Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Achievement Record-Breaking (1)
The first demand Baek Jin-woo made of Park Chang-seok was this: that news of the record-breaking achievement would not spread to the world through the press or any other outlet.
"Why is that? Setting a record is certainly something worth celebrating."
"It's because my safety isn't guaranteed."
"What? If it's a matter of Baek Jin-woo's safety, our Headquarters would—"
Park Chang-seok's mouth snapped shut mid-sentence.
Right.
What ability did Headquarters have to protect a talent like that?
A Headquarters that couldn't even properly handle a single gang.
And that was setting the gang aside entirely.
If world-class rankers were to visit Korea and launch an attack, the current reality of South Korea was that they couldn't withstand it.
The greatest safety?
Not making yourself known!
"I understand. I'll request a media blackout using Headquarters' authority. However, whispers will inevitably spread even if we try to keep it quiet. Some of the staff who saw the board already know, and the examiners are quite aware of the matter as well……"
"That level is fine. It's not like I'm the only person in this world with the name Baek Jin-woo."
"Understood."
Even if Headquarters had no choice regarding a world record, they could at least try to seal people's lips when it came to a national record.
***
After the meeting concluded.
Coming out to a café, the first thing he did was check his rewards.
[High-grade Summoning Scroll x 3.]
[Low-grade Polish x 2.]
The Polish could be attributed to the Tuesday Dungeon rewards, but the High-grade Summoning Scrolls were a jackpot.
The first achievement reward available in the Tuesday Dungeon Basic.
It could only be received once.
From here on, even if he achieved the best national record in that dungeon, no more rewards would appear.
Should I use them right away?
The probabilities for a High-grade Summoning Scroll were as follows:
[D-Rank: 94%]
[C-Rank: 5%]
[B-Rank: 1%]
With luck, he could instantly obtain a B-Rank Summoner Beast—but.
It's a bit much to gamble with only 3 scrolls.
What Baek Jin-woo needed right now was not a B-Rank Summoner Beast.
It was an EX-Rank Summoner Beast, one that functioned like a bug.
First.
Let's check the prices.
Baek Jin-woo took out his phone and launched an app.
[Player Web]
An app accessible only to players registered with Headquarters, which Park Chang-seok had installed for him the moment his license came through.
Runes, Polish, Summoner Beasts, Summoning Scrolls, and more.
He was told that most transactions could be handled through this platform.
Baek Jin-woo navigated straight to the ‘Marketplace’ tab and looked up Summoning Scroll prices.
Then he was utterly stunned.
Insane.
[Low-grade Summoning Scroll — 5,000 won]
[Mid-grade Summoning Scroll — 500,000 won]
[High-grade Summoning Scroll — 3,000,000 won]
[Top-grade Summoning Scroll — No listings]
[Ultimate Summoning Scroll — No listings]
High-grade Summoning Scrolls were this expensive?
He'd just obtained 3, so that was 9,000,000 won earned?
From a single dungeon run?
Wow.
Baek Jin-woo's hands trembled.
Under normal circumstances, that was money he'd have had to work non-stop part-time for an entire month just to touch.
But now?
He'd earned this much from barely running around for just over 5 minutes.
And this was just the beginning.
What would things look like further down the road?
……Incredible.
Dad, Mom, A-jin.
Wait just a little longer.
I'll make it so you never have to worry about money again.
"……"
Baek Jin-woo clicked through the information here and there, then made a cold-headed decision.
And he reached a conclusion.
First, sell the High-grade Summoning Scrolls.
After that?
Use the money to buy a massive number of Low-grade Summoning Scrolls.
The E-Rank Drill Instructor.
And the D-Rank Explosive Dragon Sorcerer.
Until he pulled both of them, it was right to keep pulling Low-grade scrolls day and night.
Both were fraudulently overpowered Summoner Beasts that put B-Rank to shame.
***
Samsung-dong Player Zone.
"Thank you very much."
Having handed 3 High-grade Summoning Scrolls to a player and received 9,000,000 won in his account, Baek Jin-woo grinned.
Now he had to buy Low-grade Summoning Scrolls with this.
But before that.
A fundamental question arose—why would a Low-grade Summoning Scroll cost 5,000 won?
In Battle of Summoners, Low-grade Summoner Beasts were items that dropped just from running dungeons.
They also appeared at roughly a 10% probability from the daily login rewards.
In other words, they were Summoning Scrolls that came flooding in endlessly if you simply stayed idle.
And in particular, glancing around the Marketplace, there were plenty of sellers but almost no buyers.
Why?
This didn't fit the principles of supply and demand.
If there are many sellers, prices should drop further—that's basic economics!
Tuu, tuu!
As ever, when there was something he didn't know, asking his little sister was the best approach.
"Hey, A-jin. Why is everyone selling Low-grade Summoning Scrolls at 5,000 won? There were huge amounts of them listed."
"Ah, that. Headquarters is buying them up."
"Headquarters is?"
Baek A-jin explained step by step, clearing up her brother's curiosity.
As part of support for rankers, Headquarters was purchasing Summoning Scrolls in bulk using national tax funds.
The minimum floor price was 5,000 won per scroll!
However, since taxes weren't infinite, a daily purchase limit had been imposed.
"So the leftover scraps that Headquarters couldn't buy are circulating on the Marketplace. Those people will never lower their prices. Why would they drop the price when they can just wait a bit and sell to Headquarters?"
"Ah, I see."
It all made perfect sense now.
"But there's also talk going around lately."
"Yeah?"
"Apparently, since this was a policy that came out in the early days, Low-grade Summoning Scrolls have been piling up in Headquarters too. They're becoming a nuisance, so they say this system might be abolished soon. When that happens, Low-grade Summoning Scroll prices will probably drop even further."
"Oh ho, is that right?"
Made sense.
It was the same in the original Battle of Summoners.
Mid-grade Summoning Scrolls and above had a decent price, but Low-grade Summoning Scrolls weren't something people would take even if offered for free.
"Thanks."
"Thanks for what. Oh right, Oppa, how did the registration exam go? Isn't the Player Battle coming up soon? Should I go watch?"
"Ah……"
The registration.
He'd already completed that.
Should he tell her the truth?
He considered it, then dropped the idea.
It would be a hassle to answer if she started drilling him on how he'd received special treatment.
"It's going well. What's the big deal? No need to come all the way out. I'll probably pass."
"Wow, amazing! I heard it's really hard?"
"Hard? Not at all."
It was incredibly easy.
***
Baek Jin-woo went back to Headquarters.
To meet Park Chang-seok.
"Baek Jin-woo!"
The bearded man came running from far away.
As he jogged over, staff around him lowered their heads one by one—it certainly seemed he held a high position.
"How long has it even been since we parted, and you're calling for me again. Did you miss me that much?"
"Er……. Yes, well."
My, my.
What an amusing joke.
"Let's go somewhere first. There are too many eyes here."
Park Chang-seok smiled pleasantly and guided Baek Jin-woo to his office.
"What brings you to see me?"
"Well…… I was thinking of getting my hands on some Low-grade Summoning Scrolls and wondering if there was any help available."
"Low-grade Summoning Scrolls?"
"Yes."
"Would Low-grade Summoning Scrolls be enough? If approval comes through, we can support you with Mid-grade or High-grade Summoning Scrolls as well. There would be a monthly limit on the count, of course, but……"
"No, I need Low-grade Summoning Scrolls for now."
Support?
It was a debt and a shackle.
Even if he were to receive it, it would be better to do so only after deciding to walk together properly.
"Actually, I heard rumors that Headquarters is having trouble dealing with Low-grade Summoning Scrolls."
"Such rumors are going around, yes."
Park Chang-seok made a troubled expression.
"And it's not entirely untrue. The thing is, there's a limit to how much you can level up by sacrificing Summoner Beasts drawn from Low-grade Summoning Scrolls."
Inside the Player Zone, there was something called the ‘Fusion Hall’.
It was a system for sacrificing miscellaneous Summoner Beasts to raise levels—highly efficient in the early stages, but the efficiency dropped dramatically beyond a certain point of growth.
So later on, it was used only to clear out storage.
"How much do you need?"
"……As much as possible."
"As much as possible……"
Park Chang-seok turned the gears in his head.
Low-grade Summoning Scrolls were countless in storage.
New Summoning Scrolls coming in every day alone numbered 50,000, and the reality was that even those couldn't all be used, continuing to pile up.
"I could report them as used by rankers and hand them over, but if you end up reselling the excess……"
"I know they don't sell anyway. Even selling them cheaply—Headquarters tracks all of it, doesn't it? I'm asking because I intend to use them myself."
"……There's something behind this."
Park Chang-seok's eyes shone.
Baek Jin-woo was a gamer.
And one who possessed information on a completely different level from existing gamers.
For someone like that to deliberately want to stockpile Low-grade Summoning Scrolls……
That meant there was something worth doing with them.
"Alright."
Park Chang-seok smiled.
"However."
"……"
"There's a condition."
"A condition?"
"As you know, Headquarters' executives are elected by public vote. If someone like me were to take Summoning Scrolls belonging to the national treasury without valid justification and get caught? I'd lose the public's trust."
"What are you getting at?"
"Give me just 1 piece of useful information as a taste. I'll provide as many Low-grade Summoning Scrolls as the assessed value of that information. That way, if I get caught, I'll at least have something to say."
Oh ho.
The corners of Baek Jin-woo's mouth curved upward.
Park Chang-seok.
He was certainly a man of substance.
So he wouldn't just hand things over like an easy mark?
If anything, this was better.
Since things were clear-cut, providing good information would get him better treatment.
Originally I was going to do this after a bit more time had passed.
Well then.
Let's just do it right now.
"There's something called Achievement Record-Breaking."
"……Achievement Record-Breaking?"
Park Chang-seok's chest began to pound furiously.
Just what kind of golden information would come out of this man's mouth?!
***
The reward for ranking 1st nationally in achievements was 3 High-grade Summoning Scrolls per dungeon.
And Time Attacks were always measured down to the second.
In other words, if 2 players both scored 2 minutes 30 seconds?
The player who achieved it first would be ranked higher.
In that case?
[Tuesday Dungeon Basic]
[National Record 1st — Baek Jin-woo]
[Clear Time — 00:05:32]
If players kept taking turns updating the record to 5 minutes 31 seconds, 5 minutes 30 seconds, and so on?
Achievement rewards could be drawn out to the maximum.
South Korea's overall combat strength would rise.
"I understand the concept of Achievement Record-Breaking. It's a method we've also made use of. The current rankers have already each received their share in advance."
Ah.
That would be the case.
They'd already claimed their rewards in advance with times before 5 minutes 32 seconds.
"Well, that's fine. It's not like rankers are the only ones who can break records. There are players scattered everywhere who've never once received an achievement reward."
"The full information I'm offering is the method for Time Attacking the Tuesday Dungeon."
"……As expected! So that's the method you used this time!"
Park Chang-seok suppressed his excitement and rubbed his palms together.
A habit of his that came out whenever he grew agitated.
I'll share it—but.
Baek Jin-woo had no intention of revealing his own method.
Who would believe him if he said there were several patterns to the dungeon and he'd memorized the entire sprawling maze in his head?
He simply planned to share only the method that Rachel, Sugoi, Xenos, and the others used.
"Yes, I'd imagine the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, Russia, and Taiwan…… all of them use this method. Whoever tries it should comfortably achieve an average clear time in the 3-minute range."
"……!"
Park Chang-seok was greatly astonished.
That was exactly right.
Only those 5 nations had noticeably higher dungeon records.
Naturally so.
They were the nations where the Five Emperors belonged.
That information, too, had only been shared within the One Heaven Five Emperors chatroom.
"Th, three minutes?! What is this information?"
Park Chang-seok asked in a trembling voice.
"Come now, before that……. We need to assess the value first."
The value?
Just hearing about it sounded extraordinary.
At the very least, it would mean record-breaking was possible across the Tuesday Dungeon's Basic, Mid-grade, High-grade, and Top-grade tiers!
"At that level, I think I can continuously provide Low-grade Summoning Scrolls."
"On top of that."
Baek Jin-woo added one more condition.
"50 High-grade Summoning Scrolls. Is that acceptable?"
"50 scrolls?"
50 High-grade Summoning Scrolls had a value of exactly 150,000,000 won.
"That's a bargain price I'm asking. Basic, Mid-grade, High-grade, Top-grade—the value of this information, measured against the achievement rewards to be pulled from all 4 dungeons, should exceed several billion won, shouldn't it?"
"……"
It certainly did.
Even without precise calculation, that much was clear.
Without any deliberation, Park Chang-seok nodded.
"You're certain about this?"
"Yes, try it once and you'll see."
Baek Jin-woo smiled.
He'd briefly considered drawing up a contract, but ultimately decided not to.
The information he was releasing now, anyway?
It wasn't even the tip of the iceberg.
If Park Chang-seok took the money and ran, or said something ungrateful after this?
Well then, there simply wouldn't be a next time.
"Understood. If the information checks out, I'll wire 150,000,000 won immediately and supply 10,000 Low-grade Summoning Scrolls every day."
Nice!
Baek Jin-woo grinned.