Chapter 28
Trial Tower, Floor 1 (1)
After finishing her meal, Yu Ji-ah returned to the office.
Her heart had been pounding uncontrollably since earlier.
Even though it was their first meeting, the meal had clearly been enjoyable.
Baek Jin-cheol was cheerful, and Hwang Myung-hee was warm.
But then…
- “Jin-woo, that guy’s the famous gamer, right?”
- “Geez… not long ago he was just glued to his phone games instead of studying, and now look at this.”
- “Jin-woo has been playing that game for almost ten years, right?”
Baek Jin-cheol’s words became the starting point.
- “Dad, that’s not true. He only played that game for one year. Does he even stick to one game?”
- “Tsk tsk, you still don’t really know your brother. I know him. He’s always been the type to obsess over one thing. Back in middle school, he’d fall asleep with a game running, so I peeked. I watched him… and sure enough, even in his third year of high school, he was still at it.”
- “Really?”
- “Yeah. Thinking back, that must’ve been the game that became the basis for what’s now reality, the Battle of Summoners or something like that.”
As Baek Jin-cheol spoke, he looked at Yu Ji-ah. She nodded in agreement.
- “Yeah, that sounds about right. My memory is hazy, but I think that was the game.”
Baek Jin-cheol effectively pronounced a verdict: his son might have been a “veteran” gamer for ten years.
- “Dad! Really? If that’s true, that’s amazing!”
- “Is that true, sir?”
At that moment, both Baek Ah-jin and Yu Ji-ah couldn’t help but think of one word:
JinuGod!
The legendary player praised by global top-rankers.
“Right… why didn’t I realize it sooner?”
Snapping back from her thoughts, Yu Ji-ah buried her head in her hands on the office desk.
‘Even for a gamer, that doesn’t make sense.’
To break records so effortlessly with only a year of experience?
There are players with two or three years of experience who are also incredible, but none exude the sheer presence of Baek Jin-woo.
‘And…’
There was one decisive clue she couldn’t believe she had missed.
Jinu… Jin-woo.
‘Haha.’
The similarity in names was absurdly close.
‘He said he started in middle school, right?’
That explained the nickname perfectly.
‘100%.’
She considered telling Mr. Park Chang-seok but decided against it.
After all, she hadn’t confirmed it directly with him, and it was only her own suspicion.
More importantly,
‘He doesn’t like to show himself off.’
YuBaek was a company entirely dedicated to Baek Jin-woo. She didn’t want to upset him.
So she decided to keep this secret within the family.
- “Sir, ma’am, let’s keep this just between us. If others find out, it could burden your son mentally. And Ah-jin, you too.”
- “Yes, unnie. I’ll keep my lips sealed!”
- “Jin-woo probably has his reasons for not revealing it yet. Understood.”
No parent would want to talk about something that could harm their child.
Baek Jin-cheol and Hwang Myung-hee nodded naturally.
‘For now, I’ll keep it to myself.’
Yu Ji-ah also chose not to tell Kim Byung-jin or Hwang Tae-seop. She wouldn’t ask Baek Jin-woo either.
Seeing him was like approaching a wild cat. The more aggressively you try, the more it pulls away.
Slowly… carefully.
After mulling over these thoughts with her head on the desk, she lifted it and began researching information and articles about JinuGod.
[World Rank 1, Rachel: “I learned so much from Korea’s JinuGod.” Expressing her longing.]
Starting with Rachel’s article.
[Yoshida Hikaru from Japan: “Korea must find JinuGod quickly. It’s essential for Korea, and for humanity to climb the Trial Tower. Without him, humanity’s future is at risk.”]
And that was just the start.
The U.S.’s Genos, Russia’s Moscowman, Taiwan’s Baekcheon—all had mentioned JinuGod at least once.
Moscowman even said:
- “Korea must be wary. They possess JinuGod.”
And now, that incredible JinuGod was Baek Jin-woo.
‘This is… insane.’
Yu Ji-ah’s eyes sparkled.
Suddenly, their company YuBaek became the company holding JinuGod.
Something stirred within her—a desire to genuinely nurture YuBaek.
The genetic ambition her grandfather Yu Byung-cheon had carried… now alive in her.
‘Time to move forward.’
Baek Jin-woo made a decision.
He would graduate from the lower-tier weekday dungeon.
Thanks to Hun-gyo’s efforts, the dedicated weekday dungeon summons had leveled up considerably.
Stats improved, and a few exclusive skills had appeared.
Now, mid-tier dungeons were far more efficient than the lower tier.
[Baek Jin-woo: “Planning to try mid-tier next week. Prepare the recording.”]
He messaged Yu Ji-ah directly. Her reply came in under five seconds.
[Yu Ji-ah: “Yes! Jin-woo! I’ve been waiting for this!”]
‘No need to even ask if it’s possible now.’
Baek Jin-woo smirked.
Well, he trusted her completely. He had proven himself so far.
[Yu Ji-ah: “I’ve already prepared the promotion. Just like last time, you can gear up and go through comfortably!”]
She even sent related materials by message.
Wow. She had already prepared all of this?
Bundle package!
Lower + mid-tier video = 200 million KRW → 150 million KRW!
Lower + mid-tier text info = 20 million KRW → 15 million KRW!
- Confidentiality required.
- Video info (Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat) 100 million KRW; text info (Thu, Sun) 10 million KRW.
- Only for players registered at the Korea HQ.
- Discounts apply for repeat buyers.
Bundle package…
Today only, huge limited-time discount!
- Lower + mid-tier video = 200 million → 130 million!
- Lower + mid-tier text info = 20 million → 13 million!
Even extra discounts if purchased on the same day.
Baek Jin-woo didn’t care why this plan existed. He had more benefit in clearing dungeons than worrying about marketing.
[Baek Jin-woo: “Good. Great!”]
His trust in Yu Ji-ah was 100%.
Ah-jin had visited his family personally, given gifts, and even promised extra care.
He was genuinely impressed.
She didn’t even need to be told to handle things—she did it herself.
And on top of that, he had directly checked YuBaek’s revenue.
It was a staggering amount.
Need money? Just issue a dividend. Immediately divided according to shares.
How reliable is that?
‘And…’
He’d asked to just receive 1 billion KRW for living expenses, leaving the rest for reinvestment.
And the reply?
- “Oh, for living expenses… use this.”
A high-end bank card was handed over, VIP engraved on it.
- “It’s a company card. You can freely spend up to 1 billion KRW annually for meals or living expenses.”
Wait… 10 billion for meals alone a year?
Ah… that’s how it is for the wealthy.
Anyway, Baek Jin-woo was delighted.
- “And for summons or runes, you can request up to 10 billion KRW per year from the company for investments.”
That much?
- “It’s not a loss for the company. Jin-woo is essentially company property. If needed, submit a request. After internal review, we’ll approve additional support if necessary.”
Amazing!
This is management! Truly different from the state.
So he decided to trust completely. Yu Ji-ah would take care of everything automatically.
‘The amazing part is…’
Company covers personal expenses, including the card and family support. Yu Ji-ah shares the responsibility.
‘Now I can properly provide information.’
The old saying about giving a treat to the disliked? Not true.
Baek Jin-woo rewarded those who were kind.
‘YuBaek looks solid.’
‘Time to dominate mid-tier properly.’
The following week, mid-tier weekday dungeon.
Similar to the lower-tier, but details were refined.
Baek Jin-woo carefully explained and recorded everything.
Naturally, on the first try, he set all Korean records.
The world went wild, and Baek Jin-woo gained immense popularity.
[“Record god, Baek Jin-woo! When will he enter the rankings? Starting hype!”]
[“YuBaek begins selling mid-tier info too! One-day huge discount, B-rankers lining up!”]
[“Will he challenge the top-tier, the so-called ‘Demon’s Realm’?”]
The world may chatter, but Baek Jin-woo simply ran his cycles with Pokryong.
‘When will you finally learn it?’
That Pokryong Wave Link (聯) skill.
Impatient, he asked Hun-gyo.
- “……Not working. Why not?”
Pokryong tilted his head and went to Hun-gyo. Simultaneously, a shocking explanation came.
- “Master.”
- “Yes?”
- “Come here briefly.”
Hun-gyo led Pokryong to a secluded clearing and whispered:
- “I think Pokryong is being clever.”
- “What?”
- “The mana flow and control have surpassed the required level. Yet the skill hasn’t appeared. He’s deliberately holding back.”
- “Why would he do that?”
- “My guess… recently, master has only taken Pokryong on dungeon runs alone, right?”
- “That’s true.”
- “Pokryong seems to be enjoying it. All summons instinctively feed on the player’s attention. He’s delaying skill acquisition so they can continue spending time together.”
- “Huh.”
Speechless.
Really?
Then what should he do?
Somewhat tender, yet perplexing.
‘So it’s not really about the chicken and beer.’
- “Try changing the training method. Stop dungeon runs with Pokryong for now. Teach him Link (聯) first. After that, resume dungeon runs.”
- “Will that really work?”
- “It might be learned tonight.”
- “……”
Alright. Hun-gyo had never been wrong.
‘Heartbreaking, but… let’s try it.
