Tutorial (2)
For a brief moment, his vision was swallowed by darkness. And when it brightened again.
"Hmm."
He found himself inside some eerie cave. The foul smell of damp fish filled his nose.
[To fight in a dungeon, you must form a team with summoned creatures.]
[Maximum summoned creatures per team: five!]
[Currently, Player 'Baek Jinwoo' only has two summoned creatures.]
[Would you like to assign 'Wind Fairy' (EX-grade) and 'Fur Gorilla' (F-grade) to Team 1?]
[Y/N]
Yes!
The moment he clicked it, Lamba and Fur Gorilla were automatically summoned before his eyes.
—Ewwww, it stinks! Smells like wolf!
—Uwooooooo…!
Just as the two of them automatically prepared for battle—
[A hungry gray wolf is prowling nearby.]
[Defeat the wolf and escape the cave.]
Grrrrr.
The wolf's low growl echoed throughout the cave.
At the same time—
Wiiiiing!
A golden aura rose from beneath Baek Jinwoo's feet and gently wrapped around him.
[A 'Shield' is generated for the player.]
[This 'Shield' will remain until the player's summoned creatures are unsummoned.]
[The 'Shield' nullifies all damage.]
"Ah."
It was a system from 「Battle of Summoners」.
A setting meant to protect the player so summoned creatures could fight each other.
'Though this place is reality…'
[Be careful.]
[If you are attacked by a summoned creature without a 'Shield', you will die.]
'As expected.'
Baek Jinwoo let out a hollow laugh.
No matter how much it followed the same rules as the game, this was no longer a game. This was reality.
In other words, he could no longer throw himself into difficult dungeons and learn through brute-force trial and error like before.
The moment he failed, he would die.
'Climbing the Tower of Trials is going to be even harsher now.'
Still.
It should be manageable.
He had already tried it thousands, tens of thousands of times before, and every strategy was neatly organized in his head.
Grrrrr.
The howling wolf in the distance was getting closer.
"Lamba."
—Yep!
"Start swinging your staff now."
—Okay! Here I go, hya-ja-ja-ja-jat!
Whoosh, whoosh!
Lamba began lazily swinging her tiny staff.
[Owned Skill]
Wind Pressure: Every time the staff is swung, increases the attack speed of a single target summoned creature by 3%.
Lamba's 'Wind Pressure' was an attack speed buff.
The more she swung, the faster Fur Gorilla's attack speed would become.
—Gwor?
The gorilla tilted its head.
Come on.
—First time getting buffed, huh?
—Gwoooaaaargh!
Feeling power welling up inside it, the gorilla's eyes widened.
In front of it—
Grrrrr.
A wolf came stalking forward, drool dripping from its mouth.
'Wow.'
That thing.
First of all, it was huge. And on top of that, it had vicious fangs, blood-red eyes, and rough fur jutting out all over…
'It's real.'
Yeah, that was a real wolf.
If their gorilla and Lamba lost?
Then those fangs would definitely tear their bodies to shreds.
"Ha."
A sigh slipped out on its own.
He hadn't realized it, but his legs were already trembling.
His heart was pounding fast, and his head was burning hot, as if his blood were boiling.
Surely the gorilla wouldn't lose, right?
In the game, that would never happen, but…
That wolf is real!
—Grrrr, woof! Woof!
That was when the wolf leaped.
"Gorilla!"
Baek Jinwoo shouted reflexively.
—Gwor!
Fur Gorilla also charged at the wolf.
—Fur Gor! Fighting!
Whoosh, whoosh!
Behind it, Lamba kept swinging her staff. For reference, Lamba had no combat ability whatsoever. The moment the gorilla died, Lamba would be finished too.
Crunch!
The wolf's fangs sank into the gorilla's shoulder.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed out.
—Aaaah! Fur Gor! Are you okay? You can't dieeee!
But their gorilla didn't stay still either.
Gwoooaaaargh!
With one arm, it wrapped around the wolf's neck, while with the other, it pounded the wolf's belly wildly.
Kagh, karrrgh!
—Gwor, gwoooaargh!
A brutal brawl between the wolf and the gorilla began.
When the gorilla threw punches, the wolf raked the gorilla's stomach again and again with its hind claws.
Now there was only one thing to rely on.
"Lamba!"
—I know! I'm swinging as hard as I cannnn!
Whoosh, whoosh!
That was, speeding up the gorilla's punches! This was Lamba's broken ability.
Well, right now it was still a bit pathetic.
But once she grew properly, it would become an unbelievably absurd buff despite being so simple.
Gwooooooooooargh!
How much time had passed since the fight began?
The gorilla's punches had become much faster. The wolf's cries gradually weakened, and it steadily began losing strength.
After several more minutes—
—Gwor, gwoooaargh!
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
After turning the wolf into a bloody pulp, Fur Gorilla let out a victorious roar.
[Dungeon Clear!]
['Fur Gorilla' (F-grade) has risen to Level 2.]
['Fur Gorilla' (F-grade)'s Strength has increased by 1.]
['Wind Fairy' (EX-grade) has risen to Level 2.]
['Wind Fairy' (EX-grade)'s Intelligence has increased by 1.]
[Rewards have arrived.]
[2 Low-Grade 'Strength' Runes.]
"Haa."
The tension drained out of him.
At the same time, he realized something.
'As long as I win, it's not such a big deal.'
If he lost, his life was over, but if he won, he could just stand back and watch it all end.
Whether it would really be that easy was another matter.
[The dungeon disappears.]
Whoosh!
His vision flipped, and he returned to the clearing once more. What he had gained were two low-grade runes.
'First.'
Should he find out a bit more?
How exactly one entered dungeons.
Where the Tower of Trials and the Fusion Lab were.
Let's find out that first.
* * *
Baek Jinwoo's younger sister, 22-year-old Baek Ajin, is a rune farming player.
She mostly runs low-grade dungeons and sells runes to fairly promising players for a living.
She had originally been a pretty good student and was attending university, but after her older brother's accident, the family's finances collapsed, and she decided to become a player.
"Thank you again today, bosses!"
At sunset.
Baek Ajin stepped out of Seoul's Jamsil Tower, having made good money again today.
Normally, when only low-grade runes dropped, she made about 100,000 won a day, but today a mid-grade rune had dropped.
At Player Headquarters, mid-grade runes were priced at 100,000 won each.
In other words, she had earned 200,000 won in a single day.
"Hehe."
Humming happily, she headed toward the bus stop. She could have taken a taxi, but she was armed with a spirit of thrift.
Rent, family living expenses, her brother's hospital bills, and more. There were simply too many things she had to pay for.
'I got lucky.'
Actually, she was a player with the rare possession of a C-grade summoned creature.
Its name: Shadow Elf (C-grade)!
It never appeared from a 'Low-Grade Summoning Scroll'.
It only had a 1% chance of appearing when using the hard-to-obtain 'Mid-Grade Summoning Scroll'.
[E-grade: 94%]
[D-grade: 5%]
[C-grade: 1%]
Those were the appearance rates for a 'Mid-Grade Summoning Scroll'.
At first, she had to pour every penny she earned into raising that one summon, but now it had grown fairly well.
She had become capable of farming runes steadily on her own.
'By the way.'
Did Oppa get discharged safely?
Roo-loo.
Still humming, she tapped his number.
Beeeep, beep—
The ringing tone sounded, and then.
-Hello?
"Ah, Oppa! Did you get home okay? I should've come to get you, but I was working, so I'm only calling now."
-Yeah, good timing. I'm glad you called.
"Hm?"
-Dad told me. He said you've been selling runes?
"Excuse me?"
Baek Ajin made a dumbfounded expression.
Selling runes? What kind of trashy way to put it is that?!
"That sounds awful! Could you call it rune retail instead?"
-Rune retail, business, whatever! Anyway, is the Fusion Lab there? In Seoul's Jamsil Tower?
"Uh…"
That's right.
There were only two 「Player Zones」 in South Korea.
Jamsil Tower in Seoul and Haeundae Tower in Busan.
There were none in the provinces.
If you wanted to handle anything related to summoned creatures, you had to go to one of those two places.
"That's true, but why? Oppa, you haven't even done the tutorial yet, have you?"
-Haven't done it? I already did.
"What?!"
Baek Ajin shouted at the top of her lungs.
People near the bus stop frowned in surprise, but she paid them no attention.
"Oppa! I texted you, didn't I? I told you that was dangerous! I told you to listen carefully to the warnings before doing it!"
They called it a tutorial, but plenty of people had died there because they failed to respond properly.
Nowadays, information was widespread, so people prepared carefully before going in, but three years ago, it had been an absolute hellgate.
The whole country had practically been in mourning.
"You brought all five summons together, right? Don't tell me you only drew the first two and went in?"
Five summoned creatures per team.
That was why the standard strategy was to build a proper team first and then kill the wolf.
Not enough 'Low-Grade Summoning Scrolls'?
Then all you had to do was hold out for three more days.
You got one every day as an attendance reward.
-I only drew two before going in.
"What?!"
Aaaaagh!
Baek Ajin nearly foamed at the mouth.
-Anyway, I'm alive, aren't I? Don't worry so much. I finished it safely and came out.
"..."
-If I'm going to raise them properly now, I'll need runes and the Fusion Lab, right? Can you guide me?
"Oppa, wait a second."
She steadied her ragged breathing.
This guy.
Was he really someone who had only just woken up yesterday?
Why was he in such a hurry?
"What grade?"
-Hm?
"You said you cleared the tutorial. You must've summoned creatures. What grades? F? E? D?"
-...
This time, Baek Jinwoo hesitated.
Should he tell the truth?
His hesitation was brief.
No.
If he was going to hide it, it would be better to hide it properly. Whether from family or anyone else.
-E and F.
"Oh! E? You got an E? That's only a 5% chance!"
-Really? Guess I got lucky. Anyway, you're still there, right?
"Yeah, I am, but…"
-Then wait for me a bit. Show me around.
"No, Oppa. Isn't it too much for you to push yourself this hard already—"
Beep, beep—
"No, Oppa? Oppa?"
Baek Ajin stared blankly.
Him.
Had he always been this reckless?
* * *
Three years ago.
The day the world changed.
Towers of Trial had appeared all across the world.
2 in South Korea, 4 in Japan, 13 in the United States, 57 in China.
No one had ever discovered why the number differed by country, but there was one strong hypothesis.
The population theory.
One tower appeared for roughly every 25 million people.
Any leftover remainder was rounded down!
That was why small states like the Vatican, Monaco, and Macau had no Tower of Trials.
In South Korea's case, Jamsil Tower and Haeundae Tower were reborn as Towers of Trial.
[Tycoon one day, dirt-poor the next!]
[Tower of Trials, real estate problems still a headache.]
There had been the misfortune of all the residents living inside being kicked out, but there was no real way to fix that.
It was a natural disaster, after all.
Anyway.
Around the Tower of Trials, 「Player Zones」 were formed.
Monday Dungeons, raids, towers, rune dungeons, Fusion Labs, Enhancement Labs, and so on.
Everything had to be handled there.
Thanks to that, housing prices nearby rose even higher.
They had already been expensive places to begin with, but they went up even more.
Vroooom!
The bus arrived in Jamsil.
And Baek Jinwoo, wearing a tracksuit and a hood over his head, got off.
Standing in front of him was Baek Ajin, arms folded, looking displeased.
"Hey, good to see you, sis."
Yesterday he had seen her crying with a bare face. Now she had a face nicely done up with makeup.
"No, Oppa. Why are you pushing yourself this hard? You could've done this tomorrow. Why come all the way out tonight?"
"I'm in a hurry."
Baek Jinwoo had always been obsessed with 「Battle of Summoners」.
And he had just spent three years away from it, with everything reset to zero.
He had to grow quickly again. He didn't have even a day to spare. Even now, his body itched with impatience.
"Help me out, and I'll give you some spending money later."
"I make way more than you, you know?"
Today too.
She had made 200,000 won in a single day.
"Little sister. You never know what life will bring. Who knows? Maybe I'll become the best player in the world."
"Hmph, yeah right."
Baek Ajin snorted.
"Everyone thinks that at first. I did too, Dad did, the old men in the neighborhood did too. But do you know what happened to most of them?"
"What happened?"
"They either faced reality and quit being players, or they ended up like me, living as farming specialists. The best player in the world? Only the truly chosen can do that. To begin with, the gacha is full of absurd luck-based nonsense."
Ahh.
I see.
Baek Jinwoo smirked.
His little sister was really putting on airs in front of an old master.
"Well, with words alone, everyone's Rachel or Xenos."
Rachel of England, Xenos of America.
Both were among the Five Emperors who used to follow him.
"You may not know, Oppa, but anyone who's worked in the industry even a little knows. Those two are real geniuses."
"Iiiis that so?"
Baek Jinwoo smiled.
But there was something she didn't know.
'For one thing, I'm exempt from absurd bad-luck gacha.'
He had an EX-grade, after all.
'And besides.'
Rachel, Xenos?
Those two are geniuses?
Then, little sister—
'I guess that makes me a genius above the geniuses who run.'
Those kids would go so far as to pretend to die for a single word of advice from me.
"Got it, so just show me around."
Let's see for myself.
What the Player Zone looked like now that it had become reality.
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