Chapter 12

Chapter 12: I Alone Am an EX-Class Summoner

The specialized training facilities for the Player HQ were situated within the grounds of Yongsan National Park.

The property had originally served as a base for American military personnel stationed in South Korea, but the organization had purchased a portion of the land to repurpose for their operations.

“Sigh.”

As the evening sky turned a deep shade of crimson, Park Changseok exhaled a breath of pure satisfaction, his eyes fixed on the fading amber light of the horizon.

Directly ahead of him—

“Director.”

“What’s the reason for calling us in right as our shift is ending?”

“Reporting as ordered!”

A group of active players approached to offer their greetings.

There were exactly ten individuals.

Each one was employed directly by headquarters and comprised a loyal inner circle that followed Park Changseok implicitly.

They were individuals who could be trusted absolutely to keep confidential tactics from leaking.

A small smile spread across Park Changseok’s face.

“I assembled everyone here this evening because I have a particular method I want us to verify.”

The window for Tuesday hadn’t closed yet.

Delaying now would mean losing a whole week before the opportunity came around again, making this an incredibly time-sensitive gathering.

“An experiment?”

“What are we testing?”

“…Well, this sounds like it’s worth our time.”

Had any other administrative director demanded their presence at this hour, the players would have grumbled and shown up with sour expressions.

But Park Changseok was a different story.

He never called for a sudden gathering unless the matter was of critical importance.

Because of this, every person present looked at Park Changseok with genuine intrigue.

“Are you all aware that the record for the low-tier Tuesday dungeon was shattered recently?”

“Oh, that news.”

“Yes, I caught wind of it.”

“The name was Baek Jinwoo, right?”

“Didn’t management issue a strict order to keep quiet about it? What’s the story there? The guy isn’t even a ranked player.”

They truly were elite players with sharp reflexes when it came to gathering intelligence.

Even though the event had occurred only hours ago, they were already fully briefed on the situation.

Their awareness made the prospect of sharing the method even more gratifying.

“I managed to source a specialized strategy from an international contact. I ran an initial trial using a newly registered user named Baek Jinwoo, and the outcome exceeded expectations.”

This aligned perfectly with his arrangement with Baek Jinwoo.

The young man had laid down one unyielding condition: his involvement as the source of the data must remain entirely confidential.

“Is… is that actually true?”

“So that’s why you were so adamant about keeping this under wraps!”

“Where in the world did you manage to buy data of that caliber?”

The assembled players began whispering in frantic excitement.

The purpose of this sudden meeting was staring them right in the face.

They were about to be handed a groundbreaking strategy!

This was a massive win.

Park Changseok always delivered.

He wasn’t the type to waste their time on half-baked ideas.

Observing the intense focus in the players’ eyes, Park Changseok began to lay out the details.

Within the tier of B-rank summons, there existed a creature known as the Spotted Komodo.

It was a reptile roughly the size of a fully grown human, serving as a textbook vanguard combatant—highly durable while capable of delivering respectable physical damage.

The problem lay elsewhere.

As a B-rank entity, investing resources into its growth was a heavy burden, and when measured against peer summons in the same tier, its offensive output and defensive utility were thoroughly average. Consequently, it was almost universally ignored.

It was a classic white elephant.

Considering it required hitting a tiny 1% drop rate from a premium summoning scroll, its actual performance relative to its value was atrocious.

Thus, it remained completely forgotten—until Xenos, one of the legendary Five Emperors, uncovered its hidden potential.

Xenos: You guys have any idea what that creature absolutely loves to eat?

Xenos: Giant Slimes. The moment it spots one, it completely loses its mind. It’s wild watching how fast it tears into those massive things.

The critical nuance?

The creature didn’t exhibit this frenzy for standard slimes—its obsession was triggered exclusively by Giant Slimes.

Spurred by this revelation, Xenos attempted an experiment by materializing the Spotted Komodo the absolute second he crossed the threshold of a Tuesday dungeon.

The outcome was staggering.

The Spotted Komodo charged through the labyrinthine corridors at incredible velocity, its powerful limbs covering massive ground in seconds!

It navigated the twisting paths entirely by instinct, ambushed the Giant Slime, and devoured it whole.

Xenos: Holy hell!

Xenos: I could literally just automate this whole process, couldn’t I?

Xenos: Zero micro-management required. Just spawn it, step outside to grab a smoke, and walk back in to collect the clear rewards lmao.

That discovery took place around the fifth year of the game, if memory served.

Following Xenos’s revelation, utilizing the Komodo for speed-running became the dominant strategy for a select group.

Naturally, the information remained restricted to a tiny circle.

Only the Ilcheon Oje and their immediate confidants were privy to the trick.

As for Baek Jinwoo himself.

He had already memorized every single variable and layout of the maze back then, meaning he had never found a practical reason to utilize the method personally.

Regardless of his own past choices.

Baek Jinwoo had passed this exploit over to Park Changseok.

And Park Changseok was now breaking down the mechanics for his trusted subordinates precisely as it had been explained to him.

“…Is that really all there is to it?”

“We just… manifest the Spotted Komodo and let it do the work?”

“That seems way too straightforward. Are we absolutely certain this functions properly?”

Park Changseok had already dipped into organizational funds to acquire a solitary Spotted Komodo from the trading boards at an exorbitant premium.

Now, their plan was to rotate the summon among themselves to unlock a rapid succession of ranking milestones.

“We are moving to the instance gates immediately, but execution requires extreme precision. The reigning record sits at exactly 5 minutes and 32 seconds, meaning our target is to hit precisely 5 minutes and 31 seconds. If anyone shaves off too much time, we reset and try again.”

“Understood.”

The players offered heavy nods, the tension palpable in the air.

[Tuesday Dungeon: Low-Rank]
[National Record #1 — Park Chunsik]
[Clear Time — 00:05:31]

“It… it actually works!”

Park Chunsik materialized outside the instance gate, his skin flushed and his hands visibly shaking from adrenaline.

“This changes everything! This is an absolute game-changer!”

A visible tremor ran through his limbs.

“By the three-and-a-half-minute threshold, the creature had already breached the final chamber and was actively trying to consume the target slime. The only real challenge was physically restraining it from finishing too quickly—beyond that, it required zero effort. I barely had to lift a finger!”

[National Record #1 — Lee Dongmyeong]
[Clear Time — 00:05:29]

“Damn it! My apologies! My goal was to drop the timer by a single second, but I accidentally… took off two. That crazy Komodo! Its hunger is completely out of control! Watching it charge is like seeing a starved dog sprinting toward a full food bowl.”

One after another.

The active players systematically dismantled the leaderboard.

[Tuesday Dungeon: Mid-Rank]
[Clear Time — 00:08:30]

“Wow, it completely trivialized the mid-tier bracket in just three minutes? I made sure to shave off exactly one second from the previous standing.”

“Man, this means we never have to grind for enhancement materials again!”

“If we equip the Komodo with a high-tier agility catalyst, do you think we could legitimately contest the global rankings?”

The atmosphere transformed into a full-blown celebration.

An absolute harvest of achievements.

The strategy was flawless: bring in loyal operatives who had never secured an official milestone, provide them with the temporary use of the Spotted Komodo, let them clear the objective, and then divide the spoils.

Two premium summoning scrolls would be funneled back to headquarters, while the participating player kept one for themselves.

Even with that steep commission structure, personnel were practically breaking down the door to sign up.

This was unprecedented.

Amidst the chaos.

The individual experiencing the greatest rush of euphoria was Park Changseok himself.

Was his excitement fueled merely by the influx of milestone rewards?

That was certainly a factor, but the true prize in his eyes was the young man behind it all: Baek Jinwoo.

Baek Jinwoo represented the future of the nation’s entire infrastructure.

That fact was now solidified beyond any shadow of a doubt.

A mere rookie player who had just completed registration?

Hardly.

His strategic worth was astronomical.

Park Changseok squeezed his hand into a tight fist.

This required immediate action.

He exhaled slowly, forcing his racing thoughts back into a state of cold calculation.

I need to establish a specialized division dedicated entirely to monitoring and supporting Baek Jinwoo.

As he had realized previously, their primary objective was to prevent a single specific outcome.

Emigration.

They needed to ensure he remained firmly rooted within the country, regardless of the financial or political cost.

If they succeeded in anchoring him here, could South Korea potentially rise to stand alongside the global summit of the five great summoning superpowers?

First, the immediate logistics required attention.

“Connect me with my assistant.”

Park Changseok initiated a secure line and delivered his instructions without preamble.

— Yes, Director.

“The financial and material transfer we discussed previously. Execute it immediately.”

— Confirming the allocation of 150 million won alongside 10,000 basic-tier summoning scrolls, correct?

“Precisely.”

Baek Jinwoo had delivered on his end of the bargain.

It was time for Park Changseok to fulfill his own.

[Account Balance Details]
[Account Holder: Baek Jinwoo]
[Premium Savings Matrix]
[Settled Funds: 167,004,500 won]

“Wow.”

Nine million won generated from liquidating three premium-tier summoning scrolls, an additional five million from the official clear bounty, and now a massive injection of 150 million on top of it all.

“Has generating capital always been this straightforward?”

A sudden wave of cynicism washed over him as he recalled the brutal struggles of his previous existence.

The value of traditional labor suddenly felt entirely meaningless by comparison.

Furthermore.

[Summoning Catalyst Inventory]
1. Low-Grade Summoning Scroll × 10,000

An official representative from the association had personally approached him to transfer the massive stack of ten thousand scrolls directly into his digital vault.

So what was the next move?

It was time to tear through catalysts until his hands went numb.

Since he had given his word that he wouldn’t resell the items on the open market, his only real path forward was to activate them one by one.

Baek Jinwoo made his way back to the secluded, abandoned terrain he typically frequented for his private business.

As he walked, he manifested the Wind Fairy into reality.

— Rambaaaa! I have arrived!

“Ramba.”

— Present!

“We’re about to initiate a massive summoning marathon.”

— Understood! Let me clean my hands properly and start making wishes, right?!

“Exactly.”

Baek Jinwoo unmapped a fresh bottle of mineral water he had picked up earlier and tilted it forward.

A steady stream poured down.

Ramba began scrubbing her tiny hands with immense fervor beneath the falling droplets.

— Please let something amazing manifest!

This specific, earnest little ritual dated back a full decade, originating from when Baek Jinwoo was still just a kid in middle school.

Ramba, possessing an incredibly sophisticated behavioral matrix—though reviewing it with his current experience, she clearly transcended the boundaries of a standard artificial construct—had always thrown herself into the routine with total enthusiasm.

— Please bestow an incredible companion upon our Jinwoo!

“Alright, that’s plenty. Time to start opening them!”

Rip!

[Activating 'Low-Grade Summoning Scroll'!]
[Player 'Baek Jinwoo' has manifested the entity 'Blue Dragonfly' (F-Rank)!]
[Player 'Baek Jinwoo' has manifested the entity 'Horned Caterpillar' (F-Rank)!]

Rip, rip, rip!

From that point forward, the process transformed into a monotonous, mechanical grind.

The materialized entities were automatically funneled into a digital holding reservoir; he could simply transport the entire batch to the conversion facility later.

“Huff… huff…”

He had successfully unsealed 3,600 units.

An entire hour had slipped away.

Maintaining a relentless pace of one scroll every single second without a moment’s pause.

“Damn it. This is physically draining. I need a breather.”

This process was brutal.

If he had actually gone through with purchasing 50,000 units, the sheer physical exhaustion would have broken him.

“And why the hell haven’t either of those specific targets dropped yet?”

The Drill Instructor (E-Rank) and the Storm Dragon Sorcerer (D-Rank).

Their appearance rates were proving to be drastically lower than his historical data suggested.

Had he risked his personal funds to buy these basic scrolls from the market, this venture would have turned into a financial nightmare.

Even so, pulling 35 D-ranks and 182 E-ranks meant the baseline mathematical probabilities were functioning roughly as intended.

As a general rule, standard D-rank entities were incredibly commonplace and commanded virtually no market value.

Summons only began generating real financial returns once they crossed into the C-rank threshold and beyond.

— You absolute dummy.

“What?”

— Do you honestly believe those specific entities manifest that easily? They might be categorized under E-rank or D-rank parameters, but their actual identities are strictly EX-rank.

“Your point being? You dropped on my very first attempt.”

— That was a statistical anomaly, a miracle of once-in-a-lifetime fortune! Forget a measly 10,000 scrolls—even if you unsealed 100,000, it wouldn’t guarantee pulling another one of us!

“…?”

As he maintained a stunned, silent stare, Ramba let out a dramatic sigh and began breaking down the foundational mechanics.

— Do you even comprehend the structural logic governing the entire summoning network?

“How does it function?”

How could he possibly know the underlying code?

Despite his vast library of practical game knowledge, Baek Jinwoo’s understanding was still limited to the operational perspective of a high-level user.

During his era within Battle of Summoners, engaging in fluid, sentience-based dialogue with individual summons was an impossibility.

— In the grand design, the total population of standard summons is calibrated to equal precisely 10% of the active player base. Take that Horned Caterpillar you just pulled, for instance. Where the global ecosystem originally held only a few hundred specimens, the baseline has ballooned to over 800 million individual copies.

“…What?”

The realization clicked.

The total human population sat somewhere around 8.1 billion individuals, which meant—

— But here is the critical distinction. Our specific designations are classified under Quarantine status, meaning there is exactly one singular copy of each of us in existence.

“…Wait, seriously?”

— I’m in the dark regarding the core reasoning myself, but you are the sole entity capable of interacting with or summoning our Quarantine designations. It’s possible the system designers left behind a solitary template… or perhaps the divinity responsible for our creation executed the isolation protocol but couldn’t bring themselves to completely erase our data, preserving one of each variant instead. Ugh, just thinking about the metaphysics gives me a headache.

“Unbelievable…”

If her hypothesis held true, the reality of his situation was incredibly daunting.

Based on Baek Jinwoo’s extensive background knowledge, the system contained tens of thousands of unique summon variations.

And every standard variation possessed roughly 800 million duplicate entities floating within the global pool?

And he was tasked with pulling a completely unique, single-edition EX-rank from that gargantuan ocean of duplicates through raw, unweighted probability?

Even a superficial mental calculation revealed that the mathematical odds were completely astronomical.

Securing consecutive lottery jackpots would be a statistically simple feat by comparison.

— Even so, don’t let it discourage you too much. Entities that have already been bound to a master are permanently removed from the active generation pool. Simply put, if all 800 million Horned Caterpillars across the globe are eventually summoned by players, then no matter how many basic scrolls you tear open, you will never see a Horned Caterpillar drop again.

“The math is still terrifying.”

— No argument here.

“Damn it, should I just pivot and throw capital into mid-grade catalysts instead?”

Realistically, that path was blocked to him as well.

A solitary mid-grade summoning scroll demanded a hefty 500,000 won on the open market, and the actual volume available for purchase was severely restricted.

The market had firm ceilings.

“Whatever. It is what it is.”

The only choice was to keep pushing forward.

If he maintained a continuous volume, the targets would eventually manifest.

Ramba had successfully defied those impossible, nightmarish probabilities, so he would simply place his faith in the remaining entities to break through as well.

Rip, rip!

Concluding his brief intermission, Baek Jinwoo’s hands blurred back into operation, unsealing the remaining stock.