NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 21 - Conquering the Weekly Dungeon (2)
Chapter 21: Conquering the Weekly Dungeon (2)
The Day of the Week Dungeon Management Bureau.
A woman and two men were standing nervously in front of the place where the leaderboard was managed.
They were the members of 「YooBaek」.
“Haha, it’s really happening like this.”
Secretary Kim Byung-jin scratched his head.
Once Park Chang-seok’s secretary and Yoo Ji-ah’s superior, he was now the secretary of 「YooBaek」.
That was the power of capital.
“To think that he would actually attempt a time attack on the low-rank day of the week dungeon…”
“It might be a little early for him, honestly.”
Yoo Ji-ah smiled gently.
“It’s only been a week since I gifted him the summons. Even if he doesn’t break the record, we should naturally cheer him on.”
“Yes, of course, but…”
Kim Byung-jin had a slightly uneasy expression.
“Do you really think he’ll break all the records for the day of the week dungeons?”
“Hmm?”
Yoo Ji-ah raised an eyebrow.
It was a gesture that invited him to speak if he had more to say.
“Well… we acknowledge his achievement in the Tuesday Dungeon, but we haven’t heard anything about how he plans to clear the other dungeons. It’s not like Korea doesn’t have any gamers with over a year’s experience.”
“That’s true.”
“But if all of this is just bluster…”
Even with Kim Byung-jin’s anxious tone, Yoo Ji-ah did not lose her smile.
“Are you worried?”
“No, it’s not like that, but…”
“This business was started with my own money. Even if the worries you have turn out to be true, your salary won’t change. Since you’ve trusted and followed me this far, I’ll make sure it doesn’t impact your or Tae-seop’s careers.”
Yoo Ji-ah of the Daeseong Group.
She clearly had the power and money to make it happen.
‘And…’
Yoo Ji-ah thought.
‘It feels like he’s hiding something more.’
Just look at the confidence and composure that Baek Jin-woo displayed when he entered the dungeon a little while ago.
It was as if setting a record in the low-rank day of the week dungeon was nothing at all.
‘If that’s truly the case…’
At that moment—
Bang! Bang!
There was an uproar in the leaderboard management office.
“Another record! Another record!”
“A record? What kind?”
“The low-rank Monday Dungeon! Four minutes and twelve seconds!”
“What? So he’s beaten the previous record by three whole minutes? Who is it? Who did this?!”
As the staff buzzed with excitement, Yoo Ji-ah’s heart started pounding.
Ah.
Really?
Is it true?
He broke the record on his very first try?
And at a speed faster than expected?
“C-Crazy.”
Even the constantly worried Kim Byung-jin mumbled to himself unconsciously.
“…Baek Jin-woo?”
“That name sounds familiar.”
“Isn’t he the player who set the Tuesday Dungeon record before?”
“Oh, right. Baek Jin-woo!”
Hearing the employees, Yoo Ji-ah clenched her fists tightly and shut her eyes.
“…It’s done.”
This business is a success!
At least a moderate one.
At most, an absolute hit.
* * *
The day of the week dungeons in 「Battle of Summoners」 had an ‘auto battle’ system.
Once a team was set up in the dungeon, the summoned creatures would continue to clear the dungeon repeatedly, eventually returning with a pile of rewards!
And that system was fully replicated in reality as well.
The time was GMT +9.
Until midnight, based on Seoul, South Korea’s time zone.
As long as it was set up, the summoned creatures would continue clearing the dungeon.
When midnight struck?
The rewards and the summons would automatically be placed in the player’s warehouse.
Setting it up was simple.
Starting from the second time the day of the week dungeon was cleared.
–
[Would you like to start ‘auto battle’ with this team?]
[Y/N]
–
This message would appear, and all you had to do was click ‘Y’!
Baek Jin-woo took Hun-gyo out of Team 3 and added Lamba.
– Huh? Why me?
“Hun-gyo has to train the others. If you do this auto-run today, you can skip training. Are you not interested?”
– Hey, Jin-woo! How could you say something so touching? I’ll do it! I’ll do it for sure!
The thought of skipping that hellish training made Lamba brighten up immediately.
Forget about any treats.
Skipping training right now was the greatest gift of all.
“Okay, then. You just need to control the others.”
From now on, training would follow this pattern.
Summons that were running auto-loops would diligently farm, while those that weren’t would undergo endless training!
And Sunday would be a day of rest!
‘There’s also a Sunday dungeon.’
But to explain further, that one was meaningless.
It just needed to be cleared for record-keeping.
‘Rest is important for both players and summons.’
Since it was a statement from none other than Hun-gyo, it must be true.
Surely, it would have a meaningful effect on the growth of the summons as well.
“Alright, let’s go again. Back to the open field.”
After setting Team 3 to run the auto-loop, Baek Jin-woo returned the equipment he’d borrowed to Yoo Ji-ah.
“Here. I just leave it here, right?”
“Yes, Mr. Jin-woo.”
Somehow, Yoo Ji-ah’s gaze had become more respectful than before.
As for Kim Byung-jin and Hwang Tae-seop?
They looked at him with such admiration that they even clasped their hands together neatly.
Seeing them act as if they were serving a noble figure gave Baek Jin-woo a sense of pride.
“To be honest, I was surprised. I didn’t expect you to break the record in a single try.”
“I told you I would break it.”
“Yes, you did say that, but…”
Who would’ve thought that there would actually be someone crazy enough in this world to pull it off?
“The footage should all be recorded in that device. If you have any further questions, feel free to text me. Anything else you need?”
“Uh, yes. But what should we do about media coverage on this new record?”
She was asking if he wanted to keep it quiet, like last time.
It would require the help of Director Park Chang-seok at headquarters, but it might be harder to handle this time around.
It wasn’t like other players had broken new records now.
“Just leave it alone.”
Baek Jin-woo replied coolly.
“Pardon? Really?”
“Well, it’s not like I broke a world record. Besides, I still have so much more to show that it’s too early for anyone to be shocked.”
From Tuesday to Sunday.
He planned to keep pushing forward without looking back, so they shouldn’t be surprised just yet.
And, Baek Jin-woo knew well that it wasn’t the kind of rumor that could be contained anyway.
“Just… please make sure to protect my family.”
The only thing he was concerned about was his family.
Especially since this was South Korea, where gangsters ran rampant.
“Yes, I understand.”
Yoo Ji-ah’s eyes sparkled, as if telling him not to worry.
Who made this request, anyway?
Even if she had to borrow the power of Daeseong, she would protect them.
“For now, there will be top-level security around them. Please just keep doing what you’re doing, Mr. Jin-woo.”
* * *
Tuesday.
Baek Jin-woo cleared the Tuesday Dungeon with ease.
There was a method where he could have memorized the map and simply sprinted through, but he just took it down with the Striped Komodo.
‘Since it’s being recorded for broadcast, anyway.’
If he went full speed right now, he’d easily hit under a minute, and if that happened?
He would probably even break the world record.
‘That won’t do.’
He was willing to draw some attention, but he didn’t want it to reach the One Heaven, Five Emperors overseas.
Why?
‘Because no one really knows if those guys are truly decent people.’
There was history between them, and he’d be glad to see them if they ever met in person, but they were people he’d only encountered virtually.
They might even consider him a threat.
‘I hope it doesn’t come to that, but it’s best to play it safe.’
At least until his Explosive Dragon opened up its latent potential.
Anyway.
The core units of the Tuesday Dungeon were two monsters.
The B-rank Striped Komodo.
And the B-rank Wind Falcon.
The Striped Komodo, which fed on the Giant Slimes, crawled slowly towards the boss room.
Baek Jin-woo cast the ‘increased movement speed’ buff from the Wind Falcon, a well-known speed buffer, on the Striped Komodo.
As a result.
–
[Boss monster is being handled!]
[Dungeon clear!]
[Clear time – 00:03:10]
–
He easily set a new national record, clocking in at just over three minutes.
It was even a record in the global rankings.
Ranked as high as 79th.
‘Rachel got 2 minutes and 25 seconds, didn’t she?’
If he equipped the Komodo with movement speed runes and trained the Falcon to its peak, he’d hit that speed.
‘Of course, if I could tap into its latent potential through Hun-gyo, a one-minute time would be within reach.’
That could come later.
It was something that could be solved with time.
“Another auto-loop today. Need to farm more whetstones.”
Tuesday went by smoothly, with yet another record broken.
* * *
Unlike the Monday Dungeon, the Wednesday Dungeon was a day-of-the-week dungeon that awarded defensive runes.
The main setting was a snowy mountain, and it was incredibly cold.
Entering without preparation would even trigger a movement speed debuff.
–
[‘Frost Cat’ (C-rank) is summoned.]
[‘Wind Falcon’ (B-rank) is summoned.]
[‘Titanium Golem’ (B-rank) is summoned.]
[‘Explosive Dragon Sage’ (EX-rank) is summoned.]
[‘Horned Fairy’ (C-rank) is summoned.]
–
Thus, a monster with resistance to cold was absolutely necessary, and the best among them was the C-rank Frost Cat.
– Meow!
This blue cat granted balanced cold resistance to all five of the summoned creatures, including the player.
The Wednesday Dungeon’s mechanism was similar to the Tuesday Dungeon’s.
Get to the boss as quickly as possible and attack!
However, unlike the maze with low-aggression Slimes, the snow mountain Yetis were highly ferocious.
As soon as one entered the dungeon, they hurled snowballs and charged in a frenzy.
The unit used to counter this was none other than the B-rank Titanium Golem.
– Roarrrr!
The golem, made of solid metal, amplified its shield for three minutes and took on the role of a tank.
“Wind Falcon, speed buff.”
– Screee!
He cast the speed buff, allowing them to run across the snow mountain.
The destination was the summit of the snow mountain.
On the massive golem’s shoulder?
The player and the summons were riding along.
‘Whoa, this is dizzying.’
Just being on top of a golem, thundering its way forward, was incredibly thrilling.
‘I’ll have to get used to it.’
Especially since clearing the Friday Dungeon would require enduring this much without issue.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Ignoring the attacks of countless Yetis, the Titanium Golem charged straight ahead!
It followed a peculiar route.
Going up the main path took considerable time, but by climbing the steep rear slope, where only the Titanium Golem could traverse, it could reach the summit in under three minutes.
Thud, thud, thud!
The only downside was the dizzying sensation from the rapid ascent.
Baek Jin-woo, barely managing to steady himself, muttered to himself.
“Explosive Dragon, get ready.”
– ……
Naturally, the Explosive Dragon didn’t respond since they were filming, but it silently prepared its magic.
The way it calmly gathered its mana was almost reverent.
Whoooosh!
They broke through the blizzard, continuing to race towards the summit.
–
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[The boss monster is appearing!]
–
– Roarrrr!
A massive, menacing snow mountain Yeti roared before them.
‘Whew.’
Good thing this was a low-rank dungeon; if it were a high-rank one?
The Yeti would be three times as big and imposing.
A blue barrier surrounded the Yeti, and it was the Horned Fairy’s role to eliminate that shield buff.
Baek Jin-woo immediately controlled the Horned Fairy to strip away the shield.
‘And.’
That thing had an ice attribute, so he needed to take it down with a fire-attribute summon.
The Explosive Dragon was perfect for that.
Other players who couldn’t obtain the Explosive Dragon Sage would have to bring a suitable fire-attribute damage dealer.
“Explosive Dragon, now!”
– ……
Woosh!
The Explosive Dragon responded with a fiery glare, swung its staff, and for several minutes, the flames engulfed the Yeti.
–
[Boss monster is being handled!]
[Dungeon clear!]
[Clear time – 00:04:22]
–
As expected.
Once again, it was the top record in Korea.
And.
From that moment on, all of South Korea began to buzz with excitement.