AECS 29

Chapter 29

Trial Tower, 1st Floor (2)

Wow.

It’s real?

• Hehe.

Baek Jin-woo couldn’t hide his astonishment as he looked at Pok-ryong, who was smiling while holding her staff with both hands.

Hoon-gyo’s prediction had been spot on.

As soon as he decided to swap the usual dungeon team for Ramba, Hoon-gyo, and three Lava Drakes, he could clearly feel Pok-ryong’s surprise.

He had also told her: “We’ll go on solo dungeon runs after you learn the Lian (聯) technique.”

They had trained hard in the dungeons, and by evening, lo and behold:

[Summon: Dragon Mage]
[Species: Human]
[Rank: EX-Class (Quarantine)]

• Isolated due to a discovered balance-breaking factor.
  [Level: 42]

Stats:
Strength: 20, Intelligence: 85, Stamina: 20, Agility: 20
HP: 22,000, MP: 500
Critical Rate: 55%
Critical Damage: 185%

Skills:

• Dragon Flame: Unleashes a dragon-shaped flame forward.
• Dragon Art ‘Lian’ (聯): Allows accumulation of Dragon Flame.

She had really learned it.

‘Hoon-gyo’s insight is incredible.’

His first reaction was sheer joy.

No matter what, from the moment she learned Lian (聯), Pok-ryong’s value skyrocketed.

Even in Battle of Summoners, no player had ever taught the Dragon Mage the Dragon Art.

Only Jin-woo—Jinugod—had ever done it.

Pok-ryong’s desire?

Baek Jin-woo didn’t overthink it.

Some might ask, shouldn’t he scold her for being mischievous? Shouldn’t he intervene?

‘Why?’

Here’s where good players differ from the rest: whether they acknowledge the summon’s desires or not.

A summon’s desire is like a quest.

Complete that quest, and both the summon and player gain something.

If you think of it as an extension of the game, most gamers would act just like Baek Jin-woo.

They just get more immersed because it’s reality.

‘Just make good use of it.’

She wants to be with him. Isn’t that admirable?

“Pok-ryong! Good job. You really worked hard.”

Baek Jin-woo ruffled her hair with a smile.

• Thank you, Jin-woo-nim.

“Alright.”

He rummaged through his pocket and pulled something out—a gleaming VIP corporate card.

“Since you succeeded, today is a chicken-and-beer party! Hoon-gyo.”

• Yes, master!

“Give everyone a break until tomorrow evening.”

• Huh? Training, you mean?

Ah, right.

Hoon-gyo’s desire was training itself, wasn’t it?

Well… that’s something he could overlook with a little tact.

A player like him had plenty of experience.

“Yes, you said rest is part of training. From now on, whenever someone learns a new skill, we’ll have a team-bonding party with rest included. Didn’t you say bonding is important?”

• Oh! If that’s the purpose, understood. Bonding among summons is an essential part of training.

“Yes, yes.”

As expected, all you think about is training.

Baek Jin-woo chuckled and called someone.

• Hello, please bring 50 chickens and 10,000cc of draft beer. Yes! Fifty!

Even the local butcher shop.

Today wasn’t just for humanoid summons.

• And the butcher brothers? Bring all the meat types you have in stock. Yes, all of it. I’m serious.

Today, even non-humanoid summons would feast.

‘With a 1 billion VIP card, this is the least I can do.’

Even if he held a festival every time a skill was learned, he wondered if he’d ever reach 1 billion in food expenses.

“And Pok-ryong.”

• Yes, Jin-woo-nim?

“Since you learned a skill, we’ll go dungeon runs together for the next week.”

• Really?

Her face lit up.

“Since you mastered Lian (聯), next up is Byun (變).”

Dragon Art Byun (變).

A skill that lets her shape the dragon flames as she wishes.

She could make shields with flames, strike walls, or even create gusts of wind.

Of course, it wouldn’t be learned as quickly as Lian.

‘Magic control must be pushed to the extreme for this skill.’

Still, Baek Jin-woo smiled and nodded.

‘At least the minimum preparation is done.’

Preparation for what?

The Trial Tower, 1st floor, was ready for a try!

The next day, Baek Jin-woo officially started preparing to climb the Trial Tower.

‘Trial Tower.’

The final content in Battle of Summoners. Jin-woo had previously reached all 100 floors.

It was extremely difficult, the only place to earn random rewards generated by AI.

Players could use all three of their parties here—meaning 15 summons could be deployed.

‘Ideally, I’d get other EX-class summons too…’

But realistically, the drop rate was far too low.

Spending all of Yubaek’s revenue to open expensive summon scrolls? That risked losing a fortune.

Even if he sold the summons he got, the loss would be massive.

‘Not now.’

He knew how much effort Yujia had been putting in lately.

She was buying land and constructing buildings, taking out loans to gather funds, and he couldn’t just ask for billions in summon scrolls.

So, for now, he would use the weekday dungeon summons to climb.

‘Only up to the 10th floor.’

The 10th floor was manageable for domestic top players.

“Phew.”

Today, they would skip the dungeon.

Baek Jin-woo bought four iced Americanos at a café and headed to Yubaek’s office.

Beep, beep!

He swiped his employee ID, and the door slid open.

“Oh?”

“Baek Jin-woo?”

Kim Byung-jin and Hwang Tae-seop stood up from their desks.

Yujia was already seated in her usual place.

“Jin-woo! Why didn’t you call? Sit and enjoy the coffee.”

“Thank you.”

One by one, the employees took their drinks.

Yujia guided Baek Jin-woo to the meeting room.

“Jin-woo, you said you had something to discuss? Anything you need?”

“No, well… I do need some summon scrolls, but…”

“Summon scrolls? Mid or high tier? How many shall I get?”

“Haha, just kidding. Actually… I’m planning to challenge the Trial Tower soon.”

“…The Trial Tower?”

Yujia’s eyes flickered.

The infamous tower inside the Player Zone at Jamsil.

• The graveyard of players!
• Hell-level difficulty!

Survivors all said it was a nightmare.

Some barely made it back alive.

Yet…

‘Look at that gaze.’

No trace of fear as he said he’d enter.

Just like before the weekday dungeons.

‘That confidence and composure.’

Yujia was certain again:

‘He’s definitely Jinugod.’

He had once challenged all 100 floors as a gamer.

How trivial must the 1st floor seem to him?

Phew.

Yujia took a deep breath and maintained her poker face.

She had decided before: she wouldn’t ask until he told her.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Yes, I planned to challenge it around this time anyway.”

“I see….”

“Oh, and this time, I won’t wear equipment.”

“Not selling the information?”

“No.”

For this dungeon run, Ramba, Hoon-gyo, and Pok-ryong must participate.

He didn’t want to reveal their existence first.

‘And more importantly,’

Communication is vital in the Trial Tower.

Equipment would prevent summons from speaking.

“Ha ha, as you wish, Jin-woo.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

“No, well… not so much understanding as….”

Yujia smiled.

‘Once he starts climbing seriously… his value will skyrocket.’

Anything was possible with Yubaek.

“Could I ask one favor?”

“A favor?”

Baek Jin-woo tilted his head.

“What favor?”

“It’s just a real favor. You don’t have to agree.”

“Alright, let’s hear it.”

“The national selection for the representative team will be held in two months.”

“…Ah.”

He knew.

It was held every late June to select ten players representing the country.

Some from the headquarters, some from large guilds.

Those selected go to the world league at the end of the year, facing top players like Rachel, Moscowman, and others.

“Individuals can’t usually participate, right?”

Yubaek is a management company, not a formal guild.

Since it only manages one player, he’s considered individual.

“With a recommendation from a member of parliament, it’s possible! Actually… Mr. Park Chang-seok, who backs our company…”

Yujia explained in detail, including the internal politics and Park Chang-seok’s reckless bet with another lawmaker.

“Hmm.”

The national selection itself isn’t hard, but the real challenge is facing world-class players.

‘Eight months from now?’

That’s doable.

As long as Pok-ryong learns ‘Feast’ in time.

“Yes, if selected, huge support will follow. The current government spares no expense for proven players.”

Money.

He needed it.

To summon other EX-class units.

‘PvP is dominated by Dol-dol, but…’

Dol-dol.

The nickname of the Tempest Slayer (B-rank) Jinugod once used.

He had maintained 1st place in PvP, defeating Rachel’s five summons (including S-rank) in five seconds, then deleted them.

“How much support will they give?”

“Varies yearly, but you could get quite a few high-tier summons. Maybe even top-tier ones…”

“Top-tier?”

[C-rank: 94%]
[B-rank: 5%]
[A-rank: 1%]

Scrolls with this chance could give a shot at A-rank.

Extremely rare, almost impossible to obtain.

‘Can’t pass this up.’

Jin-woo finally nodded.

“Okay. Go ahead with it in two months.”

“Understood! Thank you!”

Yujia clenched her fist under the desk in secret.

‘Mr. Park Chang-seok.’

This debt will not be forgotten.

‘And it’s not just a player—he’s Jinugod. Jinugod!’