LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 10
“Enok rubbed his sleepy eyes and headed downstairs with Lacrina.”
Unfortunately, there were no Solis Blossoms in sight.
The master at the counter glared and barked, “If you want something to eat, come down and get it yourself!”
“What’s this? You actually came down?”
In fact, when Enok made his way down the stairs, the master’s eyes went wide in surprise.
It seemed he didn’t expect Enok to really show up.
Seeing that, Enok frowned.
“Did you call for me just to say that?”
“No, but it’s annoying having to boss around such a young apprentice… so I just said it,” the master replied with an awkward laugh.
Enok yawned as he sat down, trying to make himself presentable.
“Could I get something to drink? Something cold.”
“Sure. How about that Solis Blossom I mentioned earlier?”
“Sounds great. Three glasses, please.”
“Three? You planning on drinking the same thing over and over?”
The master raised an eyebrow. Enok stretched his neck and replied.
“One for me, one for the little brat next to me, and one for the hard-working master. Perfectly reasonable, right?”
“You little… wait right there. I’ll be back quick.”
The master chuckled as he took the order. Before leaving, he set a glass of ice water in front of Enok like it was a gesture to pass the time.
-Glug
“Uh… Teacher?”
Just as Enok took a sip of the cold water, Lacrina struck up a conversation. She had already settled beside him.
“What’s up?”
“Well, your hair looks a bit messy. Should I tidy it up for you?”
“My hair? Well… I was planning to stop by the barber shop later anyway.”
Enok shrugged as if to say it wasn’t really necessary.
Lacrina placed her hands on her hips and firmly disagreed.
“No way! You’re not going out looking like that!”
“Messy? At least call it an Ivy League cut.”
“Ivy…? Don’t start twisting words into something weird.”
She had a commanding presence, almost like an older sister.
Lacrina pulled a glass jar from her pocket.
It was a jar of Silk Bright Wax used for styling hair.
By the way, it cost 78,000 Crowns. Enok had personally bought it for her just yesterday while shopping.
“Can you lean your head a bit? No, wait, how about getting off the chair entirely?”
Lacrina didn’t bother with Enok’s opinion as she rubbed the wax in her hands.
The white wax, made from sap of the silk tree, melted and became sticky with her body heat.
“Just asking, but do you have any confidence? Like, do you actually have experience?”
“Of course! I used to style all the kids’ hair at the orphanage.”
Lacrina said confidently, chuckling. It didn’t sound like a lie at all.
It seemed she had snatched away the orphanage’s pro stylist. Enok chuckled softly and tilted his head.
“Alright, go ahead and do what you want.”
“Good choice! I’ll make it look fabulous.”
Lacrina began fussing with Enok’s hair.
Why was she fussing, though? It felt more like she was playing with it than styling it.
Suddenly, Enok found himself wanting to see a mirror.
“Hmm~ Hmm hmm~”
“……”
“Hmm~ Hmm? Teacher, do you want to flip your hair back?”
Lacrina asked while messing with his hair.
Enok chose not to answer. Whatever he said, it felt like he’d end up flipping his hair anyway.
‘Honestly, this part is more of a problem.’
-Ding!
Enok tilted his head and summoned the status window. He then moved his finger to check the newly updated hero information.
[Name: Lacrina]
[Age: 15]
[Lv: 4]
[Magic: None]
[Talent: Ice Binding]
‘The stats are pretty much as expected.’
Unlike before, the status window provided detailed information about Lacrina.
It probably had something to do with the message that popped up earlier.
It clearly indicated that Lacrina had joined as a hero.
That gave Enok a whole lot of insight.
‘Just bringing heroes aboard doesn’t mean they’re officially part of the team. It probably needs some time or something more. That means…’
Enok rolled his eyes to look at Lacrina.
She was still smiling brightly while fixing his hair.
But Enok focused not on her quirky behavior, but on the simple fact that she was smiling.
‘She didn’t act like this last night. She still looked tense then.’
But today, unlike yesterday, a smile graced her face. Meaning, in her own way, she was probably feeling a bit more at ease.
In short-
‘It all comes down to mindset. The hero needs to trust me for the status window to recognize her as a companion. That’s the gist of it.’
He thought about it from various angles, but this seemed the most plausible.
Thinking of other reasons would just complicate things unnecessarily.
‘I’ll take this point to heart.’
Without a second thought, Enok resolved himself.
In truth, it wasn’t the time to be pondering something like this.
‘Right now, I should really be focusing on this instead.’
He moved his fingers to exit the hero list.
The next item he entered was none other than his inbox.
[Notification: First Hero Registration Reward!]
[Content: Use your Random Talent Coupon!]
Random coupon.
In other words, a lottery.
Enok’s face involuntarily stiffened.
It was time for a damn gamble.
@
Defense, turn-based strategy, roguelike.
These game genres share one common feature.
There always comes a moment when you have to choose something in the game.
In a card-climbing game, you pick cards, and in roguelikes where you level up heroes, you choose equipment or skills.
What Enok faced now was exactly that type of situation.
Not a hero or a tower, but a passive skill to strengthen the player themselves.
In simple terms, it was a talent.
Lacrina’s joining also gifted Enok a chance to acquire a new skill.
‘Unfortunately, the catch is that it’s random.’
Enok sighed while tilting his head.
It was understandable because in Age of Invasion, the skills that enhance the player are highly diverse.
First are commander skills that broadly enhance the towers, heroes, or armies.
Then there are spells used on enemies or assassin skills.
Lastly, there are manager skills that help with the empire’s operations, assets, or the items themselves.
‘For now, the manager skill would be the best option. The worst would be an assassin skill. There’s no real need to build up power any further.’
Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, after all.
Enok didn’t want to stack up any more power.
The reason was simple.
The ceiling is already clear. Enok, not being a hero, can’t gain experience.
‘In terms of combat power, I’m already overflowing. Honestly speaking, I could probably hold off all the monsters in the entire continent by myself for at least a few years.’
Enok suddenly glanced at the watch on his wrist.
5.96 billion.
If he poured all his assets into it, Enok could summon that many minions immediately without any real risk.
That’s practically several dozen times greater than the empire’s population.
He could sustain the entire empire- no, he could support the entire continent on his own without breaking a sweat.
Yet, Enok wasn’t going to do that.
The reason, again, was simple.
It would be extremely inefficient.
‘5.96 billion… It sounds good at first glance, but all it can do is overwhelm by sheer numbers. Maybe it would work in the early game, but honestly, it would struggle to hold up against late-game waves. Managing that many on my own isn’t realistically possible.’
If he poured all his assets into it, the empire would achieve a minimum of four years of peace.
And in the fifth year, it would be doomed.
The late-game monsters were just that powerful.
‘Even if I were to kill the monsters, it wouldn’t really give me any experience or growth. The more monsters I kill, the more it interferes with the heroes’ growth, increasing the threats in the late stages.’
Players, aside from skill events, wouldn’t have anything one might reasonably call growth.
Clearing waves would only get money. There wouldn’t be any level-ups or promotions happening.
So Enok shouldn’t be the one to slay the monsters.
The heroes need to grow instead.
A grown hero becomes someone close to a one-man army capable of facing thousands of monsters. And they won’t fall far behind in specs against powerful higher-tier monsters.
What was needed wasn’t a thousand soldiers but one hero.
Enok’s judgment wasn’t wrong. After all, in the late game, quality becomes more important than quantity.
That’s precisely why this moment, choosing a skill, was so very crucial.
‘No empty words needed. Please let it be a manager skill, or at least a commander skill.’
At the very least, anything but a wizard or assassin skill would be acceptable.
With a tense expression, Enok activated the coupon.
The roulette spun wildly in front of his eyes with a dinging sound.
-Rrrrmmm
The carousel of fate spun rapidly.
Enok watched the scene unfold, still leaning his head.
Just as Lacrina, who had been fixing his hair, tilted her head in curiosity, the spinning roulette gradually came to a halt.
-Ding ding ding
-Thud!
[Notification: You have gained a new skill.]
[New!!!: Homunculus of Gold and Chain]
[You have acquired the skills of Golden Fusion and Chain Harmony.]
‘What?!’
Enok’s eyes widened slightly at the notification.
This was a skill he had never seen before.