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Stay-at-Home Summoner Chapter 28

Spoon Rejection (1)

[Storm Dragon Shahabuth].

 

The reason Elaine knows that name isn’t because this boss appeared in her own world as a boss monster, but rather because the information about it has been shared widely enough for even me to recognize it.

 

– Guh… Is this the end? Everyone, retreat! The damage is too severe to continue!

 

This country has already attempted several raids on it.

 

The government aims to record the boss raids on video.

Not just this country, but also the United States and other nations are doing the same.

 

Watch as our incredible S-rank Hunters achieve the monumental feat of defeating a boss!

 

This serves as propaganda. If the raid fails, they won’t release the footage.
If successful, the video will be uploaded to the government’s official channel, the Hunter’s agency, and even the Hunter’s personal channel.

 

To use a somewhat crude term, it’s essentially a ‘PR stunt’.

 

Even for me, if Elaine’s raid on Ouroboros had been recorded and uploaded, it would have easily hit 30 million views by now.

 

One of the raid videos for an S-rank Tower garnered 300 million views over two years, so it would likely be similar.

 

Even more so if it were a solo raid.

 

 

The issue is that not only successful raids get uploaded.

 

Although the government and Hunter agencies don’t want to upload failed raid videos, when a raid involves party play, someone inevitably causes a leak.

 

– Leaked!

 

Someone secretly records the raid using a micro-camera attached to their glasses, or a decorative part of their weapon handle turns out to be a hidden camera.

There was even an incident where an A-rank Hunter, who had lost an eye and used a prosthetic, joined an S-rank Tower raid. The moment they exited the dungeon, they uploaded the footage recorded by their prosthetic eye to their personal channel.

 

– Check out the failed raid of Korea’s S-rank Hunters! Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and turn on notifications!

 

A breach of confidentiality.
If you ask how a Hunter affiliated with one nation could leak raid strategy information, it’s because they’ve given up on living in that country.

 

– They even gave the code name ‘Storm Dragon Shahabuth’ to it but still couldn’t conquer it, lol. I’m off to the safe haven of Japan, lololol.

 

That Hunter received massive criticism.

They were even publicly wanted at a national level.

 

But their family had already left for a “vacation” in Japan before the raid and never returned.
A request to extradite the A-rank Hunter was ignored.

 

Why would they go that far?

 

– We’ll conquer the S-rank Tower for you, but hand over this territory to us in return.

 

Because the raid of Towers has evolved into a new form of modern territorial warfare.

Of course, clearing a Tower is humanity’s shared goal, but many demand something in return for clearing it.

 

Take the S-rank Tower on Dokdo, for example. It’s closely tied to political issues.

 

Before Elaine took on the raid, the S-rank Towers included.

Mungyeong Saejae, Ganghwa Island, Jeju Island, and Dokdo.

 

Which Tower should be prioritized depends on where you live.
People near Seoul prioritize Ganghwa Island.

Those in Gyeongsang-do, Gangwon-do, and Chungcheong-do prioritize Mungyeong Saejae.

Residents of Jeolla-do and Jeju Island prioritize Jeju.
And those in Ulleungdo prioritize Dokdo.

 

As a result, the government has mainly focused S-rank Hunter raids on Ganghwa Island.

 

– Is this the Republic of Seoul?!

 

Whenever that question arises, the usual response is,
Isn’t it logical to prioritize a region with 20 million people over one with 1 or 2 million?

 

While this drew criticism from local citizens, some merely shrugged it off, saying, ‘Perhaps that phrasing was too harsh.’

 

– Ah, just hurry up and conquer any S-rank Tower already! We’re getting impatient!

 

The progress was sluggish.

Attempts ended in repeated failures.

At best, they cleared dungeons or mid-bosses before the final boss room.

 

– Shouldn’t we just leave it to Hunters from other countries?

 

Such suggestions were growing more frequent.

At least now, such talk would diminish.

 

If we—Elaine and Kiharu—succeed in this raid.

 

* * *

 

Screeeech!

 

At the summit of the spatially expanded Tower, a massive green dragon coiled in the sky let out a deafening roar.

Simultaneously, flaming boulders began to fall from above.

 

“Isn’t that dangerous, nyah?”

 

Kiharu, perched beside Elaine, alternated between pointing at the sky and the ground.

Although this battlefield—essentially the boss room—was relatively spacious, it didn’t seem sturdy enough to withstand the falling, flaming boulders.

 

“It’s dangerous. Shahabuth is trying to destroy the ground beneath us.”

 

Elaine raised her blade, forged like frost, and pointed it forward.

 

“Kiharu, let me show you a miracle my master can create.”

 

Elaine assumed a combat stance—her basic posture from the game when entering battle.

 

“Kiharu, if my stamina starts to drop, heal me immediately.”
“Stamina?”
“You’ll understand when it happens. And… here it comes!”

 

The moment a massive fireball descended—

 

“Master, now!”

 

Before Kiharu’s shout fully echoed, Elaine’s body slid to the side with radiant light, as if skating across the battlefield.

 

“!!”

Baaaaang!!

 

The fireball smashed into the ground, releasing a powerful shockwave.

The vibrations rippled out, spreading fiery heat across the area, but—

 

“Incredible… so that’s how it works!”

 

Kiharu’s already large eyes widened even further at the sight of the untouched floor.

 

“Defying physical laws… overlaying one world onto another!”
“Second one incoming!”

 

Elaine, who had sidestepped the first, began running across the battlefield.

 

“It’s coming our way, nyah!”
“It’s tracking me!”

 

The fireball didn’t just fall but curved in an arc, targeting Elaine as she fled.

 

“…Now!”

 

Elaine suddenly stopped in place.
She extended her sword to her side, gathered her mana, and swung forward.

 

Shhhhkkk!

 

The falling fireball split in half.
Its mass shattered into countless fragments, scattering as harmless embers that fluttered past Elaine.

 

A golden aura radiated from Kiharu, enveloping Elaine’s body.

Elaine offered a faint smile.

 

“As expected.”
“…It works?”

 

Kiharu let out a small laugh of disbelief.

 

“What if the healing hadn’t worked, nyah?”
“Then I’d have summoned another healer. Our team’s 5-star healer’s identity is unclear, after all… Hmm.”

 

Screeech!

 

“It seems Shahabuth is genuinely furious now.”
“Of course! Whatever you did, it broke their ‘groundbreaking’ strategy. So, Master, are you still controlling things?”
“Indeed. And now… it’s our turn.”

 

Shahabuth roared, spreading its massive jaws and diving toward the ground.

The dragon plummeted like a missile, aiming to crash its enormous body into the battlefield.

 

“Master, now leave it to me.”

 

Elaine crouched low into an impossible stance for a game character.

Her posture resembled a cat preparing to pounce.

 

The moment Shahabuth’s gaping maw slammed into the ground—

 

Thump!

 

Elaine leapt sideways with great force, positioning herself at the edge of the battlefield.

 

BOOOM!

 

The ground shattered in an instant.

Massive chunks of debris crumbled and plummeted toward the lower levels of the Tower.

 

Screeech!

 

Shahabuth, realizing its target had evaded, narrowed its fiery eyes at Elaine and smirked.

 

The Tower’s summit crumbled, leaving only empty air beneath them. With gravity pulling Elaine downward—

 

Thump!

Elaine used a falling piece of debris as a foothold to leap upward.

 

In a single motion, she landed atop Shahabuth’s massive body and drove her blade into its scales.

 

Fwoosh!

 

Flames erupted from Shahabuth’s body in an attempt to burn off the clinging pest.

Yet Elaine held her position, keeping her sword embedded in its hide despite the searing fire.

 

“You really didn’t need to help this much.”
“Just take the heal, nyah!”

 

Crack-crack-crack!

 

Before Elaine’s hair and skin could be scorched by the flames, the golden aura instantly restored her burned skin and damaged body.

 

“How does it feel? Comparing direct healing to the ‘Master’s managed world’ healing?”
“At least the latter doesn’t leave any scars, nyah. That’s a relief!”
“Exactly.”

 

Elaine adjusted her stance.

 

“My master chooses to control me because at least the wounds aren’t visible, and the pain is minimized.”

 

Even while falling amidst the collapsing battlefield, Elaine began sprinting downward, using the Storm Dragon’s massive body as her footing.

 

“However, when facing an opponent that ‘destroys the field’ like this, there’s no choice but to respond in this way.”

 

The moment Shahabuth attempted to change direction and soar back into the sky, its eyes widened in shock at Elaine, who was now sprinting along its back.

 

“With everything I have.”

Screeeech!

 

Shahabuth began thrashing, twisting its enormous body in a wild spiral, like an alligator executing a death roll.

 

Hmph.”

 

Elaine chuckled lowly.

 

The movement seemed like a desperate flail, and she darted forward like a flash of light, aiming for the gleaming red gem embedded at the base of Shahabuth’s neck.

 

“Found it.”

 

As Elaine thrust her sword toward the crimson gem—

 

Fwoosh!

 

A green beam of light erupted from the gem, shooting directly at Elaine and nearly piercing her abdomen—

 

“…Hah.”

 

But just before the beam could hit, Elaine’s body shimmered, vanishing in an instant as if blinking forward.

 

Her new position was past the gem, but she immediately spun around and aimed her mana-infused blade directly at it.

 

Fwoosh!

The dragon unleashed one final desperate attack.

Crimson flames burst forth from between its scales, trying to engulf Elaine in fire.

 

“For a brief moment, even this restricted body can endure.”

 

Kyaaaaak…?!

 

Elaine’s body regenerated faster than the flames could consume her. She drove her glowing mana blade deep into the crimson gem.

 

“As expected.”
Screeeech!
“Ouroboros could speak, but it seems your intelligence doesn’t quite reach that level.”

 

Crack!

 

A bizarre noise echoed from the shattering red gem.

 

[You… you will fall with me…! You, human…!]
“Fall, you say?”

 

As the collapsing Tower and Shahabuth plummeted together into the abyss of the subspace, Elaine kept her blade embedded in the gem, then leapt upward.

 

“Perhaps not.”

 

Flap.

 

“After all, I have the power Master bestowed upon me.”

 

Behind Elaine, mechanical wings unfolded like those of a bird, sleek and metallic.

 

[What?!]

 

Below her, Shahabuth plunged toward the ground in a fiery descent, its massive body consumed by its own collapsing flames.

 

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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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