Chapter 29

Unbelievable.

She actually pulled it off?

— Hehe.

Baek Jinwoo stared at Stormy, who stood there gripping her staff with both hands while smiling brightly, completely stunned.

Drill Sarge had been completely right.

The moment he had declared that regular dungeons would be managed by Ramba, Sheriff, and the trio of Lava Drakes from that day forward, he had distinctly sensed Stormy panic.

And he had expressed that to her directly.

Entering a dungeon with just the two of them could be put on hold until she acquired Chain. They would proceed at that point.

Consequently, he had spent the entire day grinding through dungeons, and when he returned around evening—well, look at that.

[Summon: Storm Dragon Sorcerer]

[Species: Human]

[Rank: EX-rank (Quarantine Designation)]

— Balance-breaking elements detected under specific conditions. Quarantined.

[Level: 42]

[Stats]

STR: 20, INT: 85, VIT: 20, AGI: 20

HP: 22,000, MP: 500

Crit Rate: 55%

Crit Damage: 185%

[Skills]

— Dragon Burst: Unleashes a dragon-shaped flame blast forward.

— Storm Dragon Arts ‘Chain’ (聯): Enables the accumulation of Dragon Burst.

She had actually gone ahead and perfected it.

Drill Sarge truly possesses remarkable perception.

The initial feeling that washed over him was pure, unadulterated happiness.

No matter how it came about, the instant Stormy acquired Chain, her worth spiked dramatically.

For context, even throughout Battle of Summoners, not a single player had ever successfully taught a Storm Dragon Sorcerer the Storm Dragon Arts.

JinuGod had been the sole exception.

As for Stormy’s own desires?

Baek Jinwoo didn’t view it as a major issue.

Some people might question it.

Shouldn’t you reprimand her for being underhanded?

Is it truly alright to just look the other way?

Why should he care?

This was exactly where elite players parted ways with mediocre ones.

Whether or not you tackled a summon’s desires head-on.

A summon’s desires were essentially no different from a quest.

You had to complete that quest for the player to reap benefits as well!

Look at it as an expansion of the game, and most players would handle it precisely the way Baek Jinwoo did.

People simply became too emotionally invested because this reality was their life now.

He just needed to utilize it to his benefit.

Furthermore, the core of the matter was simply that she wished to remain at his side.

How could he find that anything less than charming?

“Stormy! Incredible work. Truly, you put in a lot of effort.”

Baek Jinwoo beamed and stroked her hair gently.

— Thank you very much, Jinwoo-nim.

“Perfect.”

Rustle, rustle.

Baek Jinwoo searched his pockets and pulled something out.

It was the glittering VIP corporate card.

“You managed to do it, so just as I promised, tonight is a fried chicken and beer celebration for everyone! Drill Sarge.”

— Yes, my master!

“Allow everyone to rest until tomorrow evening.”

— I… beg your pardon? Do you mean training?

Ah.

That’s right.

Drill Sarge’s ultimate desire was training itself, wasn’t it?

However, well.

He could handle this much manipulation.

He hadn’t spent all those years playing the game for nothing.

“Yes, you said it yourself, didn’t you? Resting is merely another form of training. Let’s establish a policy from this moment on. Whenever anyone perfects a new ability, we mark it with rest and a team unity party. Weren’t you the one who brought it up? Unity. That it is vital.”

— Oh, if that is the underlying purpose, very well. Unity among summons is a critical factor that must absolutely be integrated into the training program.

“Exactly, exactly.”

All that goes through your mind is training, isn’t it.

Baek Jinwoo offered a soft chuckle and made a phone call.

— Yes, I would like fifty chickens and 10,000cc of draft beer sent over, please. Yes! Fifty, you heard that right!

The local chicken shop.

That took care of the humanoid summons.

— Is this Brother’s Butcher Shop? I require every variety of meat that arrived today, along with whatever you currently have in stock. Yes, yes, that is correct. Just everything you possess. Pardon me? I am completely serious.

The local butcher shop, as well.

Today was a day for feasting—even for the non-humanoid summons.

With a card loaded with a billion won annually, he ought to at least spend this much.

Even if he hosted a banquet every single time a summon mastered an ability, would food expenses ever actually hit a billion won?

Frankly, he was skeptical.

“And Stormy.”

— Yes, Jinwoo-nim.

“Since you have mastered a new skill, I will be taking you into dungeons entirely solo for the coming week.”

— R-really?!

Stormy’s expression instantly brightened.

“You have learned Chain, so the next step is Shift.”

Storm Dragon Arts: Shift.

A method that granted the practitioner the ability to alter the shape of the dragon-like flames as they pleased.

Once you commanded Shift, a vast array of practical uses became available.

You could construct protective barriers out of fire, raise barriers, or generate fierce winds.

Naturally, this particular one wouldn’t be conquered quite so rapidly.

It is a style that demands mana regulation pressed to its absolute boundaries.

Nonetheless.

Baek Jinwoo offered a nod with a smile.

The fundamental groundwork is complete.

Groundwork for what?

For making an attempt at Floor 1 of the Tower of Trials!

The following day.

Baek Jinwoo commenced serious preparations to scale the Tower of Trials.

The Tower of Trials.

The pinnacle of end-game content within Battle of Summoners, and Baek Jinwoo had previously scaled his way all the way up to Floor 100.

A location of overwhelming difficulty, and the exclusive zone where one could claim the randomized items produced by the AI.

The Tower of Trials demanded that all three teams a player could form be fully functional.

To put it another way, you could deploy fifteen summons for the ascent.

In an ideal world, I would secure another EX-rank summon and bring them along, but…

That was practically out of the question.

The probabilities were simply far too low.

Gather all of Yubaek’s earnings, channel them into dividends, utilize that capital to purchase costly summoning scrolls and tear them open?

If that actually resulted in an EX-rank, fantastic. But what if it failed?

That astronomical sum of cash would be washed directly down the drain!

Even if he traded away the summons that appeared to recover some expenditures, the deficits would be catastrophic.

And even if I attempted it, now is not the right moment.

He was aware that Yu Jia had been pushing herself incredibly hard lately.

She had recently acquired property and was constructing a fresh facility, wasn’t she?

She was scrambling for capital, even securing credit lines. He couldn’t exactly stroll up and state, Hey, I require several hundred billion for summoning scrolls.

Therefore.

For the time being, he resolved to scale the Tower of Trials utilizing his Day Dungeon summons.

Just up to Floor 10.

Floor 10 of the Tower of Trials was accessible enough that a fair number of domestic rankers had successfully beaten it.

“Accessible” by Baek Jinwoo’s criteria, naturally.

In truth, quite a few domestic rankers had perished while challenging the Tower of Trials. It was anything but a simple task.

“Whew.”

In any case.

He decided to take a break from dungeons for the day.

Baek Jinwoo grabbed four iced americanos from the coffee shop and walked over to the Yubaek workspace.

Beep, bee-eep!

He swiped the employee card he had been provided with previously, and click! The entrance slid open.

“Huh?”

“Baek Jinwoo?”

Kim Byeongjin and Hwang Taeseop, who had been completely absorbed in their duties, rose to their feet.

Yu Jia was occupying the principal chair as well.

“Oh! Jinwoo! What brings you over! You ought to have informed me you were dropping by!”

Yu Jia sprang to her feet straight as an arrow, resembling a private saluting a superior officer.

What was that all about?

Was he imagining things?

As of late, Yu Jia appeared even more respectful than before.

“Haha, I am taking an intentional day of rest, and I had a few matters to go over. Here, enjoy some coffee while we converse.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Oh, I appreciate this.”

One after another.

The team members accepted their beverages.

Yu Jia guided Baek Jinwoo into the conference space.

“Jinwoo, you mentioned you had something to discuss. Is there an item you require?”

“No, well. I could certainly make use of some summoning scrolls, but…”

“Summoning scrolls? Intermediate-grade? High-grade? How many would you like me to source for you?”

“Haha, the scrolls were merely a jest. What I actually intended to communicate is… I am preparing to challenge the Tower of Trials in the near future.”

“…The Tower of Trials?”

Yu Jia’s eyes shook slightly.

The tower of terror, situated within Jamsil Tower inside the Player Zone.

Its dark reputation was something she had caught wind of frequently during her tenure at the main office.

— A cemetery for players!

— Absurd, torturous difficulty!

Every single ranker who had managed to return alive uttered the identical phrase.

That location was absolute purgatory.

They were fortunate to have come out alive. A single misstep and they would have perished.

As the chief executive of Yubaek, naturally she would fret over her player stepping into a zone like that.

And yet.

Observe those eyes.

He was discussing entering the Tower of Trials, and there wasn’t a single hint of hesitation in his look.

Precisely the same as before he had stepped into the Day Dungeon.

That self-assurance. That serenity.

Yu Jia felt her belief harden once more.

He truly is JinuGod.

Had that gamer not been the solitary individual to ever challenge Floor 100?

To someone of his caliber, how insignificant must Floor 1 appear?

Sigh.

Yu Jia inhaled quietly and sustained her expressionless face.

She suppressed her internal thrill.

Had she not already made up her mind?

Until he brought it up herself, she would not investigate.

“Are you completely certain you will be fine?”

“Yes. I had originally intended to give it a shot around this timeframe.”

“I see…”

“Oh, and for this occasion, I will not be utilizing any broadcasting gear.”

“Meaning you won’t be broadcasting or selling the recordings?”

“That is correct.”

For this specific dungeon excursion, the involvement of Ramba, Drill Sarge, and Stormy was absolutely critical.

He preferred not to display their existence prematurely.

And of greater significance.

Verbal coordination was essential within the Tower of Trials.

With broadcasting gear active, his summons were incapable of talking.

“Hehe, proceed with whatever option is most convenient for you, Jinwoo.”

“I appreciate your flexibility.”

“Oh, it is nothing worth mentioning.”

Yu Jia beamed.

Once he commences scaling the tower in a serious manner… Jinwoo’s market value is going to skyrocket through the ceiling.

Without question.

The commercial prospects for Yubaek were boundless.

“In exchange, might I request a single favor from you?”

“A favor?”

Baek Jinwoo tilted his head slightly.

What sort of favor?

“It is truly just a request, so you are under absolutely no obligation to agree.”

“Go ahead, let’s hear what it is.”

“The situation is, the national selection trials are scheduled to occur in two months.”

“…Ah.”

He was aware.

He had researched it.

Every year around the conclusion of June, ten players were chosen to represent the nation, correct?

Affiliates of the main office could enter, as could individuals aligned with prominent guilds.

And those who secured a spot?

They were required to participate in the World League at the conclusion of the calendar year.

Rachel, MoscowMan, and the remainder of them.

Going head-to-head against the planet’s premier rankers, competing for the perks provided by the system.

“Can independent participants not enter, though?”

Yubaek was a management entity, certainly, but strictly speaking, it was not an officially recognized guild.

Because it handled only one person, he would technically be grouped as an independent.

“It is achievable via a councilman’s endorsement! In truth… ahem, Councilman Park Changseok, the gentleman supporting our firm.”

Yu Jia proceeded to explain the circumstances in careful detail.

Everything that had occurred within the main office, and how Park Changseok had lost his temper and ultimately made a petty wager with a rival councilman.

“Hmm.”

Baek Jinwoo stroked his chin.

The national selection trials shouldn’t present too much of a challenge, but the complication lay in…

He would have to square off against the top rankers on Earth.

It was slightly intimidating, and yet.

Eight months from this point?

That was actually manageable.

Assuming Stormy successfully mastered Devour prior to that date.

“However, if you are chosen for the national squad, you would receive immense backing. The current administration’s stance is to withhold no resources for players who have validated their capabilities.”

“Hmm, is that the case?”

Capital.

He definitely required capital.

In order to summon an additional EX-rank.

Though Rolly is completely overpowered in PVP.

Rolly.

The designation for Gale Slaughterer (B-rank), a summon JinuGod used to operate frequently in the past.

Baek Jinwoo had previously secured the number one position in the Player vs Player leaderboard using Rolly alone.

After he had obliterated all five of Rachel’s summons (one of which was even an S-rank) within five seconds flat using Rolly, the entity was wiped from existence, but nevertheless…

“What level of backing are we talking about exactly?”

“It fluctuates depending on the year, but… you could likely extract a substantial quantity of high-grade summoning scrolls. Perhaps even a supreme-grade summoning scroll…”

“Oh.”

A supreme-grade summoning scroll?

[C-rank: 94%]

[B-rank: 5%]

[A-rank: 1%]

A scroll boasting those specific probabilities, providing an opportunity for an A-rank.

They weren’t even available on the open market, and their worth was beyond calculation.

Name your price, essentially.

Only a national-scale organization could even secure one. For any standard guild, it was completely out of reach.

There is no path where I can let that slide by.

Following a brief period of reflection, Baek Jinwoo gave a nod.

“Alright. In two months, let’s make a run for it.”

“Yes, got it. Thank you so much!”

Concealed beneath the surface of the desk, Yu Jia’s fist squeezed tight in a quiet gesture of victory.

Councilman Park.

You had better not fail to remember this obligation, do you hear me?

This isn’t merely some ordinary player. This is JinuGod. JINUGOD!