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Stay-at-Home Summoner Chapter 20

Stay-at-Home Pro Gamer (3)

Npia Corporation.

The entity possessing full rights over Elaine Blacksteel, a character selected as the cosplay subject for [Cosplay Maid].

 

The public had one clear demand:

 

– Bring back Elaine!

 

Elaine’s revival.
Mobile gacha games don’t make all characters perpetually available. Instead, characters are often limited to specific periods, available only during “time-limited” banners.

 

– Release Sergeant Yuri!

– We’ll remember this waiting time!

– Why ‘Sergeant’ though?

– She was released before I enlisted, and now, even as a sergeant, I still can’t roll for her!

– Ah.

 

Some characters don’t reappear until about 16 months after their initial release.

 

From the company’s perspective, older characters are considered “products”.

 

If they lag behind the current meta, there’s less incentive to bring them back.

 

If it doesn’t sell, it’s not worth releasing.

But if there’s even a chance it’ll sell?

 

– Special Elaine Rerun!

– Limited 30-Roll Elaine Banner!!

– Exclusive Growth Resource Package for Elaine Development!!!

 

Capitalism is ruthless.

If it can make money, even something gathering dust in a storage room will be polished and placed on the shelf.

 

Even if it breaks established rules, if profit is guaranteed, the company will sell it by any means necessary.

 

The issue.

 

– Isn’t Elaine outdated in terms of the meta?

– Anyone buying this package is just a sucker. Better to use the resources on the latest physical DPS characters!

 

“These bastards.”

 

– Seriously, we’re multiple updates past her release. Even if the next content is tailored for Elaine, wouldn’t it make more sense to pick up the current banner character just for their name card-level stats? LOL.

 

“So, can they come into the real world as an S-rank Hunter and conquer a Tower?”

 

Although I didn’t need to check the community, some clickbait titles inevitably caught my attention before I could search specific terms.

 

‘Not wrong, though.’

 

Elaine is a swordswoman.

A Swordmaster, but without any magical abilities, her attribute is purely physical.

 

“Elaine.”
“Yes, Master.”
“About that new ‘Frost Sword’ we just rolled—does it deal ice-attribute damage?”
“It appears to be an ice crystal blade.”

 

Elaine summoned the exclusive weapon of the new character next to my PC tower.

 

“As you can see, it generates enough heat to function as metal, but it doesn’t freeze the surroundings or produce frost effects.”
“Disappointing.”

 

While I could transfer items and resources from the game to the real-world Elaine, weakening her in the game could lead to disconnecting entirely, leaving her usable only within the Summoner app.

 

Even with that limitation, the app offered endless possibilities.

 

The problem? Real-world abilities were inherently tied to in-game stats.

Whether it was healing or elemental attacks, Elaine’s abilities were nearly “complete” as is.

 

“Still, I’m satisfied. Master has made me far stronger. Look.”

 

Elaine clasped her hands together, and six translucent orbs began spinning around her.

 

“Thanks to your dedication to relic farming over the past few days, I now have the so-called ‘Endgame Set.’ My critical hit rate is 98%, and my critical damage is 288%.”

 

Elaine gave me a proud thumbs-up.

 

“Basically, I deal three times the damage with every attack by default now.”

 

Wasn’t she already strong before?

 

“I was strong before, yes. But as time passed and new equipment emerged, my potential ceiling also rose. If you consider me an S-rank before being summoned by you…”

 

She continued.

 

“You spent all 10 action points daily farming gear, and that effort made me even stronger.”

 

Although I had maxed out her Full Limit Break and Full Refinement stats, I hadn’t gone overboard with farming gear just for the Endgame Set.

 

“Now, I’m no longer just an ordinary S-rank. I’d say I’m S+ or even SS-rank now.”

 

Thus, I kept farming.

For Elaine, I sought gear that truly suited her.
Though she still wore a maid outfit outwardly, all her relics had been swapped for newly acquired items that enhanced her abilities.

 

“What’s still lacking, though, is self-healing.”
“Exactly.”

 

What if one of the relic options included life-steal?

 

“Or perhaps, consuming food during combat…”

“Are you seriously suggesting eating a beef steak mid-battle to recover 15% HP? Sure, you can pull it out, but really?”
“…”
“Should we wait a little longer? Look over here. People are practically lying down, crying out.”

 

I pointed at a post on the forum.

 

“Holding out until Elaine gets self-healing.”

 

  • ▅▇█▇▆▅▄▇.

Someone collapsed in frustration.

 

(TLN: I was not expecting Saddam…)

 

– I think Elaine should be patched so she can solo content.

– Elaine should be the only character allowed to go up to 12-star upgrades.

– At 7-star, using combat skills should automatically generate a shield. At 8-star, her ultimate skill should grant natural healing. At 10 and 12-star, her abilities should have unique enhancements.

– Only Elaine.

 

“…Wait a second, this IP address…?”
Ahem.
“Elaine. You didn’t write this, did you?”
“Master, would I really write something like this? While I agree with the sentiment, there’s no way I’d manipulate public opinion by posting on the internet using your backup phone. I’ve already told you this.”

 

Elaine bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle beside me.

 

“I have accepted whoever you choose to summon. Whether it’s someone so overpowered that gamers in this forum call them ‘Hyung’ in awe, or a character with built-in self-healing capabilities.”
“Elaine.”
“He or she will become a loyal summon, serving alongside me to assist you, Master. Even if this country—or the entire world—tries to exploit you, we will follow you to the end. And if…”

 

Elaine raised her head, making a slicing motion across her neck with her hand.

 

“If a summon dares to harm you, I will eliminate them, even if they are as dangerous as that one.”
“Hey.”

 

She pointed to a character on a game banner.

 

“They’re not dangerous.”
“But don’t they look dangerous?”
“Elaine. They’re not from your world, but they’re also from Npia, just like you.”

 

I reached toward the banner—

 

-Uh-Ah–

 

but held it back.

 

—And stopped myself.

Elaine had grabbed my wrist.

 

“That’s a character designed to appeal to female players, isn’t it?”

 

A slender figure.

A delicate, pretty boy who could easily pull off cross-dressing.

A shirt left provocatively unbuttoned to reveal a hint of cleavage.

 

“…Ha.”

 

What is that cleavage visible through that shirt?

 

That cleavage wasn’t just cleavage.

 

It was a “symbol of power”.

 

-This one doesn’t seem like a ‘Hyung’.

 

At first glance, that exposed chest made me think, “The devs have finally lost it”.

 

But as I kept playing, it became clear that this character wasn’t just useful; they were absolutely essential.

 

“If you want male players to spend money, you intimidate them with performance. Healing, damage—they can do it all.”
“Yes, they’re a decent DPS character, but the way you phrase it makes it sound so… strange.”

 

While they were a tremendous help in progressing the story, I couldn’t imagine summoning them into reality.

 

“It’s fine. You’re not summoning them anyway. You’ve already shortlisted your candidates.”
“True.”

 

I shifted my focus to the banner and placed my hand over three characters displayed alongside the shirtless male.

 

One wore a white lab coat.
Another was a girl giving a cheerful thumbs-up.
And the last one—

 

The one we’d decided to summon after some deliberation.

 

“Cat Swordsman.”

 

Not a human.

A cat-like yokai, resembling an anthropomorphic feline more than a real cat.

With big, sparkling eyes like those of ‘Puss in Boots’ from a children’s story.

 

Not just a cat, but a creature that looked like a stuffed animal.

 

“…One of the game’s original characters, the protagonist’s first 4-star companion.”
“The ‘mascot’ of the game.”

 

Not a flying emergency ration.

As the protagonist’s ally, they fought alongside the player, designed to compensate for the lack of strong early-game party members.

 

Healing.

 

A healer provided early on.
Neither male nor female.

 

But there was one minor issue.

 

“The voice actor is a woman, but that doesn’t really matter, right?”

 

The voice actor being female was just a trivial detail.

 

“Yes. After all, it’s a young boy’s voice, and high-pitched boy voices are typically better portrayed by adult women, especially professional voice actors.”

 

Thankfully, Elaine didn’t say much else.
It probably helped that the character’s official profile listed their gender as “unknown” and no definitive information had ever been revealed.

 

“Alright, I’ve made my decision.”

 

If Full Limit Break and Full Refinement are the requirements for summoning, then a 4-star character is naturally easier to manage than a 5-star.

 

“…This is my first time trying to 6-star a 4-star character.”
“You only need to pull five more copies, don’t you? You’ve already got their name card, and I think you summoned them once before.”
“Right. Just five more. Let’s see… my pity stack is at three right now.”
“The last 5-star you pulled—was it a female character?”
“Yeah. Couldn’t bring myself to summon for her again. Whatever, it’s fine. I’m not trying to pull a 5-star this time, and I’m not broke either.”

 

Lightheartedly, I prepared for another ten pull.

 

“Elaine, you know how the 5-star summon animation has golden stars falling? Well, for this one, the summon tickets flash purple.”
“That looks more like a rainbow to me.”
“…Wait, what?”

 

Skip.

 

-Uh-Ah—

 

“Oh, come on. Where’s my 4-star?”

 

Off-banner.

The dreaded “pity break”.

 

* * *

 

[At that moment, Npia Corporation. Turn-based RPG game ‘Fermata 8X’ development team.]

 

“The neighboring department is lucky. The cosplayer did a cosplay of Elaine for them.”
“You shouldn’t talk like that about our colleagues from the same company.”
“Ah, wouldn’t it be great if one of the Hunters cosplayed as one of our characters?”
“Right? It’d be amazing if they included the cat too—our mascot.”
“Oh, that one’s off-limits.”

 

The team lead spoke nonchalantly.

 

“This is still under wraps since we’ve got a long way to go before the next story update, but that cat… actually…”

 

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Stay-at-Home Summoner

Stay-at-Home Summoner

집구석 소환사
Score 7.6
Status: Ongoing Type: Author: Released: 2024 Native Language: Korean
The Age of Hunters, where humans climb the Towers. The characters I summoned from a gacha game ascend the tower.

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