Tower of Ordeal, Floor 30

Watching Song Yeonhee bounce around in a frenzy of excitement and the guild members roaring with clenched fists, Baek Jinwoo could only stare blankly.

His mind had gone completely hollow.

Seriously? For real? That actually just popped out? This easily?

Wow. Unbelievable! I should've tried this ages ago!

"Whahah!"

At last, a laugh burst out of Baek Jinwoo's mouth too.

My, my — a banquet of pure dopamine, and it had been far too long since he'd tasted one.

Was he really allowed to be this happy?

"Whoa, the Guild Master's smiling!"

"BWAHAHAHAHA! You did it, Song Yeonhee! Nicely done!"

"Seriously, how do you pull off something that dramatic at the very last second?"

"Niiiiice!"

That's right, Song Yeonhee. Her constitution was one thing — but now she had more than enough of what it took to truly become his disciple.

Bringing home Damphir. That single act alone earned her a colossal contribution.

It all felt a little surreal.

Had my life ever gone this well before?

The so-called luck-cursed gacha shitshow known as Battle of Summoners — and Baek Jinwoo had never been what you'd call lucky to begin with.

Granted, his luck was pretty decent these days... ah, whatever. It just felt good. That was all.

"Song Yeonhee."

"Yes, Guild Master!"

"...First, how about letting go of me."

Being happy was fine and all, but how long did she intend to keep clinging?

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!"

Startled out of her wits, Song Yeonhee sprang a good distance away.

Baek Jinwoo snorted a laugh.

"Let's make the trade right now. I'll wire you the 100 billion won this instant."

Not that there was any real chance of it, but he rushed the deal through in case Song Yeonhee somehow got second thoughts.

And there was one more thing.

Watching his guild members rejoice that hard over something that had nothing to do with any of them, a smile crept onto his face all on its own.

They're really turning into a family now, aren't they.

He could feel the bonds thickening, little by little. Under the collective called SKY, they were coming to be linked by shared feeling rather than private feeling — something like that?

An unaccountable pride, and a strange sense of fulfillment, came surging up in him.

So he went big.

"Today, every national team member gets an extra 10 billion won each!"

"WAAAAAAH!"

"Guild Master, you're the BEST!"

As it happened, today marked SKY's very first bonus day — and it was more than enough money to give shape to his joy over gaining Jakgeo and Damphir.

The process of drawing Damphir had unfolded exactly like Jakgeo's.

Thud. Thud.

Cards went whirling in every direction, and his hand closed around one of them.

Damphir was a type of vampire. A half-human hybrid at that — a Half Vampire, in plain English.

She was obviously a lesser species next to Dracul (S-rank), the Progenitor and boss of the Tower of Ordeal's twentieth floor...

But her actual performance? Different story.

To be perfectly honest, judged purely on stats, she was trash. Naturally — nobody had touched her in eight years.

But?

Pair her with Jakgeo, and it's a whole different ballgame.

First things first. Baek Jinwoo went to greet Damphir.

- "U-umm... you."

In a way, she resembled Pokryongi? A petite, white-skinned vampire girl of about the same build was staring up at Baek Jinwoo with eyes empty of all expression.

The girl was, how to put it... faintly blank-faced, and there was no telling what went on inside her head.

- "Are you Jinugod?"

"Not Jinugod. Jinwoo."

Baek Jinwoo corrected her on the spot.

Still, thank goodness for small mercies. Unlike Doldori or Jakgeo, this one could apparently speak.

Well, her lore did have human blood mixed into that hybrid lineage — it figured.

- "What... is going on here...? More than that — my... my throat is so dry."

Ah, right. Damphir had exactly one very peculiar piece of lore stapled to her: she drank players' blood.

Damn it.

Back when he'd been nothing but a gamer, a character sipping a character's blood had meant nothing at all... but here in reality, the whole business felt strangely delicate.

- "Blood... blood... I need Jinugod's blood."

"Hm."

What was he supposed to do about this? She wouldn't drain him too badly, right? Though she'd certainly out-drink any mosquito... would it itch, then?

Damphir came shambling toward him, and Baek Jinwoo didn't bother stopping her.

Come on — surely she wouldn't kill him, right?

She's a summon and I'm a player, aren't I?

And then, moments later—

- "Waah—!"

The very instant she leaned in to sink her teeth into his wrist—

THWACK!

Hungyo's scabbard cracked across Damphir's midsection and knocked her spinning into the air.

- "What do you think you are doing, you insolent thing."

And that wasn't the end of it.

FWOOSH!

Fire blazed awake along Pokryongi's dragon-headed staff, and even Ramba's eyes had gone sharp and predatory.

- "Jinwoo! This one just tried to EAT you, didn't sheee!"

- "If she comes any closer without your permission, Jinwoo... I may have no choice but to scorch her."

Even their gentle, soft-spoken Pokryongi was saying something bone-chilling. Damphir merely tilted her head, her face as blank as ever.

- "But I... without blood... I collapse."

And sure enough—

THUD!

She folded straight onto the floor.

"..."

Whew. Well, well. This one might be even more high-maintenance than he'd bargained for.

First — let's pull up her information.

Drain.

Looked at coldly, the skill seemed laughably meager — but combined with Jakgeo's skills, it stopped being a joke.

Those were the Small Giant's skills. See where this was going? The more punishment the Small Giant absorbed, the more his MP swelled — and Damphir could spend that MP to restore both herself and Jakgeo.

In other words: given the right conditions, infinite recovery!

Of course, without Graduation Runes she was still a maggot. Only by driving those two skills to their absolute limit with Graduation Runes would an invincible tank line finally take shape.

"First off, everyone — go easy on Damphir. She genuinely gets dizzy without blood, you know."

Having soothed his summons, Baek Jinwoo walked over to the collapsed Damphir, and then—

"Here."

He held out his arm, and the transfusion began. Like an infant rooting for its mother's milk, Damphir fastened onto his arm and bit right down.

Feels exactly like donating blood.

There was hardly anything to it — no itch, just a faint sting, and that was all. He could live with this. One transfusion a day would probably be plenty.

Perhaps thirty seconds slipped by before Damphir slowly drew her lips away.

- "Thank you, Jinugod... no — Jinwoo. Thanks to you, I feel like myself again, more or less."

"'Thanks,' she says."

She was standing in our royal lineup now — she'd better fight her heart out for it.If anything, I'm the one who should be grateful.

Either way, Baek Jinwoo felt today like he might float right off the ground.

Ramba, Hungyo, Pokryongi, Doldori, Lund, Jakgeo — and now Damphir. Seven EX-grade summons, in total!

Honestly speaking? Even if the Jinugod of the past came strolling in, I don't think I'd be scared.

Sure, the guy would get his teeth kicked in if he showed up this very second — but given a little more time, wouldn't the most legendary summon lineup in history be born right here?

"Hong Ari."

"Huh? Oh — oh!"

Hong Ari, who'd been gawking at Damphir's arrival in a daze, snapped to attention.

"Starting tomorrow, it's another week of self-guided training. I'm in a good mood today, so rest up and take it easy."

"Okay!"

He'd turned it over plenty in his head, and Hong Ari was the best fit for vice guild master. She had the capability, plus firsthand experience running a major guild — Arirang, to be exact. A perfect match.

"And Song Yeonhee — Hwang Jiwoo."

"Yes!"

"Yes, Guild Master!"

"You two still have the Tower to finish climbing, don't you?"

Celebrations were celebrations; the job still had to be finished. Twenty floors apiece for the entire national team! And Baek Jinwoo had resolved to wrap things up at exactly thirty floors before the World League.

Floor 50 could wait — nice and slow, after the League.

His original schedule had been knocked sideways by Jakgeo's arrival and tangled up completely. However laughable the World League might look, proper preparation was still proper preparation. He couldn't speak for the others, but Rachel was a little frightening.

"Right — dismissed for the day!"

Hwang Jiwoo watched the guild members scatter amid their cheering with undisguised envy. Naturally, Hwang Jiwoo was the exception to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the dismissal.

And the one who consoled her—

- "Please don't feel too down. You have me, don't you?"

Fwoooosh!

— was Pokryongi. Pokryongi alone.

Song Yeonhee and Hwang Jiwoo's twenty floors of grinding had all been cleared, too.

The one to pity was Hungyo. Just how many days had the man been run into the ground as the Tower of Ordeal's bus driver?

"You're not tired?"

- "Do not concern yourself, My Lord. I am scarcely acquainted with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠any concept called fatigue."

"And now... we've still got floor 27 to run."

Finished helping the others? Then it was Baek Jinwoo's turn.

- "No problem whatsoever, My Lord! Shall we proceed at once?"

Hungyo was, quite literally, an iron man. A summon that would never, ever snap, no matter the strain!

Baek Jinwoo, too, started climbing right away. He'd broken floor 26 with ease — what could floor 30 possibly be?

He was blasting his way through the city ghosts when the Imperial Ghost presiding over a vast empire flew into a rage. They had arrived at floor 30.

The boss, Phantom (S-rank), was the empire itself.

KUGAGAGAGAGA!

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠entire world began to lurch, and the buildings of the ghost empire wrenched themselves up into the sky.

"Whoa."

Baek Jinwoo clicked his tongue at the sight. He'd witnessed this in the game, sure — but in the flesh, the sheer intimidation was something else entirely.

GOOOOOOOH...!

High above, up in that sky — something of incomprehensible enormity hung in the air.

"Insane."

The pressure pouring off the being strangled the breath in his throat.

- "Are you well, My Lord?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

This time, they had to put it down within an hour. Why, you ask?

- "Jinwoo! I'm getting ready!"

Because he'd brought their Pokryongi along, that's why. For overwhelming firepower, how could he possibly leave out Pokryongsul's Yeom (Detonation)? Having Myeol (Ultimate Destruction) or Devouring in the mix would have been even better, but the priority for now was shoving damage in as fast as time allowed.

"Ramba, Doldori!"

- "Yeah!"

- "Kruruk...!"

And then—

"Jakgeo, Damphir!"

He'd brought those two along as well. To help out? Not remotely. They were there to stand around and gorge themselves on Phantom's (S-rank) experience points, nothing more. Song Yeonhee's puppets, meanwhile, had been left behind entirely.

The Tower of Ordeal's experience rewards were nothing to sneeze at. Thanks to that, Hungyo's level had soared as well — he was already 55. The man had appointed himself the Tower's resident bus driver and drunk the route dry.

"Hungyo — you can handle this one alone, right?"

- "Ample. Everything has already been battered to rubble; the wretch has hardly any strength left in it."

Baek Jinwoo was fighting for breath; Hungyo looked utterly indifferent. If anything, the immense destructive power boiling up from within seemed to put him in slightly higher spirits.

- "Ramba. Pour every stack into me."

- "Got it!"

- "Then I depart at once."

TAAT!

Loosing a single breath, Hungyo shot up into the sky.

KUGAGAGAGAGA!

The crushing pressure hauled at Hungyo, seeking to swallow him whole — and not a thread of his stance came undone. He simply laid his right hand on the hilt.

SHWAAK!

The instant the sword swept out in one breath—

KWAAAAAAAANG!

A thunderous boom split the world open. Building wreckage scattered like chaff, and black energy whirled out in every direction.

Even in the thick of that bedlam, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Baek Jinwoo never once closed his eyes.

Fwoosh! — Pokryongi, too. KRAK-KRAK! — Doldori, too. The result of everyone hammering in damage from their positions—

They'd finished the thing off in exactly five minutes.

Honestly? So far, this was still smooth sailing.