Stay-at-Home Summoner

The package has arrived.

Someone is standing at the door, pressing the button while leaving the delivery box on the floor.

In modern times, one would first feel ‘suspicion’ about such a delivery person.

– Wait, is the delivery person really ringing the bell after leaving the package behind?

It can happen, though. In cases where the person ordering the delivery specifically requests, “Please ring the bell.” It’s not like it’s a highly secure apartment, and even if it were an apartment, those who are in a rush to pick up their package might ask the delivery person to ring the bell.

They would want to grab the package as soon as the delivery person leaves.

In the U.S., I’ve heard from social media that there are plenty of people trying to steal packages, but it’s not that extreme in Korea.

However.

[It’s a package.]

In cases like that, the delivery person intentionally does not wait.

Unless it’s a ‘registered mail’ item sent through a post office that requires a signature from the recipient, or it’s something like a department store gift certificate that definitely has to be received by a person.

“Elaine. Can you confirm?”

“Yes.”

And one more case.

Tap, tap, tap.

Unless the delivery person is disguised for a mission like an ‘agent’ communicating specific signals.

“No problem. It’s that person.”

“Okay.”

I open the double doors and head towards the entrance.

In the full-length mirror by the entrance, I see myself in a light hoodie and jeans.

On the surface, I look like I’m dressed casually for a quick outing, but actually, I’m wearing a self-defense stab-proof outfit made of a special fiber cable underneath.

Elaine is hiding behind the corner out of sight from the entrance, ready to respond immediately should any threatening situation arise.

Creeeak.

I open the door.

A chain that you rarely see on the entrance door of an apartment is undone, and through the opened door, I confirm the person outside.

Swish.

The delivery person’s eyes meet mine, and with a face even more tense than mine, they scan the surroundings.

Dressed in a black hat, sunglasses, and a neck warmer covering their entire face.

The eyes that can be seen below the slightly sliding sunglasses are blue, not brown.

I recognize that person.

“You need to receive the package; do you have your ‘driver’s license’?”

Not an ID, but a driver’s license.

With those words, the delivery person pointed to the box placed beside their feet.

It’s quite a large box. One might think it’s delivering furniture given its size.

“Just a moment. Will this do?”

“Yes… confirmation complete.”

The delivery person takes out their terminal, pretends to input something, then pulls a white mailing envelope from their inner pocket.

“You can use it freely now. This is a gift voucher we are sending you. As for the package…”

“I’ll take care of it later.”

“Yes, please make sure you do.”

They bow slightly.

The delivery person quickly leaves, and after an appropriate amount of time, I open the chain and grab the package.

“…Phew.”

As soon as I bring the package inside, I close and lock the door.

Then I gesture to Elaine to come in, and she approaches the door immediately, listening intently at the iron door.

For a moment, silence.

Elaine shakes her head, picks up the package, closes the double doors, and quietly pulls out her smartphone.

[Outside. Agent from the Management Team present.]

“……Hah.”

This is troublesome.

“If I had known this would happen, perhaps I shouldn’t have quit.”

While sounds might not carry from outside, I never expected my resignation would cause trouble like this.

“Thanks to those who immediately quit upon awakening, I’m suffering.”

“… You put a lot of effort into packaging your resignation due to those annoying bosses.”

“Exactly. That’s something the company people know, but over there, the government or the Awakening Management Committee isn’t privy to this.”

Currently.

After a million awakens, the number of people who quit their jobs quickly in Korea is a staggering 10,000.

Among them, the number of individuals who genuinely awakened powers and registered as hunters with the state is around 7,000.

Coincidentally, since I’m also caught in this wave of resignations, suspicion has begun to focus on other general resigners.

– These people aren’t just quitting; they might be concealing their awakening and trying to flee the country.

“This is really annoying. But… at least I have this.”

The package is large enough to fit a decent suitcase.

It’s not a simple gift that someone would send with insurance, and every part, from the box to the tape and invoices, is carefully selected.

It’s not even something I can put out for recycling.

The box itself is a state secret, and the invoice isn’t a genuine invoice.

Carefully, I cut through the tape with a knife and open the box, finding one giant metal box inside.

“… I never imagined I would be using a PC worth over 10 million won.”

Not just any latest computer.

It’s a very important item gifted by our long-time friend, ‘Armstrong’, who lives in West Virginia.

I cut the end of the envelope I received earlier with scissors and found a card company’s brochure inside.

And one black card.

“… This is something I’ve only seen in movies. Really.”

With this one card, I can buy anything.

But.

Only to the extent that it doesn’t ‘raise suspicion’ with them.

“Should I start by setting up the computer? I need to reinstall the game too.”

It’s heavy.

“Shall I help you with that?”

“… No.”

Even though I know Elaine could lift this massive case that’s comparable to a 32-inch monitor with one hand.

“I should carry this.”

This is my responsibility.

“I’ll take care of this level.”

* * *

[At the café near the apartment.]

“Team leader. If we’ve circled around this much, don’t you think they might be gone? The unregistered awakens.”

“No. They are definitely still around.”

“The team members from Team 2 retreated while investigating the identities of sudden resigners. Shouldn’t we pull out too? It’s just about getting a package at home, after all.”

“They could pretend to be receiving a package. There are movies about trading medicine for chicken salt, and they could be faking a resignation to escape abroad.”

“Seriously, watch movies a bit more appropriately.”

The two men sipped their 1500 won iced Americanos and pointed to the bustling fountain.

“The criminal has to reappear at the crime scene, after all.”

“They’re not criminals; they’re heroes. An S-grade hunter, actually.”

“Just wait. My intuition is spot on, you know?”

The weary-looking team leader, whose stubble showed he hasn’t shaved, pointed to the people gathered at the fountain.

“They certainly live around here. ‘Elaine’; she’s at least from this neighborhood.”

“Are you going to conduct a census on the people who live here? That’s illegal. Unless you’re targeting a specific individual… Ah, Team Leader!”

The team leader rushed to someone while still holding his coffee, and the team member followed him with a face saying ‘not again.’

“Hey there!”

The team leader dashed toward a black-haired maid standing in front of the fountain.

“Excuse me, I need to verify your identity.”

“W-What is this?”

“I’m Park Geonwoo, team leader of the Registration Support Team 3 from the Awakening Management Committee.”

Team leader Park Geonwoo pulled out his name tag.

It was a newly created badge from a department that was established alongside the Tower, made from a ‘magic stone’ obtained through the hunts by hunters.

“Are you perhaps ‘the one’?”

“Ah, no. I’m just cosplaying, just cosplaying.”

The black-haired maid nervously extended her hand towards her eyes.

As soon as she did, the colored contact lenses popped out, revealing her brown eyes, and team leader Park Geonwoo immediately bowed at a 90-degree angle.

“My apologies. I thought you were the real one…”

“No, I understand. Haha.”

The woman who was cosplaying as Elaine smiled softly and raised the smartphone she was holding.

“Guys, did you just see that? Hahaha, I really look like her, right?”

“…….”

“Wh-What do you mean by obstruction of public duty? I’m just cosplaying and taking themed photos here!… Would a real S-grade hunter come here and do this? They’d be in the U.S.!”

The maid cosplaying girl spoke to the camera, and team leader Park Geonwoo subtly moved away and stood in front of his team member again.

“Ah geez, this is a headache. I’ll end up on a streaming clip. Damn it.”

“As a hard-working civil servant, you’ll end up on a short video. You should have been a bit calmer.”

“Ha…”

Team leader Park Geonwoo covered his face with his hand, shaking his head.

“We need the police to come and control the situation. Just look. Hunters and followers are all flocking here for a pilgrimage.”

In front of the fountain.

In the now narrow space without the Tower, everyone gathered without exception, holding their own events.

“I’d rather go pray at the Mungyeong Saejae over there.”

“But that place is still being controlled by the military.”

“They might have lifted the restriction today? Ugh, seriously.”

Team leader Park Geonwoo scratched his head, looking up at the towering apartment building.

“But you know, my instincts aren’t wrong. Among the people who quit jobs at restaurants or companies, those who aren’t reclusive hermits are likely aiming for Hunter relocation privileges.”

“… It might just be that the company was terrible, and they quit.”

The team member casually commented as he took out his smartphone.

“I saw on a blog that there’s a case where an ace employee quit because the manager won the lottery and disappeared.”

“What does the manager winning the lottery have to do with the ace quitting?”

“The ace bought a lottery ticket for the manager while drinking, and it turned out to be the second prize, but the manager vanished.”

“… Hey, that’s it.”

Team leader Park Geonwoo snapped his fingers.

“Let’s investigate that person. That guy is an awakener.”

“Who? The ace who resigned?”

“No!”

Whoooosh.

“The one who quit after winning the second prize in the lottery. Which manager in their right mind quits just because it’s the second prize, not the first?”

“… That’s true.”

“Go into the source of that article and make contact. Ugh, that poor resigning person—talk about bad luck.”

“I wonder what they are doing now?”

“I wouldn’t know. Maybe… preparing to find a new way to make a living? I’ve heard these days, after quitting, people make Vlogs or something like YouTube.”

Team leader Park Geonwoo looked up at the sky.

“Ah, I want to become a YouTuber after I quit too.”

“What would you do?”

“General gaming streamer… No, that’s something I’ll end up doing anyway.”

Team leader Park Geonwoo pointed at the cosplayers crowded in front of the fountain.

“They are the ones who will be YouTubers for the mobile games they love.”

* * *

“Wow, insane. Is it a 9090?”

When I installed the computer from the box on the desk and checked the internal components, my mouth automatically dropped open at the impressive parts.

“Is it some good equipment? Well, it’s coming from the President of the United States, so it better be good…”

“It’s the highest quality among what’s currently being sold.”

Thud.

Amidst unboxing the plastic, I spotted an envelope.

I immediately unfolded the letter inside, which had a handwritten note that was somewhat crooked.

– I managed to acquire components including the next generation X090, but since it’s not officially on sale yet, there’s a possibility of exposing the data to game companies. Please understand that I made it using only the products currently for sale. To my friend far away, I hope this ‘disguise’ helps with your new occupation.

– Your friend, Armstrong.

“… Indeed, it’s essential to have good friends.”

Messaging right away after conquering the Tower was indeed the right choice.

“To help with my post-resignation life as a full-time gamer, he even bought me a computer.”

“So now we’re going to use this for ‘that’?”

“Yeah.”

I sat down in front of the desk.

“Now, it’s the beginning of my life as a full-time gamer.”

To summon the next familiar.

“Elaine.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Come sit here, and let’s search for our new friend together.”

A familiar that can heal, deal damage, and tank effectively.

“There are countless mobile games worldwide, so among them, there should definitely be at least one character we want.”

We need to start searching.

“Let’s see who would be good to max out. Money isn’t an issue.”

As Elaine hovered the mouse cursor, her expression gradually stiffened, not like a female character.

“Master, how about this person—”

“No male characters.”

Not even those with XY chromosomes.

“There may be strong male characters in my party in-game, but there can be no men in this house aside from me.”

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