LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 23 - Conquering the Weekly Dungeon (4)
Chapter 23: Conquering the Weekly Dungeon (4)
“Yes, what’s this about?”
Baek Jin-woo tilted his head in confusion.
Hadn’t everything already been settled with the Headquarters?
“We are from the Director’s Secretariat. We’re positively reconsidering the proposal you made previously, Mr. Baek Jin-woo…”
“Oh, that.”
Baek Jin-woo raised his hand, cutting them off.
“It’s fine.”
“Sorry?”
“Didn’t the Headquarters already express their refusal back then?”
“…Technically, it wasn’t a refusal. They said they would support it if solid evidence was provided. And now that you’ve shown concrete results, Mr. Baek, we’re reviewing it favorably.”
The staff member tried to sound as polite as possible, but that was all in his tone.
None of his words appealed to Baek Jin-woo in the slightest.
Compared to Yoo Ji-ah, wasn’t it just too obvious?
Yoo Ji-ah had offered significant funds upfront when there was nothing, whereas Headquarters was now scrambling to say they were “reviewing” things because there was something in it for them.
Who looked better in his eyes?
It didn’t even need saying.
‘Support means something only when it’s offered when it’s truly needed.’
The Headquarters staff member even had a slight air of arrogance.
They probably thought something like this:
No matter how impressive a player you are, you’re not a ranker. So, an upfront payment of 1.3 billion won?
Of course, Baek Jin-woo understood it was an unreasonable request.
But Yoo Ji-ah had granted that request and generously offered it as a gift.
“I’m sorry, but that proposal… I don’t need it anymore.”
“Excuse me?”
“And.”
Baek Jin-woo smiled gently, then spoke softly but firmly.
“I’m already with a company. If you have anything to say to me, please speak through Yoo Ji-ah of YooBaek.”
“YooBaek…?”
The employee’s eyes wavered.
“Goodbye, then.”
Baek Jin-woo nodded respectfully to them and walked on past.
The staff couldn’t bring themselves to stop him.
And something was gnawing at them.
“Senior, what’s YooBaek? And Yoo Ji-ah? Could he mean that Yoo Ji-ah from the Daeseong Group? The one who left Headquarters recently?”
“…Let’s look into it right away.”
The Secretary Chief bit his lip tightly.
He had a strong feeling that they had missed a critical opportunity.
***
After finishing the Thursday Dungeon, Baek Jin-woo headed straight to the rooftop of a nearby building.
‘The Friday Dungeon is different.’
The method itself was different.
In the other dungeons, summoned creatures hunted monsters, but?
The Friday Dungeon required players to run it themselves.
This time, he’d be using two new summons.
The C-rank Sky Dolphin and the B-rank Sky Wyvern.
Their unique feature?
They could both be ridden by players!
“Whew.”
Baek Jin-woo braced himself.
‘Can I actually do this?’
Riding a golem and riding a wyvern were two different things.
The wyvern actually flew through the sky.
Even though the protective barrier would keep him from falling, the fear was unavoidable.
This was yet another difference between the game and reality!
‘But I have to do it.’
To achieve a Friday Dungeon time attack, he’d need to master control of both summons.
“Sky.”
Keeereeee!
At Baek Jin-woo’s call, the Sky Wyvern roared eagerly.
It flapped its wings and lowered its body.
An invitation to hop on.
“Alright!”
Baek Jin-woo boldly mounted the wyvern and patted its head.
“Let’s go to the East Sea.”
If he was going to practice flying with the wyvern?
He also had to practice swimming with the dolphin.
Mastering both was essential to taking shortcuts in the Friday Dungeon.
Whoosh, whoosh!
The wyvern started to soar into the sky.
‘I think I can handle this.’
With enough practice, he might not even need a taxi anymore.
There were probably finer details involved in both flying and swimming, but he wasn’t worried.
After all, he had Hun-gyo.
Half a day was enough to get used to flying.
Baek Jin-woo had a natural talent for it.
Master, you are incredible.
“Enough with the flattery.”
No, I’m serious. You pick up skills at a remarkable speed.
“I said enough.”
This Hun-gyo guy.
He even had a knack for flattery.
Truly.
This time, the Explosive Dragon, who had been watching nearby, joined in.
“Huh? What’s truly amazing?”
It’s because we still have memories of the past… But at first, riding a wyvern was incredibly difficult. We’d get airsick and even throw up.
Back in the days of 「Battle of Summoners」…
Hun-gyo and Explosive Dragon were seasoned summons who had been through countless trials.
Of course they would be.
Together, they had climbed the Tower of Trials, known for its extreme difficulty.
As part of that journey, they also had to master control over wyverns and dolphins.
“Is that so?”
Yes, as expected of JinuGod. You are truly our master.
The sight of the Explosive Dragon clinging to her staff with both hands, giving him praise, was absolutely adorable.
Unable to resist, Baek Jin-woo tousled her red hair.
“Thanks. Next is riding the Sky Dolphin, right?”
Their current location was the sea off Yangyang.
They’d come to the East Sea, as they had to go pretty deep to find suitable waters.
‘As for swimming…’
He had some confidence.
He’d learned to swim as a kid and always loved the water.
But keeping up with the dolphin’s swimming speed and withstanding the water pressure were different challenges.
He’d need to practice with Hun-gyo.
Master, please hold on tightly here.
Hun-gyo was patient, and they managed to wrap up the swimming practice successfully.
Friday morning.
Pushing his way past the line of reporters once more, Baek Jin-woo smoothly dived into the low-rank Friday Dungeon.
Naturally, fully equipped.
‘Whew, I’m looking forward to this.’
In truth, what had solidified JinuGod’s reputation as the God of Time Attacks was precisely this Friday Dungeon playthrough.
A dungeon that awarded special runes!
The Friday Dungeon in 「Battle of Summoners」 had felt like a fun mini-game, something many veterans enjoyed, sharing their videos on forums as they attempted time attacks, calling it “shaving” seconds off their records.
Low-rank was easy.
Mid-rank was difficult.
High-rank was brutal.
And the top rank?
Enough to make you sick.
[“Player Race” will begin in 10 seconds!]
[Reach the destination as quickly as possible!]
The setting was a corridor.
A line drawn across the floor was visible at the front of Baek Jin-woo’s vision.
In 10 seconds, he would have to start from there.
‘Low rank shouldn’t be an issue. No one would doubt me even if I went all out, right?’
He stretched his body, preparing to run.
Simultaneously—
“Wind Falcon.”
Screeee!
“Cast the movement speed buff on me.”
Wooong!
A refreshing breeze brushed the tip of his nose, and he felt power surging through his entire body.
‘This is the movement speed buff.’
Seconds ticked by.
[3]
[2]
[1]
With one second left, Baek Jin-woo crouched down.
[0]
[Go!]
As soon as the starting line vanished from the floor, he kicked off and dashed forward.
“Huff, huff, huff!”
Breathing rhythmically, he sprinted as fast as possible.
While the player runs, numerous obstacles appear.
Dodging them while running is the key to this Friday Dungeon!
Of course.
Every obstacle sequence and shortcut was perfectly memorized in Baek Jin-woo’s mind.
Whoosh!
He ducked lightly to avoid a small rock flying toward him from a distance, and with each step, he found and struck the flat parts of the wildly shaking floor.
Smooth and precise movements without an inch of error!
‘Good.’
For the first time in a while, Baek Jin-woo felt the thrill of fun.
Yes!
This was it!
It was even more exhilarating than back when he controlled it on screen.
‘And.’
About a minute in, he reached a section with a wide gap in the floor, filled with water.
‘First hidden route!’
Baek Jin-woo’s eyes sparkled.
The standard route would have him cross the water and continue running forward.
But?
By diving underwater with the Sky Dolphin, he could bypass the tricky obstacles above.
“Sky Dolphin!”
Screee!
As soon as the Sky Dolphin appeared, he grabbed the handle on its upper fin.
“Huff!”
He held his breath.
Then—
Splash!
Baek Jin-woo dove underwater.
He didn’t need to worry about his equipment.
It was waterproof.
Whoosh!
The Sky Dolphin sliced through the water at an incredible speed.
Even in that moment, Baek Jin-woo kept his eyes wide open, controlling the dolphin.
That was the result of his late-night practice yesterday.
After 30 seconds,
Whoosh!
The dolphin jumped out of the water!
“Okay!”
That took care of the difficult section.
While soaring through the air, Baek Jin-woo shouted.
“Sky Wyvern!”
Keeeee!
Right on cue, the Sky Wyvern swooped below him, positioning its body.
“Wahoo!”
The intense thrill made Baek Jin-woo let out a cheer.
‘Now, it’s flight time!’
The first setting had been a corridor, but now the area was open air.
Which meant he could fly.
From mid-rank onward, there were quite a few controls needed even in flight, but for low-rank, he could just fly straight through.
There were only ground obstacles anyway.
‘Wait.’
Did he go too all-out from the start?
‘Well, it’s fine.’
This time, he had come prepared, having checked the world record.
–
[Low-rank Friday Dungeon]
[World Record – Rachel]
[Clear Time – 00:01:25]
–
No matter what Baek Jin-woo did, he couldn’t break that time.
To beat it, he’d need to push the Wind Falcon to its limits and fully equip it with runes.
He’d also need to maximize the speed of the wyvern and the dolphin.
‘Give it about half a year, and I can break it.’
Of course, that was for low-rank.
When it came to the top-rank?
Even Rachel found it impossibly difficult.
Though she could clear it, she couldn’t take shortcuts and had to follow the main route.
Summons would have to be summoned to smash each obstacle along the way.
‘I’ll try that another time.’
Keeee!
As they neared the destination, the Sky Wyvern let out a joyful roar.
And soon enough—
–
[You have reached the destination!]
[Dungeon clear!]
[Clear Time – 00:02:16]
–
‘2 minutes and 16 seconds!’
Not a bad time!
For the record, the Friday Dungeon also supports ‘auto-battle.’
If you send in the summons without the player, a virtual player moves exactly as before.
And once again—
[Congratulations!]
[New record for South Korea!]
[You’ve achieved a special accomplishment!]
It was only natural in South Korea.
***
That night.
Baek Jin-woo’s father, Baek Jin-cheol.
His mother, Hwang Myeong-hee, was preparing dinner after a late return from work.
“Honey.”
Hwang Myeong-hee set down a hot dish of steamed eggs and asked,
“What’s our Jin-woo up to these days?”
“Hmm. He mentioned getting his Player License recently, so I suppose he’s probably going around some dungeon or other?”
The couple was extremely busy.
They rarely had time for TV and were usually out of touch with the news.
“Should we try calling him?”
“No, leave it. He takes after me, so he’ll be fine on his own. If we keep calling just because we’re worried, it’ll only put more pressure on him.”
“Hm, I see.”
Still, unable to resist, Hwang Myeong-hee picked up her phone.
She planned to call their daughter, Baek Ah-jin.
Unlike their son, it was always easier to reach their daughter, as Ah-jin regularly kept in touch.
“Yes, Mom!”
“Do you know what your brother’s been up to lately? He hasn’t called in a while.”
“Brother…?”
There was a pause, and then silence filled the line.
Baek Ah-jin pursed her lips as she held the phone.
Should she say something? Or not?
She wanted to just say it all.
Her brother.
He was on fire right now.
But.
‘He told me not to say anything first.’
And the promise he’d made to get her a B-rank Shadow Wolf kept flashing in her mind.
A summoning worth a solid 500 million won.
After a moment of hesitation, she spoke again.
“Don’t worry too much. He seems to be doing fine. He also mentioned he’d be visiting you soon.”
“Oh, really? Then make sure you come along when he does.”
With a smile, Hwang Myeong-hee continued chatting with her daughter, then hung up.
And then they started dinner.
During the meal.
Baek Jin-cheol pulled a white envelope out of his pocket.
“What’s that?”
“This month’s bonus. Two million won.”
“Oh my.”
“Add it to the household budget. And we should probably give Jin-woo some extra spending money. It’s hard enough just waking up and adjusting after all that time in a coma, but he’s really doing his best.”
“Shall we?”
Hwang Myeong-hee smiled brightly.
Truthfully, there had been times when she’d felt hurt because of her son.
Mostly during gatherings with friends…
One friend would brag about how their kid became a notable player and joined a top guild.
Another would say something like, “My son joined Daemyung Group, you know? He’s so busy he barely has time to breathe.”
Every time they met, her friends would subtly boast about their children, but Hwang Myeong-hee had nothing to say.
Of course, she could handle that.
However—
Some friends were a bit more irksome.
“How’s Jin-woo? I heard he woke up recently! That’s wonderful, really. Dear, all that success doesn’t mean a thing. Health is what truly matters.”
“But it’s still worrisome. Mid-20s, and with a three-year gap… Well, he’s young, so he’ll bounce back. What’s he going to do, take the college entrance exam again?”
Comments like these sometimes made the veins in her forehead pop a little.
“Hehe.”
Hwang Myeong-hee merely smiled as she looked at the envelope in her husband’s hand.
‘Still, it’s a relief.’
Ah-jin and Jin-woo.
Both of them growing up healthy and happy.
The two parents, for now, had no idea their son was all over the news.