Chapter 25

C25

A coffee shop located in Gangnam.

A group of fashionable, attractive young women had picked up their orders and were deeply engaged in conversation.

This was Baek Ajin accompanied by her social circle.

These were peers she had been close with since her high school days.

Whew.

Ajin let out a quiet sigh.

She really felt she ought to be out collecting runes instead.

The only reason she had forced herself to attend this social gathering, despite pouring all her energy into gathering and selling runes, was simple.

They were her remaining friend group.

If she skipped a get-together that occurred only once every half a year?

That would likely signify the end of those relationships, she reasoned.

For a young woman barely in her early twenties, losing her friends was a major concern.

Chaffing and laughing.

The lively updates from her companions weren’t really registering with her.

Her thoughts were entirely fixated on just one individual: Baek Jinwoo.

Did any of her friends truly comprehend the situation?

That her sibling, who was currently admitted to the hospital, was actually the most talked-about player on the scene right now.

Furthermore, he had co-founded an information brokerage firm alongside the renowned Yu Jia.

“Hey, didn’t you mention before that the guy you’re seeing is a player? Have you gotten a look at his summons? How many C-ranks does he command? Don’t tell me he has a B-rank as well?”

“Seriously, if your partner is a player, does he just hand over summons to you? Or maybe give you high-quality runes and stuff?”

“Man… I am incredibly envious.”

Conversations of this nature used to bring her so much joy, but nowadays they failed to generate even a spark of interest.

Consequently, she simply offered blank nods, entirely detached from the chatter—

Beep!

Right then, an alert chimed from her smartphone.

A new text.

Brother?

It was sent by none other than Baek Jinwoo.

[Baek Jinwoo: Let’s have a quick chat. Meet me at the clearing if possible. Are you available at the moment?]

Right at that second.

Ajin’s face lit up with far more animation than she had shown all afternoon.

“Hey everyone.”

She abruptly stood up from her seat.

“I’m really sorry, but I need to take off early.”

“Wait, what?”

“So suddenly?”

“We were planning on grabbing dinner together after this.”

Her companions frowned, showing their disappointment.

Ajin held a prominent position within their social circle.

After all, she was an active player who actually possessed a C-rank summon.

“I’m truly sorry.”

Ajin closed her eyes apologetically and pressed her palms together.

“My brother is calling for me.”

“Your brother?”

“The one involved in that major accident? Wait, didn’t you say he regained consciousness not long ago?”

“Is his condition stable now?”

Ajin’s mouth practically twitched with the urge to reveal everything.

He is!

My brother happens to be THE Baek Jinwoo, the person who completely demolished every single Day Dungeon record across the nation!

She felt an overwhelming desire to shout it out, but she suppressed it, maintaining her discipline just as she always did.

A commitment was a commitment.

“Haha, I’ll fill you all in on the specifics next time around. I’ll treat everyone to an amazing meal during our next gathering. Apologies once more!”

After offering her final regrets to her group, Ajin scooped up her outerwear and purse, rushing out of the establishment.

In a certain district of Seoul.

The modest workplace of Yubaek.

“M-Ma’am.”

The assistant, Kim Byeongjin, spoke with a trembling tone.

“We absolutely hit the grand prize, didn’t we? This isn’t some kind of illusion, right?”

Both Byeongjin and Hwang Taeseop were in the same state.

They were staring down at the compiled earnings statements, their countenances filled with utter bewilderment.

Following the official launch of their information inventory, Yubaek had experienced a literal meteoric rise.

“Oh, stop overreacting, we’ve barely even scratched the surface. Why is everyone making such a scene?”

Yu Jia spoke in a relaxed manner, though even her brow twitched slightly with excitement.

A massive success!

The intelligence packages had been purchased at a blistering pace, far exceeding their initial projections.

Within a mere seven days, a staggering count of one hundred players had finalized their transactions.

Owing to the strict non-disclosure agreement, there were even instances where a single massive organization purchased ten duplicates of the video materials simultaneously.

The offering consisted of five video files and two text-based documentation packets.

With the videos valued at 100 million won apiece and the text packages priced at 10 million won each, it meant…

A single buyer acquired 520 million won worth of material, scaled across one hundred distinct players.

Could anyone fathom what that generated in terms of gross revenue?

52 billion won.

It defied belief.

She had previously presented Baek Jinwoo with roughly 1.3 billion won worth of summons as a gesture, and a single week later, the returns reached 52 billion?

Furthermore, given that production expenditures were practically nonexistent, this revenue translated almost entirely into pure net gain for the enterprise.

This is stunning… Even Grandfather would be left without words.

The patriarch who established the Daesung Group.

Even Yu Byeongcheon would offer his enthusiastic commendation if he were aware of this.

What’s more, this was merely the beginning phase.

In the first place.

Because of the non-disclosure clause, the target demographic of players willing to purchase intelligence moving forward was virtually boundless.

Even if they only dealt in lower-tier data for now, the prospective valuation was staggering.

And what would happen when mid-tier intelligence was introduced, followed by high-tier, and ultimately supreme-grade material?

That would generate astronomical sums of wealth.

Secondly.

This secondary avenue was where the true fortune lay, in fact.

The specific summons she had strategically stockpiled beforehand had suddenly begun selling out at an incredible velocity.

A C-rank fetched 200 million, while a B-rank commanded 1 billion.

Do you know what the exact configuration she had gifted to Baek Jinwoo would cost on the open market today?

5.4 billion won.

Once all processing fees were accounted for, every single consumer walked away with roughly 4 billion in pure advantage.

Gulp.

Jia moistened her throat and cast her eyes over the financial report once more.

It was packed with rows of figures, but the concluding overview presented itself like this:

[Financial Report Summary]

1. Information Commerce Revenue — 52 billion won.

2. Summon Commerce Revenue — 325 billion won.

Aggregated Total: 377 billion won.

Naturally, government levies had to be accounted for and liabilities cleared, but…

A massive success was undeniable.

Even for someone of her background, a third-generation heiress of a chaebol, that sum was enough to take her breath away.

Moreover, this achievement did not rely on the influence of Daesung. This was capital she had generated entirely through her own merits.

“Whew… exhale.”

Jia took a succession of measured breaths to steady her racing pulse.

Then she turned her attention to her employees.

“The commercial viability of this enterprise is fully proven, which means it is time to initiate serious expansion.”

“When you say ‘serious expansion,’ what exactly do you mean…?”

Byeongjin tilted his head in confusion, prompting Jia to gesture toward their surroundings.

“This location.”

She indicated the workspace.

“Don’t you agree that it’s a bit restrictive?”

“It certainly is. At least when contrasted with our previous corporate base.”

“If our goal is to provide optimal backing for Baek Jinwoo, we must expand our infrastructure first. We’re going to require significant square footage if we intend to bring on dedicated legal and financial departments as well.”

Yubaek could no longer be classified as a mere boutique operation.

It had transitioned into a major talent management enterprise responsible for a blockbuster player like Baek Jinwoo.

“Let’s initiate a search for commercial real estate and a corporate building. I’ve already identified a couple of promising areas.”

Yubaek possessed numerous incoming revenue channels for the future.

This included ongoing data sales, custom client requests, specialized coaching, and various other avenues.

Jia had raised all these concepts with Baek Jinwoo, and fortunately, he had kept every single path open for exploration.

Furthermore.

She kept his explicit requests at the forefront of her mind.

A dedicated environment for training and comprehensive security measures for his household.

The entirety of the wealth accumulated from this venture would be funneled directly back into fulfilling those specific requirements.

On any given day, Baek Jinwoo could invariably be located in one of two environments.

Either an active dungeon instance or the secluded clearing.

Upon completing his rounds of the Day Dungeons, he consistently transitioned to one of those two locations to engage in physical conditioning or combat practice.

Ajin made her way up the winding path and stepped into the clearing, only for her gaze to freeze in sheer astonishment.

What on earth am I looking at?

Resplendent summons were executing maneuvers in a synchronized, orderly format, and she could identify every single variety present.

A Battle Warden alongside a Priest of Radiance?

That was merely the starting point.

A Spotted Komodo, a Wind Falcon, a Titanium Golem, a Horn Fairy, a Frost Cat, a Sky Dolphin, and even a Skypierce Wyvern…

And on top of all those.

Thump, thump, THUMP!

A trio of Lava Drakes meandered through the space in an intimidating fashion.

Directing their movements was a clad warrior who seemed to be managing the entire training session.

That’s the individual who completely shut down my Shadow Elf during our previous encounter!

A brief look.

Drill Sarge shifted his gaze to observe Ajin’s arrival.

She recoiled slightly!

Ajin felt a shiver run down her spine, though Drill Sarge lost all curiosity almost instantly and returned to supervising the tactical routines.

“Ah, you made it.”

Thud!

Baek Jinwoo, who had been balancing upside down on his hands in a far corner, flipped back onto his feet and wiped away his perspiration.

What in the world…!

Ajin’s eyes widened significantly once more.

Her shock stemmed from her brother’s physical transformation.

Had his physique always been this developed?

No.

Absolutely not.

He had spent months dependent on intravenous fluids in a medical facility—reduced to nothing but a frail frame.

When exactly did he…?

His bare upper body was now defined by sculpted, highly prominent musculature.

His midsection possessed definition so sharp it looked like a textured washboard.

Whoosh.

An aura of unfamiliarity surrounded Jinwoo as he dried himself off with a towel.

She remained unaware, but he had been subjecting himself to an incredibly punishing fitness routine.

An individual possessing his level of capability could easily choose to relax and rest on their laurels, but such passivity did not align with Jinwoo’s character.

Permitting his summoned entities to handle all the labor while he remained idle contradicted his core principles.

“Brother, what is the meaning of all this?”

Ajin questioned, pressing a hand against her chest to steady her quickening heartbeat.

“Huh? What are you referring to?”

“Those specific summons!”

She stared at the creatures undergoing focused, silent drills.

As a point of information, an individual player was restricted to maintaining a maximum of fifteen summons active simultaneously.

The equivalent of three tactical units.

“Those represent the absolute highest-demand summons on the market right now! Their valuations are skyrocketing, and elite players are aggressively hunting for them on the trading platforms every single day! Just how much capital did it require to secure all of this…?”

There were particular summons whose market valuations had been experiencing an aggressive upward trajectory of late.

These were the exact entities before her.

Despite the fact that the available market supply had been entirely depleted, prominent figures within the community were desperately seeking out additional copies.

Inevitably, rumors had begun to circulate.

A specific theory was making the rounds:

That individuals were cornering the market on these summons as a direct consequence of the intelligence packets distributed by 「Yubaek」.

It can’t be.

Ajin’s mouth parted slightly in revelation.

Yes, that explains everything!

The pieces fit together perfectly!

“Brother, did you achieve those leaderboard rankings by utilizing these exact summons?”

“That’s correct.”

“Where did you manage to acquire all of them?”

“Do you recall Yu Jia from our previous meeting? She provided them to me.”

“…Provided?”

Every single one of these high-value assets?

“They don’t belong to the firm? She handed them over to you as a personal gesture?”

“Correct, she categorized them as a presentation.”

“…Gulp.”

She found herself entirely devoid of words.

She had already exhausted her cognitive capacity for amazement for the day.

“In any case, Ajin. I appreciate you making the trip immediately when I reached out.”

“Oh, right. What was the reason you requested my presence?”

“You’re actively participating in the rune commerce trade, correct?”

“Yes, I just finalized some sales yesterday afternoon, didn’t I?”

“In that case, step over here for a moment.”

Jinwoo guided her toward an edge of the clearing.

And in that spot—

Whirrrr!

He proceeded to manifest a massive accumulation of runes and crafting components that he had amassed from systematically clearing the Day Dungeons.

Every piece fell into the lower-tier classification, but the sheer scale of the pile was breathtaking.

“W-what is the source of all this?”

“Items I’ve gathered during my hunting sessions. Care to evaluate them?”

Ajin dropped into a squat and began handling the objects one by one, analyzing their underlying attributes.

As a point of information, whenever items were laid out openly on the ground like this, any individual could simply retrieve them without navigating a formal transactional interface.

This was precisely why such an action was never performed unless one maintained absolute faith in the other party.

“This particular one is a Swiftness Rune? Though the secondary attributes are rather mediocre. Wait? Oh wow, an absolute jackpot! A Cleave Rune featuring an added Critical Rate modifier? This piece will command a significant premium!”

Ajin inspected every single rune, delivering rapid-fire market assessments one after the other.

She’s considerably sharper than I anticipated.

Jinwoo stood observing with his arms folded across his chest, evaluating his sister’s capabilities.

Cleave Runes possessed a fundamental trait that enhanced Critical Rate.

If a rune of that nature also happened to manifest an additional Critical Rate increase as a secondary random modifier?

Its market value escalated dramatically.

All that time spent operating in the marketplace really yielded results… She comprehends the exact worth of every single item.

She possessed knowledge not just regarding common runes with high availability, but even the precise mechanical impacts of exceptionally rare items with minimal drop rates.

Furthermore, her expertise extended beyond runes alone.

The speed with which she could glance at specialized ability manuals and raw ingredients to instantly gauge their financial worth was genuinely remarkable.

It was entirely logical, however.

Ajin practically resided on the digital trading platforms.

She consistently monitored real-time price fluctuations, maintained a mental catalog of ongoing rates, and even engaged in profitable arbitrage transactions.

That was precisely the reason she had instantly identified every single one of Jinwoo’s summons upon entering the location.

After monitoring her performance for a brief period, Jinwoo gave an approving nod.

“Ajin.”

She shifted her focus away from the collection of runes and materials she had been categorizing with absolute intensity.

“I’m handing all of this over to you. Do you want to take charge of selling it?”

“The entirety of this… for me?”

Ajin’s eyes grew wide.

She possessed complete confidence in her ability to execute the task.

Even established veterans in the rune trade had expressed admiration at how efficiently she could liquidate inventory.

Regardless of the digital games she played throughout her youth, she had always harbored a greater passion for market trading than for repetitive character grinding.

The adrenaline rush associated with purchasing undervalued assets and flipping them at maximum value had always been far more captivating than increasing a character’s level.

If I am granted the opportunity to manage and liquidate this entire inventory…

She would no longer have any available time to dedicate to collecting runes manually.

But what of it?

She had always derived far more enjoyment from the commercial side of runes than the actual harvesting process anyway.

Her enthusiasm wasn’t merely sparked—her heart was actively pounding against her ribs.

“So, what percentage are we looking at for compensation?”

Ajin inquired with a measure of caution.

She was perfectly willing to perform the service without charge a few times for the sake of her sibling, but she had her own long-term financial goals to consider.

She couldn’t dedicate her labor for zero return indefinitely.

“Compensation? What figure do you have in mind?”

“Typically, when independent players consign their merchandise to major volume brokers, those entities claim roughly eight to ten percent of the realized profit.”

“Is that so?”

So specialized corporations existed to manage this exact line of business?

That did sound like a highly efficient arrangement.

“Yes, but considering we’re family, Brother. And given that you’re a highly sought-after player right now, let’s see… I’ll handle everything for a mere five percent. That strikes me as equitable.”

Following a brief moment of calculation, Ajin nodded resolutely.

That represented an incredibly favorable arrangement, in truth.

A player of her brother’s caliber? Brokers would be engaging in fierce competition just to secure an exclusive representation agreement.

They would willingly absorb operational deficits simply to secure his business.

And now, she was the individual being presented with that exact prospect.

Solely due to their familial bond!

A slight smile appeared on Jinwoo’s face as he observed his sister’s reaction.

Amusing.

He had simply offered her the opportunity to liquidate the merchandise, and she had gone ahead to formulate her own compensation structure, entirely independently, while keeping it remarkably fair to him.

Regrettably for her assumptions, though.

Jinwoo had absolutely no intention of taking advantage of his sister’s labor.

This initiative had been designed for her benefit from the very beginning.

“Five percent? Don’t underestimate yourself.”

“I am assigning you a flat twenty percent cut, so apply your full effort. Moving forward, we’ll be receiving far scarcer and higher-value runes, so prepare yourself for a massive workload.”

“…What?”

Ajin’s jaw dropped completely.

Are you serious?

A twenty percent share on an accumulation of this magnitude?

How could such a generous offer even be real?

Wow.

Ajin felt as though she might burst from pure ecstasy.

She formed a solemn resolution right then and there.

Effective immediately, she would abandon manual rune gathering entirely and transition into a full-time commercial broker.

A marketplace specialist dedicated exclusively to representing Baek Jinwoo.