NOVEL NEXT Chapter 41 - National Team Selection (3)
Chapter 41: National Team Selection (3)
“Hey.”
Ranked 9th, Oh Ji-myung kicked a small stone on the ground and spoke.
“What are you doing right now? Are you camping or something?”
He didn’t like Baek Jin-woo’s attitude.
Did he think the National Team Selection Competition was a joke?
Seeing someone higher-ranked than him act like that was already distasteful, but seeing someone who wasn’t even a ranker—just a player who’d recently gained fame—act like that made his blood boil.
‘Oh? Hey?’
Baek Jin-woo smiled deeply.
Look at these brazen punks.
They were coming on quite strong.
Well, it wasn’t a big deal.
Since both of them were older than him, it made sense for them to speak informally.
“Yeah, is there a problem?”
Baek Jin-woo laughed and stood up abruptly.
‘Should I play with them a bit?’
Over the past few months, Baek Jin-woo’s physique had undergone intense training with Hun-gyo, pushing him well beyond the limits of an average person.
Compared to him, the rankers’ bodies were so feeble that it was almost laughable.
Of course, he understood.
As long as a player’s summons were strong, there wasn’t any rule requiring them to maintain their physical fitness.
However, the aura exuded by a well-trained body was inherently stronger than one that wasn’t.
“You bastard.”
Oh Ji-myung clenched his lips tightly, feeling slightly overpowered by the aura.
“I see the media’s been hyping you up lately. But standing tall like that might get you permanently excluded from the selection.”
“Hmm? Really?”
Baek Jin-woo tilted his head in confusion.
“That’s strange. Isn’t the National Team Selection Competition all about skill? Oh, is it not? Judging by the two of you being selected last year, I guess even unskilled people can make it.”
“You crazy bastard.”
In the end, curses spilled from Oh Ji-myung’s lips as he snapped.
“There’s no need for long-winded talk, senior. Let’s just cut that bastard’s summons first and then give him a lesson.”
Ranked 10th, Park Ho-seop summoned his creatures into formation.
Baek Jin-woo watched the scene with a look of amusement.
“How ridiculous.”
“……”
“You so-called rankers babble on and on while preparing to gang up on me. Why bother talking at all? Just do your thing and move on. Right, Hun-gyo?”
– ……
Hun-gyo nodded silently.
His gaze turned icy, his killing intent barely concealed.
It seemed he was itching to cut down the two players who had dared to upset his lord.
“You’re beyond saving.”
Whoosh!
As Oh Ji-myung swung his arm, his summoned creatures simultaneously charged forward.
As expected of a ranker, he commanded a fairly diverse set of B-grade summons.
“Let’s meet after the group battle. You need some lessons.”
“Oh, those words.”
Baek Jin-woo nodded, seemingly pleased.
“Make sure you keep your promise, okay?”
At that moment.
Flash!
Hun-gyo moved, striking the chin of one of Oh Ji-myung’s humanoid summons with the flat of his blade.
Bang!
With a deafening roar, the summoned creature flew into the air, its consciousness instantly severed.
It wasn’t just the speed—it was the sheer power behind the blow.
Taking out a B-grade summon in a single strike?
“One down.”
Maintaining the same motion, Hun-gyo dashed forward.
Swish!
His movements were on a different level.
By the time the enemy summons began their motions, Hun-gyo had already swung his sword, retrieved it, and moved on.
Slash!
With three precise strikes, Hun-gyo cut through the vital points of the summons.
In truth, this type of group battle heavily favored Baek Jin-woo.
As long as he bought enough time for Lamba to stack her abilities, he was practically invincible.
“Two, three… Oh, is that four? Wow, it’s so fast I can’t even see.”
Baek Jin-woo enjoyed the show, while Oh Ji-myung stood in utter disbelief.
Five seconds?
No, it hadn’t even been four seconds before the chaos unfolded.
There was a bang, followed by a series of slashes, and four summons had their HP reduced to zero.
Now, only one remained.
– Gwoooarrr!
The Rampaging Stone Golem (B-grade) jumped into the air, spinning its massive fist to strike.
Slash-slash-slash!
But Hun-gyo was already atop it, running across its surface while slicing the joints with his sword.
He meticulously severed the magically reinforced joints of the golem.
‘Unbelievable!’
Oh Ji-myung was horrified.
Thud-thud-thud!
Even though its core, the heart, hadn’t been struck, the stone golem’s limbs, torso, and body broke apart.
Whirl!
Hun-gyo flipped once in midair and drove his sword into the golem’s chest, where the heart was located.
Crash!
The golem was instantly forcefully unsummoned.
“……”
A heavy silence followed.
Particularly for Park Ho-seop, whose eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Was there a player in the country who could toy with Oh Ji-myung like this?
[All of player ‘Oh Ji-myung’s summons have been forcefully unsummoned.]
[You have been eliminated from the group battle.]
Whoosh!
A light burst from the ground and began to envelop Oh Ji-myung’s body.
And at that moment, the protective shield surrounding Oh Ji-myung vanished.
Baek Jin-woo, with his keen eyesight, immediately noticed and launched himself forward.
‘That guy deserves a beating.’
He could order Hun-gyo to strike, but there was a risk of killing him.
A human should handle another human.
“Come find me after the group battle. I’ll pay the price for your injuries.”
Baek Jin-woo twisted his waist mid-sprint and buried his fist into Oh Ji-myung’s left abdomen, hitting the liver.
“Ku—Kuhuk?!”
Oh Ji-myung suddenly found it hard to breathe, choking on the impact.
‘That bastard! What kind of player hits people?’
He felt wronged but couldn’t scream.
He was immediately ejected from the group battle.
“Next up, is it your turn?”
Baek Jin-woo’s mischievous smile left the 10th-ranked Park Ho-seop in a daze.
* * *
The broadcast footage of the group battle moved quickly.
Because of the nature of group battles, there were countless simultaneous combat scenarios to capture.
Scenes included the lone domination of the 1st ranker and players teaming up to raid the 2nd ranker like a boss monster.
– Yes, the 3rd ranker is currently moving to the outskirts to wait it out!
– It seems like they’re trying to avoid unnecessary fights! What about the 4th ranker? Shall we switch over?
Click!
As the camera switched perspectives.
“Oh! That’s my brother!”
Baek Ah-jin shouted.
She had spotted a familiar face on the screen.
– Yes, the 9th and 10th rankers appear to be working together, as announced at the press conference earlier this year.”
– That’s correct. But wait, what’s this? One of them is missing?
– Oh! We just got news they were eliminated. What happened?
– Should we rewind the footage?
Due to the rapid pace of the broadcast, less important scenes were sometimes skipped.
But that didn’t matter.
They could always rewind.
“Oh, come on!”
Baek Ah-jin groaned in frustration as she listened to the commentators.
“What’s wrong, dear?”
Hwang Myeong-hee asked, looking confused.
“My brother has terrible luck. He must’ve run into the 9th and 10th rankers!”
“Oh no, what can he do?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Ugh! Those two are from the same headquarters and are notorious for sticking together in a dirty way. The usual strategy for group battles is to stay hidden and sneak through by luck. But meeting rankers right at the start? Ugh!”
“So, does that mean Jin-woo is eliminated?”
“Wait a second. One of the rankers is already gone… Oh?”
At that moment.
The highlight footage played on the screen.
It was the scene where Hun-gyo took down Oh Ji-myung’s five summons in just 10 seconds.
The three players had exchanged some words, and Oh Ji-myung’s side had charged in first.
Then, in an instant.
Hun-gyo moved, cutting through the enemies with overwhelming speed.
His movements were so fast and flashy that even in slow motion, they appeared normal.
– W-what’s this!
– This is incredible! What am I even witnessing right now? Player Baek Jin-woo’s summon—just one summon—slaughtering the summons of the country’s 9th ranker! Is this even possible?
– We’ve replayed it twice, and I still can’t believe it!
Cheers erupted from the crowd outside.
It seemed they were watching the same scene.
“Wow, look at that!”
Baek Ah-jin jumped up, pointing at the screen.
Hun-gyo!
How could she not recognize that absurdly powerful summon?
The one that had instantly subdued her beloved Shadow Elf and yanked it by the ankle!
“Wow! I didn’t know it was this strong! A ranker…!”
“Did your brother win?”
“Mom, this isn’t just a win! It’s insane! He completely destroyed him—completely obliterated the 9th ranker! Wow, this is giving me chills.”
As Baek Ah-jin rubbed her arms, she turned toward her father.
“Dad?”
“……”
Baek Jin-cheol sat frozen, his jaw hanging open.
Well.
‘Dad watches the World League and player battles regularly.’
He probably understood better than Mom how unbelievable this situation was.
– What kind of summon is that? Have you ever seen anything like it, caster?”
– No, I haven’t. The closest would be an E-grade Training Director, but that one holds a camera, not a sword.
– So, what is it?
– It might be a previously undiscovered B-grade, or possibly even an A-grade summon.
– Oh, so Player Baek Jin-woo had a hidden weapon!
– Wait, no, it’s not!”
– What?”
– We just received information. Apparently, it’s an E-grade summon called the Training Instructor.
– Training Instructor?
– Yes, veteran players may remember it. But here’s the strange thing—it’s not supposed to be this strong. It was just a mediocre E-grade summon that was even removed in a patch about three years ago!
Players who knew of the Training Instructor existed.
But no one knew that JinuGod had used it.
Not even the Five Emperors were aware.
The Training Instructor was a summon JinuGod had used before fully interacting with the Five Emperors, then sealed away.
The same applied to Lamba and the Explosive Dragon.
The Five Emperors only knew of JinuGod’s summons like the Rune Dwarf, Aso, the Demon Cat, and the Dragon of Destruction.
– Do we have any information from Player Baek Jin-woo’s side?
– No, nothing! They’ve even requested privacy regarding this summon!”
– Is that a relief, then?
– Possibly!
The headquarters didn’t want detailed abilities of ranker summons made public.
They encouraged privacy.
Being part of a competitive system, once information was known domestically, foreign analysts would study it too.
That would mean exposing their strategies.
So, commentators usually refrained from digging too deep into specific summons.
– Regardless, this is a phenomenal outcome! And now! Player Baek Jin-woo is up against Player Park Ho-seop!
– Ah, ahhh! The results aren’t much different!
– Was Park Ho-seop always this powerless? He’s being cut down by Baek Jin-woo!
– Wooooow! Baek Jin-wooooooo! Who is he, really?
– No one saw this coming! Player Baek Jin-woo has annihilated two rankers!
No one could stop Hun-gyo with his stacks accumulated.
Slash! Slash!
It didn’t matter what summons Park Ho-seop brought out.
The Lamba with the Graduation Rune was simply overpowered.
With just a few slashes from Hun-gyo, Park Ho-seop’s summons were forcefully unsummoned.
“W-wait.”
Before disappearing, Park Ho-seop stretched out his arms in a panicked plea.
But Baek Jin-woo was a surprisingly petty and relentless person.
“Make sure you keep that promise to discipline me later.”
Wham!
Baek Jin-woo grinned and drove his fist into Park Ho-seop’s abdomen.