Chapter 6
“Phew.”
As soon as I got home, I collapsed onto the bed without even taking a shower.
But I couldn't fall asleep, so I shot back up.
So much had happened that I could barely even go over it all in my head, but one thing was clear.
My life had changed.
I glanced at the handbag with the RHS logo on it.
It was stuffed full of business cards, and from what I’d heard, even the worst offer came with an annual salary of 100 million won.
Some offers came with various conditions, but I’d even been offered as much as 500 million won.
Since my current job paid me 25 million won a year, even if I took the 500 million and became washed-up after just one year, that was nearly twenty years’ worth of my current salary.
So should I take the 500-million-won offer?
But looking at the long term, the 500-million-won offer wasn’t a very good choice.
The share of earnings from inside Gates was absurdly low, and the contract even included extension terms that favored the company.
The companies and guilds weren’t stupid enough to bet 500 million won on a rookie for no reason.
Unless my ability was a flash in the pan that only worked in early dungeons and I became washed-up within a year, taking my future growth into account, the 500-million-won offer was close to a foolish choice.
“Should I just join Zephyros’s company?”
I wasn’t thinking that just because Zephyros had helped me out a little, or because he was a Hunter I’d admired as a kid.
RHS was objectively one of the best companies in the industry.
It was a company whose offer I absolutely had to hear out, at the very least.
“But why did he say that?”
Wasn’t he positive about me joining his company?
Was it something like the self-loathing employees often felt toward their own companies?
Well, even I’d go to absurd lengths to talk someone out of joining my company.
But RHS wasn’t some exploitative company like mine, was it?
Now I was just confused.
I thought about it for a while, but I was old enough to know that stubbornly dwelling on my confusion wasn’t going to solve anything.
For now, I’d deal with something else.
“All right, then... I should check my reward first.”
The reward was definitely... that Bloodgold Golem, or whatever it was called.
But where did I claim it?
Oh, right. My inventory.
Only then did I remember that Awakened people had access to an inventory.
I had an inventory, and I’d been going through all the trouble of carrying that plastic bottle against my chest?
“Inventory.”
It was my first time opening my inventory, so I was a little thrown off, but it wasn’t much different from using a bag.
The only differences were that the opening appeared in midair and the space inside was a little bigger.
Looking inside, I spotted a single ring tucked away in a corner of the otherwise empty inventory. I could easily have missed it if I hadn’t focused.
It was a gold ring with a faint reddish sheen, and a geometric pattern etched into its inner surface.
“Don’t tell me this is the golem? Item Information.”
[Bloodgold Golem Crafted by Avicenna]
[Grade] : Constellation’s Legacy
[Description] : This Guardian faithfully stood by the Constellation Avicenna’s side when Avicenna was still human. Much time has passed, and so much of the bloodgold forming its body has been lost that it can no longer maintain its proper shape.
[Details] : After putting it on, you can summon the golem by supplying it with mana. Its material has been lost and needs to be replenished. <Remaining material: 0.01%>
0.01%.
“What, did this golem get scrubbed down at a bathhouse?”
It said the material could be replenished, but I didn’t even know what bloodgold was.
Since nothing came up when I searched for it online, it seemed like a pretty rare material.
I was a little disappointed, but since it was my first item, I put it on as a keepsake.
I wondered which finger to wear it on, but perhaps to show off that it was an item, it adjusted itself to fit my right index finger perfectly.
And the moment I put it on...
[Great achievement! You are the first to equip a Constellation’s Legacy!]
[As a reward, you have become more familiar with the flow of mana.]
[The effect of the item ‘Bloodgold Golem Crafted by Avicenna’ allows you to use the skill ‘Guardian Summon.’]
A message appeared.
“So this counts as an achievement, too.”
One way or another, earning achievements was great.
It was basically like getting a reward for free.
But I could summon a Guardian?
What exactly was a golem that was only 0.01% complete?
I couldn’t resist finding out.
“Guardian Summon.”
[The Bloodgold Golem is being summoned.]
The moment the skill activated, the ring I was wearing melted in an instant and fell to the floor in little drops.
Then it began wriggling around, and a human shape appeared.
It didn’t look like the golems I’d imagined at all. It looked completely human.
If there was one problem...
“I-It’s small.”
At best, maybe fifteen centimeters?
It was about the size of a figurine.
Right then,
─Would you like me to increase my bust, waist, and hips?
Someone’s voice rang out in my mind.
It was the voice of a young woman, so beautiful it could melt me just by hearing it.
I looked around, but there was no way a woman could be in this cramped little studio apartment, which barely had room for me to lie down.
My gaze naturally turned to the tiny human figure far below me.
I’d only taken a cursory look before, but now that I looked more closely, I could see it was a woman—and completely naked.
She was so small that I didn’t have any lewd thoughts at all, but she was definitely beautiful...
“Wait, could that be you?”
─That’s correct. You may change my appearance to suit your preferences, Summoner.
“No, I didn’t mean small like that...”
─For your information, my current appearance was chosen to suit my Creator’s preferences...
“I don’t want to hear about my predecessor’s personal tastes...”
The design looked like something my ex-boyfriend had come up with.
Phew. I sighed, then went to the kitchen and grabbed an unused dishcloth to wrap around the figurine... no, the golem.
Even if it was figurine-sized, having it naked was a little much.
It definitely wasn’t because I was forever alone.
─Thank you for the clothing, Summoner. However, if you prefer, I can take on an appearance that includes clothes.
“You could’ve told me that sooner.”
─I apologize.
“There’s no need to apologize.”
A talking figurine as my Guardian? This was driving me crazy.
It wriggled for a moment, then the golem’s appearance changed into a suit of armor.
Of course, using material to create the armor seemed to make it even smaller.
“Now I have somewhere else to look. Anyway, what’s your name? I can’t just call you ‘Golem.’”
─My Creator called me Athena. Would you like to give me a different name?
“Athena? That sounds fine. I’ll call you that.”
Honestly, I couldn’t be bothered to come up with a name, either.
─Yes, Summoner.
“By the way, what does a Guardian do?”
─No matter what happens, I protect you, Summoner. Even if I am not summoned in my doll form, I will autonomously shield you from danger when a crisis arises.
“Protect me...?”
You? Me?
─Yes. Depending on the circumstances, I may also carry out preemptive defense.
“Preemptive defense?”
─If eliminating the enemy in advance is more efficient than defending against them, I will act accordingly. However, your safety is always my top priority.
“R-Right.”
I couldn’t imagine how much help it could be at that size...
Still, the good thing was that it was only 0.01% complete.
“You can get bigger once the bloodgold’s replenished, right?”
─Of course. In my current state, I am unfit to carry out my duties properly.
“How can I get bloodgold?”
─I don’t know. However, I understand it to be a rare magical material refined through the highest level of alchemy.
“That must be insanely expensive.”
Just looking at it, I could tell it would be expensive.
For starters, what with ‘gold’ in its name was ever cheap?
Once you brought alchemy and magical materials into the conversation, it went beyond merely expensive.
‘Alchemy’ and ‘magic’ were, in a way, like French luxury brands before the Age of Awakening.
The famous materials from the highest levels of alchemy included Elixir and the finished Elixir made from it, didn’t they?
“By the way, how much bloodgold would I need to replenish it to 100%?”
─In the units used here, about one ton.
“...What?”
Even one ton of ordinary gold would cost over 100 billion won.
And I didn’t know what bloodgold was, but apparently it was a magical material that required the highest level of alchemy.
It wasn’t just gold. It was luxury-brand gold.
I couldn’t even imagine how much a ton of it would cost.
Even if it were only twice as expensive as regular gold, that would be 200 billion won. At ten times the price, it would exceed one trillion.
I didn’t even want to think about it, but if it were a hundred times the price, that would be ten trillion won.
“R-Right... I’ll think about that later.”
Think about it? I’d already given up completely.
“Then, can you turn back into a ring for now?”
─Understood. Call me whenever you need me.
Athena melted again, then rose against gravity as if being drawn into my index finger, returning to the shape of a ring.
“Phew. Now I can finally get some rest.”
So much had happened that my head was throbbing.
Now I really needed to sleep.
I was clutching my throbbing brow and lying back down when...
Bzzzz!
The vibration of my phone made me sigh before I even looked.
The caller was Department Head Choi Dongmin.
Oh, seriously. No way. You’ve got to be kidding me.
I’d taken a half-day today.
With a sinking feeling, I answered the call.
“Hello.”
─You little punk! Who taught you to behave like that? If you’re going to take half-days whenever you feel like it, just quit!
He’d started cursing me out before I could even say hello. Why was I smiling?
“...What? Thank you!”
─What did you say?
“You told me to quit.”
Wow, was my department head an angel?
I’d been wondering how to tell him I was quitting, but this worked out perfectly.
A grin spread across my face all on its own.
“Thank you for everything. I’d appreciate it if you paid me this month’s salary prorated through today.”
─K-Kim Segyun! Are you crazy? Or... could it be...?
“Yes, whatever you’re thinking, that’s probably it. It’s been awful working with you, and I hope we never meet again.”
─N-No, that’s not what I meant! Did you really Awaken?
“That’s right.”
There was silence on the other end for a while, then a voice that sounded about ten years older came through.
─R-Right... I see. But we really are short-handed, so you’re not seriously resigning...
“You told me to quit, so what’s the problem? I’m sure this call’s being recorded, too...”
Automatic call recording was essential for office workers.
There were too many people who gave orders over the phone, then denied it when those orders came back to bite them.
“Anyway, I’m hanging up.”
─W-Wait, wait, wait! I’ll process your resignation, I will! But you can’t do it like this! This isn’t right!
“Department Head.”
─Y-Yeah?
“Is it right to call an employee who’s on leave and immediately start calling them names?”
Maybe he’d run out of things to say again, because all I heard was his angry breathing.
─R-Right... I’m sorry. I’m sorry about that.
“Anyway, that’s enough. I’m hanging up. I’ll come by tomorrow to resign in person.”
─No, well... Phew... Could you do me one favor first?
A favor?
No, I didn’t want to do him any favors.
I was just about to firmly tell him no.
─They suddenly have a huge amount of stuff that needs processing at the Seonggwang lab you went to yesterday. Several people are already on-site, but we’re desperately short-handed. Just help us for one day. One day.
“The Seonggwang lab?”
The Seonggwang lab...
[Many units are currently dormant because they are too far away from the caster.]
Maybe I could retrieve my precious 2.8-billion-strong legion that I’d left there.