AECS 81

Chapter 81

Time passed.

The scenery of Yubaek City was very peaceful.

Kaang, kaang!

Rune Dwarf happily hammered away to make runes for the Big 3!

Move! There is no luck in progress! A thousand days of practice is called ‘Dan,’ ten thousand days is called ‘Ryeon!’ Keep moving to seize victory!

The training instructor shouted serious quotes to the summons, leading them with intensity.

But…

That quote sounded familiar…

Wasn’t it something said by the legendary Japanese swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi?

Yes! That’s it! Hehe!

Watching Lamba nod with a satisfied expression at the instructor’s words, the answer became clear.

Lamba must have learned it somewhere and taught it to them.

Truly impressive.

Baek Jin-woo was stretching and smiling to himself.

“Jin-woo.”

Yu Ji-ah arrived.

“A guest is here.”

“A guest?”

“Yes, executives from Baekho.”

Park Ho.

And Kang Gun-ho.

Executives with the “Ho (Tiger)” character.

They had one request:

Let our Baekho rankers train with Yubaek’s instructor too!

Baek Jin-woo found their request absurd.

“Me?”

Why me?

Someone might think they paid tutoring fees in advance.

“Isn’t it unfair? We’re both national representatives, so why do you favor one side?”

What the heck.

Your students are getting trained because they fought gangs to protect their families!

Honestly, why should it matter if I favor some over others?

“That’s too much. As national team captain, you received 2 trillion won. That’s no small amount. Shouldn’t you properly train us for at least six months?”

Hearing this, Kang Gun-ho quietly nodded.

Then he looked at Baek Jin-woo with a desperate expression.

“We didn’t want to say this if we could avoid it. But we are also national representatives. If South Korea is to succeed in the World League, shouldn’t everyone work together?”

Hmm.

True.

But they were misunderstanding one thing.

Baek Jin-woo had been paying attention to them all along.

“I am consulting for 10 hours a week as promised, doing my best. Everyone is following well. If this continues, you can soon become world-class rankers. South Korea will rise as a strong country as well.”

This was sincere.

Baek Jin-woo wasn’t a jerk—he wanted the 1 trillion won to be worth it.

Thanks to that money, he could even get the Universal Rune!

Baek Jin-woo smiled lightly.

“You mentioned money. I think I am giving value equal to what I received.”

“That’s not the point.”

Park Ho frowned.

“Value? Sure, we are improving. But Hong Ari, Ki Jae-hyuk, Kang Ji-ho—they are developing at a whole different level. What does that mean?”

Ah.

Now it made sense.

Baekho didn’t want their place to be taken by Arirang, Ilwol, or Carpe Diem.

‘Fair enough.’

They are top players in Korea because of their ambition and guts.

That part was understandable.

“Fine. I’ll be honest.”

He briefly explained why the students had become his.

“They are my students. And in return, they must obey my orders and cannot betray me. We are bound as an alliance that can’t betray each other.”

“…What?!”

Park Ho looked shocked.

‘What the heck.’

It’s simple. He basically brought their guild under Yubaek’s control!

“Is that true?”

“Do I have a reason to lie?”

“There is a reason. You could be planning to trap Baekho under a contract…”

“Hahaha, me?”

Baek Jin-woo laughed.

The contract only prevents betrayal.

From his perspective, Korea’s Big 3? They’re all just beginners.

“Sorry, Baekho? Even if I gave it, they wouldn’t get it.”

Normally, he would have kept this to himself.

But Baek Jin-woo was getting annoyed.

They weren’t hiding their true intentions.

‘These guys don’t even have the attitude to learn.’

Compared to his own students, they were rude.

And most of all—

Dding!

Yu Ji-ah’s text earlier made him explode with irritation.

[Yu Ji-ah: Ilwol sent a notice. Soon Baekho will make demands. Ilwol isn’t involved and has no complaints about the current system.]

Ha.

Look at these guys.

They already had complaints behind the scenes before even arriving.

“…What does that mean?”

“It’s exactly what I said. The Baekho guild master and vice-master can’t match me. What meaning does Baekho have to me?”

“….”

Not wrong.

But saying it so bluntly annoyed Park Ho.

“We only came to talk about what we thought was unfair, not to be rude.”

Park Ho tried to say this.

Dding!

Baek Jin-woo’s phone rang again.

[Yu Ji-ah: Jin-woo, it’s a lie.]

What?

[Yu Ji-ah: I’ve been using the mind-reading bird in the background.]

Ah!

The Mind-Reading Bird!

A gift from Baek Jin-woo that reads the opponent’s thoughts.

A-grade rare, can be used once a day.

He had tested it a few times.

It doesn’t just tell lies—it explains the opponent’s true intentions for 10 seconds like a parrot.

[Yu Ji-ah: They came to threaten you. If you refused, they planned to pressure Yubaek with all their strength. Wow, those guys are complete jerks!]

Yeah, jerks indeed.

Even though he had sincerely helped them as a 10-hour-a-week instructor, they planned to stab him in the back?

Baek Jin-woo no longer felt the need to treat them well.

“Does Baekho’s guild master think I’m funny?”

“Yes?”

“You said I was unfair. Okay, I admit it. I am unfair. So what?”

Some people misunderstand the world, thinking society is fair.

Sorry, all human societies have been corrupt.

Even now, it’s the same.

“…What do you mean?”

“Since you asked, let’s make it more unfair. Baekho doesn’t need to attend consulting sessions anymore. Even if they do, I won’t teach them.”

Baek Jin-woo smiled.

“….”

Park Ho frowned.

The opponent’s action was just too extreme.

“Can you take responsibility for that?”

“Not worth answering. Instead, you should take responsibility for what you said to me today, Park Ho and Kang Gun-ho.”

“….”

“Then, that’s it.”

Whoosh!

Baek Jin-woo turned and disappeared.

A clear warning and signal that he no longer wanted to talk.

“Brother, what do we do?”

Kang Gun-ho sulked.

He had followed Park Ho’s lead but didn’t want it to end like this.

Park Ho’s face twisted like a bad omen.

“Do what we must. We’ll see it through.”

Gnash!

He ground his teeth.

“These guys are ridiculous.”

Yu Ji-ah growled.

“How dare they threaten Yubaek!”

She knew Baekho had strong backing.

MK Group?

Mirae Group?

‘It’s all under Daeseong anyway.’

No matter what, Korea’s top conglomerate was Daeseong.

Its founder’s granddaughter was here.

And they still tried to mess with them?

War, right there.

“They’ll probably raise a fuss over the extra 1 trillion. Claim consulting fee scams, spread rumors…”

“Just leave them.”

“…What?”

“If you leave them alone, it’ll sort itself out.”

“…What do you mean?”

The government isn’t that stupid.

Even when everyone ignored them, Korea had achieved incredible things from the 1st to 6th republics.

It became a top 10 economy.

Now people know who the hope of summons is. Even kids know.

Would Korea really abandon JinuGod?

Could they even try naturalization?

“Actually, Park Ho is the stupid one.”

If it were Baek Jin-woo, he would have cowered.

He would have slowly gained trust while proving loyalty.

Maybe then, they would accept him as a student.

‘But it’s already too late.’

Baekho had already shown they’d betray anyone for their own position.

“Jin-woo.”

“Yes?”

“Park Ho is stupid, but Korea isn’t always smart either.”

“….”

“Do you know how your grandfather built Daeseong? He crushed anyone daring to draw a sword against him. Just like you destroyed the gang that harmed your family.”

Yu Ji-ah’s eyes burned with anger like never before.

“Jin-woo, just keep training. I’ll handle the rest.”

Heh.

Heh heh.

Baekho guild…

Seems like they woke a sleeping tiger.

“Fine, then.”

Good for him.

She’ll handle it.

The next day.

Summons arrived.