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Stay-at-Home Summoner Chapter 9

The Answer Lies in Microtransactions (3)

[Late Night, Near the Mungyeong Saejae Tower S-Rank Dungeon Restricted Area Checkpoint.]

 

Yaaaawn.”
“Private Kim, don’t fall asleep, sir.”
“Are you insane? Are you trying to get me court-martialed?”
“Wouldn’t that be a good thing? You’d get sent far from here.”
“Shut it. I’m doing my time in this danger zone so I can get discharged earlier than others.”

 

Two soldiers guarding the checkpoint late at night chatted casually.

 

If an officer overheard, they’d probably scold them for “slacking off”. But given the risk of an S-Rank Break happening nearby, even the officers stationed here could hardly blame the men for lightening the mood.

 

Even if everyone knew that an S-Rank Tower wouldn’t break easily.

 

“Private Kim, do you know any Awakened in your area?”
“You mean the ‘Million Awakened’ thing?”
“Yeah.”
“Nope. What about you?”
“One of my friends who joined the army earlier than me became Awakened after being promoted to Sergeant. Now he’s busy hiring a lawyer.”
“…Tsk, not sure if that’s lucky or unlucky.”

 

Every young man in this country could only laugh bitterly at such situations.

 

“Serving 18 months is bad enough, but Awakening with just three months left… how do you even calculate that?”
“By regulation, Awakened serve for six months in active duty, sir.”
“Wow, so his six-month clock resets now that he’s Awakened? That must feel awful. Is that why he hired a lawyer? Filing a constitutional complaint or something?”
“We haven’t talked that far yet. But… I think he might try.”
“Yeah, makes sense. Even veterans who are Awakened get dragged back. What’s the military gonna do for regular soldiers? Damn.”

 

The two young soldiers laughed wryly and turned their gaze toward the road below.

 

“Well, at least we get double pay and half the service time for being in a danger zone. Let’s drink to that.”
“You mean water?”
“Just saying. Ugh, it’s freezing out here…”

 

Rustle.

 

“Hey, did you hear something move?”
“Probably a deer?”
“It didn’t look like a deer… I saw a shadow…”

 

Snap—!

 

“Ah, damn it, that scared me!”

 

A startled deer bolted from the bushes, fleeing into the night.

 

“Looks like it just saw a ghost or something.”
“What if a ghost climbs over the wall? What do we do?”
“What do you think? Follow protocol. But honestly, what would a ghost even do at a Tower?”

 

Rustle.

 

As they looked up at the towering white stone structure piercing the sky, the soldiers simply hoped for another uneventful shift.

 

Someone.

 

Rustle.

 

Unnoticed by the guards, a figure swiftly scaled the walls, stealthily approaching the Tower.

 

* * *

 

‘Whew.’

 

I wondered what would happen if she got caught in the middle, but fortunately, no one caught Elaine.

 

‘I thought I might get picked up by thermal cameras or motion-activated CCTV, but this went smoother than expected.’

 

I opened the app on my phone to check on her.

 

Elaine’s connection remained intact. However, the status screen didn’t show her location as “Mungyeong Saejae”.

 

[Conquering White Sky Tower (S).]

 

Entry: Successful.

Elaine had successfully infiltrated the S-Rank Tower at Mungyeong Saejae. All I could do now was hope with all my heart that she would conquer the Tower.

 

Her physical condition was good.

 

Since there seemed to be no significant issues, I leaned my driver’s seat back, mounted another phone on the holder, and began browsing the community forums.

 

Search: Elaine.

Results: Last 24 hours.

130,344 posts.

 

“…Hah.”

 

The sheer volume of posts was overwhelming.

 

Ever since it became public knowledge that Elaine was the inspiration behind the perfect maid cosplay, forums related to the game—regardless of their usual themes—had gone viral.

 

– Administrator, there’s way too much non-game content here. Please take action.

– Sir, this isn’t that kind of forum… Hah.

 

Even forums that typically avoided such topics were flooded with posts.

 

– Hello^^ I’m a member of the National Assembly…

 

Even people who usually wouldn’t care about games or forums were poking around, trying to learn more about Elaine.

 

Fortunately, her wiki page was still intact, but constant vandalism—deletions, edits, and other disruptions—was ongoing.

 

Chaos.

That’s the only way to describe it.

The original game communities had been thrown into such disarray that longtime users had either created separate forums, migrated to entirely new channels, or sought refuge in portal cafes run by dedicated gaming UTubers.

 

 

 

– Our home base is burning down because of the Elaine cosplayer…

– But seriously, who is she?

 

Even those who resented the chaos couldn’t help but be curious.

However, amidst my curiosity about Elaine, I couldn’t ignore the flood of new posts every time I refreshed the forums:

 

[Hey, are you gonna declare for the Hero class?]

[Got my Hero qualification. Anyone going to declare themselves a Hero?]

[Do I seriously have to register to climb the Lighthouse? This sucks.]

 

The posts were filled with jargon only insiders would understand.

 

Outsiders might think they were in-game terms, but anyone familiar with these forums, dominated by young men in their 20s and 30s, would get the references.

 

[First playthrough? Second playthrough? If it’s your first, just go for it. If it’s your second, think it through first.]

[Yeah, if it’s your second, better to skip…]

[First-timers who Awakened by luck should grind for six months, lol.]

[Nah, bad take.]

 

“They’re fighting again.”

 

Even just the ongoing disputes between Awakened and non-Awakened were exhausting. The societal upheaval caused by a million people Awakening had everyone on edge.

 

The bitterness of not Awakening while a million others did.

 

In reality, this bitterness spilled out in drunken rants, leading to a surge in alcohol-fueled violence. Online, even without alcohol, people were unleashing their frustrations through keyboards and smartphones.

 

If word got out that I was Elaine’s “Master”?

 

‘Personal information leaks would be the least of my worries. I’d get torn apart by jealousy.’

 

No one would be on my side.

Men would be jealous that I was Elaine’s Master, while women would just envy Elaine herself.

 

Even among the million Awakened, no one would defend me. Both newly Awakened individuals and those who had Awakened long ago would resent me.

 

‘Some people risk their lives climbing Towers to earn their B-rank or A-rank, but I get to be the Master of an S-rank beauty. Yeah, that’ll go over well.’

 

This wasn’t just a “luck of the draw” situation.

 

This was like winning the lottery’s top prize—or the Super Bowl in America—except the odds were even more absurd.

 

It was inevitable to feel this way, especially as I watched what was happening on my smartphone screen.

 

The app displayed a game-like interface that filled the entire screen.

 

“…She’s fighting well.”

 

In the familiar UI, Elaine was effortlessly cutting through the dungeons and monsters of the White Sky Tower without any input from me.

 

Slash, Slash!

 

Elaine swung her golden sword.

The black-and-gold longsword, her “exclusive weapon”, gleamed brilliantly as it sliced through the Tower’s monsters as if they were pudding.

 

Even creatures that would typically be floor bosses in A-rank Towers were falling in a single strike, as Elaine continued her advance.

 

Despite only being in the Tower for a short time, she was swiftly eliminating its inhabitants, pressing onward.

 

“…Level 80. Can we consider her S-rank already?”

 

Level 80.

Some might scoff at the idea of calling Level 80 S-rank.

 

But in this game, Level 80 was the max level.

It might differ in other games, but for the game Elaine was from, this was the cap.

 

“…”

 

While Elaine was fighting tirelessly, I opened another app on my phone, leaving the forums for a moment.

 

The familiar login screen greeted me, transitioning to an image of a temple. Then, I found myself looking at the same player character I had logged out of on my computer earlier.

 

“…”

 

Watching Elaine effortlessly handle A-rank monsters, I came to one conclusion.

 

Elaine wasn’t at her full potential yet.

 

She could grow stronger.

Even if it meant she might lose some of her elegance, she could push her limits.

 

Ding.

 

A notification popped up on my smartphone. It was a reply to a post I had made on the forums.

 

– Is Elaine fine with a 4-piece Mage set?

– I quit after the 3.3 Elaine pickup banner, but since RL Maid Elaine is here, I want to raise her properly. What’s the best relic set for her these days?

 

Elaine.

She wasn’t a new character.

 

She’d been in the game for a while, even spawning alternate versions of herself.

 

– No, not Mage 4-piece. Go with Warrior 4-piece. There’s a new relic set from patch 5.2.

– Is there no faster way to boost her stats than Warrior 4-piece?

– Got cash to burn?

 

“…”

 

… Quite a lot.
Not converted to cash yet, though.

 

– Don’t bother with relics, just go for this setup.

“…Hah.”

 

As expected.

 

“This is the power of collective wisdom.”

 

The veterans always have the answers.

Of course, I’m a veteran myself. Just four days ago, I was pulling singles to get the business card of a newly released character.

 

Still, Elaine is an older character, so I wasn’t entirely up to date with the current meta.

 

‘I mean, it’s not like I play just one game.’

 

Thankfully, the setup I’d already prepared for Elaine wasn’t too far off from the current optimal build.

 

There were ways to boost her specs right away.

 

‘I’ll send her a truckload of gifts later.’

 

If those upgrades helped her conquer the S-Rank Tower, I’d definitely pay her back for it.

 

“…So.”

 

Star Jewel Pack: 6,480 + 1,600 bonus. 119,000 Won.

 

“…The pickup character I pulled just for the business card—her exclusive weapon is 1.2 times stronger than Elaine’s original one, right?”

 

If the in-game stats translated into Elaine’s real-world abilities…

 

 

[Purchase completed.]

[Purchase completed.]

[Purchase completed.]

 

“…”

 

All the way to the limit—or even beyond it.

 

“It’s time. Exclusive Weapon, 5 Full Break.”

 

If it takes pity summons or breaking the pity system entirely, I don’t care.

 

For the sake of my Summon, I’ll do anything.

 

“I’ll keep spending until I get them all.”

 

With cold hard cash, I’ll protect Elaine.

 

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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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