Chapter 38

Chapter 38: I Alone Am an EX-Class Summoner

Rolly or the Rune Dwarf.

The Rune Dwarf or Rolly.

“Man, what a tough choice.”

Both options were incredibly powerful summons boasting massive advantages. If it were up to him, he would love to claim them both.

Baek Jinwoo sat there idly tapping his fingers to pass the time when—

• Jinwoo! You absolutely have to pick the Rune Dwarf!

Ramba fluttered over, wasting no time in shouting out her recommendation.

“And why is that?”

• Think about it! The Rune Dwarf can craft any type of rune with whatever specific traits you want, provided he has enough time and the right components. Rolly is supposed to be amazing too, but if you go with the Rune Dwarf, all of us can get geared up with top-tier graduation runes fair and square.

“That’s true.”

She wasn’t wrong.

Of course, that didn’t mean the Rune Dwarf could just pump out graduation runes instantly. He would have to grind relentlessly to level up his crafting proficiency, and forging Rare runes required an absurd amount of rare materials.

Even so, completely eliminating any worries regarding runes—which represented the ultimate endgame progression in 「Battle of Summoners」—offered a massive strategic upper hand.

Furthermore, what if he managed to awaken the Dwarf’s hidden potential using Drill Sarge? He would likely gain access to Unique runes that only the Rune Dwarf could ever hope to produce. We are talking about custom runes that would exist as one-of-a-kind treasures in the entire world!

Once all his own companions were fully geared up, he could even launch a premium rune marketplace. If he utilized the prestigious Yubaek brand to market these exclusive, top-of-the-line items…?

Man. The profit potential alone would be staggering.

• To be honest, it feels a little uncomfortable being the only one running around with graduation runes. It puts a lot of pressure on me, too. Jinwoo! Come on, just pick the Rune Dwaaarf! Pretty please? Choose him so Drill Sarge and Stormy can get their own custom runes toooo!

“Hmm, maybe I should?”

He was already leaning that way, and with Ramba pushing the charm so aggressively, his decision started shifting toward the craftsman.

However—

• My lord.

Right at that moment, Drill Sarge stepped into the conversation.

• I must respectfully disagree.

• Huh?

Are you seriously doing this again?

Ramba pouted instantly, her cheeks puffing out with irritation, but Drill Sarge paid her no attention whatsoever.

• While the Rune Dwarf possesses incredible utility, I firmly believe that prioritizing the Gale Slaughterer is the correct strategic move.

Oh? Is that so?

“What makes you say that?”

• Raw, overwhelming combat effectiveness. My lord, you currently lack sufficient protection in Player vs Player scenarios. Stormy has not yet awakened her latent abilities, and both Ramba and I have distinct limitations—we require time to build up our stacks before we can unleash our maximum power. With all due respect, if an opponent specialized in stealth assassinations were to target you directly… you could be eliminated in the blink of an eye.

“You make a good point.”

He had been fortunate so far because the overall level of players in South Korea remained relatively low. If he were to run into world-class high-rankers right now, even Baek Jinwoo couldn’t predict how a battle would turn out.

• Additionally, are the national team selection trials not commencing in the near future?

Wow, Drill Sarge really was something else. He even kept careful track of his master’s upcoming itinerary.

• If you bring forth the Gale Slaughterer now, his presence will prove to be an invaluable asset during those trials.

• Oh, come on! What are you talking about?

Ramba waved her arms in frantic disagreement.

• Who cares about some silly tryout! Even without Rolly, the two of us are more than enough to handle anything!

• No. Lower your pride, Ramba.

Drill Sarge rebuked her sternly.

• The rankers associated with our lord’s government are simply weak right now, nothing more. By the standards of the world we originally hailed from, our current strength is still lacking. Most importantly, there is one factor that takes precedence over everything else.

• …And what’s that?

• The absolute safety of our lord.

• …!

• If we bring the Gale Slaughterer into our ranks, I can personally train him to guarantee our lord’s security beyond any shadow of a doubt.

Ah.

Wow. She was right.

Baek Jinwoo felt a wave of genuine gratitude wash over him. The logical argument for choosing Rolly was airtight, but more than that, he could feel the deep loyalty and protectiveness underlying the advice. Even Ramba, who had been sulking a moment ago, was now tilting her head with a conflicted look that seemed to say, ‘Wait, is that true?’ That alone settled the debate.

“What do you think, Stormy?”

• I agree that the Gale Slaughterer is the wiser pick. If Jinwoo-nim is put in danger, nothing else matters.

Man. Drill Sarge and Stormy really are the best. I’ll make sure to take extra good care of you two from now on.

As for Ramba… well, it feels like my survival is the last thing on her mind.

• Fine, I change my mind too! That’s so unfair, using Jinwoo’s safety to win the argument! I’m voting for Rolly now too! Let’s go with Rolly!

In the end, all three summons aligned on the Gale Slaughterer.

Ultimately, the sequence of unlocking didn’t matter too much. The crafting schematic wasn’t going anywhere. Once he gathered the necessary components and fused them, he could easily bring out the Rune Dwarf down the line. Securing his personal safety with Rolly first, stockpiling crafting goods, and then summoning the Dwarf later seemed like a much more efficient progression path anyway.

“Alright then.”

The path forward was set. Time to make the call!

[‘Gale Slaughterer’ (EX-rank)]

Baek Jinwoo reached out and grabbed the card without a shred of hesitation.

Fwiiish!

The card spun rapidly in the air before bursting into a radiant aura of light.

[Player ‘Baek Jinwoo’ has successfully obtained the summon ‘Gale Slaughterer’ (EX-rank)!]

And there it was, at long last! The mythical, game-breaking PVP powerhouse. Rolly was officially in his hands.

• Grrk… Ghk, grrk…

The dimly lit clearing grew noticeably heavier and colder. Spine-chilling noises began echoing through the quiet space.

“So you’ve arrived.”

Baek Jinwoo raised his gaze toward the sky. Hovering in midair was a terrifying specter of death, gripping a massive scythe. This was the Gale Slaughterer.

• Grrrk… Gghk…

Regrettably, despite its exalted EX-rank status, the entity seemed incapable of human speech. Perhaps its non-humanoid form was the reason.

Baek Jinwoo immediately brought up the creature’s stat profile.

[Summon: Gale Slaughterer]

[Species: Undead]

[Rank: EX-rank (Quarantine designation)]

• Placed under quarantine due to features that disrupt competitive balance under specific conditions.

  [Level: 1]

[Attributes]

STR: 1, INT: 1, VIT: 1, AGI: 1

HP: 1,000, MP: 0

Crit Rate: 20%

Crit Damage: 20%

[Skills]

• Assassinate: Grants temporary invisibility. The initial strike out of stealth inflicts a guaranteed 100% Critical Damage bonus.

• Gale: Executes a rapid, full-circle sweep with the scythe, inflicting area-of-effect damage to surrounding foes.

Yes, this was exactly what he remembered.

Judging strictly by the skill descriptions, it was the quintessential stealth assassin type. You slip into the shadows using invisibility, then strike from behind with a guaranteed critical blow.

Conveniently, this specific mechanical identity meant that optimizing a rune build for Rolly would be incredibly straightforward. You could completely ignore Critical Rate statistics and focus entirely on maximizing Critical Damage to its absolute limit.

“Good to have you on board, Rolly.”

• Grrrk…!

The undead entity rotated its massive weapon in slow, controlled circles, seemingly acknowledging the welcome.

• Wow, that is totally disturbing. Yuck! The mood here just became incredibly depressing!

Whoosh!

Ramba quickly hid herself behind Baek Jinwoo’s shoulder, though her eyes were completely wide with fascinated curiosity. She couldn’t help it; Ramba and Rolly had never crossed paths back during the events of 「Battle of Summoners」.

“Drill Sarge, do you reckon you can whip this guy into shape?”

• My lord, that goes without saying! I have zero doubts. Gale?

• Grrk?

Right at that instant, the reaper’s piercing, icy stare slowly shifted over to lock onto Drill Sarge. An intense, suffocating aura of hostility flooded the immediate area, but—

• Grrrk!

The lethal pressure quickly dissipated, and the scythe that had been rhythmically rotating was brought to a standstill against the ground.

Drill Sarge’s inherent Charisma stat was doing its job. It was effective even on a creature like Rolly.

• Gale. Your hidden capabilities are at least S-rank or higher. From this moment forward, I will personally ensure that potential is fully realized.

• Grrk!

As always, when it came to discipline and development, Drill Sarge was completely unmatched. Having someone like him around streamlined everything immensely.

By the middle of June, the competitive energy throughout South Korea was reaching a boiling point. The world’s premier end-of-year tournament, the World League, was looming on the horizon, and the highly anticipated date to choose the ten elite representatives who would fly the national flag was drawing incredibly close.

June 30th! The national selection trials!

Virtually every major news station and online outlet across the country was analyzing the upcoming event around the clock, and public attention had focused entirely on the tournament structure.

└ Who do you guys think is making the cut this year?

└ Hard to say for sure. But obviously, the big three—Baekho, Arirang, and Ilwol—will each secure at least one slot. The Association headquarters will probably land a few spots too, right?

Baekho, Arirang, and Ilwol represented the undisputed triumvirate of South Korean guilds. The leaders of these factions were all comfortably cemented within the nation’s top ten individual rankings.

└ Kang Geonho is sitting comfortably at rank 1, so he’s an absolute certainty.

└ You never know, though. PvP encounters are incredibly unpredictable and full of wild turnarounds.

└ Exactly. There are definitely hidden high-rankers who optimize their entire builds solely for player-versus-player combat.

While public theories were flying everywhere, nothing was set in stone. Even though the trials were an annual occurrence, a handful of dark-horse players regularly surged from obscurity to upset the established hierarchy. That element of unpredictability was precisely what made the national tryouts so thrilling to watch.

└ What about Yubaek?

└ Yubaek?

└ You know, that player Baek Jinwoo who has been completely dominating the news lately.

└ Baek Jinwoo…? I mean, he’s incredibly famous right now, but he doesn’t actually have the foundation to go toe-to-toe with the veteran high-rankers yet, does he?

└ Are you crazy? The guy literally holds every single speedrun record for the novice and intermediate Day Dungeons.

└ Yeah, but he hasn’t done that for the high-tier or apex-level dungeons yet. Besides, as far as I know, Yubaek isn’t even registered as an official guild yet.

└ He could easily sign with a major guild before then. Or he could just register as an independent representative through Player HQ.

The primary debate dominating every forum was simple: who would actually step onto the stage? From university students and corporate employees to independent contractors, people from all walks of life were entirely consumed by the speculation.

And the Association’s administrative offices were no exception to the hype.

Player HQ. Council conference chamber.

In the middle of the frantic administrative preparations for the upcoming national selection trials, the ten elite council members who directed the Association’s operations had gathered around the main table.

“Hmph.”

As the discussions proceeded, the Director kept glaring toward a specific seat with clear annoyance.

Councilman Im Huisu. That idiot was the sole reason the Association had botched its chances of securing a contract with Baek Jinwoo.

Did that man have even an ounce of awareness regarding how infuriating this situation was for the administration? Im Huisu sat there looking incredibly smug, laughing and chatting away without a single care in the world.

Did he even know? Did he have any idea that just a few days ago, that very same Baek Jinwoo had utterly shattered the 10th floor of the Tower of Trials in a mere ten minutes?

That classified performance data was strictly restricted to the Director, his personal executive secretary, and the specific department handling the Tower’s operations. The rest of the council remained entirely in the dark.

Sigh, and I can’t even open my mouth to brag about it.

The reason Im Huisu was acting so incredibly arrogant was simple: two high-ranking players who were fiercely loyal to his faction currently occupied the number 9 and number 10 positions on the leaderboard. In simpler terms, he was the only councilman capable of preserving the headquarters’ political reputation during these upcoming trials.

The anxious Director was nervously biting his lip when—

“Hey there, Councilman Park Changseok.”

Im Huisu flashed a condescending grin across the table.

“Are your arrangements moving along smoothly? I assume you haven’t forgotten about the little agreement we shook hands on?”

The wager.

Park Changseok’s mind immediately flashed back to their previous confrontation.

• How about a little wager? Let’s see if my personal rankers manage to secure a spot on the national roster or not.

• Actually, let’s make it more interesting: let’s see whose sponsored player finishes in a higher position.

• The individual who loses must publicly throw their support behind the winner and immediately step down from their council seat. What do you say?

• Fine by me. We’ll include a breach-of-contract penalty of one billion won if someone tries to back out. Get the legal paperwork drawn up whenever you like.

Revisiting that moment now, it had been a completely reckless gamble. But why had he done it? At the time, after witnessing what Baek Jinwoo was capable of, it had felt like an absolute certainty worth risking everything for.

“Well? Ready to throw in the towel yet? It doesn’t exactly look like you have any high-tier rankers left to sponsor.”

“BWAHAHAHA!”

“Haha, seriously!”

A handful of council members aligned with Im Huisu immediately laughed out loud at the mockery. The brow of Park Changseok furrowed deeply beneath his hair.

“Who exactly told you that I don’t have a competitor?”

“Oh? You actually found someone?”

“Yes. I absolutely do.”

Park Changseok made the announcement with complete certainty. Yu Jia had given him her personal word. She told him that the national selection trials were nothing to be stressed about, and that Jinwoo’s capabilities had reached an unfathomable level. Based on everything Park Changseok knew about her, Yu Jia was simply not the type of person to make empty exaggerations.

“The most talked-about player in the country right now—Baek Jinwoo—will be entering the tournament under my direct sponsorship.”

“WHAT! Are you serious?!”

The loudest exclamation didn’t actually come from Im Huisu. It came straight from the Director.

“Baek Jinwoo is really entering the trials? Under our headquarters’ banner?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“HAHAHA! Seriously? That is fantastic! ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! Incredible work, Park Changseok! I knew I could count on you! You always deliver when it counts!”

It was truly mind-boggling. The very same Baek Jinwoo who hadn’t given the Director the time of day when he had personally tried to recruit him was apparently willing to cooperate through Park Changseok. Regardless of the details, it was spectacular news—especially since the Director was fully aware of the young man’s terrifying record inside the Tower of Trials.

“Come now, Director. Why are you making such a massive scene over someone like Baek Jinwoo?”

Naturally, Councilman Im Huisu was completely blind to the reality of the situation.

“You can’t honestly believe that someone like Baek Jinwoo has a realistic shot at getting picked for the final ten?”

In response to his scoff—

“Oh, give me a break. Of course he doesn’t.”

“Baek Jinwoo simply lacks that tier of competitive experience right now. Maybe if we give him another year or two to develop, sure, but definitely not for this tournament.”

The politicians backing Im Huisu quickly chimed in to support their leader.

Park Changseok didn’t even bother wasting his breath on a reply. That remained to be seen. The definitive outcomes would speak for themselves soon enough.

When the day finally arrived, everyone in this room would bear witness to the terrifying reality of Baek Jinwoo’s true capabilities.