Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Guided by the employee into the reception area, a familiar whiskered countenance came into view.

The administrative center’s active evaluator, Park Changseok.

He spoke with an air of caution.

“That gave you a bit of a jolt, didn’t it?”

“Yeah, a little.”

Baek Jinwoo gave a slight nod.

“I recognized you as an official from the main office, but I had zero clue you served as an examiner.”

As the bearded official cast a brief glance, the employee offered a polite bow and exited.

At that moment, only the pair of them occupied the reception room.

Park Changseok.

And Baek Jinwoo.

“The core reason I requested your presence, Jinwoo-ssi, is simply to go over your recompense.”

“Ah.”

Recompense!

Baek Jinwoo’s eyes grew wide with interest.

“Upon validating your background, it turns out you truly were an unlisted participant. Furthermore, you had already submitted your paperwork for authorization, and your name isn’t tied to any criminal syndicates… Consequently, you are fully entitled to a reward.”

“Understood, that sounds excellent.”

Baek Jinwoo took a tense gulp.

This man appeared to hold a significant rank within the organization. What sort of payout was he preparing to tender?

“Prior to diving into the specifics of the award, there is an inquiry I must pose.”

“Go ahead.”

Baek Jinwoo gave a brief blink.

“Jinwoo-ssi, by any chance… were you a player of digital games?”

The official had chewed over this hypothesis countless times in his own mind.

How could a person who had spent three solid years comatose on a medical mattress possess such an exhaustive understanding of familiars?

No logical deduction fit the puzzle unless the individual had a background in gaming.

“A gamer?”

“That is the label we assign to individuals who previously engaged with a specific title known as Battle of Summoners.”

Baek Jinwoo’s thoughts began to race at high speed.

In all honesty, he had foreseen this line of questioning from the very moment he crossed the threshold earlier.

It was only natural for them to harbor doubts.

“Well, yes… I did spend some time with it.”

“I suspected as much. And for what duration did you play, if I may inquire…?”

“Hmm.”

What would be the wisest answer?

Admitting to a decade would shrink the pool of candidates far too drastically.

During his era as Ilcheon, fewer than two hundred individuals across the globe were actively logged into that software.

As he had previously resolved, Baek Jinwoo possessed no urge to unmask his true identity.

If he ever chose to do so, it would strictly be after establishing an ironclad layer of personal protection.

“I merely trifled with it. Roughly a full twelve months, give or take?”

“Come again?! A-are you being serious right now?!”

GRAB!

In an instant, Park Changseok gripped both of Baek Jinwoo’s hands tightly, his expression overflowing with raw intensity.

“You actually stuck with that absolute dumpster fire of a project for an entire YEAR?!”

“Uh……”

Pardon me?

“Yes, I managed to.”

That actually hit a bit close to home.

He was well aware that BoS was widely considered a trainwreck. Yet, it was the very universe where he had invested his entire existence.

To completely trash a reality that had comprised his whole world by labeling it an absolute “dumpster fire”!

Naturally, completely oblivious to Baek Jinwoo’s internal irritation, Park Changseok was practically vibrating with thrill.

A whole year?!

The overwhelming majority of top-tier elites in South Korea consisted of individuals who couldn’t even stomach six months of it.

A few had crossed the twelve-month threshold in the past, but every single one of them had perished during the initial cataclysms.

This man is an undeniable prodigy. Enduring that notoriously tedious simulation for a solid year proves he was profoundly captivated… That perfectly accounts for how he effortlessly spotted the Fire Resistance trait.

There was a universal proverb whispered among the elite rankers.

Any lunatic possessed of enough madness to endure that cursed simulation for beyond a year was fundamentally broken in the skull from the start.

And the moment the state uncovers one of those eccentrics, they must enlist them by whatever means necessary.

Park Changseok’s pulse hammered violently against his ribs.

Could there be a possibility this youth is fabricating a tale?

Highly improbable.

A patient who had shaken off a multi-year coma a mere forty-eight hours ago, spinning a year-long lie simply to curry favor?

Even if that fantasy were true, it would require an immense degree of respect.

It would signify that the youth’s mental faculties were incredibly sharp.

“I am going to put forward two distinct paths for your compensation. The choice of which one to accept rests entirely with you, Jinwoo-ssi.”

“Very well.”

“Option number one.”

The whiskered official extended a single finger.

“I will exercise my personal jurisdiction to grant you immediate player authorization. Furthermore, I will guarantee you a permanent staff role right here at headquarters.”

This represented an incredibly lavish proposition.

Not merely bypassing the intense competition for one of the fifty monthly authorization openings.

But securing immediate placement within the main facility, an institution whose vetting protocols dwarfed those of premier global conglomerates!

Evidently, that grandeur existed purely from Park Changseok’s point of view.

“What entails the second choice?”

Baek Jinwoo inquired with a completely impassive face.

As if I would willingly allow them to anchor me to an administrative desk.

Ilcheon. JinuGod.

Baek Jinwoo understood his intrinsic value far better than any bystander ever could.

The Five Emperors positioned beneath his tier were regarded as assets equivalent to the might of entire nations. What further validation could possibly be required?

“…The alternate path is a direct financial payout.”

“What is the figure?”

“A financial sum of five million won. It may strike you as conservative, but our internal statutes strictly bind our hands…”

“That suits me perfectly. I will opt for the funds.”

With a cash reserve of that scale, I can easily procure a substantial quantity of summoning parchment.

Park Changseok’s facial features froze in absolute bewilderment.

An endless line of affluent figures would gladly surrender tens of millions in under-the-table funding just to fast-track a player authorization card…

And this youth was discarding such a golden ticket without a second thought?

For a paltry five million won?

“I am fully capable of navigating the player validation process on my own merits. Furthermore, I have zero desire to embed myself within an administrative body.”

“I urge you to reevaluate. Irrespective of your depth of gaming expertise, standard official registration can drag on for an eternity.”

“I am grateful for your thoughtfulness, but my mind is made up.”

Baek Jinwoo remained completely unyielding.

His absolute priority in this present hour was personal Growth.

Particularly to bridge the massive deficit left by three years of unconsciousness, he was required to accelerate his progress exponentially.

Squandering precious hours shackled to a bureaucratic agency was out of the question.

This deviates entirely from the intended script.

Park Changseok scratched at his scalp in deep annoyance.

Yet what leverage did he possess?

The candidate had delivered a flat refusal.

In reality, the initial proposition had been an independent gamble on his part, whereas the financial alternative comprised the official mandate dictated by the higher-ups.

So be it.

He might as well observe firsthand.

Exactly what caliber of capability a one-year veteran gamer brought to the table.

“As you wish. The monetary wire will be finalized before the conclusion of the business day.”

“Efficient and straightforward. I appreciate it.”

The instructional phase advanced at a rapid pace.

The curriculum featured presentations delivered by academic scholars and veteran players, succeeded immediately by a comprehensive theoretical assessment.

The examination drew directly from the seminar material, though the inquiries lifted from the instructional texts were intentionally designed to confound.

It was an unavoidable obstacle.

The process functioned as a competitive grading system, after all.

“Tell me, what are your observations?”

Park Changseok directed his query toward the assembled academics.

Regarding the candidate, Baek Jinwoo.

“…The man is a force of nature. No other description fits. It strains belief that an uncertified contender of this caliber exists!”

The scholars gazed down at the turned-in examination scripts with countenances of pure enchantment.

Park Changseok found himself momentarily stunned.

Had he ever witnessed these notoriously elitist, rigid academics exhibit expressions of such raw awe?

“Ahem, reviewing these analytical solutions makes me see just how restricted my own comprehension of markings has truly been.”

“Mm… I feel quite foolish for stubbornly advocating for velocity markings simply on the basis that a familiar possessed high baseline attack frequency. To think a sophisticated strategy like this was viable.”

“Markings require absolute fluidity, and a familiar’s ultimate power is bound to the synergy of its markings…! The core philosophy that Taiwan’s legendary icon Baekcheon consistently championed is perfectly mirrored within these solutions!”

Well now.

Was Baek Jinwoo truly that extraordinary?

“Naturally, certain segments reveal a clear deficit in actual battlefield experience, but from a purely intellectual stance, the work is flawless.”

“A deficit in practical application?”

“Correct. He occasionally maps out tactical responses for scenarios that border on the absurd… The sort of crises that manifest exclusively within theoretical models. This candidate was a gaming enthusiast, if I recall?”

“Indeed. For roughly twelve months.”

“I am incredibly eager to witness his future steps. His grasp of familiars and marking configurations operates on an entirely detached plane from the rest of the applicants. Given the right environment, he could easily ascend to the upper echelons of rankers, wouldn’t you agree?”

An unending stream of adulation poured from the professors’ mouths.

Oh?

Strangely, the higher the praise climbed, the more a knot of apprehension tightened in Park Changseok’s chest.

His thoughts kept drifting back to the absolute certainty with which Jinwoo had dismissed the invitation to align with the organization.

Should I have attempted to ensnare him with far more enticing incentives?

Following the theoretical examination, the curriculum transitioned to the subterranean labyrinth operational evaluation.

The venue for this phase was the 「Day Dungeon」 nestled within the designated Player Zone.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

Each gateway unlocked in alignment with its specific elemental cycle, offering distinct refining components depending on the calendar day.

This particular assessment utilized the Tuesday labyrinth, which provided refining agents utilized for upgrading markings.

Refining agents were vital components capable of magnifying the intrinsic traits bound to a marking.

“Candidate Baek Jinwoo?”

Having concluded the organization of his combat unit, Baek Jinwoo stepped up to the shimmering threshold of the labyrinth.

A waiting organizational handler stationed at the perimeter spoke up to brief him.

“This operational trial is configured as a time-based sprint.”

“Meaning my singular objective is to neutralize it with maximum velocity?”

“Precisely. This is a low-tier Tuesday labyrinth, meaning the primary inhabitants are exclusively slimes. It shouldn’t present a severe hazard. However, the internal corridors are notoriously labyrinthine.”

I am well aware, trust me.

Day Dungeons? He had systematically pulverized them until he felt physically nauseous across a span exceeding a decade.

The historic speed records for every tier of Day Dungeon were unanimously held by the name Ilcheon, JinuGod.

Granted, he hadn’t stepped foot inside a low-tier instance since his initial months of playing.

Yet whether dealing with a novice-tier environment or a cataclysmic-grade zone.

The sole variance lay in the durability of the denizens. The structural geography remained identical.

“Deploy your sanctioned combat unit and breach the exit as rapidly as humanly possible through any strategy available!”

This specific element introduced a slight imbalance, admittedly.

A portion of the aspiring candidates possessed D-tier or even C-tier familiars.

Matching his current assets against their baseline stats would naturally place him at an immediate numerical disadvantage.

The administrative center’s stance on that disparity was blunt:

— This is a relative grading system, so deal with reality!

Commanding a potent familiar was viewed as a direct extension of personal competence.

The financial capital required to acquire high-grade familiars was similarly categorized as a skill.

Fair enough.

In all honesty, it carried no real weight.

This was a low-tier Tuesday labyrinth, after all.

A novice-grade zone was so absurdly simple that a familiar’s raw statistics were entirely moot.

An experienced combatant merely needed to thread the absolute shortest corridor path with maximum efficiency, and the trial would conclude in a flash.

Shall we begin?

An old, familiar surge of adrenaline cascaded through Baek Jinwoo’s veins.

The Supreme Master of Time Attacks!

This was the perfect stage to demonstrate to the watching world exactly how JinuGod orchestrated movement.

With a firm nod, he crossed the threshold into the dark cavern.

[Krrk, krrrk!]

[The chamber is heavily infested with venomous slimes.]

[Exterminate the slimes and locate the exit of the labyrinth.]

The Tuesday instance was a literal maze.

By utilizing familiars to purge the surrounding slimes chamber by chamber, an individual could eventually discover the inner sanctum of the overseer.

“Ramba.”

— Considered it done! I’m already tracking!

Whoosh, whoosh!

Ramba unleashed rapid swings of her staff alongside Fur Gorilla.

The Wind Fairy’s velocity enhancement counters commenced their rapid accumulation the precise instant they breached the threshold.

— WRAAAAAAAH!

Furry unleashed a thunderous bellow of pure ecstasy as the compounding velocity surged through his massive frame.

“Disregard the slimes. Keep your eyes on me and maintain pace.”

True to the merciless architecture that defined Battle of Summoners, the Tuesday maze layout was remarkably convoluted.

Certain corridors were intentionally warped into dead ends specifically designed to disorient challengers, while other routes looped seamlessly back to the starting point.

The layouts generated dynamically.

Yet Baek Jinwoo, who had executed this exact rotation day after day, possessed complete clarity.

There existed precisely twenty-one distinct spatial variations.

Merely by analyzing the geometry of the initial chamber, the complete blueprint materialized within his consciousness.

He had never actively attempted to commit them to memory.

When you continuously push your limits to shave fractions of a second off your record every single day, your physical instincts simply absorb the data.

— FORWARD!

Coinciding with Ramba’s piercing battle cry, Baek Jinwoo accelerated into a full sprint.

Gelatinous masses lunged toward him from the shadows, but he paid them no heed.

At a novice ranking, their offensive threat was entirely negligible, and more importantly, their mobility was laughably sluggish.

Simply bypass them and press onward.

The solitary entity merited termination was the Colossal Slime.

Evidently, the Colossal Slime boasted a massive reservoir of vitality, meaning neutralizing it in a singular engagement demanded a substantial build-up of velocity counters.

— Hyah! Hyah!

That reality was precisely why Ramba was manipulating her staff with such frantic speed.

Tap-tap-tap-tap!

There was zero trace of indecision in Baek Jinwoo’s movement.

As though guided by a real-time map overlay tool, he pushed forward along the absolute shortest trajectory without a single pause.

Roughly three hundred seconds dissolved in this manner.

“Right there.”

Positioned between a pair of chambers, a hidden, slender split drifted away from the main path. Squeezing through that compressed aperture, an immense subterranean theater revealed itself to his gaze.

And resting squarely in the epicenter of the space, an enormous, pulsating entity sat waiting.

That was the primary overseer of the Tuesday labyrinth.

The Giant Slime.