Light Speed Rune (2)

The Enhancement Shop.

If the Synthesis Shop was where summons got fed into the grinder, the Enhancement Shop was where runes met the same fate.

Its exterior looked much like the Synthesis Shop's. An entire building near the Tower of Ordeal served as the Enhancement Shop, and this one, too, was run by headquarters.

Having waited his turn, Baek Jinwoo stepped into a room and slotted the Light Speed Rune into the main socket.

Materials are more than enough.

All those days of grinding the daily dungeons had left him with a mountain of junk runes stockpiled on the side—runes so ugly they would never sell. Options that rolled that filthy didn't move on any market.

And rune enhancement needs fodder anyway.

Baek Jinwoo shoveled the junk runes into the material slot—enough to carry the thing all the way to level 10. Fortunately, he had materials to spare.

"Okay."

Light burst from the main socket, and the rune began to flash and gleam as it strengthened.

For reference, the stat rolls on Strength, Intelligence, Vitality, Agility, and their kin ranged from 4% per level at the low end to 12% at the high end. A normal enhancement landed somewhere in that band at random. But this was a Rare rune—every single level-up rolled the maximum. And that guarantee didn't even extend to the flat INT and AGI bonuses.

Nice. Very nice.

It was the kind of enhancement that put a grin on his face just looking at it.

"Ooh."

It had rolled max, right up to the very last level.

With one rune fully enhanced, Baek Jinwoo pulled up its information.

"Wow..."

A monstrously overpowered rune, the likes of which existed nowhere else, had just been born. What kind of performance would Ramba show off wearing six of these? The thought alone was enough to lift his mood.

Of course, this wasn't the end.

Time to slap on the polishing agent.

Normally, polishing that "INT +72%" would call for a Superior INT% Polishing Agent—which meant grinding the highest-tier Tuesday dungeon for a supply, then applying them over and over and over until the max value finally rolled. But with the Universal Polishing Agent? One coat, and the stat instantly hit its cap.

Baek Jinwoo dropped four Universal Polishing Agents into the material slot.

Then he polished every last option.

The result:

The ultimate endgame rune had been born, every option dragged to its absolute limit. For Ramba, no finer rune could be made—none crafted, none found.

Baek Jinwoo kept at it with the remaining two runes. By the time he was done, he had three graduation-tier runes to show for it, and he strolled out of the Enhancement Shop in the finest of moods.

The moment he arrived at the empty lot—

"Ramba."

— Jinwoooooo! You came? Cream bunnnnnns!

Ramba, worn ragged by Hungyo's endless repetitive drills, came flinging herself at him with the most pitiful eyes imaginable.

"Of course I bought them. But first—try these on."

Baek Jinwoo pulled out her three Swiftness runes and fitted the three Light Speed Runes in their place.

— O-whoaaa! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠What is this?

Ramba jolted, startled.

— My whole body feels so light!

Fwing, fwing!

The speed at which she flitted through the air had jumped considerably. Agility raised attack speed, but it raised movement speed right along with it.

"Give your staff a swing."

— Okay!

Whishwhishwhishwhishwhishwhishwhish!

— Kyaa—kyahat! It's so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fast! This is insane!

It was, without question, no joke. And that was with only three equipped, without the set bonus. What would happen once he got her the remaining three? The stacks would pile sky-high right out of the gate. Hungyo, on the receiving end of those stacks, would go absolutely berserk.

Such would be the storm of Ramba's assault!

For the record, the summon meant to weather that storm was someone else entirely: Aso, formerly A-rank. Hungyo was slated to keep taking the stacks only until Baek Jinwoo obtained her. Once Aso was in the picture? Hungyo would go back to doing exactly what his name said—serving purely as a training instructor. Because Aso was every bit that broken.

Of course, that didn't mean Hungyo was weak. However much he served as the party's drill instructor, take him out into the world and he was strong enough to tear through everything single-handedly.

— Jinwoo! This already feels like the old days!

For the record, back in Battle of Summoners, Ramba had never gotten her runes anywhere near their limit. They hadn't been together all that long, and those were the game's earliest days.

"We're not there yet. Wait a little longer, and you'll get even faster."

— Hieeek? Even faster than this? Can I even handle it?

"Handle it?"

Baek Jinwoo's eyes slid sideways. He looked at Hungyo. As expected. The man was wearing a distinctly sinister smile. The moment Ramba caught that smile, she laughed—ha, ha—while breaking into a cold sweat.

— H-hahahat! I-I can handle it... Right? It'd be weird if I couldn't... Waaah...

Baek ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jinwoo chuckled and patted the head of the teary-eyed fairy.

Hang in there for now, kid. Once everything's fully settled, it'll ease up.

Late at night, at a certain logistics center, Baek Jinwoo's father Baek Jincheol sat trading jokes with a same-aged friend he'd grown close to there. He'd come out for another day of loading and unloading packages—except Baek Jincheol didn't actually do any physical labor here.

The Golem does all the work. Why would I?

The B-rank Diamond Golem Yoo Jia had gifted him! Its performance was staggering—far faster than any ordinary golem, stronger and more precise to boot. It was practically the equivalent of fifty human laborers, working swiftly and without a single mistake. Thanks to that, he'd even finished negotiating a raise in his day rate with the delivery company.

"You know, I've been wondering about something for a while now."

It was Baek Jincheol's friend, Park Jeonghun.

"What's that?"

"Why is a guy carrying a summon this flashy out here hauling boxes? You should be playing as a Player, or selling it! Especially that Diamond Golem. You have no idea how useful that thing is on a construction site, do you?"

"...Honestly? Not really."

"I'm sorry, what?"

Park Jeonghun was dumbfounded. A Player who didn't know what his own summon was worth?

"This thing was a gift. Who sells off something someone gave them out of the kindness of their heart? It's just better than my old pebble golem, so I use it, and I'm happy."

Baek Jincheol thought the world of Yoo Jia. For a chaebol heiress, she wasn't the least bit prickly—she was warm, never looked down on common folk like them, and treated them with nothing but the utmost respect. He'd received kindness from someone like that, and he was supposed to just toss it aside and sell it off?

Unacceptable.

So he hadn't even bothered to look up its price.

"You absolute lunatic. You're using a billion-won summon for THIS instead of selling it?"

"Huh?"

Baek Jincheol's eyes snapped wide open.

W-wait. What did he just say?

"A billion?"

"Don't tell me..."

Park Jeonghun shot him an odd, sidelong look.

"You're not telling me you've been using it all this time without even knowing what it's worth?"

"Uh..."

A billion won?

Baek Jincheol's mind went white. Everything he'd taken for granted came crashing down at once. To an ordinary man, a billion won was serious money—enough to replace their beat-up old house on the spot, enough to make life that much easier for his family.

'Who sells off a gift,' was it?

You sell it! Obviously!

A billion won changes everything!

And honestly, what the recipient did with a gift was the recipient's business, wasn't it?

"H-hold on just a second."

In the end, Baek Jincheol couldn't help himself. He pulled out his phone and searched.

She gave me something this precious... as a gift?

Even for a chaebol—could anyone really be that generous? Baek Jincheol, who had never given a second thought to what Yoo Jia might have given Hwang Myeonghui, could only sit there flabbergasted.

"And one more thing I've been wondering."

Park Jeonghun pressed on.

"Who even gives away something like that? Who the hell was it? What, some chaebol or something?"

Flinch!

Baek Jincheol startled. Park Jeonghun, this guy—his instincts were sharper than they had any right to be.

"No way, impossible. What kind of man with chaebol connections hauls boxes for a living? It was probably some sucker like you who handed it over as a gift without even checking what it was."

Ah.

Sharp instincts, my ass.

"Hey, hey. That's enough."

Baek Jincheol said, shaking his head.

"I think today's going to be my last day on this job."

"Oh-ho, you're selling it? Good for you, man. Smart move."

The two of them were actually quite close. They hadn't known each other all that long, but it had been ages since Baek Jincheol had felt this comfortable with anyone. Above all, there was the time his son Baek Jinwoo had been sick—when Park Jeonghun had pressed a million won into his hands for the hospital bills, Baek Jincheol had been deeply moved. That was exactly why he tolerated the man lazing around beside him while the Diamond Golem did all the lifting.

"Jeonghun."

"Yeah?"

"Didn't you say you used to fry chicken back in the day?"

"Don't even get me started. Lost my shirt at it. Graduated from chicken university—earned my doctorate and everything."

"Cut the nonsense."

"Was it at least a little funny?"

Pfft.

Baek Jincheol laughed. However he talked, this friend had once been dead serious about his chicken. The man could do a blind taste test with his eyes shut and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠name every brand, even uncannily pick out what ingredients went into each one. Baek Jincheol had no idea what story had driven him to hauling packages, but...

Well then.

I suppose us becoming close was your lucky break.

Baek Jincheol had a dream, one he'd carried for a long time. A modest little dream of frying chicken in his own neighborhood and living out his days in comfort with his family. A billion won? More than enough. With a loan on top, he could build it even bigger.

"How much are they paying you right now?"

"Two hundred a day."

For the record, Baek Jincheol's current rate was 400,000 won a day. It had gone up recently, but measured against what the Diamond Golem was worth, he was still being treated like a prize chump! Even so, years of honest work had left him with a tidy nest egg.

"Want to come fry chicken with me?"

"Don't tell me—you're selling it?"

"Yep."

"Whoa..."

Park Jeonghun fell silent, thinking it over. His friend's eyes—always cheerful, yet somehow dead behind the smile—were slowly coming back to life. He could feel it.

"You really mean it?"

"But I'm not doing it half-heartedly. There'll be plenty of research before we open for business. No franchise—we're doing it ourselves."

"Ooh, research means eating a lot of chicken, right?"

"I'd imagine so?"

"I'm in. Absolutely in. Thank you, man. For the offer."

"Thank me, huh."

No... I'm the one who should be thankful.

Thanks to our one and only son, he was getting a taste of the good life. And he had Yoo Jia to thank for that, too.

Daesung appliances are the best!

Baek Jincheol made a quiet vow to himself. From this day forward, every home appliance he bought would be Daesung. No exceptions.