I Alone Am an EX-Class Summoner

Chapter 11

Baek Jin-woo's first request to Park Chang-seok was simple: make sure that the news of the record-breaking performance doesn't spread through the media or elsewhere.

"Why? Breaking a record is something worth celebrating."

"Because my safety isn't guaranteed."

"What? When it comes to your safety, our headquarters can't-"

Park Chang-seok stopped mid-sentence.

"Well.

How could headquarters protect someone like him?

Headquarters couldn't even handle a single gang.

Gangs be damned - if the world's best attacked, South Korea's current reality couldn't handle it.

The best security? Not revealing yourself!

"I understand. I'll request media control under the authority of headquarters. But even if we try to keep it quiet, rumours may spread. Some of the staff have seen the rankings, and the examiners know about it too..."

"That's okay. It's not like I'm the only person in the world named Baek Jin-woo."

"I see."

If it was a world record, the headquarters couldn't do much, but they could at least keep the national record under wraps.

* * *

After the meeting.

The first thing Baek Jin-woo did after leaving the cafe was to check his rewards.

[Three high-level summoning scrolls.]

[Two low-grade polishing agents].

The Polishing Agents were expected, as they were a reward from the Tuesday Dungeon. However, the "High-grade Summoning Scrolls" were a huge win.

These were rewards for the first-time completion of the Tuesday Dungeon's basic level.

This reward could only be obtained once.

Even if he broke the South Korean record in the dungeon again, there would be no more rewards.

Should I open it now?

The probability of high-quality summoning scrolls was as follows:

[D-rank: 94%].

[C-rank: 5%]

[B-rank: 1%]

If he was lucky, he might end up with a B-rank summoner right away.

But gambling with only three scrolls seems a bit risky.

What Baek Jin-woo needed now wasn't a B-rank summoner.

He needed a bug-like EX class summoner.

'First.

He checked the price.

Baek Jin-woo took out his phone and opened an application.

[Player Web]

It was an app only available to registered players that Park Chang-seok had installed for him right after he got his licence.

Runes, polishing agents, summoners, summoning scrolls and more - most transactions could be done here.

Baek Jin-woo quickly navigated to the 'Marketplace' tab to check the prices of the summoning scrolls.

He was shocked.

Crazy.

[Low-grade Summoning Scroll - 5,000 won]

[Mid-grade Summoning Scroll - 500,000 won]

[High-level Summoning Scroll - 3,000,000 won]

[Upper-class Summoning Scroll - Not listed]

[Ultimate Summoning Scroll - No listing]

Were high-level summoning scrolls really that expensive?

He had just obtained three of them, meaning that he had earned 9 million won?

Just by completing one dungeon?

Wow.

Baek Jin-woo's hands shook slightly.

This was money that would have required him to work part-time for a month without a break under normal circumstances.

But now?

He had earned this much in just over five minutes of casual work.

And this was only the beginning.

What would happen in the future?

This is crazy.

Dad, Mum, Ah-jin.

Just wait a little longer.

Soon I'll make sure you all live without worrying about money.

"......"

After clicking through various pieces of information, Baek Jin-woo made a calm judgement.

And he made his decision.

I will sell the high quality scrolls for now.

What then?

'I'll use the money to buy a ton of low-grade scrolls.

Until he could summon the E-ranked Training Instructor or the D-ranked Explosive Dragon Sage, he would continue to draw low-grade summoners.

Both of them were broken summoners, comparable to B-rank summoners.

* * *

Samsung-dong Player Zone.

"Thank you."

Baek Jin-woo smiled broadly after selling the three high-level scrolls to another player and receiving 9 million won.

Now it was time to buy the low-grade scrolls.

But first.@@@@

He wondered why low-grade summoning scrolls sold for only 5,000 won each.

A fundamental question.

In Battle of Summoners, low-grade summoning scrolls were items that dropped easily in dungeons.

There was also a 10% chance of getting one as a daily attendance reward.

These scrolls were practically overflowing.

Especially in the marketplace, there were more sellers than buyers.

Why was that?

It didn't follow the basic principles of supply and demand.

"A condition?"

"As you know, the officials at Headquarters are elected by the people. If I were caught using national resources without justification, I'd lose the public's trust."

"What are you getting at?"

"Give me some valuable information, just a taste. I'll give you low-grade scrolls to match the value of the information. That way, even if I get caught, I can justify my actions."

Hoo.

Baek Jin-woo's lips curled into a smile.

Park Chang-seok.

He really was a smart man.

Not just handing over resources like a fool.

That was even better.

The more certain things were, the better the treatment he'd get in return for valuable information.

I wanted to wait a little longer, but...

Why not.

I'll do it now.

"There is something called 'Setting the First Achievement'.

"Setting the First Achievement?"

Park Chang-seok's heart began to pound.

What golden piece of information would come out of this man's mouth?

* * *

The First Achievement reward in South Korea for each dungeon was three high-quality summoning scrolls.

And time attacks were always measured in seconds.

In other words, if two players completed the dungeon in 2 minutes and 30 seconds, the one who completed it first would be ranked higher.

What if?

[Low-Level Tuesday Dungeon]

[South Korea's 1st Place - Baek Jin-woo]

[Clear Time - 00:05:32]

If players kept breaking the record - 5 minutes 31 seconds, then 5 minutes 30 seconds, and so on - they could extend the achievement rewards as much as possible.

This would increase South Korea's average performance.

"I understand the concept of 'setting the first achievement'. We've used that strategy. All the current leaders have already claimed it.

Ah.

That made sense.

They must have already claimed the rewards for times earlier than 5 minutes 32 seconds.

"Well, it doesn't matter. There are plenty of players who haven't claimed the Achievement Rewards yet. There are still a lot of players who haven't got them yet.

"What I'm going to share is the time attack strategy for the Tuesday Dungeon."

"As expected! So it's the method you used this time!"

Park Chang-seok, unable to contain his excitement, rubbed his palms together.

A habit of his when he felt anxious.

"I'll share it with you, but...

Baek Jin-woo wasn't going to reveal his own method.

There were a few dungeon types, and if he told them that he had memorised the whole labyrinth in his head, who would believe him?

He only wanted to share the methods of Rachel, Sugoi and Zenos.

"Yes, I'm sure the UK, Japan, the US, Russia and Taiwan all use this method. No matter who uses it, the average clear time will easily be in the three minute range".

"...!"

Park Chang-seok was shocked.

That's right.

Only these five countries had unusually high dungeon records.

It made sense.

Those were the nations where the Five Emperors were based.

And this information had only been shared in the One Heaven, Five Emperors chat room.

"Th-three minutes? What kind of strategy is that?"

Park Chang-seok asked, his voice shaking.

"Hey, before that... we should assess its value first."

Value?

Just hearing it, the information sounded priceless.

At the very least, it could lead to breaking records in the low, medium, high and top dungeons of Tuesday.

"I believe we can provide you with as many low-grade scrolls as you need in exchange for this information."

"In addition."

Baek Jin-woo added another condition.

"Fifty high-level summoning scrolls. Can we do that?"

"Fifty scrolls?"

Fifty high-grade scrolls were worth exactly 15 million won.

"You're getting a bargain. If you consider the value of the initial rewards that could be obtained in the low-level, mid-level, high-level and top-level dungeons, the information is worth tens of millions of won."

"..."

This was true.

Even without exact calculations, it was obvious.

Without much hesitation, Park Chang-seok nodded.

"It's real, right?"

"Yes, you'll see when you try it."

Baek Jin-woo smiled.

He thought about making a contract but decided against it.

After all, the information he revealed now?

It wasn't even the tip of the iceberg.

What if the headquarters tried to rip him off or expressed dissatisfaction?

Well, there would be no next time.

"All right. If the information proves to be true, I'll deposit 15 million won immediately and provide you with 10,000 low-grade summoning scrolls daily."

Great!

Baek Jin-woo grinned.