I Alone Am an EX-Class Summoner

Chapter 22: Conquering the Weekly Dungeon (3)

A new record in the Monday Dungeon?

Certainly a remarkable achievement.

News articles were written about it at that time, and public opinion was stirred up quite a bit.

A new record in the Tuesday Dungeon?

When Baek Jin-woo’s name appeared again, many players began to take notice.

“Baek Jin-woo? Who’s that?”

“Huh? I think I heard the name before. Oh yeah, wasn’t it mentioned that someone finally broke Kang Gun-ho’s record, but the post got deleted shortly after?”

“Oh, that person! Wow, he broke it again?”

“He cleared the Monday Dungeon, then the Tuesday Dungeon… He doesn’t seem like a ranker, so is he some hidden master who just appeared out of nowhere?”

“And now he even made the global leaderboard with this one, which makes it even more significant.”

“It’s definitely intriguing. Which organization is he affiliated with?”

Until then, there had only been a bit of excitement, but things hadn’t truly exploded.

However, by the next morning—

When he set a new record in the Wednesday Dungeon?

At that point, everyone had to acknowledge it.

What had been discussed only in player forums was now featured in major news outlets, and articles about Baek Jin-woo flooded the platforms everywhere.

[New record in the low-rank Wednesday Dungeon! “4 minutes 22 seconds,” Who is Baek Jin-woo?]

[A player who appeared out of nowhere! Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday—record-breaking attacks one after another! And both the Tuesday and Wednesday records are globally ranked!]

[Will player Baek Jin-woo aim for Thursday next?]

The public had buzzed over the Tuesday Dungeon record, but now that he’d conquered both Monday and Wednesday as well…

South Korea, which had momentarily calmed down, was abuzz once again.

Of course.

The person at the center of it, Baek Jin-woo, didn’t care.

“All this fuss over something so trivial?”

Right, right.

Who do they think they’re dealing with?

It was surprising in a different way.

Even though he considered himself an old hand, was the standard still this low after three years?

Honestly, he could guess the reason.

‘Lack of leadership.’

It was likely because South Korea’s veteran players had left.

While countries renowned for summoning had been led well by experienced veterans right from the start, South Korea had seemingly wandered off course.

But it wasn’t Baek Jin-woo’s job to correct that.

‘I just need to become stronger as I originally planned.’

If he claimed his position among the One Heaven and saw to it that 「YooBaek」 grew well with Yoo Ji-ah, then?

The standard in South Korea would naturally rise as well.

“Alright, let’s train, everyone.”

Clap, clap!

Baek Jin-woo clapped his hands in the training field once more.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

There were only four days left.

***

Korean Player Headquarters.

Director’s office.

The director, reviewing the reported articles, furrowed his brow.

“Who is Baek Jin-woo? I feel like I’ve heard that name before.”

Watching the elderly man, whose hair was completely white, adjust his glasses, the secretary sighed quietly.

The current director of the Player Headquarters was too old.

He was only in this position because he had served five terms as a member of the National Assembly, using his name and influence to secure this role.

“He’s the person Congressman Park Chang-seok mentioned… Do you recall? The one who said he’d provide information if he received some summons.”

“Oh, that’s the one Congressman Im Hee-su firmly opposed, right?”

“Yes, that’s right, Director. He refused, saying he couldn’t spend money without first receiving solid information.”

“So that information turned out to be genuine?”

“…It seems that way.”

Snort!

A rough breath came from the director’s nose.

‘Im Hee-su, that fool. He’s lost his touch.’

To be fair, he himself had been skeptical.

Congressman Park Chang-seok had a point, but so did Congressman Im Hee-su.

‘But in politics, the results matter more than the process.’

If they had supported Baek Jin-woo from the start?

That information might have belonged to Headquarters now.

They could have garnered the people’s praise and won more votes as a result.

“Sigh.”

The director let out a regretful sigh.

Park Chang-seok had made an excellent proposal, but Im Hee-su had foolishly kicked that golden opportunity away!

“Secretary.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Try to reach out to this player Baek Jin-woo again.”

“Do you mean directly from our side?”

“Yes, that guy. We thought he was fake, but he turned out to be real. We need to bring him in however we can.”

Can they recover what they’ve already lost?

The secretary tilted his head slightly in doubt, but this was still the director.

The highest authority in the Player Headquarters.

He couldn’t disregard it.

“Yes, I’ll attempt contact from our office.”

***

Thursday morning.

The area in front of the Day of the Week Dungeon building looked quite different than before.

Originally, only players came and went here, but now the place was crowded with reporters.

Naturally, they were here to catch even a glimpse of Baek Jin-woo.

“Ah, why are they all crowding around over there?”

“This building’s cramped enough already; it’s so inconvenient.”

Of course, existing players were understandably dissatisfied.

Since the Day of the Week Dungeon could only be accessed from within the 「Player Zone」, they had to pass through the reporters to get in.

“What’s Headquarters doing? Shouldn’t they control the civilians here?”

“They probably don’t want to deal with another fight over media restrictions and all that.”

“Still, they need to protect players’ rights somehow. This is a pretty serious matter. Headquarters really isn’t doing anything right these days.”

Grumbling, players reluctantly entered the dungeon.

Right behind them were Baek Jin-woo and YooBaek’s members.

Click, clack!

Yoo Ji-ah looked slightly troubled as she watched Baek Jin-woo don his gear.

“Are you sure this is alright? I tried to get rid of them somehow, but there’s no tougher opponent than the press…”

“Well, what can you do?”

Baek Jin-woo smiled leisurely.

“They came here just to see me, so shouldn’t I just wave at them or something?”

Baek Jin-woo decided to think positively.

After all, he still had to clear the dungeon.

It wasn’t like the reporters would actually block his way and stop him from going.

Not paying attention to the onlookers.

He’d done the same in the past.

No matter what anyone said at school, he’d been obsessed with 「Battle of Summoners」.

‘Now it’s the dungeon.’

That was all he needed to focus on.

***

“By the way, is the video recording going well?”

When Baek Jin-woo asked, Yoo Ji-ah immediately answered.

“…It’s impressive. We couldn’t help but marvel while watching it. Especially that scene where the golem strides up the mountain… how on earth did you find that route?”

“The veterans overseas probably all know about it.”

Specifically, those with at least eight years of experience.

This route was originally discovered by Rachel and had spread across the forums around that time.

“Whew, anyway. I trust you’ll handle it well, so I’m off.”

Baek Jin-woo said goodbye to Yoo Ji-ah and the members, then confidently strode through the crowd of reporters.

Most of the reporters recognized Baek Jin-woo, as his identity had been revealed.

“Over there!”

“That’s Baek Jin-woo!”

“Take the shot!”

Click, click!

Even amidst the barrage of flashing cameras, Baek Jin-woo only looked forward.

Specifically, at the glowing blue entrance of the Day of the Week Dungeon inside the building.

“What’s your secret to succeeding at time attacks despite not being a ranker?”

“Where did you get your information from?”

“There’s a rumor you were a gamer—is that true?”

Ignoring the questions pouring out alongside the microphones, he continued walking steadily.

At least the Headquarters had some sense; they had assigned security guards to keep the reporters from getting too close to the player.

“Can we expect you to break the record in the low-rank Thursday Dungeon as well?”

Just once.

He nodded in response to that single question.

“Yes, of course.”

Click, click, click, click!

As the flashes went off like crazy, Baek Jin-woo dived into the Thursday Dungeon.

***

The Monday and Wednesday Dungeons give ‘runes.’

The Tuesday Dungeon gives ‘whetstones.’

Then what about the Thursday Dungeon?

It gives ‘Skill Books.’

Books that allow you to register skills for summoned creatures.

Of course, the Skill Book doesn’t include the unique skills of each summoned creature.

Nor does it include latent ability skills, which only Hun-gyo can unlock.

However, since it has quite a few useful skills, it’s one of the dungeons that players should regularly clear.

Remember what I said before?

There’s no real need to clear the Sunday Dungeon.

That’s thanks to the Thursday Dungeon.

The Sunday Dungeon also gives Skill Books, but it’s more challenging, while this one is easier.

You can get all the Skill Books you need from the Thursday Dungeon.

‘Not much to this one.’

It’s basically a one-on-one fight with a dungeon boss focused entirely on defense.

[Warning! Warning! Warning!]

[The boss monster is appearing!]

As soon as you enter the Thursday Dungeon, the boss appears.

The boss is a massive Earth Golem.

It’s enormous, about the same size as the Titanium Golem.

Roarrrrr!

The golem let out a powerful roar, whirling its earthen arms around.

Despite its appearance, its defense is so high that most attacks won’t even scratch it.

‘The core unit here is originally the B-rank White Wolf.’

A unit with the best cost-effectiveness in terms of single-target defense reduction skills.

However.

Baek Jin-woo hadn’t bothered to purchase the White Wolf.

‘I can just smash it with a high DPS combo.’

So, he assembled a team of elites.

Lamba, Hun-gyo, Explosive Dragon!

And then the Titanium Golem and the Wind Falcon!

“Whew, I probably shouldn’t sell this video.”

Why bother sharing footage of simply smashing it with the best team?

Better to tell people to reduce defense with the White Wolf and attack with a high-DPS setup.

That’s the optimal method.

In fact, this approach is simple enough that it’s already spread in Korea and comes closest to the global record.

‘But regardless, I still need to break the record.’

Getting into specifics, that Earth Golem has a weakness.

It’s all about hitting its head.

For most players, that would be quite a challenge.

It’s so huge that aiming for the head is difficult.

But, there’s a way.

“Titanium.”

Roarrrr!

The Titanium Golem read its player’s intent, bending its knee and lowering its shoulder.

Hun-gyo, Lamba, and the Explosive Dragon climbed up onto that spot.

Thud, thud, thud…

The Titanium Golem raised its hulking body, facing off against the Earth Golem.

And above them—

Fwoosh!

With a graceful leap, Hun-gyo swung his arm powerfully.

Slash, slash, slash, slash!

His swordsmanship, at its peak, shredded the Earth Golem’s head in an instant.

Rumble!

A booming sound, like thunder, echoed throughout the dungeon.

With Lamba’s attack speed buff and the Wind Falcon’s movement speed buff, Hun-gyo’s movements became even sharper.

The attack speed stacked up, making him faster and faster!

Meanwhile—

Fwoooosh!

The Explosive Dragon’s explosive flame wave joined in!

‘Actually.’

Later on, the only one who’ll enter the Thursday Dungeon will be the Explosive Dragon.

A properly trained Explosive Dragon?

It’ll probably clear even high-rank dungeons in just one second.

Including entry and exit time, that’s about ten seconds?

In theory, it could produce 8,640 Skill Books a day.

Anyway.

For Baek Jin-woo and the EX-class summons who retained their memories of JinuGod’s One Heaven, a low-rank Thursday Dungeon was, quite simply, a piece of cake.

–

[Boss monster is being handled!]

[Dungeon clear!]

[Clear time – 00:05:10]

–

“Nice.”

Another national record for South Korea!

He beat the average of six minutes by a whole minute.

‘Hun-gyo really is something else.’

He’d realized it back when Hun-gyo easily overpowered his younger brother’s C-rank Shadow Elf.

This guy was unmatched in terms of growth speed.

“Let’s go again!”

After defeating the golem one more time, Baek Jin-woo smoothly set up auto battle and finally exited the Day of the Week Dungeon.

And on his way out—

“Excuse me, are you Player Baek Jin-woo?”

Two employees in neat Headquarters uniforms greeted Baek Jin-woo.