Damn Necromancer

Chapter 417: Eastern Witch Coven

The captain's seat at the very top of the mothership Mary.

Cigar smoke slowly rose over the plush leather chair. Kim Minwoo sat with one leg crossed, indifferently looking down at the blue planet spread out beneath his feet.

Earth.

Since molting into a Higher God, the landscape of the planet he looked down upon had completely changed.

The city lights looked like flashing Morse code, and the grain of the mountain ranges dividing the continents felt as clear as the palm lines on a hand.

He even heard sounds that shouldn't be heard.

The sounds of dawn prayers offered toward him by billions of people. The small murmurs of an old man closing his eyes for a moment before picking up his spoon at the dining table.

The soft breathing of a child putting their two hands together at the bedside before falling asleep.

All of that poured into Kim Minwoo's mind like a massive chorus.

[Faith is flowing in.]

[Faith is flowing in.]

[Divine status is stably rising.]

"It's just become completely ingrained."

Kim Minwoo lightly tapped his cigar and smiled faintly. The influx of faith had now become like everyday background noise, to the point where it felt awkward how he used to flinch every time an alarm popped up in the corner of his vision.

It was that time.

Ttogak, ttogak.

The soft sound of shoe heels approached from behind the captain's seat. A skeleton maid wearing a cute red ribbon on her head.

It was Mary, the main AI of the mothership Mary and Kim Minwoo's secretary.

Originally, Mary was nothing more than a mere hologram that appeared anywhere within the ship. A mass of light that couldn't be grazed by a single fingertip. Then one day, Mary carefully opened her mouth.

"Master, I too…… wish to walk directly by your side."

She said she wanted to make footsteps. She said she wanted to pour tea. She said she wanted to light his cigars for him.

Kim Minwoo looked at Mary for a moment, let out a pishik laugh, and lightly flicked his finger. The authority of a Necromancer extended out and raised up a perfectly carved white skeleton, upon which Mary's soul code slowly settled. The form Mary desired was not the body of a beautiful human woman, but a pure white skeleton maid.

—Because the Master is a Necromancer anyway.

Kim Minwoo still remembered the moment the red eye glint flashed for the first time in her empty eye sockets as she said that and smiled.

"Master, I will give you the morning briefing."

"Alright."

Mary lightly grabbed her dress hem and bowed politely before bringing up a hologram window in the empty air with the tips of her thin bony fingers.

"The number of applicants for the 2nd round move-in lottery has surpassed 2 billion people. Based on the application rate, that is about 38% of all humanity. This is a massive increase compared to the 1st round lottery."

"And is our Park Jihoon doing well?"

"Yes. Believer Park Jihoon's promotional broadcast recorded a 92% viewership rating yesterday as well. The viewing ratio among non-believer households is on a gradual rising trend."

"Good."

"Following that, the liquidation work for the remaining executives of Dorim Group was 100% completed as of yesterday. Personnel appointments to the waste disposal squad and hard labor assignments have also been finalized. For additional items to report……."

Mary, looking intently at Kim Minwoo, spoke as if confirming.

"To state the conclusion first, currently on Earth, there is not a single reaction presumed to be the Shadow Cult or the ark they were building. They have completely evaporated."

"Evaporated? Without even a trace?"

"Yes. We thoroughly scoured from the bottom of the crust to the outside of the atmosphere by fully mobilizing the mothership's satellite surveillance network, quantum radar, and even the divine power you bestowed, Master, but not a single ant came out. It is clearly…… judged that they have left Earth."

The corners of Kim Minwoo's eyes furrowed.

In fact, he had just tried searching the entire Earth directly himself as well. Awakening as a Higher God, his sense of energy had expanded to a nonsensical level, but the Shadow Cult's tail was not caught.

Wondering if there was a place he might have missed, he had injected his divine power into Mary's main frame to pull up the search efficiency by more than double and entrusted her with a precise scan.

If it still couldn't be found even after that, it was right to assume they simply weren't on Earth.

'Did they leave Earth?'

Come to think of it, he had heard that the Shadow Cult's attacks worldwide had completely stopped starting a month ago.

It wasn't as if he didn't have any inkling.

He clearly felt a pan-universal gaze focusing on him the moment he awakened as a Higher God.

Would Hadronox, the apostle of the Outer God, not have felt that overwhelming change in energy?

So they might have pulled their forces back for now.

'Or…… there could be another reason.'

Whatever the case…….

His plan to beat up Fersen and force Hadronox to descend had gone awry.

Kim Minwoo snorted.

Anyway, the descent time of the Outer God was already drastically reduced to about 5 years with the Earth 2.0 update.

If those guys were sharpening their swords beyond the dimension, Kim Minwoo just had to ignorantly grow his size enough to slice their necks off in the meantime.

It was when he was rolling his pen while organizing his future plans in his head like that.

Ttiring—!

Suddenly, a brilliantly shining golden system message popped up in the middle of his vision.

[Notification!]

[The 1,321st Ascension Ritual has concluded!]

[Recruiting participants for the 1,322nd round. Will you participate in the corresponding ritual and prove yourself? (Y/N)]

"……Uh?"

Kim Minwoo's eyes grew round.

The Ring of Ascension.

Was it roughly 2 years ago.

It was that very Ancient-rank ring crafted with the Clue of Ascension obtained from the martial arts gate where the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering was held in the distant past.

The ritual that the orc shaman in the past had worshipped, saying Mutakta had performed the ascension ritual and gone to the sky.

He had just worn it around since it was a precious Ancient-rank accessory anyway, thinking that he could gain a massive serendipity with this once it activated someday.

"Wow. So this was going to end eventually."

That item was only now activated.

In the past, Mutakta performed this ritual and was called up to the sky to become the apostle of an Outer God.

If so, it meant there was something beyond item farming at the end of this ritual.

'Seems worth doing?'

It was the moment Kim Minwoo pressed YES.

[Warning!]

[The target's status is too high!]

[You are not suitable to participate in the Ascension Ritual!]

[Participation is disabled!]

"No, this is a bit much, isn't it?"

Looking at the warning text floating in the empty air, he let out a hollow laugh.

It popped up an alarm saying the ritual had finally activated, only to say the owner couldn't enter because he had gotten too strong.

"Mary, is getting strong quickly a crime?"

"Of course not."

Mary lightly grabbed her dress hem and answered articulately.

"Master getting stronger is a blessing of the universe."

"Right? But why does the system discriminate against me?"

"It seems the discernment of that tin can cannot keep up with the Master."

"Anyway, our Mary is a smooth talker."

The red eye glint inside the empty eye sockets flashed proudly.

"Because the Master's praise is the main fuel of my soul code."

"……You're getting more brazen?"

"I watched the Master and learned."

Injustice washed over him like a wave.

He had reached a realm others couldn't touch even if they devoted their entire lives, yet the system was trying to take away his entry ticket using that diligence as an excuse.

'Is there no way to bypass it?'

It seemed like there might be.

After pondering for a moment, the corners of his mouth slid up.

An existence came to mind that he could seek information from at times like this.

Kim Minwoo closed his eyes.

[Connecting to Ananke.]

His point of view completely reversed.

A pitch-black tree was seen.

Beneath a flock of numerous crows hanging from the branches, Ananke, who was reading a book wearing a small monocle, flashed her eyes open.

"Hello? To think you'd contact me first. What's the matter, Little Administrator? Or should I call you the great Death Lord now?"

The state of shared vision.

Her unique supple and playful voice echoed directly into Kim Minwoo's head.

Kim Minwoo also focused his thoughts and threw a question.

'I contacted you because I have something to ask. Do you happen to know about the Ascension Ritual? That ritual Mutakta is said to have performed.'

That moment, the flock of crows hanging upside down glared their eyes as if having a seizure.

—Caw! Apostle!

—Caw! Stone head!

—Caw! An ill omen!

"Everyone quiet."

At Ananke's stern command, the noisy crows hurriedly shut their beaks.

Ananke closed her thick book with a tak, rested her chin, and smiled cheerfully.

"You're quick on the uptake as expected. Right, ascension. It's related to Mutakta. Do you remember what I called that guy in the past?"

'One born as an insignificant creature, yet overturned his fallen fate.'

"Correct. He was originally nothing more than a trivial orc. But through the Ascension Ritual, he smashed the limits of his species, caught the eye of the Outer God, and even snatched the position of an apostle. Because the Clue of Ascension is the most perfect ticket for a mortal to step into the realm of gods."

Kim Minwoo casually threw his thoughts as if he was dumbfounded.

'I just tried to enter, but I got cut off at the entrance for being a Higher God. Is there no way to bypass it and enter?'

Hearing that, Ananke blinked blankly for a moment before clutching her stomach and bursting into peels of laughter.

It was to the point where the crows perched on the branches fluttered in surprise.

"Ahahaha! Ah, I'm really going crazy. It's the first time in the history of the universe I've seen a guy holding an Ascension Ritual medium be a Higher God."

'I didn't refrain from using it on purpose. My specs just happened to hit Higher God while waiting for the ritual to activate.'

"That's why it's even more dumbfounding! It means our Death Lord impulsively broke through a path others couldn't tread even if they trained their entire lives, just while pulling a waiting ticket and waiting around?"

Ananke, who had been laughing for a long time, wiped away the tears welling up in her eyes and gave a fake cough.

"So, did you contact me because you wanted to know a way to bypass it?"

'Before that, first. What is the reward of the Ascension Ritual?'

Ananke adjusted her monocle and shook her head.

"Reward? There is nothing set. That's why it's a great ritual. Because you'll receive as much as you perform."

Getting back as much as you put in.

If Ananke said that much, he had to participate in this no matter what means he used.

'Then I must go even more. Is there no way?'

Under the pitch-black tree where crow feathers fluttered.

Ananke said with a beaming smile.

"Hmm…… Would you like to come visit our Eastern Witch Coven? Then maybe a way will pop up?"

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