Chapter 7
Chapter 7: A Changed Reality
Inside a café.
A gruff-looking bearded man sat at a table.
Slurp!
Sipping his coffee while reviewing the player registration waitlist, he might look like a vagrant, but he was a fairly well-known summoner in South Korea.
His name was Park Chang-seok.
A member of Headquarters, he possessed no fewer than 3 C-rank Summoner Beasts that he had raised for over 2 years.
"Tsk, tsk."
He clicked his tongue.
"Hmm……. They want me to select 50 people out of all these? That's it?"
He had been working at Headquarters for quite a while now, but he had never warmed up to the ways of those above him.
We're supposed to become a summoning powerhouse by picking 50 people a month?
South Korea was currently at the bottom of the league rankings.
It was because there was no shortage of talent worth cultivating……
You have to recruit more players before you can even discover talent in the first place.
Glug, glug, glug!
He downed his iced Americano in a single shot 10 seconds after it arrived, his brow furrowing deeply.
Fundamentally, summoning powerhouses adopted a free competition system.
They didn't try to control the number of players.
It was a system where anyone could take a shot, and only the strong survived.
Park Chang-seok believed South Korea needed to do the same.
Those backroom geezers. Every last one of them needs to drop dead. Not a clue how things work out in the field.
He was also a current Headquarters examiner, and he was just about to shake his head in resignation when—
Bang!
The café door exploded open.
"Wh-what?!"
"Kyaaaaaah!"
The people inside screamed in fright, and—
Weeeeee!
The building's alarm blared at full blast.
What's going on?
Park Chang-seok spun his head around to find a massive Summoner Beast standing in the wreckage of the shattered doorway.
Its cold, piercing gaze swept across the room, and the citizens inside were so terrified they couldn't even run—they just stood there trembling.
That thing is……
He knew this Summoner Beast well.
C-rank, Crimson Orc.
"Ha, these insane bastards."
Park Chang-seok sighed and rose to his feet.
One of the reasons South Korea was considered a summoning backwater was standing right in front of him.
Summoner gangs.
Underground crime organizations that, no longer threatened by guns and blades, caused mayhem like this instead.
"Heyyy, Park Chang-seok. So you were here."
Thud. Thud.
A man strode forward with a composed expression.
That gangster was the Orc's owner.
"You really thought you could live it up playing councilman at Headquarters after killing all my boys? Huh?"
Behind the Orc stood 4 supporting Summoner Beasts.
That was his team.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Park Chang-seok rose to his feet, murder in his eyes.
At the same moment—
Crack, crack, crack!
Wooden trunks erupt from the floor.
C-rank, Wood Man and—
Whoooosh!
C-rank, Flame Tortoise.
And then a C-rank, Fire Butterfly gently took flight.
These were Examiner Park Chang-seok's signature Summoner Beasts.
2 more D-rank Summoner Beasts were summoned behind them.
This was Park Chang-seok's team!
The 2 players locked blazing eyes on each other, and—
"Hic……"
"……Th-that's a gang……"
"And that's Headquarters."
"Those two have been at each other's throats lately."
"Damn it, why here of all places……"
The atmosphere in the café dropped like a stone.
Gangs.
The reason an ordinary thug could act so boldly was simple.
The Shield.
As long as your Summoner Beast was out?
Even if a nuclear bomb dropped on this place, you'd walk away alive.
Unable to control them by force, these lawbreakers were running wild, throwing the existing laws and order out the window!
South Korea was, quite literally, in the middle of a war on crime.
What is happening right now?
Baek Jin-woo was also startled out of his skin.
Things that were unimaginable inside Battle of Summoners were unfolding here in reality.
What the hell.
This wasn't some inn out of a martial arts novel.
Someone was picking a fight like a street thug in the middle of Seoul?
Was the world actually going insane?
Still.
Crimson Orc, Wood Man, Flame Tortoise, Fire Butterfly……
These were all Summoner Beasts he knew.
Ones he had researched extensively trying to make work, only to give up and use as materials every time he found no answer.
So they actually held up pretty well here, huh?
"Um, s-so what's going to happen to us then. Sob……"
Someone whispered tearfully from a corner.
A girl who looked like a café employee.
Someone else kindly answered her.
"What do you mean, what happens? All we can do is pray that the Headquarter’s player wins."
"Excuse me?"
"Those gang bastards. You don't know how little they value civilian lives, do you? That said, looking at that man over there, he seems to be Park Chang-seok—let's hope for the best. His nickname is the Yaksha, after all."
Yaksha.
A spirit from Indian mythology, a guardian deity that protects the law.
A title earned by slaughtering countless gang members.
Incidentally, in South Korea, anyone was permitted to execute a registered gang member on the spot.
You could kill them without being charged.
"Emergency situation! Everyone follow the manual and summon your own Summoner Beasts! Raise your Shields!"
Park Chang-seok called out to the civilians.
Baek Jin-woo immediately summoned Lamba.
['Wind Fairy' (EX-rank) has been summoned!]
She appeared cheerfully, about to make a fuss, but upon seeing all the people nearby, she clapped both hands firmly over her own mouth.
Regardless.
Thanks to Lamba, a Shield formed.
The gangster sneered as the citizens frantically brought out their Summoner Beasts.
"Heh heh heh, look at that—a champion of justice has arrived, has he?"
"……"
"What, are you scared I'll kill everyone in here?"
"That won't happen. Because I'll kill you before then."
"Oh yeah? Then go ahead and try!"
Boom!
The 2 players clashed.
Crash! Shatter!
5 vs 5.
As the 5 monsters fought, light fixtures came crashing down and marble fragments went flying.
"Kyaaaaaah!"
"S-somebody help!"
"Uwaaah!"
The terrified citizens cowered and shook, but thankfully, no one was getting hurt thanks to the Shields.
Baek Jin-woo also watched the situation unfold from a corner.
One thing was clear.
Good thing I hid being God of Jinu.
If there were this many horrific terrorists in reality, all the more reason to live quietly.
For now.
Let me assess the situation.
Going by Summoner Beasts alone, Headquarters had the advantage.
That much was certain.
The gangster only had 1 C-rank, while Park Chang-seok had 3.
Boom!
But looking at how the battle was unfolding, Park Chang-seok was clearly losing ground.
Why would you use that skill at that timing?
Baek Jin-woo couldn't understand it.
The way to fight this—it was all playing out automatically in his head……
But that man, Park Chang-seok, didn't seem to see it that way.
This was inevitable.
Compared to Baek Jin-woo, who had learned through endless repetition in the game and had accumulated countless experiences……
Park Chang-seok, who had only lived in this reality for 3 years, couldn't help but lack the eye for it and the instincts to match.
So that's…… The Yaksha?
He seemed to carry considerable authority within Headquarters.
But no matter how he looked at it, the level was just too low.
Somehow.
It was a scene that made it abundantly clear why South Korea couldn't escape the bottom of the rankings.
—……
Lamba beside him also covered her eyes with an expression that said she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
A gesture that said she had witnessed a battle she wished she hadn't.
"Bwahahahaha! Where's Headquarters' Yaksha gone? Is that all you've got?"
The delighted gangster pressed the attack.
The crowd began to murmur.
"Oh no, what do we do?"
"Park Chang-seok is losing!"
"Impossible. Park Chang-seok is actually losing?"
"SOS? Has anyone sent it?"
"Looks like backup is coming from Headquarters, but there's no time! If something happens to Park Chang-seok……! We all die together!"
The distrust toward the gang ran deep.
This is bad.
What should I do?
Baek Jin-woo agonized.
Should I help Park Chang-seok?
Under what pretext?
No, before that—
Wouldn't helping him just give me a headache later?
Hadn't he just made up his mind a moment ago?
To live like a quiet little mouse until he'd built up his strength.
Boom!
The axe of the Crimson Orc ripped off one of Wood Man's branches.
—Kreeeeek!
In agony, the tree monster writhed its roots and let out a shriek.
At this rate, that gangster looked like he'd win before long.
Now what.
Well, before living quietly—
Shouldn't I at least survive the immediate moment first?
"Excuse me, mister."
In the end, Baek Jin-woo made up his mind and jumped to his feet, moving toward Park Chang-seok.
Every hair on his body was standing on end, he was so tense, but if he didn't step forward now, everyone here could die.
Park Chang-seok thrust out his right hand to stop him.
"It's dangerous. Please wait over in that corner!"
"No, that's not it—"
"You're interfering with the fight! Please trust me and wait! Backup will arrive shortly!"
Good lord.
This stubborn old man.
His firm gaze would have been enough to intimidate anyone, but Baek Jin-woo didn't back down.
"No, I mean—the Flame Tortoise's skill timing is a bit off, isn't it."
"……?"
"The buffers behind that Crimson Orc over there are applying 'Flame Resistance'—why would you use your skill in that window……?"
So that's why you're losing with 3 C-ranks against 1 C-rank.
He kept that part to himself.
Delivering a killing blow with words—that man's face was just too scary for that.
***
What is this?
Park Chang-seok felt like he'd been smacked in the back of the head.
Flame Resistance?
Had he prepared that skill?
He had known that gangster's Summoner Beast composition had changed, but he didn't know every single skill they carried.
That was only natural.
In this world alone, there were tens of thousands of types of Summoner Beasts.
Knowing the skills of every single one of them?
That was out of the question.
But.
It did make sense.
That Crimson Orc.
It was so red to begin with that it was hard to tell, but every time the buffers in the back used a skill, it turned an even deeper shade of crimson.
So that was Flame Resistance?
On top of that.
Since the young man offered his advice, the gangster's expression had clearly stiffened.
That previous ease had vanished, replaced by an obvious will to end things quickly.
Should I trust him?
It wasn't as if he had any other option anyway.
Park Chang-seok waited for the red aura to fade from the Crimson Orc.
Time passed, and when the buff wore off—
"Flame Tortoise!"
Whoooosh!
The bipedal tortoise wrenched its mouth wide open and unleashed a torrent of fire.
—Cr-crrrrrk!
The Orc, which had been charging forward without flinching until now, stumbled back in searing agony.
Holy—!
It was working!
Park Chang-seok ran his dry lips over the tip of his tongue.
It was real?
A glance back revealed the young man nodding and stepping away.
Who is this guy?
He had no idea who it was, but now that he had the method, finishing this was only a matter of time.
"You little—you were playing clever tricks."
Park Chang-seok growled, and—
"You son of a—you damn vermin!"
The gangster, furious to his core, glared at Baek Jin-woo, but there was nothing he could do.
Whoooosh!
Fire Butterfly and Flame Tortoise formed a skill combination, and the Orc was busy running away.
If the buffer re-applied Flame Resistance?
Then he simply didn't bother dealing with the Orc.
Instead—
Crack, crack, crack!
Wood Man went after the buffers in the back.
—Kreek?
And then the Crimson Orc had nothing it could do.
The only reason 1 C-rank had been able to hold its own against 3 was entirely because of those 4 support beasts in the back.
If those buffers fell, the Crimson Orc had no future—it had no choice but to defend them protectively.
And then—
When will the duration of Flame Resistance expire once more?
Whoooosh!
He timed it perfectly and unleashed skills at the Crimson Orc.
—Kreeeeeeeeek!
The Orc squealed like a pig being slaughtered as it burned alive.
Once the C-rank Orc was reverse summoned, it was only a matter of time before the remaining buffers were cleaned up.
"W-wait—"
All his Summoner Beasts were reverse summoned and the gangster's Shield vanished.
He stumbled backward in a panic.
"I-I surrender! Turn me over to the police!"
What good would surrendering do now.
Park Chang-seok's title was the Yaksha.
That name wasn't earned for nothing.
"Quiet. You're getting executed on the spot."
Crack, crack!
Wood Man's wooden trunks grew and grew, coiling around every inch of the gangster's body.
"W-wait! Aaaargh! Wait a minute!"
And then—
Thwump!
Out of consideration for the civilians, it was handled without too much of a spectacle.
The gangster's corpse?
It would be put to good use as nourishment for Wood Man.
"Yeaaaaaah!"
"That's it! Park Chang-seok! That felt good!"
"We won. Uwaaah! We won! Sob……!"
The people who, far from being horrified, cheered and celebrated the sight.
Good grief.
Baek Jin-woo watched the scene with his mouth hanging open.
His stomach was turning, but at the same time, he felt something with unmistakable clarity.
This world.
It's completely different from the world I knew.
Glorifying murder—even of a criminal……
Maybe.
He was beginning to wonder if the mentality he'd brought with him couldn't survive in this world.
And to survive in a place like this?
Don't I need to change, too?
It was at that moment, while Baek Jin-woo stood there with a bitter expression, that Park Chang-seok approached him.