99. One Week Before the World League (3)
God Ji-nu.
A legend of 「Battle of Summoners」, and a genius once called One Heaven.
The conqueror of the 99th floor of the Tower of Trials, and the No. 1 player in the PvP rankings!
And that was not all.
He had broken the time-attack records for every weekday dungeon, and was such a hardened veteran that he even pulled off the feat of killing the vicious Chaos Demon Dragon raid in under a minute.
He had even been free-to-play at the time!
But despite all that glory, God Ji-nu's influence in reality was insignificant.
"God Ji-nu? That legend the Five Emperors hype up? Is he even a real person?"
"South Korea? That tiny little country had someone like that? Cut the joke."
"Even if there was, so what? Isn't reality what matters? So who's No. 1 in the world rankings right now? Isn't it Rachel?"
"Sorry, but games and reality are different. At best, he's just some old gaming memory people are romanticizing."
"To be honest, isn't the highest chance that he died somewhere unnoticed?"
There had been no news of him whatsoever for a full four years.
Naturally, the name "God Ji-nu", which had been mentioned at the very beginning, could only remain as some vague, cloud-like figure.
He was slowly forgotten.
The memory of him gradually dulled.
Now people did not even care anymore.
Even if he did appear?
The stature of the current legend, Rachel, was far greater.
There was, however, one country that was different.
South Korea.
As a backward nation in summoning, it desperately needed hope, and a kind of nationalistic pride had started to take hold.
'We may be a backward country now, but once upon a time, we had a player like that!'
'Damn, a player respected by all Five Emperors!'
'We were always a nation of gaming! At least in terms of potential, the five great powers can't ignore us!'
God Ji-nu.
To be honest, that nickname was only famous in South Korea.
Overseas, it was more like, Who the fuck! (Who the hell is that bastard?!)
The Five Emperors only mentioned him briefly at first, and after that, the nickname God Ji-nu was never brought up even once in any official setting.
Click-click-click-click!
Even the reporters busily snapping their shutters could not understand it.
No, why was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom—shaking hands like that with that country's national representative?
Could it really be because of the existence of this person called God Ji-nu, whom South Korea still believed in and kept insisting on?
There had been videos going around about Baek Jinwoo.
Apparently, he had shown incredible performance in the preliminaries.
'But so what?'
'Isn't he just some former player who kicks a ball around in an amateur soccer club?'
'What's so impressive about crushing a bunch of South Korean kids? He's just a frog in a well.'
'Even if he is strong, he still hasn't proven anything yet······.'
Reporters from every country stared intently at the sight and sent the news back home.
Whether he was a real legend—or a fake.
It was one of the events to watch in this tournament.
* * *
"Ughhh."
"Huaaah!"
Baek Jinwoo and the guild members collapsed onto their beds, utterly exhausted.
It was a super-luxurious hotel room provided by the British side.
Watching them, Yoo Jia shook her head side to side.
"Is everyone okay?"
"Ugh… do we look okay?"
The hangover was brutal.
This was the first time in his life he had ever drunk so much, so fast.
'Still.'
It had been fun.
It was nice spending time laughing together and enjoying good food, and it was nice letting go of all his stress for once and simply enjoying himself without thinking.
If only he could get rid of the hangover a little faster.
Maybe once the Clear Heaven Heart Technique improved, something like that would be possible too?
"By the way."
Hwang Juwon, lying on the bed next to him, let out a small laugh.
"That British Prime Minister was ridiculously friendly. Honestly, I've never seen anything like it. It was like he'd completely become a different person."
"Seriously. He shook every single one of our hands and even took pictures with us."
The guild members beside him said, nodding fervently in agreement.
"Our country getting treated like this overseas! This is seriously moving."
"Do you think people around the world believe in God Ji-nu too?"
Baek Jinwoo shook his head.
"I don't think that's it."
Even while drunk, he had felt the eyes on him.
Suspicion, and still more suspicion.
Then why had the British Prime Minister been so kind to him?
'There's only one answer.'
Thud!
Baek Jinwoo flopped back down and closed his eyes.
'Rachel.'
The alliance formed this time, and the treatment he was receiving now, were all probably because of Rachel's influence.
And yet she still had not come to see him.
Was she being cautious?
Well, it did not matter. Once the matches started, they were bound to meet soon enough anyway.
Just then, Gi Jaehyuk said with a grin,
"But big brother! If you really are God Ji-nu, then you must've been pretty close with Rachel too, right?"
"Close, huh..."
Baek Jinwoo muttered as if reciting the thought to himself.
"If having conversations counts as being close, then I guess so?"
"What's she like, anyway? She's causing a stir even overseas. They say she's a once-in-a-generation beauty."
When the world selected the most beautiful person, many elements were considered—tolerance, charm, elegance, and more.
Among them, Rachel had been chosen as the woman with the most beautiful proportions, ranking No. 1 without fail every year in the surveys conducted by fashion magazines.
"I don't know what she's like or anything. We just exchanged a few words in the game, that's all."
Though those few words had lasted five years…..
Still, that was not what mattered right now.
"Anyway, all of you get some proper rest."
Baek Jinwoo spoke to all of the guild members.
"Starting tomorrow, we'll be training in earnest again."
World League, D-6.
Along with adjusting to the time difference, it was time to make the final tweaks to their control.
* * *
"Hmmm."
London, Red Rose Headquarters.
In the training room there, a blonde woman drenched in sweat toweled off her hair.
Rachel, showing off an incredible figure and flawless proportions.
As someone watched her, a player approached.
"Unni, aren't you training a little too hard?"
The woman calling Rachel unni was herself an incredible ranker.
None other than Olivia, world rank No. 6!
"Too hard? Hardly."
Rachel answered sulkily, her face full of worry.
"Why, did something happen?"
"It's nothing."
"Don't tell me….. It's because of that Korean guy, Baek Jinwoo, isn't it?"
"..."
Rachel did not bother to answer.
Olivia let out a deep sigh.
"Ahh, I knew it. Just go see him. Why are you agonizing over something that could be solved just by meeting him and talking?"
"He doesn't like it when people suddenly approach him."
That had been Rachel's assessment of God Ji-nu back in 「Battle of Summoners」.
Sensitive.
Held grudges.
A difficult person in many ways.
No current ranker knew how much effort Rachel had put in to keep him in the group chat the whole time.
"Come on, who would hate it if you went to see them?"
"Why would that matter?"
"Because you're pretty."
"...."
Rachel's face twisted.
'It's not a problem that simple.'
She, more than anyone, had been the one who felt God Ji-nu's talent most closely from long ago, and she knew instinctively.
'He isn't the kind of genius that humans like us can dare approach.'
He was something beyond what people called a genius.
Otherwise, there was no way someone could have cleared Battle of Summoners—known as hell among hell difficulty—up to the 99th floor as a free-to-play player.
'You must never get on his bad side.'
Do not become enemies with Baek Jinwoo!
She knew it instinctively and engraved it into her resolve. Like a divine revelation carved into the mind of a fanatic.
'For now, I won't approach him until he comes to me.'
And then—
"Olivia."
"Hm?"
"This World League… we might not be able to win it."
"Huh? How does that even make sense?"
Olivia looked dumbfounded.
Because she was someone who knew Rachel's strength better than anyone.
"Don't tell me it's because of God Ji-nu? That makes no sense. I saw that video of him going around too, you know? Forget you—even I could handle him myself…..."
"..."
That might be true.
It could be.
If the Baek Jinwoo from that video were to fight the current her?
She was more than 99% confident she would win.
'But.'
You could not approach a match against Baek Jinwoo in terms of probability.
Because he was always a player who created upsets.
"Come on, unni."
Olivia let out a small laugh.
"You must be under a lot of stress from climbing the Tower these days. Take it a little easier."
"...Well."
Rachel nodded.
What good would it do to talk all day in front of someone who had never properly experienced him yet?
She would understand during this World League.
His greatness.
And it would not be too late to explain it after that.
* * *
"Everyone, gather around for a moment."
With his characteristic smile, Hwang Juwon gathered the guild members together.
"Guild Master, and Representative Yoo Jia too—come over here for a second."
After training, he called everyone over and rubbed his palms together with an eager expression.
"Now then, I've got a suggestion I want to make."
What was it?
What on earth was making him wear such a sly expression?
Baek Jinwoo got curious too and sat down on the nearby sofa.
"First of all, Guild Master."
"Yes?"
"Do you think we can really make it to at least the semifinals with our own skill?"
"Hmm."
After thinking for a moment, Baek Jinwoo nodded.
Up until before the Round of 16, it was a team battle format, but from the Round of 16 onward, it became a national tournament.
And as long as Baek Jinwoo was there?
It was not a game they could lose.
Unless there was the variable of running into Rachel in the Round of 16.
But, well.
To begin with, Baek Jinwoo had never really considered defeat in the first place.
"I don't know about the semifinals. I'm only looking at the championship."
Rachel or no Rachel.
Going into a game with the mindset that you might lose?
That was not Baek Jinwoo's style.
"Kya!"
"As expected of Guild Master!"
"Of course, if it's Guild Master, that's something worth aiming for."
"Gasp, I'm already getting excited. Our country winning the World League…... Can that even happen?"
If others heard it, they might call it madness, but the national team did not think so.
To them, Baek Jinwoo was a sacred domain beyond mere faith.
The more they trained, the more they could not picture Baek Jinwoo losing.
Even against someone as incredible as Rachel.
"Then…."
Hwang Juwon continued again.
"How about we place a bet?"
"A bet?"
Yoo Jia's eyes sparkled as she listened.
A bet meant wagering money on the outcome and winning according to the odds!
A chance to increase Yoobaek's assets dramatically.
"There's not a single person in the world predicting our country will win. Which means our odds are insanely high, right? And we're just supposed to let that pass?"
"No way!"
"Absolutely no way! Where do we go?"
"Do we just bet our entire fortune on making the Round of 16?"
"No, no, wait a second."
Hwang Juwon calmed down the excited guild members.
Then he looked at Yoo Jia.
"Representative."
"Yes?"
"There's only one casino recognized by the British Players Association, right? The betting limit there is exactly 1 billion won per person. They manage it so thoroughly that there's no way to cheat."
"Hehe, are you asking for support?"
"No, no."
Hwang Juwon waved his hands, then looked at Yoo Jia.
"How about we take the 11 billion won we can mobilize and really multiply it properly? We can use whatever we win as SKY's operating funds."
Ohhh.
Listening to that, Baek Jinwoo nodded.
Hwang Juwon.
He certainly had experience.
And he was someone who pursued the interests of the group over personal greed.
If Hong Ari was the vice guild master, then an advisory position would suit him just fine too.
"Okay, sounds good."
The one who answered was not Yoo Jia, but Baek Jinwoo.
"Where's this casino? Training's over anyway, so how about we go have some fun?"
At his declaration—
"Waaah!"
Cheers erupted once more.
These days, the guild members really were blessed in more ways than one.
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