AECS 74

Chapter 74

Hwang Ji-woo (1)

…So.

“In order for the Violent Dragon to learn Devour, I have to be in danger?”

— As far as I remember, yes. Back then, the Violent Dragon’s stress reached the limit because we kept failing the Tower of Trials repeatedly… And to avoid seeing that situation,

you awakened the Violent Dragon’s authority yourself. It will probably be the same this time. No, this time it may even be worse…

“Worse?”

— Yes. Unlike the past when you had many lives… now, my lord only has one life.

“Ah.”

— That is why I hesitated. I hoped my lord would not push himself too far. The Violent Dragon will probably oppose it strongly as well.

Hmm.

That made sense.

Right now, Baek Jin-woo was not even close to facing death.

He was walking on a smooth road.

No, not just walking—he was practically flying.

In a situation like that, would he purposely put himself in danger just to gain a skill?

Something that might even send him straight to the afterlife?

It did not sound like a good idea.

“Then if we’re talking about facing death, how dangerous does it have to be?”

— Surely… you are not really planning to do it?

“No, no. I’m just asking. I’m curious.”

— Please wait a moment.

Hoon-gyo closed his eyes and touched his forehead with his fingers, thinking for a moment.

Then soon—

— A situation where the survival rate is below 10%.

“….”

— My lord must create such a situation. For example, bringing only the Violent Dragon into the Tower of Trials or a high-level dungeon.

“Ha.”

Less than 10% survival rate?

That was harsher than expected.

It would basically be suicide just to get one skill.

Maybe it would be better not to do it.

Actually, not “maybe.”
It was definitely better not to do it.

Even if the survival rate were 90%, he would still hesitate.

“Is there any other method besides that?”

— There might be, but I do not know, my lord.

“….”

Just as Baek Jin-woo began to frown—

— What are you talking about, Hoon-gyo?

A voice came from behind.

Ah.

It seemed the Violent Dragon had heard their conversation while training in another room.

The Violent Dragon practiced meditation at night to unlock his potential ability.

So Baek Jin-woo had given him one of the spare rooms.

— Violent Dragon.

Hoon-gyo looked troubled.

— What kind of nonsense is that?!

The Violent Dragon’s voice was full of anger, unlike usual.

— …I only said it because our lord wanted an answer.

— Jin-woo.

Whoosh!

The Violent Dragon turned his gaze toward Baek Jin-woo.

“Huh?”

— Don’t even think about risking your life. I will refuse to participate.

Uh…

He had not even thought about that.

Refuse to participate?

That actually existed in Battle of Summoners.

If you did not manage your summon’s affection properly, they would go on something like a strike.

When that happened, you could not even set up the team.

Players called it “the summon lying down and refusing to move.”

Wow…

So this method would not work anyway because of the Violent Dragon.

— I will never allow Jin-woo to fight in dangerous battles.

— I feel the same way, Violent Dragon.

— Hoon-gyo, and also—

Glare!

The Violent Dragon glanced at Hoon-gyo.

— You are misunderstanding something. The authority that awakened back then was only fake authority.

— Fake authority…?

Oh?

Baek Jin-woo’s eyes widened.

Did the Violent Dragon know something?

— It’s true that my stress reached the limit. And it’s true that the authority awakened forcefully because of that. But if you want to unlock the true power of the Violent Dragon, you cannot use that method.

“Then what method should we use? Do you know?”

— I don’t know either.

…Huh?

He doesn’t know?

Then what?

— Anyway!

The Violent Dragon placed both hands on his waist with a determined expression.

— I’m warning you! If Jin-woo pushes himself too far, I won’t participate! Do whatever you want!

What do you mean “do whatever you want”?

Where did he even learn that phrase?

From Lamba, maybe?

“Alright, alright. Go back and finish your meditation… and stop worrying.”

He had no intention of doing it anyway.

Still, he somehow felt like he had been scolded.

A player getting scolded by his summon?

Show me where that happens!

Tsk.

* * *

Tokyo, Japan

“Oh, you’re back?”

A powerful figure in Japan and the world’s rank 2 player,

Yoshida Hikaru, welcomed the four rankers.

“Yes, brother.”

Shusuke tried to maintain a poker face even while cold sweat ran down his back.

‘Sigh.’

Where should he even begin explaining?

The other rankers, including Ryo, were standing behind him, avoiding eye contact.

“Heh, judging by the atmosphere…”

Hikaru grinned.

“It seems you got completely beaten.”

“…Well.”

“So how was it… that man, Baek Jin-woo? Is he strong?”

“Yes. Very strong.”

“And you lost?”

“…Yes.”

Crunch.

Shusuke gritted his teeth as he remembered the humiliation.

But—

“HAHAHAHA! You lost? HAHAHAHAHA!”

For some reason,

Hikaru looked extremely happy.

“Where’s the video? Don’t you have the video?”

Actually, the video had arrived yesterday.

The problem was—

‘Should we really show this?’

Shusuke hesitated.

At least that woman, Yu Ji-a, had some sense.

She completely deleted the scene where Ryo went crazy.

‘However.’

The scene where the contract was torn apart was still included.

Sigh!

If you’re going to be considerate, then be completely considerate!

“Hey, Shusuke! Do you have the video or not?!”

Fine.

Let’s just show it.

If he hid it and Hikaru found out later, the consequences would be worse.

“Here it is.”

Shusuke took out a USB from his pocket and handed it over.

Hikaru accepted it with a satisfied expression.

“Good. Watching this should give me a rough idea. You all worked hard. I’ll give each of you a good rune later, so you can leave.”

“Thank you, brother!”

Shusuke bowed at a perfect 90 degrees.

The other rankers also bowed.

It seemed like everything had ended peacefully—

“Ah.”

Hikaru suddenly stopped them.

“By the way.”

Drip.

Cold sweat ran down Shusuke’s forehead.

The other rankers’ faces stiffened again.

Yoshida Hikaru.

Sometimes he looked like a friendly older brother.

But in reality, he had a fiery temper.

If you fell out of his favor—

he would cut you off without mercy.

“You didn’t make any mistakes with Baek Jin-woo, right?”

“….”

Gulp.

Shusuke swallowed.

For about two seconds, countless thoughts passed through his mind.

But he had to answer quickly.

If he hesitated any longer,

it would look like he was admitting a mistake.

“Haha, brother.”

Shusuke turned around with a bright smile.

“No, nothing like that. We just had a small bet.”

“A bet? What kind of bet?”

Hikaru’s eyes sparkled.

“Well… we originally agreed to fight for free, but the other side suggested a bet. It would’ve been awkward to refuse, so we accepted.”

“The other side… Baek Jin-woo?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“As you know, we lost. And we lost 100 billion won.”

“Really?”

Hikaru didn’t seem to care about the amount.

What mattered to him was only one thing:

Did they make a mistake or not?

“So if you were the ones who lost money, Baek Jin-woo wouldn’t feel offended, right?”

“…Yes.”

Shusuke smiled with his eyes.

Cold sweat ran down his neck again.

‘Anyway.’

Ryo.

That guy needed to be removed quickly.

The moment Baek Jin-woo saw him again, everything would be over.

Remove him from the national team?

There was no need to even report that to Hikaru.

Shusuke could handle it himself.

‘Sorry, Ryo.’

If the rest of us want to survive, there’s no other choice.

“Alright then. That’s fine. You can go.”

“Yes, brother!”

The rankers left the room.

“Hoo.”

Shusuke exhaled.

Even now he was still shocked.

‘Brother Hikaru showing that kind of attitude…’

But then again,

if you experienced Baek Jin-woo like they did, it made sense.

‘A monster.’

That word fit Baek Jin-woo perfectly.

‘Soon, the balance of the world will probably change.’

Maybe it was actually lucky.

After all, people say it’s better to get beaten early.

‘Let’s think of it as getting a strong vaccination.’

* * *

“Ugh…”

These days Baek Ah-jin was having a headache.

Ever since the gang suppression incident, her friends had been dropping hints.

— Ah, the weather is nice!

— Yeah~ perfect weather to go see Ah-jin.

— I’m curious! They say Yubaek City is amazing.

— I heard Ah-jin’s brother is always at the training grounds there. Apparently he walks around shirtless all the time.

— Kyaaa!

“Are they crazy?”

Thud!

She finally flipped her phone over.

After the gang incident,

security at Yubaek City became extremely strict.

Ordinary people could not enter freely.

Even executives from large guilds needed permission from Yu Ji-a, the company’s representative.

Only residents could enter.

So her friends were asking her.

They wanted her to arrange a group visit.

“They’re not kids anymore. Why do they want a field trip?”

At first she ignored them.

It was not something she could decide on her own.

‘Work and personal matters must be separate.’

Even if she was a director, how could she bring her personal friends into the company?

That would be wrong.

It would also be unfair to Yu Ji-a, who trusted her.

But still—

“Sigh.”

It kept bothering her.

They were friends she had known since middle school.

They were not dangerous people.

Some of them even wanted to become players.

So eventually,

during a private dinner—not an official meeting—Baek Ah-jin asked Yu Ji-a.

And the result was—

“Huh?”

Yu Ji-a’s eyes widened.

“What’s the problem?”

“Unni?”

“I designed the buildings beautifully and built a nice park area so people could come see it… If they’re your friends, they’re absolutely welcome. Bring them all! I’d actually love that.”

“But it’s still a company…”

“Ah-jin.”

“Yes?”

“In our company, you belong to the royal family. You know that, right?”

“…I know.”

Her brother was Baek Jin-woo.

And the entire company existed for Baek Jin-woo.

“Your authority here is much higher than you think.”

Just the fact that Baek Ah-jin was Baek Jin-woo’s sister meant Yubaek would take care of her.

“And it’s not even a difficult request… why are you worrying about letting your friends visit? Just bring them. I’ll give you invitation passes.”

“Unni… thank you. I’m really touched.”

It was unexpected.