<Summon Spirit can only be used once every 10 levels. If you use the skill now, skill usage will be restricted until level 10. Would you like to cast Summon Spirit?>
“Cast it.”
1. Golden Goblin Progenitor - Kerk>
“Kerk.”
<Casting Summon Spirit.>
<Casting Summon Spirit.>
<The target resists.>
<Casting Summon Spirit.>
<The target consumes Mental Fortitude.>
<The target resists.>
<Casting Summon Spirit.>
<Your level is insufficient.>
<All Spiritual Power has been consumed.>
<Would you like to replenish Spiritual Power?>
Replenish?
“How do I replenish it?”
<Magic Stones will be consumed. Magic Stones in your Inventory will be consumed first. Would you like to use them?>
Magic Stones?
Come to think of it, I had only been stockpiling them until now.
I had left them alone, planning to sell them later because I had heard their price had crashed.
“Use them.”
<Magic Stones will be consumed to replenish Spiritual Power.>
<F-Rank Magic Stones will be converted at a 1:1 ratio.>
1%...
50%
100%
200%
...329% replenishment completed.
<Casting Summon Spirit.>
<The target resists.>
<Spiritual Power is released.>
<The spirit is bound by Spiritual Power.>
<The spirit is trapped in a casting net.>
<Casting Summon Spirit.>
<The spirit’s sense of self becomes clouded.>
<The spirit loses its will.>
<The spirit searches for a place to depend on.>
<The spirit has submitted.>
<Summon Spirit completed.>
FLASH—!
The Golden Goblin Progenitor, Kerk, appeared before my eyes in a blaze of light.
He had his eyes closed as though asleep.
“I can see him!”
[Me too!]
When I checked the Spirit List, he had entered the third page.
It seemed that was why the spirits bound to me could now also recognize the goblin spirit.
<He will awaken when you call his name.>
But I had no intention of doing so.
One grew attached to anything once one called it by name.
“No. Cast skill.”
This one was someone I had to send away immediately.
“Materialization.”
<Decomposing Golden Goblin Progenitor, Kerk.>
Kerk’s body began spinning round and round, as though he had been placed inside a spin dryer or centrifuge.
The speed grew faster and faster.
WHOOSH! WHIIIIIR—!
“What in the world is this?!”
[Wow!]
Cha Jun-hyeok flinched in surprise, while Chae Seon-hwa simply watched with shining eyes.
Each time he spun, Kerk’s spirit body gradually disappeared.
And in the end, every shape that had composed him vanished entirely.
DING—!
The following materials have been acquired.
Hall of Fame Admission Ticket x1
Golden Goblin Sack x1
Golden Goblin Map x1
Gem Auction VIP Ticket x1
COS Dungeon Map x1
Random Box Fragment x20
Progenitor’s Voice x5>
At the same time, fireworks exploded on the electronic scoreboard.
<First! Fastest! Highest record broken!>
<Player Jack Rich_07!>
<You have entered the Hall of Fame!>
WAAAAAAAAH—!
Rich! Rich! Rich! Rich! Rich!
KYAAAAAAAK!!!!!
A massive wave rose again.
No, this time, it was not a wave.
Everyone rose like a great tide, scattering confetti and fireworks throughout the stadium.
It was practically a frenzy.
The stadium seethed with the maddening excitement pouring out from the spectators.
“Wow!”
[So pretty!]
Goblin Count: 1,000/1,000
Coins Held: 10,000/10,000>
“Homeowner! So it was possible after all!!”
The moment the electronic scoreboard changed, Status Window alerts began appearing.
<Your level has increased.>
<Your level has increased.>
<Your level has increased.>
<Your level has increased.>
<Your level has increased.>
<Gwanaksan Tower’s 2nd Floor - Event Stage has been cleared.>
<Shortest time updated. Rank will be raised.>
<You have succeeded in the world’s first complete clear of an Event Stage.>
<Rank will be raised.>
<Rank will be raised.>
<Rank will be recalculated.>
<A new rank will be established.>
<You have achieved the first SSS-Rank in Gwanaksan Tower.>
<Rewards will be calculated according to the number of goblins eliminated.>
<Perfect Clear.>
<Reward rank will be raised.>
Basic Rewards: 100 S-Rank Magic Stones, 10 Essences of Earth, 10 Skill Selection Ticket Fragments, 10,000 Coins.
First SSS-Rank Rewards: 100 Time Delay Tickets, 100-slot Inventory Expansion Ticket, Hall of Fame Admission Ticket, 1 Skill Selection Ticket>
<Class rewards will be issued for successfully completing a full clear of the Event Stage.>
<Player Jack Rich_07 is a Necromancer.>
<Class Rewards: 20 Spirit-Exclusive Skill Selection Ticket Fragments, 1 Spirit-Exclusive Random Experience Box.>
Attack Power +20%, Defense +20%>
<Would you like to exit Gwanaksan Tower’s 2nd Floor - Event Stage?>
“Cancel.”
<Exit standby time is 3 minutes.>
“Homeowner, it is here!”
Cha Jun-hyeok pointed to a door between the spectator seats.
It looked like an entrance reserved for athletes and staff.
“Let us go!”
[Goodbye, everyone!]
And the moment we passed through the exit, a Status Window alert rang out.
Rewards will be recalculated according to causality.>
WHIRRR—!
110 S-Rank Magic Stones, 11 Essences of Earth, 11 Skill Selection Ticket Fragments, 11,000 Coins, 110 Time Delay Tickets, 110-slot Inventory Expansion Ticket, Hall of Fame Admission Ticket, 22 Spirit-Exclusive Skill Selection Ticket Fragments, 2 Spirit-Exclusive Random Experience Boxes, 2 Skill Selection Tickets>
Two Skill Selection Tickets?
This was truly historic.
[Homeowner! Skills! Skills!]
The moment we came home, Cha Jun-hyeok caused a commotion.
[Hurry! Hurry!]
Cha Jun-hyeok and Chae Seon-hwa looked at me with eyes full of expectation.
“Spirit List.”
As soon as I opened the list, blue dots blinked beside the names of Cha Jun-hyeok and Chae Seon-hwa.
Bound To: Lee Ji-hu
Class: Swordsman
Rank: S-Rank
Titles: Strongest in Korea (Attack Power +10%), Back Route Pioneer (Evasion +5%)
Stats: View Details
Skills: Physical Enhancement 2 (D), Quick Draw 3 (B), Sword Mastery 3 (A), Charge 3 (B), Calf Kick 4 (C), Counter Strike 1 (S), Sword Demon 1 (S, Sealed)
Skill Selection Ticket Fragments: 57>
<Sword Demon skill can be activated.>
[At last! Sword Demon!]
“Activate it.”
<3 Spirit-Exclusive Skill Selection Ticket Fragments will be used.>
FLASH!
<Sword Demon skill of Spirit Cha Jun-hyeok has been activated. Would you like to preview the skill?>
Preview?
Did Swordsman classes have things like this too?
“It is asking whether you want to preview it.”
[Of course!]
“Preview.”
<The Sword Demon skill will be previewed through a hologram.>
Cha Jun-hyeok’s image appeared before us.
And when he drew his sword and shouted the skill...
<Sword Demon activated.>
A completely black, shadowlike person appeared beside him.
It was perfectly imitating Cha Jun-hyeok.
When Cha Jun-hyeok cut down a goblin, the shadow also cut down a goblin.
[Ohhh!]
[Wow!]
<The time limit is 3 minutes.>
[Sword Demon 1 lasts 3 minutes!]
[Then if the skill levels up, will the time limit become longer?]
[That is right! Homeowner, thank you!]
There were 19 spirit-exclusive fragments left.
However, neither Cha Jun-hyeok nor Chae Seon-hwa had any skills that could be raised immediately.
“This will be for later.”
I put the remaining fragments into the Inventory.
Then I gave them one Random Experience Box each.
[I think mine filled by about 5%!]
[Mine is at 31% now!]
I placed the remaining box into the Inventory as well.
“It can be used when one of you is close to leveling up.”
[Yes, homeowner!]
[Good!]
Then, this time...
“Status Window.”
Class: Necromancer
Rank: Not Yet Measured
Nation: Korea
Stats: View Details
Skills: Summon Spirit 1 (S), Exorcism 1 (A), Materialization 1 (A), Eye of Truth 1 (A)
Skill Selection Tickets: 2
Skill Selection Ticket Fragments: 17>
<Would you like to use a Skill Selection Ticket?>
“Use it.”
<Loading selectable skills.>
<Skill List>
Temporarily forces a spirit to submit.
However, it may fail.
The success rate varies depending on the level difference between the spirit and the caster.
Spiritual Power can be replenished with Magic Stones.
Duration: 12 hours.
Restriction: Can be used once per day.>
Absorbs a spirit that has been eliminated, suppressed, or bound.
Depending on probability, your stats may rise randomly, or you may obtain a skill.
However, it may fail.
The success rate varies depending on the level difference between the spirit and the caster.
Restriction: Can be used once per day.>
Grants a mark to the selected spirit. A spirit engraved with a mark will be indicated by a purple arrow.
Condition: You must be in the same space.>
Automatically detects the energy of a spirit that has been marked.
Condition: You must be in the same nation.>
It was better to leave matters like this to an expert.
“Cha Jun-hyeok, which skills here are useful?”
After hearing the explanations of all the skills, Cha Jun-hyeok immediately chose two.
[Suppression and Absorption! Looking at them, Suppression, Absorption, Summon Spirit, and Materialization are simply a set of four. Skills like that are easy to use and easy to apply in different ways. And Absorption is practically unfairly powerful, is it not?]
[Homeowner, I like those too!]
The spirits of my house unanimously recommended the skills.
“Fine. Suppression.”
<Would you like to use a Skill Selection Ticket to select this skill?>
“Use it.”
FLASH!
With the light, Suppression 1 was added to my skills.
After confirming it, I immediately selected the next skill.
“Absorption.”
Soon after, a bright light appeared again, and Absorption 1 was also added to the skill list.
Of these, the most fundamental skill seemed to be Suppression.
‘Its usage cycle is also shorter than Summon Spirit.’
Thanks to the way I had used “Summon Spirit” in an unorthodox manner to achieve SSS-Rank this time, I had been able to obtain decent skills.
‘Cha Jun-hyeok and Chae Seon-hwa came to me on their own two feet.’
The fact that I had left Summon Spirit unused because I did not need to call a new spirit right away had proved effective.
Considering Materialization, Suppression was, in every way, a much simpler and more convenient skill than Summon Spirit.
Next came the items.
The rewards I received from the Event Stage and the materials obtained by decomposing the Golden Goblin had all entered my Inventory.
Hall of Fame Admission Ticket x1
Golden Goblin Sack x1
Golden Goblin Map x1
Gem Auction VIP Ticket x1
COS Dungeon Shortcut Map x1
Random Box Fragment x20
Progenitor’s Voice x5
And the Coins I had received from catching goblins were neatly stacked in my Inventory as well.
The Coins took up 24 slots in total, with 500 Coins per Inventory slot.
The other items occupied 7 slots in total, one slot per type.
But how many Random Box Fragments did I have to collect? And what were the rewards?
Cha Jun-hyeok’s answer was simple.
[That? You need to collect 30 first. Good things come out. Good things.]
“Weapons or armor?”
[It changes depending on the situation. Usually, what you need most at that time comes out. And once you collect them all, you have to upgrade it too.]
“Upgrade?”
[You have to raise the box rank up to S. The materials differ depending on the class, but most of the time, they are Magic Stones.]
Then that settled the Random Box.
Next was...
“Gem Auction VIP Ticket?”
This was a physical ticket.
And it was exclusively for the COS Dungeon.
<Gem Auction VIP Ticket>
Gift Box provided, 3 Priority Bidding Tickets provided.
Caution: Auction bids can only be made with Coins.
Time: Every Friday at 15:00.
Location: COS Dungeon.>
“Auction bids with Coins?”
[What? Coins?!! Coins could be used at the auction house?!]
Cha Jun-hyeok’s eyes instantly grew as large as lightbulbs.
“What did you do with them originally?”
[Coins? I just threw them away. They only took up Inventory space. The auction house only accepted Digital Coins, so it did not accept Physical Coins at all.]
“Were there no other uses discovered later?”
[No. People were busy enough storing weapons and items, so they just threw things like these away. There were even people who died because they kept Coins in their Inventory to try using them, only to fail to bring back the items they needed.]
Looking at the Coins, I could somewhat understand.
From their appearance alone, they were truly glittering, like very precious ancient gold coins.
[Wow, damn! So catching that thing was what ended it! No wonder! It looked expensive. As expected of our homeowner! As expected of state power!!]
Come to think of it, the Commissioner had said there was something to do at the COS Dungeon.
It would be best to go on the day the Gem Auction was held, both to dispose of the Coins and to receive the Gift Box.
As it happened, the day after tomorrow was Friday.
“COS Dungeon Shortcut Map.”
This would be needed then.
Next was the Golden Goblin Sack.
This was an actual sack.
The golden sack shone dazzlingly even inside the Inventory.
<Golden Goblin Sack>
Can store items without limit.>
If one considered it fascinating, then it was certainly a fascinating item.
I gathered all the Coins scattered throughout the Inventory and placed them into the sack.
Then a number appeared above the sack.
<11,000>
[That is nice!]
It certainly was.
After all, it took up only one Inventory slot.
Next was the Golden Goblin Map.
<Golden Goblin Map>
A set with Golden Goblin Progenitor Kerk’s Compass.
Sealed.
Usable from the 30th floor.>
Was it something like a treasure map?
But the 30th floor was still a long way off.
<Hall of Fame Admission Ticket>
Can be used on an Event Stage.
It seemed I would have to wait until the next Event Stage for this one.
And finally...
“Progenitor’s Voice?”
[What in the world is this?]
Can exert influence over goblins.
When used once, the effect lasts for 3 hours.>
That was all it said, with no detailed usage instructions.
Was this something I had to learn by using it in actual combat?
In any case, that concluded the spoils opening.
“Quite substantial.”
[This is the hopeful version of a Random Box!]
“Materialization is truly good.”
I said that and looked at Cha Jun-hyeok without any real thought.
However, the room-corner ghost who met my eyes flinched and trembled.
[Homeowner! Do not look at me!]
“Fine. I will think about it.”
[You do not have to think about it!]
It truly was a good skill for threatening spirits.
The moment I entered the Hunter Management Agency, I flinched in surprise.
A banner was hanging in the lobby.
<(Congratulations!) SSS-Rank Clear, A Great Success! Make the Republic of Korea Great! (Celebration!)>
The Commissioner approached me with a bright smile and his arms spread wide, then soon stopped with a cough.
“Today, let us all share in the celebration together!”
Come to think of it, a large amount of food had been laid out in the lobby like a buffet.
Ms. Su-a, who quietly approached, worked hard to blink both eyes at the same time.
“W-wink...”
It seemed she had originally been trying to wink.
There were people who occasionally could not wink like this.
“...It is a secret. A secret.”
Even without her saying it, I understood what she meant.
That was why, fortunately, my name was not written on the banner.
“Thank you. This is all thanks to you, Ms. Su-a.”
“N-no, I did not really...”
Soon, the Commissioner also approached and patted my shoulder as though encouraging me.
“You always work hard! Keep up the good work from now on.”
“Yes, I will work hard.”
Then the Commissioner looked around and went to say similar words to a few other people as well.
There were roughly a hundred people gathered in the lobby.
The Hunter Management Agency was developing day by day.
Its number of personnel was also steadily increasing.
“Everyone, raise your glasses!”
Naturally, drinking alcohol was prohibited inside the government office building, so the drink in the glasses was grape juice.
“Yes!”
The Commissioner led the chant.
“For the Republic of Korea!”
Then, as though they had been waiting, the employees in the lobby shouted the rest.
“Make it great!”
“Make it great!!”
“Eat well, gather your strength, and let us run forward once more for the Republic of Korea!”
With this sudden celebratory reception, yesterday’s workday came to an end.
And at dawn today, my first salary from the Hunter Management Agency was deposited.
5,176,210 won into the bank account under my name.
And into the cryptocurrency account under my black operative identity...
<Total Assets Held: 153,227,870 won>
[Homeowner! Did you win the lottery somewhere?!]