AECS 11

Chapter 11

Achievement Seconds Break (1)

The first request Baek Jin-woo made to Park Chang-seok was that the world shouldn’t know about this new record he had set.

“Why is that? Setting a record is something to celebrate.”

“My safety isn’t guaranteed otherwise.”

“Huh? If it’s about your safety, our headquarters…”

Park Chang-seok’s words caught in his throat.

‘Right.’

What could the headquarters possibly do to protect such a talent?

The reality of South Korea was that even a single gang was too much for them to handle.

And if world-class rankers came personally to attack? There’d be nothing to stop them.

The best form of safety?

Not being noticed at all.

“I understand. We’ll request media control using our authority. Still, it’s inevitable that some information might leak—employees check the boards, and the judges might notice…”

“That’s fine. I’m not the only Baek Jin-woo in the world.”

Even though he had achieved a world record, the headquarters could at least manage media domestically.

After the meeting, the first thing he did at a café was check his rewards.

[High-grade Summoning Scroll ×3]
[Low-grade Polishing Agent ×2]

Even if the polishing agents were dungeon rewards, the high-grade summoning scrolls were a jackpot.

These were the first achievement rewards obtainable from the base-level Hwayo Dungeon.

They could only be received once.

Even if someone later set a domestic record in the dungeon, no additional reward would appear.

‘Shall I open them immediately?’

The probabilities for a high-grade summoning scroll were:

D-rank: 94%
C-rank: 5%
B-rank: 1%

If luck was on his side, he could immediately get a B-rank summon.

‘But betting everything on just three scrolls is too risky.’

What Baek Jin-woo needed right now wasn’t a B-rank summon.

It was an EX-class summon, practically a bug in the system.

‘First things first.’

He decided to check the prices.

He took out his phone and opened an app.

[Player Web]

This app was only available to players registered with the headquarters. As soon as he got his certification, Park Chang-seok had installed it for him.

Runes, polishing agents, summons, summoning scrolls—almost all trades could be done here.

Baek Jin-woo immediately went to the “Marketplace” tab to check summoning scroll prices.

He was stunned.

‘Crazy.’

Low-grade Summoning Scroll – 5,000 KRW
Medium-grade Summoning Scroll – 500,000 KRW
High-grade Summoning Scroll – 3,000,000 KRW
Very High-grade Summoning Scroll – Not for sale
Ultimate Summoning Scroll – Not for sale

High-grade scrolls cost this much?

He just got three of them—he had earned 9 million KRW from one dungeon run?

‘Wow.’

His hands trembled. Normally, he would have had to work a full month of part-time jobs to earn this.

But right now? He earned this much in about five minutes.

What about the future?

‘Dad, Mom, Ah-jin. Just wait a bit. Soon, I’ll make sure we never have to worry about money again.’

Clicking through information, Baek Jin-woo analyzed carefully.

Then he made his decision.

‘First, sell the high-grade summoning scrolls.’

Next?

‘Use that money to buy countless low-grade summoning scrolls.’

E-rank Training Instructor.
D-rank Fire Dragon Tamer.

Until he could summon these two, it was best to endlessly open low-grade scrolls.

Both were EX-tier summons in all but name.

At the Samseong-dong Player Zone.

“Thank you.”

Baek Jin-woo handed a player three high-grade scrolls and received 9 million KRW, smiling.

Now he could buy all the low-grade scrolls he needed.

‘But first.’

Why did low-grade scrolls cost 5,000 KRW each?

It was a fundamental question.

In Battle of Summoners, low-grade summons were items easily obtainable just by running dungeons.

Also, daily login rewards had a roughly 10% chance to include them.

They practically accumulated on their own.

Yet in the Marketplace, many people were selling them, but few were buying.

Why?

It didn’t fit the principle of supply and demand. Normally, a surplus of sellers drives prices down!

Bzz, bzz!

The best source of knowledge—his sister.

• “Hey, Oppa.”

“Ah-jin. Why is everyone selling low-grade summoning scrolls for 5,000 KRW each? There are so many for sale.”

• “Oh, that? The headquarters is buying them.”

“The headquarters?”

Baek Ah-jin explained patiently.

As a measure to support rankers, the HQ purchased large quantities of low-grade scrolls using national funds.

5,000 KRW was the lowest possible price per scroll.

However, the tax wasn’t infinite, so there was a daily purchase limit.

• “So the leftover scrolls that couldn’t be sold to HQ just circulate in the marketplace. They won’t drop the price. Why would they? Better to wait and sell to HQ later.”

“Ah, I see.”

It made perfect sense.

• “But there’s something people say these days too.”

“Huh?”

• “This policy is from the early days. Even HQ still has tons of low-grade scrolls they can’t manage. Eventually, this system might be abolished, and the price will drop further.”

“Really?”

Right. Even in the original game, medium-grade scrolls were expensive, but low-grade ones weren’t valued.

“Thanks for the info.”

• “No problem. By the way, how did your registration test go? Player battles are coming up soon. Want me to watch?”

“Ah….”

He had already registered.

Actually, he had quit halfway through.

Answering questions about how he got privileges would be annoying.

“You’re doing fine. No need to come watch. You’ll pass.”

• “Wow! That’s supposed to be really hard, right?”

“Hard? It was really easy.”

Baek Jin-woo returned to the headquarters to meet Park Chang-seok.

“Baek Jin-woo!”

The bearded man ran toward him.

Watching him, the surrounding employees bowed—his high position was obvious.

“How long has it been since we last met? Did you miss me that much?”

“Uh… yes, sort of.”

A funny joke.

“Follow me first. Too many eyes around.”

Park Chang-seok led Baek Jin-woo into his office with a gentle smile.

“What brings you here?”

“Well… I want to get some low-grade summoning scrolls. Can you help?”

“Low-grade scrolls?”

“Yes.”

“Low-grade? If approved, I can also support medium- or high-grade scrolls. There will be a monthly limit, of course…”

“No, I only need low-grade for now.”

Support?

That would be a leash, binding him. It was better to receive help only when working together for a guaranteed purpose.

“I heard HQ has difficulty handling low-grade scrolls.”

“That rumor is true to some extent.”

Park Chang-seok looked troubled.

“Using low-grade summons for leveling has its limits. The Player Zone has the Fusion Chamber, where weak summons are sacrificed for level-ups. Efficient at first, but extremely inefficient beyond a point. Later, it’s just for clearing storage.”

“How many do you need?”

“As many as possible.”

“‘As many as possible’….”

Park Chang-seok thought for a moment.

There were countless low-grade scrolls in storage. 50,000 entered daily, yet they piled up unused.

“We could report that rankers used them and hand them over, but if you resell them…”

“I know they wouldn’t sell anyway. Even if I sold them cheap, HQ tracks everything. I just need them for myself.”

“…I see something here.”

Park Chang-seok’s eyes lit up.

Baek Jin-woo was a gamer with insider knowledge.

‘Someone like him wanting low-grade scrolls…’

He must have a valuable plan.

“Alright.”

Park Chang-seok smiled.

“However—”

“….”

“There’s a condition.”

“A condition?”

“As you know, HQ executives are elected by the public. If I allowed use of national resources without a valid reason, I’d lose public trust.”

“So what do you want to say?”

“Just give me a small sample of useful information. Based on its value, I’ll provide low-grade scrolls. That way, if caught, I have justification.”

Hmm.

Baek Jin-woo’s grin grew.

Park Chang-seok was sharp—not just giving away resources blindly.

‘Fine. The more precise the info, the better the rewards.’

‘Originally, I’d wait a bit before giving this info… but why not now?’

“Let’s talk about Achievement Seconds Break.”

“…Achievement Seconds Break?”

Park Chang-seok’s heart started pounding.

What golden information would come from the author’s lips?

In South Korea, the top achievement reward per dungeon was three high-grade summoning scrolls.

Time attacks were always measured in seconds.

Two players completing in the same 2 minutes 30 seconds?

The player who achieved it first gets priority.

Then?

[Hwayo Dungeon – Low-grade]
[Domestic Record 1st – Baek Jin-woo]
[Clear Time – 00:05:32]

If players took turns breaking records by a few seconds—5:31, 5:30—the achievement rewards could be maximized.

The average power level of players in Korea would rise.

“I understand the concept of Achievement Seconds Break. We’ve used it before. Current rankers have all received their rewards.”

Ah. That makes sense.

Rewards were claimed for records before 5:32.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. The player breaking the record doesn’t have to be a ranker. Many players have never received achievement rewards.”

“I’ll give you full info on the Hwayo Dungeon time-attack method.”

“…Of course! That’s the method you used this time!”

Park Chang-seok rubbed his palms in excitement, a nervous habit.

‘He’ll reveal it, but…’

Baek Jin-woo had no intention of giving away his personal strategies.

He’d only reveal methods used by Rachel, Sugoi, Genos, etc.

“Yes, probably UK, Japan, USA, Russia, Taiwan… all use this method. Anyone can achieve average clear times in the 3-minute range.”

“…!”

Park Chang-seok was shocked.

Exactly those five countries had disproportionately high dungeon records.

Of course—they were home to the Five Emperors (Oje).

That information had been shared only in the One Heaven Five Emperors chatroom.

“Three-minute range… what’s the info exactly?”

“First… we need to assess its value.”

Value?

Just hearing the word sounded incredible.

At least, it could break records in low-, medium-, high-, and very high-grade Hwayo Dungeons!

“That should allow me to continuously provide low-grade scrolls.”

“And in addition…”

Baek Jin-woo added another condition.

“50 high-grade summoning scrolls. Is that acceptable?”

“50?”

50 high-grade scrolls were worth exactly 150 million KRW.

“Considering the achievement reward value for low, medium, high, and very high dungeons, that info is worth billions.”

“….”

Indeed. No need for detailed calculations—Park Chang-seok nodded immediately.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. You’ll see once you try.”

Baek Jin-woo smiled.

He considered drawing up a contract but didn’t bother.

The info he was giving? Just the tip of the iceberg.

If HQ tried to cheat him or complain, there’d be no next chance.

“Good. If the info is accurate, I’ll deposit 150 million KRW immediately and provide 10,000 low-grade scrolls daily.”

Nice!

Baek Jin-woo grinned.

This chapter focuses on Baek Jin-woo’s strategy to accumulate low-grade scrolls for future summons, his negotiations with HQ, and the concept of Achievement Seconds Break, which is critical for claiming repeated dungeon rewards.