[Late at night, in a quiet room at the Blue House’s State Guesthouse in Seoul.]
Here, four individuals of varying appearances were gathered.
One man, three women.
The man, with his hair dyed blue, was known to the world as [Blue Lightning].
He sat on a chair, his attire far too casual for the prestigious guesthouse, with his legs propped up on the desk.
“Put your feet down.”
A sharp voice came from the woman in a black suit sitting across from him.
Despite being seated, her tall stature and commanding presence were sharp, akin to that of a soldier. On her shoulder was a special insignia shaped like the national flower, the mugunghwa.
“Yes, yes. Of course, when someone like ‘Kim Min-jung’ tells me to.”
“Hey, watch it.”
“Ah, l-let’s not fight…”
The young woman sitting next to the tall Kim Min-jung reached out to mediate the growing tension.
She looked fresh and youthful, like a top-tier celebrity, perhaps even a leading idol, appearing just past her early twenties.
“Fighting? Does this look like fighting to you?”
“Eek!”
“Don’t threaten the juniors, Min-jung.”
“Hey! Stop calling me a squirrel!”
“Alright, Park Squirrel.”
“Ugh!”
“…Pfft.”
A small girl sitting next to Park Da-ram laughed softly.
Unlike the others, she had a peculiar appearance, as if a character from a fantasy game had stepped into reality.
Her white hair, streaked with purple and blue highlights, gave the impression of a virtual UTuber brought to life.
“Hey, did you just laugh?”
“Karya didn’t make any sound.”
“Karya, my foot. Your name is clearly ‘Hwang Ji-ah’—”
“Do you want to die?”
The girl, who called herself Karya, flashed her eyes and clenched her fist menacingly.
“No unleashing red medicine.”
“Good grief. How come it’s always women around here?”
Park Da-ram groaned, covering his face with both hands, unaffected by the sharp gazes of the three women.
“Things were never like this when Jo-cheol hyung was here.”
“…”
Jo-cheol.
An S-rank Hunter, now deceased.
He had once led the team as its captain, seated at the head of this table. Now, that seat was empty.
Instead—
“The President is entering.”
At the secretary’s announcement, a man stepped into the room.
The President paused briefly before slowly taking the seat that Jo-cheol had once occupied.
“It’s been a while, everyone. I believe the last time the four of you gathered was at the state funeral.”
“Get to the point.”
Park Da-ram’s blunt interruption drew a glance from the President toward Kim Min-jung, who immediately stood and bowed toward Park Da-ram.
“Show proper respect. He is the head of state.”
“I didn’t even vote for this guy in the last election.”
“You—!”
“Besides, it’s because of him and that stupid Hunter Management Act that so many Awakened Hunters fled. Because of that, we ended up with fewer rookie Hunters, and Jo-cheol hyung had to work twice as hard. That’s what led to—”
Park Da-ram gritted his teeth, his resentment openly directed at the President.
“All because someone wanted to win over voters in TK by recklessly forcing an assault on [Mungyeong Saejae Tower]. Look where that got us. Am I wrong?”
“Watch your words.”
“What’s there to watch? The media blamed us S-ranks for making mistakes, mocked Jo-cheol for pushing himself too hard, and even claimed his death was because he didn’t manage his condition properly.”
“Ahem. Do you think the President could pressure the media to report otherwise?”
The President’s discomfort was evident as he avoided Park Da-ram’s glare.
“Forget minor grievances. Let’s discuss this on a larger scale. If we don’t act now, this country’s prestige will crumble.”
At the President’s gesture, his aides handed booklets to the S-rank Hunters.
“Seriously? In this day and age, handing out printed materials?”
“Should I reply that it’s because giving out electronic devices risks someone frying them with electricity?”
“What? This old lady—”
“Old lady?”
“Enough of this bickering.”
The President opened the booklet in front of him.
“This is not the time to quarrel. We must urgently decide which S-rank Tower to target. Do you think I summoned you here personally, instead of sending the Minister of the Response Committee, without good reason?”
“…”
At the President’s words, the four S-rank Hunters exchanged glances, silently assessing one another.
“So, who’s going to take the lead?”
“Mr. President, that’s…”
“Someone has to step forward and fight, don’t they? Or will you send the A-ranks to the front instead? Fine, let me phrase it the way my young aides do.”
The President pointed to each of them in turn.
“Dealer, dealer, dealer, dealer.”
“….”
“There was never a healer to begin with. And the only ‘tank’ we had died in action. Someone has to step into the role of the tank.”
“That’s…”
“Who’s going to tank? Someone must switch roles and face the enemy head-on. Say something!”
“…”
“Or do you intend to hand the next S-rank Tower over to the black-haired Americans again?!”
The President’s voice echoed off the ceiling, but the S-rank Hunters remained silent.
Some had nothing to say.
Some feared the responsibility would fall to them.
Some dreaded being assigned the task.
“Mr. President.”
“Oh, yes! Miss Hwang Ji-ah!”
“It’s Karya.”
And one of them…
“I’m 15. You’re not seriously asking a 15-year-old middle schooler to be the tank, are you? Besides, I’m the strongest dealer here.”
…Was saying something utterly plausible yet completely unhelpful to the situation.
“Damn it! Fine, how much do you want? Should I offer 20 billion won a month? Huh? Or maybe I should promise tax cuts for whoever successfully clears an S-rank Tower?”
Frustration evident, the President clutched his chest and began blurting out whatever came to mind.
“You know, the American President promised a ten-year tax exemption.”
“That’s because he’s a lunatic populist!”
“Still… shouldn’t clearing an S-rank Tower warrant something like that?”
The timid-looking brown-haired woman waved her hand as she asked, but the President merely adjusted his tie, looking flustered.
“Er, well, administration involves… agreements between parties and…”
In the State Guesthouse of the Blue House, only empty words echoed.
The fundamental problem showed no signs of resolution.
Korea had enough S-rank Hunters to form a party.
But all were damage dealers.
No tanks.
No healers.
* * *
“Master, I’ll be off now.”
Elaine bowed deeply toward me in the living room.
Dressed not in her maid uniform but a formal suit, she carried a briefcase.
Peeking out of the briefcase was the head of a cat—specifically, Kiharu.
“Don’t worry, I’ll recover from any injuries.”
“It’s best if you don’t get injured at all.”
Elaine hadn’t taken any damage when she attacked an A-rank Tower, nor even during the S-rank Tower raid against the boss, Ouroboros.
Whenever I left things in her hands, she meticulously avoided enemy attacks while dealing precise damage.
“Then why hire a healer?”
“For insurance.”
“You’re using me as mere insurance?”
“Yeah. Sorry, but the best scenario is not needing a healer at all.”
“Hmm… Then wouldn’t it be better if I stayed behind? In case an enemy shows up—”
“Protecting Elaine is more important than protecting me. Who’s going to attack this place anyway?”
My identity was still unknown to the public.
While there were suspicions about Elaine’s “Master”, no one knew if I was an Asian, a Korean, or even that ex-employee A blowing through a Black Card gifted by the U.S. President.
Investigations were ongoing, though.
On online forums, people speculated about “potential candidates for Master”, with theories like “It’s probably someone who retired or vanished after their awakening,” spreading widely.
“I’d love to accompany you to Ganghwa Island, but it’s a bit too risky right now.”
“Master, please remain at home. It’s our duty to handle the Towers. That’s what will benefit everyone the most.”
Elaine bowed again with utmost politeness.
“As long as you’re in the safest place, we can fight without worry.”
“That’s true. Partner, stay put in this house, within the ‘barrier’, and keep safe.”
Elaine lightly tapped the glass window.
Though invisible, a magical barrier was layered just beyond the window.
If someone shot at the glass, the window might shatter, but the bullets would be stopped by the magical wall, never reaching inside.
The house was equipped with several such safety measures.
“Well then, Master, I’ll be off.”
“Alright. If things go south, I’ll support you immediately. If it gets too dangerous, retreat here right away, understood?”
“Yes. Of course, I’ll return with news of our successful raid on the S-rank Tower at Ganghwa Island.”
With those words, Elaine opened the wide living room window and leapt outside.
Thump!
Elaine might not be able to fly, but landing safely from the height of a 20-story building and sprinting between structures posed no challenge for her.
“…Phew.”
I exhaled, pondering a concern about the direction we were heading.
What if, during an S-rank Tower raid, I wasn’t nearby?
Would there be any significant advantage to me staying close, holding the summoner’s smartphone to manage the summons?
‘I might have to perform an emergency unsummon, after all.’
Yes.
In the fleeting span of a second—or even less—the life and death of a summoned being could be determined.
“Alice, could you remind me about the specifics of a summon’s ‘death’ again?”
[When a summoned being dies, it can be re-summoned.]
Systematically, “resummoning” wasn’t impossible.
“And what about the pain or death experienced by Elaine, Kiharu, or any future summons? Do they feel it all as if it were real?”
[Yes, it is indistinguishable from reality.]
Just because resummoning or revival was possible didn’t mean there was no suffering.
‘Even if I’m managing them from the safety of my home, I can’t expect them to fight, endure pain, or die in my place.’
If this were a Soulslike game, I might have already tried over a hundred times.
But this wasn’t a game. For the summons, death was agony—and real. There was no reason to force that upon them.
“What’s the penalty for a summon’s death?”
[From the time of death, the cooldown for resummoning is 72 hours in Earth time.]
“I see.”
Death becomes even more unacceptable.
A life without Elaine now felt unimaginable.
“I need to make sure they don’t die, no matter what.”
[Suggestion: Increase the maximum number of summonable beings and recruit a summon for the ‘tank’ position.]
“A tank summon, huh.”
Does the current party need a tank?
…….
“Tanks are indeed remarkable, but knowing they can feel pain, suffer, and die changes things. Rather than forcing one being to take all the damage and bleed—”
I’m not just a Summoner.
Across many worlds, I’ve been called by countless titles.
A player.
This time, instead of reaching for a keyboard and mouse, I grabbed something else.
“If the dealer doesn’t get hit even once, isn’t that good enough?”
Up, down, left, right.
ABXY.
“Let’s do this, Elaine.”
Me.
I’ve always been confident in my control.