NABC Chapter 10
Chapter 10
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[A boss monster appears!]
Snap, snap!
A slime the size of three grown men combined jumped menacingly.
"This is the first time I have seen the real thing. A giant slime."
He had captured countless ones in the top-level Tuesday Dungeon.
But here, in a low-level dungeon, its size was almost ridiculously cute.
"Furry gorilla."
- Roooaaarrr!
The Furry Gorilla's attack speed stack had built up considerably over the past five minutes.
Even though it hadn't been boosted by Lamba in its prime, it shouldn't have any major problems dealing with a monster of this level.
"Charge."
At Baek Jin-woo's command, the furry gorilla thumped its chest and charged forward.
The slime, now aware of the gorilla, jumped up with the intention to strike down with force.
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga!
But it was too late.
The slime couldn't withstand the gorilla's lightning-fast blows.
The furry gorilla's relentless barrage tore the slime apart mercilessly.
Puh-puh-puh-puh-puh!
His quivering body exploded in all directions as the gorilla, unable to contain his excitement, ravaged the slime's innards.
In the blink of an eye, the boss was finished.
By an F-rank Furry Gorilla, no less.
Such is the absurd power of Lamba's abilities.
If even the Furry Gorilla could do that, what would happen when he summoned better melee creatures later?
He'd be unstoppable.
[You have defeated the boss monster!]
[Dungeon cleared!]
[Clear Time - 00:05:32]
Five minutes and thirty-two seconds.
That was slow.
Considering JinuGod's previous record of five seconds, it was definitely slow.
Of course, I used the Dragon of Destruction's breath for the record back then.
Even without it, he had always cleared dungeons in under a minute.
Other ranked players had probably taken about the same time as well...
[Congratulations!]
[You have broken the highest record in South Korea!]
[You have achieved a special feat!]
What?
Baek Jin-woo's eyes widened in disbelief.
The highest record in South Korea?
That was insane!
No way.
How low was the standard in Korea if a five-minute record was the best?
He hadn't expected it at all.
"......"
He was truly speechless.
[A reward for your first achievement has arrived.]
[Three high-quality Summoning Scrolls]
[Rewards have arrived]
[Two low-grade polishing agents]
Wooong!
The rewards appear in his status window.
[The dungeon disappears.]
Fwoosh!
His vision shifted.
***
In both day and raid dungeons, there is a system called Time Attack.
Players are ranked according to their clear times, and rewards are given based on these rankings.
Records are measured once per country and once globally.
And, of course, the top players in each country have already claimed the top spots for the First Achievement rewards.
What about South Korea?
The low, medium, high and top level dungeons...
All of them were held by the top ranked player, Kang Gun-ho.
"Huh?"
In front of the Day Dungeon building, an employee in charge of the ranking suddenly stood up.
"What is it?"
"The record... it's changed."
"What? Where?"
"The Tuesday low level dungeon! 5 minutes and 32 seconds!"
"Low level? But no rankers entered the low-level dungeon today. Let me see."
A more experienced staff member checked the rankings.
"Baek Jin-woo?"
The name was clearly written there.
"Not Kang Gun-ho?"
"Right. But who's Baek Jin-woo?"
"I don't know. I've never heard of him. He's not a ranker, is he?"
"It doesn't look like it... But how did a non-ranker break the record? And a top ranked one at that?"
Of course, the average world record on the leaderboard was in the three-minute range.
And...
[Low-Level Tuesday Dungeon]
[World Record Holder - Rachel]
[Clear Time - 00:02:25]
Only Rachel from the UK had a time in the two-minute range.
It wasn't just the staff who were shocked.
"W-what the hell!"
Even the examiners watching the results were wide-eyed in disbelief.
Especially Park Chang-seok, who watched the scene in real time.
He was shaking.
He could see where Park Chang-seok was coming from.
In fact, his behaviour was almost patriotic.
He doesn't have a bad personality.
He had paid the bounty properly, and when he saw promise, he immediately registered him as a player.
He was a sharp man in many ways.
In that case...
Instead of worrying about being exploited by the nation, why not try to use the nation to his advantage?
If the country cooperated, he could grow faster than if he worked alone.
Baek Jin-woo's thoughts quickly turned to action.
Then, finally.
"Examiner."
"Yes."
"I would like to have a deeper conversation. Shall we go somewhere else?"
"S-sure!"
Park Chang-seok replied with a twinkle in his eye.
* * *
They moved to a nearby quiet café.
"I'll come straight to the point."
It seemed that Park Chang-seok had also organised his thoughts during the walk, as he immediately began to speak.
"Headquarters needs your knowledge, Mr Baek Jin-woo. Please help us."
He bowed his head from his seat.
Park Chang-seok knew.
"It's possible.
That the knowledge in Baek Jin-woo's mind could far exceed the combined knowledge of all South Korean rankers.
It was his gut feeling.
This man in front of him felt different to normal players.
"You said you were bedridden for three years?"
"...... You even examined me?"
For a moment, Baek Jin-woo's face showed displeasure.
"I apologise. As I mentioned before, highly skilled unregistered players often have ties to gangs."
Right.
That made sense.
"Now that I'm registered, there's no need for further investigation, right?"
"Y-yes."
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't."
"Understood."
Sweat dripped from Park Chang-seok's forehead.
At the same time, his assessment of Baek Jin-woo shifted once again.
"He's not easy.
An ordinary person would have tried to cooperate as much as possible when faced with a powerful entity like the government.
But?
Baek Jin-woo stood firm.
A stance that only someone who knows his worth better than anyone else could take.
"Very well. I've thought about it on the way here."
Now it was Baek Jin-woo's turn to speak.
"What do I get out of helping the country?"
"Yes!
Park Chang-seok's eyes filled with excitement.
The easiest people in the world to deal with are those who clearly understand profit and loss.
As long as you offer them the right rewards, they're easy to win over.
"My cooperation."
"Your cooperation?"
"It may not seem trustworthy, but I hold a fairly high position within the headquarters. I'm in the top ten."
"Ho, really?"
"Yes. Do you know why the members of the headquarters are called representatives? It's because they are elected by the people. With significant achievements, you can rise higher with more votes."
"I see."
So he was like a politician?
Baek Jin-woo clicked his tongue.
"Within my authority, I can give you any support you need."
Hmm.
What should he do?
Baek Jin-woo fell into thought.
For now.
The reward wasn't very specific.
Since this person worked for the government, he probably couldn't use the money freely.
It wouldn't be too late to make a deal after finding out how to use this person named Park Chang-seok.
"Then let's do it."
"Yes, please, go ahead."
Park Chang-seok's face brightened.
"One month."
"Excuse me?"
"I just registered as a player. Give me a month to grow with your support."
"And then?"
"If I'm satisfied, I'll work with you. If not, I'll either return what I received or provide knowledge equivalent to the support."
"...?!"
The bright expression on Park Chang-seok's face became ambiguous.
What he meant was...
He wanted to treat him like a secretary for a month?
It's a bold move.
But to be honest, Park Chang-seok had no choice.
Baek Jin-woo was clearly in a position of power here.
Besides, hadn't he always wanted to offer his support?
To prevent a defection.
And to be honest, just watching his progress would probably be valuable enough.
"Hah, very well."
Park Chang-seok smiled warmly.
When a bearded man smiles brightly, there's something both creepy and cute about it.
"Let's do it."