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Stay-at-Home Summoner Chapter 32

Capitalism Knows the Answer (2)

[At the same time, in a small studio apartment in Gyeonggi.]

 

“A patch for old characters? Am I seeing this right…?”

 

The young man stared at the split screens on his monitor, shaking his head in disbelief.

 

On one side was a forum discussing the current state of the Towers, and on the other, a community focused on games.

 

Normally, he wouldn’t care about the former, but the recent success of conquering two consecutive S-Rank Towers had piqued his interest, dragging even this reclusive gamer into the flood of real-world discourse.

 

“Wow, unbelievable. Hunters are cosplaying while clearing Towers, and now even the games are changing.”

 

With a smirk, he clicked the “Write Post” button in the community forum and began typing furiously, pouring out his thoughts.

 

Was it right to abandon the philosophy of the developers and patch characters like this?

If they buff old characters this way, isn’t it just saving some while discarding others?

If other Hunters cosplay, will their characters also get surprise reruns and buffs?

 

“Hehehehe.”

 

He was trolling, a classic case of online instigation. Hiding behind the anonymity of the internet, he spewed out complaints with abandon.

 

The responses were predictable.

 

– Even if they do everything, people still complain—geez.

 

Exactly.

Who cared about philosophy?

If the patch boosted the value of characters you owned, you should welcome it with open arms.

 

And if his favorite character benefited from this ripple effect, the young man figured he, too, would enjoy a share of the real-world rewards.

 

Rumors about how the S-Rank Towers being cleared would raise real estate prices in the metropolitan area, or complaints about cutting the salaries of government officials who only showed up for photo ops—these so-called “real-world debates” started catching his eye, something he’d never cared about before.

 

Hah.”

 

But would any of this really change the world?

 

The Towers would continue to sprout like weeds. In the world of the Awakened, the unawakened were mere extras.

 

Since the Awakening of millions, the growing disillusionment had caused a rise in the so-called “Despair Generation,” people quitting jobs out of frustration. The young man was one of them.

 

“Clearing S-Rank Towers doesn’t benefit me directly…”

 

Would it ever? He didn’t know.

 

Some said this marked a step toward global peace, but wouldn’t the real beneficiaries be the people who had land or houses near the Towers?

 

For someone like him, living in a rental unit with nothing but a smartphone and a game account, even the monumental achievement of clearing an S-Rank Tower was just passing news.

 

“…Huh?”

 

When he refreshed the forum, suddenly posts with titles like “Wow,” “Crazy,” and “Unbelievable” flooded the screen.

 

“What is this?”

 

He refreshed the page a few more times and clicked on the most recommended post.

 

“!!”

 

It was a short announcement from the game developer.

 

“To commemorate the S-Rank Tower conquest, we’re giving out 30 free pulls!”

 

They’re crazy.

This is really crazy.

 

“Heh, hehehehe…”

 

For someone who only paid the minimum subscription of 5,900 won a month and earned just enough in-game currency for one pull a day, this was a windfall.

 

“That’s money in my pocket. Haha.”

 

Even for someone who lived solely for gaming, this real-world event had suddenly made a tangible impact on his wallet.

 

“…Cosplay Maid.”

 

The young man carefully folded his hands.

 

Although he didn’t have a religion, he couldn’t help but turn his faith and joy to the woman who came out conquering the S-class tower.

 

“No, Elaine.”

 

He didn’t know her real name.
He knew she held U.S. citizenship, but there were rumors she was a Korean who had obtained it hastily.

 

What was certain was her unyielding will—she was bold enough to wear a cosplay maid outfit even in front of U.S. President.

 

And her strength as an S-Rank Hunter was as formidable as her individuality.

 

Thanks to her, he now had 30 pulls.

 

“…Could it be?”

 

Human greed knew no bounds.

 

“If Elaine cosplays again and clears another S-Rank Tower, will we get another 30 pulls?”

 

Gulp.

 

Was it selfish to think that?

 

Probably not.

The forums were already buzzing with anonymous posts joking, “All the S-Ranks should get out of the Towers and let only new Elaine do the runs.”

 

“…Two events mean 60 pulls.”

 

The young man’s hand trembled as he gripped his mouse. Clicking on another highly recommended post, he froze.

 

“Wow.”

 

In the gray-toned photo, Elaine stood with her head tilted toward the sky.

 

“Elaine.”

 

* * *

 

The developers had indeed gone all out.

To celebrate Elaine’s S-Rank Tower conquest, they had distributed the maximum possible reward of 30 pulls to players.

 

Although he wasn’t yet free from financial constraints, receiving this many pulls felt like a major win.

 

‘Human greed is truly terrifying.’

 

In the past, I might have been worried about how much money the company was burning through, to the point of fretting over their finances.

 

Giving out such a large amount of gacha currency is usually something reserved for a game shutting down, as in, “This game is ending on this date, so go ahead and pull as many characters as you want and enjoy all the content before it’s over.”

 

Of course, 30 pulls aren’t on that level.

But a giveaway on the scale of a service shutdown wouldn’t be welcome news.

 

So, if this 30-pull giveaway is purely a celebration, it’s best to save the currency within this game.

 

“Elaine, I won’t use this to summon new characters. I’ll invest it into enhancing your artifacts’ stamina instead.”
“Huh?”
“For the third Summon, I want to take my time and think it through carefully.”

 

Elaine suggested summoning someone she was familiar with from her world.

 

“I get what you’re hinting at. You don’t want to see certain cases among the many possible characters, right?”
“How dare you! Binding me to such nonsense is an insult to my dignity!”
“Yes, next up is the 4-star freebie. That disaster of a character—the goddess trapped in a cat’s body.”
“Ki-shaaah!!”

 

Despite the harsh tone brought on by some alcohol, Kiharu only hissed at me without scratching or attacking.

 

This was WWE-level drama for now.

Any deeper, and it’d turn into UFC.

 

The same went for Elaine.

 

“Elaine, no matter how tempting the next limited pickup character is—said to be an unrivaled healer, a new meta-shifting essential, gorgeous, kind, a 5-star with hidden lore, and all those amazing traits—I’m sticking with Kiharu.”

 

I lifted Kiharu up.

 

“Don’t we already have Kiharu? Isn’t Kiharu enough as a healer?”
“Now that you mention it, this one seems more deserving of my wrath.”

 

I pushed Kiharu forward, and she swiped a gentle paw at Elaine, growling.

 

“Don’t look down on me just because I’m stuck in a cat’s body! I could destroy humanity as their judge if I regained my true powers!”
“And isn’t that exactly why Elaine suggested bringing in someone familiar to control that kind of chaos?”

 

Thinking about it, Elaine’s suggestion wasn’t half-bad.

 

“In-game performance aligns with the maximum potential strength of this world. To match what people here consider the level of an S-Rank Hunter, it would have to be at least the latest release. And fortunately, the person I had in mind fits that bill.”
“Who’s this person?”
“Kind and dependable. To borrow your gaming terms, someone from the ‘main love interest route.'”
“Main route, huh…”

 

Hmm.

 

“No.”
“May I ask why?”
“Too much pressure.”

 

Honestly, that’s the reason.

 

“A main-route character’s affection stems from in-game narratives, and…”

 

Yandere vibes aren’t my thing.

 

“And it’s hard not to consider…”

 

I gestured toward the computer.

 

“For the third summon, I’d prefer someone more suited to support roles than pure combat.”
“Like… an internet or computer expert?”
“How about this?”

 

Kiharu wriggled free from my grip, pretending to polish something.

 

“Someone who isn’t inherently dangerous to humanity, blends into the world’s environment, and serves as a partner who provides support rather than direct combat aid.”
“Such a person exists…?”
“Search enough, and you’ll find one. Someone who lives in the shadows, understands the darker sides of humanity, and operates as an expert in cyber warfare.”
“…”
“Think about it. If you’re interested, give it a shot.”

 

Kiharu gestured toward the computer.

 

“When you summon them, give them the codename Eraser. Sounds fitting, right?”
“Kiharu, is that someone from your world?”
“No, and the one I’m thinking of isn’t even limited-time… but…”

 

Kiharu glanced at me.

 

“What is it? Spoilers are fine. Just tell me.”
“They’re male.”
“……”
“A guy who thinks he’s a girl due to some psychological issues. Helping him work through that and discover his true identity would probably be part of his growth arc as a supporting character.”
“……”
“Of course, partner, if you’d still summon them for their ‘performance’, I wouldn’t judge. I’d even praise your kindness for supporting such a partner.”
“Thanks.”

 

Would it be necessary to summon someone who satisfies both in-game stats and real-world utility?

 

“…Not everyone needs to be an S-Rank Hunter.”

 

We’re not just a group focused on endless combat, after all.

 

“If we need more combat power, we can recruit someone for that later. For now, Elaine is more than enough. If I summon someone, they should bring unique advantages—like…”

 

Someone who, in lore, is a genius hacker who defined an era.

 

“Blocking those trying to pry into our secrets would be helpful. Maybe even erasing inconvenient regulations while they’re at it.”

 

And in any creative work…

 

“…It’d be even better if they could back up your servers.”

 

In modern or futuristic settings, hackers are a staple.

 

“The real challenge is choosing the right person, not maxing out their upgrades.”

 

After all, I have a black card.

 

“Surely there’s at least one hacker out there worth investing in.”

 

Gacha games have no shortage of characters, after all.

 

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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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