AECS 02

Chapter 02

The world has changed.

He lost consciousness.

Because of that, he had a long dream.

A dream where he ran and played with his summoned creatures on a wide plain.

• Oh, Jin-woo…!
• Ugh… Oppa…
• …This kid, Jin-woo. Sigh…

He also heard the voices of his family during the dream.

His mom, his dad.

And his younger sister, Baek Ah-jin.

Every time, he realized it.

Ah, I’m dreaming right now.

He had lost consciousness in a traffic accident, so he couldn’t wake up.

He needed to wake up quickly.

He had to find out what that ‘low-level summoning scroll’ was, and what happened after clearing the 100th floor of the Tower of Trials.

But his body wouldn’t move as he wanted.

The shock was too great, and his body forced him to stay unconscious to recover.

“Damn it…”

• Huh?
• Oppa!
• Nurse! Nurse! My brother moved his hand! Please come quickly!
• Mom! Yes! Now! I’m serious! Come quickly!

It was noisy.

Too noisy to sleep.

He had to wake up.

“…Ugh.”

As Baek Jin-woo opened his eyes, a bright flash burst out.

Light poured into his widened pupils, so strong it felt like he might go blind.

“Patient Baek Jin-woo? Are you conscious? If you are, please blink your eyes.”

“Oppa! Can you see?”

Baek Jin-woo frowned.

As the light faded, two blurry faces appeared.

A nurse, and Baek Ah-jin crying.

Looking around, it was a hospital room.

From the mark, it seemed like a local mid-level hospital.

Well, his family didn’t have money for a high-class hospital anyway.

“Ugh…”

A rough sound came from his throat.

His body ached, and he had no strength in his muscles.

How long had he been lying here?

“Patient, can you see my fingers?”

Blink.

Baek Jin-woo closed and opened his eyes.

“Jin-woo!”
“Baek Jin-woo!”

Bang!

His parents rushed in as soon as they heard.

What exactly was going on?

At that moment—

“…Huh.”

He could still see the status window floating in his vision.

[Beta test ends.]
[A new world opens.]

It was clearly the same message he saw before getting hit by the truck.

And below that—

[Would you like to start the tutorial?]
[Y/N]

“….”

A sigh escaped from him.

Mom, Dad…

No—world.

What is going on?

“Oh my…”

After waking up and hearing everything from his family, Baek Jin-woo was speechless.

First of all, it had already been three years since he was hit by the truck.

And on the day of the accident—

The whole world had changed.

“…So.”

Baek Jin-woo muttered blankly.

“A message saying ‘a new world is opening’ appeared to everyone, and everyone received one low-level summoning scroll? Dungeons appeared everywhere, and if they’re not cleared, monsters come out?”

And that wasn’t all.

Modern weapons didn’t work on monsters.

Not guns, not missiles, not even advanced weapons.

Only summoned creatures could fight them.

That’s right.

Everyone in the world had become a player of Battle of Summoners.

“…Does that make sense?”

“We reacted the same way at first.”

His father sighed.

“It was hard to believe. But what could we do? It really happened.”

Baek Jin-woo’s father, Baek Jin-cheol, actually saw this change as an opportunity.

His father had a weak body and couldn’t do physical labor before.

But summons?

They followed the player’s commands.

The summon he got was a small golem, about the size of a child, but it was strong enough to carry heavy loads.

So he started working with delivery loading using that summon.

Because of that, he could help pay for Jin-woo’s hospital bills.

“Jin-woo, I actually think this is a chance given by God.”

“…This?”

“To be honest, your life didn’t have much hope before, right?”

“…What?”

No, Dad.

Why would you say that so directly?

“You didn’t study at all since middle school. I was worried about your future. You didn’t wander around, but you didn’t have many friends either.”

“…Is that something you say to your son who just woke up?”

“I couldn’t say it in front of your mother, but I knew you were obsessed with some strange mobile game.”

“…Ah.”

Battle of Summoners.

He thought he was hiding it, but they knew.

Of course they did.

He was that obsessed.

“Anyway.”

Baek Jin-cheol stood up from his seat.

At the same time—

Wooooong!

He waved his hand in the air.

Rumble…!

With a small vibration, a golem rose from the floor.

“Don’t be surprised. This is my summon.”

“…!”

“This is no longer a world where studying alone leads to success. This summon—those who can handle summons well will succeed.”

“…Crazy.”

Baek Jin-woo widened his eyes.

That—

Isn’t that a basic monster?

A Cobblestone Golem?

An E-class summon usually used as leveling material.

Completely useless in dungeons.

“…Wow.”

Now it finally felt real.

Really.

“The game I knew… has become reality.”

“So recover quickly and start with the tutorial.”

“….”

Tutorial.

Hearing that word from his father felt strange.

…He still couldn’t believe it.

Even though his father had lived in this world for three years—

Baek Jin-woo still couldn’t accept it.

After resting for a day, he completed his discharge.

The doctor opposed it, but he insisted he was fine.

He didn’t want to rest.

He wanted to investigate this changed world as soon as possible.

[Would you like to start the tutorial?]
[Y/N]

He also wanted to get rid of this annoying window in front of his eyes.

“What happens if I press N?”

Of course, he had no intention of pressing it.

Even if he knew the game well, reality could be different.

If he was going to do it, he had to do it properly.

After a day, he had somewhat adapted to the changed world.

But it wasn’t enough.

The internet would be the best way to learn everything.

Beep—beep!

Ding dong!

Baek Jin-woo opened the door and entered his house.

His breathing was rough and his muscles trembled from walking after so long, but he couldn’t stay in bed forever.

Thankfully, the door password was still the same.

It was his parents’ house—a small, old villa.

Unlike his younger sister, who went to a good university and lived in a dorm, he still lived here.

“Going out costs money.”

His parents weren’t home.

They would return late after work.

“….”

A bitter feeling filled his chest.

How hard must it have been for them to pay his hospital bills?

Clench.

He tightened his fist.

If—

If this world really is the one he knows—

Then.

The 10 years he wasted might finally pay off.

He could turn 10 years of being a bad son into something good.

“First.”

Computer!

Turn on the computer!

Let’s start researching!

As fast as possible!

“…This is crazy.”

Baek Jin-woo couldn’t believe it.

His father was right.

[Top 10 Player in Korea clears dungeon with A-class summon!]
[Last place in the league again. Is this really a gaming nation?]
[Top Korean University establishes Summoning Department!]

Every article was about summons.

Summons here.

Summons there.

And then—

“Huh?”

[Where is Korea’s ‘JinuGod’?]

“JinuGod?”

He couldn’t ignore that.

“That’s my ID…”

Click!

He opened the article.

It talked about Korea ranking low again.

And—

Rachel, ranked #1 in the UK, mentioned a powerful Korean player named JinuGod, saying she learned a lot from him.

Japan’s #1 player, Yoshida Hikaru, also said:

“Korea must find JinuGod. It is essential not only for Korea, but for humanity climbing the Tower of Trials. If we cannot find him, there is no future.”

“…This is insane.”

It was unbelievable.

“These are the people I knew…”

The old veterans.

The One Thousand Five Emperors.

A cringe name—but people he had shared five years with.

“Sugoi… so his real name was Yoshida Hikaru.”

Ha…

Air escaped from his lungs.

Player battles, raids, dungeons, Tower of Trials, runes, synthesis shop, enhancement shop—

Everything existed in reality.

It really felt like a joke by God.

“…Then.”

If that’s true—

His eyes sharpened.

“This is huge.”

Better than winning the lottery.

Battle of Summoners was his life.

Even now, information about summons filled his mind.

If he used that knowledge—

Wouldn’t that be a complete life reversal?

[Would you like to start the tutorial?]
[Y/N]

“….”

He stared at the window again.

He had nothing right now.

No good runes.

No proper summons.

But—

He was confident.

At least in this game, he could become the best in the world.

“Yes.”

Click.

“Let’s do this.”

[The tutorial begins.]

At that moment—

Flash!

His vision filled with information.

[Say ‘Status Window’ to view your status.]
[Say ‘Summon Info’ to view your summons.]
…
[Say ‘Summon Scroll’ to check your scrolls.]
[Say ‘Item Window’ to check materials and runes.]

And—

[Day 1 Attendance]
[Reward: 1 Low-Level Summon Scroll]

There was even an attendance reward.

[Try saying ‘Summon Scroll’.]

“….”

So this is the tutorial.

It seems it will teach summoning first.

After all, you need summons to do anything.

“Summon Scroll.”

A window appeared.

[Summon Scroll List]

1. Low-Level Summon Scroll ×2

A red scroll floated in the window.

Light shone on it.

“One from the accident day, one from attendance… so two total.”

[Place your hand on the scroll.]

He reached out—

And felt something in his hand.

Two scrolls.

[Tear the scroll.]
[You can tame a random summon.]
[Use outside recommended.]

“…Phew.”

This was a tense moment.

Even for someone called Ilcheon—

If he got a trash summon at the start, it would be over.

Like a Cobblestone Golem (E-class)…

“They said to do it outside.”

He nodded and stepped outside.

“Please… something useful.”

At least something good for the early game.