Chapter 133

“Yeah, go back.”

After facing rejection for the third time, Olivia recognized that achieving her goal wouldn’t be simple.

It was obvious that Baek Jinwoo desired the Guaranteed Summoning Scroll (A-rank).

However, he saw no reason to exchange a rare S-rank summon just to obtain it.

Offering cash wouldn’t settle this.

Re-evaluating the situation, she realized that made perfect sense.

A person occupying a headquarters this magnificent was hardly desperate for funds.

Furthermore, from this moment on, he was set to accumulate wealth effortlessly.

After all, he held the position of World Ranking 1st.

When it came to his native government, he could put literal waste up for sale, and the citizens would buy it out completely.

The global market would react the exact same way.

Countless massive conglomerates would happily offer hundreds of billions just to secure Baek Jinwoo as the face of their corporation.

His value fully justified that price tag.

Hmm.

What alternative could she present to him?

Nursing a growing headache, Olivia placed a call to Rachel.

— Yeah.

“Unni.”

She provided a brief rundown of the interaction.

Just as Unni had predicted, he showed clear interest, but he was holding out for an additional incentive.

And it definitely didn’t involve money.

— Hmmmm.

Rachel fell into deep thought, analyzing the situation.

— At the very least, that’s a positive sign. Our options for obtaining S-ranks moving forward are virtually nonexistent… The fact that he’s even open to trading one is a start.

“Right? It caught me off guard too.”

— For the moment, we need to focus on meeting his demands as closely as possible.

“Ha, I figured that’s what we’d have to do.”

Frustrated, Olivia ran her fingers through her hair.

“So my entire net worth sits at fifty trillion, correct? I’m considering putting all of it on the line… but is there any other resource you can back me up with? I believe I need to assemble items that are truly Unique. Artifacts with genuine rarity that cash can’t acquire.”

Olivia operated on an entirely different scale.

She had been casually tossing around bids of ten trillion, twenty trillion, and thirty trillion to Baek Jinwoo, despite her complete fortune totaling fifty trillion.

As a point of reference, the wealthiest individual on earth possessed roughly three hundred trillion, making her personal fortune an incredible sum.

— Financial backing, I see. I’ll consult with the rest of the team first. You should keep brainstorm solutions as well.

“Understood. Appreciate it, Unni.”

Right at that moment.

Baek Jinwoo and Yu Jia were resting on a bench, having a relaxed conversation about upcoming commercial ventures.

Meanwhile, the remaining members of the guild had congregated in a single area.

“So… we are actually going through with this?”

Hong Ari stood with her arms tightly crossed, her posture loudly declaring that no matter how she looked at it, this was an awful plan.

The rest of the group was actively cooperating to change her mind.

“Noona, look at the big picture! We can’t market these anywhere else regardless! Sell them in our country? Who would purchase them? Only Yubaek or SKY! Ship them to international buyers? That amounts to a direct national security leak no matter how much cash we bring in!”

“Precisely. These are summoning scrolls intended for our personal advancement… If we back down now, we’ll just keep hoarding them indefinitely. Surely you’ve heard the phrase ‘keep it too long and it rots’?”

“Mm, I believe a 23.77% probability makes it worth the gamble. Regardless of who we pull, it will elevate our guild’s combat strength.”

Wow, even Song Yeonhui was onboard?

Hong Ari bit her lip anxiously.

Why was everyone acting this way?

If they were determined to gamble, they were free to utilize their own items. Why did they have to drag her possessions into this mess……

“Besides, we are destined to dominate the upcoming tournament as well, right? That guarantees another 27 scrolls! We allocate two to the guild master so he can pull an S-rank, and then we tear through the remaining 25 all over again! Hahahah!”

Hwang Juwon laughed loudly, thoroughly enjoying the moment.

“And check this out.”

He deliberately lowered his voice to a soft whisper.

“Olivia’s appearance here today? It turns out she arrived specifically to cut a deal for an S-rank summon from our guild master.”

“R-Really?”

Hong Ari flinched in amazement.

Half of the guild members appeared completely blindsided; the remaining half gave knowing nods, as if they had figured it out earlier.

Baek Jinwoo hadn’t made any effort to conceal the matter.

If a peer happened to walk past and ask, he simply shared the entire story.

“…Jinwoo intends to trade it away?”

“Most likely. There’s a high probability.”

“How can he just part with it like that…”

Thunderlord.

Hong Ari had never witnessed a summon that spectacular in her entire existence.

To be perfectly honest, it appeared even more impressive than Phoenix.

And he was prepared to just hand it over?

“Our guild master isn’t reckless. He will extract an appropriate price for it. Something far more valuable.”

“I suppose… that makes sense.”

Listening to those points, an unexpected desire began to stir within her.

Should they actually take the leap?

Who could predict the outcome?

Perhaps, even with a mere 1% probability… fortune might actually smile on them.

“But… can my scroll be the very last one we open?”

“Done deal!”

“Naturally! So, shall we begin?”

“OOOOOOH!”

The enthusiastic guild members crowded close together.

The combined tally of ultimate summoning scrolls gathered: precisely 27!

“LET’S GOOOOO!”

“All or nothing! Do it!”

“That’s right, we belong to the nation of Go-Stop! Three Gos, a clean sweep—let’s flip the board!”

Hong Ari shook her head in disapproval at her ecstatic guild mates.

These individuals were supposed to be world-tier rankers?

They behaved more like obsessive gamblers……

Tsk tsk.

What nonsense.

Keep it too long and it rots?

What a ridiculous notion.

There was a well-known proverb for this too.

Wager everything and you end up bankrupt.

“Haaaaah.”

“Uggghhhhhh……”

“…This can’t be happening.”

Within the courtyard of Yubaek City, eight guild members lay sprawled across the ground, their features contorted into flawless imitations of Edvard Munch’s famous painting, The Scream.

Eight individuals, with the sole exception of Hong Ari!

A total of twenty-four scrolls expended.

“HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET ZERO SUCCESSES IN TWENTY-FOUR ATTEMPTS?! THEY ARE ALL B-RANK! EVERY SINGLE ONE IS B-RANK!”

“WAAAAH! THE DESTINIES ARE UNFAIR!”

The final outcome: every solitary attempt was a failure.

There was no escaping the reality.

[B-rank: 94%]

[A-rank: 5%]

[S-rank: 1%]

Rarity didn’t alter the math.

In the end, those were the immutable percentages.

This harsh reality was a primary reason why Battle of Summoners was widely considered a brutal game.

“Ha.”

Hong Ari maintained a look that clearly communicated I warned you this would happen.

She had distinctly anticipated this exact outcome. How had they been so blind to it?

Grab!

Hwang Juwon clamped his hand onto Hong Ari’s arm.

His complexion looked identical to a corpse drained of every single drop of vitality by a creature of the night.

“Hey, release me!”

Hong Ari pulled her arm back using sheer physical power.

“…Now, everything rests on your shoulders, Hong Ari!”

“Noona, PLEASE, just pull a single winner!”

“Let’s do this!”

“LET’S GOOOOO!”

“The 24.77% math only works out if you activate yours, Noona!”

Ha.

What sort of ridiculous logic was that, honestly.

Did these fools completely fail to comprehend the concept of independent mathematical events?

Whether dealing with coins, dice, or random reward pulls—the rule remained.

Every individual attempt’s result was entirely unaffected by the previous ones.

Given that all of their attempts had concluded in failure… her precise mathematical likelihood of summoning an S-rank using her three remaining scrolls stood at…

1 – (0.99)³ = 0.0297.

Approximately 3%.

What should she do?

Should she proceed?

In reality, she possessed no alternative.

She had already given them her word.

Well, who could say? Miracles do happen, right?

She might as well just unroll them.

If the attempts failed, she would at least earn the absolute right to lecture them mercilessly.

Riiip!

She unsealed the first item.

[Activating ‘Ultimate Summoning Scroll’!]

[User ‘Hong Ari’ has received the summon ‘Vocalist’ (B-rank)!]

Just as anticipated.

A standard B-rank.

The signature lightning display that accompanied an S-rank acquisition failed to materialize, and the spirits of her guild mates plummeted once more.

“…It seems today isn’t our lucky day.”

“We ought to have listened to Ari. Perhaps we should have accumulated a larger hoard before unsealing them.”

“Haaaah!”

If human sighs possessed the power to summon nightfall, darkness would have blanketed the earth a dozen times over by now.

Forget it!

RIIIIIP!

Hong Ari tore into the next scroll, her irritation boiling over completely.

No turning back now.

She had committed to this path, so she intended to see it through to the absolute end.

[User ‘Hong Ari’ has received the summon ‘Cloud Shaman’ (B-rank)!]

An identical outcome!

“AAAARGH!”

“NOOOOO!”

Ki Jaehyeok and Kang Jiho collapsed into dramatic displays of misery, as though carrying the weight of the blame.

By this point, their antics had lost any sense of charm.

“……”

Virtually resigned to a disappointing conclusion, Hong Ari spoke in a hollow tone.

“I will open the final one.”

And then.

KA-KRAAAAAKOOOOOM!

A deafening, world-shaking blast shattered the silence, and the sky turned pitch black.

“Wh-What is happening?!”

“What the hell?!”

The weeping guild members instantly opened their eyes wide.

Every single person abandoned their despair and leaped to their feet.

No… this couldn’t… be possible.

Hong Ari remained rooted to the spot, both of her hands still clutching the separated remnants of the scroll.

Could this be real? Is this actually occurring?

Was a miracle genuinely manifesting at the final absolute moment like this?

FLASH!

A massive pillar of lightning erupted from the dark clouds, and with a wild, crackling BZZZT-ZZT-ZZT! the electrical energy discharging from above focused together and struck directly down into the parchment.

Simultaneously.

FWOOOOOOOSH!

The blackened firmament began radiating a brilliant, searing crimson glow, as though the heavens themselves were being consumed by an inferno.

“Th-That is…!”

An intense, suffocating heat that felt capable of setting their physical bodies ablaze!

As the daylight broke through once more, feathers crimson as a mythical firebird caught the sun’s rays and radiated an even more spectacular splendor.

— KIRARAAAAAAAAA!

[User ‘Hong Ari’ has received the summon ‘Vermilion Bird’ (S-rank)!]

Vermilion Bird!

One of the Four Divine Beasts, occupying the same legendary status as Baekho!

“Ah… Ahhhhhh……”

Hong Ari gazed upward into the sky, her face reflecting nothing but pure ecstasy.

Of all possible outcomes.

A flame-element summon that served as an flawless complement to her existing abilities.

“…Is this an illusion?”

“For real…? That is the Vermilion Bird, correct?”

“Is the system broken? Or is that truly the Vermilion Bird? What is happening?”

The guild members stared, completely mesmerized. Hovering directly before them was a solitary avian creature.

A sharp, dangerous beak and a physical form enveloped in majestic, shifting flames.

Its spectacular tail of pure fire seemed to paint a permanent sunset across the sky.

And that was merely the beginning.

FWAP!

A single movement of its colossal wings caused the heavens to vibrate and the ground beneath them to shudder.

— Kirrrrrr……

The Vermilion Bird, which had been gliding effortlessly through the upper atmosphere, slowly drifted downward and settled directly in front of Hong Ari.

Incredible……

It felt as though an entity even more awe-inspiring than Thunderlord had just manifested.

Look at those eyes. That fierce stare alone possessed enough power to break a person’s resolve on the spot.

The jealousy was real. Utterly real.

Its sheer grandiosity was so intense that words simply failed to capture its essence.

The undisputed monarch of fire.

Hong Ari spoke out, her words trembling with emotion.

“…Status window.”

[Summon: Vermilion Bird]

[Classification: Four Divine Beasts]

[Grade: S-rank]

[Level: 1]

[Attributes]

STR: 1, INT: 1, VIT: 1, AGI: 1

HP: 1,000, MP: 0

Critical Rate: 20%

Critical Damage: 20%

[Abilities]

• Wings of Flame ($火焰之翼$): Upon flapping its wings, intense, burning fire spreads outward, trapping and consuming targets.

• Phoenix Rebirth ($鳳凰再生$): When health drops to zero, converts its body into glowing embers and undergoes complete revitalization.

• Wrath of the Crimson Sky ($赤天之怒$): Transforms the entire atmosphere into a deep red hue and rains destructive fire onto the earth, obliterating everything below.

• Flame Summoning ($召喚火焰$): Conjures fire elementals or minor flame avians to strike targets or secure the immediate vicinity.

• Blessing of the Sun ($太陽之祝福$): Channels solar energy to enhance statistics, granting health restoration and a protective shield to allies.

• Firestorm Vortex ($火炎旋風$): Ascends high into the air to generate a colossal cyclone of fire, dragging in and reducing everything in its path to ash.

• Judgment of Fire ($火之審判$): Spends half of its total mana pool to unleash an immense sphere of fire that completely wipes out a targeted foe.

• Wrath of the Crimson Blaze ($紅焰之怒$): Forfeits all mana for a duration of 5 minutes, maximizing overall combat performance and offensive power.

Wow.

Unbelievable.

So this was the true power of a Divine Beast?

The array of abilities was so terrifying that Thunderlord seemed almost ordinary by comparison.

“…Genuinely.”

Genuinely.

This belongs to me?

My personal summon?

This Vermilion Bird—representing an absolute, flawless evolution over the A-rank Phoenix?

“What is all the noise about?”

The massive uproar had been loud enough to bring Baek Jinwoo outside to investigate.

“…Are you SERIOUS? Tell me you individuals didn’t just manifest YET ANOTHER S-rank?”

Even Olivia sprinted over, completely bewildered by the sight.

It was true.

On this particular day, the members of the SKY guild had achieved the unbelievable feat of pulling two distinct S-rank summons within a single day.