I Alone Am an EX-Class Summoner

Chapter 2

The world had changed.

I lost consciousness.

Thanks to that, I had a long dream.

A dream where I ran and played with summoned creatures across a vast plain.

– “Oh, Jin-woo…!”

– “Ugh, oppa…”

– “…Jin-woo, you fool. Hooo…”

I could hear my family’s voices in the middle of the dream.

Mom, Dad.

And my younger sister, Baek Ah-jin.

Every time, I would become aware.

Ah, I’m dreaming right now.

I lost consciousness in a car accident, and I can’t wake up.

I have to wake up quickly.

I need to find out what that ‘low-rank summoning scroll’ that dropped back then was, and what happened after I cleared the 100th floor of the Tower of Trials.

But my body won’t respond as I want it to.

The shock was severe, and my body forcibly shut down to rest.

Damn it, shit.

– “Huh?”

– “Oppa!”

– “Nurse! Nurse? My brother just moved his hand! Come quickly!”

– “Mom! Yes! Now! Yes! I’m serious, hurry!”

It was noisy.

So noisy I couldn’t sleep.

I had to get up.

‘Ugh.’

As Baek Jin-woo opened his eyes, a bright flash went off.

The light flooded his dilated pupils, so intense that it felt blinding.

“Patient Baek Jin-woo? Are you conscious? If you’re awake, blink your eyes.”

“Oppa! Can you see?”

Baek Jin-woo frowned.

The light subsided, and two blurry faces came into view.

The nurse and a tearful Baek Ah-jin.

Looking around, he realized he was in a hospital room.

Judging by the logo, it was a neighborhood mid-tier hospital.

Well, it’s not like my family could afford a high-end hospital.

“Ugh…”

A scratchy sound escaped from his throat.

His body was stiff, and his muscles had no strength.

How long had I been lying here?

“Can you see my fingers, patient?”

Blink.

Baek Jin-woo blinked.

“Jin-woo!”

“Baek Jin-woo!”

Thud, thud!

Maybe they had been informed, because both his mom and dad rushed into the room in a panic.

In that chaotic moment, a thought crossed his mind.

‘Huh.’

The status window still hovered above his sight.

[The beta test is ending.]

[A new world is opening.]

Without a doubt.

It was the message I had seen before getting hit by the truck.

And below that.

[Would you like to start the tutorial?]

[Y/N]

I could see those words as well.

“……”

Sigh, I let out a breath.

Mom, Dad.

No, the world.

What on earth has happened?

***

Unbelievable.

After coming to his senses and listening to his family’s explanation, Baek Jin-woo was left speechless.

It had already been three years since I was hit by the truck, they said.

And on the day of the accident.

The entire world turned upside down, they said.

“…So.”

Baek Jin-woo muttered in disbelief.

“A message saying ‘A new world is opening’ appeared in everyone’s sight, and each person received a ‘low-rank summoning scroll.’ Then dungeons popped up everywhere, and if they aren’t cleared, monsters spill out?”

That wasn’t even the end of it.

Apparently, modern weapons were useless against the monsters.

Not just guns, but even missiles and state-of-the-art weapons didn’t work.

Only summoned creatures.

Monsters could only be dealt with by using summoned creatures.

That’s right.

Every person in the world had become a player in 「Battle of Summoners」.

“…Does that even make sense?”

“That’s how we reacted at first, too.”

Hoo, Dad sighed deeply.

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

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

He had always had physical limitations, unable to do manual labor.

But summoned creatures?

They do whatever the summoner commands.

The creature he summoned was a golem the size of a small child, but it could carry heavy loads well, and he had started working in package loading and unloading thanks to that summoned creature.

The money he earned from it helped cover his son’s medical bills.

“Jin-woo, I see this as a blessing from the gods.”

“…This?”

“Honestly, wasn’t your life pretty hopeless before?”

“Excuse me?”

Wait, Dad.

Do you have to be that blunt?

“Hoo, ever since you were in middle school, you hardly studied at all. We were really worried about your future. It’s not like you were rebelling, or hanging out with friends either.”

“Is that really something you should be saying to your son who just came back from the brink of death?”

“I never said it in front of your mom, but I knew you were deeply into that weird mobile game.”

“…Ah.”

「Battle of Summoners」

I thought I was hiding it well, but turns out he knew all along.

Well, how could he not?

I was completely obsessed.

Although, he probably didn’t know exactly what kind of game it was.

“In any case.”

Jin-cheol Baek stood up from the chair beside the bed.

At that moment.

Vroom!

As he waved his hand through the air.

Rumble…!

With a small tremor, a golem emerged from the floor.

“Don’t be surprised. This is my summoned creature.”

“…!”

“We don’t live in a world anymore where you succeed just by studying. This summoned creature. The people who know how to handle these creatures well are the ones who will succeed in this world.”

‘Insane.’

Baek Jin-woo’s eyes widened.

What the hell is that?

Isn’t that one of the basic monsters, the Pebble Golem?

An E-rank creature usually used as leveling fodder.

Useless in any real dungeon.

‘Hah.’

Now I really get it.

For real.

‘The game I knew… has become reality.’

“So recover quickly, pull yourself together. Start with the tutorial.”

“…”

Tutorial, huh.

Hearing that word come out of Dad’s mouth.

This is…

I hope I haven’t woken up in another dream, right?

Even though Dad had already been at it for three years.

Baek Jin-woo still couldn’t believe any of this.

***

After a full day of rest, I went through the discharge process.

The doctor tried to stop me, but I kept insisting I was fine.

I had no desire to rest anymore.

I wanted to quickly investigate what had happened to this world.

[Would you like to start the tutorial?]

[Y/N]

This annoying message continued to flash before my eyes, too.

‘What happens if I press N?’

Of course, I wasn’t planning to press N.

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

If I was going to do it, I had to do it right.

Sigh, anyway.

I tried to adapt to the changed reality for a day.

Calmed my startled heart and gathered some information.

But it wasn’t enough.

To really find out more, the internet is still the best.

Beep, beep beep beep~ beep!

Ding-dong!

Baek Jin-woo opened the door to his house and stepped inside.

Since it had been a while since I walked, I was short of breath, and my muscles trembled, but I couldn’t just lie down all day.

Thankfully, the house’s password hadn’t changed.

It was my parents’ home, a small, old apartment.

Unlike my sister, who got into a good university and was living in a dorm, I was still freeloading here like a kangaroo.

‘Moving out costs money.’

My parents weren’t home.

They would both be working late into the night.

“…”

Baek Jin-woo felt a pang of bitterness.

How hard they must have worked to cover their useless son’s medical bills when they were already struggling to make ends meet.

Clenching his fist tightly.

If.

Really, if.

‘If this world is the one I know.’

Then.

The ten years that seemed wasted would return with a fitting reward.

I could turn ten years of unfilial behavior into extreme filial piety.

“First.”

Computer!

Let’s turn on the computer!

I need to gather information as fast as possible!

***

“Crazy.”

Baek Jin-woo clicked his tongue.

What his father said was true.

[Korea’s top 10 players! A-rank summoner clears dungeon!]

[Perpetual last place in the league. Is Korea’s future doomed? Are we really a gaming republic?]

[Korea’s top university! Establishing a Department of Summoners!]

Every news article was about summoned creatures.

Here a summoner.

There a summoner.

And then.

“Huh?”

[Where is Korea’s ‘JinuGod’?]

“JinuGod?”

I came across an article that piqued my interest.

I couldn’t not click on it.

‘That’s my ID.’

Click!

As I clicked the mouse.

With international league rankings determining the benefits a country receives, Korea once again placed near the bottom.

The poor performance has left top league players baffled.

According to Rachel, the top-ranked player in the UK, Korea has a player named ‘JinuGod’ who is phenomenal…

She also mentioned that she learned a lot from him.

That’s not all.

Japan’s top-ranked player, Yoshida Hikaru, also spoke up. “Korea must find JinuGod as soon as possible. For the sake of Korea, and for the sake of humanity, which must ascend the Tower of Trials. If they don’t find him? Humanity has no future.”

He emphasized JinuGod’s importance.

Meanwhile, experts…

“…Crazy.”

I was flabbergasted.

“Those are the guys I knew, right?”

The so-called veteran players.

One Heaven, Five Emperors.

The name was corny and cringeworthy, but they were people I’d shared my heart with for nearly five years.

We had gotten close.

“Sugoi… So his real name is Yoshida Hikaru.”

Ha.

Baek Jin-woo let out a deep breath.

Player battles, raids, dungeons, the Tower of Trials, runes, synthesis shops, enhancement workshops.

All of these things had become a reality.

It was like a joke played by the gods.

“…If that’s the case.”

If that’s really the case.

Determination filled Baek Jin-woo’s eyes.

“This is huge.”

Bigger than hitting the lottery.

「Battle of Summoners」 was my life, my everything.

Even now, after waking from my coma, information about the summoned creatures naturally flowed through my mind.

With just this knowledge…

Couldn’t this be the chance to completely turn my life around?

[Would you like to start the tutorial?]

[Y/N]

“…”

Baek Jin-woo once again stared at the status window.

He had nothing yet.

No notable runes, no proper summoned creatures.

But.

Baek Jin-woo was confident.

If it was this game, at least, he knew he could be the best in the world.

“Yes.”

Click!

Let’s do this.

***

[The tutorial is starting.]

The moment I clicked.

Whoosh!

A brilliant light spread across my vision.

It was information about how to control the interface.

[By saying ‘Status Window,’ you can see your status.]

[By saying ‘Summoned Creature Information,’ you can view the list of your summoned creatures.]

…

[By saying ‘Summoning Scroll Window,’ you can view the status of your summoning scrolls.]

[By saying ‘Item Window,’ you can view the status of various materials and runes.]

And then.

[This is your first day of attendance.]

[Attendance reward has arrived.]

[Reward: Low-Rank Summoning Scroll x 1]

There were even attendance rewards.

[Now, please say ‘Summoning Scroll Window.’]

“…”

The tutorial had started, huh?

It seemed like they wanted to teach me how to summon creatures first.

You need a summoned creature to do anything, after all.

“Summoning Scroll Window.”

As I muttered, a window popped up.

[Summoning Scroll Inventory]

1. Low-Rank Summoning Scroll x 2

Vroom!

A red scroll hovered in the air above the window.

A gentle light shone down on it.

‘One from the day of the accident, and one as an attendance reward. So, I have two in total?’

[Please place your hand over the summoning scroll.]

Whoosh.

As I reached out, I felt something touch my fingertips.

Before I knew it, I was holding two summoning scrolls.

[Tear the scroll.]

[A random summoned creature will appear, and you will be able to tame it.]

[You may feel a slight vibration.]

[Caution!]

[It is recommended to do this outdoors.]

“Hoo.”

This was a tense moment.

Even someone like me, once called One Heaven, could be doomed if I summoned a useless creature.

Something like the Pebble Golem (E-rank)…

“Well, they did say to do it outside.”

Nodding to myself, Baek Jin-woo stepped out of the house.

‘Please give me something useful.’

At least something I can work with in the early stages, please.