LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 29 - Tower of Trials 1st Floor (2)
Chapter 29 Tower of Trials 1st Floor (2)
Wow.
It was real?
– Hehe.
Baek Jin-woo stared at Poryong, who was smiling while gripping her staff with both hands, unable to hide his astonishment.
Hun-gyo had been completely right.
As soon as he suggested replacing the usual dungeon team with Lamba, the Sheriff, and three Lava Drakes, Poryong had visibly panicked.
He had told her as well.
“We’ll do a dungeon with just the two of us after you learn ‘Linked Strike.’”
That’s how he had spent the day running dungeons before returning in the evening to an unexpected sight.
[Summon: Explosive Dragon Sage]
[Race: Human]
[Grade: EX (Isolated Classification)]
– Isolated due to balance-breaking factors found in specific circumstances.
[Level: 42]
[Stats]
Strength: 20
Intelligence: 85
Stamina: 20
Agility: 20
HP: 22,000
MP: 500
Critical Hit Chance: 55%
Critical Damage: 185%
[Skills]
– Explosive Dragon Wave: Emits dragon-shaped flames forward.
– Explosive Dragon Technique ‘Linked Strike’: Enables the storage of Explosive Dragon Wave.
She had really mastered it.
“Hun-gyo definitely has exceptional insight.”
The first emotion that came to mind was joy.
No matter what led to it, the moment Poryong mastered ‘Linked Strike ,’ her value skyrocketed.
For reference, even during 「Battle of Summoners」, no player had taught Explosive Dragon Techniques to an Explosive Dragon Sage.
Only JinuGod had achieved it.
Poryong’s desires?
Baek Jin-woo didn’t think much of them.
Some might ask, “Shouldn’t you scold her for being so cunning?”
Or, “Is it okay to let this slide?”
“Why bother?”
This is where good players and bad players diverge.
Whether or not one directly confronts the desires of a summon.
A summon’s desires are akin to quests.
Clearing those quests benefits the player, too!
Thinking of it as an extension of the game, most gamers would have played the same way as Baek Jin-woo.
It’s just that experiencing it in reality makes it more immersive.
“I can just use it to my advantage.”
To begin with, the desire to stay close to him was endearing, wasn’t it?
“Poryong! Well done. You really worked hard.”
Baek Jin-woo smiled as he tousled her hair.
– Thank you, Jin-woo Nim.
“Good.”
Rustle, rustle.
Baek Jin-woo pulled something out from inside his jacket.
It was a shiny VIP corporate card.
“Since you succeeded, as promised, today’s a chicken-and-beer party for everyone! Hun-gyo.”
– Yes, my lord!
“Give the summons a rest until tomorrow evening.”
– Rest… from training, you mean?
Ah.
Right.
Hun-gyo’s desire revolved entirely around training, didn’t it?
But well.
He could handle this tactfully.
He was a seasoned player, after all.
“You said it yourself, didn’t you? Rest is a form of training, too. From now on, let’s make it a rule. Whenever someone learns a new skill, we’ll combine rest with a bonding party. Didn’t you say teamwork is important?”
– Oh, if that’s the intent, then I’m all for it. Teamwork among summons is indeed an essential part of training.
“Exactly, exactly.”
As expected, his head was entirely filled with thoughts of training.
Baek Jin-woo chuckled as he made a call somewhere.
– Yes, please deliver 50 chickens and 10,000cc of draft beer. Yes! 50 chickens is correct!
The local chicken shop.
That was for the humanoid summons.
– Is this Brother’s Butcher Shop? Bring over all the meat you got today, plus whatever’s in stock. Yes, all of it. No, I’m not joking.
Even the local butcher shop.
Today was a feast day for both humanoid and non-humanoid summons.
“With a 1 billion won corporate card, this much is only fair.”
Even if they held a festival every time a skill was learned, it was hard to imagine hitting 1 billion won in food expenses.
Frankly, he wasn’t sure it was even possible.
“And Poryong.”
– Yes, Jin-woo Nim.
“Since you learned a skill this time, for the next week, it’ll just be the two of us in the dungeon.”
– Really?
Poryong’s face lit up with delight.
“Now that you’ve learned ‘Linked Strike ,’ next, you need to master ‘Transformation.’”
Explosive Dragon Technique Transformation.
A skill that allows the user to shape the dragon flames as desired.
From Transformation onward, a variety of applications become possible.
It could form a shield, build walls, or create gusts of wind.
Of course, mastering this skill wouldn’t happen as quickly.
“It requires mana control at its absolute peak.”
Still.
Baek Jin-woo nodded with a smile.
“At least the minimum preparation is complete.”
What preparation?
The preparation to attempt the 1st Floor of the Tower of Trials!
***
The next day.
Baek Jin-woo began preparing in earnest to climb the Tower of Trials.
“The Tower of Trials.”
As the final content of 「Battle of Summoners」, Baek Jin-woo had already reached the 100th floor in the past.
A place with mind-blowing difficulty, it was the only source of random rewards created by AI.
The Tower of Trials required the use of all three parties a player could form.
In other words, he could bring up to 15 summons for the climb.
“Normally, you’d need to get other EX-grade summons to join, but…”
That was realistically impossible.
The chances of obtaining them were too low.
“Even if I liquidated all of YooBaek’s profits and used the money to buy expensive summoning scrolls?”
If he managed to obtain an EX-grade summon, it would be great, but if he didn’t?
That would mean losing an enormous amount of money outright!
Even if he sold the summons he obtained to recoup losses, the deficit would still be staggering.
“Not right now, at least.”
He knew Yoo Ji-ah was working hard these days.
She had recently bought land and was constructing a building, taking out loans to gather funds.
Asking her for billions to gamble on summoning scrolls would be out of the question.
So.
For now, he decided to climb the Tower of Trials with summons specialized for weekly dungeons.
“Just up to the 10th floor.”
The 10th floor of the Tower of Trials was relatively accessible, even for domestic rankers.
Of course, Baek Jin-woo’s definition of “relatively accessible.”
For many rankers, the Tower of Trials had claimed numerous lives, proving anything but easy.
“Whew.”
For now.
Since he decided to rest from dungeons today.
After purchasing four iced Americanos from a café, Baek Jin-woo headed to YooBaek’s office.
Beep, beep!
Using the employee card he had received earlier, the door unlocked with a click.
“Huh?”
“Baek Jin-woo?”
Kim Byung-jin and Hwang Tae-seop, who were in the middle of work, stood up.
At the head of the room sat Yoo Ji-ah.
“Oh! Jin-woo! Why didn’t you call if you were coming?”
Yoo Ji-ah stood up rigidly, almost like a subordinate saluting a superior officer.
What was this?
Was it just him, or had Yoo Ji-ah become even more formal recently?
“Haha, I came for a break and to talk about something. Here, enjoy some coffee while you work.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, I’ll enjoy it, thanks!”
One by one, the employees received their coffees.
Yoo Ji-ah led Baek Jin-woo to a meeting room.
“Jin-woo, you said you had something to discuss. Do you need anything?”
“No, not really. Well, I do need some summoning scrolls, but…”
“Summoning scrolls? Mid-grade? High-grade? How many should I get for you?”
“Haha, the summoning scroll part was a joke. Actually… I’m thinking of attempting the Tower of Trials soon.”
“The Tower of Trials?”
Yoo Ji-ah’s gaze wavered.
Inside the Player Zone’s Jamsil Tower lay the notorious tower.
Its infamy had spread even within the headquarters.
—
– The Graveyard of Players!
– Insane Hell Difficulty!
—
Rankers who had survived unanimously described it.
It was hell.
They had only survived by luck and nearly died otherwise.
As YooBaek’s representative, she
naturally worried about a player entering such a place.
But why?
“Look at those eyes.”
Despite talking about entering the Tower of Trials, there wasn’t the slightest tremble in his gaze.
It was the same as when he prepared to enter a weekly dungeon.
“That confidence and composure.”
Yoo Ji-ah became even more convinced.
“Of course, JinuGod is extraordinary.”
Back when he was a gamer, hadn’t he been the only one to challenge the 100th floor?
For someone like him, how easy must the 1st floor seem?
“Phew.”
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Yoo Ji-ah maintained her poker face.
She had decided before.
Not to ask unless he spoke first.
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
“Yes, I planned to challenge it around this time anyway.”
“I see…”
“Oh, and I won’t be using equipment this time.”
“You’re not planning to sell the information?”
“No.”
This time, Lamba, Hun-gyo, and Poryong were crucial participants.
He didn’t want to reveal their existence prematurely.
“And above all.”
Communication was quite important in the Tower of Trials.
If he wore equipment, the summons wouldn’t be able to speak.
“Do as you feel comfortable, Jin-woo.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Oh, it’s not about understanding.”
Yoo Ji-ah smiled.
“Once you start climbing the tower… Jin-woo’s value will skyrocket.”
Indeed.
YooBaek’s business opportunities seemed endless.
“By the way, can I ask a favor?”
“A favor?”
Baek Jin-woo tilted his head.
What favor?
“It’s just a real favor, so you don’t have to say yes.”
“Sure, let’s hear it.”
“Well, in two months, there’s going to be a national team selection competition.”
“…Oh.”
He knew about it.
He had searched and read up on it.
Every year, around the end of June, ten players were selected to represent the country.
Both headquarters-affiliated and major guild-affiliated players could participate.
And those selected?
They would compete in the World League at the end of the year.
Against rankers like Rachel and MoscowMan.
Battling the world’s best rankers to receive rewards from the system.
“Don’t individuals need recommendations to participate?”
Although YooBaek was a management group, it wasn’t technically a formal guild.
Since it managed only one player, it was treated as an individual entity.
“With a recommendation from a congressman, it’s possible! Actually… um, Congressman Park Chang-seok, who supports our company…”
Yoo Ji-ah began explaining.
What had happened within the headquarters and how Congressman Park had impulsively made a bet with another congressman.
“Hm.”
Baek Jin-woo stroked his chin.
Participating in the national team selection didn’t seem too difficult. The problem was…
He would have to face world rankers.
It was a bit daunting, but also…
“Eight months from now?”
By then, it seemed manageable.
If Poryong mastered ‘Devour’ by then, that was.
“If selected as a national representative, you’d receive immense support. The current government spares no expense on proven players.”
“Hmm, really?”
Money.
He did need money.
To summon another EX-grade summon.
“PVP-wise, Dol-dol is broken, though.”
Dol-dol.
The nickname for Cyclone Slayer (B-grade) that JinuGod had used in the past.
Baek Jin-woo had once maintained the top spot in player-versus-player rankings using Dol-dol.
Back then, he had defeated Rachel’s five summons (including S-grades) in five seconds flat with Dol-dol before it was deleted…
“How much support would they provide?”
“It varies each year, but you’d likely secure several high-grade summoning scrolls. Maybe even a top-tier scroll…”
“Oh.”
A top-tier summoning scroll?
[Grade C: 94%]
[Grade B: 5%]
[Grade A: 1%]
A scroll with these probabilities, offering a chance at a Grade A summon.
Currently, no such scrolls were on the market, and their value was astronomical.
Their price was effectively whatever one was willing to pay.
Only a nation could procure something like this, as even major guilds couldn’t dream of it.
“This is irresistible.”
After some thought, Baek Jin-woo nodded.
“Okay. Let’s aim for it in two months.”
“Yes, understood. Thank you!”
Under the desk, Yoo Ji-ah’s clenched fist trembled with excitement.
“Congressman Park Chang-seok.”
Don’t forget this debt.
“We’re not talking about just any player here—it’s JinuGod, JinuGod!”