TNHAS 10

Chapter: 10

Summon Spirits

<You can only use Summon Spirits once every 10 levels. If you use the skill now, its use will be restricted until you reach Level 10. Would you like to cast Summon Spirits?>

“Cast it.”

<Select a target.

Progenitor of the Golden Goblins – Kerk>

“Kerk.”

<Would you like to replenish your spiritual energy?>

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.

I had heard that their prices had plummeted, so I had left them alone, intending to sell them later.

“Use them.”

<F-rank magic stones are converted at a 1:1 ratio.>

1%…

50%

100%

200%

…329% replenishment complete.

<The spirit’s sense of self is becoming clouded.>

Flash─!

With a whoosh, Kerk, the progenitor of the Golden Goblins, appeared before my eyes.

His eyes were closed as though he were asleep.

“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 had also become able to recognize the goblin spirit.

But I had no intention of doing that.

If you called anything by its name, you would inevitably grow attached to it.

“No. Cast the skill.”

This guy was someone I needed to send away immediately.

“Materialization.”

<Disassembling the Progenitor of the Golden Goblins, Kerk.>

As if he had been put into a dehydrator or a centrifuge and spun around, Kerk’s body began rotating.

The speed gradually increased.

Whoong! Whiiiiiiiiing─!

“What the heck is this?!”

[Wooooow!]

Cha Junhyuk flinched in surprise, while Chae Seonhwa’s eyes simply sparkled with excitement.

With every rotation, more and more of Kerk’s spirit disappeared.

And in the end, every trace of the form that had made up his existence vanished.

Ding─!

<Materialization complete.

The following materials have been obtained.

Hall of Fame Admission Ticket x1

Golden Goblin Sack x1

Golden Goblin Map x1

Gem Auction VIP Ticket x1

Course Dungeon Map x1

Random Box Fragment x20

Voice of the Progenitor x5>

At the same time, fireworks exploded inside the scoreboard.

<First! Fastest! New Record!>

<Player Jack Rich_07!>

<You have been inducted into the Hall of Fame!>

Waaaaaaaaaaaaah─!

Rich! Rich! Rich! Rich! Rich!

Kyaaaaaah!!!!!

Another enormous wave rose up.

No, this time it wasn’t a wave.

Like a gigantic tsunami, everyone stood up and began scattering flower petals and fireworks throughout the stadium.

It was practically a scene of madness.

The stadium boiled over with the insane excitement pouring out from the spectators.

“Wow!”

[So prettyyy!]

<Time Remaining: 05:01

Goblin Count: 1,000/1,000

Coins Held: 10,000/10,000>

“Landlord! It actually worked!!”

As the scoreboard changed, alerts from the status window began appearing one after another.

<You have cleared Gwanaksan Tower Floor 2 – Event Stage.>

<Distributing rewards.

Basic Rewards: 100 S-rank Magic Stones, 10 Essences of Earth, 10 Skill Selection Ticket Fragments, 10,000 Coins.

First SSS-rank Reward: 100 Time Delay Tickets, 100 Inventory Expansion Tickets, Hall of Fame Admission Ticket, 1 Skill Selection Ticket>

<Class Rewards: 20 Spirit-exclusive Skill Selection Ticket Fragments, 1 Spirit-exclusive Random Experience Box.>

<As a first-conqueror benefit for achieving SSS rank, a buff will be applied to Gwanaksan Tower for one week.

Attack Power +20%, Defense Power +20%>

<Would you like to exit Gwanaksan Tower Floor 2 – Event Stage?>

“Cancel.”

<The waiting time before exiting is 3 minutes.>

“Landlord, over here!”

Cha Junhyuk pointed toward a door between the spectator sections. It looked like an entrance reserved for players and staff.

“Let’s gooo!”

[Goodbye, everyone!]

And the moment we passed through the entrance, the sound of another status window alarm rang out.

<You have discovered a hidden entrance to Gwanaksan Tower Floor 2 – Event Stage.

Rewards will be recalculated according to causality.>

Tarararararak─!

<Reward recalculation complete.

110 S-rank Magic Stones, 11 Essences of Earth, 11 Skill Selection Ticket Fragments, 11,000 Coins, 110 Time Delay Tickets, 110 Inventory Expansion Tickets, 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 really was an all-time record.

[Landlord! Skills! Skills!]

The moment we got home, Cha Junhyuk went wild.

[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 Cha Junhyuk and Chae Seonhwa’s names.

<Name: Cha Junhyuk Lv. 67

Bound to: Lee Jihoo

Class: Swordsman

Rank: S-rank

Titles: Strongest in Korea (Attack Power +10%), Pioneer of the Back Alley (Evasion +5%)

Stats: View Details

Skills: Body Enhancement 2 (D), Draw Sword 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>

[Finally! Sword Demon!]

“Activate it.”

<Using 3 Spirit-exclusive Skill Selection Ticket Fragments.>

Flash!

<The Sword Demon skill of 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.”

Cha Junhyuk’s figure appeared before us. Then, when he drew his sword and called out the skill….

Another person appeared.

It was completely black, like a shadow.

It was perfectly imitating Cha Junhyuk.

When Cha Junhyuk cut down a goblin, the shadow also cut down a goblin.

[Ooooh!]

[Wow!]

<Time limit: 3 minutes.>

[Sword Demon 1 lasts three minutes?!]

[Then if you level up the skill, will the time limit become longer too?]

[That’s right! Landlord, thank you!]

There were 19 Spirit-exclusive fragments remaining.

However, neither Cha Junhyuk nor Chae Seonhwa had any skills that could be upgraded immediately.

“This one is for later.”

I put the remaining fragments into my inventory.

Then I also distributed one Random Experience Box to each of them.

[I think mine went up by about 5%!]

[I’m at 31% now!]

I put the one remaining box into my inventory as well.

“You can use it when you’re close to leveling up.”

[Right, Landlord!]

[Sounds good!]

Then, this time.

“Status Window.”

<Name: Lee Jihoo Lv. 8

Class: Spirit Summoner

Rank: Unmeasured

Nation: Korea

Stats: View Details

Skills: Summon 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.”

<Subjugation 1 (B):

Temporarily forces a spirit to submit.

However, failure is possible.

The success rate varies according to the level difference between the spirit and the caster.

Spiritual energy 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 will randomly increase or you will acquire a skill.

However, failure is possible.

The success rate varies according to the level difference between the spirit and the caster.

Limit: Once per day.>

<Mark 1 (B):

Places a mark on the selected spirit. A spirit bearing the mark is indicated by a purple arrow.

Condition: Must be in the same space.>

<Detection 1 (B):

Automatically detects the presence of a marked spirit.

Condition: Must be in the same country.>

It was probably better to leave things like this to an expert.

“Cha Junhyuk, which skills here are useful?”

After hearing all the skill descriptions, Cha Junhyuk immediately picked two skills.

[Subjugation and Absorption! Looking at them, Subjugation, Absorption, Summon Spirits, and Materialization are basically a set of four. Skills like those are easy to use and easy to apply in different ways. And Absorption is practically cheating!]

[Landlord, I like those too!]

All of my spirits unanimously recommended the skills.

“Okay. Subjugation.”

<Would you like to use a Skill Selection Ticket to select this skill?>

“Use.”

Flash!

With a burst of light, Subjugation 1 was added to my skills.

After confirming it, I immediately selected the next skill.

“Absorption.”

Once again, a bright light appeared, and Absorption 1 was added to the skill list.

Of these, Subjugation seemed to be the most fundamental skill.

‘Its cooldown is also shorter than Summon Spirits.’

Thanks to achieving SSS rank this time by using Summon Spirits in an unconventional way, I had been able to acquire some pretty decent skills.

‘Cha Junhyuk and Chae Seonhwa came to me of their own accord, after all.’

It had worked out well that I had left things alone because I hadn’t needed to summon any new spirits right away.

Considering Materialization, Subjugation was much simpler and more convenient than Summon Spirits in every way.

Next were the items.

All the rewards received from the Event Stage, as well as the materials obtained by disassembling the Golden Goblin, were already in my inventory.

Hall of Fame Admission Ticket x1

Golden Goblin Sack x1

Golden Goblin Map x1

Gem Auction VIP Ticket x1

Course Dungeon Shortcut Map x1

Random Box Fragment x20

Voice of the Progenitor x5

And the coins I had received from defeating the goblins had also been neatly piling up in my inventory.

The coins took up 24 slots in total, at 500 coins per inventory slot.

The other items took up one slot each, for a total of 7 slots.

But how many Random Box Fragments did I need to collect? And what were the rewards?

Cha Junhyuk’s answer was simple.

[That? First, you need to collect 30. You get good stuff. Really good stuff.]

“Things like weapons or armor?”

[It varies depending on the situation. Usually, you get whatever you need most at the time. Once you collect them all, you also have to upgrade the box.]

“Upgrade?”

[You have to raise the box’s rank all the way to S. The materials differ depending on the class, but most of the time, it’s magic stones.]

Then the Random Box could wait. Next was…

“Gem Auction VIP Ticket?”

This was a physical ticket.

And it was specifically for the Course Dungeon.

<VIP Benefits:

Gift Box provided, 3 Priority Bidding Tickets provided.

Notice: Auction bids can only be made using coins.

Time: Every Friday at 15:00.

Location: Course Dungeon.>

“Bidding at an auction with coins?”

[What? Coins?!! You could use coins at the auction house?!]

Cha Junhyuk’s eyes instantly became as large as light bulbs.

“How did you normally use them?”

[Coins? We just threw them away. They 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 inventory, so we just threw stuff like this away. There were even people who kept coins in their inventory because they wanted to try using them, then died because they couldn’t fit their items in their inventory.]

Considering what the coins looked like, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.

Just looking at them, they were genuinely shiny and looked exactly like precious ancient gold coins.

[Wow, shit! So you had to kill those things for this! 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 a reason he needed to go to 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.

As it happened, the day after tomorrow was Friday.

“Course Dungeon Shortcut Map.”

I’d probably need this when the time came.

Next was the Golden Goblin Sack.

This was a real sack.

The golden sack shone dazzlingly even inside the inventory.

<Distinguishes genuine items from counterfeits.

Can store an unlimited number of items.>

It was a rather fascinating item, if nothing else.

I swept up all the coins scattered throughout my inventory and put them into the sack. A number appeared above the sack.

<11,000>

[This is great!]

It definitely was.

It only took up one inventory slot, after all.

And next was the Golden Goblin Map.

<A map displaying the legacy of the Golden Goblins.

A set with the compass of Kerk, Progenitor of the Golden Goblins.

Sealed.

Can be used on Floor 30.>

Was it some kind of treasure map?

But Floor 30 was still a long way off.

Can be used in an Event Stage.

I’d probably have to wait until the next Event Stage for this one.

And finally….

“Voice of the Progenitor?”

[What’s this?]

<Voice of the Progenitor.

Can exert influence over goblins.

The effect lasts for 3 hours per use.>

That was all it said. There were no detailed instructions on how to use it.

Was this something I’d have to figure out through trial and error?

Anyway, my loot inspection was finally over.

“Quite a haul.”

[This is the hopeful version of the Random Box!]

“Materialization really is amazing, isn’t it?”

I said this while looking at Cha Junhyuk without giving it much thought.

But the ghost in the corner of the room flinched and trembled when our eyes met.

[Landlord! Don’t look at me!]

“Fine. I’ll think about it.”

[You don’t have to think about it!]

It really was an excellent skill for threatening spirits.

The moment I entered the Hunter Management Agency, I was startled.

There was a banner hanging in the lobby.

<(Congratulations!) SSS-Rank Conquest a Huge Success! Make the Republic of Korea Great! (Cheers!)>

The Director approached with both arms spread wide and a bright smile, but soon stopped with an awkward “Ahem.”

“Today, let’s all celebrate together!”

Come to think of it, there was a huge amount of food laid out in the lobby, almost like a buffet.

Sua quietly approached and desperately blinked both eyes at once.

“Win…, wink….”

Apparently, she had been trying to wink.

Sometimes there were people who simply couldn’t wink.

“…It’s a secret, a secret.”

Even without her saying it outright, I could tell what she meant.

So fortunately, my name wasn’t written on that banner.

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you, Sua.”

“N-no, I didn’t really….”

Soon, the Director also came over and patted me on the shoulder encouragingly.

“You’ve always worked hard! Keep up the good work from now on.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best.”

Then the Director looked around and said similar things to a few other people before leaving.

There were roughly a hundred people gathered in the lobby.

The Hunter Management Agency was continuing to grow day by day. Its number of personnel was increasing as well.

“Everyone, let’s raise our glasses!”

Naturally, alcohol was prohibited inside the Agency building, so the drinks in the glasses were grape juice.

“Yes!”

The Director raised his glass first.

“To the Republic of Korea!”

As though they had been waiting for it, the employees in the lobby shouted the rest of the phrase.

“Make it great!”

“Make it great!!”

“Eat plenty, regain your strength, and let’s run once again for the Republic of Korea!”

And with that impromptu celebration reception, yesterday’s workday came to an end.

Then, early this morning, my first paycheck from the Hunter Management Agency arrived.

5,176,210 won in a bank account under my name.

And in the cryptocurrency account under the name of a black agent….

<Total Assets: 153,227,870 won>

[Landlord! Did you win the lottery or something?!]