177. Emergency meeting
In 10 minutes. HunGyo came in.
“How is it?”
—Quite promising, my lord.
“Oh.”
That strict HunGyo was saying “quite promising”?
—Their stamina isn’t bad, and above all, they all have good constitutions. They don’t measure up to you or Song Yeonhee, my lord, but in a short amount of time, I believe I can raise them to the current average level of the guild members.
Ooh.
Then they really picked well.
Well, yeah.
He’d heard they gathered a hundred of the best of the best and made them compete to pick just four. It’d be weirder if there were an ordinary person among them.
Anyway.
If they passed HunGyo’s standards, then it was okay.
“Work them hard for once. Ah, and.”
Whoosh!
When he turned his head, he saw Aila sitting on the sofa, blankly staring at him.
“Aila’s family now too, so you’ll train her as well, right?”
—Of course. I’ve already been thinking of a spear art that would suit her.
“Ooh, really?”
As expected of HunGyo.
He was definitely serious when it came to training.
“Before that, let’s check her Awakening first.”
Aila was different from ordinary summons.
She was probably the only summon in the world that had undergone something called “Awakening”.
Baek Jinwoo wanted to test just how big that difference was.
“How about in three hours? They said they built a new training ground this time, so let’s go check it out.”
—Yes, my lord. I’ll make the preparations.
Swish.
HunGyo left.
‘Hmm, what rune should I give Aila?’
Trinity would probably be best, right?
“Rund.”
—Did you call for me, Master!
This time, Rund popped out.
Baek Jinwoo opened his inventory and checked the number of Top-grade Rune Selection Tickets.
[Top-grade Rune Selection Ticket (Bound) x 83]
The reward he had obtained this time. With these, he could pull exactly up to rare runes.
Baek Jinwoo used 18 of them and converted them all into Omnipotent Runes.
Then he held them out to Rund.
—Ooh, another Unique Rune?
“Yeah, make me one set of Trinity.”
The absurd cheat-like nature of Rund, who could create Runes even breaking past the limit of exclusivity!
That was why Rund was EX-rank too.
—Sounds good! Just wait a little! My proficiency has improved now, so I should be able to make them quickly!
* * *
While he had been at the Tower, Yoobaek City had undergone quite a few changes as well.
First of all.
The planned city Yoo Jia had envisioned had now taken shape.
To the east of the original apartment complex, land grading work was in full swing, and as for the training ground, the expansion had already been completed.
Since it was a place Baek Jinwoo used, it had been done the fastest and most perfectly possible!
—Wow, this is incredible!
Lamba flew around here and there, taking in the changed training ground.
Baek Jinwoo also walked around with his hands behind his back, inspecting every corner.
To be honest, it was incredible.
Was it really possible to transform Geomdansan like this? That was the level of visual impact it had.
A vast field spread out in the mountains! Rocky hills rising in every direction!
‘This looks like it was designed with soundproofing in mind.’
There was even soft grass, shade canopies, and a small pond in the rest area.
Baek Jinwoo released all his summons there except Rund.
An eco-friendly private training ground!
Yoo Jia had said she created this space solely for Baek Jinwoo.
Naturally, there was also a building here, and it had everything the main training ground had.
—Gwoooar....
Jaggeo walked forward with heavy thuds.
He headed to a tall rocky hill, then sat down with a boom!
‘Looks like Jaggeo’s in a really good mood.’
Dampir approached with a smile.
Seeing her flick her tongue, she must be thirsty.
“Here.”
When he held out his arm, just as expected.
—Aaang!
She bit into it.
He had been feeding her continuously once a day, but....
Was this really okay? He had once asked HunGyo that.
Then.
—I’ve kept watching, and I think it’s actually beneficial for you, my lord. It improves blood circulation, and she seems to draw mostly bad blood.... I think it would be fine if you let her take a little more often.
That was what he said.
Since then, whenever she came near, he simply held out his arm in a good mood.
Anyway.
The summons looked quite excited.
—Kihahahahat! Come at me! Is that all you can do?
—Kruk....!
Over in one corner, Aso and Gale Slayer had already started training while fooling around.
Watching Aso dash across the wide field while dodging the scythe Gale Slayer swung was a spectacle in itself.
And Explosive Dragon Sorcerer?
Fwoosh!
She was once again spewing flames and practicing control training.
“Explosive Dragon Sorcerer.”
—Yes, Jinwoo.
“You can rest a bit.”
To be honest, Explosive Dragon Sorcerer was the strongest among all the summons he had.
This one would only grow exponentially stronger every time they entered a dungeon, so there was really no need for training anymore.
But.
—No, Jinwoo. Everyone else is working hard, so I can’t be the only one resting.
“No, the others are one thing, but you alone are fine. You even took down Asmodeus in one shot this time, didn’t you?”
—Come on, Jinwoo. You like strong summons more, don’t you?
“Huh?”
What kind of nonsense was that!
“What do you take me for?”
Ahem.
There was some truth to that, though!
Once Baek Jinwoo designated a summon as elite, he tended to make an effort to like that summon fairly.
—Is that not it?
“No, it’s not.”
—Hmm, it really couldn’t be like that.
For some reason, Explosive Dragon Sorcerer’s expression had turned serious.
What was that.
Why was she acting like that?
“Anyway. Enough weird talk. Alright, gather around, everyone.”
Baek Jinwoo clapped his hands sharply.
At that, they began gathering one by one.
“First, let me introduce our new friend. You all probably know already, but she’s the Champion we met in the Tower. Her name is Aila Lunares.”
—Woooow! Nice to meet you, I’m the Attack Speed Fairy Lamba! Treat me well! Then you’ll get to experience a whole new world!
—Nice to meet you, Lady Aila. You’re quite tall. I’m Explosive Dragon Sorcerer.
—Gwor....
—Nice to meet you. I wonder what your blood tastes like?
The summons greeted Aila one after another.
With a curious feeling, she began speaking with each of them in turn. It was a heartwarming sight even just watching from afar.
Yeah.
Get along, all of you.
If they were going to climb the Tower later, there was nothing as important as teamwork....
* * *
London, England.
Upon returning, Rachel immediately held a grand funeral.
World Rank 8, Gareth Bale.
World Rank 15, Sandy McKiver.
It was the funeral for him and her.
The British national team members, including Rachel and Olivia Abernathy, all shed tears, and the public was furious as well.
“Gareth and Sandy were precious comrades and family to me. They were also vanguards who led Britain with honor. Though we must sadly let them go, their spirit and achievements will forever remain in our hearts.”
Rachel’s speech, delivered while suppressing her emotions, continued.
The families of the two heroes were given enormous compensation.
In addition, scholarship foundations were established in the names of the deceased, measures taken so that their names would be remembered forever.
“Hoo.”
Only after everything had been settled.
Did the words she had seen when she came out of the Tower come back to her mind.
[The 60th Floor of the Tower of Trials will be sealed forever.]
Rachel had the worst feeling about that message.
Even now, the whole world was in an uproar because of it.
Just what was the Tower of Trials trying to do?
‘If I’m curious, I can just go see for myself.’
Rachel stepped back into the entrance of the Tower of Trials alone.
“S-surely... you’re not planning to challenge it again right away?”
The resident staff member guarding the Tower looked like he sincerely hoped that wasn’t the case.
Rachel gave a bitter smile and shook her head.
“No. I just came because there’s something I need to confirm.”
“Ah, I see. Understood!”
The employee stepped aside.
Step, step.
She slowly walked toward the main gate.
Rrrrk!
Then the door opened automatically, and beyond it rippled a black aurora.
‘First of all.’
Just entering that place did not automatically mean starting a try.
You went inside, set up your party, and then—
[Would you like to challenge it?]
[Y/N]
You only actually entered by pressing Y there.
So.
Slide.
She went in first.
* * *
[Entering the Tower of Trials.]
[The Tower of Trials is extremely difficult.]
[Please exercise caution.]
A pitch-black background.
Just as before, a round of warning messages passed by.
[Up to 3 teams may be deployed in the Tower of Trials.]
[Please complete the setup.]
She roughly set up the party.
What came next was the important part.
Originally, it should have said—
[You may currently challenge the 61st Floor.]
[Would you like to challenge it?]
[Y/N]
A message like that should have appeared.
That was how it had been on the 51st Floor too.
But.
Beeeeeeep!
Along with a long warning alarm, the newly appearing status display was clearly different from before.
—Tower of Trials Emergency Patch Notice!
1. Upon challenging the 61st Floor, the mission will continue through the 70th Floor.
2. Humanity must conquer the 70th Floor within 1 year from the time of this notice. (Time remaining: 361 days 5 hours)
3. If it fails, the extinction of humanity is guaranteed.
4. Maximum number of participants: 50 people (Only those who have cleared the 50th Floor of the Tower of Trials may enter.)
‘What is this...’
Suppressing her shock, Rachel slowly read through the notice.
So.
Just like the previous 51st through 60th Floors, the Tower of Trials had been merged again.
And this time, 50 people had to challenge it together and clear the 70th Floor within one year?
[Would you like to challenge it?]
[Y/N]
‘No.’
She pressed N immediately.
The situation was very serious.
The 60th Floor had already been difficult enough, so how were they supposed to clear the 70th Floor in just one year!
And what was that?
50 people who had cleared the 50th Floor of the Tower of Trials?
To begin with, there were only two people in the world who had cleared the 50th Floor.
Herself and God Ji-nu.
‘This is insane.’
She had to spread the word quickly.
They had to make it known to the world and come up with countermeasures immediately.
When Rachel came back outside, the staff saw her expression and—
“A-are you alright?”
“Why has your face suddenly gone pale...?”
They asked in confusion, but—
Stride, stride.
Now urgent, Rachel couldn’t even answer and quickly made her way to the guild.
* * *
An urgent video conference proposal came from Britain’s Red Rose.
There were four participants.
1. Rachel of Britain.
2. Baek Jinwoo of Korea.
3. Xenos of the United States.
4. Hikaru of Japan.
Fortunately, all of them had the necessary equipment, and the meeting was conducted in secret.
In Baek Jinwoo’s case, he used the equipment installed in the Yoobaek headquarters building.
There were several large screens.
And each of their faces appeared on them.
First of all.
“Once again, I express my regret and my apology for what happened.”
Yoshida Hikaru immediately put his palms together and bowed his head deeply.
“My failure to manage my guild members, and the fact that someone like Veskov was allowed to create a situation that threatened world order. It is all my fault. I should have actively stopped it, but I failed to do so.”
And then he continued apologizing over and over.
“It is shameful, but I will take responsibility for the parts where I failed. From now on, I will abandon all greed and do my utmost with the attitude of a loyal servant and hound, so that the blood alliance may be maintained.”
This was not an apology from Japan.
It was Hikaru’s personal apology.
But that was enough. From now on, his will would become Japan’s course of action.
“For now.”
Rachel opened her mouth with a grave expression.
“That’s not what’s important right now. The situation is serious.”
“What happened?”
Xenos looked to be in decent condition as well. His injuries seemed to have recovered considerably.
“It looks like humanity has received a new quest.”
“A quest?”
“Yes. A quest for humanity’s extinction.”
Rachel began slowly explaining what she had seen.
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