AECS 06

Chapter 06

First, Registration

[‘Using Low-Level Summon Scroll!’]
[Player ‘Baek Jin-woo’ has acquired the summon ‘Pile of Trash’ (F-Rank)!]
[‘Using Low-Level Summon Scroll!’]
[Player ‘Baek Jin-woo’ has acquired the summon ‘Horned Butterfly’ (F-Rank)!]

Two F-rank summons appeared first.

[‘Using Low-Level Summon Scroll!’]
[Player ‘Baek Jin-woo’ has acquired the summon ‘Poison Lizard’ (E-Rank)!]

Oh, an E-rank!

Baek Jin-woo clenched his fist and silently shouted, Nice!

What a good start.

If Lamba counts as E-rank too, he broke the 5% chance twice in just five tries.

Not bad.

‘And it’s a Poison Lizard?’

It was actually pretty useful for its rank.

A cost-effective summon.

‘Lucky me.’

He chuckled.

Together with the Furry Gorilla, it would be helpful for the early stages.

“Come here.”

When Baek Jin-woo reached out his hand…

Swish!

The Horned Butterfly flew and landed on his left forearm, while the Pile of Trash crawled under his leg.

‘This one…’

It smelled awful.

He’d probably use it a little and then discard it.

And…

• Slurp, slurp!

The Poison Lizard also crawled over, flicking its tongue.

‘Okay, team’s ready. Let’s start with the lowest-level dungeon.’

There was only one thing to do now.

Level up the summons while continuously tearing summon scrolls. Once he had a decent combination…

Then it would be time to start rune farming properly.

Runes, which were like equipment for summons, were better in variety.

Because he could switch them depending on the situation!

‘Farm runes, hunt, tear scrolls.’

Repeat these three things endlessly to grow.

He’d gradually get better runes and stronger summons.

‘Back to grinding, huh?’

No RPG exists without grinding.

Even if it’s real life, it’s the same.

Think about it. Whether studying or running a business, repetitive effort is needed for success.

Baek Jin-woo set a short-term goal.

‘Find all the remaining EX-class summons.’

What if he collected all ten EX-class summons and formed a dream team?

“Crazy.”

Just imagining it made him swear out loud.

It was overpowered.

Literally insane.

He pictured them in his mind like the Avengers and immediately became certain.

If he had them all, even five S-rank summons… whatever.

He could just sweep everything.

He could probably clear the Tower all the way to floor 100.

‘Ah.’

Excitement rushed through him.

He felt so eager to start moving.

But where was the dungeon?

In the mobile game, it was simple.

Dungeons were separated by stage. You just clicked to enter.

But real life?

Not a phone game.

He probably had to find the dungeon himself.

Swish.

Baek Jin-woo took out the phone he had activated during the day and searched for related info.

And then…

“What?!”

He shouted without realizing it.

“Is this real?”

Dungeon gates appeared randomly all over town.

Fortunately, he could tell the difficulty by the energy output of the gate… but…

‘Even with a summon, ordinary people can’t enter dungeons?’

Damn it!

So it wasn’t something he could do right away.

After checking carefully, he found out he had to register at the Player Headquarters first.

It used to be open to everyone, but as death rates rose, the government took control.

Every dungeon had a staff member. You had to get permission from them to enter.

“Sigh.”

And, of course, the law was just introduced this year.

No luck at all.

‘Registration looks annoying.’

There was quite a lot of training required—dungeon practice and battle practice too.

‘And they even make you compete?’

It was probably to control the number of players.

For society to run smoothly, different jobs were needed.

If everyone became a player just because it made money, chaos would follow.

“Well, registration’s fine. I can handle that.”

Bzzzz—

Grumbling, he called his sister.

• Oh, oppa.

Oh, she picked up right away. He must really be able to ask for help anytime.

“Do I need registration to enter dungeons? Why didn’t you tell me?”

• Ah! Right, that!

Baek Ah-jin laughed awkwardly.

• A few days ago, I got some kind of certificate by mail, so I thought it was fine. But the law changed.

“You should’ve told me something that important.”

• Haha, sorry. I didn’t know exactly either. Players who entered dungeons more than ten times last year were automatically registered. I just glanced over it. I didn’t think of you. Probably all last year’s players lost their qualification. That’s why there’s a lot of people now… You’ll be competing with third-year seniors.

“Can’t you do anything with your influence?”

• Oppa… I don’t have any power.

“Why, you’re C-rank Shadow Elf, whatever. You were bragging before.”

• Eh! The HQ is strict. You have to be at least ranked to have influence.

“Ranking?”

• Ah, don’t know? The system ranks players yearly based on influence. Top 100 in the country, top 100 in the world.

“I see.”

• Of course, Korea’s #1 isn’t strong enough to appear on the world ranking. Ha, that legendary Jinu-god… if he appears, Korea would skyrocket.

“Kuh, got it. Thanks.”

When the topic of ‘Jinu-god’ came up, Baek Jin-woo quickly ended the call, feeling awkward.

Anyway.

To participate properly, he had to get the qualification.

And there’s something called a ranking.

‘Okay.’

Setup was done. Today, he would enter.

The Next Morning

6 AM.

He wanted to go out early.

“Ah.”

Mom and Dad were already up, preparing breakfast.

Our family was really diligent.

“Huh? Where are you going so early?”

His dad asked while cooking.

“To Jamsil.”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t Ah-jin tell you? She said I should try being a player. That’s why.”

“Oh, so all the running around was for player prep.”

“Yes. We have to work harder to make up for the past three years.”

“Ahem.”

Dad cleared his throat and looked at him with pride.

“Son.”

“Yes?”

“I’m glad you’re alert first thing in the morning.”

“Of course. Registration and stuff… it’s intense.”

“Right. Still, it’s a stable future career. Look at me—how great I am.”

Vroom!

Dad tried to summon an E-rank Pebble Golem proudly.

“Honey!”

Mom frowned.

“Don’t summon that at home! It’s a nuisance!”

“Ah, sorry.”

He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.

Strictly speaking, Dad wasn’t a player.

He just summoned golems for loading work.

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re alert. Always fighting!”

“Yes, Father.”

Baek Jin-woo smiled at him and bowed.

“Mom, Dad, thank you.”

“Huh? Suddenly?”

“For paying hospital bills and supporting me.”

“Why suddenly say something so sweet? Fine, just keep it. But eat breakfast before going.”

“Yes, don’t worry. After starving three years, my stomach insists on breakfast.”

“Sleep well?”

“I slept enough for three years. Now it’s boring.”

It was true.

Once registered, it would be 6 AM start, 2 AM end, no breaks.

No time to waste now.

“Anyway, enjoy breakfast! I’m off!”

After greeting, he left.

Mom, Hwang Myung-hee, tapped Dad’s shoulder.

“Honey.”

“Yes?”

“Is this really okay?”

“Better than lying around half-dead. The government provides proper safety training, so it’s fine.”

“…Still.”

“Who knows? Jin-woo might become the world’s best player.”

“I don’t hope for that. I just want him healthy.”

She had worried so much while caring for him in the hospital.

Every day, she prayed just for his life.

Honestly, she opposed him becoming a player.

It was too dangerous.

He already survived once; what if he died again?

But…

Dad strongly supported it.

When he watched him play with golems, his eyes were similar to when he focused on the phone game.

The first time he truly concentrated on something constructive.

Even if dangerous, support from behind was the right choice.

“Be careful, son.”

Hwang Myung-hee watched the door tightly as her son left.

Are there many players?

Not really.

Although everyone can qualify, few actually play.

Statistically, most people prefer safety over risk.

The biggest risk? Life itself.

The ‘shield’ disappears if all summons are recalled.

If all summons vanish in the dungeon by mistake…

You die. Brutally—bitten, chopped, etc.

Even huge rewards and fame couldn’t convince everyone to challenge it.

Especially in Korea, early dungeon death rates were massive.

The reason? A mix of greed and fantasy.

Players felt like the protagonist and overextended themselves… and died.

It was why Korea often ranked low in global battles, losing many talented players.

“Hello. Here to register?”

A neatly dressed employee at Player HQ Registration guided him politely.

“Welcome. Today is the monthly deadline. Please submit here.”

Required items:

• ID card
• One team of summons
• Player application with personal info

After submission:

Teams receive training, a written exam, then dungeon practice.

Finally, competitive player battles.

Only 50 people per month earn the ‘Player’ title.

‘50…’

Tough. Really tough.

At this moment, hundreds were registering.

Most weren’t beginners—they were former players whose registration had been canceled.

‘But whatever.’

Baek Jin-woo was confident.

Competition would be fair. He could easily beat them.

If he failed this…

Would the name Jinu-god cry?

“Here you go.”

After submitting the papers, Baek Jin-woo went to a nearby café and waited comfortably, browsing information.