Which one to pick? (2)
Gale Slayer, Rune Dwarf.
Rune Dwarf, Gale Slayer.
"Ha… what a dilemma."
Both were ridiculously overpowered scam-tier summons, so if he went with his heart, he wanted to pick both.
As Baek Jinwoo snapped his fingers, killing time—
—Jinwoo! I think you absolutely have to pick the Rune Dwarf!
Lamba flew in and offered her opinion first.
"Why?"
—If we just have time and materials, the Rune Dwarf can make the runes and options we want, right? I heard Gale Slayer is insane too, but if we pick the Rune Dwarf, all of us can fairly gear up with endgame runes.
"True."
She wasn't wrong.
Of course, it's not like the Rune Dwarf can just poof! craft graduation runes instantly. You have to raise proficiency through endless grinding, and rare runes require absurd materials.
Even so, not having to worry about "runes", the end content of Battle of Summoners, was a massive advantage.
And on top of that—
'If they unlocked its latent potential through HunGyo…?'
It could even produce unique runes that only the Rune Dwarf could make.
A rune set that exists only once in the entire world!
Later, after everyone finished their endgame builds, they could even sell runes.
If they pushed the brand name Yoobaek and sold one-of-a-kind luxury runes…?
'Heh.'
Wouldn't that be huge just by itself?
—Honestly, I feel kind of guilty being the only one wearing stacked endgame runes. It's a burden, too. Jinwoo! Let's just pick the Rune Dwarf, pleaaase! Hm? Huuuh? Pick it and let's fit HunGyo and the Explosive Dragon Sorcerer with runes toooo!
"Hmm… should we?"
He was torn, but with Lamba acting that cute, his heart leaned a little toward the Rune Dwarf.
But then—
—My lord.
That was when HunGyo cut in from the side.
—I think differently.
—Huh?
'Oh, this guy again?'
Lamba's cheeks puffed up in irritation, but HunGyo didn't care.
—The Rune Dwarf is good, but I believe the Gale Slayer must take priority.
—Oh? Really?
"Why?"
—Our lord is still lacking in many ways. In particular, we are weak against groups, and due to not having awakened our full potential, we still have only accumulated power to a limited extent.
"That's true."
It was fortunate South Korea's overall level was low.
If Baek Jinwoo, as he was now, ran into world-class rankers… who knew what could happen?
—And isn't there a national team selection match coming up soon?
Ohhh—now that was HunGyo.
He even had the player's schedule down cold.
—If we pick the Gale Slayer, it can be used extremely well there.
—Hey, what are you talking about?!
Lamba shook her head hard.
—What's that national tournament thing anyway! Even without Gale Slayer, just me and HunGyo are more than enough!
—Do not be arrogant, Lamba.
HunGyo replied firmly.
—It's only that China's national team players are currently low-level. By the standards of the world we used to live in, they're still far too weak. And above all, there is something even more important.
—…What is it?
Our lord's safety.
—…!
—Even just by picking the Gale Slayer, we can train it to ensure our lord's safety without fail.
—Ah…
He was right!
It was the right call.
Baek Jinwoo felt a small surge of emotion.
The reasoning for picking Gale Slayer was solid—and he could feel HunGyo genuinely thinking about him.
Even Lamba, who had been sulking, tilted her head like, "Is that so?"—which said it all.
"Then lastly… what about the Explosive Dragon Sorcerer?"
—I also think Gale Slayer is the right choice. If Jinwoo isn't safe, none of this matters.
Kah.
As expected—our HunGyo and our Explosive Dragon Sorcerer.
'I'll do better from now on.'
As for our Lamba…
'She doesn't seem worried about me at all.'
—I-I changed my mind too! That's not fair—using Jinwoo like that! I'll go with Gale Slayer too! Gale Slayer, I said!
All three summons chose the Gale Slayer.
'Either way, who's first is a minor detail.'
The blueprint would remain.
If they gathered materials and dumped them in?
They could pick the Rune Dwarf later, too.
First secure safety by picking Gale Slayer, then gather lots of miscellaneous materials, and pick the Rune Dwarf afterward—
Wouldn't that be more efficient?
"Alright."
The answer was decided.
Then—selection!
['Gale Slayer' (EX-grade)]
Baek Jinwoo grabbed the card without hesitation.
Fwoosh!
The card spun in a circle and burst with light.
[Player 'Baek Jinwoo' has obtained the summon 'Gale Slayer' (EX-grade)!]
And finally!
The legendary PVP scam summon—Gale Slayer entered Baek Jinwoo's grasp.
—Krrrk... Kk—grrk…!
The already-dim clearing grew even darker. At the same time, strange sounds spilled out.
"It's here."
Baek Jinwoo looked up into the air. Floating there was a reaper of death holding a scythe.
That was the Gale Slayer.
—Krrrk... g…!
Unfortunately, despite being EX-grade, it seemed unable to speak.
Was it because it wasn't humanoid?
Baek Jinwoo opened its info.
[Summon: Gale Slayer]
[Species: Undead]
[Grade: EX-grade (Isolation Classified)]
Isolated due to discovering balance-breaking elements under specific conditions.
[Level: 1]
[Stats]
Strength: 1, Intelligence: 1, Stamina: 1, Agility: 1
HP: 1,000, MP: 0
Critical Chance: 20%
Critical Damage: 20%
[Skills]
Assassination: Becomes invisible for a short time. The first attack deals 100% critical damage.
Gale: Spins the reaper's scythe once, dealing area damage.
'Yeah. This is it.'
Just looking at the skills, it was a classic assassin-type summon. Hide in stealth with invisibility, then strike and guarantee a critical hit.
And thanks to that skill, Gale Slayer was also easy to rune-build.
You could ignore critical chance and push critical damage to the extreme.
"Gale Slayer, nice to meet you."
—Krrrk…!
As if happy to see him, it twirled its scythe in circles.
—Ugh… so creepy. Eek… the atmosphere's already getting bleak!
Swish!
Lamba moved behind Baek Jinwoo's back, but her eyes were filled with pure curiosity.
It made sense.
Lamba and Gale Slayer had never met in the Battle of Summoners.
"HunGyo, can you train that guy?"
—My lord, why even ask? I'm confident. Gale?
—Krrrk?
At that moment—
The razor-sharp reaper's gaze swept over HunGyo once. A terrifying killing intent flooded the surroundings, but—
—Krrrk!
The killing intent quickly subsided, and it set its scythe upright instead of spinning it.
HunGyo's charisma.
Even Gale Slayer responded to it.
—Gale. Your potential is beyond S-rank. Starting today, I'll draw out that potential.
—Krrrk!
'As expected—training is HunGyo's specialty!'
It really does make things easy.
* * *
Mid-June.
It was about time the atmosphere in South Korea started heating up.
Because the day to select the ten national representatives who would compete in the "World League", the biggest year-end event on Earth, was drawing near!
6/30!
The national team selection match!
Every media outlet in South Korea regularly talked about it, and the community's attention was completely focused on the selection match.
- Who do you think will get picked this time?
- Dunno. Obviously at least one from Baekho, Arirang, and Ilwol. And someone from HQ too, probably.
Baekho, Arirang, Ilwol.
The three major mega-guilds representing South Korea.
All of their guild masters were powerhouses in the domestic top 10 rankings.
- Rank 1, Kang Geonho, is a lock.
- Yeah, but you never know. PvP always has tons of variables.
- True. There are probably rankers who are totally specialized for duels.
Everyone argued back and forth, but in truth nothing was guaranteed.
It was an annual event, yet plenty of players were selected from outside everyone's predictions.
That was the fun of the national team selection match.
- What about Yoobaek?
- Yoobaek?
- Yeah—Baek Jinwoo, that player who's been hot lately.
- Baek Jinwoo…? He's trending, sure, but can he really hang with the top rankers?
- Come on—he holds all the #1 clear-time records for the low-grade and Intermediate-grade weekday dungeons.
- But not the Advanced or Top-grade ones. And from what I know, Yoobaek isn't even a guild yet.
- Well, he could join some guild. Or he could come out under HQ affiliation.
People's main interest was simple: Who will compete?
Students, office workers, freelancers, business owners—everyone was buzzing about it.
And—
HQ was no exception.
* * *
Player HQ.
Assembly conference room.
With preparations for the national team selection match in full swing, the ten assembly members who formed HQ were seated there.
"Grr…"
The meeting was in progress.
The HQ Director was staring at someone with an annoyed expression.
Assemblyman Im Heesoo.
'Because of that bastard, we missed Baek Jinwoo.'
Would Im Heesoo understand the Director's frustration?
Im Heesoo, with his shoulders puffed up in smug pride, was chatting away in high spirits.
Did he know?
That just a few days ago, that player Baek Jinwoo had cleared the 10th floor of the Tower of Trials in just ten minutes?
Because the info was set to private, only the Director, his chief secretary, and the department in charge of the Tower of Trials knew.
That was why the other assembly members didn't know.
Ha… It wasn't like he could just say it.
The reason Im Heesoo was acting so high and mighty was simple. Two players who followed him were currently ranked 9th and 10th.
In other words, the only assemblyman who could preserve HQ's prestige in this selection match was Im Heesoo.
While the anxious Director bit at his lip—
"Hey, Assemblyman Park Changseok."
Im Heesoo grinned.
"Preparations going well? You didn't forget our bet, did you?"
The bet.
Park Changseok recalled the past.
"Care to make a wager? Whether my affiliated rankers make the national team or not?"
"Or should we go further—see who ends up with the higher ranking?"
"We'll make it so the assemblyman who looks worse to the public admits it and resigns voluntarily. How about it?"
"Yes, and if you break it, the penalty is one billion won. If you want, we can write the contract right now."
Thinking back, it was a ridiculous bet.
So why had he done it?
Back then, when he looked at Baek Jinwoo… it felt like he couldn't endure unless he went all in.
"Well? Want to tuck your tail between your legs even now? Looks like you don't even have a ranker to send to the selection match."
"Bwahahaha!"
"Hahaha!"
At Im Heesoo's joking tone, several executives burst into laughter.
The fur covering Park Changseok's face trembled.
"Who says I don't have a ranker?"
"Oh? You do?"
"Yes, I do."
Park Changseok replied confidently.
'Yoo Jia said so.'
That he wouldn't have to worry about something like the national team selection match.
That Baek Jinwoo had grown to an unbelievable degree.
And as far as Park Changseok knew, Yoo Jia was not someone who spouted nonsense.
"The hot player these days—Baek Jinwoo—will participate under my affiliation."
"What?! Is that true?!"
It wasn't Im Heesoo who reacted.
"Baek Jinwoo's really joining? Under HQ affiliation?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Bwahahaha! Really? That's great! Great! You did well! As expected of Park Changseok—always gets things done!"
How strange.
When he had tried to contact Baek Jinwoo, the guy hadn't even glanced his way—yet he listened to Park Changseok?
Still, the Director was pleased.
And even more so because he knew about Baek Jinwoo's absurd Tower of Trials record.
"Come on, Director. Why are you making such a fuss over Baek Jinwoo?"
Naturally, Assemblyman Im Heesoo couldn't understand.
"Do you actually think Baek Jinwoo will be selected?"
To his question—
"Of course not."
"Baek Jinwoo isn't at that level yet. Maybe next year or the year after, once he grows more."
The assembly members aligned with him chimed in and agreed.
Park Changseok didn't bother responding.
'We'll see about that.'
Either way, the result would come out soon. And then everyone would know.
Baek Jinwoo's true power.
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