Chapter 10. Summoning Spirits
<Summoning Spirits can only be used once every 10 levels. If you use the skill now, its use will be restricted until you reach Level 10. Would you like to activate Summoning Spirits?>
“Activate.”
<Please select a target.
1. Ancestor of the Golden Goblins – Kerk>
“Kerk.”
<Activating Summoning Spirits.>
<Activating Summoning Spirits.>
<The target resists. >
<Activating Summoning Spirits.>
<The target consumes mental strength. >
<The target resists. >
<Activating Summoning Spirits.>
<Insufficient level.>
<All spiritual power has been consumed. >
<Would you like to replenish your 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 piling them up.
I’d heard their prices had crashed, so I had left them alone, planning to sell them later.
“Use.”
<Consuming magic stones to replenish spiritual power. >
<F-rank Magic Stones are converted at a 1:1 ratio. >
1%…
50%…
100%…
200%…
…329% replenishment complete.
<Activating Summoning Spirits.>
<The target resists. >
<Releasing spiritual power.>
<The spirit is bound by spiritual power. >
<The spirit is trapped in a net. >
<Activating Summoning Spirits.>
<The spirit’s sense of self is becoming clouded. >
<The spirit has lost its will. >
<The spirit is searching for something to rely on.>
<The spirit has submitted. >
<Summoning Spirits complete.>
Flash─!
The ancestor of the Golden Goblins, Kerk, appeared right in front of me.
His eyes were closed as if he were sleeping.
“I can see him!”
[Really!]
When I checked the spirit list, he had been added to the third page.
That seemed to be why the spirits bound to me could now recognize the goblin spirit as well.
<Call his name to awaken him.>
But I had no intention of doing that.
Once you called something by its name, you naturally became attached to it.
“No. Activate the skill.”
This guy needed to be sent away immediately.
“Materialization.”
<Dismantling Kerk, the ancestor of the Golden Goblins.>
Kerk’s body began spinning around as if he had been put into a dehydrator or centrifuge.
The speed gradually increased.
Whoong! Whiiiiiiing─!
“What the heck is this?!”
[Wooooah!]
Cha Junhyuk flinched in surprise, while Chae Seonhwa simply stared with sparkling eyes.
With every rotation, more and more of Kerk’s spirit body disappeared.
And in the end, every part of his form completely disappeared.
Ding─!
<Materialization complete.
You have obtained the following materials.
Hall of Fame Entry Ticket x1
Golden Goblin Sack x1
Golden Goblin Map x1
Gem Auction VIP Ticket x1
Course Dungeon Map x1
Random Box Fragments x20
Ancestor’s Voice x5>
At the same time, fireworks exploded on the electronic scoreboard.
<FIRST! FASTEST! NEW RECORD!>
<Player Jack Rich_07!>
<You have entered the Hall of Fame!>
Waaaaaaaaaaah─!
“Rich! Rich! Rich! Rich! Rich!”
“Kyaaaaaah!!!!!”
Another enormous wave swept through the stadium.
No, this time it wasn’t a wave.
Like a gigantic tide, everyone stood up and showered the stadium with confetti and fireworks.
It was practically a frenzy.
The entire stadium was boiling with the insane excitement of the spectators.
“Wow!”
[It’s so pretty!]
<Time Remaining: 05:01
Goblins: 1,000/1,000
Coins: 10,000/10,000>
“Landlord! We actually did it!!”
At the same time the scoreboard changed, status window alarms began appearing one after another.
<Level Up.>
<Level Up.>
<Level Up.>
<Level Up.>
<Level Up.>
<Gwanaksan Tower 2nd Floor – Event Stage cleared.>
<Fastest time record updated. Rank will be increased. >
<You are the first person in the world to completely clear an event stage.
<Increasing rank.>
<Increasing rank.>
<Recalculating rank.>
<Creating a new rank.>
<You have achieved the first SSS rank in Gwanaksan Tower.>
<Calculating rewards based on the number of goblins defeated.>
<Perfect Clear.>
<Reward rank increased. >
<Rewards will now be distributed.
Basic Rewards: 100 S-rank Magic Stones, 10 Earth Essences, 10 Skill Selection Ticket Fragments, 10,000 Coins.
First SSS-Rank Reward: 100 Time Delay Tickets, 100 Inventory Expansion Slots, 1 Hall of Fame Entry Ticket, 1 Skill Selection Ticket.
<A Class Reward will be granted for completely clearing the Event Stage.>
<Player Jack Rich_07 is a Necromancer.>
<Class Reward: 20 Necromancer-exclusive Skill Selection Ticket Fragments, 1 Necromancer-exclusive Random EXP Box.>
<As a special reward for achieving the first SSS-rank clear, a buff will be applied to Gwanaksan Tower for one week.
Attack Power +20%, Defense +20%.
<Would you like to leave Gwanaksan Tower 2nd Floor – Event Stage?>
“Cancel.”
<Waiting time to leave: 3 minutes. >
“Landlord, over here!”
Cha Junhyuk pointed at a door between the spectator sections.
It looked like an entrance reserved for players and staff.
“Let’s go!”
[Goodbye, everyone!]
The moment we passed through the entrance, another status window alarm rang.
<You have discovered the hidden entrance of Gwanaksan Tower’s 2nd Floor – Event Stage.
Due to causality, rewards will be recalculated. >
Tararararak─!
<Reward calculation complete.
110 S-rank Magic Stones, 11 Earth Essences, 11 Skill Selection Ticket Fragments, 11,000 Coins, 110 Time Delay Tickets, 110 Inventory Expansion Slots, 1 Hall of Fame Entry Ticket, 22 Necromancer-exclusive Skill Selection Ticket Fragments, 2 Necromancer-exclusive Random EXP Boxes, 2 Skill Selection Tickets.
Two Skill Selection Tickets?
This was truly an unprecedented haul.
[Landlord! Skills! Skills!]
The moment we got home, Cha Junhyuk was making a huge fuss.
[Hurry! Hurry!]
Cha Junhyuk and Chae Seonhwa stared at me with eyes full of anticipation.
“Spirit List.”
The moment I opened the list, a blue dot began blinking next to both Cha Junhyuk’s and Chae Seonhwa’s names.
<Name: Cha Junhyuk Lv. 67
Bound to: Lee Jihoo
Class: Swordsman
Rank: S-rank
Titles: Korea’s Strongest (Attack Power +10%), Back-Alley Pioneer (Evasion +5%)
Stats: View Details
Skills: Body Enhancement 2 (D), Quick Draw 3 (B), Sword Mastery 3 (A), Charge 3 (B), Cap Kick 4 (C), Counter Strike 1 (S), Sword Demon 1 (S, Sealed)
Skill Selection Ticket Fragments: 57>
The Sword Demon skill can now be activated. >
[Finally! Sword Demon!]
“Activate it.”
<3Necromancer-exclusive skill selection ticket fragments will be consumed. >
Flash!
The Sword Demon skill of the spirit Cha Junhyuk has been activated. Would you like to preview the skill? >
Preview?
Did the Swordsman class have something like this too?
“It asks if you want to preview it.”
[Of course!]
“Preview.”
<Previewing the Sword Demon skill as a hologram. >
An image of Cha Junhyuk appeared in front of us.
Then he drew his sword and called out the skill…
<Sword Demon activated.>
Another person appeared.
It was completely black, like a shadow.
It perfectly copied Cha Junhyuk.
When Cha Junhyuk cut down a goblin, the shadow also cut down a goblin.
[Ooh!]
[Wow!]
<Duration: 3 minutes. >
[So Sword Demon 1 lasts for three minutes!]
[Then if we level up the skill, will the duration become longer too?]
[Exactly! Landlord, thanks!
There were 19 Necromancer-exclusive fragments left.
But neither Cha Junhyuk nor Chae Seonhwa had a skill that could be upgraded any further right now.
“This can wait.”
I put the remaining fragments into my inventory.
I also gave each of them one random EXP box.
[I think mine went up by about 5%!]
[Mine is at 31% now!]
I put the remaining box into my inventory as well.
“We can use it when you’re close to leveling up.”
[Right, Landlord!]
[Okay!]
Then, this time…
“Status Window.”
<Name: Lee Jihoo Lv. 8
Class: Necromancer
Rank: Not Yet Rated
Country: Korea
Stats: View Details
Skills: Summoning Spirits 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.”
<Loading available skills. >
<Skill List>
<Subjugation 1 (B):
Temporarily forces a spirit to submit.
However, it may fail.
The success rate depends on the level difference between the spirit and the caster.
Spiritual power can be replenished with magic stones.
Duration: 12 hours.
Limit: Once per day.>
<Absorption 1 (B):
Absorbs a spirit that has been defeated, subjugated, or bound.
Depending on probability, your stats may randomly increase, or you may acquire a skill.
However, it may fail.
The success rate depends on the level difference between the spirit and the caster.
Limit: Once per day.>
<Mark 1 (B):
Places a mark on a selected spirit. A marked spirit will be indicated by a purple arrow.
Condition: You must be in the same space.>
<Detection 1 (B):
Automatically detects the energy of a marked spirit.
Condition: You must be in the same country. >
For something like this, it was probably better to leave the choice to an expert.
“Cha Junhyuk, which skills here are useful?”
After hearing all the skill descriptions, Cha Junhyuk immediately picked two.
[Subjugation and Absorption! Looking at them, Subjugation, Absorption, Summoning Spirits, and Materialization are basically a set. Skills like those are easy to use and have lots of applications. And Absorption is practically cheating!
[I like those too, Landlord!]
All the spirits in my house unanimously recommended the skills.
“Okay. Subjugation.”
<Would you like to select this skill using a Skill Selection Ticket?>
“Use.”
Flash!
Subjugation 1 was added to my skills in a burst of light.
After confirming it, I immediately selected the next skill.
“Absorption.”
Once again, a bright light appeared, and Absorption 1 was added to my skill list.
Of these, subjugation seemed to be the most basic skill.
Its cooldown is also shorter than Summoning Spirits.
Thanks to using Summoning Spirits in an unconventional way and achieving SSS rank this time, I have been able to obtain some useful skills.
Cha Junhyuk and Chae Seonhwa had come to me on their own.
It had worked out well that I hadn’t needed to summon a new spirit right away and had left the skill unused.
Considering materialization, subjugation was much simpler and more convenient than summoning spirits in almost every way.
Next came the items.
The rewards from the Event Stage and the materials obtained by dismantling the Golden Goblin were all in my inventory.
Hall of Fame Entry Ticket x1
Golden Goblin Sack x1
Golden Goblin Map x1
Gem Auction VIP Ticket x1
Course Dungeon Shortcut Map x1
Random Box Fragments x20
Ancestor’s Voice x5
The coins I had received from killing the goblins were also neatly stacked in my inventory.
Every 500 coins took up one inventory slot, so all of them occupied 24 slots.
The other items took up one slot per type, for a total of seven slots.
But how many random box fragments did I need?
And what was the reward?
Cha Junhyuk’s answer was simple.
[Those? You need 30 first. You get good stuff. Really good stuff.]
“Weapons or armor?”
[It depends. Usually, you get whatever you need the most at that time. Once you collect them all, you also have to upgrade the box.]
“Upgrade?”
[You have to raise the box’s rank to S. The materials vary depending on the class, but most of the time, it’s magic stones.
Then the Random Box could wait.
Next…
“Gem Auction VIP Ticket?”
This was an actual physical ticket.
And it was specifically for the Course Dungeon.
<Gem Auction VIP Ticket
VIP Benefits:
A gift box was provided, and 3 priority bidding tickets were provided.
Warning: Auction bids can only be made using Coins.
Time: Every Friday at 15:00.
Location: Course Dungeon.
“Bidding with Coins?”
[What? Coins?! You could use Coins at the auction?!
Cha Junhyuk’s eyes instantly grew as wide as light bulbs.
“How did you use them originally?”
[Coins? We just threw them away. They only took up inventory space. The auction house only accepted digital Coins, so they wouldn’t even accept physical coins.
“Didn’t another use for them appear later?”
[No. We were too busy putting weapons and items into our inventories, so we just threw things like this away. Some people even died because they kept Coins in their inventory hoping to use them and then didn’t have enough room to carry their actual items.
Looking at the coins, I could understand why.
Just from their appearance, they looked like incredibly valuable ancient gold coins, shining brightly.
[Wow, damn! So you had to kill them to finish it! No wonder! They looked expensive! As expected of our landlord! As expected of government power!!]
Come to think of it, the director had said there was something he wanted me to do at the Course Dungeon.
I could kill two birds with one stone by going there on the day of the gem auction, both getting rid of the coins and receiving the gift box.
And conveniently, the day after tomorrow was Friday.
“Course Dungeon Shortcut Map.”
I’d probably need this then.
Next was the Golden Goblin Sack.
It was literally a sack.
The golden sack shone brightly even inside my inventory.
<Golden Goblin Sack
Distinguishes genuine items from counterfeit items.
Can store an unlimited number of objects. >
It was quite an interesting item.
I put all the coins scattered throughout my inventory into the sack.
A number appeared above it.
<11,000>
[This is nice!]
It certainly was.
The sack only took up one inventory slot, too.
Next was the Golden Goblin Map.
<Golden Goblin Map
A map showing the legacy of the Golden Goblins.
Part of a set with the compass of Kerk, ancestor of the Golden Goblins.
Sealed.
Can be used on the 30th floor. >
Was it some kind of treasure map?
But the 30th floor was still a long way off.
<Hall of Fame Entry Ticket
Can be used in an event stage.
I’d probably have to wait until the next event stage for this one.
And finally…
“Ancestor’s Voice?”
[What the heck is this?]
<Ancestor’s Voice
Can exert influence over goblins.
The effect lasts for three hours per use. >
That was all the description said.
There were no details about how to use it.
Was this something I was supposed to figure out through trial and error?
Anyway, that finished my loot inspection.
“Quite a haul.”
[It’s the hopeful version of a Random Box!]
“Materialization is really good, isn’t it?”
As I said that, I casually looked at Cha Junhyuk.
But the ghost in the corner of my house flinched the moment our eyes met.
[Landlord! Don’t look at me!
“Okay. I’ll think about it.”
[You don’t have to think about it!]
It was truly an excellent skill for threatening spirits.
The moment I entered the Hunter Management Agency, I was startled.
A banner was hanging in the lobby.
<(Congratulations!) SSS-Rank Clear! Make Korea Great! (Celebration!)>
The director approached me with both arms spread wide and a bright smile.
Then he suddenly stopped with an awkward cough.
“Ahem.”
“Let’s all celebrate together today!”
Come to think of it, there was a huge amount of food laid out in the lobby, almost like a buffet.
Ms. Sua quietly approached me and rapidly blinked both eyes.
“W… wink…”
Apparently, she had been trying to wink.
Sometimes there were people who simply couldn’t wink.
“…It’s a secret. It’s a secret.”
Even without her saying it directly, I understood what she meant.
Thankfully, that was why my name wasn’t written on the banner.
“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you, Ms. Sua.”
“N-no, I didn’t really…”
Soon, the director also came over and patted my shoulder encouragingly.
“You’re always working hard! Keep it up from now on.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
Then the director looked around and went around saying similar things to several other people.
There were roughly a hundred people gathered in the lobby.
The Hunter Management Agency was continuing to grow every day, and its staff was increasing as well.
“Everyone, raise your glasses!”
Of course, alcohol was prohibited inside the government building, so the drinks in the glasses were grape juice.
“Yes!”
The director raised his glass first.
“To Korea!”
As if they had been waiting for it, the employees in the lobby shouted the rest of the slogan.
“Make it great!”
“Make it great!!”
“Eat plenty, get your strength back, and let’s run once again for the sake of Korea!”
And with that spontaneous celebration reception, yesterday’s workday came to an end.
Then, early this morning, 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 Agent identity…
<Total Assets: 153,227,870 won>
[Landlord! Did you win the lottery or something?!]
