A Changed Reality
Inside a café.
A gloomy-looking bearded man was sitting there.
Slurp!
As he sipped his coffee while looking over the player registration waiting list, he looked like a beggar, but he was actually a fairly well-known summoner in South Korea.
His name was Park Changseok.
A board-affiliated agent, he possessed no fewer than three C-rank summons that he had raised for over two years.
He clicked his tongue.
"Hmm.... You're telling me to pick 50 people out of these? Just 50?"
He had worked at headquarters for quite a while, but he never liked the way the higher-ups did things.
'What kind of summoning superpower do they think they're going to become by selecting only 50 a month?'
South Korea was currently near the very bottom of the league standings.
Because there was no real talent to speak of....
'You need to recruit lots of players first before you can even think about discovering talent.'
Guuuuulp!
Just ten seconds after ordering an iced Americano, he downed it in one shot and frowned.
Basically, countries that were powerhouses in summoning adopted a free competition system.
They did not bother trying to control the number of players. They let everyone try first, and only the strong survived.
That was the system.
Park Changseok believed South Korea should be the same.
'Those old men sitting in the back room, seriously. They all need to die. They don't know a damn thing about the field.'
As a current headquarters examiner, he shook his head in disgust.
Then—
Crash!
The café door was smashed apart.
"W-what the hell?!"
"Aaaah!"
The people inside jumped in shock and screamed.
Wheeeeeeeeen!
The building's internal alarm blared loudly.
'What is this?'
Park Changseok whipped his head around, and there, by the shattered doorway, stood a gigantic summon.
Because of the creature glaring all around with savage eyes, the civilians inside could not even run away and merely trembled in place.
'That's....'
He knew that summon well.
C-rank, Blood Orc.
"Ha, those crazy bastards."
Park Changseok stood up with a sigh.
One of the reasons South Korea was considered a backward country in summons was because of people like them.
The summoning gangs.
Once the underworld thugs no longer had to fear guns and blades, they started causing trouble like this.
"Yo, Park Changseok. So you were here?"
Step, step.
A man approached with a relaxed expression.
That punk was the owner of the orc.
"You bastard. You killed all my little brothers, and you thought you could live comfortably at headquarters, playing the honorable agent, huh? Huh?"
Behind the orc were four trash summons supporting it.
That was his team.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?"
Killing intent filled Park Changseok's eyes as he rose.
At the same time—
Craaaack!
Vines began growing out of the floor.
C-rank, Woodman.
And—
Fwoooosh!
C-rank, Flame Turtle.
And then, fluttering lightly into the air, C-rank, Flame Butterfly appeared.
These were Examiner Park Changseok's signature summons.
After that, two more D-rank summons were called forth.
This was Park Changseok's full team!
As the two players stared at each other with blazing eyes—
"Hngh."
"... I-it's the gang and headquarters."
"Those two have been at each other's throats lately."
"Damn it, why did it have to be here?"
The atmosphere in the café froze in an instant.
Gang.
The reason a mere thug could act so boldly was simple.
Because of the barrier.
As long as a summon was out?
Even if a nuclear bomb dropped here, they would survive.
Criminals who rampaged around ignoring the existing law and order because they could not be controlled by force!
South Korea was, quite literally, at war with crime.
'What the hell is this?'
Baek Jinwoo was just as startled.
Something that would have been unimaginable inside the Battle of Summoners was happening in reality.
No, seriously.
What is this, some martial arts novel inn or something?
They're picking a fight like street trash in the middle of Seoul?
Has the world seriously gone insane?
'More importantly.'
Blood Orc, Woodman, Flame Turtle, Flame Butterfly....
They were all summons everyone knew.
Summons people had researched from every possible angle in hopes of making them useful, only to give up and use them as materials whenever they showed up.
So they were actually pretty decent here?
"S-so then what happens to us? Sob..."
Someone in the corner whispered tearfully.
It was a girl who looked like a café part-timer.
Someone else kindly answered her question.
"What do you mean what happens? We pray the headquarters player wins."
"Huh?"
"Those gang bastards. Don't you know they treat civilians' lives like flies? But that guy looks like Park Changseok, so let's have some hope. His nickname is Yaksha."
Yaksha.
A demon from Indian mythology, a divine being that protects Buddhist law.
A nickname he earned by slaughtering countless gang members.
For reference, in South Korea, anyone registered as a gang member can be summarily executed on the spot.
Killing them is not considered a crime.
"This is an emergency! Everyone, follow the manual and summon your own summons! Raise your barriers!"
Park Changseok shouted at the civilians.
Baek Jinwoo immediately summoned Lamba.
['Wind Fairy' (EX-rank) is being summoned!]
–...!
The fairy appeared, clearly delighted and about to make a fuss, but after noticing so many people around, she quickly clamped both hands over her mouth.
In any case.
Thanks to Lamba, a barrier formed.
The thug sneered as he watched the civilians hurriedly bringing out their summons.
"Heh heh heh, look at that. The champion of justice has arrived?"
"....."
"What, are you scared I might kill everyone here?"
"That won't happen. I'll kill you before that."
"Oh yeah? Then why don't you try!"
Kuwaaaaang!
The two players clashed.
Crash! Smash!
5 versus 5.
As the five monsters fought, light fixtures collapsed and marble fragments flew everywhere.
"Aaaah!"
"S-save me!"
"Uwaaaah!"
The frightened civilians shrank back and trembled, but thanks to their barriers, no one was injured.
Baek Jinwoo also watched the situation from the corner.
One thing was certain.
'Good thing I hid that I'm God Ji-nu.'
If terrifying terrorists like those existed in reality, then all the more reason to live quietly.
'First things first.'
Should I assess their power?
Just from the summons alone, headquarters had the advantage.
That much was obvious.
The thug only had one C-rank, while Park Changseok had three.
Kuwaaaaang!
But judging by how the battle was unfolding, Park Changseok was clearly being pushed back.
'Why is he using that skill at that timing?'
Baek Jinwoo could not understand it.
The way the fight should be conducted was automatically drawing itself in his mind....
But it did not seem that man named Park Changseok saw it that way.
Well, that could not be helped.
Compared to Baek Jinwoo, who had repeated endless trial-and-error through the game and had accumulated countless experiences....
Park Changseok, who had only spent three years in reality, naturally lacked both insight and instinct.
'That's.... Yaksha?'
He looked like a fairly important person on the headquarters side. But no matter how he looked at it, the level was way too low.
'This really does....'
It felt like he was seeing exactly why South Korea could not escape being dead last.
-....
Lamba, standing beside him, also covered her own eyes as if she could not believe what she was seeing.
A gesture that said she had witnessed a battle too painful to watch.
"Kuhahaha! Where'd headquarters' Yaksha go? Is that all you've got?"
The excited thug pressed harder.
The people stirred anxiously.
"W-what do we do?"
"Park Changseok is losing!"
"No way. Park Changseok is losing?"
"What about the SOS? Did you send it?"
"I think headquarters is sending support, but there's no time! If Park Changseok goes down... then we're all going to die together!"
Distrust of the gangs was rampant.
'Damn.'
What should he do?
Should Baek Jinwoo help Park Changseok?
Under what pretext?
No, before that—
If he helped, would that not just cause him headaches later?
Had he not just made up his mind a moment ago?
That until he grew stronger, he would live as quietly as a dead mouse.
Kuwaaaaaang!
Blood Orc's axe tore through Woodman's branches.
Kiiieeeek!
The tree monster writhed its roots and screeched in pain.
At this rate, that thug was going to win soon.
What was he supposed to do?
Before worrying about living quietly—
Didn't he need to survive first?
"Excuse me, mister."
In the end, after making up his mind, Baek Jinwoo shot to his feet and approached Park Changseok.
His whole body was so tense it felt like every hair was standing on end, but if he did not step in now, they might all die.
Park Changseok stretched out his right hand to stop him.
"It's dangerous. Please wait over there in the corner!"
"No, that's not it."
"You're interfering with the battle! Trust me and wait! Reinforcements will arrive soon!"
Oh, come on.
What a frustrating old man.
A lesser person might have flinched under his stern gaze, but Baek Jinwoo did not give up.
"No, that's not what I mean. The Flame Turtle's skill timing is off."
"...?"
"The buffers behind that Blood Orc are casting 'Fire Resistance', so why are you using the skill at that moment...?"
So of course you're losing to a single C-rank even while fielding three C-ranks.
He kept that part to himself.
Because honestly, this uncle's face was way too scary for him to be landing that kind of brutal truth.
'What is he talking about?'
Park Changseok felt as if he had been hit in the back of the head.
'Fire Resistance?'
Had they really prepared a skill like that?
He knew that thug's summon composition had changed, but he did not know exactly what skills they had.
Naturally.
There were tens of thousands of summon species in this world.
To know every single summon's skills one by one?
That was impossible.
'But.'
It did make sense.
That Blood Orc bastard.
It had always been so red that it was hard to notice, but whenever one of the buffers behind it used a skill, it did seem to become even redder.
'Was that Fire Resistance?'
And besides.
After that young man gave his advice, the thug's expression had clearly stiffened.
That relaxed composure he had earlier was gone, replaced with the look of someone desperate to end things quickly.
'Should I trust him just once?'
There was no other option anyway.
Park Changseok waited for the red aura around Blood Orc to fade.
Then, after some time, when the buff wore off—
"Flame Turtle!"
Fwoooosh!
The bipedal turtle opened its mouth wide and unleashed a torrent of fire.
K-krrrgh?!
The orc, which until now had kept charging in without a care, staggered backward in scorching pain.
Holy shit!
It works!
Park Changseok wet his dry lips with his tongue.
'It was true?'
Glance.
When he turned back, he saw the young man nodding and retreating.
'What the hell?'
He did not know who he was, but now that he knew the method, ending this was only a matter of time.
"You bastard, so that's the trick you were using."
Park Changseok growled.
"You fucking little worm!"
The thug, furious to the top of his head, glared at Baek Jinwoo, but there was nothing he could do.
Fwoooosh!
Flame Butterfly and Flame Turtle formed a skill combo, and the orc became too busy fleeing to fight properly.
If the buffer cast 'Fire Resistance' again?
Then they simply did not bother attacking the orc.
Instead—
Crunch, craaack!
Woodman charged straight at the buffers in the back.
Khek?
Then Blood Orc could do nothing.
The only reason that lone C-rank had been able to take on three of them was because of those four supporting buffers.
If the buffers were in danger, Blood Orc had no future, so it had no choice but to play defensively and protect them.
And then—when the duration of 'Fire Resistance' ended again?
Fwoooosh!
At exactly that timing, they blasted Blood Orc with skills.
Kweeeeeeeek!
In the end, the Blood Orc burned up while shrieking like a pig being slaughtered.
Once the C-rank orc was reverse-summoned, cleaning up the remaining buffers became only a matter of time.
"W-wait."
With all his summons reverse-summoned and his barrier gone, the thug staggered backward in panic.
"I-I surrender! I'll turn myself in! Hand me over to the police!"
What meaning did surrender have now?
Park Changseok's nickname was Yaksha.
That name was not for nothing.
"Shut up. You're a summary execution."
Craaaack!
Woodman's wooden vines grew thicker and thicker, wrapping all around the thug's body.
"W-wait! Aaaagh! Wait, please!"
And then—
Splaaash!
For the sake of protecting the civilians, he handled it in a way that was not too gruesome.
As for the thug's corpse?
It would grow well as nourishment for Woodman.
"Waaaaaaah!"
"Yes! Nice one, Park Changseok! That was satisfying!"
"We won. Sob... We won! Hic!"
Watching that, the people cheered in delight rather than feeling sick.
'Huh.'
Baek Jinwoo clicked his tongue as he watched them. His stomach churned, but one thing became unmistakably clear.
This world—
'It really is completely different from the world I knew.'
To glorify killing, even if the victim was a criminal....
Maybe—with the mindset he used to have, he might not be able to survive in this world.
And if he wanted to survive in a place like this?
'Maybe I need to change too.'
It was at that moment, as Baek Jinwoo stood there wearing a bitter expression, that Park Changseok approached him.
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