The largest online community for awakened individuals was undoubtedly GateNet.
Lately, one topic had begun dominating the forums.
Who the hell bought up every Shaman Totem Summoning skill book?
Wasn't Shaman an insanely unpopular class? Since when did those have demand?
The Martial Artists are losing their minds too lol.
There aren't any Harden Body skill books left, so everyone's getting beaten to a pulp by monsters 😂
Just buy directly from other players.
You can usually find some around the gates.
You seriously haven't heard?
People are hoarding all the low-level skill books outside the gates lol.
Yeah. Some guys in black suits are buying literally everything.
Even trash-tier skills are getting bought for four million won each.
Four million?
Is it just me, or can I hear the unpopular classes crying? 😂
What idiot still sells niche skills for two million through the auction house? 😂
The big bros at the gate entrance buy them for double the price lol.
And there's no commission fee either 😂
This is why you should've picked a meta class.
Skill books are way too expensive now lol.
The mainstream skills start at seven million minimum.
Everything's gone up.
...Wait.
Shit. I'm a mage.
I need Elemental Mastery, but there isn't a single copy left.
Just awaken the magic yourself at the Academy.
Perfect excuse for some wall-facing cultivation 😂
Are you kidding?
I'd rather pay for the skill book than suffer through that crap.
Breaking news!
Sword bros, you're screwed too.
Swordsmanship Mastery stock: ZERO.
There were no F-rank skill books left.
It didn't matter what class you belonged to.
At first, users laughed and mocked each other.
But gradually, everyone realized how serious the situation really was.
Damn it. The shoulder bros are back again today.
I tried to buy a skill book, but some giant dude beside me kept raising the price.
Lost it right in front of my eyes. Ridiculous.
I'm an assassin. Got pissed after losing a skill book, so I tailed those guys with Stealth.
I think they're connected to Ilseong Group.
Pulling up the ladder behind them, huh?
Wait...
If they're buying skills from every class without discrimination...
Don't tell me this is for +9 enhancement?
Hold up...
That's actually possible?
They're seriously doing +9?
Did the chairman get chewed out by the president and told to stimulate the economy?
Trickle-down economics, my ass 😂
But does Ilseong even have anyone worth investing that much into?
I don't think so.
They're buying low-level skills, so it has to be for a rookie...
Haven't heard any news about them recruiting someone.
I did hear something.
Apparently the Sword Saint sparred with Kim Min-woo.
???
What kind of nonsense is that?
Summary:
Kim Min-woo fought the Sword Saint.
He was insanely strong.
Actually pushed the Sword Saint back.
Then he awakened.
People said the light was unbelievable.
Achievement rating is probably at least A-rank.
I saw it myself.
It was freaking amazing.
No way anyone who was there forgot that scene 😂
...?
Seriously?
Witness reports keep popping up everywhere.
Something definitely happened.
"How's it going? Is it working?"
"Yes, Team Leader. The buzz is starting to catch fire."
"Young Master's debut is coming soon, so don't let the flame die out. You know the drill—make it look natural."
"Come on, we're professionals at this stuff. But... is it true?"
"What? The spar?"
"Yes. That spar."
"I don't know."
Even so, Ilseong's Information Team Leader was convinced deep down.
There's an eighty-percent chance it's real.
Otherwise, the group's recent aggressive moves simply didn't make sense.
They said the awakening light was extraordinary. That means at least A-rank... maybe even...
There were quite a few awakened individuals with high achievement ratings.
There were plenty of wealthy people too.
But someone who possessed both?
Even worldwide, there were only a handful.
We might actually be witnessing the birth of a super rookie...
For the first time in years, the team leader felt excitement.
[Skeleton Summon (F)+9 has been completed!]
[You have earned the title: "Promising Sprout"]
"Phew... finally done."
Min-woo wiped the sweat from his forehead inside the auction house.
Even after mobilizing skill books from all over the country, it had still taken two full days.
Enhancement attempts above +7 had failed multiple times.
Still, the reward for spending all that money was unbelievably sweet.
This skill has been enhanced to its limit.
Consumes 10 mana to summon 2 Lv.1 Skeletons (1+1).
"Jackpot."
Originally, the skill consumed 10 mana to summon a single skeleton.
Now it summoned two.
Double the efficiency.
An overwhelming difference.
And I even got a title.
Reached the growth limit at Level 1.
Effect: All stats +1
Consumed over 1,000 elixirs at Level 1.
Effect: Vitality +1, Mana +1
Successfully created a +9 skill at Level 1.
Effect: Maximum skill slots +1
Titles were usually awarded for accomplishing difficult feats or reaching significant milestones.
Permanent stat increases.
Bonus damage against certain monsters.
Additional skill slots.
Titles granted a wide variety of effects.
If I want to reach the top, I need to collect as many as possible.
Especially stat-boosting titles.
Titles were one of the few ways to break past natural growth limits alongside leveling up.
A good start. Status window.
Class: Necromancer
Level: 1
Skills (1/6): Death Lord (EX)
Mana: 520/520
Titles: 3
Strength: 51
Agility: 51
Vitality: 52
Mana: 52
Numbers that no one would ever believe belonged to a Level 1.
His growth was nothing short of explosive.
The number of undead I can summon right now...
At two skeletons per 10 mana, he could normally summon 104.
And if Death Lord's 50% mana reduction applied?
Two hundred and eight.
An absurd army.
And these weren't ordinary skeletons.
Their stats were boosted by a staggering fifty percent.
While ordinary necromancers struggled to command one or two skeletons, he had already sprinted far ahead with an insurmountable lead.
Now this is what I'm talking about.
And this wasn't even the end.
Death Lord's resurrection effect.
His equipment bonuses.
If all of that stacked together...
Even if skeletons were beginner summons weaker than an average adult man—
No one at this level range could stop them.
He was certain of it.
There had never been a single awakened individual at Level 1 stronger than him.
Now all that's left is...
Min-woo recalled the message he'd seen before.
The Call of the Death Lord.
No idea what it'll make me do once I answer...
But he doubted it would be all smiles and laughter.
Death Lord.
The name alone sounded ominous.
Naturally, he would prepare equipment, potions, and consumables as thoroughly as possible.
But the real question was—
Should I level up before going?
Even without learning Skeleton Summon, he could easily clear gates.
His stats were absurd.
His swordsmanship was good enough to exchange blows with the Sword Saint.
F-rank gates would be a walk in the park.
Leveling up will be easy. My stats will keep rising. The problem is titles...
The easiest way to earn titles?
Play on hard mode.
The harder the challenge, the better.
Achievements anyone could accomplish either granted pitiful rewards—or no titles at all.
The Call of the Death Lord probably offers titles too.
This was the effect of an EX-rank skill, after all.
If things went well, it could become a title festival.
And entering at the lowest possible level—Level 1—would drastically increase his chances of earning them.
He knew it was dangerous.
But without risk, there could be no reward.
If I want to hunt the Outer Gods, I need every title I can get.
For someone like Kim Min-woo, who lacked natural physical talent, that was especially true.
Eventually, every single point of stats from titles would matter.
Decision made.
He would answer the Death Lord's call at Level 1.
Gate raids could come afterward.
[Searching equipment.]
[Condition: Required level 1 or below.]
The moment he made up his mind—
every piece of low-level equipment listed in the auction house began disappearing.
Normal → Magic → Rare → Unique → Legendary → Ancient → Mythic.
There were seven equipment grades in total.
Among all of them, what was the dream set for beginner melee classes?
Nine out of ten people would answer the same thing.
The Black Heart Set.
The nation's unofficial standard beginner Magic set.
Its greatest advantage was simple:
Required Level: 1
Even newly awakened rookies could equip it immediately.
Despite the low level requirement, its performance was excellent.
Each individual piece wasn't particularly impressive.
But once enough pieces were collected and the set effects activated—
that was when it truly shined.
At that point, it became a masterpiece.
The set remained viable all the way to Level 40.
Its cost-effectiveness was equally outstanding.
A full set usually cost around two hundred million won.
Awakened individuals earned more than ordinary people, so with a loan or two, it wasn't entirely unattainable.
Naturally, it was one of the most actively traded equipment sets in existence.
Even now, countless melee rookies were saving money for it.
[Purchase all Black Heart Set listings?]
"Buy everything under five billion."
[50.728 billion won has been withdrawn.]
[An additional 10% commission fee has been charged.]
Oof.
Sorry, rookies.
Your gear now belongs to my skeletons.
Hey, the skeletons are newbies too.
Cut them some slack.
[Items are being transferred to your inventory—]
[Weight limit exceeded!]
"Good thing I have a spatial storage ring."
[Items have been transferred to Intermediate Spatial Ring.]
He'd prepared for this.
The spatial ring wasn't something he had bought himself.
Chairman Kim had lent it to him for free.
Saved me fifty billion won.
Inventory capacity was limited.
It increased with level, but never by much.
That was why spatial rings were always in high demand.
Lower-ranked gates could use porters.
High-ranked gates couldn't.
They were too dangerous.
And skilled porters cost thousands per day.
At that point, buying a spatial ring was cheaper.
That's why they're always sold out.
Thankfully, family connections had made things easy.
Two hundred equipment sets already secured.
He'd also prepared weapons and armor for his skeletons, with plenty of extras just in case.
Top-grade potions.
Consumables.
Everything.
Honestly, if he still failed after all this—
Then I guess it wasn't meant to be cleared.
Min-woo began equipping his gear.
Unlike the cost-effective Black Heart Set, these were individual Rare items.
His appearance became a chaotic mix of colors, but every item was worth it.
Each one cost hundreds of millions of won.
Luxury equipment designed for people who wanted to level as quickly as possible.
[Equipped: Crow's Ominous Headpiece]
Vitality +5, Mana +5
Fearsome Evil Eye (F) activated!
[Equipped: Frog King's Elastic Armor]
Vitality +10
Elastic Skin (F) activated!
[Equipped: Purple Goblin Leather Pants]
Agility +5, Mana +5
Curse of Sorrow (F) activated!
[Equipped: Mumbling Necklace]
Mana +8
Shield (F) activated!
[Equipped: Pathetic Witch's Mana Gloves]
Mana +10
Ice Ball (F) activated!
[Equipped: Swift Thief's Shoes]
Agility +10
Haste (F) activated!
Beautiful.
Individual items that each granted skill effects normally reserved for complete set bonuses.
With each level only granting four stat points, every skill effect was equivalent to gaining two or three levels.
Objectively, none of these items were powerful enough to justify their outrageous prices.
But their true value lay elsewhere.
Required Level: 1.
That advantage alone made them priceless.
Reselling them later will be a pain, though.
Individuals rarely bought them.
Large organizations occasionally rented them out.
But due to the risk of losing equipment inside gates, even they hesitated.
Demand wasn't particularly high.
If they don't sell, I'll just leave them in storage.
And then—
[Equipped: Excavation Knight Commander's Sword]
Strength +7, Agility +3
Bleed (F) activated!
Instead of a staff, he equipped a sword.
If necessary, he intended to fight personally.
[Would you like to learn Skeleton Summon (F)+9?]
Preparations were complete.
Time to see what this could do.
[Skill acquired.]
[You have fulfilled all conditions for Death Lord's First Trial.]
[The Death Lord is calling you.]
The scenery before his eyes began to twist and distort.