A grotesque crime—cutting off the victims' heads and decorating them with ribbons.
Three people dead.
"This is driving me insane."
A public manhunt had already been issued.
The suspect's appearance was clearly caught on CCTV footage.
"It's not John Kosak's face, though…"
But he was an assassin—there was a high chance he'd disguised himself.
Or maybe it was someone else entirely… just a coincidence.
Still, what were the odds there'd be two murderers who tied ribbon bows around severed heads?
"Did I summon a demon or something? Since he's a ghost… an evil spirit?"
After finishing the morning news,
Bong Juhyeok searched the internet.
Smile Cash murder case.
But the public reaction was unexpected.
The overall mood in online communities was basically good riddance.
└ Should we call him the Ribbon Killer?
└ Killer? More like the Ribbon Righteous One.
└ Weren't those guys illegal, just pretending to be legal?
└ Feels so damn satisfying. Think of how many victims there were—some people even had organs taken.
└ I borrowed 1 million won and ended up paying 5 million before I barely got free.
└ That's nothing. My friend borrowed 8 million—paid 10 million in interest and the principal's still there.
└ Who do you think killed them?
└ Obviously one of their victims.
└ Bastards. Whoever did it, isn't this basically self-defense?
Letting out a deep sigh, Juhyeok closed his laptop.
"Wasn't it supposed to be absolute obedience?"
He had never given an order to kill anyone.
All he'd said was to watch TV.
So why?
Juhyeok pulled up his status window and checked the catalog entry again.
Name: John Kosak
Rank: SR (Super Rare)
Type: Assassin (Human)
Manifestation Duration: 6 hours
Satisfaction Rating: None
Resummon Cooldown: 3 hours (Designated Summon currently available)
He could summon him again.
Should he call him and ask?
Ask if he really killed them? And if so, why?
But—
"That's scary."
What if he turned on his summoner?
"…No. He didn't seem like that."
If anything, it might've been to protect him.
Decision made.
Let's summon him.
"…John Kosak, designated summon!"
At that moment—
Ding!
A holographic display appeared in front of Juhyeok.
Five colorless stars.
[Before designated summoning, please leave a satisfaction rating for John Kosak.][Please move your finger to assign a star rating.]
Ah!So that's why there was a satisfaction rating field in the catalog.
"Star ratings, huh…"
He felt like he had to give one, but…
How many stars?
Juhyeok was the type to always give five stars whenever there was an option.
His mother worked as a rental water purifier consultant, so he knew how heartbreaking low satisfaction ratings could be.
But he couldn't exactly give five stars to a murder suspect.
Then…
Tap!
[John Kosak's satisfaction rating has been set to 3 stars.]
An ambiguous, lukewarm score—three stars.
Not happy, but not giving one star either.
This was the quintessential weakling's rating.
In the next instant—
Whoooosh! Flash!
[John Kosak has been designated-summoned.]
"Loyalty! Nice to see you again! Thank you for the 3 stars! I'll work even harder!"
"…Right."
An innocent expression.
This guy killed three people?
No way!
"There's something I wanted to ask you."
"Yes, sir! Ask away."
"Did you… kill the people who came to my place yesterday? Mr. Kosak?"
"That's correct. I took care of them last night—right before being unsummoned."
"..."
Ah.
So he really was the culprit.
Right now, he was face-to-face with a murderer.
Every hair on his body stood on end.
Gather your courage.
Gulp.
He swallowed once to keep himself from hiccuping.
"…H-how? You wouldn't even know where their office was."
"When they invaded Summoner Bong's residence, I planted a tracking mark on them. I know exactly where they were."
A tracking mark?
Probably some kind of skill.
"W-why? Why go that far?"
"They were a threat. It was better to deal with them in advance."
"But… I never ordered you to."
"…Th-that's because of the Third Principle."
The Three Principles?
The first—prioritize the summoner's life.
The second—absolute obedience.
The third…
"Principle Three states that if Principles One and Two come into conflict, Principle One takes absolute priority."
"Ah!"
He thought he understood.
For example, if he ordered Kosak to kill him, Kosak would refuse.
Because Principle One took precedence.
"But they weren't an immediate threat. Wasn't that just your own judgment?"
"That's true. However, Principle Three can be interpreted broadly. If left alone, they would inevitably threaten the summoner's life one day."
This is driving me crazy.
The idea that illegal debt collectors might one day kill him.
Kosak must have thought that, when unsummoned, he wouldn't be able to stay by his side to protect him—and that killing them was therefore the best solution.
"Wow. You're seriously out of your mind—ah! Sorry."
"It's fine. I hear that a lot."
Impulsive action based on personal judgment.
It's… complicated.
How was he supposed to take this?
"…I shouldn't be grateful, but this is seriously dangerous."
He was basically a ticking time bomb.
Hard to control.
For example, imagine Juhyeok walking down a crowded street with John Kosak.
By accident, his shoulder bumps into some punk.
The guy who got bumped might say something like—
— You wanna die? I'll rip your eyes out!
John Kosak would perceive that as a threat to Juhyeok's life.
And then, just like that, another ribbon-bow head might be born.
That couldn't be allowed.
Even if he didn't know whether he'd keep summoning this man in the future.
"Killing them wasn't for my sake. Because of that, I could end up in serious trouble."
"…No one will find out."
Still, Juhyeok kept frowning, and Kosak slowly bent his knees and knelt down.
"I was wrong."
"…Don't kneel."
"Yes, sir!"
"You won't do it again, right?"
"I… can't guarantee that."
The way his eyes rolled around wasn't reassuring.
At least he didn't seem to be lying.
"If my life were truly in immediate danger, that'd be one thing—but killing people based on speculation alone—"
"Roger! I'll judge situations more carefully!"
The response was energetic.
"Alright. You can go back now."
"B-but… aren't you going to climb the Tower?"
The Tower.
Since it came up, he might as well be honest.
It was embarrassing, but—
"I haven't decided yet. I'm… a coward. I'm scared. I don't want to die."
"Ah! I understand completely. In my experience, summoners should be like that."
Huh?Summoners should be cowards?
And in his experience?
"Have there been other summoners? People like me who summoned you?"
"There were."
There were?
So there were others like him?
"…People from Earth?"
"No. Similar to Earth's civilization, but a different world. There are many such worlds."
"Hm."
Worlds similar to Earth…
Parallel universes?
"Then someone from there could summon you again, right?"
"They won't be able to."
"Why not?"
John Kosak answered with a heavy, regretful expression.
"They passed away."
"Ah."
"That world also fell."
The mood grew somber.
"They were truly brave."
"I see."
"They always charged ahead of me to fight monsters. A very strong summoner."
"You must miss them."
"I don't know. I don't even remember them anymore."
Juhyeok felt strange.
A vague sense of humiliation, his face flushing with shame.
Another summoner was brave—so why was he such a coward?
"I must look pathetic in comparison, right?"
"Huh?"
"A coward who's afraid to enter the Tower."
Kosak waved his hands vehemently in denial.
"No! Absolutely not! I like it! I really like it a lot!"
"…What?"
What was this supposed to mean?
"Summoners should be like that. Bravery is poison. Cowardice is the greatest virtue."
"Uh…"
"Brave summoners are dangerous. You never know when they'll die. If they die, we can't come out anymore."
So that was how it connected.
"Summoner Bong, please keep laying low and live a long, long life. I'll handle all the dirty work."
"Yeah… that part's easy."
Even if someone told him not to, he'd do that anyway.
"Anyway, I'll think about climbing the Tower."
"Take your time deciding. Even if you don't, there's no problem."
"Then I'll—"
"Yes, sir! Please summon me again next time!"
Juhyeok used the Dismiss Summon skill.
Pop!John Kosak vanished.
"He's gone."
His mind felt blank.
Yesterday and today had been nothing but overwhelming events.
Now—back to everyday life.
Time to go to work.
Juhyeok worked two part-time jobs.
During the day, a convenience store clerk.
At night, a barbecue restaurant server.
There were too many expenses.
His father's rehabilitation was far from over, and his mother worked as a water purifier company coordinator.
He had to help support the household, even if just a little.
That's why working two part-time jobs was much better than getting hired at a single place.
Send money home, save some, pay off debts.
"…Do I even need to pay off the debt anymore?"
Well, the people who'd collect it were gone.
He was running late. Better head out.
※ ※ ※
The convenience store where Juhyeok worked.
Even during his day shift, he couldn't focus at all.
A 0.01% awakening rate.
And a Player with a summoning trait.
No matter how good the trait was, it was obviously dangerous.
Was summoning really that easy?
"…Better not do it."
But Juhyeok was still a young man.
A desire to challenge himself stirred, just once.
"Fuck! Why couldn't I do it too?"
And then there was his uncertain future.
He couldn't live his whole life working part-time jobs forever.
Do it, or don't.
Back and forth.
Classic weakling trait!
Indecisive. Chronic decision paralysis.
At this rate, his awakening might get canceled.
If you don't enter the Tower within three months after awakening, you lose your Player status.
Even existing Players get disqualified if they stop working.
"It'd be a shame for it to just get canceled…"
On the other hand, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if everything passed quietly without incident.
"…Should I at least go take a look?"
Once you become a Player, the government steps in with full support.
Legal counseling, identity protection upon request, buying Tower rewards at high prices—and countless other benefits.
In the early days, Players hid their identities,but now many openly reveal themselves and operate publicly.
They're practically entertainment celebrities.
Some even bring recording devices into the Tower and broadcast their raids.
If you look around, you can find a few videos.
"Are there any guides from summoning-type Players?"
There are.
A video uploaded by a Player with a golem-summoning trait.
"…Wow."
Waves of monsters rush in.
The summoning-type Player gestures toward them.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
A golem about three meters tall tears the monsters apart.
There were so many that it got pushed back a bit, but still—
"This trait is way more busted than I thought."
The summoner barely seems to do anything.
This looks doable.
"…Should I try?"
But then he reads the comments under the video.
└ What's a level 30 doing on the 21st floor? Go climb the 31st.
└ Tried once and got scared, huh? That place is full of traps and monsters.
└ Just go back to floor 1 already.
└ Repeating floor 21—do you think that's enough to make a living?
└ Coward bastard.
└ Hey, don't be so harsh. If you die in the Tower, you don't even get a body back. Cut him some slack.
Players who stop climbing further.
There are quite a lot of them.
It's only natural that it gets harder the higher you go.
If it were just hard, that'd be fine.
If you're unlucky, you die.
That's why some people park themselves on easy floors and just farm rewards.
You can repeat floor missions as many times as you want.
"I like this guy."
Honestly, it's better.
What's wrong with farming easy floors?
Now the story changes.
In a corner of Juhyeok's heart,the thought Maybe I should try it once began to quietly bloom.