Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Taming Kaka
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“Hngh…!”
“!??!??”
Lee Shin flinched in surprise.
He paused the beating for a moment and lowered his gaze.
Unconsciously, chilling goosebumps had broken out on his forearm.
Lee Shin rubbed his arm and swallowed dryly.
‘…What was that?’
If he wasn’t mistaken, that moan just now was strange.
It wasn’t a groan of pain, but… how to put it.
How to put it…
‘…Why is this so disgusting?’
An incredibly revolting feeling!
It was a sound that elicited an intensely unpleasant emotion just from hearing it.
The revulsion doubled when he turned his head to check Kaka’s expression.
“……!”
Kaka was staring at Lee Shin with heated eyes.
Even his breathing had become somewhat ragged.
Lee Shin finally realized something was very wrong with him and re-checked the system message he had glossed over.
[Due to the effect of the title, <Master Tamer>, your beatings are imbued with the power of taming.]
[Your appropriately forceful beating has caused Kaka to feel pleasure.]
[You can now tame Kaka!]
‘What the hell?!’
Lee Shin was horrified.
The content of the message was that far beyond his expectations.
Seeing Lee Shin suddenly freeze, Gillaim asked quizzically.
“What is it?”
“……”
“…Lord Arthur? Is there a problem?”
“No, there’s no problem. The problem is…”
“??”
It wasn’t exactly a problem.
After all, Lee Shin’s goal was to get Kaka under his thumb.
Whether it was through threats or taming, the method didn’t really matter.
No, in terms of stability, the latter might even be better.
However.
‘…Tsk.’
Lee Shin glanced at Kaka with a sour expression.
The sight of the old goblin looking up at him with flushed cheeks, as if begging for something, was hard to stomach, even knowing he was just a pile of data.
It was a kind of physiological revulsion.
This wasn’t easy.
‘Dammit.’
But he couldn’t stop here.
The die was cast.
If he stopped the taming now and turned away, Kaka would soon come to his senses.
‘…I have no choice.’
Summon Familiar.
Steeling his heart, Lee Shin brought out his tentacles.
Since it had come to this.
He figured it was better to get the taming over with as quickly as possible and move on to the main point, rather than prolonging this disgusting sight.
…Gurgle.
“Th-this is…?”
“……”
Kaka looked up at Lee Shin, his eyes a mixture of fear and an unidentifiable emotion.
Lee Shin didn’t answer.
Instead, seven slick, black tentacles immediately coiled around Kaka.
* * *
The taming didn’t take long.
This was thanks to Lee Shin cornering Kaka with a mix of tentacles, a whip, and appropriate flogging.
“Heungh……”
“…!”
Lee Shin suffered considerable mental damage in the process, but…
In any case, he succeeded in completely subjugating Kaka.
The malice completely drained from Kaka’s eyes, and a message appeared before Lee Shin.
*Tiring.*
[You have succeeded in perfectly taming the Hobgoblin Master Craftsman, Kaka.]
[Your notoriety increases.]
[This is a great achievement! The title, <Master Tamer>, has changed to <Taming Talent>, and its existing effects are enhanced.]
[You have succeeded in binding Kaka!]
[You can now check Kaka's detailed information in your status window.]
[You can now issue commands to Kaka.]
[As long as his obedience is maintained, Kaka will faithfully follow your commands, even if they are somewhat unreasonable.]
[Kaka's current obedience is 100 (Max. He can resist if obedience drops below 50).]
[Warning!]
[Over time, obedience will slowly decrease. Continuous taming is required to maintain it.]
“Hoo……”
Dismissing the dizzying array of messages, Lee Shin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
It had been a trying time, but he had succeeded in creating the situation he wanted.
As soon as Kaka came to his senses, Lee Shin got straight to the point.
“Kaka.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know who I am?”
“Of course… You are my master.”
Kaka said, his cheeks flushing.
Lee Shin immediately kicked Kaka in the head.
*Thwack!*
“…Keuk!”
“Not that, you idiot.”
“Th-then…?”
“I’m asking if you know what I do.”
“I do not know.”
Kaka answered immediately, but then fell into deep thought before answering again.
After all, the fact that he was a secret visitor at night significantly narrowed down the possibilities of his identity.
“…A thief?”
“No?”
“Then, an assassin or something…?”
“That’s close.”
“Ooh…”
“I am the successor to the Salseong.”
“Sal… H-huuuhh?!?!?!”
Kaka was horrified.
From that reaction, Lee Shin was certain his guess was correct.
The previous Salseong’s accomplice that Lich Adam had seen was indeed Kaka.
And just as he expected, Kaka knelt before Lee Shin and spoke.
“To think you are his successor…!”
“Just as I thought. You knew the previous one.”
“Of course.”
“Then you must know why I’ve come for you.”
“Is it perhaps to find his legacy?”
“That’s right.”
Kaka was exceptionally quick-witted.
However, he couldn’t provide the answer Lee Shin wanted.
Kaka answered, cautiously gauging Lee Shin’s reaction.
“…I apologize.”
“Hm?”
“Other than the dungeon I designed myself, I don’t know anything else.”
Lee Shin turned his head.
“Nothing? Absolutely nothing?”
“Yes.”
“Even the smallest detail will do.”
“There are no small details. In the first place, I never spoke with him about anything other than the dungeon’s design.”
“Ah…”
“I only took the job because the pay was good. I didn’t know who he was when I accepted the commission. I only found out he was the Salseong through rumors later on.”
He added that he had gone to great lengths to erase his past.
If it became known that he had collaborated with the Salseong, he would have been unable to escape the kingdom’s pursuit.
‘Tsk.’
Lee Shin let out a sigh of disappointment.
But Kaka wasn’t finished.
Kaka continued.
“…However, I do know someone who might know about him.”
“!”
“To be precise, it’s a religious order. He was in contact with a certain order.”
“A religious order?”
“Yes. I happened to witness him meeting with a priest.”
“Were they on friendly terms?”
“At least, that’s how it looked to me.”
“Hmm…”
Lee Shin hummed thoughtfully.
For now, Kaka’s words were trustworthy.
Having been tamed to the maximum level, he wasn’t in a position to lie to suit his own needs.
However, there was one part that was hard to believe at face value.
‘A religious order was friendly with him?’
In the history of the Eteun Kingdom, the previous Salseong was known as an infamous serial killer who had murdered countless people.
And that was, in fact, true.
He had certainly killed many people.
It was an undeniable fact.
Of course, Lee Shin knew the intentions behind his actions, and that he had mostly targeted nobles guilty of serious crimes.
But in any case, it was clear he had wielded his blade enough to plunge the kingdom into terror.
Naturally, his notoriety during his lifetime must have been incomparably higher than Lee Shin’s is now, which meant he couldn’t have received the support of a religious order…
‘…No. That’s not right, is it?’
Lee Shin furrowed his brow at a sudden hypothesis.
Come to think of it, religious orders weren’t necessarily all good.
While that was the common perception, there were certainly cases like Jeong Yu-ra or Cedric, who worshipped evil gods.
Of course, most of them had negligible influence.
It wasn’t because the gods they believed in were weak.
It was because the kingdom’s harsh oppression forced most of them to scatter without forming a central power.
But.
‘It’s different here.’
In the Eteun Kingdom, it was a different story. The central governing power of the Eteun Kingdom wasn’t all that strong.
Thanks to that, it wouldn’t be strange at all for factions of evil gods to be hiding and operating in various places.
In fact, that was how Jeong Yu-ra had changed her class to a Dark Priest.
And one more thing.
The title Lee Shin possessed.
<Incarnation of Malice>
There was no way the previous Salseong wouldn’t have obtained a title that even Lee Shin had, so he must have had it as well.
[You have acquired the title, <Incarnation of Malice>.]
[You will now receive the favor of evil gods...]
It was a title that brought various effects besides just bonus damage proportional to notoriety.
Hadn’t Lee Shin himself experienced Jeong Yu-ra’s curse transforming into Yata’s Blessing?
This was enough to explain why a religious order would cooperate with the Salseong.
“It was a cult of an evil god.”
“I believe so.”
“Do you know where?”
“……I am sorry.”
Kaka replied, looking ashamed.
But Lee Shin wasn’t particularly disappointed.
Followers of an evil god wouldn’t go around openly revealing their identities, so it was natural that he didn’t know.
‘There aren’t that many types of evil god cults… I can look for them gradually.’
For now, he decided to be satisfied with having obtained a hint.
Lee Shin smacked his lips and moved on to the next topic.
There was one more piece of business.
He had skipped over it earlier because something more important came up, but…
When Lee Shin had launched his surprise attack.
Kaka had clearly said this.
‘Don’t tell me the lord sent you!?’
To suspect the lord before the possibility of a thief after his fortune, or even the kingdom’s blade coming for his past?
This meant there had been a turbulent undercurrent between him and the lord for some time.
“Is that right?”
“It is. Although he feigns goodwill on the surface, the lord is targeting me.”
“Are you sure?”
“There have been no direct movements yet, but based on the information I’ve gathered personally, it’s safe to say it’s certain.”
‘…As I thought.’
Adventurers, mercenaries, and the like.
Seeing him gather forces from outside the territory, beyond Kaka’s reach, made it certain.
And there was a good reason for it.
“Why? You’re the one funding all the lord’s luxuries.”
“That is because I tried to get the lord addicted.”
“I see. …No, wait. What did you say?”
Lee Shin’s head whipped around.
“You tried to do what?”
“Drug addiction. To be precise, I planned to slowly get the Count addicted to a hallucinogenic drug, destroy his mind, and turn him into a puppet who would faithfully obey only my words.”
“……”
“But it seems the Count caught on. He has stopped accepting the wine I have been sending as a gift for the past few years.”
Lee Shin’s mouth slowly fell open.
Of course, seeing Kaka gathering a private army had given him some inkling, but he had no idea he was targeting the Count so blatantly.
Lee Shin asked.
“Why did you try to turn the Count into a puppet?”
“I can’t become the lord myself, can I?”
“Hm?”
“There would be an uproar if a goblin became the master of a county. I needed a public-facing master.”
“…I asked the wrong question. Why did you try to place yourself above the lord? You’re already living without want, aren’t you?”
What Lee Shin said was true.
For a goblin, Kaka had risen to an unprecedentedly high position.
There must have been ways to gain more money and power besides such an extreme method.
But Kaka shook his head.
“I cannot. I need money.”
“Don’t you have plenty of money already?”
“That is not enough. …To save my tribe, I needed a great deal of money.”
“!!”
*Tiring.*
[Kaka's obedience is extremely high.]
[Kaka reveals his past!]