Chapter 2

Chapter 2: I Alone Am an EX-Class Summoner

As a result, he slipped into a lengthy dream state.

A vision of sprinting across endless fields alongside his summoned beasts.

“Oh, Jinwoo…!”

“Hehe, Oppa.”

“…This boy. Sigh.”

The voices of his family drifted through the dream landscape.

Mother, Father.

And his younger sister, Baek Ajin.

Each time, a spark of clarity would pierce through.

Ah, this is just a dream.

I blacked out because of that car crash. That is why waking up is so hard.

I have to open my eyes.

I need to discover what that low-grade summoning scroll was—the object dropping right before everything went dark. I have to find out what occurred after conquering Floor 100 of the Tower of Trials.

Yet his physical form refused to respond.

The crash had been violent, forcing his body to shut down his mind to heal.

Damn it. Piece of shit.

“Huh?”

“Oppa!”

“Nurse! Nurse?! My brother’s fingers just moved! Please come quickly!”

“Mom! Yes! Right now! Yes! I am not lying! Come fast!”

Loud.

So incredibly loud I can’t even rest.

I suppose I should just wake up.

Ugh.

The moment Baek Jinwoo forced his eyelids open, a brilliant beam of light erupted.

Illumination flooded his wide pupils, so intense that it felt less like discomfort and more like impending blindness.

“Mr. Baek Jinwoo? Can you hear me? If you understand, try to blink.”

“Oppa! Can you look at me?”

Baek Jinwoo knitted his brows.

The blinding light dimmed, and two countenances swam unclearly before him.

A medical nurse, and Baek Ajin, with tears pouring down her cheeks.

He scanned the surroundings. A hospital ward.

Judging by the emblem displayed on the wall, a mid-tier local clinic.

Well, naturally. How could his family afford a high-tier medical facility?

“Ngh…”

A raspy, dry noise scraped out of his throat.

His limbs felt completely rigid, and his muscles possessed zero energy.

Exactly how long have I been resting here?

“Can you follow my finger?”

Blink.

Baek Jinwoo shut his eyes tightly and parted them once more.

“Jinwoo!”

“Jinwoo!”

BANG CRASH!

Having evidently received the message, Mom and Dad came rushing into the room.

He was still attempting to process the entire situation when—

Wait.

The status window remained suspended at the absolute peak of his sight.

[The beta test is concluding.]

[A fresh world unfolds.]

There was zero doubt.

Those were the identical phrases he had witnessed just before that truck struck him.

And directly underneath them:

[Do you wish to initiate the tutorial?]

That prompt was there as well.

“……”

A breath escaped his lips involuntarily.

No, seriously.

What on earth is taking place?

What is actually happening here?

Once he gathered his wits and absorbed the details from his family, Baek Jinwoo found himself entirely speechless.

To begin with, three whole years had already flown by since the vehicle struck him.

And on that very day of the crash—

The entire planet had been completely flipped upside down.

“…So what you are telling me is.”

Baek Jinwoo spoke softly, utterly stunned.

“A notification struck everyone’s eyesight declaring a ‘fresh world’ was beginning, every person alive obtained a single low-grade summoning scroll, dungeons began emerging all over the place, and if they aren’t cleared, monsters come flooding out?”

And that was barely touching the surface.

Contemporary firearms and weaponry were entirely useless against those monsters, they explained.

Not pistols, not rockets, not advanced military systems. Absolutely nothing.

Only summoned creatures.

Only summons possessed the ability to combat them.

That was the reality.

Every single human being on Earth had been converted into a participant of Battle of Summoners.

“…How can that even make any sense?”

“That is precisely what we thought in the beginning.”

Dad let out a deep, heavy breath.

“Incredible to accept, I know. But what else can we do? That is the reality now.”

Baek Jinwoo’s father, Baek Jincheol, had actually viewed this planetary shift as an incredible opportunity.

His physical form had always troubled him, rendering manual labor completely out of the question.

But what about summons?

They executed whatever orders their player commanded.

The entity he had summoned was a golem roughly the height of a toddler, yet it could lift massive burdens without breaking a sweat. He had begun utilizing it to pack and unpack cargo vehicles.

That specific revenue stream was what had funded his son’s medical care.

“Jinwoo, I truly believe this was a stroke of fortune sent by the heavens.”

“…This?”

“Let us speak honestly—your life was not exactly moving in a grand direction, was it?”

“Pardon me?”

Dad, for real.

Are you seriously saying that to a son who literally just woke from a years-long coma?

“You completely abandoned your schoolbooks back in middle school. I was genuinely anxious about your path forward. You were not even acting out or being rowdy. And it is not like you possessed a wide circle of friends either.”

“Is this truly the conversation to have with a son who nearly perished?”

“I could never bring myself to mention it when your mother was around, but I was well aware you were completely hyper-focused on some phone game.”

“…Ah.”

Battle of Summoners.

He had convinced himself he was keeping it a secret. It turns out Dad was aware the entire time.

Then again, how could he miss it?

Considering how utterly consumed he had been by it.

Naturally, Dad likely possessed no concept of what sort of game it truly represented.

“At any rate.”

Baek Jincheol pushed himself up from the seat next to the mattress.

Simultaneously—

Vwoooom!

He sliced his hand horizontally through the empty air.

Krrrrumble…!

Accompanied by a deep vibration, a golem materialized upward from the floorboards.

“Do not be startled. This happens to be my summon.”

“…!”

“The universe has shifted. It is no longer about studying textbooks. Summons—the individuals who can command summons are the ones ruling the world now.”

Holy crap.

Baek Jinwoo’s eyes went completely wide.

What in the world is that thing.

Is that not a Pebble Golem? One of the most basic common entities?

E-rank. A bottom-tier summon typically utilized purely as experience points material.

Utterly worthless inside real dungeons.

Ha.

Now it was finally, genuinely settling in.

For real.

The game I mastered… has turned into real life.

“So heal up quickly, pull yourself together, and initiate the tutorial.”

The tutorial, meaning.

Hearing that specific terminology roll off Dad’s tongue.

What an insane era……

Can I be absolutely certain I have truly awoken from that dream?

Even if Dad enjoyed three full years to grow accustomed to this—

Baek Jinwoo still found it incredibly hard to accept any of it.

He rested for a complete twenty-four hours, then proceeded with the discharge administrative tasks.

The physician raised objections, but Jinwoo continuously maintained that he felt perfectly fine.

He possessed zero inclination to remain idle in bed.

He desired to analyze this transformed planet as rapidly as humanly possible.

And he desperately wanted to resolve this irritating icon flashing right in the center of his view.

What occurs if I select N?

Not that he had any plan to actually choose it.

Regardless of how intimately he understood the game, mechanics could function differently in real life.

If he was going to engage with this, he required a flawless approach.

Right, in any case.

He spent the rest of the day adjusting to this altered state of reality.

Calmed his racing pulse, investigated various topics.

But it was insufficient.

For a legitimate, deep investigation, the web was absolute king.

Beep, bee-bee-beep~ beep!

Ding!

Baek Jinwoo pushed through the main entrance and stepped into the apartment.

His breathing was shallow and his leg muscles quivered from exerting himself after such a long period of stillness, but he could not simply remain bedridden indefinitely.

Thankfully, the electronic entry combination remained unaltered.

It was his parents’ residence—a small, decaying villa with minimal living space.

Unlike his younger sibling, who had earned admission to an excellent university and resided in a dormitory, Baek Jinwoo had been staying here rent-free like a dependent kangaroo.

Stepping outside requires cash, after all.

His mother and father were absent from the apartment.

They would both be putting in overtime before returning late at night.

A wave of sorrow washed over him.

Their earnings had already been meager, and on top of that burden, they had been covering their son’s medical expenses. How agonizing must that have been?

Squeeze.

He balled his fingers into a tight fist.

If.

Just assuming.

If this world truly matches the exact gaming mechanics I mastered…

Then.

Those ten long years he had tossed into the garbage would finally yield returns.

Ten long years of playing the unfilial son (不孝)—he could transform it into the ultimate demonstration of devotion (極孝).

“First things first.”

The PC!

Boot up the computer!

Commence the research!

As rapidly as possible!

“Unbelievable.”

Baek Jinwoo clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

Every single point Dad mentioned was completely accurate.

[South Korea’s Rank 10 Combatant Conquers Dungeon Utilizing A-Rank Summon!]

[Constant Bottom Place in the Global League. Our Country’s Dark Future. Are We Truly a Gaming Titan?]

[The Country’s Finest! Korea University Inaugurates Department of Summons!]

Every solitary headline revolved entirely around summons.

Summons over here.

Summons over there.

And then—

“Huh?”

[Where has South Korea’s ‘JinuGod’ Disappeared to?]

“JinuGod?”

There was an intriguing piece, as well.

He had stumbled upon it completely by accident, and there was absolutely no way he could pass it up without a look.

That is my gaming handle.

Click!

He depressed the mouse button.

As domestic perks fluctuate based on worldwide league standings, South Korea has once more finished near the rock bottom. Intriguingly, multiple prominent top-ranked players from opposing leagues have voiced confusion regarding this terrible performance.

According to Rachel, the United Kingdom’s number 1 ranked player, South Korea serves as the residence for an incredible player known as ‘JinuGod,’ and she herself had gained immense knowledge from observing him.

That was not the end of it. Yoshida Hikaru, Japan’s number 1 ranked combatant, also stepped into the spotlight to speak. “South Korea must locate JinuGod without delay. This is crucial not merely for South Korea’s survival, but for the entirety of humankind, which is required to ascend the Tower of Trials. If they prove unable to locate him? Humankind possesses zero future.” He underscored JinuGod’s absolutely paramount role.

Meanwhile, industry analysts……

“…No way.”

He was utterly dumbfounded.

“I actually recognize these individuals.”

The legendary veteran competitors.

Ilcheon Oje—the One Heaven, Five Emperors.

An incredibly cheesy, embarrassing title, yet these were the exact people he had bonded deeply with for nearly five continuous years.

Individuals he had genuinely formed connections with.

“Sugoi… so your actual identity was Yoshida Hikaru.”

Hah.

A breath escaped from deep inside Baek Jinwoo’s chest.

Player vs Player combat, raid battles, underground dungeons, the Tower of Trials, magical runes, the synthesis laboratory, the upgrade laboratory.

Every single element had been brought into actual existence.

One could honestly label it a cosmic prank.

“…If that is the reality.”

If it truly was.

Baek Jinwoo’s eyes narrowed with focus.

“This is the ultimate prize.”

Far greater than hitting the grand lottery jackpot.

Battle of Summoners had been his entire life. His absolute purpose.

Even at this moment, having barely awoken from his deep sleep, data concerning summons flooded through his consciousness in endless, rapid torrents.

Equipped with this pool of data alone……

Would this not represent a total turnabout of his destiny?

Baek Jinwoo locked his eyes onto the status screen once more.

He possessed absolutely nothing at this stage.

No magical runes to utilize, no formidable summons to deploy.

However.

Baek Jinwoo maintained complete confidence.

Whatever else he might lack expertise in, when it related to this specific title, he felt 100% certain he could climb to the absolute apex of the planet.

“Alright.”

Click!

Let us begin.

[The tutorial will now commence.]

The exact microsecond he selected it—

Shwaaaaa!

His eyesight exploded into vibrant hues.

It consisted of data regarding configuration commands.

[Utter ‘Status Window’ to display your current player attributes.]

[Utter ‘Summon Info’ to display a directory of your captured summons.]

……

[Utter ‘Scroll Menu’ to display the status of your summoning scrolls.]

[Utter ‘Item Menu’ to display the status of your crafting materials and runes.]

And then:

[Day 1 check-in.]

[Your daily check-in reward has been delivered.]

[Bonus: Low-Grade Summoning Scroll x 1]

There was even a daily check-in bonus system active.

[Now attempt to utter ‘Scroll Menu.’]

The training session was initiating?

Evidently, the system intended to guide him through the basics of how to summon an entity first.

It made perfect logical sense—one required a summon to accomplish anything at all.

“Scroll Menu.”

The instant he whispered the command, a screen manifested.

[Summoning Scroll Vault]

1. Low-Grade Summoning Scroll x 2

A dark red parchment floated directly above the display.

A luminous guiding light highlighted it.

One piece from the exact day of his automobile crash, and one from the check-in bonus. Meaning two in total?

[Place your palm upon the scroll.]

He extended his arm.

The moment his fingertips reached forward, something completely solid formed within his physical grasp.

Two actual summoning scrolls, now held tightly within his fist.

[Rip open the scroll.]

[You will be able to capture a randomly designated creature.]

[Slight tremors may manifest.]

[Alert!]

[Utilizing this item in an open outdoor setting is highly recommended.]

“Hoo.”

There was absolutely no way to avoid feeling anxious at this exact juncture.

Even for the individual who was once widely recognized as Ilcheon—the One Heaven.

If he managed to pull an absolute trash-tier entity right at the starting line, his prospects would be completely ruined.

An entity resembling a Pebble Golem (E-rank), for example……

“The warning suggested executing this outside, so.”

Baek Jinwoo gave a firm nod and walked out of the apartment.

Please, let it be something worthwhile.

At the very bare minimum, an entity he could effectively utilize during these initial phases.