The next day.

Early in the morning, Baek Jin-woo set his weekly dungeon summons to auto grind and went to the open field to loosen up his body.

Hun-gyo and the other summons were already at their stations, training diligently.

Let's take a look at the rewards first.

Checking the rewards from the 2nd to the 9th floor, the following was found:

[2nd Floor - Essence of Light x10]

[3rd Floor - Universal Polish x10]

[4th Floor - Highest Level Rune (Light Speed) x1]

[5th Floor - Mid-level Skill Book Selection x5]

[6th Floor - Top Tier Rune Selection Card (Bound)]

[7th Floor - Summoning Scroll x3]

[8th Floor - Top Tier Runecrafting Ticket (Bound)

[9th Floor - Universal Polish x10]

"Phew."

All in all, the rewards were quite good.

Apart from the slightly disappointing 10 Essences of Light, everything else turned out fine.

What's a Light Essence?

It's a rare crafting material, probably used for certain blueprints.

But I can't use it right now.

Since I don't have the blueprint that requires Light Essence yet, the best thing to do would be to sell it on the marketplace - for a very high price.

It's rare, and since there are no listings, anyone desperate enough will pay whatever it costs.

Here is the jackpot.

The 4th floor reward.

The top-tier Light Speed rune!

Light Speed is the superior version of the Swift Rune currently used by Lamba.

Under the right conditions, it drastically increases attack speed to the limit.

[Rune]

[Level: Lower]

[Set Effect: Swift]

- Equipped 4 times: Attack speed +30%.
- 6 pieces equipped: Attack Speed +50%.

This was the standard Swift rune.

[Rune]

[Level: High (Rare)]

- Limited to 100 pieces worldwide.

[Set effect: Lightning Speed]

- Equipped 6 times: Attack Speed +300%.
- An additional +200% attack speed for wand summons.

The set effect of the Lightning Speed Rune was insane.

Equipping six of them grants a whopping +300% attack speed, and for wand users like Lamba, that increases to +500%.

And it's a rare rune!

Rare runes can only be found in the Tower of Trials.

Rune dwarves can make them, but that's a story for another time.

Rare runes come with guaranteed optimal stats and will always max out when upgraded.

Basically, they're born to be "graduation runes".

Baek Jin-woo checked the rune's stats.

[Level: 1]

[Statistic Bonuses]

Intellect +12%, Intellect +30, Dexterity +12%, Dexterity +30

Beautiful.

This rune was clearly designed for magical summons that focus on attack speed.

It could be considered a Lamba-exclusive rune.

The Intelligence stat increases Lamba's Gale Impact skill, and the Agility stat further increases her attack speed.

Perfect.

Rare runes have fixed stats.

No matter where or when you acquire a Lightning Speed rune, these stats are guaranteed.

Once this rune has reached its maximum level (10), it becomes Lamba's graduation rune.

A rune worthy of the term 'graduation'.

We might as well start with Lamba's Graduation Rune.

Baek Jin-woo decided to use the Top Tier Rune Selection Tickets (Bound) from the 6th and 8th tiers.

[Use the Top-tier Rune Selection Ticket (Bound)!

[Player Baek Jin-woo has obtained Top-tier Rune (Lightning Speed)]

[Using Top-tier Rune Selection Ticket (Bound)]

[Player Baek Jin-woo has obtained Top Tier Rune (Lightning Speed)!

Among the countless runes that appeared on his screen, he immediately focused on Light Speed, selected it, and confirmed.

Now, all three runes had identical stats:

[Rune]

[Grade: High (Rare)]

- Limited to 100 pieces worldwide.
[Set effect: Lightning Speed]

- Equipped 6 pieces: Attack Speed +300%.
- An additional +200% Attack Speed for Wielding Summons.

[Level: 1]

[Statistic Bonuses].

Intellect +12%, Intellect +30, Agility +12%, Agility +30

I need three more.

To complete the set, he would ask his sister to scour the world market using YooBaek's resources.

This was the only way to fully unlock the set effect.

Summons can equip up to six runes.

I'll save the Universal Polish for later.

The Universal Polish obtained from the 3rd and 9th floors would be used after the runes had been upgraded to their maximum level (10).

Polish enhances the stats of fully upgraded runes, and the Universal Polish ensures that the stats are maximised regardless of the base quality of the rune.

Polish is reserved exclusively for graduation runes, making it highly sought after.

Then there are the three top-tier Summoning Scrolls from the 7th level.

They are also very valuable.

But they shouldn't be used or sold yet.

They'll be the ingredients for making a guaranteed B-class Summoning Scroll later.

I will keep these for now.

Finally.

The five Intermediate Skill Book Selection Tickets from the 5th floor.

These are honestly a bit of a disappointment.

With Hun-gyo around, Baek Jin-woo doesn't really need any skill books.

However.

They are still useful.

Baek Jin-woo was satisfied.

'First things first.

After organising the list of items to be sold and bought, Baek Jin-woo stood up.

"Hun-gyo."

- Yes, my lord!

"Keep training. I'm going to visit my sister for a while."

- Understood!

It was time to meet his sister.

The items from the mid-week dungeons were piling up, and the Essence of Light needed to be sold.

***

Player Zone.

Outside the offline marketplace where Baek Ah-jin spent her days.

"Huh?"

Baek Jin-woo was surprised.

At the place where his sister usually set up shop, there was another woman wearing a mask.

"Why is Yoo Ji-ah here?"

Yoo Ji-ah of "Yoo Baek" asked.

She chatted and laughed with Baek Ah-jin as if they had become close friends.

"Oh, Jin-woo!"

"Oppa!"

The two women greeted him warmly.

"What's going on?"

He asked for an explanation and they quickly summarised the situation.

"Ah-jin has decided to team up with YooBaek."

"Yes. The amount of material you bring in is getting bigger and bigger, so I thought I'd take a more professional approach by working with an organisation. Marketing, customer management... you know, things like that. I wanted to learn from the experts.

At the same time, Baek Ah-jin called her creatures.

"And I have to start hunting with my Ul-El. I've only been concentrating on trading, but the partnership with YooBaek will free up some time."

"Ul-El?"

"Yes! Shadowwolf and Shadowelf! That's their nickname."

Ah, that's what she meant.

Not bad.

Actually, it's great.

Even with a management company, Baek Jin-woo always felt a bit uncomfortable working separately with his sister.

The important part was

"The 20% share is still guaranteed, right?"

"Of course! I wanted to clear this with you as it changes the existing agreement."

"I don't mind. Do whatever you want, but make sure that Ah-jin's 20% is fixed."

"Understood. We're also planning to promote Ah-jin to director and hire more staff for her team."

Yoo Ji-ah was as efficient and clear as ever.

"Sounds good."

Baek Jin-woo nodded with a smile and Yoo Ji-ah let out a small sigh of relief.

She had been worried that he might feel uncomfortable.

"For now, Ah-jin."

Baek Jin-woo handed over a list and the things he'd brought.

"What's this?"

"Things you need to sell and buy."

"Oh, I need to buy things too?"

"Yes."

The list contained 10 top-tier Summoning Scrolls, 10 World Tree Leaves, and 3 top-tier Light Speed Runes - all the ingredients needed to create the Guaranteed Summoning Scroll (Grade B).

After reading it, Baek Ah-jin was shocked.

"Top-tier light speed runes... Are these rare runes?"

"Exactly."

"They're insanely expensive! I've only ever heard of them. I mean, global rankers use them, don't they?"

"Don't worry about the cost. You're working with YooBaek now, right?"

When Baek Jin-woo looked at Yoo Ji-ah, her eyes sparkled.

"So you're finally looking for runes!"

"Yes. Whatever it costs, I'll give it to you."

Rare runes are limited in number and extremely expensive.

But Yoo Ji-ah was excited.

I can finally be of real help to JinuGod!

"Jin-woo!"

"Yes?"

"Leave it to me! I'll secure her for you within a month!"

Yoo Ji-ah clenched her fists with determination.

Even if she had to use Daeseong's resources, she would make it happen.

"Thank you."

For some reason, Baek Jin-woo felt he could trust her words completely.

"Oh, and this."

Baek Jin-woo handed each of them something.

"What is this?"

"Intermediate skill book selection cards. Use them to teach your main summons a skill."

This was his idea to protect his family.

"What skill?"

"Desperate Call."

"Desperate Call?"

"Yes."

The description of the skill was as follows:

- Desperate Call: Once per day, forcibly summon a specific player.

In Battle of Summoners, this skill was useless - so useless that it was called trash.

But in reality, it was different.

With this skill, he could help his loved ones in an emergency.

"Learn it and use it to call me if you're ever in danger."

He planned to use four of the five Skill Book tickets in this way, giving one to each family member.

The last ticket would be kept in reserve.

"Learn it now and make me the designated player."

"Wow, this skill exists?"

Baek Ah-jin, who taught it to her shadow elf, marvelled at the skill description.

"Jin-woo.

Yoo Ji-ah, on the other hand, looked at him with a slightly emotional expression.

It meant that she was part of the family he was trying to protect.

All the time she had spent just supporting Baek Jin-woo felt confirmed.

Yes!

That was motivation to work even harder!

[Player Baek Ah-jin has set player Baek Jin-woo as the target for the skill 'Desperate Call'.]

[Do you agree?]

[Player Yoo Ji-ah has set Player Baek Jin-woo as a target for the skill 'Desperate Call']

[Do you agree?]

Of course, he chose Yes for both.

Now there was only one thing left.

To become stronger.

If he became strong enough to never lose to any player in the world, then he could proudly say, "I am Baek Jin-woo's family!"

Alright.

Let's see how far I can go!

For now, his challenge to the 10th floor of the Tower of Trials was set for a month later.

That morning, Baek Jin-woo had asked Hun-gyo how long it would take to prepare to defeat One-Eye.

- "One month! A single month will be enough, my lord!"

Hun-gyo's confident answer gave Baek Jin-woo all the reassurance he needed.

"Perfect timing.

The date coincided with the national team selection competition Yoo Ji-ah had mentioned.

The goal was clear - the 10th floor.

"Well then, I'll get going. Time to upgrade some runes."

After saying goodbye to the two women, Baek Jin-woo made his way to the enhancement station.

Now it was time.

Rune enhancement.

He would push the three light speed runes to their limits and polish them to perfection.