57. Taking in a Disciple
“There’s a saying: if you want water, dig your own well. Of course, I do receive your guidance once a week, brother, but I realized something. You’ve been teaching me while keeping a certain distance.”
That was only natural, really.
No matter how much the country pays, how could someone teach everything to a person with whom they have no real relationship?
‘Teaching, huh.’
Baek Jinwoo knew his own worth better than anyone else in this world.
His vast knowledge of Battle of Summoners, his possession of EX-grade summons, and even his genius-like instincts.
‘Even those Five Emperors guys wanted it that badly.’
They used to cling to him all the time.
They even said they could support him financially, so please, just please accept them as disciples.
Baek Jinwoo did not originally take disciples.
If someone begged desperately enough, he might give them a hint or two, but he had never seriously taken someone under his wing and cared for them personally.
Why?
‘Because I’m too busy growing myself.’
Back then especially, he had been obsessed with the Tower of Trials.
As Baek Jinwoo hesitated, Gi Jaehyuk dropped to his knees.
“Please allow me to train together with you, brother!”
“If it makes you too uncomfortable, then please guide me for just one hour a day! I’ll listen well!”
Kang Jihoe also knelt right beside Gi Jaehyuk.
‘What’s with these kids?’
Hong Ari made a tired face.
They were really going this far?
Was it because they were young, making them that much more reckless?
‘Well.’
Gi Jaehyuk and Kang Jihoe surely hadn’t been selected for the national team with such low rankings for no reason.
Their relentless effort and that tenacity to never let go when an opportunity appeared—those were things that should never be underestimated.
“Then at least let us watch you train. We’ll make sure not to get in the way.”
Thud!
Even Oh Sunyoung dropped to her knees beside Kang Jihoe.
“U-unnie?”
Hong Ari was flustered.
She wasn’t normally like this. She was the kind of person who was like bamboo. Someone who never bent, no matter who stood before her…
And yet that unnie was kneeling for the sake of something?
“Hoo.”
Baek Jinwoo let out a breath.
Four players asking him to accept them as disciples.
Thanks to them, Yoo Jia and his parents had survived.
‘It’s not like I can’t do this for them.’
In fact, because Baek Jinwoo understood his own worth so well, he was able to make a decision.
To the current Baek Jinwoo, family was more precious than anything else.
“Very well.”
Baek Jinwoo nodded and continued.
“However, I have conditions.”
Teaching them would be easy. Still, he couldn’t just teach them for free.
“Conditions?”
“Just say the word! We can meet any condition!”
At Baek Jinwoo’s rather positive response, the eyes of the four rankers sparkled.
There were exactly three conditions.
First, they were never to reveal any information they received through his training, nor anything related to Baek Jinwoo himself.
That much was obvious.
Information was value itself, and Baek Jinwoo especially did not like exposing information about his summons.
Second, Arirang, Carpe Diem, and Yoobaek were never to betray one another.
After putting in so much effort to raise them, if they betrayed him?
There could hardly be anything more absurd than that.
Third, the relationship between master and disciple would be strict.
He had originally spoken casually to the two high schoolers, and with Hong Ari and Oh Sunyoung, theirs had been a relationship of mutual respect.
But once they entered as disciples?
Not a chance.
Regardless of age, they would observe proper etiquette between master and disciple.
Also—
Baek Jinwoo’s training was not ordinary. Even if they thought it unreasonable, they had to follow it no matter what.
“These three. Do you agree?”
Naturally, the contract would be established through the system.
“I agree, Master!”
“These are completely obvious conditions, aren’t they?”
The high schoolers had already changed from calling him brother to Master.
An adaptability that was truly astounding!
“I’m fine with it too.”
Hong Ari, who was the same age as him, nodded as well.
“Good. I’ll serve you as my Master. From now on, feel free to work us to the bone.”
Oh Sunyoung also looked at Baek Jinwoo with determined eyes.
Grin.
Baek Jinwoo smiled.
‘This is even better.’
The rankers before him were among the finest talents in South Korea. And by teaching such people, he had secured an eternal alliance.
Especially since Arirang, one of the Big 3, was enormous enough to rival even major corporations.
‘Connections.’
No matter how outstanding Baek Jinwoo was, he could not obtain immense power alone.
Because there was a spatial limit.
‘If I raise them well and make use of them…’
He might even be able to acquire military power rivaling a nation.
That would make it much easier to protect the people precious to him.
“Feel free to work us to the bone, huh.”
The process was going to be brutal.
To Baek Jinwoo, a player’s stamina and mental strength were just as important as a summon’s training.
“All of you, I hope you won’t regret those words.”
The corners of Baek Jinwoo’s lips curled upward.
At the sudden change in atmosphere, the four rankers all flinched.
* * *
From then on, the four rankers had to report to Yoobaek’s training grounds every morning.
At 7:00, they would start the weekday dungeon grind, and at 8:00, they assembled!
By the time Baek Jinwoo arrived, the four were already there.
For reference, in Yoo Jia’s case, she would come around 9:00, receive one hour of training from HunGyo, and then go back to work.
“Is everyone here?”
When he asked that—
“Yes, brother…. no, Master.”
“We got here thirty minutes early and were warming up!”
The rankers answered with bright, sparkling eyes.
After disbanding yesterday, they had all dreamt a dream.
A dream in which they received Baek Jinwoo’s teachings, became world-class rankers, and swept through dungeons and leagues alike!
Naturally, they had come out with hearts full of excitement, with both body and mind reverently prepared.
“First, there are some friends I’d like to introduce.”
Baek Jinwoo grinned and gestured with his eyes.
Then—
—My lord.
HunGyo approached.
—So, these are the new members of the household.
“……!”
Everyone’s pupils slowly began to widen.
Hong Ari’s mouth gradually fell open, and Oh Sunyoung’s body stiffened.
Good lord.
That summon—
It could talk?
And on top of that—
—Wooooow! Are these friends I’m allowed to talk to? Hi~ I’m Lamba.
Lamba spun round and round in the air as she greeted them.
—Nice to meet you. I’m the Explosive Dragon Sorcerer.
Even the Explosive Dragon Sorcerer, who had been seated in a corner practicing Explosive Dragon Arts, bowed her head in greeting.
“W-what is this…”
“Aaaaah, the summon is talking…!”
“What kind of miracle is this, Master?!”
It was already known that Baek Jinwoo’s summons were unique, thanks to information having spread. But no one had ever imagined they could speak.
“Greet them. Especially HunGyo here—he’ll be managing your stamina first.”
“…..!”
Swoosh.
HunGyo walked around, examining the bodies of the four players.
—At a glance, your muscle mass is inadequate.
Hong Ari bristled.
Unlike the other players, she had consistently kept up with exercise.
Hadn’t she even filmed a few commercials recently thanks to her maintained figure and appearance?
—Hmm, it’s not as though you’re caked in fat, but judging by your physique alone, it looks like you’ll need quite a lot of effort. My lord, may I begin immediately?
“Begin.”
Baek Jinwoo nodded and slowly took off his shirt.
Then the dense, rippling muscles hidden beneath the cloth were revealed.
‘C-crazy…?’
Hong Ari’s face reddened.
‘…Hhk!’
Oh Sunyoung clicked her tongue in amazement.
And then—
“M-Master!”
“I respect you…!”
Gi Jaehyuk and Kang Jihoe’s jaws dropped open.
If you kept following HunGyo’s guidance every single day, there was simply no way body fat could stay on you.
No matter how much you ate.
“The foundation of a player is neither incredible reflexes nor vast knowledge. It is mental strength.”
Baek Jinwoo grinned.
“And what supports that mental strength is stamina. The body doesn’t lie.”
At the same time—
Fwoosh!
He started running across the training grounds.
—What are you doing? Why aren’t you following?
“Y-Yes, we’re coming!”
“……?”
Question marks popped into the rankers’ heads.
They had come expecting all kinds of things—summon management, growth methods, combat tips—but suddenly he was telling them to run?
Was this really right?
Still, there was nothing they could do.
They had already signed a contract saying they would follow any command. If they disobeyed, the contract would be broken.
And that meant losing the chance to receive Baek Jinwoo’s guidance!
In the end, they had no choice but to run, bitter as it was.
* * *
Time passed.
After the gang disappeared, peace returned to South Korea. And Baek Jinwoo’s life also became peaceful.
Running weekday dungeon loops, consulting for the national team, disciplining his disciples’ physical strength, personal training, and so on.
His days flowed tightly according to a carefully arranged curriculum.
And now—
“I’ll be off.”
The time had come.
“You’re saying you’re going to challenge the Tower of Trials?”
Yoo Jia sprang to her feet.
The Tower of Trials might be a joke to Baek Jinwoo, but to ordinary people it was terror itself.
A place where most who entered died and never came back out.
“And you’re going straight up to the 20th floor?”
“Yes.”
Preparations were complete.
He had Explosive Dragon Art: Flame, and HunGyo had also obtained a fortuitous opportunity.
‘To be honest.’
Even if someone sent him in blind and told him to solve everything on his own, the 20th floor was something he could clear with a 100% success rate.
In other words, he could now brute-force it with pure stats even without a strategy guide.
“Can I record it?”
“Of course.”
They had already recorded the 10th floor, so why not the 20th?
Of course, it was for private viewing only.
“Mm, and… it shouldn’t happen, but just in case I ask—what are the odds that you won’t come back?”
Baek Jinwoo looked at Yoo Jia with an expression that said, Why even ask?
Then he answered.
“0%.”
* * *
The theme of Floors 11 through 20 of the Tower of Trials was bloodsucking.
If you climbed while somehow clearing each complicated mission along the way, then at the end there was an S-grade boss waiting.
The king of all vampires.
The primordial vampire, Dracula (S-grade).
As befitting an S-grade, he was an extremely troublesome bastard.
He had resistance to every attribute except fire, so damage barely stuck to him, and if he managed to suck blood even once, he would restore all his HP—a truly monstrous enemy.
And he had many underlings too.
Vampires who had had their blood drawn directly by Dracula, each one strong enough to rival a fairly developed A-grade summon.
Fwuaaak!
And yet those vampires were being cut down in a single slash of HunGyo’s blade.
—Wooooow, HunGyooo! You’re so stroooong!
—Be quiet, Lamba.
It was fascinating.
Normally, to hunt vampires, you had to gather fifteen fire-element summons and bring them along.
But HunGyo needed none of that.
11th floor, 12th floor, 13th floor, 14th floor, 15th floor.
They just kept pushing through without resistance.
And when they reached the section on the 16th floor where ten fairly powerful mini-boss-class vampires attacked at once—
—Flame!
Whoooosh!
The Explosive Dragon Waves that Explosive Dragon Sorcerer had been stacking all erupted at once.
[You have eliminated Dracula’s assassination squad.]
[Congratulations!]
[You have conquered Floor 16 of the Tower of Trials!]
‘Wow, this is easy.’
And what was Baek Jinwoo doing?
Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, just breathing in the air inside the Tower of Trials and watching!
‘Sweet. So sweet.’
Sweet enough to rot his teeth.
Sections in Battle of Summoners that had taken him hundreds of tries to clear were now all being sliced apart by the current Explosive Dragon Sorcerer and HunGyo.
—Jinwoo! I want that cream bread I ate back then! The one I had in that city called Dubai!
That ultra-luxurious cream bread Jasim had specially ordered to be made?
—You’ll get it for me, right?
Whirlwhirlwhirlwhirlwhirl!
“Yeah.”
Actually, Lamba was the one having the hardest time.
Because her stats reset every time the floor changed, she was swinging her staff around for dear life.
“I’ll just ask Miss Jia and hire a chef as an employee. If possible, a master baker.”
—Kkyaaaaaaak!
Lamba went beyond cheering and practically screamed.
—Loyalty! It’s my sin that I can’t swing it even fasteeeer!
Where on earth did she even learn to say things like that?
[Congratulations!]
[You have conquered Floor 17 of the Tower of Trials!]
—Let’s goooooooo!
[Congratulations!]
[You have conquered Floor 18 of the Tower of Trials!]
—Flame!
—My lord, I have dealt with Dracula’s secretary, ‘Renpil’ (A-grade).
[Congratulations!]
[You have conquered Floor 19 of the Tower of Trials!]
Only two hours had passed since they first knocked on the door to Floor 11 of the Tower of Trials.
And yet they were already standing before the final boss, Dracula (S-grade).
‘Seriously.’
It had been unbelievably fast.
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