Chapter 131

A champion country.

And the land that had given rise to the number one ranked player on the planet.

At this moment, the eyes of the entire globe were fixed intently on South Korea.

“Wow, Rachel… That magnificent beast of a player actually got toppled from the summit.”

Initially, a vast number of people found it impossible to accept, even when staring directly at the reality of it.

Just look at the lineup England had put together!

With a roster of that caliber, who could they possibly drop a match to?

Had it been the United States or Japan, fine, no one would have uttered a single complaint.

“South Korea… is at the top? Where is that even located?”

“Everyone is constantly raving about JinuGod, JinuGod—who even is that? The name means nothing to me.”

“I took a look at their team during the tournament, and they didn’t boast a single world-ranked player.”

“Good heavens… England…”

Yet, human beings are incredibly adaptable creatures.

If you were previously oblivious to the existence of South Korea nestled away in the Far East, well, you certainly knew about it now.

If the name Baek Jinwoo meant nothing to you before, it was time to carve those syllables deep into your mind.

“In any case, that means Baek Jinwoo is officially the most powerful person on Earth now, right?”

“Is that even a question? Go look at the footage. No matter how much people try to attribute the loss to psychological warfare, Rachel threw up both hands in surrender. I still can’t wipe the memory of the look on her face at the absolute end.”

“Come on, let’s be real for a second. Rachel commands three S-rank summons, doesn’t she? If they squared off again in a genuine clash without the mental games, wouldn’t Rachel walk away victorious?”

“Yeah, seeing JinuGod claim victory by deploying his Drill Instructor… you can’t deny there was something slightly artificial about that win. And honestly, if she had simply declined the challenge to duel, it is painfully obvious England would have taken the whole thing.”

“Oh, give me a break, everyone! A defeat is a defeat—why are you scrambling for excuses?”

The global community split into two distinct factions.

One faction firmly believed that Rachel would triumph in a direct, unvarnished confrontation!

This side was comprised almost entirely of the English public.

The other faction maintained that Baek Jinwoo was undeniably the superior combatant, given that he emerged victorious despite being heavily outmatched in resources!

This side was largely made up of Koreans.

These two groups collided with immense friction every single time their paths crossed on the internet.

However, in terms of pure rhetorical firepower, South Korea held the clear upper hand!

An overwhelming number of onlookers from all corners of the globe rallied to Korea’s side.

That is simply how human nature operates.

Far more nations than one might expect held deep-seated resentment—or intense envy—toward England, which had thoroughly ruled the league for three consecutive years.

“Those English jerks are just naturally born with their noses pointed at the sky.”

“You suffered a loss. End of story. What is the point of all these rationalizations?”

“It is written right there on the leaderboard, plain as day. Jinwoo Baek is the number one. Choose your arguments more wisely.”

“Did someone press a blade against her neck and compel her to accept the duel?”

“I genuinely believe Baek Jinwoo would come out on top even if they ran it back. Just examine the sequence where he evades the Great Wizard… He completely dominates her through sheer physical capability.”

Consequently, both in the physical world and within the arena of public sentiment—

South Korea was rapidly cementing its status as a dominant, leading power.

Once the official ranking ceremony came to an end.

Yubaek City shifted seamlessly back into its everyday rhythm.

Even with Baek Jinwoo ascending to the position of World Ranking 1st, nothing in his personal routine shifted.

It was business as usual.

Conquering the Day Dungeons, conditioning his physical form, engaging in focused breathwork, and training the members of his guild.

There was no shortage of tasks demanding his attention.

He still required a return to the Tower of Trials, his calendar had become intensely crowded, and 「Yubaek」 was functioning at an unprecedented level of activity.

There were pressing matters regarding power grid adjustments and technological integration, the screening of new candidates, the ongoing situation with the Red Rose blood alliance, and a scheduled consultation with the Daesung Group to organize.

Out of all those competing obligations, Baek Jinwoo viewed the acquisition of the S-rank summon as his most immediate priority.

“Cue the dramatic music!”

“Hyungnim! You’re going to perform the summon right this second?”

“Wowaaaah!”

He had already shared every detail regarding the MVP rewards with his guild mates.

There was absolutely no reason to keep them in the dark.

These were the exact individuals who had stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him in battle. They had become his family.

They had earned the right to witness this.

Swish.

Baek Jinwoo retrieved the summoning item from his storage space.

[100% Summoning Scroll]

Rank: S-rank

A randomized S-rank summon can be obtained.

Note: However, 10 ultimate summoning scrolls must be consumed to activate this item.

In his left hand, he gripped the 100% Summoning Scroll. In his right, he clutched ten ultimate summoning scrolls all in a single grasp.

“Wow.”

“What kind of monetary value do you think that represents?”

“…Even a single one of those ultimate summoning scrolls would command whatever astronomical price you felt like asking.”

It was beyond valuation.

Mainly because no rational person would ever willingly part with one.

Who would willingly surrender a scroll that provided a 1% opportunity to not only alter the trajectory of your entire life, but guarantee your personal protection?

• Alright, alright, everyone! Did you all fetch the water?

Flutter.

Ramba glided dynamically through the air, buzzing around the guild members to pester them.

• Scrub your hands until they are spotless! Clear your minds and OFFER UP YOUR PRAYERS! Understood? Our Jinwoo possesses absolutely atrocious fortune, so he requires every single prayer you can muster!

Come on, Ramba.

This is an item with a guaranteed 100% success rate, so all of that is completely unnecessary…

“Absolutely! If it helps Hyungnim manifest an incredible summon, we will do whatever is asked of us!”

“You better believe it!”

“Sacred water! Does anyone happen to have any sacred water on hand?”

“What about offering up alcohol instead of water? Maybe the lady of fortune prefers a strong drink?”

Good grief.

The guild members were taking things to even greater extremes than Ramba.

Ki Jaehyeok and Kang Jiho, in particular, appeared to be completely overwhelmed with excitement.

Though, to be fair, it made sense.

The outcomes of this recent grand tournament were spectacular enough to justify this level of hysteria.

“Alright, alright, focus up—here we go!”

Baek Jinwoo stoked his own inner anticipation.

An S-rank summon!

Throughout a full decade of navigating the Battle of Summoners, he had only ever managed to lay claim to a single entity of that exalted tier.

And that specific S-rank had been the Armageddon Dragon, the undisputed peak of all draconic lifeforms.

If only the Armageddon Dragon were to manifest right this instant…

Then resolving the issue of the Chaos Dragon further down the line would be an absolute walk in the park.

The sole reason Baek Jinwoo had once established that mythical benchmark of 47 seconds was entirely due to the presence of the Armageddon Dragon.

Dragon God (龍神)!

Whenever ordinary dragons came face-to-face with a creature of a vastly superior echelon, they froze in place—utterly paralyzed and incapable of mounting a defense.

Right.

Let’s make this happen.

RIIIP!

Baek Jinwoo split the summoning scroll wide open with a decisive tear.

[Participant ‘Baek Jinwoo’ activates the 100% Summoning Scroll (S-rank)!]

[Required components detected!]

[Do you wish to offer up 10 ultimate summoning scrolls?]

Yes.

The moment he gave his mental assent, the cluster of ultimate summoning scrolls resting in his right palm dissolved completely into thin air.

Ten individual 1% opportunities coalescing into a single, guaranteed 100% outcome—it was nothing short of miraculous alchemy!

KRAKABOOOOM!

Despite the sun shining brightly overhead, the entire firmament plummeted into absolute darkness in a mere heartbeat.

“Wh-what is happening?!”

“Holy crap.”

“It is actually materializing?”

“The visual manifestations are absolutely mind-blowing.”

Violent arcs of lightning cascaded down in roaring, thunderous torrents directly over the ruptured scroll that hovered suspended in midair.

Lightning.

The electrical display was remarkably reminiscent of the phenomenon that occurred when an EX-rank summon was called forth.

Perhaps that was only fitting for an S-rank entity?

“IT’S ARRIVING RIGHT NOW!”

“What kind of entity is going to show up?!”

“PREASE, LUCK BE ON OUR SIDE!”

What manifested amidst the collective roars of the guild members was—

• KIIIAAAAAAAAH!

An incredibly grand, breathtaking avian creature enveloped entirely in crackling arcs of electricity!

Thunderlord (雷鳥)!

“Ohhhhh.”

“Woaaah…”

Every person present gazed upward in sheer captivation at the avian beast, which put its magnificent splendor on full display with an aura of absolute dominance.

A Thunderlord, is it.

Baek Jinwoo briefly let his eyelids close.

In all honesty, he possessed very little background information regarding this specific summon.

Outside of the incredibly obvious detail that it belonged to the lightning element, he was entirely in the dark.

[Summon: Thunderlord]

Species: Divine Beast

Level: 1

Stats:

• STR: 1, INT: 1, VIT: 1, AGI: 1

• HP: 1,000, MP: 0

• Crit Rate: 20%

• Crit Damage: 20%

Skills:

• Thunder Storm: Conjures a massive tempest of lightning and thunder over a broad territory.

• Lightning Machine Gun: Generates and discharges thousands of electrical projectiles rapidly from above.

• Thunderous Echo: When the Thunderlord beats its massive wings and unleashes a cry, a cataclysmic boom ripples a shockwave through the vicinity, leaving all adversaries immobilized.

• Brand: Wherever the Thunderlord directs its focus, an infusion of additional lightning (雷) attribute damage is applied.

• Storm Ascension: The Thunderlord merges directly into its own Thunder Storm, entering a state of complete invulnerability for a duration of 10 seconds.

Holy mother of god.

Evaluating it solely based on the techniques available right from the start, the entity was staggering.

An immobilization effect, a temporary invincibility phase, a personal offensive amplification, wide-scale destruction, and high-velocity single-target damage—it was an impeccably balanced, versatile summon capable of handling any scenario.

And it possessed all of this utility at a mere level 1.

With its dormant capabilities still waiting to be unlocked.

“…This is absolutely wild.”

The moment an authentic murmur of respect escaped Baek Jinwoo’s lips, the guild members rushed forward to crowd around him.

“Are you serious?”

“Let us take a look as well!”

“Share the details with us, Hyungnim!”

Baek Jinwoo displayed the interface for them to see.

“……”

Every single individual went entirely silent.

The reality of the summon far exceeded even their wildest assumptions!

Weren’t those abilities glaringly superior to anything an A-rank could ever offer?

Just visualizing the process of leveling up alongside a creature like that was enough to send an electric jolt of anticipation through them.

It felt as though this solitary summon possessed the capability to propel them into the global top ten during the upcoming tournament cycle.

Gulp.

A collective wave of dry throats swallowed hard.

Even a person completely devoid of materialistic desires would find themselves consumed by longing while staring at those metrics.

They were active players, after all.

“…I can’t restrain myself any longer,” Kang Jiho finally whispered under his breath. “I am going to roll the dice as well.”

“Huh?”

“Roll for what?”

The surrounding guild members pivoted toward him, their expressions filled with astonishment.

“You all know the items we were granted! Three ultimate summoning scrolls! Plus, I managed to secure an additional one while scaling the Tower of Trials. That makes four in total! I am tearing every single one of them open!”

“Whoa, whoa, HOLD ON!”

Hong Ari instantly stepped forward to cut him off.

Had he completely abandoned his senses?

Placing his faith in a meager 1% probability and destroying all four scrolls?

Those incredibly rare assets?

If fortune smiled on him, then fantastic, but… the overwhelming statistical reality dictated that he would merely be tossing a massive fortune directly into a black hole.

“Hyungnim stated it with his own mouth! Without embracing risks, there can be no advancement and no meaningful triumph!”

“You complete blockhead, that is absolutely NOT the context he meant when he said that!”

“…Though, if you think about it closely.”

Hwang Juwon rested his chin in his hand, a deeply analytical expression settling over his features.

“He actually raises a valid point. The nine of us were each awarded three scrolls… That totals twenty-seven across the board. If we collectively tear them open simultaneously, wouldn’t the laws of probability dictate that at least one of us lands a success?”

“What kind of absurd mathematics is that?!” Ari shouted back, completely exasperated, though Hwang Juwon paid her protests no mind.

“A twenty-seven percent probability feels like a pretty reasonable gamble to me.”

“Oh, good grief. Please tell me you aren’t serious.”

Hong Ari, drawing upon her background as a former engineering student, knitted her brows together tightly.

“What?”

“You don’t genuinely believe that combining twenty-seven individual 1% scrolls translates to a flat 27% success rate, do you?”

“Huh? It doesn’t work that way?” Hwang Juwon blinked in confusion.

“Ugh.”

Ari let out a stifling sound of frustration.

This. This exact lack of fundamental knowledge was precisely why active players were constantly stereotyped as being uneducated!

Sigh.

Let’s actually break down the mathematics.

Operating under the premise that a single scroll activation carries a 99% probability of complete failure.

What happens then?

The mathematical likelihood of enduring twenty-seven consecutive failures is calculated by raising 0.99 to the 27th power.

You must then deduct that specific value from the absolute total probability.

To put it in clear terms: $1 – (0.99)^{27}$.

When you compute the figures, it yields a result of approximately 23.77%.

“The actual figure is roughly 24%! And in all honesty, whether you are looking at 27% or 24%, both represent incredibly abysmal odds—and your grand plan is to destroy EVERY SINGLE ONE of them?”

“…Existence is a gamble regardless of what you do. Heh heh.”

“And what happens when you strike out completely? Have you formulated a contingency? What if an item like a 100% Summoning Scroll presents itself somewhere down the road? You will be striking the ground in absolute anguish and regret. All because you won’t even possess the ten baseline scrolls required to serve as the necessary components.”

While the members of the guild continued to squabble intensely over which perspective held more merit—

“Hmm.”

Baek Jinwoo was quietly processing the situation internally.

Should he actually commit to deploying this Thunderlord?

His extensive background and years of operational experience provided a swift conclusion.

The loftier the tier of a particular summon, the more overwhelmingly demanding it became to develop its capabilities. Furthermore, if you proved incapable of nurturing it to its true potential, it ultimately yielded a worse outcome than leaving it completely untouched.

To be sure, the Thunderlord’s repertoire of techniques was visually stunning and deeply impactful.

However.

Did they truly measure up to Stormy’s Devour?

Not by a long shot.

If every single S-rank summon was fundamentally broken by default, Baek Jinwoo would have found it impossible to overcome Rachel in their confrontation.

After all, she was the master of three independent S-rank entities.

What was the best course of action then?

Should he transfer ownership to one of his fellow guild members?

That option didn’t resonate well with him either.

No matter how many configurations he ran through his mind, any given summon would inevitably manifest far greater power if he took charge of its development personally, rather than delegating the responsibility to them.

Perhaps the wisest move for now would simply be to allocate a slot for it?

Who could say for certain?

It was entirely possible that unlocking its hidden, latent potential might give rise to yet another absurdly broken entity on par with his EX-rank summon.

Baek Jinwoo’s internal debate was—

Abruptly disrupted by the arrival of an incoming communication.

Ding!

An alert chimed on his mobile device.

[Rachel: Baek Jinwoo.]

[Rachel: Do you happen to have a brief moment to converse?]

Huh?

Rachel?

What business could she possibly have with him now?