For a brief moment my vision was shrouded in darkness.

And when the light returned.

Hmm.

I found myself in a creepy cave.

A strong, fishy smell assaulted my nostrils.

[To engage in dungeon combat, you must form a team with your summons.]

[You can use up to five summons per team!]

[Currently, Jin-woo Baek only has two summons.]

[Do you want to assign 'Wind Fairy' (EX rank) and 'Furry Gorilla' (F rank) to Team 1?]

[Y/N]

Yes!

As soon as I clicked, Lamba and the Furry Gorilla were automatically summoned in front of me.

- Ew, it stinks! Wolf smell!

- Grrrooooar...

As soon as they were summoned, they both prepared for battle.

[A hungry grey wolf prowls nearby.]

[Defeat the wolf and escape the cave.]

Grrrrr.

The wolf's low growl echoed through the cave.

At the same time.

Whiiiiing!

A golden aura rose from beneath my feet and gently enveloped me.

[A 'shield' has been generated for the player.]

[The 'Shield' will remain until your summon is unsummoned.]

[The shield will negate all damage.]

Ah.

This was the system from Battle of Summoners.

The premise was that players would be protected in battles between summoners.

'But since this is reality...'

[Warning.]

[If you are attacked without the 'Shield', you will die].

'Of course.'

I let out a dry laugh.

Even if the mechanics resembled a game, this was no longer a game.

It was reality.

In other words, I couldn't just throw myself into a difficult dungeon like I used to.

If I failed, I would die.

Climbing the tower will be much harder.

Still.

I could do it.

I had tried thousands, even tens of thousands of times, and I had all the strategies organised in my head.

Grrrrrrr.

The sound of the wolf's growl, which had been far away, came closer and closer.

"Lamba."

- Yep!

"Start swinging your staff."

- OK! Here we go, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Whoosh, whoosh!

Lamba began to lazily swing her tiny staff.

[Skill]

- Wind Pressure: Increases the attack speed of a single allied summon by 3% with each swing of the staff.

Lamba's Wind Pressure provided an attack speed buff.

The more she swung her staff, the faster the attack speed of the Furry Gorilla (F-rank).

- Gruh?

The gorilla tilted his head in confusion.

Welcome.

First time being buffed, huh?

- Grrrooooar!

Feeling the surge of power, the gorilla's eyes lit up.

In front of him.

Grrrr.

A wolf, drooling from its mouth, slowly crept forward.

'Wow.

This thing...

Its size was massive.

And it had sharp teeth, bloodshot eyes and rough, bristly fur...

'It's real.

Yes, this was a real wolf.

If my gorilla and Lamba had lost?

Then my body would undoubtedly be torn apart by those teeth.

"Sigh."

A sigh escaped my lips.

I hadn't realised it, but my legs were already shaking.

My heart was pounding and my head felt hot, as if my blood was boiling.

The gorilla wasn't going to lose, was he?

In the game there was no way he could, but...

That wolf is real!

- Grrrr, bark! Bark!

The wolf jumped forward at that moment.

"Gorilla!"

I shouted instinctively.

- Gruh!

The furry gorilla rushed towards the wolf.

- Go, Furry! Fight!

Whoosh, whoosh!

Lamba swung her staff behind them.

By the way, Lamba had no fighting skills.

If the gorilla died, Lamba would be finished too.

Snap!

The wolf's sharp teeth sunk into the gorilla's shoulder.

Splash!

Blood spurted out.

- Aaaah! Furry! Are you OK? You can't die!

But my gorilla didn't just stand there and take it.

- Grrrooooar!

He grabbed the wolf's neck with one hand and began to pound the wolf's stomach with the other.

- Gahk, gaaaaah!

- Gruh, grrrrroooar!

A vicious fight broke out between the wolf and the gorilla.

When did the gorilla strike?

The wolf raked the gorilla's belly with its hind claws.

There was only one thing left to do.

"Lamba!"

- I know! I'll swing as hard as I can!

Whoosh, whoosh!

All that mattered was to speed up the gorilla's blows!

That was Lamba's OP skill.

Sure, it wasn't much at the moment.

But once it was fully developed, it would be a ridiculously broken buff.

- Grrrrroooooooooar!

How much time had passed while they fought?

The gorilla's blows were getting much faster.

The wolf's growl began to fade, and he seemed to be losing strength.

After a few minutes.

- Grrrrooooar! Grrrroooooar!

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

The furry gorilla roared in victory after beating the wolf to a bloody pulp.

[Dungeon cleared!]

[Furry Gorilla (F Rank) has leveled up to 2].

['Furry Gorilla' (F rank) has gained +1 Power].

['Wind Fairy' (EX rank) has leveled up to 2].

['Wind Fairy' (EX rank) has gained +1 Intellect].

[You have received rewards.]

[2x low-grade 'Strength' Rune]

"Huh."

The tension melted away.

At the same time, I realised.

As long as I win, it's no big deal.

Sure, if I lost, it would be the end of my life, but if I won, I'd just be watching from the sidelines.

Whether it was as easy as it sounded was another matter.

[The dungeon disappears]

Whoosh!

My vision flipped and I was back in the clearing.

I had received two low-grade runes.

First.

Let's find out more details.

How to enter the dungeons.

Where the tower and the synthesis stations were.

That would be the next thing to find out.

***

Baek Ah-jin, Jin-woo's younger sister, was 22 years old and a rune-farming player.

She mainly roamed low-level dungeons and made her living by selling runes to promising players.

She had done well in school and attended university, but after her brother's accident, her family's situation collapsed and she became a player instead.

"Thank you for today, everyone!"

It was evening and the sky was painted with the colours of the sunset.

As she left Jamsil Tower in Seoul, Ah-jin had made a decent amount of money again today.

Normally, she made around 100,000 won a day from low-grade runes alone, but today she had picked up a mid-grade rune.

The price of a mid-grade rune handled by the Game Center was 100,000 won per piece.

In other words, she had earned 200,000 won in a single day.

"Hehe."

She hummed a tune as she walked towards the bus stop.

She could have taken a taxi, but she was frugal to the core.

The cost of rent, family expenses and her brother's hospital bills weighed heavily on her shoulders.

I was lucky.

In fact, she was a rare player with a C-rank summon.

Her summon was none other than a C-rank Shadow Elf!

It never appeared from a 'low-grade scroll'.

It could only be summoned with the rare mid-grade scroll, and even then, the chance was only 1%.

[E-rank: 94%]
[D-rank: 5%]
[C-rank: 1%]

That was the probability for the mid-grade scroll.

At first, she had to spend all of her money to raise her summon, but now it had grown considerably.

She could now farm runes continuously on her own.

'By the way...

I wonder if my brother has been released from the hospital.

Humming, she clicked on her brother's number on her phone.

Ring, ring

After a few rings, she heard a voice.

- Hello?

"Ah, Oppa! Did you get home OK? I should have picked you up, but I'm only calling now because of work."

- Yes, perfect timing.

"Huh?"

- Dad told me something. He said you were selling runes?

"Huh?"

Ah-jin's face twisted in confusion.

Selling runes?

What kind of vile expression was that?

"Ugh, that's a terrible way to put it! Can't you just call it trading runes?"

- Whether it's trading or selling! Either way, is there a synthesis station in Jamsil Tower?

"Well..."

Yes, there is.

There were two player zones in Korea.

Jamsil Tower in Seoul and Haeundae Tower in

Busan.

None in the provinces.

If you wanted to do anything summon-related, you had to go to one of these two places.

"That's right, but why? You haven't even finished the tutorial yet, have you?"

- You haven't done it yet? I have already done it.

"What?!"

Ah-jin's loud cry startled the people waiting at the bus stop, making them frown, but she didn't care.

"Oppa! I texted you! I told you it was dangerous! That you have to listen to the safety instructions carefully!"

Even though it was called a tutorial, many people had died because they weren't prepared.

Nowadays, with so much information available, people are more careful, but three years ago it was a literal gateway to hell.

There were mass casualties in Korea.

"Did you at least call all five invocations? You didn't go in with just two, did you?"

You were supposed to form a proper team with five summons before fighting the wolves.

Didn't you have enough 'low-grade scrolls'?

If you just waited three days, you'd get one as a login reward.

- I went in with only two.

"What?!"

Ah-jin almost frothed at the mouth.

- Anyway, I'm alive. Don't worry too much. I got through it safely.

"......"

- Now I need runes and a synthesis station to properly raise my summons. Can you show me around?

"Oppa, wait a second."

She took a deep breath to calm herself.

That man.

Is he really the one who just woke up yesterday?

Why is he in such a hurry?

"What rank are they?"

- Huh?

"You said you finished the tutorial, right? You must have summoned something. What rank are your summons? F? E? D?"

- ...

Now Jin-woo hesitated.

Should he tell her the truth?

His hesitation didn't last long.

No.

If I'm going to keep it a secret, I might as well keep it a secret altogether.

Even from my family.

- E and F.

"Oh! An E-rank? You summoned an E-rank? That's a 5% chance!"

- Is that so? I guess I was lucky. Anyway, are you still there?

"Yes, but..."

- Then wait for me. I'll need your help to get around.

"Oppa, aren't you pushing yourself too hard already...?"

Beep, beep

"Oppa? Oppa?"

Ah-jin stared at her phone in disbelief.

Was he always this bold?

***

Three years ago.

The day the world changed.

Towers of Trials appeared across the globe.

Two in Korea, four in Japan, thirteen in the United States and fifty-seven in China.

Although no one knew why the number of towers differed from country to country, there was one popular theory.

The population hypothesis.

It suggested that there should be one tower for every 25 million people.

Any fractions were rounded down!

So places like the Vatican, Monaco and Macao, which had small populations, had no Tower of Trials.

In the case of Korea, Jamsil Tower and Haeundae Tower became the two Towers of Trials.

[The rich and powerful were reduced to beggars overnight!]

[The real estate issues surrounding the Tower of Trials continue to cause headaches].

Many people who lived in those areas were displaced, but nothing could be done about it.

It was considered a natural disaster.

Anyway.

Player zones were set up around the Towers of Trials.

Monday dungeons, raids, towers, rune dungeons, synthesis stations, enhancement stations, and so on.

All summoning activities had to be done there.

As a result, the surrounding property values skyrocketed.

They were already high, but now they were through the roof.

Vroom!

The bus arrived in Jamsil.

Jin-woo, dressed in a tracksuit with his hood pulled up, got off.

Standing in front of him with crossed arms and a pout on his face was Ah-jin.

"Hey, good to see you, sis."

Yesterday she had been tearfully make-up-free.

Now her face was carefully painted.

"Why are you pushing yourself so hard? You could've waited until tomorrow. Why are you in such a hurry tonight?"

"I'm in a bit of a hurry."

Jin-woo had always been obsessed with 'Battle of Summoners'.

Now he had lost three years and everything was reset.

He had to grow up fast.

There wasn't a moment to waste.

His body itched for action.

"If you help me, I'll do something nice for you later."

"I make a lot more money than you do."

Today alone.

She had made 200,000 won.

"Little sis, you never know how things are going to turn out. What if I become the best player in the world?"

"Hmph, as if."

Ah-jin snorted in disbelief.

"Everyone thinks like that. I used to, Dad did, and all the boys in the neighbourhood thought they could do it too. But you know what happened to most of them?"

"What happened?"

"They either gave up being players or became farmers like me. To become the greatest player in the world? That's only for the truly chosen. The whole summoning system is full of absurd RNG mechanics."

Ah.

So that's how it was.

Jin-woo chuckled.

My little sister trying to teach a snail to crawl.

"Everyone talks big, like they're Rachel or Zenos."

Rachel from the UK and Zenos from the US.

They were two of the Five Emperors who had once followed him.

"You wouldn't know it, but anyone who's been in this business knows it. These two are true geniuses."

"Is that so?"

Jin-woo laughed.

But there was something she didn't know.

"I'm exempt from this RNG mess.

I already have an EX rank.

'And.

Rachel, Zenos?

Are they geniuses?

Then, little sister.

I must be the genius among geniuses.

These two would have done anything to get advice from me.

"Anyway, can you show me around now?"

Let's see what the Player Zone looks like now that it's a reality.