AECS 39

Chapter 39

National Team Selection (1)

Baek Jin-woo’s daily life was exactly the same.

Spinning through mid-level weekday dungeons over and over, training nonstop!

The only thing that had changed was that he was now focusing on Doldori.

• Krrk, krrk…!

If you looked at Doldori’s skills, there wasn’t much to it.

[Owned Skills]

• Assassinate: Turns invisible for a short time. First attack deals 100% critical damage.
• Whirlwind: Spins the Reaper’s scythe in a circle to deal area damage.

All it did was approach while invisible and swing the scythe around once.

‘But…’

If pushed to the extreme?

Spinning that scythe several times at incredible speed could wipe out all enemy summons.

It was like using a vacuum cleaner to obliterate everything in the area—it felt ridiculously satisfying.

The Whirlwind skill dealt splash damage, but this couldn’t be explained in words—you had to see it in action.

‘Now… the selection tournament is coming up. Just a week away.’

Here began Baek Jin-woo’s dilemma.

Ramba, Training Instructor, Dragon Summoner.

Should he bring these guys into player matches?

Ordinary players might not know, but anyone above a certain level in Battle of Summoners would recognize them.

• Wind Fairy (E-rank), Training Instructor (E-rank), Dragon Summoner (D-rank).

They were once widely used summons.

‘Especially…’

The current world ranker, Oje (Five Emperors), would definitely know.

‘But so what?’

Even if they knew, what could they do?

Back in the day it would’ve mattered, but now his power was growing steadily.

Ever since he got Doldori, he didn’t feel the need to hide his true strength anymore.

If anyone noticed, fine. If not, fine too.

‘Let’s just take them.’

If he truly wanted to hide himself, he wouldn’t even participate in the national selection tournament.

‘But that’s something I can’t give up.’

There was a reason he always participated in player matches in Battle of Summoners.

‘The rewards are huge.’

The game gave massive rewards every month based on ranking.

And JinuGod hadn’t lost first place even once in seven years.

That’s why he was known as the ultimate veteran, Ilcheon (一天).

The rewards even existed in the real world.

The only difference was that ranking periods lasted a full year, and the rewards weren’t just for individual players—they were also for entire countries!

After the world league ended, the system ranked countries and distributed massive amounts of natural resources and items.

These included oil, minerals, technology… especially advanced tech that exceeded current scientific knowledge.

In other words, the league results had a huge impact on national power.

In fact, Rachel’s England had made tremendous progress, growing powerful enough that even the U.S. couldn’t ignore it.

Taiwan, where Baekcheon belonged, had completely shaken off China’s harassment.

This was the real reason people around the world were obsessed with the league.

‘We can’t lose either.’

Even if Baek Jin-woo was calculating, he wasn’t the type to betray his country.

He had patriotism, cheering passionately during the World Cup.

South Korea hadn’t even made the Round of 16 for the past three years.

Always failing in the preliminaries, always bitter defeats—but this time would be different.

‘Because I’m here.’

Baek Jin-woo clenched his fist.

Patriotism and rewards—he would get both.

Time to do it all.

Yu Ji-a handled all the tournament registration and paperwork.

Baek Jin-woo’s only job was training.

After equipping the appropriate runes on Doldori, he focused solely on leveling it up.

Finally, the day before the national selection tournament.

As he headed to the player headquarters auditorium to register:

“Ah, Baek Jin-woo! Over here.”

He ran into the bearded Park Chang-seok.

“Long time no see.”
“How have you been?”
“I’ve been fine, thanks to you.”

Baek Jin-woo was grateful to Park Chang-seok. Without him, he wouldn’t have known Yu Ji-a, nor could he have grown this smoothly.

“Hehe, thanks for handling the national team duty for me.”
“I heard about it.”

Yu Ji-a often came to the open field every morning to train and tell him about various things. Among those stories was the wager incident involving Park Chang-seok.

“You made quite a bet based on my ranking, didn’t you?”
“Ah… yeah. Sorry about that. Acting all reckless despite my age.”
“No, it was fine. You did well.”
“Eh?”
“It means you trust me that much, doesn’t it?”

Trust had to be returned with trust.

Honestly, Baek Jin-woo hadn’t thought much about it.

No matter the opponent.

No tension, no thought of losing.

‘If I can’t be first in Korea… I’ll just drop the Ilcheon (一天) title.’

Losing while bringing EX-class summons? That was nonsense.

“Instead, can you give me a rough explanation?”
“Explanation about what…?”
“The selection tournament. Who the candidates are, the format, everything. I’m completely new, so I don’t know anything.”

“Oh, of course! Shall we go? I’ll explain on the way.”

Park Chang-seok extended his hand politely and began guiding him.

Inside the spacious auditorium, it was packed with people.

“Oh, quite a few applicants, huh?”
“It’s not that there are many applicants… everyone just came together.”

Applicants, guild representatives, and headquarters staff all crowded to complete the final registration.

Shouts and cheers added to the atmosphere.

“Actually, there can’t be too many applicants. There’s a seeding system.”
“Seeding system?”
“Yes. 30 for the top-ranked players, 10 for large domestic guilds, and 10 for headquarters officials. Total of 50, but usually about 30 apply.”
“So only 10 are selected?”
“Exactly.”

Makes sense. Letting just anyone apply would waste time and manpower.

The system mainly picked top-ranked players but left room for unexpected talents via guild or official seeds.

‘Not bad.’

Baek Jin-woo wasn’t a ranker yet. That’s why he participated through Park Chang-seok’s seed.

Hmm.

He hummed quietly while observing the surroundings.

Everyone’s eyes were sharp. Clearly seeing competitors.

Just as he and Park Chang-seok lined up to register:

“Yo, Councilman Park Chang-seok.”

Someone approached with a sly grin.

‘Im Hee-su.’

Park Chang-seok frowned.

‘That snake-looking guy…’

Why was he here again? Didn’t the provocations end before?

Im Hee-su ignored Park’s expression and came closer.

“Oh, here’s the currently popular player, Baek Jin-woo. Nice to meet you. I’m HQ Councilman Im Hee-su.”

Behind him were two players.

Current rank 9, Oh Ji-myung.
Current rank 10, Park Ho-seop.

‘Who are they?’

Baek Jin-woo tilted his head.

They were staring at him openly, licking their lips like a lizard eyeing prey.

‘Really makes me want to smash them.’

Of course, they hadn’t directly provoked him, so he just bowed slightly.

“Yes, I’m Baek Jin-woo.”

“Haha, I’ve heard a lot about you. As expected, you look just like on-screen. Seems you’re here for experience, hope it helps and good luck.”

Hmm. The words were polite, but the eyes clearly sneered.

‘They’re thinking: what’s a non-ranker doing in the selection?’

Even the other rankers in the back just looked on, no intervention.

Of course, Baek Jin-woo didn’t care. He had no interest in their identities.

“Yeah, hope it helps a lot.”

He didn’t fall for their provocation, bowed slightly again, and walked ahead.

‘Seen enough. Time to go.’

“Those are the ones?”

He later asked Park Chang-seok.
“The ones you’re betting against?”
“…Yes. Uncomfortable, right?”
“No, just… yeah.”

Park Chang-seok was worried Baek Jin-woo might face trouble because of him.

Besides, these weren’t ordinary opponents. Oh Ji-myung and Park Ho-seop were last year’s national representatives, quite popular with the public.

“Their looks aren’t great either.”

Unlike the anxious Park, Baek Jin-woo thought simply:

‘Those guys…’

If there’s a chance to drop them, just drop them. Otherwise, forget it.

“See that?”

Im Hee-su spoke to the two rankers in the corner.

“In this tournament, just drop him. You two obviously need to be selected. Confident?”

Player matches had two formats: team matches and 1:1 matches.

The world league mixed both, so the first match of the national selection is a team match.

And all the mediocre players get wiped out in team matches.

“Dropping a non-ranker rookie is nothing… but the selection might be tough.”
“Hehe, right, selection isn’t easy. Even last year was barely done.”

Oh Ji-myung and Park Ho-seop chuckled.

“Man…”

Im Hee-su made a circle gesture with his thumb and index finger.

“Just face him. Whoever wins will get a big payout this year too.”

Becoming a national representative came with generous state-backed support.

Councilman Im Hee-su had the means to convert it to personal funds.

“Well, if you say so, better try my best.”

“Baek Jin-woo. That parasite-like guy, just wipe him out in the team match, right?”

Ah.

What a reliable statement.

Even if Baek Jin-woo dominated weekday dungeons, player matches were different.

Rankers didn’t win with speed runs—they fought in actual player matches!

“Yeah.”

Im Hee-su smiled.
“Then check Park Chang-seok’s face. Should be interesting.”

“Sounds fun.”

The two rankers were calm.

High-ranker pride—they wouldn’t think they could lose to a non-ranker!

“I’ll just take him down quickly from the start tomorrow.”

Official registration was done.

The tournament starts tomorrow.

Baek Jin-woo sipped his iced Americano while gathering information.

He had heard the basics from Park Chang-seok, but firsthand research was better.

‘So that’s how it works.’

Watching past footage from last year and the year before gave him a rough idea.

First round: team match.

All players dropped into a large arena for a survival match.

Next: individual 1:1 match.

Played in a league format for 10 games, points accumulated, and the top 10 were selected as national representatives.

‘The favorites are already known.’

From ranks 1–10, even major guild masters.

The community was already debating who would be selected, who would be first.

‘Me?’

Baek Jin-woo searched online, just in case.

└ Baek Jin-woo? He’s on the list too? Why did he even apply?
└ lol. He’s famous recently but not that famous.
└ Public hype makes people think he’s that level lol
└ Team match 1-minute clear, predicted.
└ Dungeon master sure, but only mid-level dungeons, lol. Famous for looks and Yu Ji-a.

Baek Jin-woo’s eyebrows curved in reverse.

Most comments were negative.

Sigh.

These bastards…

He thought about hunting them down one by one, but…

‘Whatever.’

He just needed to show them.

If that’s their crime, it’s ignorance.

Based on last year’s level, he probably wouldn’t even need Doldori.

Honestly, he might just finish it with Training Instructor alone.