Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The Ordinary Guy's Dilemma
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The gruesome crime of cutting off the victim's head and decorating it with a ribbon.
Three people dead.
'This is insane.'
A public wanted notice had been issued.
The suspect's face was clearly captured on CCTV footage.
'It's not John Kosak's face...'
He was an assassin, so it was highly likely he had disguised himself.
Or maybe it was a completely different person... It could be a coincidence.
But the odds of there being two serial killers who tie ribbons around severed heads were low.
'Did I summon a demon? Since he's a ghost, is he an evil spirit or something?'
After watching the morning TV news.
Bong Joo-hyuk searched online.
The Smile Cash murder case.
However, the general public's view of the incident was unexpected.
The community comment sections were mostly filled with a sentiment of 'they got what they deserved.'
Joo-hyuk let out a deep sigh and turned off his laptop.
'Wasn't it absolute obedience?'
He had never given a kill order.
He just told him to watch TV, that's all.
So why?
Joo-hyuk called up his status window and checked the catalog entry.
Summoning was possible.
Should he call him and ask?
Did you really kill those people? If you did, why?
But,
'It's scary.'
What if he posed a threat to him, the Summoner?
'...No. I don't think he'd do that.'
It might have been an act to protect him instead.
He made a decision.
Let's call him.
"...Designated Summon, John Kosak!"
At that moment.
Ding!
A holographic image appeared before Joo-hyuk's eyes.
It depicted five monochrome stars.
Ah! No wonder there was a satisfaction rating section in the catalog.
'A star rating.'
He felt he should give one... but,
How many points should he give?
Joo-hyuk was the type to always give 5 stars if he had the chance to rate something.
His mother worked as a rental water purifier coordinator, so he knew all too well how heartbreaking it was to receive a low satisfaction rating.
But he couldn't give 5 stars to a murder suspect either.
Then...
Tap!
The ambiguous score of 3 stars, neither here nor there.
He had complaints, but a 1-star rating was out of the question.
This was the Ordinary Guy's star rating evaluation.
Instantly!
Whoosh! Poof!
"My allegiance! Good to see you again! Thank you for the 3 stars! I'll work even harder."
"...Yeah."
An innocent, cheerful expression.
Did this person really kill three people?
No way! Impossible!
"I called you because I have something to ask."
"Yes, sir! Anything!"
"Those people who came to our house yesterday... did you, Mr. Kosak, kill them?"
"Correct. I handled them last night. Right before I was Reverse Summoned."
"..."
Aah!
So this person was the culprit after all.
He was now face-to-face with a murderer.
The hairs all over his body stood on end.
He needed to be brave.
Gulp.
He swallowed once, afraid he might hiccup.
"...H-how? You shouldn't even know where their office is."
"I planted a Mark of Pursuit on them when they broke into Summoner Bong's home. I knew where they all were."
A Mark of Pursuit?
It must be a skill or something.
"Why, why did you? Why go that far?"
"Because they were a threat. It's better to deal with them preemptively."
"Hmm, but I didn't give you that order."
"...That, that's because of the 3rd Principle, Clause 3."
The 3 Principles?
Clause 1: Prioritize the Summoner's life.
Clause 2: Absolute obedience to commands.
Clause 3 was...
"When Clause 1 and Clause 2 conflict, Clause 1 shall be treated as the supreme value. That's the content of Clause 3."
"Ah!"
He thought he understood what it meant.
For example, if he ordered Kosak to kill him, it meant he would disobey.
Because Clause 1 took precedence.
"But there was no tangible threat. Isn't that your own arbitrary judgment?"
"That's correct. However, Clause 3 can be interpreted broadly. Leaving those scum alone meant they would definitely threaten the Summoner's life someday."
"..."
This is crazy.
The assumption that the illegal debt collectors might kill him.
He must have thought he couldn't protect him from the side while not summoned, so he judged killing them was the best course of action.
"Wow! You're really insane... Ah! Sorry."
"It's fine. I've heard that a lot."
Sudden actions based on arbitrary judgment.
It was ambiguous.
How should he take this?
'...I shouldn't be grateful for this, this is incredibly dangerous.'
He was practically a ticking time bomb.
He might be difficult to control.
For example, imagine Joo-hyuk walking down a crowded street with John Kosak.
If, by accident, someone with a thuggish attitude bumped shoulders with Joo-hyuk.
The person who got shoulder-checked would say something like:
- You wanna die? I'll gouge your eyes out!
Then John Kosak would perceive that person as threatening his life.
Consequently, another severed head with a butterfly ribbon knot might appear.
This couldn't happen.
He didn't know if he would keep summoning this person in the future.
"The murder wasn't for my sake. It could put me in a difficult situation because of it."
"...Uh, no one will know."
Even so, as Joo-hyuk continued to frown, John Kosak quietly bent his knee and knelt.
"I was wrong."
"...Don't kneel."
"Yes, sir!"
"You won't do it again, right?"
"I c-can't guarantee that."
His eyes rolling around didn't inspire confidence.
But at least he seemed like he wouldn't lie.
"Unless my life is on the line, acting on mere speculation and killing people..."
"Alright! I'll judge the situation well."
His reply was spirited.
"Okay. You can go back now."
"B-but, aren't you going to climb the Tower?"
Tower climbing.
Since the topic came up, he might as well be honest.
It was embarrassing, but.
"I haven't decided yet... I'm a coward, you see. I'm scared. And I don't want to die."
"Aha! I understand. In my experience, Summoners who call us should be like that."
Huh? Summoners should be cowards?
And 'in my experience'?
"Have there been other Summoners? People like me who summoned you, Mr. Kosak."
"There have been."
There have?
You mean there are more people like me?
"...People from the same Earth?"
"No. Worlds similar to Earth's civilization, but different. There are quite a few such worlds."
"Hmm."
There were worlds similar to Earth's civilization,
Parallel universes?
"Then people from there could summon you too."
"They can't."
"Why not?"
John Kosak answered with a stifled, regretful expression.
"They passed away."
"Ah!"
"That world was destroyed too."
The atmosphere grew solemn.
"They were truly brave."
"I see."
"They rushed ahead of me to hunt monsters. They were a really strong Summoner."
"You must miss them."
"I don't know. I don't even remember now."
He felt strange.
A slight sense of humiliation, his face reddening with shame.
The other Summoner was brave, so why was he so cowardly?
"Do I seem pitiful in comparison?"
"Huh?"
"Because I'm a coward who's afraid to enter the Tower."
John Kosak waved his hands frantically, looking horrified.
"No, sir! Absolutely not! On the contrary, it's good. I really like it!"
"...Eh?"
What was this about?
"Summoners should be like that. Being brave is poison. Cowardice is the greatest virtue."
"Uh..."
"A brave Summoner is dangerous. You never know when they'll die. If they die, we can't come out either, you know."
So that's how it connects?
"Summoner Bong, please keep playing it safe and live a long, long life. I'll handle all the dirty work."
"Yeah, well, sure."
Easy.
Even if he told him not to, he probably would.
"Anyway, I'll think about climbing the Tower."
"Take your time deciding. It's fine if you don't."
"Then, for now..."
"Yes, sir! Please call me again next time!"
Joo-hyuk used the Summon Release skill.
Poof! John Kosak disappeared.
'He's gone.'
His mind went blank.
The events of yesterday and today were just too impactful.
Now, back to everyday life.
Time to go to work.
Joo-hyuk was working two part-time jobs.
A convenience store during the day.
A meat restaurant at night.
There were many places money needed to go.
His father's rehabilitation was far from complete, and his mother was a water purifier company coordinator.
He had to contribute to the household finances somehow.
So working two part-time jobs was much better than getting a single full-time position.
With the money he earned, he could send some home, save some, and pay off debts.
'...Do I even need to pay the debts now?'
Well, the people to collect the debts were gone.
He was going to be late. He needed to leave quickly.
The convenience store where Joo-hyuk worked.
Even during his day shift, he couldn't focus on work at all.
A 0.01% Awakening.
And a Summoning Trait Player.
No matter how good the trait was, it was clearly dangerous.
Was Summoning all that easy?
'It's better not to do it.'
But Joo-hyuk was also a young man.
A desire to challenge himself at least once arose.
'Fuck! Why can't I do it?'
Also, the uncertain future.
He couldn't live his whole life just doing part-time jobs.
Should he, or shouldn't he?
Back and forth.
The Ordinary Guy's special trait!
Indecisive, unable to make decisions.
If this kept up, his Awakening might be revoked.
If Tower climbing didn't occur within 3 months of Awakening, Player qualification was lost.
Existing Players also lost it if they didn't work.
'It'd be a waste to just let it expire...'
In a way, letting it pass by without anything happening seemed okay too.
'Maybe I should at least check out what it's like?'
When you became a Player, the state stepped in to provide full-scale support.
Legal advice, identity protection requests, even buying rewards obtained from Tower climbing at high prices, and countless other benefits.
Initially, they hid the fact that they were Players, but currently, many Players publicly revealed their identities and were active.
Almost like entertainment celebrities.
Some even entered the Tower with recording devices to film and broadcast their conquest process.
If he searched, he could find a few.
'Are there any Summoning Trait Player conquest videos?'
There were.
A video filmed by a Player with a trait to summon Golems.
'...Wow!'
Monsters swarming in.
The Summoning Trait Player gesturing towards them.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A Golem, roughly 3 meters tall, tore the monsters apart.
They were slightly pushed back due to the sheer numbers, but...
'This trait is actually way more OP than I thought.'
The Summoner didn't seem to do anything either.
It seemed doable.
'Should I try?'
But the comments under the video.
A Player who didn't climb any higher.
There were quite a few.
It was natural that it got harder as the floors increased.
If it was just difficult, that was fortunate.
If you made a mistake, you could die.
So they parked on easy floors and just collected the rewards.
Floor missions could be repeated multiple times, after all.
'He's my kind of guy.'
On the contrary, it was good.
What's wrong with milking easy floors?
This changed the story.
In a corner of Joo-hyuk's heart, the thought, 'Should I give it a try?' began to quietly bloom.