LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 5 - Player Zone
Chapter 5 Player Zone
There are five types of summoning scrolls in 「Battle of Summoners」:
Low-grade, Mid-grade, High-grade, Top-grade, and Ultimate.
[F Rank: 94%]
[E Rank: 5%]
[D Rank: 1%]
As mentioned before, these are the probabilities for a low-grade summoning scroll…
[E Rank: 94%]
[D Rank: 5%]
[C Rank: 1%]
These are the probabilities for a mid-grade summoning scroll.
And for a high-grade summoning scroll?
[D Rank: 94%]
[C Rank: 5%]
[B Rank: 1%]
As you can see, there’s a pattern.
Every time the grade of the scroll increases, the probability of higher-ranked summons appearing also increases by one tier.
So, what about the Ultimate Summoning Scroll, which is one step higher than the Top-grade Summoning Scroll?
[B Rank: 94%]
[A Rank: 5%]
[S Rank: 1%]
It’s the same, naturally.
This shows just how difficult it is to summon an S-rank summon.
Even with an Ultimate Summoning Scroll, there’s only a 1% chance.
By the way, in 10 years, Jin-woo had only ever acquired 10 of those scrolls.
They were incredibly rare, even in dungeons.
‘Take it slow.’
There’s no benefit in rushing things.
It’s better to take the time to prepare carefully and grow steadily without missing anything.
‘Besides, I have Lamba.’
Jin-woo was confident.
If he raised Lamba properly?
Not only could he easily clear the 100th floor of the tower, but he could reclaim his spot at the top of the world rankings in no time.
Time?
It didn’t matter.
Lamba was that broken.
There was a reason why the AI had issued a balance patch on her.
“Oppa, by the way.”
As they walked across the Jamsil Lake Bridge over Seokchon Lake, Ah-jin glanced up at her brother.
Time had passed, and it was already getting dark.
“What summon did you get?”
“I got a Wind Fairy.”
“Wind Fairy? Can I see it?”
“What for?”
“I’m just curious. We’re family, not strangers. Why can’t I see your summon? Here.”
Woooong!
Ah-jin waved her hand, and with a flash of light, her Shadow Elf appeared.
“This is my main summon. It’s even C-rank. D-rank summons are a dime a dozen, but starting from C-rank, you’re in the noble ranks.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Jin-woo nodded indifferently.
Shadow Elf?
He had never even bothered to take that summon into a dungeon before.
It was one he’d often used as experience material in the synthesis station.
However, one thing did pique his curiosity.
“Can that Shadow Elf speak Korean? Hey, Elf?”
Lamba had been fluent in Korean from the moment she appeared.
He wondered how the Shadow Elf would respond.
He waved at it, but the elf remained indifferent.
Tch, rude.
Shouldn’t it at least greet people in the Land of Courtesy?
“What are you doing, Oppa?”
Ah-jin furrowed her brows and stared at him.
Her expression looked like she was gazing at a madman.
“Huh?”
“What summon speaks?”
“What?”
Jin-woo blinked in confusion.
“Summons can’t talk?”
“…Seriously, where are you getting that nonsense from? There’s no such thing as a talking summon.”
“…!”
What?
Lamba’s an anomaly?
Now that he thought about it, the Furry Gorilla only made guttural sounds like grroooar!
‘Come to think of it.’
Even in 「Battle of Summoners」, none of the summons could speak.
‘Huh.’
Then why could Lamba?
Is it because her rank is higher?
“Anyway, stop messing around and show me your summon.”
“I’ll show it later.”
“Why not now?!”
“Just because. Let’s keep moving.”
Swoosh.
Jin-woo turned his back and started walking ahead quickly.
“Ugh, he does whatever he wants.”
Muttering complaints in a disgruntled tone, Ah-jin unsummoned her Shadow Elf and followed after him.
“Hey, wait for meee!”
***
When Jin-woo finally arrived at Jamsil Station, the sight before him was completely different from what he remembered.
“Wow. What’s all this?”
In the midst of the bustling crowd, a dazzling building stood tall.
“Amazing, right?”
Ah-jin smiled brightly.
“The company that owned Jamsil Tower tore down Jamsil World when they had to give the tower up to become the Tower of Trials.”
“…Jamsil World?”
Jamsil World was one of the country’s top amusement parks, located near Jamsil Station.
It was a symbol of Jamsil, and now it was gone?
“Yeah. Who would want to ride amusement park rides in front of that ominous Tower of Trials?”
“Wouldn’t it make the rides more thrilling?”
“Oppa, there’s a difference between thrill and risking your life.”
In any case.
It made sense.
From a corporate perspective, catering to the growing number of players was likely more profitable than running an amusement park.
It was all about the money.
“And besides, they wouldn’t have been able to operate the amusement park even if they wanted to. Synthesis stations and dungeons have taken its place.”
“Ah.”
Jin-woo nodded as he entered the Player Zone, located across from the Tower of Trials.
“Selling low-grade runes!”
“Low-grade summoning scrolls for sale!”
“Buying C-rank and above summons for high prices!”
The place was bustling with activity.
‘That must be the marketplace.’
This was something that had existed in 「Battle of Summoners」 as well.
It was a space where players could freely trade with one another.
Since there was no in-game currency, real-world transactions had been common back then too…
‘I remember it.’
Back in the early days, Baekcheon, with all his money, used to buy up tons of summoning scrolls and runes here.
Of course, after the game died out, there were no players left to trade with.
“Everything you need is here. See that pamphlet?”
Ah-jin pointed to some papers displayed at the information desk.
“It explains where all the buildings are located. If you’re curious, you can check those out. By the way, Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
Jin-woo, who had been looking around like a country bumpkin visiting the big city, responded absentmindedly.
“You’re still a beginner. There’s an academy run by the Player Headquarters. How about you start there tomorrow?”
“No, I’m good, sis.”
His curiosity had been satisfied.
He had found a place where he could plant himself.
He could grow while spending most of his time here.
“Thanks for showing me around. You can go home now.”
“Huh? Are you staying here?”
“I want to look around by myself.”
“Oh…”
Something felt off.
It was as if he were entranced by something.
Ah-jin was worried about her brother.
Especially since he had just woken up after being in a coma.
But still.
She had no intention of raining on his parade or stopping him from doing something he was passionate about.
“Well, okay. Just don’t overdo it. And let me know if you need help.”
“Got it~”
Waving behind him, Jin-woo disappeared into the crowd.
***
A secluded spot.
– Jin-woooo!
“Shh!”
Jin-woo quickly summoned Lamba and immediately covered her mouth.
Wrapping his hands around her and pressing his thumb to her lips, her eyes widened in surprise.
“From now on, don’t speak when there are people around, even if you’re summoned.”
– Mmph?
“Nod if you understand.”
Nod, nod.
Though confused, Lamba, as a summon, had no choice but to follow her player’s commands.
‘There aren’t any other summons that can talk yet.’
That meant the mere act of Lamba speaking could draw unnecessary attention.
Jin-woo had no desire to be in the spotlight.
For now, he decided to only speak with Lamba inside dungeons.
‘First things first.’
From now on, he would be spending a lot of time in dungeons…
Since this was his first time in the real world, it was a bit overwhelming.
He didn’t have any runes properly equipped, and he only had two summons.
He needed some initial resources…
[Account Balance Inquiry]
[Account Holder: Baek Jin-woo ]
[Preferred Savings Account]
[Available Balance: 12,500 KRW]
“Man, what a life.”
This wasn’t just rock bottom—it was the sewers.
Even with the accident, how could this be all the money he had left?
He had no job, no income, no assets to use as collateral for a loan.
Taking out a private loan meant losing too much to interest.
Getting a part-time job seemed like a waste of time.
‘Parental support?’
No.
A person needed to have some pride.
Borrowing money from his parents, who were already working three jobs to support the family, would make him less than a human—it would make him a beast.
Besides, hadn’t he drained the family’s finances over the past three years with his hospital bills because of that damn truck?
He couldn’t burden them any further.
‘It’s fine.’
Even if I have to start from scratch, I can do it.
Yeah.
This is the early stage of 「Battle of Summoners」.
What was one of Jin-woo’s nicknames again?
‘The Free-to-Play Ranker.’
That’s right, he had earned that title.
He had always been like this.
Without help from anyone or spending real money, he had claimed the number one ranking and became known as One Heaven.
‘Just because this is reality doesn’t mean I can’t do it.’
First.
I’ll clear the lowest-level dungeons.
With those rewards, I’ll keep summoning and make Lamba my top priority.
Let’s do this!
Jin-woo stood up, full of determination.
Ding!
A notification rang from his phone.
[500,000 KRW has been deposited.]
“Huh?”
Bzzzz!
At the same time, a text message arrived.
[Son. I heard from Ah-jin that you’ve been working hard, trying to get back on your feet right after waking up. I know you wouldn’t ask for money, given your personality… So just use this.]
“…Mom.”
Tears welled up in his eyes.
In the end, his mother had given him a sweet and comforting gift like refreshing rain after a long drought.
His chest warmed, no—burned with emotion.
Jin-woo made a silent vow in his heart.
For my family.
‘I will make sure they live in luxury.’
***
It was late evening.
Jin-woo didn’t return home.
Even when he used to play 「Battle of Summoners」, he had never pulled an all-nighter.
‘I’ll reduce sleep as much as possible.’
Others had a three-year head start.
He had to push himself to catch up.
‘No time to be soft.’
He had to set the right mindset.
To become the best, he had to act like the best.
Jin-woo spent all the money he had to buy three Low-grade Summoning Scrolls and six Low-grade Speed Runes.
‘I need to build my team first.’
Five summons per team.
Originally, he had planned to use the synthesis station to fuse the Furry Gorilla into Lamba as material.
But after seeing how well it fought in the dungeon, he decided to keep it around for a bit longer.
– Gruuur…?
Could the gorilla sense his intentions?
The summoned gorilla looked at him with a pitiful expression.
‘Don’t get attached.’
Using summons as material?
In 「Battle of Summoners」, that was an everyday occurrence.
According to the lore, using a summon as material didn’t kill it.
It merely transported it somewhere else to wait until another player called upon it.
“Lamba.”
– …
Outside the dungeon, she kept her mouth shut!
She was following orders well.
“Equip these speed runes.”
Each of the six runes had different abilities.
[Rune]
[Grade: Low]
[Set Effect: Speed]
– Equip 4 for a 30% increase in attack speed, 6 for a 50% increase.
[Level: 1]
[Stat Bonuses]
Strength +1, Intelligence +1, HP +100, Critical Hit Chance +4%
Some of the runes were like this.
[Rune]
[Grade: Low]
[Set Effect: Speed]
– Equip 4 for a 30% increase in attack speed, 6 for a 50% increase.
[Level: 1]
[Stat Bonuses]
Stamina +1, Agility +1, MP +100, Critical Hit Damage +6%
Others were like this.
Summons could equip a total of six runes, which functioned like equipment in typical RPGs.
The max level for runes was 10, and with each level-up, the four pre-set stats would increase.
‘I don’t have time to worry about the stats right now.’
To raise Lamba properly, you should focus on only two stats.
‘Intelligence’ and ‘Agility.’
Intelligence increased the effects of her skills, while Agility boosted her attack speed even further.
[‘Wind Fairy’ (EX-rank) has equipped the ‘Low-grade Speed Rune’.]
…
[‘Wind Fairy’ (EX-rank) has equipped the ‘Low-grade Speed Rune’.]
Shhh, shh!
Lamba equipped all six runes.
Her attack speed should be somewhat improved now.
‘For now, this will have to do.’
Later on, I’ll show you what it really means to max out attack speed.
‘Next up.’
The summons.
Rip!
Jin-woo tore open all three of the Low-grade Summoning Scrolls at once.