Tower of Ordeal, Floor 10
The Light Speed Runes changed everything.
According to Hungyo, they were powerful enough to move up the timeline for challenging the Tower of Ordeal's tenth floor.
'Honestly, if Hungyo alone keeps growing like this... even floor 20 wouldn't be out of the question.'
There was just one problem: he didn't have the resources to kit Hungyo out with graduation-tier runes as well.
'For now, floor 10 will have to do.'
Things were already going well. No—they were growing at a pace that defied common sense.
'Pushing it any further than this would just be shameless.'
And so about two weeks passed.
During that time, Yoo Jia kept her word. She really did come out to the training ground every single morning, working up a hard sweat for exactly one hour before heading off to her office.
"Doesn't it wear you out, doing this every day?"
"No, not at all."
He'd asked her that once, and Yoo Jia had actually said she regretted not starting sooner, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.
"You know that summon of yours, Hungyo?"
"Yes."
"He's unbelievable. I've been trained by every famous instructor in the country, but I've never seen anyone—no, any summon—teach so cleanly and simply."
Without a word of explanation, with gestures alone, he somehow made everything click into place.
"After just one hour here, my whole body feels loose and refreshed, and it honestly feels like the muscle just packs itself right on."
"Haha, is that so?"
Well, of course it was. He was a summon specialized in training, exactly as his name implied. Baek Jinwoo himself was reaping the benefits in spades.
Anyway.
"Today, I'm going to challenge floor 10."
"Floor 10... of the Tower of Ordeal? Huh? Already...?"
"Yes."
The preparations were complete. Truth be told, they could have climbed as soon as Ramba got her Light Speed Runes, but he'd wanted to prepare more thoroughly, and that was how things had turned out.
"It'll be over quickly this time too. Ten minutes, give or take?"
"R-really?"
Ten minutes? Did that even make sense? From what she knew, about two years ago even Rachel, the world's rank 1, had needed more than thirty minutes to bring down the boss.
'Well, then again.'
Who was the man standing in front of her? None other than Jinugod—the player even Rachel never stopped admiring!
'I keep forgetting.'
"Have you ever seen me lie?"
"That's true. It's entirely possible. Okay, then!"
That was when Yoo Jia's eyes lit up.
"Would it be all right to wear the recording equipment this time?"
"Equipment? I wasn't planning to sell any Tower of Ordeal information, though..."
"Yes, I know."
Yoo Jia nodded. Then she pointed at Ramba, Hungyo, and Pokryongi one after another.
"It's because you want to keep the information about those summons hidden for now, isn't it?"
Flinch! Baek Jinwoo started in surprise.
'How did she figure that out?'
...Though he was in no position to ask.
"Don't look at me like that. It's obvious. Those three are all summons I've never seen before—they don't come up in any search. And every piece of information sold in the weekday dungeon strategy texts features those summons."
As expected of the sharp-witted Yoo Jia. She had simply put it together that those summons were the reason Baek Jinwoo had ripped open so many low-grade summoning scrolls early on.
"Ahem."
As Baek Jinwoo cleared his throat awkwardly, she pressed on.
"I'm not trying to sell the information. I just want to use it for promotion later—when you've grown truly enormous, when you can stand tall and open up everything about yourself."
"For promotion, huh."
Come to think of it, keeping records did always prove useful. Promotion aside, nothing beat video footage for seeing yourself through a third party's eyes.
"As for the information leak you're worried about, we'll nail it down tight with a contract. What do you say? If it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to."
"Oh. Really?"
Baek Jinwoo studied her in silence.
Yoo Jia. Was she truly trustworthy? Someone he could afford to grow closer to? Judging by everything he'd seen so far...
'Yes.'
That was the answer. A woman who was good to his family, gave her all for him, and above all had been an enormous, continuing help.
'Just look at the Light Speed Runes.'
Could he have gotten his hands on those simply by wanting them? Runes limited to a handful in the entire world? Even if he'd found a seller, he might have paid far above their market price.
But Yoo Jia? She had Daesung standing behind her, and she was a natural at this kind of dealing. That was why she'd pulled it off.
After a moment's deliberation, Baek Jinwoo nodded.
"Alright. Then come over here for a second."
"Huh?"
Baek Jinwoo beckoned her over with a wave of his hand.
"I'm going to reveal one of my secrets."
"A secret?"
Yoo Jia's pupils dilated.
'Don't tell me...'
Her heart began to hammer. Was he about to say it out loud at last—that he was Jinugod?
Unfortunately for her, the secret Baek Jinwoo was about to unveil was nothing of the sort.
"Hungyo. Come here for a moment."
- ...!
Hungyo, mid-training, approached without a word.
"From now on, you may speak in front of Yoo Jia."
"Huh?"
Yoo Jia's face asked what on earth he meant. Speak? A summon? Yoo Jia had always been intensely interested in players and summons, and she had never once seen a talking summon—not anywhere in the entire world.
"Jinwoo, what do you mean by—"
- Yes, My Lord.
That was when Hungyo bowed his head and answered, crisp and concise.
- Training in silence every morning has been rather stifling. I am glad I need do so no longer.
"...?"
At the sudden words, Yoo Jia's pupils widened slightly—and then,
"H-hwaaaaak?!"
She was so startled that she let out a strangled, garbled noise and toppled backward.
No, wait! This wasn't just talking—he was completely fluent!
- Jinwoo! Jinwoo! Can I talk too, then?
Ramba, who had been eavesdropping, came fluttering over in a flurry.
"Oh, right. Go ahead, Ramba. Your mouth's been itching all this time, hasn't it?"
- Rich unnie! Next time don't come empty-handed—bring cream buns! Honestly, showing up empty-handed every single day was just mean!
"...!"
Ramba's antics left Yoo Jia one step short of fainting. And on top of that—
- It's lovely to meet you, Lady Yoo Jia. We're always so grateful for everything you do to help Lord Jinwoo.
Pokryongi, too.
Yoo Jia stared at them, mouth hanging open. Was this what it felt like when a well-loved pet dog suddenly started speaking?
"The truth is," Baek Jinwoo said, smiling at her reaction, "this is why I've been keeping our information under wraps. Our kids can talk."
Ah. So that was it. Of course that could be a reason...
'Like hell it could!'
How was this even possible?
Before long, Yoo Jia came to her senses and fired off question after question, but Baek Jinwoo stonewalled her with a strict no-comment policy.
Samsung-dong Player Zone. Four figures gathered in front of Jamsil Tower: Baek Jinwoo and the members of Yubaek.
"Please come back safe after clearing it!"
"They say the bosses that appear every ten floors have the highest player death rate of all. Safety first, safety second, and safety always!"
Kim Byeongjin and Hwang Taeseop sent them off with cheers in turn.
The recording equipment was already fitted. Their faces—Yoo Jia's included—were thick with tension. It was only natural. Three years ago, most of Korea's rankers had lost their lives here.
The Ghoul King, 'One-Eyed' (S-grade). And on the world stage? Even at this very moment, a truckload of players was probably being torn apart by the thing somewhere.
But—
"I'll be back soon, so today the four of us should have a long-overdue company dinner."
Baek Jinwoo's expression as he stretched was more relaxed than anyone else's.
"Make it lunch. How about galbitang—beef short rib soup?"
"Forget galbitang—I can take you for premium Korean beef omakase, so please, please just come back alive."
Yoo Jia's voice was thick with worry. Naturally. The moment Baek Jinwoo died, Yubaek was finished. Utterly ruined.
"Don't worry."
In that instant, Baek Jinwoo's gaze settled into a chill sharp enough to sting. His face could stay at ease, but inside the Tower of Ordeal, Baek Jinwoo always gave everything he had. Even for someone who had cleared all 100 floors, the tower was a place that demanded vigilance and total commitment on every single floor.
But even so—
"There is no chance of dying on floor 10."
None whatsoever.
Entering the Tower of Ordeal.
You may currently challenge Floor 10.
Will you challenge?
[Y / N]
"Yes."
He had already moved up to the very foot of 'One-Eyed' (S-grade) on floor 9. Which meant the battle would begin the instant they stepped in!
Flash!
His vision flipped, and a terse mission arrived.
This is Floor 10 of the Tower of Ordeal.
Defeat the Floor 10 boss, 'One-Eyed' (S-grade).
- Gwooooooooar!
The roar of the colossal ghoul filling his vision shook heaven and earth.
"Whew."
Thanks to the protective barrier he felt none of the impact, but the booming bellow alone was enough to make anyone cower. The thing was a truly monstrous presence—easily over ten meters tall, drool streaming in ropes from its maw, arms far too long and tipped with vicious claws.
'Whew.' Don't get mesmerized by it. Stay sharp.
"Ramba!"
- Yeah!
Fwiiiiiiing!
Ramba, decked out in her Light Speed Runes, immediately began whirling her staff toward Hungyo. Pokryongi started gathering her magic, and every remaining summon charged forward. Their job was simple: hold the line with their own bodies until Hungyo's stacks were built!
- Gwoooooar!
The ghoul heaved its arm high toward the sky, then brought it sweeping down.
KWAGAGAGAGAGA!
That single blow crumpled the largest Titanium Golem like tin. The ground caved in deep, and the frailer summons—the Battle Sheriff, the Priest of Radiance—were unsummoned on the spot. Terrifying damage, plain and simple.
'It's fine.'
The meat shields could soak up all the hits they wanted. Only two had to survive: Ramba and Hungyo.
The enraged ghoul and Baek Jinwoo's summons clashed again and again.
- Kyurururururu!
The Wind Peregrine wheeled through the sky, layering a movement speed buff onto Hungyo as well.
- My Lord, I will begin moving shortly!
Ta-at!
Hungyo, who had been biding his time and steadying himself, kicked off the ground and shot forward.
KWAGAGAGA!
At that very moment, a Mottled Komodo was being cleaved in half by the ghoul's blow. Blood fountained and entrails spilled out, but it wasn't dead. Summons don't die. When their HP ran dry they were simply unsummoned, and once enough time passed, they could be called back again.
- Hyaap!
Scrambling up the ghoul's arm at blistering speed, Hungyo reached its head and drove his sword in.
Shunk!
But against the towering ghoul, Hungyo's blade was nothing more than an itching toothpick.
- Dear me.
KWAGAGAGA!
The ghoul began using both arms now. Ignoring Hungyo entirely as he clung to its body, it started sweeping the other summons away, unsummoning them one after another. As expected of an S-grade—the power was immense. It almost made one wonder how any other ranker had ever cleared this floor.
'But, well.'
Baek Jinwoo simply watched, calm as still water. However mighty its destructive power, it meant nothing if it couldn't land a precise hit on Hungyo.
Whoosh, wham!
Hungyo wove nimbly through One-Eyed's attacks, doggedly targeting its head the whole while. Or, to be precise, the single eye dead center of its skull.
PUBUBUBUBUK!
And his speed climbed and climbed, until he vanished from sight entirely. A toothpick was one thing—but a toothpick stabbing madly more than a hundred times a second was another story altogether.
- G-gwoooooar?
Perhaps as the pain mounted, One-Eyed raised both hands and clamped them over its eye.
- Hmph. What good will covering it do? You can't catch me with the eye open—do you truly think you'll catch me with it shut?
- Woooooah! That's our Hungyo! So cooooool!
It was over. The stacks had blown past their limit. To Hungyo's eyes at this moment, the ghoul must have seemed frozen solid—he could stroll anywhere he pleased and stab like a madman.
'Yes. This is what an EX-grade summon is.'
The power of Ramba—the fairy once officially judged a bug.
- How's that? I think you can stop swinging now! Or should I keep going anyway? Yap-yap-yap-yap-yap!
- Gwo! Gwo! Gwooooooar!
In the end, One-Eyed couldn't even endure ten minutes before crashing to its knees.
And toward that creature—
Pokryongsul. Secret art. Yeon.
KUKWAGAGAGAGAGA!
From Pokryongi's staff at his side, scarlet dragons came bursting out one after another.
- Gwooooooooar!
One-Eyed loosed a final roar as it burned away to nothing.
A strange, fresh feeling washed over Baek Jinwoo.
'There was a time...'
Back in Battle of Summoners, this had been a monstrous boss he had cleared only by dying countless times, attempt after attempt. And now he cut it down this easily. That was the difference that information made.
You have defeated the Floor 10 boss, 'One-Eyed' (S-grade).
Congratulations!
You have conquered Floor 10 of the Tower of Ordeal!
And it was the power of EX-grade summons and graduation-tier runes, too.