Chapter 37

Chapter 37: I Alone Am an EX-Class Summoner

Section 1: The Weight of the Footage

The modest workspace that Yubaek still occupied felt entirely too small for the sheer weight of what had just transpired.

Yu Jia clutched the data storage drive she had pulled from the recording system, her mind struggling to process the reality of the situation. It defied all logic. Baek Jinwoo had casually exited the gate in less than ten minutes as if he had just gone for a brief stroll. Even after sitting down with him to finish off bowls of hot galbitang, the entire situation felt completely surreal.

Whether he truly was the legendary JinuGod or not, how could anyone achieve such a feat? Clearing the tenth floor in under ten minutes was supposed to be an impossibility.

Over that meal of galbitang, Yu Jia had officially signed a binding contract tied directly to the system. The agreement bound three specific people: Yu Jia, Kim Byeongjin, and Hwang Taeseop. Under the terms of this digital oath, they were strictly prohibited from sharing the contents of the recorded drive with anyone else. To break this promise meant triggering a severe systemic curse.

“Boss, I’m practically dying of anticipation here,” one of the employees admitted, unable to sit still. “What kind of crazy strategy did he execute in there to walk out after ten minutes? Can we please just look at the video?”

The staff was practically vibrating with excitement, eager to witness the gameplay. Yu Jia was fighting back the exact same urge.

The rumors surrounding the tenth-floor guardian, an entity known as One-Eye, were terrifying. Every single survivor who had ever encountered it shared the exact same warnings. As an S-rank adversary, it possessed a level of savage malice that completely eclipsed anything found within standard instances. A person with even a slightly fragile mindset would completely lose their composure just standing in its presence, rendered entirely incapable of rational thought.

“Alright,” Yu Jia said, taking a steadying breath. “Shall we see what happened?”

“Absolutely!”

“Turn it on!”

Yu Jia swallowed the lump in her throat and carefully slid the data drive into the viewing terminal.

Immediately, the room shook.

— GROOOOOOOOAAAAAARGH!

The very opening moment of the recording erupted with the world-shaking bellow of One-Eye.

“What in the world…”

“So that’s the legendary One-Eye…”

Even though they were merely watching a three-dimensional projection rather than standing in the arena themselves, the sheer pressure from the screen made their legs wobble. It begged the question: what kind of overwhelming terror would a challenger feel standing directly in front of that monster?

“Man, I would completely freeze up,” one staff member gasped. “Even if someone paid me a fortune, I don’t think I have what it takes to be a combatant. How does anyone even begin to fight a nightmare like that?”

“Look at my arms. I’ve got literal goosebumps. Just watching this through a screen is terrifying.”

Kim Byeongjin and Hwang Taeseop continued to exchange frantic commentary, unable to hide their shock.

On screen, the battle progressed. Baek Jinwoo’s frontline forces deployed, but in the initial phase, those entities seemed to be taking a heavy beating from the waves of ghouls.

“This is looking pretty rough, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, they’re getting pushed back. How on earth did he wrap this up in ten minutes? It doesn’t make sense.”

The onlookers were thoroughly baffled. Only Yu Jia kept her gaze locked onto two specific figures: Ramba and Drill Sarge. These were entities capable of actual speech. Furthermore, Ramba had been fitted with an incredibly rare, top-tier graduation rune. Those two individuals represented the true core of Baek Jinwoo’s destructive potential. Until they chose to act, his ultimate capabilities would remain completely obscured.

It didn’t take long for the tide to turn.

— My lord, I shall initiate the assault!

The moment Drill Sarge sprinted forward, the room went silent.

“Wait, what?”

“Did—did that entity just speak? It used actual words?”

The employees experienced the exact same mind-melting revelation that had hit Yu Jia earlier that day. Their mouths fell open, and their eyes stretched wide with disbelief.

Yu Jia could only shake her head with a faint sense of embarrassment. Did I look that ridiculous when I was standing next to Jinwoo this morning? The memory made her feel slightly self-conscious. She wanted nothing more than to present herself as a capable, composed professional in his eyes.

“Keep your promises in mind,” Yu Jia reminded them sharply. “Every one of you agreed to the non-disclosure terms.”

“Did you already know about this, Boss?”

“I only learned the truth this morning.”

“Wow…”

“We can discuss the details afterward,” Yu Jia said, cutting off the chatter. “Let’s observe the rest of the fight.”

Yu Jia locked her attention onto the screen. She needed to see exactly how powerful Ramba and Drill Sarge truly were to utterly dismantle such a horrific boss monster in a mere ten minutes.

The demonstration followed immediately. Drill Sarge operated with flawless, mechanical efficiency, steadily accelerating his movements until he became a blur. Before anyone could truly register the physics of the motion, he was systematically tearing the massive titan apart.

“What kind of absurd entity is that?”

“His combat flow is unbelievably seamless. How is he weaving through those strikes so easily? More importantly, why is his movement speed that high?”

Now that the veil had been lifted from Baek Jinwoo’s true tactical performance, the spectators were left in a state of utter bewilderment. It was the ultimate secret—the kind of mind-blowing information you desperately wanted to gossip about, yet were forbidden from sharing.

And realistically, even if they did try to tell someone, who would actually believe it?

“Is that bladed entity an S-rank or something?”

“This is ridiculous. If someone told me this was a software exploit, I’d believe them.”

Yu Jia found herself staring at the screen with her mouth open as well. Is this truly the caliber of JinuGod’s capabilities?

For the first time, she truly comprehended why the elite players of the global leaderboard had held JinuGod in such terrifyingly high regard. A combatant who had only been active on the scene for roughly six months was already generating results of this magnitude. If he were given a few more years to grow, the entire geopolitical balance of power among players would be rewritten.

South Korea, which had long been relegated to the forgotten depths of the international standings, would rise straight to the apex. The global community would be forced to recognize the brilliance of Baek Jinwoo, much like they did with Rachel.

— GROOOOOOAAAAARGH!

The battle on screen reached its climax as Stormy delivered an incredibly precise, definitive finishing strike to end the monster’s life.

The feed abruptly cut to a blank, buzzing static display. A long, heavy silence stretched across the room. None of them could find their words; their minds simply required time to recalibrate and accept what they had just witnessed.

“What kind of person is he really? This Baek Jinwoo…”

“We’ve been handling his affairs this entire time, but I honestly feel like I don’t know him at all. How can a single individual…”

“Surely, even the absolute top-ranked player in our nation can’t replicate a performance like that, right?”

Hearing Hwang Taeseop’s remark, Yu Jia let out a knowing smirk. The top player in the country? That was thinking far too small. Honestly, even the number one ranked individual in the entire world wouldn’t be capable of pulling off a stunt like that.

“Man, looking at the evidence, it’s almost like…” Kim Byeongjin trailed off, letting out a deep breath before voicing the thought. “Wouldn’t it make perfect sense if someone claimed that the mythical JinuGod had actually come back?”

The room went dead silent as Kim Byeongjin and Hwang Taeseop stared at one another.

JinuGod.

When you really thought about it, the syllables fit together far too perfectly.

JinuGod.

Jinwoo-God.

Jinu.

Jinwoo.

“Wait…”

“Hold on, Boss… is he actually JinuGod?”

Observing their realization, Yu Jia couldn’t help but chuckle softly. “Hah.”

It was the only logical deduction a rational person could make. She couldn’t have kept the secret hidden forever even if she had tried, especially now that they were privy to his raw combat footage. They would have to be completely blind not to piece the puzzle together.

“Nothing has been officially declared,” Yu Jia stated, laying out her cards. “But the likelihood is astronomical. We’re looking at a 99.9% certainty or higher.”

She looked at her team seriously. “However, I haven’t raised this topic with Player Baek Jinwoo directly. And I have no intention of doing so. Ever. Until he chooses to reveal his identity on his own terms, my policy is to behave as though I am completely oblivious.”

“Understood…”

“So you had this figured out from the start, Boss?”

“I did,” Yu Jia replied, a calm, confident smile spreading across her face. “Is the reality of our situation finally settling in?”

They were finally realizing exactly what kind of enterprise they had left their corporate headquarters to build. Yubaek was on track to evolve into the most dominant management agency on Earth, operating as a singular, world-conquering guild. Eventually, it would become an entity capable of eclipsing even a massive conglomerate like the Daesung Group in terms of pure organizational value.

So let them be struck speechless now. There would be countless more miracles to witness in the future, so they needed to start getting used to the shock.

Section 2: The Choice of a Lifetime

The sky turned a deep, vibrant crimson as evening arrived. Rather than returning to his usual training spot, Baek Jinwoo directed his path toward the crafting station located within the Player Zone.

His successful clearing of the tenth floor had yielded two incredible rewards. The notification summary detailed the items:

• [King’s Crest (Bound) x 1]

• [Ultimate Summoning Scroll x 1]

The sheer absurdity of the haul made his head spin no matter how many times he looked at it.

The King’s Crest was understandable; it was a guaranteed crafting component rewarded whenever an S-rank floor guardian was defeated at every tenth interval. But obtaining an Ultimate Summoning Scroll was an entirely different story. This item represented the absolute pinnacle of summoning consumables within Battle of Summoners. It was a legendary drop that appeared at exceptionally low probabilities from the apex entities within the Tower of Trials.

Even back during his prime days operating as JinuGod, he had never managed to accumulate even ten of these scrolls throughout his entire career.

Driven by a sudden wave of curiosity, he opened the digital Market interface to check its going rate, only to find that it transcended standard valuation. There was an endless sea of eager buyers, but absolutely zero willing sellers.

• B-rank acquisition chance: 94%

• A-rank acquisition chance: 5%

• S-rank acquisition chance: 1%

A single percentage point of pull chance stood between him and a potentially legendary S-rank companion. Part of him wondered if he should just tear it open right then and there. Fortune might actually favor him and grant that rare one percent outcome.

However, Baek Jinwoo ultimately dismissed the thought and shook his head. There was no practical reason to rush into using it. While welcoming an S-rank entity would undoubtedly be an asset, the overwhelming ninety-nine percent probability suggested a far more common result. Furthermore, his current resources were already fully strained trying to properly nurture and develop his existing roster of EX-rank companions. For the time being, the wisest course of action was to store it away safely.

He noticed an active listing on the international trading boards offering a staggering 500 billion won for a single scroll, but even that massive sum failed to move him. A few months prior, a younger Baek Jinwoo would have instantly finalized that transaction without a second thought. Now, however, his desperate craving for basic financial survival had largely evaporated. Rarity in the form of unique runes and peerless entities held far more value to him than mere digits in a bank account.

Regardless of that item, his primary objective at the crafting station tonight wasn’t to experiment with the ultimate scroll. He had gathered his materials specifically to manufacture a Guaranteed Summoning Scroll (B-rank).

[Blueprint]

• Rank: B-rank

• Item to be Crafted: ‘Guaranteed Summoning Scroll’ (B-rank)

• Description: Produces a specialized item that permits the user to definitively select and call forth a specific B-rank entity of their choice.

• Required Components: King’s Crest (Bound) x 1, Supreme-Grade Summoning Scroll x 3, High-Grade Summoning Scroll x 10, World Tree Leaf x 10

He had secured the necessary Crest from his recent raid, and he still possessed the supreme-grade consumables he had preserved from his previous endeavors. To round out the requirements, Baek Ajin had already taken care of purchasing the ten high-grade scrolls along with the ten units of World Tree Leaf. Having collected those final items from her, he had traveled directly to the workshop.

[Welcome to the Crafting Station.]

[Utilize your blueprints to forge magnificent items!]

Whether it was the synthesis laboratory, the reinforcement chamber, or the crafting station, the functional aesthetics of these enhancement facilities were all fundamentally identical.

“Let’s see if luck is on my side,” Jinwoo muttered to himself. He began systematically inserting the blueprint and the required materials into their respective inputs in the proper sequence.

[Execute crafting for ‘Guaranteed Summoning Scroll’ (B-rank)?]

• Success Probability: 80%

• Warning: A failed attempt may result in the complete destruction of all utilized components!

“Are you serious right now?” he grumbled.

The system could be unforgivingly brutal. If the attempt failed and wiped out his items, he would be left completely empty-handed. Did the developers have any concept of the sheer market value of these components? The effort required to gather them was immense. Supreme-grade scrolls essentially commanded whatever price a seller demanded, and purchasing those ten high-grade variants had set him back a massive 30 million won. To make matters worse, the King’s Crest was completely bound to his character account; he couldn’t simply go out and buy a replacement if it dissolved into digital dust.

Yet, despite the risk, he had no alternative. There was only one path forward. When the game demands a gamble, you play the hand you’re dealt.

“Proceed,” he commanded.

An intense drumroll sound effect echoed through the chamber as a bright radiance began to emanate from the forge, steadily intensifying until a blinding flash of illumination filled his vision.

[Success!]

[Congratulations!]

[You have successfully manufactured ‘Guaranteed Summoning Scroll’ (B-rank)!]

“Whew!”

Baek Jinwoo finally released the breath he had been anxiously holding in his lungs. The overwhelming emotion washing over him wasn’t necessarily joy, but rather a profound sense of relief. If that eighty percent chance had fallen through… he shuddered at the thought, quickly pushing the dark scenario out of his mind.

Mounting his wyvern, he flew out toward the darkening, empty fields, taking a steadying breath as the wind whipped past. He had intentionally chosen this secluded spot rather than heading back to his residence for a very specific reason: he needed to invoke a new entity.

It was time to open it. But before he unsealed the scroll, there was a critical mechanical theory he needed to validate. He had to confirm whether his unique class trait would allow this specific B-rank item to cross thresholds and manifest an EX-rank entity.

With a sharp rip, Jinwoo tore the parchment apart without a second thought.

[Item ‘Guaranteed Summoning Scroll’ (B-rank) has been activated!]

[Player ‘Baek Jinwoo’ must now designate a target!]

Instantly, a massive vortex of wind swirled around him, and an astronomical quantity of summoning cards materialized, fanning out across his field of vision in an elaborate display. Even a cursory glance suggested there were tens of thousands of options available.

Are every single one of these considered B-rank? he wondered, overwhelmed by the volume. How am I supposed to sift through an ocean of cards this massive?

[Formulate a clear mental image of your desired entity!]

The targets of his intent were already chosen. Baek Jinwoo closed his eyes, focusing his mind entirely on the distinct profiles of two specific entities.

The first was an absolute avatar of mortality—a grim figure that stalked through conflicts wielding a massive, soul-cleaving scythe known as the Gale Slaughterer.

The second was a master artisan boasting a long, silver beard, perpetually bringing a massive smithing hammer down against a glowing anvil: the Rune Dwarf.

Swish! Swish!

The moment the mental images stabilized within his thoughts, the massive array of hovering cards suddenly shifted, reconfiguring themselves at lightning speed until only two distinct options remained suspended before his eyes. The labels inscribed upon their surfaces were unmistakably clear.

• [‘Gale Slaughterer’ (EX-rank)]

• [‘Rune Dwarf’ (EX-rank)]

“Perfect!” he exclaimed, a triumphant smile breaking across his face.

That confirmed his hypothesis beyond a shadow of a doubt. Even when utilizing a standard Guaranteed Summoning Scroll, his innate abilities could force the system to yield an EX-rank companion.

However, a new dilemma immediately presented itself. He could only choose one.

“Well, then… which path do I take?”

Standing alone in the twilight, Baek Jinwoo found himself facing one of the most difficult tactical decisions of his career.