am-books Chapter 17
Chapter 17
“Oh wow.”
Baek Jin-woo’s eyes widened.
Holy sht!
Unbelievable!
“Why are these so expensive?”
After browsing through the prices of summons in the “Marketplace,” Baek Jin-woo started to feel a bit disillusioned.
He had expected them to be pricey, but this was more than he imagined.
‘D-rank summons were dirt cheap, but this?’
What is this madness?
C-rank summons were priced like small cars!
Swipe, swipe!
Baek Jin-woo scrolled through the screen quickly, gathering information.
Here were the approximate prices:
The average C-rank summon cost around 20 million won, with the best ones fetching up to 100 million won.
As for B-rank summons?
They were even more outrageous.
The average price hovered around 200 million won, with the top-tier summons going for over 500 million won.
A-rank?
There weren’t any listed.
The price must be beyond reason.
And S-rank summons?
None existed on the market.
When he thought about it, it made sense.
B-rank summons had a 1% chance of dropping from high-tier summoning books.
That meant you’d need an average of 100 high-tier summoning books to get just one B-rank summon.
A high-tier summoning book cost 3 million won each, so 100 would cost 300 million won.
‘So 300 million won for one B-rank summon, or five C-rank summons...’
That explained why the prices were so steep.
“Hah.”
It was truly absurd.
It hadn’t been this bad back in 「Battle of Summoners」.
The gap between reality and the game was starting to become clear.
Now he understood why someone like Park Chang-seok only had three C-rank summons and why his sister Baek Ah-jin had called her Shadow Elf summon a noble treasure.
‘I wonder how much my sister’s summon costs.’
Baek Jin-woo clicked the magnifying glass at the top right of the “Marketplace” tab and typed in “Shadow Elf.”
[Shadow Elf (C-rank)]
[42 million won]
[Quantity: 8]
“Wow, that’s crazy.”
42 million won?
Baek Ah-jin was...
“She’s richer than me by far.”
Baek Jin-woo’s modest bank account only had 6 million won left.
‘Well, whatever.’
He hadn’t planned to spend that money anyway.
Baek Jin-woo had other ways to get funds.
“Ahem.”
After closing the Player Web app, he searched through his contacts.
Park Chang-seok had told him that if he contacted this number directly, they’d assist him right away.
[Headquarters Agent Hwang Tae-seop]
“I’ll submit my request here.”@@@@
Baek Jin-woo nodded to himself and began writing.
He was compiling a list of core units for the Day of the Week Dungeons that he needed to collect in the future.
* * *
“Representative!”
Hwang Tae-seop, who had received Baek Jin-woo’s message, rushed to find Park Chang-seok.
“What is it?”
“Player Baek Jin-woo has submitted a request.”
“A request?”
Park Chang-seok, who had been flipping through some documents, jumped up from his seat.
When Baek Jin-woo submitted a request, it meant that if they fulfilled it, he would provide them with valuable information!
“What’s the request?”
His voice trembled with excitement.
It was a moment he had been eagerly waiting for.
“One moment, here it is.”
Hwang Tae-seop quickly scrolled through his phone and shared the message he had received.
It was a list of summons.
Next to each summon, the number of units and the prices were neatly listed.
[Summon Purchase List]
1. Combat Sheriff (C-rank), 1 unit, 18 million won.
2. Priest of Radiance (C-rank), 1 unit, 35 million won.
3. Blotched Komodo (B-rank), 1 unit, 150 million won.
4. Wind Falcon (B-rank), 1 unit, 300 million won.
5. Titanium Golem (B-rank), 1 unit, 300 million won.
6. Horned Fairy (C-rank), 1 unit, 50 million won.
7. Frost Cat (C-rank), 1 unit, 100 million won.
8. Sky Dolphin (C-rank), 1 unit, 10 million won.
9. Sky Wyvern (B-rank), 1 unit, 200 million won.
10. Lava Drake (C-rank), 3 units, 50 million won each.
“What’s all this?”
“Well... Player Baek Jin-woo is asking us to purchase all of these. Every single one of them, at the lowest price available in the marketplace.”
“What?”
Park Chang-seok was dumbfounded.
He was asking headquarters to buy all this?
How much would that cost?
“What?”
“Hmm. It feels like we’re selling it for way too little.”
Yoo Ji-ah closed her eyes for a moment.
Her mind was racing.
She had been intensely interested in players and summoning for the past three years.
“What are you getting at?”
Despite Park Chang-seok’s impatience, Yoo Ji-ah remained deep in thought, focusing intently.
Time passed.
“The money...”
“Yeah?”
“Should I provide it instead?”
“...What?”
Park Chang-seok’s eyes widened.
What was she talking about?
* * *
Daeseong Group, Yoo Ji-ah.
The granddaughter most cherished by Chairman Yoo Byung-cheon.
In truth, Yoo Ji-ah held a stake in the conglomerate and had a position where she could compete in the corporate power struggle for control.
If she supported her father with her shares, they would eventually become hers.
However, she wasn’t interested.
Nor did she like the idea of family members tearing each other apart in a bloody battle.
She simply focused on safeguarding her shares while pouring her passion into players.
‘And recently.’
One player had captured her interest.
That player was none other than Baek Jin-woo.
The mysterious 1st-year gamer.
A man who disliked drawing attention to himself but seemed to possess a wealth of knowledge unavailable in South Korea.
He wasn’t someone to be underestimated either.
He knew how to make deals, even with the state.
‘There’s definitely a money-making opportunity here.’
Just like her grandfather Yoo Byung-cheon, she had a knack for sniffing out opportunities.
And one business idea started to form in her mind: Management!
A one-man management agency dedicated solely to Baek Jin-woo.
Wasn’t that the same as the headquarters’
‘No, it’s completely different.’
In Yoo Ji-ah’s eyes, headquarters was foolish.
They didn’t understand the value of information or the concept of investment.
‘The value of Baek Jin-woo’s information is easily in the hundreds of billions.’
If a time attack became possible, dungeons could be cleared at an unprecedented speed, making its worth astronomical in today’s world.
A typical company would invest aggressively in ventures with high potential returns.
13 billion?
That was a small price to pay, even if they ended up losing it all—it was worth the gamble.
Sometimes, businesses operate conservatively, but that’s only when the risks are too high.
And there was another key difference between her and headquarters’
A management agency would split the profits with the player.
In other words, it was a mutually beneficial partnership—a win-win relationship.
If Baek Jin-woo started making money, he would be more motivated to share even more valuable information.
Instead of just cautiously gauging each other’s intentions, they could become a complete team.
‘If I start this business.’
She planned to give Park Chang-seok a share as well.
But under one condition—he wouldn’t leave headquarters.
Having a connection to headquarters would also strengthen the management agency.
‘He’s going to love this.’
Yoo Ji-ah smiled to herself.
She could already imagine Park Chang-seok, boasting about how he was both making money and serving his country with patriotism.
Returning to the office.
“You’re seriously going to provide the 13.13 billion won? That huge sum?”
A stunned Park Chang-seok stared at Yoo Ji-ah.
It wasn’t the look of a boss to a subordinate.
It was the gaze of someone looking up to an untouchable conglomerate heiress.
“Yes, but.”
Yoo Ji-ah, having finished her contemplation, nervously tapped her fingers together.
“Before I invest, I need to meet with him again.”
“Who, Baek Jin-woo?”
“Yes.”
Just because she had a plan didn’t mean it would automatically succeed.
The most important factor was Baek Jin-woo’s will.
Yoo Ji-ah intended to meet him once more.
Whether it was business, relationships, education, or employment, everything in human interactions only worked when the chemistry between both parties was right.
Baek Jin-woo would evaluate her, and she would evaluate Baek Jin-woo.
“Let’s talk more after that. I’ll step out for a bit.”
Whoosh!
Yoo Ji-ah straightened her clothes and left the office.