AECS 15

Chapter 15

Full-fledged Growth

In Battle of Summoners, there are a total of four types of dungeons:

1. Normal Dungeons
2. Weekly Dungeons
3. Tower of Trials
4. Chaos Dragon (Raid)

Let’s go over them briefly.

First, the Weekly Dungeon.

Like the Tuesday dungeon mentioned previously, this is a place to obtain materials specific to each day of the week. The dungeon available differs depending on the day.

There are four difficulty levels: Low, Medium, High, and Extreme. Naturally, the higher the difficulty, the better the rewards.

Next, the Tower of Trials!

It has up to 100 floors and is a place that challenges a player’s limits. The difficulty is far beyond that of normal dungeons, and so are the rewards. However, one must be careful.

In reality, a single failure could easily lead to death.

Currently, Rachel from the UK holds the record at floor 29. The boss on floor 30 is a bit tricky, so she’s working on leveling up.

Next is the Chaos Dragon!

This raid was added in the fifth year of Battle of Summoners. Players must team up to defeat the boss together. This feature hasn’t been released in reality yet, so it will be explained in more detail later.

Excluding those three, all other dungeons are Normal Dungeons.

In Battle of Summoners, they were also called stage dungeons, but in reality, they appear randomly in various locations.

Leveling up summoners is primarily done in Normal Dungeons.

Normal Dungeons also have difficulty tiers: F-rank to S-rank. Unlike Weekly Dungeons, Normal Dungeons allow party play.

And… the place Baek Jin-woo headed to first thing in the morning was this Normal Dungeon.

Gyeonggi-do, Gwacheon City, near Seonbawi Station.

A clear view of Mt. Gwanak stretched out before him.

Skreeeek.

Baek Jin-woo stepped out of the stopped taxi.

“Phew.”

How to find a dungeon? Simple.

[Player Web]

The app, shortened to PlWeb, records dungeons reported to headquarters. You just create a party and apply to enter!

Baek Jin-woo made a solo party.

The dungeon’s rank was D.

Even if it was his first real Normal Dungeon, it was nothing for Baek Jin-woo. There was no need to team up with others—especially since he had overpowered summoners.

• Jin-woo… it’s so hard…

“Here, take this. The cream bread I bought earlier.”

• Hehe, thanks! Only you, Jin-woo…

Ramba’s eyes, previously on the verge of death, brightened.

He devoured it like a starving beast.

It made sense. They had been swinging their frying pans in the void all night. No wonder they were exhausted.

“Eat slowly. Everyone gets one.”

• …Thank you, master.
• Thank you, Jin-woo.

Baek Jin-woo, having woken briefly at dawn, realized his summoners had trained all night.

‘Amazing.’

It had been like this even in Battle of Summoners.

Back then,

[Summoners trained under the command of the ‘Training Instructor’ (E-rank).]

Every time he logged in, only a simple note like this popped up. He didn’t know exactly how the training worked.

But now he saw they had trained this intensely.

‘No wonder they’re growing so fast.’

It was all thanks to the diligent training instructors working behind the scenes.

Baek Jin-woo had no intention of stopping them. In fact…

“The instructors work hard as always.”

He praised their efforts. After all, his goal and the instructors’ goal aligned perfectly.

• Thank you, master. We’ll work even harder.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Thud, thud.

Opening the map on his app, Baek Jin-woo walked toward the dungeon.

Following the guide, he reached a secluded trail entrance.

Vwoooom!

A blue oval glowed vividly.

‘That’s the Normal Dungeon.’

According to headquarters’ energy readings, it was D-rank.

He had heard such dungeons should be cleared quickly. If too much time passes, it becomes a “Dungeon Break,” releasing the monsters inside into reality.

Yellow tape and warning signs surrounded the entrance. Only authorized players could enter.

“Are you Player Baek Jin-woo?”

A headquarters employee who had arrived for the morning shift stood in front of him.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Let me check your credentials.”

“Yes.”

After a simple identity verification:

“A solo D-rank? Are you sure you can handle it?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Please be careful.”

Ignoring the bowing employee, he immediately plunged into the dungeon.

Rumble!

“Whoaah!”

“Waaah!”

The moment he entered, loud roars struck his eardrums.

‘Here we go.’

Baek Jin-woo opened his eyes and looked around.

The background was a low castle wall.

Below, countless orcs were charging with axes.

‘Oh boy, it’s a hunt.’

Baek Jin-woo was a veteran.

Veteran to the point of being “stale.”

He could immediately tell the dungeon type, its difficulty, and how to clear it.

[Screech! Screech!]
[Orc mobs have invaded the village.]
[Help the NPCs defeat them.]

“Throw stones!”

“Ahhhh!”

“Climbing the walls! Pour hot water!”

On the castle wall, village soldiers were struggling.

‘Interesting.’

In Battle of Summoners, these had been plain NPCs. Now, everything looked vivid.

Even the soldiers’ faces were distinct and realistic.

“Ugh… aaah!”

A soldier’s stomach was pierced by an orc’s axe.

‘This is real.’

‘Focus.’

Baek Jin-woo took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

Even a veteran couldn’t ignore the difference between game and reality.

How often would an ordinary human experience a battlefield? And not just a normal war—one with monsters.

“Ugh…”

He felt dizzy but acted on instinct.

“Everyone.”

He summoned the five summoners assigned to Team 1.

Note: only five summoners can enter a dungeon.

[‘Wind Fairy’ (EX-class) is summoned.]
[‘Training Instructor’ (EX-class) is summoned.]
[‘Dragon Pyromancer’ (EX-class) is summoned.]
[‘Mini Kong’ (D-rank) is summoned.]
[‘Golden Fairy’ (D-rank) is summoned.]

Ramba, the Training Instructor, and Dragon Pyro—along with Mini Kong and Golden Fairy—were chosen.

Mini Kong was the most cost-effective D-rank tank, and Golden Fairy was the most cost-effective D-rank healer.

‘Sacrifice…’

Mini Kong was unfortunately used as fodder.

He was dear, but too weak to continue bringing along. He would find a better master later.

Vwoooom!

[A protective shield forms around the player.]

As he summoned the creatures, the shield appeared naturally, easing his mind.

‘This is nothing.’

He had done this countless times in the game.

“Ramba.”

• Woong!

“Buff the instructor.”

• Okay!

“Dragon Pyro.”

• Yes, Master Jin-woo.

“You prepare magic and support the instructor from behind.”

• Understood.

“And Mini Kong.”

• Uwoooaaah!

Thump, thump, thump!

The small gorilla pounded its chest.

This one was an upgrade from fodder. Its level had been increased at the Fusion Lab, enough to withstand orc axes, especially with Golden Fairy’s healing.

“Jump off the wall. Go straight for the orc leader.”

The orc hunt pattern was simple: defeat the giant orc at the back of the pack.

• Screech! Screech!
• Screeee!

The orcs swung axes at the falling Mini Kong, but its thick skin deflected all attacks.

Even better, bam! Mini Kong’s punch smashed through an orc’s head.

‘I set a Destruction Rune.’

Even though it was a low-rank rune, it gave both tanking and damage.

The other summoners followed behind.

Ramba kept increasing the instructor’s attack speed.

Slash, slash!

The instructor, eyes glowing, slashed through orcs in rapid succession.

After decapitating two, he stabbed another without even looking.

‘Wow, why is he so cool?’

Something had changed.

‘Is this because he’s EX-class?’

It wasn’t early-stage instructor behavior.

Having memories of his fully grown self, the instructor’s swordsmanship was no joke.

‘This might be easier than I thought.’

Baek Jin-woo’s summoners tore through the orc mobs like the Red Sea splitting.

• Kyeeeek!
• Kreek!

Orcs defending themselves screamed and fell.

Meanwhile…

“Waaah!”

“Wow!”

The soldiers cheered.

“What… what’s that?”

“It’s our allies! And they’re insanely strong!”

Seeing the soldiers crying next to him… he couldn’t tell if they were NPCs or real humans.

Regardless, EX-class is EX-class—even if not fully leveled.

• Hehehe! Die, orcs!
• How dare you swing axes at my master!
• Here goes! Dragon Pyro Strike!

Flare!

The fire magic devoured the orc mob in an instant.

D-rank dungeon cleared in no time.

• Screech!

The panicked ‘Giant Orc’ (D-rank) didn’t even have a chance to resist.

Slice.

The instructor decapitated it.

[Dungeon Cleared!]
[Training Instructor (EX-class) level increased to 5.]
[Training Instructor (EX-class) critical hit chance increased by 1%.]

…

[Dragon Pyromancer (EX-class) level increased to 5.]
[Dragon Pyromancer (EX-class) intelligence increased by 2.]

Since the instructor and Dragon Pyro weren’t leveled at the Fusion Lab, their growth was significant.

And…

[Reward received.]
[Medium Summoning Scroll x1]

‘Awesome.’

A medium summoning scroll is worth 500,000 KRW in cash.

‘And it’s been less than two minutes. 500k won!’

Ahhh.

Baek Jin-woo was thrilled.

The amount of money he would earn in the future was unimaginable.

‘Better find the next dungeon right away.’

From now on, endless grinding.

Level up the summoners, earn money.

Nothing but a bright future ahead!

Meanwhile…

“Haaaah…”

The Gwacheon City headquarters employee who had been monitoring the dungeon stretched.

“Baek Jin-woo… who’s that? First time I’ve seen him.”

Even running a solo D-rank dungeon required some experience. He was an unknown player.

“Hmm.”

Still, it wasn’t that surprising. Players who had tasted dungeons often cleared D-rank solo.

C-rank or higher usually required a top player for soloing.

“For non-rankers, it would usually take one to two hours.”

Especially for complex dungeon types, it could take multiples of that.

Which meant… he had to wait here until then.

“Might as well grab a bowl of pork soup at the nearby eatery.”

Tracking player dungeon entry and exit—that was his job.

He had to monitor the dungeon to know whether it was cleared or if an accident occurred.

Usually, if a player didn’t come out within a day, they were considered dead.

“Phew…”

He was about to smoke a cigarette and have breakfast when…

Vwoooom!

Cracks began appearing on the blue oval.

“Wh-what?”

The employee panicked.

This phenomenon only happened when a dungeon was cleared!

“Already?”

His eyes went wide.

That fast? A whole cigarette break—barely three minutes—and the dungeon was cleared solo?

Right in front of his gaping mouth…

Flash!

A relaxed-looking man stepped out of the light.

It was Baek Jin-woo.