150. The World's Strongest Challenge (2)
PBC headquarters auditorium.
The documentary production team members and executives were all gathered in one place, holding champagne glasses.
On the giant screen positioned at the very center, worldwide ratings and advertising revenue were being updated in real time as if pouring down.
"Waaaaaaah!"
"This is insane!"
"This is huge. These numbers are seriously beyond imagination!"
Everyone shouted in excitement and cheered.
The other executives also nodded in unison and agreed with one voice.
"W-we've already surpassed total revenue of 5 billion dollars."
One executive checked the numbers and reacted in astonishment.
In Korean won, that amounted to 6.6 trillion won!
They had already earned more than what they had invested, and even more astonishing was the fact that this was the result of just a single day.
No one could even dare imagine how much more they would make from here on.
The global simultaneous-broadcast rating was 32.3%.
This figure overwhelmingly surpassed 15.7%, which had previously been considered the highest rating in the industry.
"Look at South Korea. The viewership rating is..... 70%. Does that even make sense?"
One of the executives muttered with a shocked expression.
This was a figure that surpassed the all-time historical rating of 65.8%, and the industry had predicted that under the current rating measurement system, it would never be broken no matter what.
And yet?
It smashed right through it as if to say, just watch.
"To be honest, I thought it would already be a jackpot if it just exceeded 20%.... But this is a mega-jackpot. No, is it beyond even that?"
"Baek Jinwoo's power really is terrifying."
"The phones are ringing off the hook! They're saying they'll raise the ad fee for part two by 100 times, pay the penalty, and want us to swap in their ads!"
"The U.S. and U.K. ratings are rising more and more too!"
As explosive reactions continued all around the world, the contract amounts with broadcasters in each country also began snowballing.
"The countries that haven't even aired it yet are going crazy too!"
"They're saying they'll fully cover the translation costs, so please broadcast it as soon as possible."
"Hehehe."
The executives' faces were full of smiles.
How could they not be happy when they had become the main players behind such historic numbers?
PBC's stock price hit the upper limit.
As the whole world came to recognize PBC's existence, its value was soaring through the roof.
"All right, all right, everyone, quiet down!"
Just as the cheering began to die down, the director stood up from his seat and quietly raised his glass.
In an instant, the auditorium calmed, and everyone's eyes turned toward him.
"Hahaha, everyone! Today we achieved an unbelievably great result. Thanks to the hard work of everyone here, our PBC has made history! You've all worked very hard—"
The director raised his glass.
"All right! Let's have a drink!"
"Let's make a toast!"
Clink!
The staff clinked their glasses together and praised one another for their hard work.
Everyone had bright smiles on their faces, but the director was not finished speaking.
"But!"
He shouted in a solemn tone.
"We must not stop here. This success is only the beginning. Strengthening our relationship with Player Baek Jinwoo, and with CEO Yoo Jia, is now our broadcasting station's assignment."
They were the keys that would bring even greater success to PBC.
The director added that no matter the means or method, they were to satisfy everything those two wanted.
"All right, everyone, enjoy tonight! And from tomorrow onward, we work even harder!"
Clap clap clap clap!
Everyone in the auditorium raised their glasses while giving a vigorous round of applause.
And so, the video, 'The World's Strongest Challenge', continued spreading across the world.
* * *
A week later, once again.
"We."
Inside the training hall where the guild members had gathered, Hong Ari spoke with a serious expression.
"We should go up too."
"Huh?"
"What are you talking about, noona?"
Gi Jaehyuk asked, and she replied.
"The 51st floor. It's not like we can't go too, right? Let's finish climbing the Tower of Trials."
".....Huh?"
"The 51st floor? Us?"
It had already been two weeks since Baek Jinwoo entered it.
And if Baek Jinwoo still hadn't come out by now?
That meant it was time to consider the worst-case scenario.
"What choice do we have? Jia unni isn't showing it, but she's completely having a mental breakdown.... And Baek Jinwoo, that bastard, doesn't look like he has any intention of coming back! And besides. We're still on the 20th floor, aren't we? We've even become world rankers now, and we're still going to loaf around on the 20th floor? Are we seriously just going to stand around blankly every day like this?!"
Hong Ari was right.
Before the 4th World League, they had gotten to the 20th floor with Baek Jinwoo's help.
And still, not a single person had tried the 21st floor yet.
".....At least let's make it to the 30th floor by our own strength. Then we'll think again after that."
One by one.
They began to agree with Hong Ari.
"Now that I think about it, she's right."
"Our skills have improved a lot too, so maybe it's worth a try."
"It's a little scary not having any info...."
"We can't live comfortably forever in big brother's shadow."
In the meantime, the guild members had been almost like dead fish.
There was no vitality in them at all.
They were training, yes, but it did not feel like they were really doing it properly.
None of them said it out loud, but they had all been relying on Baek Jinwoo a great deal.
"We can't keep waiting around helplessly forever."
But that single sentence from Hong Ari reignited their sunken passion.
"Let's help each other and prepare. With our skills, it's definitely possible. Mr. Juwon."
"Huh?"
"Please take the role of HunGyo, mister."
"Me, the HunGyo...?"
Hwang Juwon asked back with a dumbfounded expression.
How could they assign that devil's role to kind-hearted him.....!
"You've been wanting to take on the role of coach since last time, haven't you? Isn't this actually your chance?"
".....That's true."
Hwang Juwon thought for a moment, then nodded.
Inside, he reflected.
'Honestly, I should have stepped up and led first.'
They said the position made the person, and maybe there was a reason he wasn't vice guild master for nothing.
Above all, he was an advisor.
It was time to show the guild members that he had not gotten that position just because of his age.
"Good."
Clap!
Hwang Juwon clapped his hands vigorously.
"Starting today, let's get moving right away. I may not be a real HunGyo, but I'll try my best to push you as hard as I can."
Before long, passion began to flicker in the guild members' eyes.
* * *
"Hwaaaah!"
"Euja-ja-ja-ja-jat!"
While the training hall was once again filled with vitality along with the guild members' shouts—
"..."
Yoo Jia was gradually losing all expression.
Every day.
She came out wearing the same outfit, standing there with an emotionless face as she processed paperwork.
'Bastard.'
Inside, she cursed while swallowing her anger.
He could definitely come out quickly, and yet he was choosing not to.
She boiled with resentment, convinced he was doing it on purpose just to make her worry.
Once the paperwork was done?
She carried the three Mind-Reading Eagles she had recently purchased onto her shoulders and conducted interviews with applicants.
Because of that, it was the applicants who had to tremble anxiously.
Yoo Jia, asking stiff questions with a dry, expressionless face, was simply too cold and frightening.
'As expected of CEO Yoobaek...'
'Her charisma is incredible.'
'They say even SKY rankers can't do a thing in front of her. I guess it's true.'
'Ahh, I just felt completely overwhelmed. I was so nervous I couldn't even speak properly.'
A needless misunderstanding had taken root.
But Yoo Jia did not care.
Like a machine, like a robot, she simply carried out what needed to be done in silence.
In any case, the Mind-Reading Eagles would grasp their true feelings for her.
'Recruiting the second generation of guild members.'
Yoo Jia thought.
Recruiting guild members?
Because it was what Baek Jinwoo had told her to do, that alone was what she focused on.
If she did not, and started letting her emotions sway her, it felt like she really would collapse.
She would not wait for Baek Jinwoo.
She assumed, of course, that he would return, and prepared for that.
'I bet my life not only on Baek Jinwoo, but also on the company called Yoobaek.'
If he did not come back?
That would be no different from her life collapsing.
"Hoo."
Yoo Jia let out a faint sigh.
'Still.'
The hundred applicants were almost fully narrowed down.
In just two more weeks, the final intern hires would be selected.
'I can do it even without HunGyo.'
She steeled herself once more and strengthened her resolve.
Rustle!
Even late at night, she turned over documents, calmly organizing her thoughts and controlling her mind.
* * *
Back again, two weeks earlier.
After finishing his farewells and making sure even the filming equipment was working properly, Baek Jinwoo stepped through the main gate of the tower.
"You're already taking on the challenge!"
"We wish Player Baek Jinwoo good fortune!"
The resident staff also bowed at perfect right angles and prayed for Baek Jinwoo's success.
Blink.
He closed and opened his eyes, then stepped through the opening door.
Step.
He entered the bottomless abyss that had once been Jamsil Tower.
[Entering the Tower of Trials.]
[The difficulty of the Tower of Trials is extremely high.]
[Caution is advised.]
A pitch-black background.
By now, it was a familiar setting.
[You may deploy up to 3 teams in the Tower of Trials.]
[Please complete the settings.]
The settings were the same as well.
Eight EX-grade summons.
Just in case this time, he also randomly set seven more that he had used in the daily dungeon.
'Especially the Celestial Wyvern.'
That one was incredibly useful.
It gave mobility and secured air superiority.
As long as they could ascend to high places together, it also provided a wide field of view.
[You may currently challenge the 51st floor.]
[Would you like to challenge it?]
[Y/N]
"Of course."
Along with Baek Jinwoo's answer, woooong! A mysterious energy began to wrap around his entire body.
His vision gradually darkened, and when he opened his eyes again—
"Huh?"
Baek Jinwoo had no choice but to be startled.
The location of the 51st floor was a ruined library.
The objective was to find the ruined laboratory hidden inside it and deal with the mid-boss-class Dark Recorder (A-grade), but...
"What is this?"
Baek Jinwoo looked around and could not hide his bewilderment.
The library had already been completely trashed.
Bookshelves had collapsed, and countless books were strewn across the floor.
Torn pages were scattered everywhere, and dust and debris were piled up here and there.
As if.
Someone had already swept through this place.
'Besides.'
The path to the already-ruined laboratory had already been opened.
Originally, it was a route that had to be found by following clues, but...
It was just open that easily?
Sensing that something was wrong, Baek Jinwoo called for HunGyo.
"HunGyo."
—.....
"You can just speak normally."
Was filming really the issue right now?
Come to think of it, there had never really been any need to keep hiding the fact that his summon could talk.
The higher the floors he climbed, the tougher it would get.
He could not keep hiding it forever.
—Yes, my lord.
"Go inside there."
—I obey your command.
Inside the laboratory was the Dark Recorder.
It was a mage who once kept the secrets of Ruin, wielding powerful darkness-attribute magic and...
A terrible bastard that attacked by tearing up the skill books inside the library.
Sometimes it even tore up things like 7-circle magic...
At that point, there was no answer.
The only solution was to deal with it as quickly as possible.
That definitely was the answer, but...
—My lord...
From inside came HunGyo's voice, sounding utterly disbelieving.
—The Dark Recorder, this bastard. It is dead.
What?
"....?"
What was that supposed to mean?
Killing that thing was the clear condition for clearing the 51st floor...
And it was already dead?