Conquering the Daily Dungeon (4)
"Excuse me, what is this about?"
Baek Jinwoo tilted his head. Hadn't everything already been settled with headquarters?
"We're from the Director's Office. Regarding the proposal Player Baek Jinwoo previously made, it's currently under positive review…"
"Oh. That."
Swoosh.
Jinwoo raised a hand and cut him off.
"That won't be necessary."
"…Pardon?"
"Didn't headquarters previously indicate they were rejecting it?"
"…To be precise, it wasn't a rejection. We said we would provide support if you brought clear proof. And now that Player Baek Jinwoo has presented solid evidence, we are reviewing it favorably."
The employee tried to sound as gentle as possible, but that was only in tone.
There wasn't a single word Jinwoo liked.
Wasn't this far too different from Yoo Jia?
When he had nothing, Yoo Jia had readily handed over a large sum of money. Now that it looked like there was something to gain, headquarters came rushing back talking about "review".
Who looked better?
No need to even ask.
Real help should come when you truly need it.
Even the headquarters employee's posture had a subtle stiffness to it.
He could guess what they were thinking.
No matter how promising you are, you're not even a ranker. A lump-sum 1.3 billion won?
Of course, Jinwoo knew it had been an unreasonable request.
But Yoo Jia had accepted that unreasonable request—and even given it as a gift.
"I'm sorry, but that proposal… I no longer need it."
"Excuse me?"
"And."
With a faint smile, Jinwoo spoke gently yet firmly.
"I'm already affiliated with a company. If you have anything to say to me, please speak through Yoo Jia of Yoobaek."
"Yoobaek…?"
The employee's eyes trembled.
"That's all."
Jinwoo gave them a polite bow and strode forward.
They couldn't bring themselves to stop him. More than anything, they were curious.
"Sir, what is Yoobaek? And Yoo Jia… you don't mean that Yoo Jia from the Daeseong Group, do you? The one who recently left headquarters?"
"…Let's investigate immediately."
The head of the secretariat bit his lip tightly.
He had a strong feeling they had just missed an important opportunity.
* * *
After finishing the Thursday dungeon, Baek Jinwoo headed straight to the rooftop of a nearby building.
The Friday dungeon is different from before.
The method itself was different.
Previously, summons hunted monsters. But in the Friday dungeon, the player had to run personally.
There were two new summons to be used.
A C-rank Sky Dolphin and a B-rank Heavenly Wyvern.
Their defining trait?
The player could ride them.
"Whew."
Jinwoo tensed up.
Will this work?
Riding a golem and riding a wyvern were entirely different matters.
A wyvern actually flew through the sky.
Even if he wouldn't fall to his death thanks to the protective barrier, it was still terrifying.
Another gap between game and reality.
'But I have to do it.'
To achieve a time attack in the Friday dungeon, he had to control both summons freely.
"Cheongong."
—Kiiiiiiruuuu!
At his call, the Heavenly Wyvern roared as if it had been waiting.
It flapped its wings and lowered its posture.
A gesture inviting him to mount.
"Here goes!"
Jinwoo boldly climbed on and stroked its head.
"Let's head to the East Sea."
If he was going to practice flying with the wyvern, he would need to practice swimming with the dolphin.
Only then could he take the shortcut in the Friday dungeon.
Whoom, whoosh!
The wyvern slowly took to the sky.
'This works?'
With enough practice, he wouldn't even need taxis anymore.
There would be detailed nuances in both flying and swimming, but he wasn't worried.
He had HunGyo.
Half a day was enough to get used to flying.
Jinwoo had more talent than expected.
—My lord, you are remarkable.
"Enough with the praise."
—I'm serious. You acquire new skills at an impressive speed.
"I said that's enough."
HunGyo really did have talent for flattery.
—It's true.
This time, the Explosive Dragon Sorcerer who had been watching from the side chimed in.
"Hm? What do you mean true?"
—We retain our past memories, so we're used to it… But at first, riding a wyvern was incredibly difficult. We got motion sick. Even threw up.
Back in the days of Battle of Summoners, HunGyo and the Explosive Dragon Sorcerer had been veteran summons who had seen countless battles.
They had climbed the highest-difficulty Tower of Trials together. In the process, they too had to control wyverns and dolphins.
"Really?"
—Yes. As expected of God Ji-nu, our master.
The Explosive Dragon Sorcerer, gripping her staff with both hands while praising him, looked unbearably cute.
Unable to resist, Jinwoo ruffled her red hair.
"Thanks. Next is Sky Dolphin riding, right?"
Their current location was the sea off Yangyang.
They had come to the East Sea because they needed deeper waters.
'Swimming, at least…'
He felt somewhat confident.
He had learned when he was young and had always liked water.
But keeping up with a dolphin's speed and enduring water pressure were different matters.
He needed practice with HunGyo.
—My lord, hold tightly here.
HunGyo was attentive, and the swimming practice ended quite successfully.
* * *
Friday morning.
Breaking through the line of reporters as usual, Baek Jinwoo naturally dove into the lower-level Friday dungeon.
Fully equipped, of course.
'Hoo… this is exciting.'
In truth, the decisive reason God Ji-nu had been called the God of Time Attack was this Friday dungeon play.
A dungeon that awarded special runes.
Back in Battle of Summoners, the Friday dungeon had felt like a fun mini-game. Veteran players enjoyed it, sharing videos in the community and grinding time attacks—what they called "shaving" their records.
Lower level was easy. Intermediate was hard. Advanced was insane. Top tier made you want to puke.
['Player Running' will begin in 10 seconds!]
[Reach the destination as quickly as possible!]
The background was a corridor. A line was drawn on the floor before Jinwoo's eyes. He would start from there.
'Lower level? Even if I go serious, they won't suspect anything, right?'
He stretched and prepared to run.
"Wind Falcon."
—Kiiiiiiyot!
"Cast movement speed buff on me."
Whooooong!
A cool breeze brushed his nose, and strength filled his entire body.
So this is a speed buff.
Seconds ticked down.
[3]
[2]
[1]
One second left.
Jinwoo lowered his stance.
[0]
[Go!]
The moment the line vanished, he kicked off the ground and dashed forward.
"Hu, hu, hu!"
He ran at maximum speed, breathing rhythmically.
Numerous obstacles appeared as the player ran. Dodging them was the key to this dungeon.
Of course, the order of every obstacle and every shortcut was perfectly stored in Jinwoo's mind.
Swoosh!
He lightly ducked a small stone flying from afar, precisely stepped on stable spots amid shaking floors.
Elegant, flawless movement without a single error.
This is fun.
For the first time in a while, Jinwoo felt joy.
Yes.
This was it.
It was even more thrilling than controlling through a screen.
And.
After about a minute, a section appeared.
A wide-open floor filled with water.
First hidden route.
Jinwoo's eyes gleamed.
Normally, one had to cross the water and continue forward.
But—by using the Sky Dolphin to go underwater, one could bypass the tricky upper obstacles.
"Sky Dolphin!"
—Kiiiiiii!
He grabbed the handle that appeared midair with the dolphin.
"Hold!"
He took a deep breath.
Splash!
Jinwoo plunged underwater.
No need to worry about equipment. It was waterproof.
Splash-splash-splash!
The Sky Dolphin cut through the water at tremendous speed. Even then, Jinwoo kept his eyes open and controlled it.
The result of last night's practice.
Thirty seconds later—
Whoooosh!
The dolphin leaped out of the water.
"Okay!"
The difficult section was over.
While airborne, Jinwoo shouted:
"Heavenly Wyvern!"
—Kiiiruuuuuu!
The wyvern appeared at the perfect timing beneath him.
"Wahoo!"
Jinwoo cheered at the immense thrill.
Now it's flying time.
The first background had been a corridor. From here on, the sky opened up.
Flight was possible.
At intermediate difficulty and above, flight required control.
But at lower level?
You could just fly straight through. All obstacles were on the ground anyway.
Wait.
Was he going too serious from the start?
It's fine.
He had checked the world record beforehand.
[Friday Dungeon – Lower Level]
[World Record #1 – Rachel]
[Clear Time – 00:01:25]
No matter what Jinwoo did, he couldn't beat that yet.
To break it, he'd have to max out Wind Falcon, fully set his runes, and push the wyvern and dolphin speeds to the extreme.
'Give me about six months, and I'll break it.'
That was only for lower level.
At top tier?
Even Rachel admitted the difficulty was absurd.
Of course, she could clear it—but she didn't use the shortcut. She followed the official route, summoning creatures and smashing obstacles one by one.
'I'll try that later.'
—Kiiiruuuu!
As they neared the destination, the Heavenly Wyvern roared joyfully.
Soon after—
[Arriving at destination!]
[Dungeon Clear!]
[Clear Time – 00:02:16]
2 minutes 16 seconds!
Not bad.
For reference, the Friday dungeon also allowed "auto battle".
If you inserted only summons without the player, a virtual player would replicate previous movements.
And this too—
[Congratulations!]
[You have broken the national record of South Korea!]
[Special achievement accomplished!]
Within Korea, that result was only natural.
* * *
That night.
Jinwoo's father, Baek Jincheol, and his mother, Hwang Myeonghui, were preparing dinner after coming home late from work.
"Honey."
Placing down a steaming steamed egg dish, Hwang Myeonghui asked,
"What do you think Jinwoo's been up to lately?"
"Who knows. He said he registered as a player, so maybe he's going around dungeons."
The couple were very busy.
They rarely watched TV and were generally unaware of the news.
"Should we call him?"
"No. He takes after me. He'll handle things on his own. If we keep calling because we're worried, it'll just burden him."
"Hmm, is that so?"
Still unable to resist, Hwang Myeonghui picked up her phone.
She was about to call their daughter, Baek Ajin.
It was easier to talk to their daughter; Ajin called regularly.
—Hi, Mom!
"Do you know what your brother's been doing? He hasn't contacted us much lately."
—Brother…?
A brief silence followed.
Baek Ajin pressed her lips together.
Should she tell them? Or not?
She wanted to say it immediately.
That brother of mine? He's huge right now.
But—
'He told me not to say anything first.'
And the promised B-rank Shadow Wolf worth 500 million kept flashing through her mind.
After a moment of thought, she spoke again.
—Don't worry too much. He seems to be doing well. He said he'll come visit soon.
"Oh my, really? Then you come along too."
Smiling, Hwang Myeonghui chatted a bit more before hanging up.
Dinner began.
Midway through, Baek Jincheol took a white envelope from his pocket.
"What's that?"
"My bonus this time. Two million."
"Oh my."
"Use it for living expenses. And let's give Jinwoo a little extra allowance. He's just recovered from his coma and must be having a hard time adapting, but it's admirable how hard he's trying."
"Should we?"
Hwang Myeonghui smiled brightly.
Truthfully, there were times she felt uneasy because of her son. It usually happened during gatherings with friends.
Someone's child had become a respectable player and joined a major guild.
Another had entered some big-name corporation and was busy to death.
Every time they met, subtle boasting about children filled the air, and Hwang Myeonghui had nothing to say.
That much was fine.
But some friends were particularly irritating.
—Is Jinwoo doing okay? He just woke up this time, right? Congratulations! Really, you don't need success. Health is what matters most.
—Still, I'm worried. Mid-twenties and a three-year gap… oh dear. Well, he's young. He'll get back on his feet. What will he do? Retake the college entrance exam?
Because of comments like that, a vein would sometimes throb on her forehead.
"Hoho."
Looking at the envelope Baek Jincheol handed her, Hwang Myeonghui simply smiled.
Still, it's a relief.
Ajin and Jinwoo.
Both healthy and growing up well.
The two parents had no idea—even in their wildest dreams—that their son was currently making headlines across the nation.
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