I Alone Am an EX-Class Summoner - Chapter 29

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

I Am Alone EX-Grade Summoner Episode 029

Tower of Trials 1st Floor (2)

Wow.

So it was real?

– Hehe.

Looking at Pokryong who was smiling while holding her staff with both hands, Baek Jin-woo couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

Hunkyo’s words were exactly right.

As soon as he said that from today on, he would switch to regular dungeons with Ramba, the Sheriff, and three Lava Drakes, he definitely felt Pokryong’s panic.

He had told her too.

Let’s do dungeons just the two of us after you learn ‘Ren’, he had said.

After working hard in dungeons all day and returning around evening, what do you know.

[Summoned Creature: Explosive Dragon Mage]

[Race: Human]

[Grade: EX-Grade (Isolation Judgment)]

– Isolated due to balance-breaking elements discovered in specific situations.

[Level: 42]

[Stats Possessed]

Strength: 20, Intelligence: 85, Stamina: 20, Agility: 20

HP: 22,000, MP: 500

Critical Hit Rate: 55%

Critical Hit Damage: 185%

[Skills Possessed]

– Pokryong Faction: Spews dragon-shaped flames forward.

– Pokryong Art ‘Ren’ : Enables accumulation of Pokryong Faction.

She really had mastered it.

‘Hunkyo definitely has exceptional insight.’

The first emotion he felt was joy.

Whatever the case, from the moment Pokryong mastered ‘Ren’, her value would skyrocket.

For reference, even during the Battle of Summoners era, no player had made an Explosive Dragon Mage learn Pokryong Arts.

Only Jinugod was the exception.

Pokryong’s desire?

Baek Jin-woo didn’t think much of it.

Some might ask.

Shouldn’t he scold her for being cunning?

Is it okay to let this slide?

‘Why bother?’

This is where good players and bad players are divided.

Whether you face your summoned creature’s desires directly or not.

A summoned creature’s desires are like quests.

You have to clear those quests for the player to gain something too!

If you think of it as an extension of the game, most gamers would play exactly like Baek Jin-woo.

It’s just that coming to reality makes you more immersed.

‘I just need to use it well.’

The desire to be with him in the first place.

Isn’t that admirable?

“Pokryong! Well done. You really worked hard.”

Baek Jin-woo smiled and ruffled her hair.

– Thank you, Jin-woo.

“Good.”

Rustle rustle.

Baek Jin-woo pulled something out from his chest.

It was a gleaming VIP card.

“Since you succeeded, as promised, today everyone gets a chicken and beer party! Hunkyo.”

– Yes, my lord!

“Let the kids rest until tomorrow evening.”

– Yes…? Do you mean training?

Ah.

Right.

Hunkyo’s desire was in training itself, wasn’t it?

But well.

This much can be handled with some tact.

How much player experience does he have.

“Yeah, you said it yourself. Rest is also a type of training. Let’s decide from now on. Whenever anyone learns a new skill, we’ll enjoy a unity party together with rest. Didn’t you say so? Unity. That it’s important.”

– Oh, if that’s the purpose, then good. Unity among summoned creatures is also an essential element that must be included in training.

“Right, right.”

As expected, there’s nothing but training thoughts in your head.

Baek Jin-woo chuckled and called somewhere.

– Yes, please bring 50 chickens and 10,000cc of draft beer here. Yes! 50 chickens is correct!

Local chicken restaurant.

This was for the humanoid summoned creatures to eat.

– Is this Brothers Butcher Shop? Please bring all the meat that came in today and all the stocked meat by type. Yes yes, that’s right. Just everything you have. What? I’m not joking.

Even the local butcher shop.

Today was a day for non-humanoid summoned creatures to feast as well.

‘With a 1 billion yearly card, I should spend at least this much.’

Even if he threw a festival every time they learned a skill, would there ever come a day when he’d spend 1 billion on food expenses?

Honestly, he wasn’t sure.

“And Pokryong.”

– Yes, Jin-woo.

“Since you learned a skill this time, for the next week, you and I will go to dungeons alone together.

– Really?

Color bloomed on Pokryong’s face.

“Since you learned Ren, next you need to learn Byeon.”

Pokryong Art Byeon.

A technique that allows you to transform dragon-shaped flames as desired.

From Byeon onward, various applications become possible.

You can create shields with flames, build walls, or create whirlwinds.

Of course, this wouldn’t be learned as quickly as now.

‘It’s a technique that requires mana control to reach its limits.’

Still.

Baek Jin-woo smiled and nodded.

‘Now the minimum preparation is complete.’

What preparation?

Preparation to try the Tower of Trials 1st Floor!

The next day.

Baek Jin-woo began preparing in earnest to climb the Tower of Trials.

‘Tower of Trials.’

The final content of Battle of Summoners, Baek Jin-woo already had experience climbing to the 100th floor.

With tremendous difficulty, it was the only place where you could obtain random rewards created by AI.

The Tower of Trials required utilizing all three parties that a player could form.

In other words, it meant you could climb with 15 summoned creatures.

‘Originally, I should get other EX-grade summons and go together, but….’

That was realistically impossible.

The probability was too low.

Distribute all of Yubak’s profits as dividends and use that money to buy expensive summoning scrolls?

It would be great if I could get an EX-grade that way, but…. what if I don’t?

Wouldn’t I be throwing away that enormous amount of money for nothing!

Even if I resold the summons I got to cover the cost, the losses would be tremendous.

‘But now isn’t the time anyway.’

I know Yu Ji-a has been working incredibly hard lately.

She recently bought land and is even building a structure, right?

She’s gathering funds by taking out loans, and on top of that, asking for hundreds of billions to open summoning scrolls…. I can’t do that.

So.

For now, I decided to climb the Tower of Trials with summons specialized for weekly dungeons.

‘Just up to the 10th floor.’

The 10th floor of the Tower of Trials is easy enough that even domestic rankers have climbed it quite a bit.

Of course, “easy” is by Baek Jin-woo’s standards.

In reality, it’s not an easy place at all, with quite a few domestic rankers losing their lives while challenging the Tower of Trials.

“Phew.”

Anyway.

Since I decided to take a break from dungeons today.

After buying four iced americanos from a cafe, Baek Jin-woo visited Yubak’s office today.

Beep, beep!

When he held up the employee ID card he had received before, click! the door opened.

“Huh?”

“Baek Jin-woo?”

Kim Byeong-jin and Hwang Tae-seop, who were busy working, stood up.

Yu Ji-a was also at the head seat.

“Oh! Jin-woo! What brings you here! You should have contacted us if you were coming!”

Yu Ji-a stood up stiffly, like a private greeting a corporal.

What’s this?

Is it just my imagination?

It feels like Yu Ji-a has become more respectful than before lately.

“Haha, today I’m taking a personal break and I also have something to discuss. Please have these coffees while we talk.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh my, we’ll enjoy them.”

One by one.

The staff members took them.

Yu Ji-a guided Baek Jin-woo to the conference room.

“Jin-woo, you said you have something to discuss. Do you need anything?”

“No, well. I do need some summoning scrolls, but….”

“Summoning scrolls? Intermediate? Advanced? How many should I get for you?”

“Haha, the summoning scrolls were a joke, actually…. I’m thinking of challenging the Tower of Trials soon.”

“…The Tower of Trials?”

Yu Ji-a’s eyes wavered.

The tower of terror located inside Jamsil Tower within the Player Zone.

She had heard plenty about its notorious reputation while working at headquarters.

– The graveyard of players!

– Insanely hellish difficulty!

The rankers who returned alive all said the same thing.

That place was hell.

They were lucky to survive, they almost died.

As Yubak’s representative, she naturally had to worry when her affiliated player said he was entering such a place.

But why?

‘Look at those eyes.’

Even while saying he’s entering the Tower of Trials, there’s not a tremor in his eyes.

It’s exactly the same as before entering weekly dungeons.

‘That confidence and composure.’

Yu Ji-a was convinced once again.

‘As expected, he’s definitely Jinugod.’

Didn’t he challenge the 100th floor back in his gaming days?

How trivial must the 1st floor look to someone like that?

‘Whew.’

Yu Ji-a took a deep breath internally and maintained her poker face.

She calmed her excitement.

Hadn’t she decided last time?

She wouldn’t ask unless he told her first.

“Are you really sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yes, I was planning to challenge it around this time anyway.”

“I see….”

“Oh, and this time I’m not planning to wear equipment.”

“So you won’t sell it as information?”

“Yes.”

For this dungeon expedition, the participation of Ramba, Hunkyo, and Pokryong was essential.

He didn’t want to reveal their existence first.

‘And more than anything.’

Communication is quite important in the Tower of Trials.

If he has equipment, the summons can’t speak.

“Hehe, do whatever you’re comfortable with, Jin-woo.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“No, it’s nothing to understand.”

Yu Ji-a smiled.

‘Now that he’s seriously starting to climb the tower…. Jin-woo’s value will skyrocket.’

Whatever.

Yubak had endless business opportunities.

“Instead, may I ask one favor of you?”

“A favor?”

Baek Jin-woo tilted his head.

What kind of favor?

“It’s just a real favor, so you don’t have to grant it if you don’t want to.”

“Yes, let me hear it first.”

“Actually, there’s a national team selection in two months, you know?”

“…Ah.”

I know.

I searched and saw it.

Every year around the end of June, they select 10 players to represent the country, right?

Headquarters members can participate, and major guild members can participate.

Those who are selected?

They have to compete in the world league at the end of the year.

Rachel, Moscow Man, and so on.

They have to compete against world-class rankers and bring back the benefits given by the system.

“Can’t individuals participate there?”

Although there’s a management called “Yubak,” strictly speaking, it’s not an official guild.

Since it’s a management that only cares for one person, it should be considered individual.

“It’s possible with a congressman’s recommendation! Actually… Ahem, Congressman Park Chang-seok who backs our company.”

Yu Ji-a began explaining in detail.

The full story of what happened at headquarters and Park Chang-seok’s situation of making a childish bet with another congressman in a fit of anger.

“Hmm.”

Baek Jin-woo grabbed his chin.

The national team selection wouldn’t be too difficult, but the problem was…

Having to face world rankers.

While it was somewhat burdensome.

‘8 months later?’

That timeframe seemed worth trying.

If only Pokryong could learn ‘Predation’ before then.

“Still, just being selected for the national team means you can receive tremendous support. The current government’s policy is to spare no expense for proven players.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Money.

He did need money.

To summon other EX-grade summoned creatures.

‘Doldol is overpowered in PVP though.’

Doldol.

The nickname for Whirlwind Slaughterer (B-grade) that Jinugod used in the past.

Baek Jin-woo had once maintained the 1st place in player battle rankings with Doldol.

Back then, he had cut down five summoned creatures (even including S-grade ones) belonging to Rachel, who was ranked 2nd, in 5 seconds with Doldol, though it was later deleted…

“How much money do they support?”

“It varies each year, but… you could probably get quite a few superior summoning scrolls. Maybe even supreme summoning scrolls…”

“Oh.”

Supreme summoning scrolls?

[C-grade: 94%]

[B-grade: 5%]

[A-grade: 1%]

Summoning scrolls with these probabilities, giving a chance at A-grade.

Currently, there are no items for sale, and they’re priceless.

Literally worth whatever price is asked.

Only national-level entities can obtain them; they’re incredible summoning scrolls that ordinary guilds couldn’t even dream of.

‘I can’t resist this.’

Finally, Baek Jin-woo, who had been pondering, nodded his head.

“Okay. In 2 months, let’s give it a try.”

“Yes, understood. Thank you!”

Yu Ji-a’s fist secretly clenched under the desk as she answered.

‘Uncle Park Chang-seok.’

You mustn’t forget this debt, okay?

‘Not just any player, but the great Jinugod, Jinugod!’

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————