Chapter 178
Chapter 178: World Ranker (2)
After sending Han Siah off.
He received a call from Phobos.
They said they would visit him for an evaluation.
In less than half a day, a five-member evaluation team arrived at the guild building. They were from Phobos.
“Nice to meet you, Guild Master Kim Minwoo.”
“Nice to meet you too. I didn’t expect to see you this year.”
“You defeated Lucas, after all. Of course, we had to meet you.”
Marco, the head of the evaluation team, said with a friendly smile.
But that was just for a moment.
He held his head as if he had a headache and sighed.
“To be honest, we’re very troubled. As you know, Guild Master, there are so many variables in the rankings. And since this is the first time we’ve had a case like yours…”
Aiming to become a world ranker after only 6 months of awakening?
This was the first time.
Even Isabella had only managed to get into the top 1,000 after three years.
Not only that.
Kim Minwoo was a Necromancer.
That meant the strength of his summons also had to be included in the ranking.
And what about the battle with Lucas?
They said he used evil energy to display tremendous power, but Kim Minwoo only used a single sword against him. Unfortunately, there were no videos of the event, so data analysis was impossible.
It was difficult to figure out what criteria to use for the ranking.
That’s why Marco was groaning.
“I understand.”
“…How much can you disclose? For reference, the more information you disclose, the more advantageous it will be for the selection.”
If there were a ranker who didn’t disclose information and one who did, the latter would naturally have an advantage in the ranking.
The former had to be filled with assumptions, but the latter could be ranked based on facts.
“I’ll only reveal my level.”
“…Just your level?”
“Why are you so surprised? How much information do other world rankers reveal?”
“Well, you’re not wrong, but… there’s a big difference in the data we can refer to between other world rankers and Mr. Kim Minwoo. The awakening period is different. In other words, it’s a disadvantage.”
“I know. But that’s all I’ll reveal.”
There was no need to reveal everything.
Even if he took off his pants and waved them around, he’d be lucky to move up from 200th to 150th in the rankings.]
It would be foolish to reveal all his information just to raise his rank by 50.
If he just kept raising his level, his rank would eventually go up anyway, so why reveal it? It was only right for the one in need to thoroughly analyze and examine to raise the ranking.
‘And right now, Phobos is the one in need.’
Six months into awakening.
Level below 400.
A minor class Necromancer.
But entering the world rankings?
It would be a big deal.
Not only would Phobos, the company that selected the rankings, benefit…
‘This isn’t going to last just a day or two.’
The biggest ranking change period was every June, but that didn’t mean there were no changes in other periods.
There were small changes every month.
There would be a lot of interest in whether his ranking would change or not.
“It can’t be helped. It’s not something we can force. Then, your level is…”
Kim Minwoo shared the level part of his status window. The judges sighed as if they were disappointed.
“Huh… 385?”
“…This isn’t manipulated, is it?”
“How could it be manipulated? It’s the status window.”
Just level 385.
In terms of level alone, he was barely A-rank, let alone S-rank, but the performance he showed was absolutely insane. Marco also gulped.
‘…He’s really crazy.’
Kim Minwoo’s whereabouts were always vague.
Officially entering and exiting gates was only an occasional occurrence.
They assumed it was because of clearing hidden gates.
In other words, no one except the person himself knew his exact level.
It was surprising that he was level 385 after only 6 months of awakening, and it was equally surprising that he was showing that level of skill with only level 385.
“We’ve confirmed your level. You’ve been in the Guinness Book of World Records, haven’t you? For your NewTube subscribers, I mean.”
“You know about that?”
“Haha. We’ve been watching you too, Mr. Kim Minwoo. Even without this duel, I think you would have been in the top 1,000.”
Marco continued.
“You’ll be in the Guinness Book of World Records again. For the fastest high-level achievement and… the lowest-level world ranker.”
“Is it confirmed?”
“Well, probably? Your skills must be amazing, and although your gate clearing achievements are a bit of a problem…”
Marco’s eyes gleamed.
“You’ve proven your skills with this duel. And your future growth potential and recognition are the highest… wouldn’t we be fools not to include you?”
The other judges nodded in agreement.
Being a world ranker was a certainty.
In fact, they had all agreed on that before they even came to see Kim Minwoo.
The only question was what rank he would be within the top 200.
“First of all, you’re confirmed to be 1st in the individual Necromancer category. Come to think of it, the Necromancer rankings will have the biggest changes. More than ten people have achieved SS-rank achievements besides you, Guild Master.”
Kim Minwoo nodded.
Starting with Liang Xiaojun, all sorts of new Necromancers had emerged. And since Necromancer was a non-mainstream class, there weren’t that many strong players in the first place.
Even having one SS-rank skill was enough to be ranked.
Considering that, it seemed like there would be a lot of new names in the rankings.
‘I should gather them all this time.’
SS-rank Necromancers?
They were all excellent potential subordinates.
There was enough justification to gather them.
If he became the number 1 Necromancer in the Phobos rankings this time…
Couldn’t he hold a symposium under the pretext of giving advice?
If he met them like that, he could probably persuade at least half of them.
‘That would be awesome.’
He knew that they were all receiving investments from their respective countries.
Investments from other countries.
‘Loyalty lies with me.’
The picture was too beautiful.
As he was thinking that,
The Phobos staff stood up. Marco, as their representative, offered a handshake and said,
“I hope to see you again often in the future.”
“If I like the ranking, I don’t see why not.”
“You’ll probably like it. We don’t plan on being stingy.”
* * *
[Phobos, World Ranking Announcement!]
[Korea, a new world ranker emerges after 36 years!]
[Integrated ranking 157th! Kim Minwoo, the pride of Korea!]
[Ilsung-related stocks soar! Up over 212% in 6 months…]
When Phobos’ ranking was announced,
Korea was once again turned upside down.
—Damn Lmao Kim Minwoo is crazy; he reached level 385 in half a year.
—The more surprising thing is that he entered the world rankings with such a low level.
—Who was the previous 200th in the integrated ranking? Amrita? She might be crying tears of blood right about now XDXD.
—Is there anyone who hasn’t bought Ilsung Electronics stocks? Kyak haha.
—I bought all I could yesterday and it went up by 22%
—Making money while sitting down XD.
—(Stock newbie) Is it not too late to buy Ilsung-related stocks now?
—Are there still traitors who haven’t bought Ilsung? Nah, no way lol.
The ranking news didn’t end there.
[Kim Minwoo, ranked 1st in Necromancer ranking!]
[Park Siwoo, Seo Yerim enter individual rankings! Money Talks Guild shows its potential!]
The only one who didn’t make it into the rankings was Han Siah, who had recently awakened. This was because Phobos didn’t have any data on her.
Her level was also quite low at 102, D-rank.
Ding!
The guild group chat became noisy in an instant.
[Park Siwoo]
—Hyung! I’ve settled into 77th place in the Swordsman rankings.
(Smug emoticon)
[Kim Minwoo]
—Oh congrats congrats. Yerim, did you get ranked too?
[Seo Yerim]
—Yes. 43rd in the Archer rankings. 765th in the integrated ranking.
[Cedric]
—The integrated ranking, that one goes up to 1,000th place, right?
[Seo Yerim]
—Yes. Actually, that’s the ranking that really matters.
[Merhen]
—Minwoo, why isn’t my name on the rankings?
(Sad emoticon)
[Kim Minwoo]
—Summoned creatures are considered one with their owner in the rankings.
Kim Minwoo replied while tapping on his phone. The number of people in the guild group chat had increased as Merhen and Cedric also got phones.
They were probably lying on the sofa, chatting on their phones.
At home, he would often summon the two legion commanders and let them roam free.
[Seo Yerim]
—But it’s taking Siah a while to come back. Doesn’t it usually take a few hours even after using the change coupon?
[Kim Minwoo]
—Well, I’m sure she’ll be fine. The re-examination isn’t life-threatening or anything.
He had heard that Seo Yerim’s test involved popping balloons with arrows to determine her rank. He didn’t know what Han Siah’s task would be, but it would likely involve assessing her aptitude as a Priest.
‘Of course, there are variables…’
The usual reward for the re-examination was an SSS-rank skill and equipment from the Hero’s Party. But the Hero Party had a Mage, not a Priest.
In other words…
‘How are they going to give her Priest equipment?’
This question lingered in his mind. Of course, the fact that they had given her a job change coupon suggested they had a solution…
He wondered if that was why Han Siah’s re-examination was taking particularly long.
It had already been three days since she left.
Considering that it only took two or three hours when he went with Seo Yerim, this was a significant difference.
Fortunately, he had taken precautions.
[Kim Minwoo]
—There’s no need to worry too much. I talked to Popo about it.
[Seo Yerim]
—Will it be okay? That teddy bear seemed a bit clueless.
[Kim Minwoo]
—But he has good connections. You saw it too, Yerim, right? The angel who visited.
[Seo Yerim]
—Ah, right. She was quite fond of him. Then, would the angel help him if things get tough…?
[Kim Minwoo]
—At least if he can’t handle it himself, he’ll ask for help.
He had a very close relationship with Popo.
Popo had a close relationship with the mid-level angel Jiphael.
And even he had a connection with the angels.
They wouldn’t turn a blind eye if there was trouble.
‘It won’t be too dangerous.’
There was nothing he could do by worrying more.
In times like this, it was best to just trust.
[Park Siwoo]
—But hyung, your integrated ranking is higher than I expected. I heard Phobos is known to be strict.
[Kim Minwoo]
—It wouldn’t feel right to just barely make it into the 200th place. That’s probably why.
[Park Siwoo]
—Then, hyung, won’t you start getting a nickname soon?
[Seo Yerim]
—It’s about time we gave him one. Something like the Grim Reaper.
[Park Siwoo]
—Or maybe Wraith Swordsman, or Specter King would be good too?
[Merhen]
—You both have zero sense (barf)
[Cedric]
—Agreed.
[Seo Yerim]
—Then what did you two have in mind?
[Cedric]
—How about King of the Undead? It means the king of the undead.
[Merhen]
—That’s lame? If you’re going to do that, why not King of Death?
[Cedric]
—King of Death?
[Merhen]
—The character for death, and the character for king. It means the king of the dead. You don’t know this?
[Park Siwoo]
—Um… let’s just leave it to the netizens. They’ll come up with something decent.
[Merhen]
—You mean it’s not good?
(Angry emoticon)
[Park Siwoo]
—Haha… collective intelligence is important. That’s what I mean.
—Minwoo!
Creak!
The door opened.
Merhen, who had approached the bed at some point, asked Kim Minwoo, who was lying down.
—Minwoo. Is King of Death really bad? Is it even worse than what Cedric said?
“No way. Cedric has no sense.”
—Right?
“Right. King of Death is a hundred times better than King of the Undead.”
What king of language was that?
What kind of process did they go through to come up with the nickname King of the Undead?
It was creepy.
He was soothing Merhen when there was a knock and a bodyguard entered.
“Young Master. Here are the materials you requested.”
“Thank you.”
Kim Minwoo received the documents.
It was a list of documents containing information related to Liang Xiaojun.
He chuckled as he read the contents.
“He’s doing pretty well.”
The last time they met, he had vaguely told him who to connect with.
It seemed like he had made good connections and settled down well.
‘Shall I gather the Necromancers soon?’
Number 1 Necromancer in the rankings.
157th in the integrated ranking.
Now was the time when his name was the most brilliant.
A global SS-rank Necromancer symposium.
It seemed like it was time to hold one.