While waiting for an answer from headquarters, Baek Jin-woo reorganised his summoned creatures.

Ding!

A message arrived.

- I'd like to give you an answer regarding the matter you mentioned last time. Shall we meet to discuss the details? I'll send you the address. It would be great if you could come on time.

It was from Yoo Ji-ah, whom he had met before.

"Oh, already?"

Baek Jin-woo smiled.

He had only flirted with it, half expecting nothing, but were they really going to buy it?

It was fascinating.

13 billion won wasn't small change, but they were moving so fast over just one piece of information.

The knowledge about the Weekly Dungeon Core Unit was really just low-level information for Baek Jin-woo, which made it even more surprising.

"I should definitely go."

The meeting was set for 6 pm that evening.

The location was a place called Daeseong Group in Gangnam.

A quick search revealed that it was an ultra-luxurious Korean restaurant with private rooms.

"Wow, what kind of menu is this?"

A quick glance showed the basic menu starting at 1 million won.

It was the kind of place an ordinary person like Baek Jin-woo would never think of visiting.

How delicious could the food be?

Slurp.

Baek Jin-woo swallowed his saliva and checked the reviews.

Surely people are complaining about how expensive it is.

But to his surprise -

It was all praise.

Apparently, the top chefs selected by the Daeseong Group were preparing special high-end dishes.

What kind of dishes?

The kind of world-class cuisine you have to try at least once in your life?

"Wow."

Baek Jin-woo was amazed.

The people at the headquarters were really going out of their way, weren't they?

This made him more inclined to provide information.

To be honest, he had expected the worst.

They could have just taken the list of creatures I provided and quietly used it for their own research.

Maybe they would have found out something through their research.

But seeing Baek Jin-woo in person would be the clearest and most reliable source of information for them.

Of course.

Even if they did, it didn't really matter to him.

This information?

It was only the tip of the iceberg.

If the headquarters lost Baek Jin-woo's trust, that would be the end of their relationship.

If he did business, it would be with big private guilds instead.

"I wonder.

What would the headquarters say?

Baek Jin-woo was looking forward to this evening.

* * *

Time passed.

6 p.m.

"Wow..."

Arriving at the Daeseong Group, Baek Jin-woo was momentarily overwhelmed.

He was greeted by a huge open hall, reminiscent of a five-star hotel.

Is this really a restaurant?

It looked more like a place designed for entertaining high-ranking officials.

"Welcome. Do you have a reservation?"

As he approached the counter, an employee greeted him in a refined tone.

"Yes."

"May I have the name under which the reservation was made?"

"It's Yoo Ji-ah."

"...!"

In an instant, the staff's expressions changed.

Their previously soft movements became more formal and precise.

What's going on with them?

"Are you Mr. Baek Jin-woo?"

A man who appeared to be quite elderly approached and took over the escort.

"Yes, that's me."

"Please follow me. I will take you to the VIP room."

Wow, VIP?

That hadn't been mentioned in the reviews.

The staff led him to a lift inside the building.

After what felt like a long ride up, the doors finally opened with a ding!

"Please enjoy your time."

Baek Jin-woo didn't even notice the staff's polite farewell.

As soon as the lift doors opened, he was captivated by the breathtaking view of Seoul's night-time landscape through the glass windows.

Wow.

The Daeseong Group's VIP room was on the top floor and could only be used with the permission of the Daeseong Group family.

Of course, Baek Jin-woo had no idea.

Yoo Ji-ah was already there, waiting for him.

"Welcome."

"Huh, are you alone?"

What about the bearded man?

Didn't he come?

"Yes, today's business is not with headquarters, but with me personally, Mr Baek Jin-woo."

"Huh? I wasn't informed about that."

Baek Jin-woo became cautious.

At the same time, he tensed up.

"That woman...

She definitely wasn't an ordinary employee of the headquarters.

"Ahem, to avoid any misunderstandings, I should introduce myself first. Please have a seat."

With a gentle expression, Yoo Ji-ah eased Baek Jin-woo's tension.

Then she explained briefly.

Who she was, how she had been involved in establishing the Talent Management Team, and how she had come to this point.

"Huh."

Baek Jin-woo was surprised.

To be honest, it was quite fascinating.

The granddaughter of the Daeseong Group?

Would he ever meet someone like her in his life?

Either way, it's a huge gain for me.

What Baek Jin-woo needed most of all were connections.

Connections that would pay a lot of money in exchange for information.

And.

There was no place in Korea with more money than Daeseong.

There is definitely potential here.

Baek Jin-woo and Yoo Ji-ah's eyes met.

Did they realise it?

That they were looking at each other with the same intention.

"Shall we start with dinner?"

"Sure."

Thanks to that, the atmosphere started to warm up.

* * *

"Anyway, in conclusion, it seems difficult to expect any support from headquarters. Congressman Park Chang-seok tried his best, but... many were against it, and the purchase of the low-level summoning scroll last time was already a bit of a stretch."

"Hm, so that's how it turned out."

Munch, munch.

Baek Jin-woo nodded coolly as he swallowed the food.

"Damn, this is delicious.

The taste, something he had never experienced before in his life, made it hard for him to concentrate on what was being said.

"Well, it's good. If that's the will of Headquarters, then so be it."

Information?

If they don't want it, fine.

As for the money, he could always collect it himself.

However, Baek Jin-woo would continue to grow, and the speed at which he acquired items would only increase.

It might take some time, but his position as the world's number one was already secured.

Thanks to the EX-class summoned creature.

With this in hand, even if the former JinuGod returned, Baek Jin-woo would be confident.

In fact, if the Explosive Dragon was raised properly, being the strongest in the world would be a trivial matter.

"By the way."

After finishing one of the steaks, Baek Jin-woo put down his fork.

"Shall we get to the point? I doubt that the granddaughter of a conglomerate would treat me to such an expensive meal without a reason."

"Huhu, that's right."

While Baek Jin-woo ate, Yoo Ji-ah watched his eyes the whole time.

Her grandfather had told her once.

When you look at someone, you can tell a lot just by looking at their eyes.

It was true.

They were clear, without a cloud.

Neither good nor bad, just neutral energy emanating from him.

'And.

That confidence.

Yoo Ji-ah was fascinated by Baek Jin-woo's boldness.

Who could eat so comfortably knowing her background?

She had met many of her peers in various social circles.

Most of them were either uncomfortable or obviously trying to curry favour, crushed by the weight of Daeseong's name.

He is refreshing.

At this point, she decided it was worth taking a chance.

What if Baek Jin-woo turned out to be a fraud?

She'd simply lose 13 billion won and the cost of setting up the company.

For Yoo Ji-ah, that wasn't even a significant loss.

But what if he was the real deal?

The value extracted from him could be hundreds, no, thousands of billions of won.

It was a no-brainer.

"Actually, I called you here to make a proposal."

So she decided.

To share her thoughts.

* * *

Words were a fascinating thing.

Even if the content was the same, the way someone said it could make you feel uncomfortable or, depending on the person, it could resonate with you.

Yoo Ji-ah's words were the latter.

Her voice was soft and she explained in a way that made things easy to understand.

This is good.

A one-person management team.

Baek Jin-woo found her suggestion satisfactory.

In fact, he felt more comfortable in the business world than in the headquarters.

Corporations only care about money.

The essence of a company is to make extreme profits within legal limits, and that was exactly what Baek Jin-woo wanted.

And.

As she explained, Baek Jin-woo discreetly searched for Yoo Ji-ah on his phone.

He figured that since she was the granddaughter of a conglomerate, there should be some information available.

But to his surprise -

[Indeed, the Daeseong family! Yoo Ji-ah, got her Stanford MBA early! All on her own merit!]

[Yoo Ji-ah, wants to be a global CEO? "No interest in participating in management"]

[Yoo Ji-ah, enters the player headquarters with top marks!]

[The genius of the century, Yoo Ji-ah! Yoo Byung-cheon smiles]

She's really famous, huh?

Crazy.

Baek Jin-woo clicked his tongue inwardly.

Her face, her family background and her skills - she had it all!

An elite of the highest order.

So much so that even fictional 'perfect daughters' would have to bow their heads and cry.

"By the way, if it's a management team, would you also do the asset management?"

"Pardon?"

Yoo Ji-ah was slightly taken aback by Baek Jin-woo's sudden question.

"Asset management?

Was that really the topic now?

"If you're from Daeseong, wouldn't you have access to your company's financial team? That alone could help increase your wealth immensely."

"Well..."

Even if Baek Jin-woo was a genius in "Battle of Summoners", in reality he was just an ordinary young man in his early twenties.

All he cared about was money.

And support.

He is cute.

Fortunately, Yoo Ji-ah found this endearing.

After all

She was already fascinated by him.

At this point, even the sight of him devouring his food was appealing.

"Of course we take care of the asset management. Once the company has your full support, you'll get lots of investment proposals. After all, we'll share the profits, so the more the company earns, the more you'll get, Mr Jin-woo."

"Really?"

"Of course. You just have to concentrate on your gambling activities."

"Sounds good. I'm already interested. Although I haven't known Yoo Ji-ah for long, you seem like a really good person.

If someone was willing to invest 13 billion won in him, what else could he be but a good person?

Money never lies.

Do rich people spend their money freely?

Not at all.

Rich people are actually more frugal and careful with their spending.

"So how would the profits be shared?"

"I'll explain it properly at the next meeting with the contract. I assure you, you'll find it more than fair."

"The next meeting?"

"How about tomorrow? I'll come to the open space."

"Open space?"

A meeting in an open space?

"The summoned creatures you requested. You need to check them out."

"Oh, without even signing the contract, you're already buying them?"

"Yes, well. The staff is already in the process of buying them."

"What?"

"Let's just call it a gift. Even if you don't sign, I'll still give you the summoned creatures. Consider it a gift."

Swallow.

Baek Jin-woo's throat tightened.

Was this the power of a conglomerate family?

Their scale was massive!

It was clear now.

Yoo Ji-ah was definitely a good person.

At least for him.

* * *

The next day.

As usual, Baek Jin-woo showed up at the vacant lot near his parents' house.

A secluded spot between hiking trails.

Baek Jin-woo called this place his "nest".

Only a few people knew about the nest.

Baek Jin-woo, a few people from the Talent Management Team at the head office and his sister, Baek Ah-jin.

In fact, the Nest was a place that the Baek family had discovered during their childhood walks.

Whenever he had a headache, he would come here to stretch and breathe in the fresh air - a place that brought peace to his mind.

What is my brother up to these days?

Baek Ah-jin, who had been selling runes, suddenly became curious.

In the past, he'd often called and asked questions, but now there was hardly any contact.

I heard that he had even moved out of Mom and Dad's house to live on his own.

It was a bit strange.

She knew he was registered as a player and making money, but...

Honestly, wasn't it strange?

Her little brother had a C-rank summoned creature, and yet he never asked for help?

She could easily do a few dungeons with him if he wanted.

She didn't understand why.

So she decided to take a break from farming for a day and walk the path early in the morning.

She wanted to take the path her family used to take.

The good thing about this path was that it was always empty.

It wasn't a well-known path.

Trudge, trudge.

As she walked, letting her body relax -

Wow.

She spotted someone who immediately caught her eye.

'She's an incredibly pretty unnie.

The strange thing was that her outfit was completely inappropriate for walking.

Full make-up, as if she was going to a formal event.

But what is she doing here?

Usually it was only older people from the neighbourhood who walked this path. This wasn't a place someone like her would visit...

And the strange thing was, their paths seemed to be oddly aligned.

Wait.

That face -

It looked so familiar.

Keeping up with trends, Baek Ah-jin often browsed social media in her spare time.

Pretty unnies recommended by the algorithm were her usual view.

So there was something familiar about this woman's face.

She resembled someone she had seen online...

Gasp?

Baek Ah-jin suddenly froze in shock.

That woman... she is Yoo Ji-ah.

The envy of all women!

The one person who even the nation's goddess, Jang Ah-young, called a close friend - the flower of the conglomerate world!

It was definitely Yoo Ji-ah.

Why is she on such an obscure trail?

Although she quickened her pace to keep up, curiosity got the better of her and Baek Ah-jin started following her, pretending to walk the same route.