AECS 78

Chapter 78

Hwang Ji-woo (5)

Yubaek City, Training Ground.

“Hmm, who’s this?”
“A guest?”
“…Not just anyone can come in here.”

The ranked players, sweating and speaking one by one, left Hwang Ji-woo completely stunned.

To meet such amazing people at such close range!

‘Ugh…’

She couldn’t help but feel intimidated. Their eyes carried such forceful presence.

Rankers are always highly sensitive about training information.

Especially when they are under training while bound by confidentiality contracts. If others got even a glimpse, the system’s curse might activate!

However…

“Oh, you’re here!”

Baek Jin-woo greeted her warmly.

“Come over this way.”

As expected of Baek Ah-jin! She must have persuaded him to call her here so quickly.

“Everyone, keep training for now.”

Ignoring the questioning looks of the rankers, Baek Jin-woo guided Hwang Ji-woo deeper into the training area.

“Have a seat here.”
“…Yes.”

He placed the nervous Hwang Ji-woo on a plush sofa and sat opposite her.

“Your name’s Ji-woo, right? Ah-jin’s friend?”
“That’s right,” she answered, smiling awkwardly.

“Let’s see for a moment.”

Baek Jin-woo pulled out his phone, checking whether he had received any separate messages from Baek Ah-jin.

Since he was busy with dungeons and training, he left everything to his sister. He had no idea under what conditions this girl was helping him.

‘Whatever she wants.’

She was absolutely necessary. He needed her to coax the True Potential of the Flame Dragon out of the dragon summoner.

“Huh?”

But something was strange. There were no messages from Ah-jin.

“…Actually…”

Hwang Ji-woo, guessing the situation, quickly spoke up.

“I met Ah-jin yesterday and came to sign the contract today. But before putting my seal on it, I wanted to come here first.”

“Is that so?”
“Yes. I understand that you offered me incredibly good conditions.”

She carefully placed the contract she held onto the table.

Baek Jin-woo picked it up and read it.

‘Ah-jin made this contract…’

What the—? Why is it so basic? Just 1 billion won?

‘Well…’

It’s understandable. 1 billion won is a lot for most people. But Baek Jin-woo knew the true value of this work. Considering the Flame Dragon’s potential, 1 billion was like 10 trillion won.

“But actually, I want your guidance more than the 1 billion won… It’s been my dream to become a top-tier player since three years ago, and it still is. If you could just check on me 10 minutes a day, I’ll fully support you for 100 days. I won’t take the money.”

“…Hoh.”

This girl is making a deal?

Baek Jin-woo immediately understood why she had come directly to him instead of Ah-jin.

‘Not bad.’

1 billion? That’s nothing for him now.

However…

‘The value of my guidance is enormous.’

He wasn’t sure if her value matched his guidance, but he felt more comfortable giving guidance than thinking about money.

Most importantly, there was no reason to flat-out refuse a bold proposal from someone who recognized his value.

Especially since she was Ah-jin’s friend!

“Let me get this straight. You want me to give 10 minutes of consulting per day, and in return, you’ll cooperate for 100 days unconditionally?”
“Yes.”

“No problem then.”

Baek Jin-woo smiled.

“However…”

Scratch!

He tore up the paper contract made by Ah-jin.

“Forget this paper contract. Let’s make it a proper system contract.”

In a short time, he understood exactly what Hwang Ji-woo wanted.

“No quitting midway. If it resets, you’ll have to restart the full 100 days.”
“As long as I get proper guidance, anything’s fine.”

“I’ll arrange a room on the lower floor of my place. From midnight today, you cannot leave the Flame Dragon’s side even for a moment. And the Flame Dragon’s summon cooldown is five hours, so you’ll have to resummon him periodically. Of course, we’ll provide first-class meals, cleaning, and all living essentials to ensure you can last 100 days.”
“Yes, that’s fine.”

“Good. Then let’s make a proper contract, and I’ll provide top-level service.”
“…Top-level service?”
“Try it and see.”

Woosh!

Baek Jin-woo opened his hands, and light streamed out.

[Player ‘Baek Jin-woo’ proposes a trade.]
[Carefully review the other party’s offer.]

She was familiar with this procedure now.

[Hwang Ji-woo: Hwang Ji-woo will support the Flame Dragon Summoner’s unexpected quest for 100 days, keeping everything secret until the quest is successfully completed.]

Hwang Ji-woo’s rewards were as described above, plus a confidentiality agreement.

And the important part: Baek Jin-woo’s reward!

[Baek Jin-woo: During the contract period, he will provide 30 minutes of wholehearted consulting per day. If the quest succeeds, he will pay 100 billion won.]

[Do you accept the offer from Player ‘Baek Jin-woo’?]
[Y/N]

Hwang Ji-woo, reading the contract nervously, gradually opened her mouth.

“On…one hundred billion won…?!”

Not only that, the consulting time increased to 30 minutes per day, with the words “with wholehearted effort” attached.

With a system contract, Baek Jin-woo was obliged to teach properly.

“Can this really be okay?”
“She’s Ah-jin’s friend. Ah-jin’s very dear to me.”

Just press Y! Press it!

Even though the outcome was almost certain, she was still nervous.

According to the trainer, a Flame-attribute body (火炎之體) like hers is extremely rare, appearing once in a millennium.

If Hwang Ji-woo didn’t cooperate, the quest could fail entirely.

Feeling slightly impatient, Baek Jin-woo gave her a sharp look.

“O-Okay, I’ll press it.”

Blushing, Hwang Ji-woo clicked Y.

Nice!

With this, the Flame Dragon’s potential could now be fully unlocked.

In just 100 days, it would become an ultimate S-rank-level attacker.

‘Lately…’

Was it just her feeling, or did everything seem to go smoothly?

The process moved quickly.

A temporary apartment was arranged, and caretakers were assigned to manage her daily life.

A training area for the Flame Dragon was installed, with windows open so Baek Jin-woo and the trainer could visit freely.

Ah-jin realized later that Hwang Ji-woo had gone directly to her brother, but she took it calmly without feeling upset.

Especially when she realized the reward wasn’t 1 billion, but 100 billion.

‘No need to feel sorry.’

It was actually a lesson in proper valuation.

Ah-jin had given 1.5 billion in gifts to secure her brother and created the exclusive “Yubaek” management, taking 70% of the shares.

And Baek Jin-woo had insisted on guaranteeing 20% of rune sales revenue for her.

The result? Ah-jin became completely loyal to Yubaek—an obedient, faithful follower.

‘My brother values Hwang Ji-woo more than I thought.’

Perhaps he didn’t intend to limit their connection to just 100 days.

She was a Flame-attribute body, after all, and could display unimaginable power later.

‘Well…’

All she had to do was do her best from now on.

Ah-jin nodded, deciding to take utmost care of Hwang Ji-woo.

Swallowing nervously, Hwang Ji-woo stepped into the room.

‘I can’t believe I’ll be living here.’

During the tour, her mind had been focused on the training area, so she hadn’t fully realized it. Now, she could.

‘Ultra-luxury.’

The apartment’s interior was overwhelmingly lavish.

She looked up at the ceiling.

‘That’s where Baek Jin-woo lives.’

Her heart raced.

Though she couldn’t tell her friends due to the confidentiality contract, she imagined how envious they would be.

She had always thought of herself as ordinary… no, below ordinary, especially with how easily she got flustered.

But now, she realized she was special.

If she weren’t, Baek Jin-woo wouldn’t treat her like this.

“Here you go.”

Baek Jin-woo opened the door.

“This is your training room from now on.”

“Y-Yes.”

Inside, the Flame Dragon sat politely, clutching its staff.

Flames swirled around it even while seated—was it training on its own? It was mesmerizing.

[Current period – 0 days, 00:00:01]

Ding!

Time began flowing again.

“Flame Dragon, and Ji-woo.”

Baek Jin-woo smiled.

“Introduce yourselves. You’ll see each other constantly, so get along.”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

Hwang Ji-woo bowed awkwardly.

Nice to meet you too.

The Flame Dragon smiled and spoke, and Hwang Ji-woo froze in shock.

“…Huh?”

It had spoken? Her expression of disbelief made Baek Jin-woo chuckle.

It seemed she would need time to get used to this life.

Master.
“Yes?”
About the Flame Dragon.
“Hmm?”
I’ve been observing for about three hours, and the results are remarkable.
“Really?”

Baek Jin-woo was delighted. There were already positive effects?

This is separate from the unexpected quest. Even just training beside a Flame-attribute body seems to boost the Flame Dragon’s focus and firepower.

“Wow, really?”

So Hwang Ji-woo was like a dedicated experience buff for the Flame Dragon?

Exactly.

“Why is that?”

At first, we thought it was just because of the fire attribute. We tried testing it with Hong Ah-ri’s Firebird and the Lava Drake, but no effect. It seems the Flame Dragon inside the Summoner responds specifically to Flame-attribute bodies.

“Hmm.”

Then clearly, her value just increased.

It would be great to keep training together, not just for 100 days.