Chapter 91

“Alright, I’ve got some fresh summons here for the group. The cost has already been taken out of your individual government allowances, so please keep that in mind when you step forward to take yours. With the exception of Hwang Juwon Hyungnim, Oh Seonyeong, and Hwang Jiwoo, everyone is getting at least one.”

No disrespect intended toward those three, but their current summon lineups were flawless as they were—no modifications required.

Their only job was to maintain their current momentum.

“Oh, you actually have one for me?”

Kang Geonho was the first to approach, carefully taking possession of the Dark Knight.

It was an entirely unfamiliar creature to him.

He gazed down at it, his expression a blend of shock and deep fascination.

He combed through the Market on a daily basis as part of his routine, yet he had never once spotted this particular entity. How on earth had Jinwoo managed to track it down?

“I’ll make sure this is put to incredible use.”

What kind of power did it hold?

The second he accepted it with high hopes written all over his features and scanned its details—

Holy crap!

His mouth practically dropped open.

An A-rank Dark Knight?

In that instant, he grasped exactly what Baek Jinwoo had been plotting when he tracked down this creature.

Every hidden flaw he had quietly fretted over in secret—this solitary Dark Knight possessed the exact toolkit to patch them all up perfectly.

Hell yes!

Kang Geonho squeezed both of his fists tightly.

An image was already forming in his mind: his Paladin and this new Dark Knight sweeping out toward opposite sides, decimating opposition forces from both flanks.

From this point forward, I am dedicating every resource to maximizing the growth of these two.

Simultaneously, an undeniable shift in atmosphere washed over him.

Back when Baek Jinwoo was merely offering outside advice to the national team, things felt detached, but now it felt as though he had officially been welcomed into Jinwoo’s inner circle.

To put it plainly? It felt incredibly reassuring.

Kang Geonho was far from the only person left utterly speechless.

“Oh my gosh, this is a Phoenix! I’ve been searching everywhere for one—how did you even manage to get this…!”

Hong Ari accepted the Phoenix, her face radiating pure, unadulterated ecstasy.

Fwoooosh!

Blazing fire swirled around her form, yet she didn’t experience even a hint of burning heat.

This is a massive leap forward compared to the Firebird I’ve been relying on.

With just this single addition, her combat capabilities would easily skyrocket tenfold.

“Thank you. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I am so grateful.”

As Hong Ari lost all composure and grinned with sheer delight, the onlookers nearby were completely caught off guard.

She was typically sharp-edged and notoriously bad at showing her true feelings, meaning this display of raw happiness meant she was profoundly, deeply impacted.

Then again, given that it was a Phoenix, her dramatic reaction made perfect sense.

One look was all it took to recognize it as an extraordinary summon. Any combatant lucky enough to own one would have fought tooth and nail to hold onto it.

Wow, check out those feathers. It’s not just gorgeous—it’s absolutely mesmerizing.

The gathered guild members observed Hong Ari accepting the Phoenix with blatant jealousy.

Only three summons remained!

“Up next, Ahn Gijeong Hyungnim.”

“Oh, could this be a Poison King?”

For Ahn Gijeong—an A-rank Poison King!

His entire strategy revolved strictly around venom-based entities: B-rank Seven-Spot Spiders, Black Widows, and similar creatures.

The Poison King functioned as a combat artist entity capable of multiplying every single attribute of venom-based summons by several times over.

“An item of this rarity… With this asset in our hands, making a real run at the World League is no longer a fantasy. Thank you.”

Ahn Gijeong offered a low, respectful bow before stepping backward.

Next in line was Ki Jaehyeok!

“Hyungnim! You’ve got to be kidding—is that a Goblin Master?! AAARGH!”

Ki Jaehyeok, the ultimate goblin fanatic, yanked the Goblin Master into a fierce embrace and began rubbing his hands all over it excitedly.

He cut the exact figure of a young child who had just ripped the wrapping paper off the precise gift he’d been begging for all year.

“How much longer did you plan on running around with a pair of Hob Goblins? It’s time to upgrade to a Goblin Master already.”

“Thank you so much, Hyungnim! You have my absolute, lifelong allegiance!”

Next up was Kang Jiho!

“I got a Mad Berserker!”

The A-rank Mad Berserker was another specialized martial artist summon.

For Kang Jiho, whose strategy leaned heavily on maximizing pure damage output using entities like the Snowflake Berserker (B-rank), this was the most flawless match he could have possibly hoped for.

And with that final exchange, all five of the A-rank summons had been distributed.

“Alright.”

Baek Jinwoo offered a warm grin.

“That takes care of the A-ranks. And to wrap things up… Song Yeonhui?”

“Y-yes!”

“I’ve got an entirely different setup intended for you, so just hold on a moment. Everyone else, take the remainder of the afternoon to build synergy with your new partners alongside Drill Sarge. Today is reserved for solo practice.”

“”Understood, sir!””

Dismissed!

The group scattered across the training facility grounds, dragging their new partners along.

A few were itching to put their fresh assets to the test in actual combat scenarios, while others merely wanted to get a baseline feel for commanding them.

Following an endless stretch of grueling physical conditioning day after day, this marked their very first opportunity to engage in actual summon training.

Naturally, the atmosphere was buzzing with anticipation.

In a quiet, isolated spot tucked away near the edge of the training grounds, a table was set up.

Arranged neatly in front of Song Yeonhui were five distinct figurines.

Marionettes—referred to in ancient times as puppet constructs (傀儡).

“Song Yeonhui.”

“Yes!”

“I’m going to give it to you straight.”

Flop!

Baek Jinwoo slid into a seat and addressed her with an earnest expression.

“To be completely honest? Looking at everyone gathered on this national squad, setting aside myself and Hwang Jiwoo, your ceiling is higher than anyone else’s. And the only reason the two of us are ahead is because our situations are slightly absurd—on an international level, you possess more than enough raw talent to secure a spot in the global top ten down the line.”

“……”

Song Yeonhui could only stare back at him in sheer disbelief.

W-what words just came out of his mouth?

The top ten of the global leaderboard?

Was he being serious?

For context, Kang Geonho—the absolute top-tier combatant on their current national roster—wasn’t even capable of breaking into the global top 100.

No, hold on, push that aside for a second.

What metrics was he using to evaluate “ceiling” or “potential” in the first place?

How could he state something so massive with such total certainty?

“However, if you genuinely intend to reach that summit, you’re going to have to discard every single summon you’ve utilized up to this point.”

“…I’m sorry, what?”

She held a national ranking of 60th place.

Song Yeonhui had developed deep sentimental bonds with the very entities that had propelled her to this tier of success.

And now he was instructing her to toss them aside completely?

“I’m not suggesting you lock them away forever. I’m telling you that these five figurines will comprise your core lineup from this moment onward.”

Baek Jinwoo looked down at the small shapes with a wave of nostalgia passing over his features.

They were designated as the Fire Puppet, Water Puppet, Wood Puppet, Metal Puppet, and Earth Puppet, respectively.

They were adorable little elemental figurines, each boasting a completely unique design.

Every single one was a B-rank asset.

“What exactly am I looking at?”

“They require an absurd level of mechanical skill to manage, but if you can achieve flawless execution, their output can match A-rank or potentially even S-rank standards. They are absolute cheat codes of the summoning world.”

“It’s difficult to visualize, isn’t it? Let me give you a live demonstration.”

Baek Jinwoo pushed himself out of his seat and assumed command of the Fire Puppet (火儡).

Let’s see if the muscle memory holds up.

He had messed around with this particular summon a handful of times during his days playing Battle of Summoners.

When its existence first leaked to the public, its operational ceiling was so ridiculously high that the community collectively lost its mind, screaming that it was completely broken and demanding an immediate balance adjustment to wipe it out.

But what utility does an overpowered asset have if it’s unusable?

Virtually no one possessed the manual dexterity to actually control the damn things.

Managing just one single marionette demanded that the player oversee five independent strings simultaneously.

The skull, the left hand, the right hand, the left foot, and the right foot.

In stark contrast to alternative summons that operated with a baseline level of independent intelligence, these constructs forced the player to direct every variable—from offensive strikes to defensive positioning, accounting for every minute shift in posture.

As a consequence of that steep learning curve, they were rapidly cast aside by the player base.

No matter how high you leveled their stats, if the user possessed clumsy fingers, the constructs would never live up to their theoretical design.

Swish!

Baek Jinwoo’s digits began to dance through the air with effortless fluidity.

Granted, this is my first attempt trying this in actual reality, but…

Somehow, he had an intuitive feeling that it would click.

Swoosh!

The Fire Puppet shifted with stunning accuracy, pivoting smoothly before executing a fluid dance while breathing waves of searing flame.

Its chosen objective: a reinforced steel practice target.

This is actually coming together beautifully.

In truth, executing the movements felt far more natural in the physical world than it ever had while trying to input commands across a flat smartphone screen.

The Fire Puppet zipped from one point to another, delivering flame-infused strikes, spinning along its axis, and spraying torrents of fire in every direction.

It didn’t take long for Baek Jinwoo to start genuinely enjoying himself.

Why stop there? Why not introduce another?

He reached out and assumed command of the Water Puppet (水儡) alongside the first.

Attempting to dictate the actions of two separate marionettes simultaneously caused the mechanical difficulty to spike exponentially.

Rather than managing five independent strings, he was now responsible for a total of ten.

KRAKABOOM!

The Water Puppet’s high-pressure fluid strikes integrated into the offensive rhythm, reducing the immediate vicinity to a scene of absolute chaos.

…What in the world.

Song Yeonhui, observing the spectacle from the periphery, found herself completely struck dumb.

The version of Baek Jinwoo operating before her eyes looked, at bare minimum, like a master puppeteer boasting over two decades of dedicated craft.

Is a feat like that even humanly possible?

Ten glowing tethers trailed down from above, shifting with the elegance of a cascading stream.

CLANGGG!

The heavily anchored steel target groaned under the relentless pressure of the dual assault.

And he expects ME to replicate that?

No matter how hard she tried to visualize it, she couldn’t summon a single shred of self-confidence.

From the trajectory of this demonstration, it was clear he wasn’t planning to stop at managing just those two—

His ultimate vision involved her dictating the movements of all five constructs at the exact same time.

“Pay close attention. I’m only going to run through this display once.”

Baek Jinwoo shifted his posture as though gripped by an external trance.

In the blink of an eye, the Wood Puppet (木儡) joined the fray, immediately followed by the arrival of the Metal Puppet (金儡).

Four separate marionettes now dominated every inch of her field of vision!

Fwoooosh!

Searing fire crackled into existence.

Splaaash!

Torrents of water erupted skyward.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!

Thick wooden roots exploded out from the turf, pinning the steel target rigidly in place.

VWUMMMMM!

The collection of constructs became enveloped in a brilliant, metallic aura.

“The Fire and Water units serve as your primary damage engines. The Wood unit handles crowd control and recovery. The Metal unit provides your defensive shield.”

Baek Jinwoo dropped his center of gravity lower, pulling the invisible tethers taut.

While he made the entire sequence appear completely effortless, every microscopic twitch of his hands represented a highly calculated micro-adjustment.

To the eyes of Song Yeonhui, Baek Jinwoo was nothing short of a textbook prodigy.

The exact breed of natural talent that completely shattered conventional understanding.

“And the Earth unit is utilized to reshape the terrain or warp gravitational forces to completely strip opponents of their equilibrium.”

Finally, the climax!

Baek Jinwoo brought the remaining fifth asset under his complete command.

His entire physical form seemed to dissolve into a continuous, liquid rhythm.

Unbroken and organic, mirroring the natural descent of a mountain stream flowing toward the valley below.

Then, in the subsequent heartbeat—

“The reality is, these specific constructs hide a secret operational clause.”

KRAKABOOOOM!

All at once, blinding, radiant energy surged upward into the heavens from each marionette, while a heavy, stygian dark energy sank deep into the soil below.

“The moment all Five Elements cross paths and unify, an entirely unique secondary attribute triggers: Yin-Yang (陰陽).”

During his previous existence, Baek Jinwoo had managed to successfully trigger this specific operational mechanic exactly once before throwing his hands up and abandoning the marionettes for good.

He had been playing a game for entertainment, but being forced to inputs commands to the point where his fingers felt on the verge of snapping during every encounter brought an unbearable level of stress.

“Now, witness the result.”

Baek Jinwoo snapped his right forearm violently upward while driving his left hand straight down toward the earth.

In perfect synchronization, the celestial Yang forces above and the terrestrial Yin forces below detonated, rushing toward one another and crashing together in a cataclysmic shockwave.

KRAKABABABOOOM!

“If you develop their statistics correctly, the destructive output generated by this combination easily rivals the cataclysmic breath weapons of S-rank apex dragons.”

The reinforced steel training target had already been reduced to scattered, mangled debris.

A display of absolute, unmitigated ruin.

Song Yeonhui found herself unable to process what her eyes were reflecting.

As an established top-tier ranker herself, she possessed the combat intuition to accurately estimate destructive metrics just by analyzing the visual impact.

That Yin-Yang Convergence she had just witnessed?

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state it was the single most terrifying display of raw power she had ever looked upon in her entire existence.

“Phew, that really takes a toll on you.”

Baek Jinwoo shook his hands out vigorously to restore circulation.

Clatter-clatter-clatter!

The marionettes that had been dancing gracefully through the air lost their support and dropped inertly to the dirt all at once.

He lacked recent practice with this setup—pushing his performance to the absolute limit right out of the gate had left his fingers feeling completely deadened and throbbing with fatigue.

“Song Yeonhui. From this point forward, your entire regimen will revolve around mastering these. Do you honestly believe you have the grit to see it through?”

“…Is someone like me truly capable of pulling this off?”

An art this completely mind-boggling?

“Yes. Without a shadow of a doubt.”

You aren’t aware of this fact just yet, but—

You carry a legendary physical makeup born from the rare intersection of the Heavenly Heart Constitution and the Limitless Constitution.

Drill Sarge had clued him in on that detail.

While she might not be a once-in-an-epoch anomaly, she was certainly a generational prodigy capable of leaving her peers in the dust.

More than qualified to bend an intricate system like this to her will.

“This represents the absolute fastest trajectory available for you to break onto the international leaderboard. Are you locked in? If you aren’t feeling it, just speak up. I’ll simply reassign the assets to someone else.”

“W-wait, hold on a second.”

Song Yeonhui put her palms up, signaling for him to pump the brakes on his train of thought.

Good grief.

She had just been treated to a exhibition of power that completely defied common sense, and he was presenting it to her as a simple take-it-or-leave-it proposition?

There was no earthly scenario where she could walk away from an opportunity like this.

She was a competitive ranker at her core.

The burning ambition to ascend further up the ladder raged fiercely inside her soul.

The spectacular imagery was already permanently burned into the back of her eyelids.

Five independent marionettes operating in flawless harmony—attacking, shielding, restoring, disrupting—and ultimately vaporizing opposition forces with the primal forces of Yin and Yang.

“I’ll take it on.”

Her internal determination locked into place.

“I will conquer this discipline, regardless of what it takes.”

From this exact moment onward, she was no longer functioning as a standard summoner.

She had transformed into a puppeteer.