Great Teacher in a Defense Game

#10 The Golden Chain Homunculus

Enoch rubbed his sleepy eyes and descended to the first floor with Lacrina.

Unfortunately, the Solis Blossom was nowhere to be seen.

The Master, behind the counter, had glared fiercely and declared that if he wanted to eat, he should come down himself.

“What? You actually came down?”

The Master, upon seeing Enoch descend the stairs, stared wide-eyed in genuine surprise.

He clearly hadn’t expected him to actually come.

Seeing this, Enoch frowned.

“Did you not summon me here?”

“Nay, ’twas just irked me, seein’ ye work the lad so hard… just a manner of speakin’, ’twas.”

The Master chuckled, a bit sheepish.

Enoch, ruffling his dishevelled hair, yawned and settled into a chair.

“Give us somethin’ to wet the whistle, aye? Somethin’ cool.”

“Aye. That Solis Blossom I mentioned earlier, would that suit?”

“Suits fine. Three glasses, if you please.”

“Three glasses? You’d drink the same thing thrice?”

The Master questioned, curious. Enoch cleared his throat to reply.

“One for meself. One for the wee thing beside me. One for the Master, workin’ his fingers to the bone. Seems just about right, don’t it?”

“You rascal… hold yer horses. Be right back.”

The Master snorted, suppressing a smile as he took the order. He left a glass of ice water to tide them over while they waited.

-Sluurp-

“Um… Master Enoch?”

Just as he took a sip of the icy water, Lacrima addressed him. She had already settled into the seat next to him.

“What is it, then?”

“It’s naught but this. Your hair seems rather… untamed. Might I tidy it up for you?”

“My hair? Well… I was plannin’ on stoppin’ by the barber’s later anyway.”

Enoch shrugged, as if to say it wasn’t necessary.

Lacrima placed her hands on her hips, refusing to hear it.

“Absolutely not. Surely you weren’t plannin’ on venturing out with such a bird’s nest atop your head?”

“Bird’s… at least call it an Ivy League cut, aye?”

“Ivy…? Don’t try to distract me with your strange notions.”

A tone of voice not unlike a sharp older sister.

So saying, Lacrima pulled a glass jar from her pocket.

Inside was Silkbright Wax, used for styling hair.

Worth, mind you, seventy-eight thousand Kro. Enoch himself had bought it for her whilst shopping yesterday.

“Lean your head down for a moment, would you? Nay, perhaps you should simply climb down from the chair altogether?”

Ignoring Enoch’s nonplussed look, Lacrima scooped out some wax and rubbed it between her hands.

The pure white wax, made from the sap of the Silk Tree, melted into a sticky substance under the warmth of the girl’s skin.

“Just askin’, like… you’re sure you know what you’re doin’, aye? Ever done this before?”

“Of course, naturally. I managed all the younger ones’ hair back at the orphanage, every strand.”

Lacrina declared confidently, a smile gracing her lips. It didn’t sound like a lie.

Seemed like he’d smuggled out the orphanage’s resident professional stylist. Enoch chuckled softly and tilted his head.

“Alright, do as you wish then.”

“Wise choice, sir. I’ll craft something truly magnificent for you.”

Lacrina began to knead and pat at Enoch’s hair.

*Why* knead and pat, of all things? He’d entrusted her with styling, after all.

Enoch suddenly felt a strange urge to see himself in the mirror.

“Hmm~ Hmmm~”

“…”

“Hmm~ Hmm? Sir, have you ever considered sweeping your hair back?”

Lacrina inquired, still fussing with his hair.

Enoch pointedly didn’t respond. Whatever he said, he knew it would inevitably end with his hair swept back.

‘Actually, it’s this that’s the bigger problem…’

*Ding!*

Enoch, head still tilted, summoned his status window. Then, with a flick of his fingers, he navigated to the newly updated hero information.

[Name: Lacrina]

[Age: 15]

[Lv: 4]

[Magic Held: None]

[Talent Held: Freezing]

‘The stats themselves are mostly as I anticipated.’

Unlike before, the status window provided detailed information about Lacrina.

It was likely due to that earlier notification.

A message declaring Lacrina had joined as a hero, that was what it had said.

And that told Enoch a great deal.

‘Simply bringing a hero along doesn’t necessarily mean they’re considered joined. Perhaps time, or something else, is required. That something is probably…’

Enoch’s eyes flickered towards Lacrina.

She was still beaming, her hands busy with his hair.

But Enoch wasn’t focused on Lacrina’s silliness; instead, he concentrated on the fact that she was smiling at all.

‘She wasn’t like this last night. A lingering tension clung to her then.’

But today, unlike yesterday, a smile graced her face. Meaning, in her own way, the tension had eased, however slightly.

In short –

‘It boils down to mindset, doesn’t it? The Hero herself needs to trust me. Only then will the Status Window recognize her as an ally. Something along those lines, perhaps.’

He’d turned it over every which way in his mind, but this felt like the most plausible explanation.

Conjuring up other reasons would only make the whole thing muddier.

‘I’ll just have to proceed with that understanding, I suppose.’

Enoch didn’t hesitate, solidifying his decision in a heartbeat.

Truth be told, he couldn’t afford to dwell on these things for long.

‘Right now, I need to examine this even more than the stats.’

Enoch’s fingers danced across the interface, exiting the Hero list.

The section he entered next was none other than his mailbox.

[Notice: First Hero Registration Reward!]

[Content: Use your Random Talent Coupon!]

A Random Coupon.

Which, to put it bluntly, meant a lottery.

Enoch’s face involuntarily hardened.

Blast it, it was gambling time.

Defense, turn-based strategy, roguelike.

These genres of games all share a single, unifying trait.

The moment of choosing something during the game is absolutely inevitable.

In games where you climb a tower with cards, you select cards; in roguelikes where you raise heroes, you select equipment or skills.

What Enoch was facing right now was exactly that kind of situation.

A passive skill that strengthens not Heroes or Towers, but the player themselves.

A Talent, in simple terms.

Lachina’s joining had gifted Enoch with an opportunity to acquire a new skill.

‘Unfortunately, the problem is that it’s random.’

Enoch tilted his head, sighing.

No wonder; in Age of Invasion, the types of skills that enhance the player themselves were incredibly diverse.

First, Commander skills—enhancing towers, heroes, and the army on a wide scale.

Then, magic targeting enemies, or Assassin skills.

Lastly, Administrator skills, lending aid to the Empire’s management, assets, or items themselves.

‘For now, Administrator skills are probably best. Assassin skills are the worst. There’s no real need to amass more power than I already have.’

The saying “too much is as bad as too little” exists for a reason.

Enoch didn’t want to accumulate any more power than he already possessed.

The reason was simple.

His ceiling was clear, from the start. As not-a-Hero, Enoch couldn’t gain experience.

‘When it comes to combat power, I have more than enough. Frankly speaking, I alone could hold back the monsters of the entire continent for at least a few years.’

Enoch glanced at the watch on his wrist.

5.96 billion.

If he poured all of his current assets into it, Enoch could instantly summon that many summons without any real risk.

Practically several dozen times the Empire’s population.

Enoch alone could support the entire Empire—no, the entire continent, including the Empire—without much trouble.

But Enoch didn’t particularly want to.

The reason, again, was simple.

The efficiency would be drastically reduced.

‘5.96 billion…it sounds impressive at first glance, but all it amounts to is overwhelming numbers. Maybe in the early to mid-game it would work, but frankly, it’s not enough to stop the later waves. And realistically, it’s impossible to manage that many alone.’

If Enoch were to exhaust all of his assets, the Empire would achieve at least four years of peace.

And in the fifth year, it would be swiftly destroyed.

The monsters that swarmed in the later stages were that powerful.

‘From the start, me killing the monsters doesn’t exactly let me gain experience and grow stronger. The more monsters I kill, the more I impede the Hero’s growth, making the late-game threat even greater.’

Apart from Skill Events, the Player doesn’t really have anything to call growth.

Even clearing waves only nets money. Level-ups or job advancements are unheard of.

So, Enoch himself shouldn’t kill the monsters.

The Hero, not Enoch, had to grow.

‘A grown Hero becomes almost a one-against-ten-thousand, capable of fighting tens of thousands of monsters alone. And they become close enough in specs to not fall far behind even against powerful upper-tier monsters.’

One Hero, not ten thousand soldiers, is what’s needed.

Enoch’s judgement wasn’t wrong. In the end, quality becomes more important than quantity as you get to the later stages.

Precisely because of that, this moment of drawing a skill was incredibly important.

‘No empty words needed. Please, a Manager skill, or even a Commander skill would do.’

Just anything but a Mage or Assassin class.

Enoch used the coupon, a nervous air about him.

A ‘dling’ sound rang out, and a transparent roulette spun wildly before his eyes.

-Drrrrrrrrrk-

The carousel of fate turned rapidly.

Enoch, still with his head tilted, watched the situation unfold.

The moment Lacrima, who was tidying his hair, tilted her head in puzzlement, the spinning roulette slowly came to a halt.

-Ddling Ddling Ddling-

-Click!

[Notification: You have acquired a new skill.]

[New!!!: Homunculus of Gold and Chains]

[Acquire the skills Golden Synthesis and Chain Harmony.]

‘What?’

Enoch’s eyes widened slightly as he read the notification.

It was a skill he had never seen before in his life.