NOVEL NEXT Chapter 32 - Charge Forward Relentlessly
Chapter 32 Charge Forward Relentlessly
At the Player Headquarters, in the Director’s Office.
The aging director of the headquarters was dealing with quite the headache these days.
‘Baek Jin-woo.’
This sudden rising star had shattered all records in the lower and mid-tier weekly dungeons and recently conquered the 1st floor of the Tower of Trials.
And he did it at an incredible speed.
“Secretary.”
“Yes!”
“Why haven’t I heard anything yet? Are you still not connected with Baek Jin-woo?”
“Well, um…”
“If it doesn’t work, make it work. Don’t you know how? A secretary in the director’s office is supposed to be competent enough to handle such tasks.”
“…”
The secretary’s face showed his frustration.
‘This old geezer.’
He didn’t lift a finger himself.
And besides, how was he supposed to make the impossible happen?
After meeting Baek Jin-woo in person last time, the secretary had tried everything.
He contacted 「YooBaek」, even asked Congressman Park Chang-seok for help.
The responses were all similar.
– “I’m sorry. He’s technically under our management, but we don’t have full control over him.”
– “Why did you antagonize him before? You ignored our help when it was offered. Too late now. He’s out of my hands. There’s an old saying: Treat people well while you have the chance.”
Yoo Ji-ah and Park Chang-seok both gave polite refusals.
Park Chang-seok even mocked him subtly.
The secretary had no choice but to approach Baek Jin-woo several more times.
– “I’m sorry.”
– “Didn’t I tell you to go through YooBaek?”
– “Apologies.”
– “Sorry.”
– …
Eventually, Baek Jin-woo stopped responding and would simply raise his hand dismissively before disappearing.
Each time that happened, the pride he felt working at the nation’s top elite public corporation crumbled to dust.
‘What did I even do wrong?!’
If there was any mistake he made, it was simply being the director’s secretary.
That one fact was enough to chip away at his self-esteem day by day.
And now, the director was sitting there telling him to “make it happen” like it was that simple.
Ugh!
“I have a question.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“Why are you so obsessed with Player Baek Jin-woo? Sure, he’s popular these days, but he’s not a ranker yet, nor a national representative. His records in the weekly dungeons are impressive, but a player’s skills can’t be judged by those alone.”
It was a valid point.
For every dungeon-focused player, there were others specialized in player-versus-player combat.
But the director shook his head with a sly smile.
“That’s not the point.”
“Then what is?”
“He’s handsome.”
“…Excuse me?”
The secretary couldn’t believe his ears.
That was the reason?
Player Baek Jin-woo… well, yes, he was quite good-looking.
But still.
How could that justify calling him into the headquarters?
“Players need star quality. The public needs to recognize them, and the congressmen associated with them benefit from that recognition.”
“…Hah.”
So, it was all for his political gain.
As expected.
Whether it was parliament or the headquarters, politicians were all the same.
“But that guy’s not very proactive, which is a downside.”
“So, are you giving up now?”
The secretary’s eyes lit up with hope.
“Director!”
Bang!
A staff member burst into the office.
He was a Tower of Trials administrator, specifically handling privacy-related information.
“What is it?”
The staffer glanced at the secretary.
“He’s fine. He’s under contract, too.”
Only those bound by a strict privacy agreement could share such information.
If someone revealed it to an unauthorized party?
They’d face the system’s curse.
“Um, well… Player Baek Jin-woo has cleared the Tower of Trials again.”
“Oh, really? I figured as much.”
The director nodded as if it was no big deal.
It wasn’t surprising for someone who cleared the 1st floor to also conquer the 2nd floor.
The early floors of the tower were said to be of similar difficulty.
“He cleared the 2nd floor? How long did it take?”
“If that were all, I’d have just submitted a report. I wouldn’t have rushed here.”
“Hm? Then what?”
“He… cleared up to the 9th floor. In less than an hour. This speed is unprecedented, even globally.”
“Huh?”
The secretary was stunned.
“What?!”
The director jumped up from his seat.
“Are you serious? He was only on the 1st floor yesterday!”
“We couldn’t believe it, either. When he first exited the 2nd floor, we naturally assumed he had just cleared it. But upon checking the records, we found he had gone straight through to the 9th floor.”
There was a record room outside the 1st floor of the Tower of Trials.
Every time a player cleared a floor, it was recorded.
“He consecutively cleared from the 2nd to the 9th floor without leaving.”
“He’s insane.”
The director’s face flushed with excitement.
The 9th floor of the Tower of Trials?
By Korean ranker standards, that was far beyond reach.
While the ranking system was updated annually after the World League, Baek Jin-woo had already entered the ranks of top players with this record.
“So, there was a reason he wasn’t proactive.”
“He’s extraordinary.”
“Baek Jin-woo, that guy. I want him even more now.”
“…”
The secretary shook his head.
Sometimes, no matter how much you wanted something, it was impossible.
You had to accept that.
They had failed to recognize the gem they had and treated him poorly.
The one who had seen his potential, Yoo Ji-ah, deserved credit.
‘There’s only one way forward now.’
Remove Im Hee-su and reach out to Park Chang-seok.
The old man probably knew that…
‘Or maybe not.’
A seat in parliament wasn’t something you could win through petty games.
‘But.’
Would Congressman Park Chang-seok even accept their approach?
‘Not likely.’
It seemed doubtful.
***
“Whew.”
At home, Baek Jin-woo stretched as he walked through the door.
He summoned his summons immediately.
Only the top-tier EX-grades: Lamba, Hun-gyo, and Poryong.
“Good job today. Take a break, too. I’m completely drained.”
Thud!
He collapsed onto the sofa, lying flat.
It had been a while since he’d pushed himself this hard.
From the 2nd to the 9th floor.
Using the routes he remembered, he charged through like a storm.
Escaping the great city of Chrome was the mission for the 2nd floor.
Rescuing a chief researcher in danger was the mission for the 3rd floor.
Escorting the researcher to the outskirts of another city, Helio, was the 4th-floor mission.
Clearing out ghouls inside the research lab was the mission for the 5th floor.
Restoring power by fixing the generator was the 6th-floor mission.
Repairing broken lines at the power station was the 7th-floor mission.
Assisting the researcher with their work was the 8th-floor mission.
Learning about the existence of the Ghoul King “One-Eye” (S-grade) and moving to confront it was the 9th-floor mission.
Having experienced all this before, Baek Jin-woo moved without hesitation.
He utilized every bit of knowledge he could recall and pushed forward without rest.
Now, only the final boss, One-Eye, remained.
‘But.’
One-Eye was currently beyond his full strength.
He needed higher-grade runes and more growth from Poryong.
Increasing her intelligence for better damage output and having her master Explosive Dragon Technique Transformation (變) would also help.
‘Even so.’
The pace of progress was incredibly fast.
Compared to the speed of JinuGod in 「Battle of Summoners」?
‘It’s not even close.’
Information and experience were unbeatable advantages.
Back then, it felt like treading a thorny path cautiously.
Now, it felt like sprinting down a smooth trail.
– “Yaaawn! Are we resting today? Hehe.”
Lamba stretched and plopped onto Baek Jin-woo’s chest.
– “What are you doing?”
Hun-gyo’s eyes glinted sharply.
– “Eek?”
Startled, Lamba quickly floated off Baek Jin-woo’s chest.
– “My lord, I’m sorry. I should’ve trained her manners first, not just her skills.”
“No, it’s fine.”
It really was fine.
Lamba wasn’t heavy; it felt more like having a small pet sit on him.
– “No, my lord. You’ve worked hard today. Please rest. But we cannot rest yet.”
– “What?! What kind of nightmare is this?!”
Lamba yelled in protest.
Tremble, tremble.
Poryong, who had been quietly sitting on another sofa, started shaking.
Surely Hun-gyo didn’t mean…
They’d just finished clearing such a grueling dungeon.
Now more training?
– “Didn’t you hear Jin-woo? He said we could rest today!”
– “Lamba.”
– “What?!”
– “On the 7th floor, at the power station, your attack speed buff dropped slightly. Why was that?”
– “Uh, that time…”
Lamba began to sweat.
– “And on the 8th floor, when fighting the Ghoul Lord, you stopped waving your staff three times. Why was that?”
– “H-how do you even remember that?!”
Lamba was horrified.
How could he recall all that during such intense battles?
Was he some kind of maniac?!
– “That’s too much! How can a fairy wave her staff all day?!”
– “Did you not consider that your selfishness could have cost our lord his life?”
– “That’s absurd! We could’ve beaten the Ghoul Lord without my buffs!”
– “Our lord will continue climbing the tower. The difficulty will increase exponentially. Will you make the same mistakes then?”
– “…”
Lamba had no retort.
He was pointing out her mistakes with such precision that arguing back felt pointless.
– “And Poryong.”
Hic!
Poryong flinched, startled.
– “You missed your Explosive Dragon Wave twice on the 5th floor, once on the 7th floor, and twice on the 9th floor. Correct?”
– “…Yes, I’m sorry.”
Poryong hung her head low, looking so dejected that even Baek Jin-woo felt bad.
– “Anyone can make mistakes. But failing to address them afterward is a significant problem.”
– “…”
– “…”
The two summons could only lower their heads in silence.
“Alright, that’s enough, everyone.”
Baek Jin-woo finally stepped in.
“Hun-gyo, you’re at fault too.”
– “…!”
“I told you to rest. Is training more important than my orders?”
– “O-of course, my lord’s orders take priority. I wasn’t thinking. My apologies.”
Caught off guard, Hun-gyo stepped back and bowed.
“That said, Hun-gyo isn’t entirely wrong.”
Baek Jin-woo alternated his gaze between Lamba and Poryong.
“We must address mistakes. So, rest today. Tomorrow, we’ll work on fixing them together.”
They were already moving quickly.
Trying to push even harder could lead to burnout.
Some relaxation was necessary.
‘For now.’
His body was fine, but he was mentally drained.
‘I’ll get some sleep.’
And after waking up, he’d review the rewards.
From the 2nd to the 9th floor.
A total of eight rewards!
He’d check them out during the summons’ training tomorrow.