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Stay-at-Home Summoner Chapter 4

How to Exploit the Tower (1)

No one knows exactly how or why the “Tower” appeared on Earth.

 

If the Tower had been nothing more than a disaster that brought trials to humanity, people wouldn’t have valued becoming Hunters—those who climb the Tower—more than winning the lottery.

 

But the Tower offers rewards.

Rewards so extraordinary that they often defy human comprehension and can even be used outside the Tower.

 

Magic artifacts.

From items that emit semi-permanent light without electricity to tools that release intense heat with just a small infusion of mana—these artifacts have begun replacing traditional industries, powered by mana stones obtained from the Tower.

 

It’s no surprise that the Tower has become the equivalent of an oil field in a new capitalist era.

 

Of course, climbing the Towers always carries significant risks.

 

How many jobs out there require risking your life to earn a living?

But for the Awakened, fighting the monsters within the Towers is truly a battle for survival.

 

Some Awakened refuse to climb the Towers despite their newfound abilities.

 

For some, awakening is a blessing worth risking their lives for, while for others, it’s an unwanted burden—a power they never asked for, shackled with responsibilities they don’t want.

 

Now imagine: a million people awakening in such a world. Chaos was inevitable.

 

‘I guess that’s fortunate.’

 

The global upheaval somewhat diverted attention away from Elaine.

 

Meanwhile, I was glued to my dual monitors, refreshing various online forums and communities to track the latest developments.

 

Forum R humor board? No issues.

Forum D gallery? All clear.

Forum A channel…

 

“Oh.”

 

– 3D Elaine Hunter Fan Post LOL

 

“Dammit.”

 

I’d opened multiple tabs in anticipation of something like this, and sure enough, it happened.

 

A post from five minutes ago featured a side profile of Elaine, her black hair and golden eyes shining, as she stood by a fountain in her perfect maid combat attire.

 

“Of all places… here?!”

 

This was bad.

The post spreading was already concerning, but this wasn’t even a Hunter forum—it was a gaming forum, notorious for its…

 

– You know you’ll get banned for harassment, right? Watch your comments.

– Ah, I’m just grateful that Hunter Sister is cosplaying lol

 

“…What?”

 

The comments felt unusually tame. Normally, you’d expect something like: ‘Strip Elaine’s maid outfit layer by layer, blush her cheeks, then make her call me ‘Young Master’ as I carry her into the nursery and onto the bed.’

 

Perhaps the reason such comments are made…

 

“Potential lawsuit?”

 

It’s likely that they refrained from pressing the Enter key, aware that it could lead to charges of sexual harassment since it seemed to involve a real person.

 

Especially when the subject isn’t just a cosplayer but an Awakened, people are even more cautious about what they write in the comments.

 

Hunters, Awakened, Climbers—those who ascend the Tower—are fundamentally different from ordinary influencers or celebrities.

 

They are humanity’s heroes, preventing catastrophes like ‘dungeon breaks’ caused by the collapse of the Towers.

 

It’s hard to imagine many people posting something like, “Man, I’d love to gr*pe those massive b*obs and knock up an unawakened girl, but I’m too scared of getting sued, lol.” against ‘superhumans’ who could track your address, stretch out a hand, and snap your neck without effort.

 

In that sense, this side is better.

 

Even if such thoughts cross their mind, they don’t express them openly in an internet space for others to see.

 

—What’s wrong with today’s youth?

 

“Ah, damn it.”

 

An unexpected—or perhaps entirely predictable—response popped up from an unexpected place.

 

—Walking around dressed like that just because they Awakened? It’s not even about bragging as a Hunter~

—Whoever’s daughter that is, don’t they feel ashamed wearing such revealing clothes? Maybe people in certain lines of work Awaken, or something?

—Does anyone know her social media?

 

The moment photos taken from another angle were uploaded to a local forum, the responses became intolerably offensive.

 

It felt like seeing a group of trolls picking apart a candid photo someone had secretly taken of their girlfriend.

 

‘I can archive this for now, but there’s no way for me to directly counter this nonsense.’

 

Unfortunately, I’m a man, and the forum only allows posts from verified members of the local Mom’s Club.

 

As someone who has effectively become “Elaine’s mom”, I’m dying to jump in, line them all up, and smack those reckless mouths, hands, and keyboards—

 

‘Let’s hold back for now.’

 

If I get angry and try to confront them now, the post will likely be switched from public to private, making it impossible to even see.

 

‘They’ll regret it.’

 

Going after an Awakened isn’t the same as throwing hate at a celebrity online and risking a lawsuit.

 

For celebrities, unless their agency takes action, lawsuits are difficult to file. Often, they endure harassment for the sake of their image. But Awakened are managed by the state.

 

Of course, some refuse state affiliation, choosing instead to pursue freedom as unregistered individuals. Among these, some become villains, stepping beyond the protection of the law.

 

Hah…”

 

A crossroads of choices. While not an immediate decision, when the 1 million Awakened start registering with the Awakened Management Committee, I’ll likely have to do so as well.

 

As an Awakened.

…As a Summoner?

 

“Search terms: Summon. Summoner. Ability.”

 

I searched for information related to myself on forums I frequent more than others.

With a VPN on, the search results loaded slowly, but even with this layer of caution, the results weren’t promising.

 

I even visited foreign websites, searching terms like ‘Summon’ or ‘召喚獸’—everything I could think of related to my ability.

 

As absurd as it felt, I even typed hashtags like #Awaken or #Awakening into SNS platforms popular nationwide, refreshing the page for real-time updates.

 

– Guys, I just Awakened as a fire damage dealer!!

– Support class, lol. No way! I’m a tool?!

– Looking for an ice-ranged DPS Awakened mentor…

– Ugh, damn, I got tank. , Anyone wanna swap Awakened talents with me?

 

“The last one’s just bragging.”

You can tell with experience when someone on an internet forum is genuinely asking a question or just stirring things up to troll others.

 

Bragging.
It’s human nature to want to show off, especially when it comes to Awakening—this so-called divine blessing granted to 1 million people.

When the atmosphere is all about flaunting and certification, who wouldn’t want to ride the wave?

 

“…Hah.”

 

No matter how much I searched, it seemed hopeless.

 

‘Nothing.’

 

Nowhere could I find anyone else who had awakened as a Summoner.

 

Even more unique—someone whose summoned entities looked like characters from a cute anime-style gacha game?

Not a chance.

 

The closest ability I could find to mine was…

 

-Hey, everyone, I just became a Nyan Catmon master, lol.

 

“Seriously? Taming stray cats?”

 

A ‘Beast Tamer’ who tames wild cats, stuffs them into red pouches, and throws them into fights. That’s the best example I could find.

 

Honestly, if my ability were something like that, I’d have gone public with it.

But as things stood, keeping it under wraps seemed like the better choice.

 

-Wow, Elaine’s concept is on point, lol.

-So, does this mean the Hunter’s gonna do… um, ‘things’ with Elaine now?

 

“Are they kids?”

 

I muttered, though it was likely some middle-schooler typing with their tiny hands on the forum.

 

Still, the idea that something like that could actually happen sent shivers down my spine.

 

“…This is insane.”

 

Elaine’s presence still lingered in the room.

 

A trace of the dark-haired, golden-eyed beauty remained in this space, where no other woman had ever set foot.

 

Even though she wasn’t from the modern world but a fantasy one, the lingering scent oddly matched the shampoo and body wash I used—

 

“?!”

 

I got up and headed to the bathrpp,.

A towel of a different color, not the one I used before, was hanging there, slightly damp.

 

“……”

 

Clap.

 

“…Get it together.”

 

I’m not a pervert.

If I were desperate enough to go this far, I’d rather just ask the person for permission to sniff their scent outright. But I’m not starving for female attention to that extent.

 

“…Whew.”

 

This was troubling.
Whether it was because of the Summoning or not, there was no denying the entity was, by all appearances, a ‘woman’.

 

“If it had been some sort of animal, I could’ve tolerated it… Hah.”

 

It might sound like I was complaining about a blessing, but the predicament was real.

 

“For now, I should just count my blessings that this hasn’t drawn any more attention.”

 

Click.

 

I turned on the TV.

My head was pounding from refreshing multiple browser tabs, so I decided to see if there were any breaking news reports.

 

For the moment—

 

[Breaking news: An Awakened has ‘cleared’ a Tower!]
“?”

 

My thoughts came to a screeching halt.

 

[The one who cleared the Tower at the S Plaza fountain is… a maid?]
“Uh…”

 

Elapsed time: approximately one hour.

 

[Everyone, this is the fastest Tower clearance in human history!!!]
“Ah.”

 

A fragment of memory surfaced.

 

“Max level, all traits maxed, skills maxed, SSS relic score…”

 

And—

 

“Fully maxed.”

 

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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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