59. Rune Dwarf
[Required Materials: King’s Emblem(Bound) x1, Top-grade Summoning Scroll x3, Advanced Summoning Scroll x10, World Tree Leaf x10]
These were the materials needed to make a “Guaranteed Summoning Scroll” (B-rank).
Upon arriving at the workshop, Baek Jinwoo immediately started the crafting process.
[Drumroll!]
[Crafting is in progress!]
The success rate was 80%.
Unless he had unbelievably rotten luck, it should work!
‘Please! Please! Please!’
With sweaty hands, he rubbed them together desperately.
Flash!
[Success!]
[Congratulations!]
[You have obtained a “Guaranteed Summoning Scroll” (B-rank)!]
“Niiiiiice!” Aaaaahhhh!
Baek Jinwoo roared.
Now.
He did not have to feel nervous over some crappy blueprint anymore.
There had only been two EX-grade summons that were B-rank anyway, and now he could pull them both.
‘Thank goodness.’
An 80% chance, twice.
He had been worried, but both went through smoothly without any mishaps.
Before going to the 30th floor of the Tower of Trials, he would get to see Rune Dwarf.
After leaving the workshop, Baek Jinwoo thought, What is there to wait for? and immediately tore open the summoning scroll.
Riiip!
[You use the “Guaranteed Summoning Scroll” (B-rank)!]
[Player Baek Jinwoo is selecting a summon!]
Fluutterrr!
Among the countless cards, there was only one summon on his mind.
[“Rune Dwarf” (EX-grade)]
Kyaah!
‘I’ve been waiting for you, you little punk!’
Baek Jinwoo grabbed the card with an excited heart.
Whirrr!
The card spun round and round, then burst out with light.
[Player ‘Baek Jinwoo’ has obtained the summon ‘Rune Dwarf’ (EX-grade)!]
—Uh, uhh? What is this?
Step, step.
A short little fellow with a white beard came crawling out in an oddly adorable way.
—Where is this…? And who are you? How did you summon me?
The dwarf looked around, his eyes full of curiosity.
“Rund.”
—Rund? Hmm, that familiar way of calling me… could it be God Ji-nu?
“Yeah, it’s me. Though my name here isn’t God Ji-nu, it’s just Jinwoo.”
Ugh.
That damn God Ji-nu.
It made him cringe every time he heard it.
—H-Hahahaha!
Rune Dwarf started chuckling slowly, then soon burst into hearty laughter.
—Kuhahahahaha! Is it really you? Really?!
Then he ran over and tightly grabbed Baek Jinwoo’s hand.
—I-I really, truly missed you! Ever since I was suddenly sealed away, I haven’t been able to swing a hammer even once. Do you know how much I missed that feeling in my hands? I believed in you! I knew that one day you’d summon me again!
Wow.
He had known Rund was a bit of a chatterbox. But hearing it in actual speech gave it a whole different flavor.
For reference, Rund’s active period had only overlapped slightly with HunGyo’s.
He had never met Lamba or Explosive Dragon.
Anyway, should he check the information first?
[Summon: Rune Dwarf]
[Race: Dwarf]
[Grade: EX-grade (Isolated)]
Isolated after being found to contain balance-breaking elements under certain circumstances.
[Level: 1]
[Stats]
Strength: 1, Intelligence: 1, Vitality: 1, Agility: 1
HP: 1,000, MP: 0
Critical Hit Rate: 20%
Critical Damage: 20%
[Skills]
Crafting (LV. 1): Uses various materials to craft the desired rune with a certain probability.
He was the only summon with skill proficiency.
If he diligently built up that proficiency and received blacksmith training through HunGyo?
He would learn the latent ability “Masterpiece Crafting” (LV. 1), and that thing was absurdly overpowered.
Because it allowed him to craft all kinds of rare runes and unique runes.
For reference, back during Battle of Summoners, Masterpiece Crafting had gotten hit with a balance patch at skill level 3.
Just thinking about that still made his blood boil.
“Welcome back to our camp, Rund.”
—I’m happy as well to see another side of you! My resolve is the same as before! In exchange for letting me swing my hammer to my heart’s content, I shall make runes for you for the rest of my life! I mean it.
“Yeah, thanks.”
All summons had a kind of desire. For Rund, that desire was hammering away.
From a player’s perspective, it was the sweetest possible kind of desire.
“Come on for now, guys. I’ll introduce you.”
* * *
“Say hello.”
After returning to the penthouse, Baek Jinwoo let Rund out.
“He’s a new member of the family. And an elite, at that. You’ve heard a lot about him, right?”
Baek Jinwoo grouped his EX-grade summons under the label “elite”.
Lamba, HunGyo, Explosive Dragon, Gale Slayer, Rund.
Those five were the ones he intended to pour his time, affection, and resources into as his main force.
As for the rest—
He would just raise them moderately.
—So you’re Rund, the one I’ve only heard about? Hiiiii! Nice to meet you!
Flutter flutter!
Lamba came forward.
Then, for some reason, started singing.
—I’m the summon, Lamba! Jinwoo’s staff! A fairy who loves eating cream bread! When you see me, say hello~ Give me a cheerful hello~!
—Lamba, you’re noisy.
As HunGyo approached while wiping down and organizing his sword, Lamba stuck out her lips.
—Tch.
—Rund, it’s been a while.
—Oh! You’re HunGyo! It’s good to see you again like this. Indeed! Kuhahaha!
HunGyo and Rund had always gotten along well.
That was because HunGyo’s desire to train others and Rund’s desire to get even better at hammering were a perfect match.
—I’m Explosive Dragon Sorcerer. It’s my first time meeting you.
Rund also smiled brightly when he saw Explosive Dragon and Gale Slayer.
—Hahaha! Then all the better. For all of your sake as well, I’ll have to build back up the proficiency I lost first.
Positive thinking.
In other words, Rund-style thinking.
Still.
Baek Jinwoo felt a little stifled.
Do you know how hard it had been to raise that proficiency before?
And now he had to build it all up again.
For reference, the maximum level for Crafting was 10.
Once it reached 10, the efficiency became pretty decent. The problem was that it took a ridiculously long time to get there.
‘But then again…’
Come to think of it, his situation was better now than before. Back then it had been a game; now it was reality.
And because it was reality, obtaining materials was—
Actually easier.
* * *
“Jinwoo, what’s going on?”
With Gale Slayer escorting him, Baek Jinwoo left the house and immediately called Yoo Jia.
Because he needed to discuss Rund’s proficiency.
“Ah, of course.”
Before that, there was also something he had to give her.
“First, please take this. It’s a gift.”
Baek Jinwoo initiated a trade.
What he offered was a Mind-Reading Eagle (A-rank).
“Huh? What’s this? An eagle?”
“It’s called a Mind-Reading Eagle. I got it as a reward from the Tower of Trials, so try reading the description.”
“…Ah, yes.”
Yoo Jia nodded and accepted it, then read the description.
And then her eyes widened even more.
Good grief.
A lie detector bird! And on top of that, it was rare.
B-rank rares were still relatively easy to get, but A-rank rares were truly precious.
People would pay whatever was asked.
Because the chance of getting one was almost as close to zero as it could be.
“You’re giving something this valuable… to me?”
“I think it’ll be more useful in your hands than mine.”
Her eyes filled with emotion.
Come on, getting moved over just this?
He was planning to bring her much better things later.
“Don’t be too happy. I’m giving it to you so you’ll work even harder.”
“Ah, haha! Really? Then I guess I’ve got no choice but to work overtime without ever leaving?”
“Come on, not that much.”
Baek Jinwoo shrugged and brought up another topic.
“A gift is a gift, but I have one favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
“Yes, it’s related to rune crafting. Could you help promote it a little?”
Baek Jinwoo and Yoo Jia discussed things for quite a while. And what they decided in the end was this:
To commercialize Rune Dwarf right away.
Rund’s ability?
It was incredible.
If a major guild had owned him, they probably would have kept him for themselves and never let anything leak outside.
But?
Baek Jinwoo did not have a guild.
He was a solo player operating under the management support of Yoobaek.
“Proficiency. Of course, I can build it up by myself. But if I do that, it’ll take far too long.”
Back in Battle of Summoners, it had taken roughly two years to max out his crafting proficiency.
And that was after grinding like crazy and pouring in tons of materials.
“Rather than doing it alone, I need help from other players.”
“From what I’m hearing, that definitely does sound more beneficial.”
Yoo Jia said with a nod.
“But it can’t look like we’re doing it because we need it. We need to go forward while receiving fair compensation.”
“Compensation meaning…”
“Since the failure rate is high right now, how about this: if it fails, we do it for free, and if it succeeds, we take one summoning scroll. Naturally, the client covers all the rune crafting materials.”
The success rate for rune crafting with Crafting (LV. 1) was abysmal.
As far as he knew, it was below 0.1%.
Still?
It definitely had value.
Because you could create the exact rune you wanted, with the exact options you wanted attached to it.
“A summoning scroll?”
“Yes, one Advanced Summoning Scroll per success.”
Since an Advanced Summoning Scroll was worth 3 million won, that meant they would be charging 3 million won per successful rune craft.
“Oh ho.”
If this was properly commercialized, it would be insanely profitable.
‘I get to build proficiency while earning money, and the other side gets the rune they want by spending money.’
And on top of that—
It was about time he started stockpiling Advanced Summoning Scrolls too.
There were still five EX-grade summons remaining.
[Little Giant (C-rank)]
[Dampir (C-rank)]
[Aso (A-rank)]
[Magic Cat (A-rank)]
[Ruination Dragon (S-rank)]
Among the summoning scrolls that currently had a market price, the highest-tier one was the Advanced Summoning Scroll.
As for Top-grade or Ultimate Summoning Scrolls, people could name any price they wanted—and there was no stock anyway.
The summon rates for an Advanced Summoning Scroll were as follows:
[D-rank: 94%]
[C-rank: 5%]
[B-rank: 1%]
Baek Jinwoo intended to tear through Advanced Summoning Scrolls like a madman to obtain Little Giant and Dampir.
If he got just those two, he could build the best tanker lineup available to him.
They were summons he absolutely needed if he wanted to conquer the Tower of Trials easily later on.
‘Of course, to actually pull them, I’ll need absurdly good luck…’
But if he kept trying, wouldn’t it happen someday?
Back then, it would have been hopeless. But now, at least, he could see a tiny bit of hope.
And if Rund also started earning him summoning scrolls?
That hope would grow considerably.
“That’s a good method.”
“For now, it’s still a little too early to let other countries know about Rund’s existence, so should we only try making agreements with large domestic guilds? Under confidentiality terms.”
Ooh.
As expected of Yoo Jia.
That was right.
Too much information getting out could invite danger, just like what happened with the gang.
If he wanted to walk the world openly, with no secrets to hide—
At the very least, all of his EX-grade summons would need to be fully upgraded with endgame runes.
And all their latent abilities would need to be unlocked too.
Wouldn’t he be able to meet Rachel openly by then?
No, even if the whole world became his enemy, he felt like he could still stand tall.
“Please do that.”
“Yes, I’ll reach out to Baekho, Arirang, and Ilwol.”
“Ah, and add Carpe Diem to that list too.”
Gi Jaehyuk, Kang Jihoe.
Personally, Baek Jinwoo felt fond of those two.
Something about the way they followed him around going, “Big bro, big bro!” made it seem like they would do whatever he asked without a single complaint.
Yeah.
If there was something good, he ought to share it with them too. For now, he had decided to accept them as disciples.
“Yes, sir! Consider it done!”
Yoo Jia gave him a cute salute in a lively voice.
It looked like she was copying HunGyo.
Watching her, Baek Jinwoo let out a quiet chuckle.
Good.
It felt like, little by little, everything was falling into place.
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