Chapter 47
National Team Consulting
With a new building added to Yubaek, Baek Ah-jin also moved her workplace.
The 34th floor of headquarters.
The entire floor was dedicated to Baek Jin-woo’s item purchase and sales department.
Baek Ah-jin held the position of director, and since she had hired a fair number of employees, she rarely had to go out to the Samseong-dong market anymore.
“Director.”
“Yes, Director Baek.”
Although Yoo Ji-ah and Baek Ah-jin were close enough to consider each other like sisters, during work hours they addressed each other by their titles.
At the moment, they were giving their all to secure universal runes.
“I’ve checked every market worldwide, and considering only the listed quantities, there are about twenty-five.”
Twenty-five was actually good news. At least there was stock available.
“And the price?”
“Varies. On average, about 150 billion won per rune.”
An incredible price. Considering that top-grade Light-Speed Runes were around 15 billion each, this was astronomical.
Of course, it made sense.
While Light-Speed Runes only benefit magic summons that wield staves, universal runes were truly versatile.
They could be equipped on almost any summon.
“Hmm… Jin-woo wanted eighteen, and the budget is 2 trillion won… that’s far from enough.”
“Exactly.”
To buy them all, a simple calculation showed they would need 2.7 trillion won.
Yoo Ji-ah, tapping her nails on the documents Baek Ah-jin brought, continued.
“Also, you can’t fully trust these prices. Often, after you negotiate and are about to purchase, sellers back out.”
“Just checking if they can sell higher later?”
High-value items always involve psychological battles between buyers and sellers.
“Yes. So even if we buy, we need to do it quietly, one by one. Otherwise, sellers communicate and raise the price.”
“…Then what do we do?”
“We take action.”
Yoo Ji-ah spoke clearly.
“Each of us will create a different identity, disguising ourselves as buyers with sufficient purchasing power. We’ll approach the sellers all at once, leaving them no time to research. Strike fast.”
“…Oh.”
“And Director Baek, please create a post about buying universal runes. Offer a price much lower than the market… hmm, about 100 billion won for six runes.”
“Worldwide markets?”
“Yes. Then, we’ll gradually reduce the quantity in the post each week: five, four, then three.”
“Ah!”
Baek Ah-jin clapped her hands.
“So it’s to pressure them into acting hastily?”
“Yes. It won’t be perfect, but it will have some effect. If there are still runes left on the market, it means no buyer has taken them at that price yet. Showing that they can be sold below market price repeatedly puts pressure on sellers.”
“Wow…”
Watching Yoo Ji-ah, Baek Ah-jin realized how strategic buying needed to be, just like selling.
“What about the insufficient budget?”
“We’ll try to resolve it within the national team’s budget. If it’s not enough… we’ll use Yubaek’s funds to secure them.”
Limited-edition runes required fast action. The more they secured, the more unique the runes Baek Jin-woo used would become.
“Then let’s move quickly!”
“Yes!”
On the promised Saturday, the first national team gathering took place.
Baek Jin-woo spent the morning grinding upper-level weekday dungeons before heading to the Battle Arena.
The meeting was scheduled for 10:00 a.m.
He arrived early at 9:40 a.m., and…
“Uh…?”
All nine ranked players were already there.
Each group of friends among the ranked players stopped talking and fell silent as soon as Baek Jin-woo entered.
Those standing with one leg bent straightened up, and everyone wore polite, humble expressions.
Particularly, high school ranked players Gi Jae-hyuk and Kang Ji-ho:
“Hello, sir!”
“Hello, sir!”
Their bright eyes stared straight at Baek Jin-woo as they bowed at a perfect right angle.
‘Why are they like this?’
It felt burdensome. But seeing them so young made it cute.
“Ha ha, nice to meet you.”
As he bowed back, Baek Jin-woo thought,
‘Is it because they’re ranked players?’
They were punctual. First impressions: solid.
No one boasted about being the team captain, ignored him, or acted territorial even though they had been former national team members.
Naturally.
Baek Jin-woo had crushed the top domestic player, Kang Geon-ho, in under a minute. Why would anyone feel entitled?
It was better to learn what they could from him.
‘Half a year until the world league.’
Long or short—it depended on perspective.
Baek Jin-woo hoped that if he was going to win, South Korea would win.
“Hello, I’m Baek Jin-woo. I may be inexperienced, but I’ve been appointed team captain.”
Under all eyes, he introduced himself calmly.
Almost immediately, everyone introduced themselves in turn.
“I’m Kang Geon-ho, thirty-three, vice guild master of Baekho Guild. Ho, Jeong-hee, and Sang-won are also from Baekho. I’ve been captain for three years, but I’m glad a better captain has appeared.”
Listing Baekho guild members by rank:
- Rank 1: Kang Geon-ho (33)
- Rank 2: Park Ho (35)
- Rank 6: Bok Jeong-hee (31)
- Rank 7: Seo Sang-won (30)
‘A guild for people in their thirties?’
Still, the specs were impressive. Four of the top ten domestic ranked players belonged to Baekho. No wonder it was considered one of the top three guilds.
Guild members came forward to greet him one by one.
Next:
“As you know, I’m An Gi-jeong of Ilwol.”
Ilwol, another of the Big Three guilds, had two members present:
- Rank 4: An Gi-jeong (41)
- Rank 8: Hwang Joo-won (53)
An Gi-jeong was the guild master, Hwang Joo-won the vice master. Both were older, in their 40s–50s.
“Hwang Joo-won always participates in the national team with me.”
“Ha ha, we’re a bit older, but we try our best. Baek Jin-woo is… impressive. At home, my wife keeps talking only about him. Not even the match, but how handsome he is. Maybe I should get his autograph.”
They had friendly, approachable faces, easing the atmosphere.
Next:
“Hello, sir! I’m Gi Jae-hyuk!”
“I’m Kang Ji-ho! I’ve become your fan since the last selection! I’ll do anything! Ready to be the youngest’s support!”
Two spirited high schoolers, now leading Carpe Diem guild as master and vice.
- Rank 15: Gi Jae-hyuk (19)
- Rank 25: Kang Ji-ho (18)
Baek Jin-woo personally liked them.
“Battle of Summoners” required some physical skill—like riding wyverns or swimming with dolphins—so having players who trained their bodies was an advantage.
‘They remind me of myself as a kid.’
Even with lower ranks, getting into the national team showed their effort.
“Nice to meet you.”
He immediately spoke casually, and the two ranked players beamed.
Finally:
“I’m Hong Ah-ri.”
- Rank 3: Hong Ah-ri (27)
“I run the Ari guild and was originally on the national team with Sun-young, but this time I’m participating alone.”
She glanced at Baek Jin-woo.
“We met some natural disaster in multi-player matches.”
‘Sun-young…’
She meant Oh Sun-young of Olang Guild. A powerful vice guild master, defeated in ten seconds by Hoon-gyo during a multi-player match.
“Still, Sun-young was satisfied. It’s an honor to face strong opponents. She’s my age, and I’ll follow her guidance if you tell me.”
“Yes, thank you.”
All ranked players had introduced themselves.
It was remarkable: leaders of the top three domestic guilds all present, showing humility to Baek Jin-woo.
He had good situational awareness and instinct—enough to become one of the top ranked players among fifty million people.
‘How should I teach them?’
Baek Jin-woo could have just glanced at their summons and left it at that.
Even Oje, whom he knew for five years, only occasionally offered hints.
‘But…’
Since the nation had added a budget of one trillion won, he couldn’t just brush them off. He intended to provide consulting worth that value.
“Anyway, we’re going to spend the next six months together.”
He mentally organized their information and spoke.
“I don’t know if we’ll continue beyond that, but during this period, if you have questions, I’ll do my best to answer. But I won’t spoon-feed you. Like digging a well when thirsty, try yourself first, then ask if you find it difficult or lacking.”
His honest impression?
Everyone here was below his level.
Where to even begin teaching? No clear starting point.
‘First…’
He had analyzed over 40,000 summon skills per tier as a child, studying every compatibility.
He had beaten ranked players with weak summons in the arena, and practiced thousands of times in extreme Tower of Trials runs to develop his sense.
‘But…?’
Their summons were too standardized.
If you only develop one template, you can’t respond to matchups.
To standardize effectively? You need an overpowered summon.
Like Baek Jin-woo’s EX-class summons.
Ordinary players should never standardize their summons.
‘But…’
Did he need to go that deep?
“First, we’ll start with sparring.”
Each would fight once, and then ask questions about weaknesses or confusing points.
Afterwards, he would provide feedback on better strategies, summons, rune setups, and psychological tactics.
That was the best consulting Baek Jin-woo could offer them.
Remote Area, South Korea
In an abandoned building deep in a remote area, a voice spoke.
“What do you think?”
A man, silent for a moment, slowly nodded.
“One thing is certain—we cannot just stand by.”
His hands held numerous documents, all detailing the activities of one player.
‘Baek Jin-woo.’
The man thought:
‘An unbelievably strong player.’
“Then what shall we do? Strike Baek Jin-woo, Mr. Ji-hak?”
Ji-hak.
Anyone who heard the name would be stunned.
Rank 30, Jo Ji-hak.
Leader of a notorious gang alliance in South Korea, number one on the headquarters’ blacklist.
He didn’t participate in the World League, so his rank lagged, but his power was formidable.
“Are you stupid? Strike Baek Jin-woo?”
Jo Ji-hak laughed incredulously.
Had they not watched the selection matches?
How could the gang touch someone who toyed with the top-ranked players like dolls?
In fact, this was the gang’s current dilemma.
Baek Jin-woo’s strength disrupted the balance with headquarters.
If headquarters could control Baek Jin-woo… the gang could face ruin.
“Gather all those overseas. It’s an emergency.”
The gang couldn’t access South Korea’s Player Zones—Seoul, Busan—fully controlled by headquarters.
So they went overseas, bribing governments in nearby Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, to secretly use local facilities.
“If we can’t strike Baek Jin-woo directly, we’ll do it indirectly.”
“Indirectly?”
“First, what happened with the ones we commissioned before?”
“Oh, you mean Oh Ji-myung and Park Ho-seop? They’re in contact. No answer yet, but the result looks promising.”
Recently, the gang had been recruiting two ranked players:
- Rank 9: Oh Ji-myung
- Rank 10: Park Ho-seop
Having failed the selection and recently shown dissatisfaction with headquarters, they were vulnerable.
“Let’s wait for the results first. One week from now, meet here again.”
“Yes, understood, Mr. Ji-hak.”
His subordinate bowed respectfully.
Jo Ji-hak didn’t even look at him.
He simply glanced around the abandoned building and then disappeared smoothly.
