Chapter 15

There are four types of dungeons in Battle of Summoners.

1. Normal dungeons.

2. Day Dungeons.

3. The Tower of Trials.

4. The Chaos Dragon (raid).

Let’s briefly go over each one.

First, Day Dungeons.

Like the Tuesday dungeon from before, these are places you visit to farm materials specific to each day of the week, with different dungeons opening on different days.

Low-rank, mid-rank, high-rank, supreme-grade.

They’re split into four difficulty tiers, and naturally, the higher the difficulty, the better the compensation.

Next up, the Tower of Trials!

This place has a hundred floors, designed to push a player to their absolute limit.

The difficulty is incomparably more brutal than normal dungeons, but the compensation matches it.

You have to be careful, though.

In reality, a single failure could mean death.

Currently, Rachel from England holds the record at Floor 29.

Apparently the Floor 30 boss is pretty tricky, so she’s been grinding to raise her specs.

Next, the Chaos Dragon!

This was a raid that got added during Battle of Summoners’ fifth year. It’s a boss that multiple players have to team up to take down.

Since it hasn’t appeared in reality yet, I’ll save the detailed explanation for later.

Every dungeon aside from those three falls under normal dungeons.

Back in Battle of Summoners, they were also called stage dungeons, but in reality, they pop up randomly in various locations.

Leveling up your summons is primarily done through normal dungeons.

Normal dungeons also have difficulty ratings.

From F-rank all the way up to S-rank.

Additionally, unlike Day Dungeons, normal dungeons allow party play.

And so.

The moment Baek Jinwoo opened his eyes that morning, a normal dungeon was exactly where he headed.

Near Seonbawi Station, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do.

A spot with a sweeping view of Gwanaksan Mountain’s scenery.

Screeeeech.

Baek Jinwoo stepped out of the taxi as it rolled to a stop.

“Hoo.”

How do you find a dungeon?

Simple.

Player Web.

The app, commonly shortened to P-Web, logs every dungeon reported to headquarters.

Create a party, submit your application, and you’re done.

Baek Jinwoo created a solo party.

The dungeon’s rank was D.

Even if this was technically his first proper normal dungeon, for Baek Jinwoo, it was a cakewalk.

There was no need to team up with other players.

Especially when he had those broken summons of his.

• Jinwoooo…… I’m dyiiiiing.

“Here. The cream bread I bought earlier.”

• Heheh, thanks. You’re the only one who cares about meee.

The light returned to Ramba’s dying eyes in an instant.

Chomp, chomp!

She must’ve been starving, because she tore into it like a woman possessed.

He couldn’t blame her.

She’d spent all night swinging a frying pan through the air. Of course she was exhausted.

“Eat slowly. The rest of you, take one each.”

• ……Thank you, my lord.

• Thanks, Jinwoo-nim.

Baek Jinwoo had woken up briefly at dawn and discovered that his summons had been training all night.

That was insane.

It had been the same way back in Battle of Summoners.

But back then.

[Your summons have completed training under ‘Drill Instructor’ (E-rank)’s direction.]

A brief message like that would pop up every time he logged in. He never actually knew how the training was conducted.

So this was how grueling it really was.

No wonder the kids leveled up so fast.

It was all thanks to Drill Sarge working his ass off behind the player’s back.

Baek Jinwoo had no intention of stopping it.

Quite the opposite.

“Drill Sarge, you’re always putting in the hard work.”

He commended his efforts.

Because Baek Jinwoo’s goals and Drill Sarge’s goals were perfectly aligned.

• Thank you, my lord. I will strive harder.

“Good. Let’s go.”

Thud, thud.

Baek Jinwoo pulled up the map on the app and walked toward the dungeon.

Following the directions, he arrived at the entrance of a secluded hiking trail.

VWOOOOM!

A glowing blue oval pulsed with light.

So that’s a normal dungeon.

According to the energy readings headquarters had detected, it was D-rank.

He’d heard that these things needed to be cleared quickly.

If left alone past a certain amount of time, a “dungeon break” would occur, and the monsters inside would spill out into reality.

The area around the dungeon entrance was roped off with yellow tape and “No Entry” signs.

Only registered and authorized players could go inside.

“Are you Player Baek Jinwoo?”

A headquarters employee stood at the entrance, having been dispatched and briefed beforehand.

“Yes. That’s me.”

“I’ll need to verify your credentials.”

“Sure.”

After a quick identity check.

“D-rank, solo. Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Please take care of yourself.”

Leaving the bowing employee behind, he threw himself straight into the dungeon.

KRRRRUMBLE!

“UWAAAAAAH!”

“WAAAAAAH!”

The moment he entered, savage war cries slammed against his eardrums.

Where am I?

Baek Jinwoo opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings.

The setting: atop a castle wall of modest height.

Down below, a massive horde of orcs was charging forward, axes raised.

Ah, it’s a subjugation.

Baek Jinwoo was a veteran player.

So seasoned he’d gone stale.

He knew the moment he stepped in.

What type of dungeon this was, its difficulty, how to beat it, everything.

[Squee! Squee!]

[An orc horde has invaded the village.]

[Assist the NPCs and subjugate the orcs.]

“Throw the rocks!”

“GRAAAAGH!”

“They’re climbing the supports! Pour the boiling water!”

Atop the walls, soldiers who appeared to be village militia were fighting desperately.

This is something else.

Back in Battle of Summoners, they were just generic NPCs, but now, everything felt alive.

The level of detail was staggering.

Every soldier’s face was different, just like real people.

“GH… GAAAAAAGH!”

“HEALER! Healer, over here!”

The sight of a soldier screaming with his abdomen split open by an orc’s axe……

This is real.

It was reality itself.

Get it together.

Baek Jinwoo took a deep breath and forced himself to stay calm.

No matter how seasoned a veteran player he was, he couldn’t ignore the gap between reality and a game.

How many times in an ordinary person’s life would they find themselves dropped into a warzone?

And not just any war, but a war against monsters.

“Ugh.”

He was dizzy, but he acted on instinct.

“Guys.”

Baek Jinwoo summoned the five summons he’d designated as Team 1.

For reference, you can only bring five summons into a dungeon.

[‘Wind Fairy’ (EX-rank) has been summoned.]

[‘Drill Instructor’ (EX-rank) has been summoned.]

[‘Storm Dragon Sorcerer’ (EX-rank) has been summoned.]

[‘Minikong’ (D-rank) has been summoned.]

[‘Golden Fairy’ (D-rank) has been summoned.]

Ramba, Drill Sarge, Stormy.

Along with those three, he’d added Minikong and Golden Fairy.

Minikong was the most cost-effective tank among D-ranks, and Golden Fairy was likewise the most cost-effective healer among D-ranks.

As for Furry……

Sorry, but he’d been used as material for Minikong.

He felt attached, sure, but Furry was just too weak to keep bringing along.

Well, he’d go back and find a better master……

Surely he would……

[A ‘barrier’ has been generated for the player.]

Summoning his summons automatically generated a barrier.

That put his mind at ease.

This is nothing.

He’d done this countless times in the game.

“Ramba.”

• Yeah!

“Buff Drill Sarge.”

• Okaaay!

“Stormy.”

• Yes, Jinwoo-nim.

“Prep your spells and provide fire support for Drill Sarge from the rear.”

• Understood.

“And Minikong.”

• UWOOOOOH!

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP!

The little gorilla pounded its chest with vigor.

This one was Furry’s direct upgrade.

He’d raised its level considerably at the synthesis lab, so it should hold up decently against orc axes.

Especially with Golden Fairy’s healing backing it up.

“Jump off the wall. We’re going straight for the orc chieftain.”

The orc subjugation pattern was simple.

Kill the massive orc lurking at the very rear of the horde, and it’s over.

• Squee, squee!

• SQUEEEE!

Orcs swarmed toward Minikong as it dropped down, bringing their axes crashing down.

But Minikong’s thick, tough hide deflected every last one.

WHAM!

Minikong’s fist caved in an orc’s skull and kept moving.

I set up destruction runes on it, after all.

They were only low-rank runes, but it made Minikong a bruiser-tank all in one.

Behind Minikong, the rest of the summons followed in formation.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Ramba continuously boosted Drill Sarge’s attack speed.

Slash, sla-slash!

Eyes gleaming, Drill Sarge swung his blade and carved through orc heads one after another.

After severing two necks, he drove his sword into the skull of an orc lunging from behind without even looking.

Damn, when did he get this cool?

Something was different.

Is it because he’s EX-rank?

This wasn’t the Drill Sarge from the early days.

With the memories of his growth intact, Drill Sarge’s swordsmanship was no joke.

This might be even easier than I thought.

Baek Jinwoo’s summons parted the orc horde like Moses parting the Red Sea.

• KYEEEEEK!

• GRUK, GRUEEEK!

The orcs that tried to stop them died screaming.

At same time.

“WAAAAAAAAAH!”

“UWAAAAAAAAH!”

A roar erupted from the soldiers.

“Wh-what IS that?!”

“They’re on our side! They’re allies, and they’re incredibly strong!”

“W-we… can we actually hold them off?”

Seeing soldiers sobbing right beside him……

He couldn’t tell if they were NPCs or real people.

Regardless.

Even if they hadn’t fully grown yet, EX-rank was still EX-rank!

• Eheheheheh! Die, you orcs!

• Filthy swine, daring to raise an axe against my lord. You deserve death.

• Here goes! Dragon Burst!

FWOOOOOSH!

A blazing inferno swallowed the orc horde in an instant!

Clearing a D-rank dungeon took no time at all.

• Squ… SQUEEEE!

The panicked ‘Giant Orc’ (D-rank) couldn’t even put up a proper fight.

Schlick.

It offered its neck to Drill Sarge.

[Dungeon Clear!]

[‘Drill Instructor’ (EX-rank)’s level has risen to 5.]

[‘Drill Instructor’ (EX-rank)’s Crit Rate has increased by 1%.]

……

[‘Storm Dragon Sorcerer’ (EX-rank)’s level has risen to 5.]

[‘Storm Dragon Sorcerer’ (EX-rank)’s INT has increased by 2.]

Since Drill Sarge and Stormy hadn’t had their levels raised at the synthesis lab, they gained a massive chunk of levels.

[Compensation has arrived.]

[Mid-grade summoning scroll x 1.]

Jackpot.

A mid-grade summoning scroll was worth 500,000 won in cash.

It hasn’t even been two minutes, and that’s 500,000 won!

Ahhh.

Baek Jinwoo was overjoyed.

Because the amount of money he’d be raking in from here on was beyond imagination.

Gotta find the next dungeon right away.

From now on, it was infinite grinding.

Level up his summons, make money.

Nothing but good times ahead!

At that very moment.

“Haaaaawm.”

The headquarters employee stationed outside the dungeon in Gwacheon stretched out in a long yawn.

“Baek Jinwoo…… Who is he? Never heard of him.”

If the guy was soloing a D-rank dungeon, he should be a fairly seasoned player at least.

But it was a name he’d never encountered before.

“Well.”

Still, it wasn’t anything surprising.

Players with a decent amount of dungeon experience could solo D-rank without much trouble.

C-rank and above, though, you’d need to be a ranker to go solo.

“Should take about one to two hours, I’d guess?”

That’s how long it usually took for anyone below ranker level.

Especially if a complex dungeon type came up, it could take several times longer.

Which meant.

He had to sit here and wait until then.

“Might as well hit that gamaseot joint nearby for a bowl of boiled pork soup.”

Checking players in and out of dungeons.

That was a headquarters employee’s job.

They had to keep constant tabs on the dungeon, so they could confirm whether it had been cleared or if something had gone wrong inside.

If a player didn’t come out within a day, they were presumed dead.

“Phew.”

He’d just finished a cigarette and was about to head off for breakfast.

Cracks began spreading across the blue oval.

“Wh-what?”

The employee froze.

That phenomenon only occurred when a dungeon had just been cleared!

“Already?!”

His eyes went wide.

How was that even possible?

One cigarette. That was barely three minutes.

He went in alone and cleared it?

As he stood there, jaw hanging open.

FLASH!

A man with an easy smile strolled out, wreathed in light.

It was Baek Jinwoo.