Chapter 45

Baek Jinwoo had risen to the status of a national idol following a solitary qualification match, but—

Pant, pant!

He never allowed his training regimen to falter.

Following his routine, he repaired to the woodland clearing, unsealed his summons, and threw himself into grueling calisthenics.

“Focusing excessively on raw muscle power will certainly grant you immense strength, but you will forfeit your quickness and agility in exchange. Equilibrium is paramount, my lord.”

“Got it, got it.”

Perspiration streamed down his countenance, yet his gaze blazed with unyielding resolve as he maintained his posture.

The reality of the matter was—

There was one precise reason Baek Jinwoo had been capable of achieving such absolute dominance.

The competitive standard in Korea is simply pathetic.

To say nothing of the superpowers that produced the Five Emperors—even if he had clashed with a mid-tier nation, he might not have suffered a defeat, but he certainly would not have utterly dismantled them at every single turn.

The offensive power of Drill Sarge and Rolly would have fallen short.

Ramba was an exception, naturally.

He had outfitted her with a graduation rune designed to remain viable for over a decade, but the rest of his summoned beasts presented a genuine problem.

They were all relying on mid-tier or high-tier runes that were, at the absolute best, upgraded to a respectable degree.

It was time to begin assembling some truly formidable runes.

The opening move in that direction required him to conquer Floor 20 of the Tower of Trials.

He had to reach that milestone to manufacture another Rank B Guaranteed Summoning Scroll, which would allow him to pull that absurdly overpowered summon known as the Rune Dwarf.

Furthermore, he needed to start advancing the Day Dungeons into the high-tier bracket.

His specialized units for the Day Dungeons—including Battle Warden, Priest of Radiance, Lava Drake, and the rest—had all gained a substantial number of levels.

Under the rigorous and brutal training regimen overseen by Drill Sarge, they had unlocked fresh capabilities, meaning high-tier challenges should be well within their capabilities.

Every single morning.

Baek Jinwoo received his daily updates from Yu Jia out in the open clearing.

It was a combination of morning greetings, physical exercise, and corporate reporting all wrapped into one!

For all practical purposes, the shareholder briefings for Yubaek were being conducted in the wilderness on a daily basis.

Upon concluding a grueling set of exercises under Drill Sarge’s supervision, Yu Jia used a towel she had brought along to wipe away her sweat.

“Catch.”

Baek Jinwoo fetched a chilled water bottle from the cooler and tossed it over to her.

“Whew, hah. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Gulp, gulp.

The fluid moving down her throat looked precisely like a high-profile celebrity filming a commercial.

“Ah, that is incredibly refreshing. Jinwoo-ssi.”

“Yeah?”

“I believe it’s nearly time for us to prepare to relocate from this clearing.”

“Oh?”

Baek Jinwoo’s eyes widened in surprise.

He was aware that the dedicated training complex was being built, but was it truly finished already?

“It ought to be entirely completed in roughly one week.”

It was progressing far ahead of the original timeline.

And that was entirely due to Baek Jinwoo’s influence.

The moment his name skyrocketed to stardom, various construction firms directed every asset at their disposal toward the site—pouring in machinery and laborers as if their very existence hung in the balance.

“We are simultaneously making arrangements for your family members to relocate into the facility as well.”

“You’ve been quietly managing a massive workload.”

“Not at all! You are the one carrying the real burden, Jinwoo-ssi. Ah, also—”

Yu Jia chuckled while waving her hands in a modest dismissal, quickly transitioning to the subsequent topic.

“The state authorities have pledged an immense sum of capital.”

“Oh, what’s the figure?”

“One trillion won allocated from the national treasury for every individual on the national roster! Furthermore, because you hold the position of team captain, you receive an additional trillion as a bonus—totaling two trillion won! It seems they managed to scrape together a grand total of eleven trillion won by pushing the state budget to its absolute limits. This is completely without precedent.”

“Are you serious?”

Trillions?

And a whopping two trillion dedicated to him alone?

There was a time when Korea operated with a national budget surpassing 600 trillion won, but those eras were long gone.

The domestic economy had suffered a massive downturn after the nation plummeted to the bottom rankings of the world league.

The sovereign debt remained astronomical, and there were endless financial obligations to meet.

Even so, they had managed to pinch pennies and aggregate eleven trillion won.

This made it crystal clear just how desperately the government was gambling on the upcoming world league.

“However, certain provisions are attached.”

“Provisions?”

“The distributed funds must receive formal clearance from headquarters and can only be directed toward player development. And naturally, you cannot simply pocket the resources and subsequently change your citizenship to another country.”

“Well, that’s obvious.”

He possessed absolutely zero desire to squander the citizens’ hard-earned tax contributions on personal extravagance.

In any case, there was an abundance of runes, summons, and raw materials he desperately required to purchase.

Moreover—

He had no intention of turning his back on the nation where his family resided.

“And there is one additional matter.”

“They really attached a lot of strings, didn’t they?”

“Haha, well, given that we are discussing an astronomical sum of capital, it’s only natural…”

That was reasonable.

We weren’t talking about pocket change—it was trillions of won.

“What’s the catch?”

“The national squad is required to assemble once per week. As the captain, Jinwoo-ssi, it will be your duty to guide the remaining nine squad members through training drills and mock combat. The precise timetable still requires coordination, but you will likely need to provide instruction for a minimum of ten hours. That is presumably the obligation linked to that extra trillion won.”

“Once a week, for ten hours…”

In all honesty, his schedule was about to become incredibly packed.

He had to manage his Day Dungeons and continue his ascent up the Tower of Trials.

On the other hand?

If they were compensating him on that scale, it altered the equation.

Providing instruction was something he could certainly handle.

“Which day are we looking at?”

“That is for the squad members to decide collectively, but if you select a specific day, Jinwoo-ssi, I am certain the rest will simply fall in line with your choice.”

“…They’d actually follow my lead?”

“You truly have no concept of your status, do you? Have you not viewed the interviews given by the top rankers?”

“I haven’t bothered.”

He had attempted to search his own name on the internet a few times initially, but he quickly abandoned the habit.

The explanations for that were endless.

Every single online community, the entire global stage—everything revolved entirely around him…

Even while he attempted to skim through the boards, fresh threads materialized at an endless, rapid pace.

He had scrolled for roughly an hour before a wave of dizziness washed over him, prompting him to shut it down.

What did the public’s perception matter?

The only thing that truly mattered was his own progress.

The strength he currently commanded was laughably inadequate.

A national icon?

JinuGod?

The version of Baek Jinwoo existing right now had not even reclaimed ten percent of his historical preeminence, his former might.

“Take a look at this particular piece.”

Yu Jia tapped the screen of her mobile device and displayed it to him.

The core message of the articles read along these lines:

[Ranker Baek Jinwoo is my ultimate inspiration!]

[The nation’s top-ranked player, Kang Geonho: “Any high-ranking player who underestimates Baek Jinwoo is an absolute fool. Baek Jinwoo has validated his status. He stands alone as the supreme ranker of our time.”]

[Arirang’s second-in-command, Orang, left shattered after failing the qualification rounds—states that his grandest remorse is missing the opportunity to receive instruction from Player Baek Jinwoo!]

[The leadership of Carpe Diem collectively proclaims: “Moving forward, our guild’s ultimate benchmark is none other than Baek Jinwoo.”]

…

Wow.

This is incredibly embarrassing.

Why was everyone flatteringly singing his praises to this degree?

“You are well aware of the JinuGod moniker as well, correct, Jinwoo-ssi?”

“……”

Baek Jinwoo’s facial features hardened slightly.

Undeterred, Yu Jia pressed forward with her thought.

“The domestic rankers already perceive you as the literal JinuGod. You demonstrated it beyond doubt through your sheer prowess, and the symbolic weight is there too. Frankly, they have absolutely no reason to reject your leadership.”

“I see.”

Observing the expression on Yu Jia’s face, Baek Jinwoo came to a realization.

She is completely convinced of it as well.

He would have to reveal the truth eventually.

Not to the general populace—it remained far too premature for such a disclosure.

However, revealing it to Yu Jia should pose no risk.

They were tied to the same destiny now.

“What is your honest assessment, Jia-ssi?”

“Do I truly appear to be JinuGod in your eyes?”

Yu Jia pondered the inquiry for a brief moment before ultimately offering a firm nod.

“In all honesty… I have harbored suspicions for quite some time. The circumstantial evidence pointed to it. And at this juncture, I am entirely certain.”

“Haha.”

Baek Jinwoo gave the back of his head a sheepish scratch.

Well, naturally.

Regardless of how clever one was, an individual would have to be completely dense not to connect the dots at this stage.

Why on earth did I decide on JinuGod as my alias back then?

Now that he had reached adulthood, it felt like an agonizingly embarrassing moniker.

The sort of name that caused the hair on his arms to stand up from sheer cringe.

“Yeah, your intuition is correct. I was the person operating the JinuGod profile during the era of BoS. I apologize for the deception. I claimed at the beginning that I had only participated for a single year purely to avoid drawing unwanted attention to myself.”

“I knew it…!”

“However, I prefer not to validate this information to the public just yet. I would rather delay that until I have reclaimed at least half of the capabilities I once possessed.”

Few scenarios were more hazardous than possessing immense renown without the corresponding strength to defend it.

People theorizing that he was JinuGod was an inescapable consequence of his real name, but providing an official confirmation was an entirely separate matter.

“I comprehend completely.”

“Let’s schedule the national team gatherings for Saturdays. We will preserve Sundays for resting.”

“Understood! I will convey that decision to the other rankers immediately!”

“Furthermore.”

“Yes?”

“For the immediate future, I intend to concentrate all my efforts on conquering Floor 20 of the Tower of Trials.”

“……Floor 20.”

As a point of comparison, Rachel—who held the number one spot on the global leaderboard—was currently stationed on Floor 29.

And that achievement had required three long years of unceasing, relentless climbing.

As for the domestic scene?

Not a single player within Korea had managed to clear Floor 20.

Yet here he stood, calmly announcing his intention to shatter that barrier.

Chills.

Yu Jia felt an intense tingling sensation ripple across her entire form, as though she might lose her composure from sheer excitement.

Was this the precise emotion one felt when watching the history of a living titan unfold directly before one’s eyes?

“That sounds incredible! Should you require any assistance, please connect with me directly at any time!”

A single week slipped by.

To begin with, he effectively finalized the arrangements for running high-tier Day Dungeon sessions.

I could technically attempt supreme-grade, but—

The return on investment was abysmal.

The time investment required was excessive; clearing high-tier maps rapidly and in high volume offered vastly superior value.

He seriously doubted that a single player across the globe was actively farming supreme-grade content at this current juncture.

Naturally, the performance records he set stood as the absolute highest in the nation!

The rewards from these runs yielded him 21 high-grade summoning scrolls.

“Scroll Menu.”

He uttered the command softly, causing the interface to manifest in front of him.

[Summoning Scroll Inventory]

1. High-Grade Summoning Scroll × 21

2. Ultimate Summoning Scroll × 1

He had already consigned all the lower-tier miscellaneous scrolls to be sold off utilizing Baek Ajin’s channels.

As for the ultimate summoning scroll, his strategy was to hoard as many as humanly possible and crack them all open in a single grand session.

Additionally—

In order to properly brace himself for Floor 20 of the Tower of Trials, he needed to fulfill two critical prerequisites.

He required Drill Sarge’s pre-graduation rune, along with Stormy mastering Storm Dragon Arts: Blaze (炎).

The Storm Dragon Arts: Blaze (炎) was of paramount importance.

Blaze (炎) represented the tertiary tier of mastery, succeeding Chain (聯) and Shift (變).

While Chain (聯) granted the ability to pile up consecutive Dragon Bursts, Shift (變) offered the utility to alter their characteristics.

Blaze (炎) would enable him to trigger a simultaneous detonation of every single gathered Dragon Burst at once.

The adversary guarding Floor 20 was the sovereign of all vampiric entities, the ancient vampire lord—’Dracul’ (S-rank).

The monstrous creature possessed an inherent vulnerability to flame, meaning he required the power to incinerate it to cinders in a solitary strike using Blaze (炎).

First things first, however.

Stormy had not even fully synchronized with Shift (變) yet, meaning attaining Blaze (炎) remained a distant objective.

Should I prioritize constructing Drill Sarge’s pre-graduation rune first?

An authentic, definitive graduation rune would only become a reality after he successfully acquired the Rune Dwarf.

For the time being, a provisional pre-graduation version would have to suffice.

Baek Jinwoo commanded a fortune of two trillion won—a staggering reservoir of capital at his disposal.

He fully resolved to funnel every single unit of wealth into empowering Drill Sarge.

“There exists a supreme-grade rune designated as ‘Omni.'”

“Wow! The Omni Rune! I am well aware of that one! That item is incredibly legendary!”

Baek Ajin’s voice resonated clearly through the receiver.

“Secure some for me. Collaborate with Jia-ssi on this. Acquire as many units as you can find.”

“Hold on, you want me to track down those specific items?”

Her tone sounded completely staggered.

And with perfectly valid justification.

[Rune]

[Rank: Supreme-Grade (Rare)]

• Limited to a global count of 100.

[Set Effect: Omni]

• Equipping 6 pieces amplifies all attributes by 500% and increases total HP by 10,000.

• Grants 2 bonus attribute slots.

[Level: 1]

[Attribute Modifications]

STR +12%, INT +12%, VIT +12%, AGI +12%, Critical Rate +10%, Critical Damage +20%

Much like the Lightspeed runes assigned to Ramba, this was a strictly limited-run item.

It enhanced every baseline attribute in a perfectly uniform manner, and the supplementary bonuses were utterly monstrous.

Furthermore, standard runes were restricted to a maximum of four attribute lines—the Omni Rune stood as the solitary anomaly boasting six distinct lines.

A flawless, comprehensive asset capable of extracting absolute peak performance from any given summoned entity. That was the essence of the Omni Rune.

“Those items command an astronomical price tag, though. There aren’t even any listings available on the trading boards.”

“Precisely.”

Baek Jinwoo flashed a knowing smirk.

“Which means we will simply have to offer an amount well above the standard market valuation.”

The demand for that specific rune was staggering.

It was so intensely sought after that entire superpowers were actively battling one another to secure ownership of them.

“Exactly how many pieces are you looking to acquire…? Six, right? To activate the full set bonus?”

“No.”

Baek Jinwoo gave his head a firm shake.

“Eighteen.”

The number he required was precisely three complete sets.

As for the underlying strategy behind that decision—he would reveal it when the appropriate moment arrived.