The Golden Chain Homunculus
Enoch rubbed his sleepy eyes and descended to the first floor with Lakrina. Unfortunately, there was no Solis Blossom. The master at the counter had shouted fiercely that if they wanted to drink it, they should come down themselves.
"What? You actually came down?"
The master’s eyes widened in genuine surprise when Enoch appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He clearly hadn’t expected them to actually show up. Enoch frowned at the sight.
"You called us down and now you say that?"
"No, I just thought it was annoying how you were bossing your young disciple around… so I said it on a whim."
The master laughed awkwardly. Enoch ran a hand through his messy hair and sat down with a yawn.
"Give me something to drink. Something cold."
"Sure. Want the Solis Blossom I mentioned earlier?"
"Good. Three glasses, please."
"Three? You want to drink the same thing multiple times?"
The master asked with a puzzled look. Enoch loosened his neck and replied.
"One for me. One for the kid next to me. And one for the hardworking master. Perfect, isn’t it?"
"You little… Wait right there. I’ll bring them right away."
The master chuckled and took the order, then set down a glass of ice water before leaving, as if to say they should drink while they waited.
-Gulp
"Um… Teacher?"
Lakrina spoke just as Enoch was drinking the cold water. She had already taken the seat beside him.
"What is it?"
"It’s nothing much, but your hair looks a bit messy. Would you like me to tidy it for you?"
"My hair? Well… I was planning to stop by the barbershop later anyway."
Enoch shrugged as if there was no need. Lakrina placed her hands on her hips and firmly refused.
"Absolutely not. You’re not thinking of going out with that bird’s-nest hair, are you?"
"Bird’s nest… At worst, call it an Ivy League cut."
"Ivy…? Don’t try to change the subject with weird words."
Her tone carried a hint of an older sister’s firmness. After saying that, Lakrina pulled a glass bottle from her pocket. It was Silkbright Wax, used for setting hair. The price was 78,000 Kro. Enoch had bought it for her during yesterday’s shopping trip.
"Lower your head for a moment. Actually, would you mind getting up from the chair entirely?"
Ignoring Enoch’s opinion, Lakrina took out the wax and rubbed it between her hands. The pure white wax, made from sap collected from silk trees, melted stickily from the girl’s body heat.
"Just asking in case, but are you confident? Do you even have any experience?"
"Of course. I took care of all my younger siblings’ hair at the orphanage."
Lakrina smiled confidently as she spoke. It didn’t seem like a lie. Apparently, the orphanage’s professional stylist had been poached. Enoch chuckled and tilted his head.
"Alright, do whatever you want."
"You made the right choice. I’ll make you look really handsome."
Lakrina began to style Enoch’s hair with her fingers. Why did it feel more like she was kneading dough than styling hair? Enoch suddenly felt the urge to look in a mirror.
"Hmm~ Hmm-hmm~"
"……"
"Hmm~ Hmm? Teacher, have you ever thought about sweeping your hair back?"
Lakrina asked while touching his hair. Enoch didn’t bother answering. No matter what he said, it felt like he would end up sweeping it back anyway.
‘Actually, this is more of a problem.’
Name: Lakrina
Age: 15
Level: 4
Magic: None
Talent:Freezing
Enoch tilted his head and called up the status window. He moved his finger to open the newly updated hero information.
‘The stats themselves are pretty much as expected.’
Unlike before, the status window now displayed Lakrina’s information in detail. It was probably because of the message that had appeared earlier. It had clearly stated that Lakrina had joined as a hero. That told Enoch a great deal.
‘The system doesn’t automatically recognize someone as joined just because you brought a hero along. It probably requires time or something else. And that something is probably…’
Enoch glanced sideways at Lakrina. She was still smiling brightly as she styled his hair. But Enoch focused not on her ice magic, but on the fact that she was smiling at all.
‘She wasn’t like this last night. There was still tension left.’
Yet today, unlike yesterday, she wore a smile. In other words, her tension had eased, even if only a little. In short—
‘It’s ultimately a matter of mindset. The hero herself must trust me. Only then does the status window recognize her as an ally. Something like that.’
After considering various possibilities, this seemed the most likely. Trying to think of other reasons would only make things unnecessarily complicated.
‘I’ll keep that in mind for now.’
Enoch made up his mind without further hesitation. In truth, this wasn’t the time to be worrying about such things.
‘Right now, I need to check this more than the stats.’
Enoch moved his finger away from the hero list. The next section he opened was none other than the mailbox.
Use the Random Talent Coupon!
A random coupon. In other words, a gacha pull. Enoch’s face unconsciously hardened. It was time for that damned gambling again.
@ Defense, turn-based strategy, roguelike. Games of these genres all share one common feature. There is always a moment when you must make a choice. In card-climbing games, you choose cards. In hero-raising roguelikes, you choose equipment or skills. What Enoch faced now was exactly that kind of moment.
A passive skill that strengthens the player themselves, not heroes or towers. In simple terms, a talent.
Lakrina’s joining had also gifted Enoch the chance to obtain a new skill.
‘The unfortunate part is that it’s random.’
Enoch sighed while tilting his head. It made sense—there were many different types of skills that strengthened the player in Age of Invasion. First, commander skills that broadly enhanced towers, heroes, or armies. Then magic or assassin skills used against enemies. Lastly, manager skills that helped with empire management, assets, or items themselves.
‘Right now, a manager skill would be best. The worst would be an assassin skill. There’s no need to accumulate more personal power.’
The saying “too much is as bad as too little” existed for a reason. Enoch had no desire to build up his own strength any further. The reason was simple. His ceiling was already clear. Because Enoch was not a hero, he could not gain experience points.
‘If it’s combat power, I already have more than enough. Honestly, I alone could hold back the continent’s monsters for at least a few years.’
Enoch glanced at the watch on his wrist. 5.96 billion. If he poured out all his current wealth, he could summon that many constructs without any risk. A number dozens of times greater than the empire’s population. Enoch alone could sustain the entire empire—or even the entire continent.
But Enoch had no intention of doing so. The reason was simple once again. The efficiency was extremely poor.
‘5.96 billion… It might look impressive at first glance, but it’s nothing more than pushing forward with sheer numbers. It might work in the early to mid stages, but honestly, it’s not enough to stop the late-game waves. Managing that many on my own is realistically impossible anyway.’
If Enoch poured out all his assets, the empire would enjoy over four years of peace. And in the fifth year, it would fall immediately. The monsters that appeared in the later stages were that powerful.
‘In the first place, even if I kill the monsters, I don’t gain experience or grow. The more monsters I kill, the more I hinder the heroes’ growth, making the late-game threats even greater.’
Players had no growth to speak of except through skill events. Clearing waves only brought money. There were no level-ups or class changes. Therefore, Enoch himself must not kill monsters. The heroes, not Enoch, had to grow.
‘A grown hero becomes an existence close to one who can face tens of thousands of monsters alone. And even against powerful high-ranking monsters, they won’t fall far behind in specs.’
What was needed was one hero, not ten thousand soldiers. Enoch’s judgment was not wrong. After all, as the game progressed to the later stages, quality mattered far more than quantity.
That was exactly why this moment of drawing a skill was so important.
‘No empty words needed. Please, let it be a manager skill—at worst, a commander skill.’
As long as it wasn’t a mage or assassin skill, it would be fine. Enoch used the coupon with a tense expression. With a ringing sound, a transparent roulette wheel began spinning violently before his eyes.
-Rrrrrrrrrr
The wheel of fate spun rapidly. Enoch continued watching the situation with his head tilted. Just as Lakrina, who had been styling his hair, tilted her head in confusion, the spinning roulette gradually slowed.
-Ding ding ding
-Click!
‘What?’
Enoch’s eyes widened slightly as he read the notification. It was a skill he had never seen before in his life.