsters—the Traitors.’
From then on, until the final amorphous monsters appeared, they had essentially served as a new breed of monster.
And the leader of the Traitors who emerged in Korea was none other than Cosmo Guild’s Guild Master, Kim Suho.
He had been the so-called perfect son every parent wished they had, succeeding at everything he attempted.
But in the end, crushed beneath the fear of unavoidable defeat and destruction and the weight of the responsibility he carried, he surrendered to humanity’s enemy and became a traitor.
“……And thanks to you, the bastards who followed you lost their bearings and surrendered one after another.”
Fear of death.
Fear of destruction.
It had been the worst period of all.
Those who should have stood firm against that fear and served as pillars supporting humanity had instead been the first to turn against it.
Those who had looked to them for guidance lost even their emotional pillars, wandered aimlessly, and then lined up to betray humanity as well.
“So this time, I’ll deal with you in advance.”
Traitors had also emerged from famous overseas Guilds.
But before worrying about them, Dojin intended to deal thoroughly with the Traitors in Korea.
“…….”
Dojin silently continued scrolling through the articles.
[Kim Suho, a Model for Korean Players!]
[Competing as a Representative in the International Arena, Medal Guaranteed. Domestic Experts Say……]
[Cosmo Guild Signs Contract with Hero Guild, North America’s Largest Guild! Domestic Netizens Cheer……]
It had been the same before his regression, but at this point in time, Kim Suho and Cosmo Guild enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive reputation.
Without a shred of concrete evidence, they possessed enough influence to effortlessly destroy the social standing of a mere Player like Dojin.
‘For now, I have no way to stop him, either socially or by force.’
In any case, recklessly revealing information would not put Dojin at an advantage.
There was also no telling how the future Traitors might react.
“…….”
Having organized his thoughts, Dojin looked down at the two business cards lying before him.
One belonged to Cosmo Guild, led by the future Traitor Kim Suho.
The other belonged to the somewhat unfamiliar Test Guild.
Naturally, Cosmo Guild had offered the better conditions.
The Cosmo Guild headhunter who had approached Dojin earlier that day had told him this.
- Our Guild places a high value on your potential, Mr. Lee Dojin.
- Our Guild will spare no support in helping you level up, Mr. Lee Dojin.
‘If I can, joining Cosmo Guild and taking everything they have for myself wouldn’t be a bad option either.’
Then what about Test Guild?
“That’s right. The Guild itself disappeared so long ago that I’d forgotten, but it was called Test Guild.”
A woman had approached Dojin carrying only a single business card after countless others had already passed through earlier that day.
With a face resembling a precisely carved marble statue, she had said—
- If you want to operate freely, Mr. Lee Dojin, our Guild will be your best choice.
“…….”
He remembered now.
The granddaughter of the chairman of Hangang Group.
“Around this time, Hangang Group was also trying to develop its own independent Player Guild. And one of the people put in charge of it was…….”
Choi Rahi.
One of the final Players, and one of the few fellow Koreans who had survived alongside Dojin.
“Well, back then, the survivors had nothing left to lose, so we all revealed our Skills to one another.”
The Player Classes provided by the System could broadly be divided into four archetypes.
Warrior, Mage, Monk, and Rogue.
Among them, Choi Rahi’s Class belonged to the Monk archetype.
A Monk’s specialty was healing and support.
Then what Skill had Choi Rahi possessed that was impressive enough to catch Dojin’s attention?
“<Blessing of Prosperity (S)>…… Should I monopolize it for a while?”
<Blessing of Prosperity (S)> was a Skill specialized entirely in Player growth and buffs.
It increased all Stats of the Player who received the Skill.
It also increased all EXP gain by 50%, regardless of whether that EXP went toward Stats, Skills, Levels, or anything else.
‘Of course, there’s a limit to how many targets the Skill can affect.’
If the number of targets had been unlimited, <Blessing of Prosperity> would have been EX-Grade rather than S-Grade.
Rahi probably knew that as well.
That was likely why she was carefully selecting Players instead of recklessly expanding her Guild as aggressively as possible.
While pretending to be nothing more than an ordinary viewer rather than a Player.
Dojin’s gaze moved back and forth between the two Guild business cards.
Then it settled on one.
“I’ll come see you soon, CheerfulMask.”