The Great Mountain Demonic Wisdom Art

I listened calmly to her explanations while kneading So-wol's breasts. Now that she was in a bit of a hurry, it was nice to see her cooperating on her own without me having to nag her. Of course, it wasn't nearly as nice to look at as her warm, soft tits.

"So, which one do you think suits me best?"

"...This low one cannot know what kind of talent you possess, young master."

"Ah, I get it. But are you going to keep talking like that?"

I wondered if there was any point in her maintaining that act when she'd already been exposed as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a total fraud.

"If this low one behaves without dignity, the palace stewards will punish me."

"Ah, right. Whatever."

I had no reason to stop her if she wanted to. If anything, that submissive way of speaking made her even hotter.

"Mmm."

So-wol had laid out all the knowledge she possessed. In the end, the choice was mine to make.

"Those three you just mentioned are the best ones, right?"

"Yes. However, because individual aptitudes and talents vary wildly, this low one has only provided a very basic classification."

"And taking that into account, you narrowed down the candidates to the most decent ones."

"Indeed. Though it is only theory, this low one has studied that theory to the point of sickness."

If she went that far, choosing one of those three was definitely the safest bet. I doubted So-wol would try to trick me again at this point. She had just been caught lying and practically stared death in the face—would she really try to pull another fast one? If even this was a lie, then I'd have to take my hat off to her.

"Hmm."

I fell deep into thought, squeezing and kneading her soft, warm breasts.

Squeeze, knead, squeeze, knead—

"Ah... mmgh..."

"I can't decide."

With the woman's faint, breathless whimpers echoing right next to my ear, making a choice became even harder. How was I supposed to concentrate with a hot, primed female right beside me?

"Whew..."

Fuck. My cock felt like it was going to explode. I was happy. I was happy, but at the same time, I was suffering. The sheer contradiction of being able to toy with a top-tier beauty to my heart's content, yet being unable to actually insert it. That contradiction was plunging my rock-hard, swollen cock into deep agony.

Honestly, while it was blissful, the stress it built up was far greater. If fondling her tits filled my happiness meter by 10, the pain and frustration of my throbbing, aching erection shaved off 20. Was this the very definition of worldly desire and suffering spoken of in the Six Paths of Reincarnation? Having such a slutty female right beside me and not being able to fuck her even once.

It felt like a severe blow to my pride as a man. It was as if Kang Baek-jin had locked me in a chastity belt. The metaphor was pretty crude, but it wasn't entirely wrong. Despite being a male, I couldn't even claim the wet, ready pussy of the female right in front of me.

At that moment, my thirst for power began to swell in earnest. A life where I had to ask for permission just to fuck my own woman. I would never forget this. The humiliation of needing approval just to plant my seed in her womb. The shame of leaving a woman untouched when I could pull down her panties and take her at any moment. I would engrave this feeling into every single cell of my body right now. So that if my future self ever grew lazy, I would remember this exact moment in all its vivid bitterness.

At the same time, a sharp jolt of electricity ran through my mind, and my hand instinctively reached out.

"I've decided."

"Haaah... haaah..."

I patted So-wol's head—her cheeks flushed red, her posture completely disheveled—and grabbed the manual. Instantly, golden characters flared to life on the other books I hadn't chosen. The characters, bristling like sharp thorns, pulsed irregularly as if warning that they would pierce anyone who dared touch them.

"Fascinating."

This had to be that anti-theft barrier she mentioned. Would I be able to use something like this one day? Even if I couldn't, I just needed to rise to a position where I could command those who could.

"Let's go."

Slap!

"Ahhn!"

Giving So-wol's breast a firm slap, Hayun left the library with a face full of determination. All that was left was the armory.

I followed So-wol to the armory. Unlike the agonizing deliberation over the cultivation art, choosing a dharma treasure was incredibly simple.

"This is a Dokkaebi club made of ink-gold. You should choose this, young master."

"What about the others?"

"There is no room for debate. Had you not been a Dokkaebi, this low one would have suggested reconsidering, but since you are..."

"So it's a Dokkaebi-exclusive item?"

"This low one does not know what an 'item' is, but you may consider it a weapon exclusive to your race."

So-wol stared intently as she held out a club that was shorter ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than my forearm. I swung the surprisingly short, blunt club, narrowing my eyes skeptically.

"Are you sure about this?"

"...A Dokkaebi club is a magic wand in its own right, capable of containing pure destruction. Furthermore, it grows alongside its master, so there could be nothing better."

"Then let's go with this."

I took the club and stepped outside. The sun was already beginning to set, a consequence of wasting so much time fondling So-wol's tits earlier.

"Haaah..."

I spotted So-wol smoothing down her heavily rumpled clothes with a look of utter dismay. To be honest, she hadn't made a great first impression when she tried to deceive me right off the bat. I'd held a bit of a grudge, but seeing her like this made all of that melt away. Who cared? As long as she was this gorgeous, had massive tits, and a tight pussy, what more could I possibly ask for? I hadn't tasted her down there yet, but there was no way a girl born looking this slutty wouldn't taste amazing. No matter what, she was my woman.

Engraving that absolute truth deep into my heart, I approached her. As she was tidying herself up, she flinched back as if her fur was standing on end like a startled cat. Well, that hurt my feelings just a little bit.

"So-wol. Our first meeting was pretty messed up, wasn't it?"

"...This low one believes that because it was unordinary, it makes it special."

"Even you know that's total bullshit."

"..."

A faint trace of resentment lingered in her otherwise vacant eyes. It was a reproachful gaze, as if asking whose fault she thought that was. Ah, but I had a counterargument for that.

"A guy who sexually harasses someone the moment they meet, and a girl who spins lies the second she opens her mouth. We're two of a kind. I'd say we're a perfect match."

So-wol slowly raised her head. Naturally, it wasn't because she was touched by my kindness or sincerity, but rather a look that said, Let's hear what kind of absolute nonsense you're going to spew next.

"But what can we do? We were just born this way."

"..."

Ah, don't let your eyes go all dead like that. Come to think of it, those words might have hit a sore spot for So-wol, who had been dealt a terrible hand by being born as a half-breed.

"But still, we have to keep living, don't we? Just surviving is boring. You've got to eat what you want to eat and do what you want to do."

This was the absolute philosophy of my life. It was a creed that would never fade, even across two lifetimes. Some might think it was obvious and cliché, but for me, it was more than enough.

"But doing that is hard. Not just regular hard, but seriously fucking hard. It takes years to grasp a single shred of happiness, but misfortune seems to pop up every single second."

"..."

So-wol's eyes, which had grown cloudy without me realizing it, drifted past me toward the setting sun. A wistful look washed over her face. Perhaps she was projecting her own fading life onto the dying light of the sun. If so, she was surprisingly sentimental. Then again, looking at her actions, she was highly impulsive. After all, she had casually committed a capital offense that could have gotten her head chopped off just on a whim.

"I'll be honest with you. I'm going to fuck you. I can't resist."

I was no saint, certainly not one to pass up a top-tier beauty who was practically within arm's reach. More than anything, So-wol was already marked as my woman.

"...That, too, is something this low one cannot avoid. Everything is merely according to the young master's and the master's will."

"But you see, I cherish my women. I cherish them as women, not as objects."

Monsters were cruel to humans, and humans were cruel to monsters. To each other, they were less than livestock, incapable of mutual empathy. One might show some affection to a pet cow, but no one empathized with or loved every single grain of rice on their dinner plate. That was what half-humans were to this world. They occupied a position lower than slaves—mere tools. If one were to translate the term "exclusive human servant raised by the Dokkaebi clan," it would probably come out to something like "living fleshlight."

That was what they were taught, what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they practiced, and what would continue to be taught—a common sense that had naturally taken root in this world. But of course, having the perspectives of both worlds, I didn't give a single shit about any of that. If she was hot and pretty, that was all that mattered.

"I can at least make you my concubine. And if you play your cards right, even the position of wife isn't out of the question, is it?"

It was an incredibly arrogant statement, one that would make any ordinary woman recoil in disgust. But the woman standing before me was far from ordinary, and the discrimination and hatred deeply rooted in this world were even less so. I was quite special in that I could casually brush aside the hatred and contempt passed down through generations.

"Honestly, you know it too. You're destined to be a servant to someone in the end. If so, it's only logical to give yourself to me, someone who actually sees you as a woman."

I could live my life entirely by my own standards, without prejudice, doing whatever the fuck I wanted. So-wol's mouth twitched as if she wanted to say something, but I shook my head, cutting her off.

"If you answer now, it'll just feel awkward. I'll hear your answer after I've fucked you."

"You may do as you wish."

Immediately after, So-wol's eyes filled with disgust once more. But that only made me harder. Ah, I really had a severe case. Ever since becoming a Dokkaebi, dealing with this raging libido had been a real struggle. ...It definitely wasn't my original nature; it was entirely because I reincarnated as a Dokkaebi. Yes, let's go with that.

With the setting sun at our backs, So-wol and I entered one of the countless towering spires.

"Ah, I'm so horny. Give me your tits. Tits."

"..."

Midway through, I got so worked up that I demanded her breasts like someone telling a dog to give its paw, but it was a physiological urge, so I couldn't help it. In the process, So-wol gave me a look of pure disgust—or more accurately, she looked like she was blaming herself ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for actually taking a retard like me seriously for a second—but she still let me have her breasts. They were soft, so who cared? That was how I decided to look at it.

The Great Mountain Demonic Wisdom Art. That was the cultivation art I chose. Its unique feature was that it was a hybrid technique allowing one to train in both demonic spells and martial arts simultaneously. However, just like in games or novels, the downside of these hybrid paths was that if you weren't careful, you wouldn't catch either rabbit and would end up mediocre in both.

So why did I choose such a demanding art meant for geniuses? Was it because I believed I was special and had developed a severe case of protagonist syndrome? Not at all. The reason was incredibly simple:

"I don't even know what my own talent is."

"..."

Standing beside me, So-wol's lips trembled. She was probably imagining herself becoming the target of some bizarre, irrational venting. Hey, I wasn't that cruel of a person.

Anyway, that was the core issue. I had no idea what I was good at. I didn't even know if my aptitude and interest lay in spellcraft or martial arts. Books were expensive, and my glorious former father was the kind of bastard who would starve his own son just to buy a tatami door, so there was nothing I could do.

The necromancy art looked like it required a much more specific aptitude than the Great Mountain Demonic Wisdom Art, and above all, my current situation wasn't suited for raising spirits. Just from what I'd gathered from So-wol, it was a late-blooming style that devoured both time and money. Since my only support was a single cultivation art and a dharma treasure, it wasn't a viable option for someone with zero capital. Naturally, it was a pass.

The Black Horn Body-Shattering Art was great and all, but one thing bothered me. It granted a special supernatural ability once you reached the realm of Ungi (Qi Circulation)? That description screamed "late-bloomer" too. Furthermore, if I picked it and turned out to have terrible physical coordination, I'd be completely screwed. My only starting package would become a useless white elephant because of a bad class match.

When you don't know shit, it's always best to go with low-risk, highly versatile options. That was why I chose the Great Mountain Demonic Wisdom Art. If my talent for martial arts turned out to be garbage, I could just switch to spellcraft, and vice versa. Even if one of them failed, I'd still have a fifty-fifty shot at success. Risk diversification is the golden rule of investing.

The possibility of having zero talent in both? ...I decided not to think about that. If you worry about the absolute worst-case scenario, you'd never step outside for fear of getting struck by lightning.

"I'm starting."

"Yes."

Conscious of the inner core nestled in my lower abdomen, I calmly began to circulate my demonic energy.