Chapter 57
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Goblin Rider
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“Dad’s home!”
“Mama!”
The moment I entered the Demon King’s Castle, the baby naga came toddling over to greet me first.
Walking on land seemed inherently difficult for it, so its gait was a bit awkward. Every time like this, I was reminded of its mysterious origins and felt sorry.
That just meant I had to treat it even better....
“Ooh, my little baby! Were you good?”
“Mama! Mama!”
“Yeah. Dad brought some fried chicken.”
“Ooooh!”
The baby naga raised all four of its arms in joy, as if receiving a divine revelation.
“You’re back, Master.”
Cool-i, who had been filling in as butler in Moemoe Kyun’s place, approached demurely and bowed.
“Yeah. Nothing out of the ordinary?”
“Yes. Orcs keep popping in from time to time, but we’ve been holding them off just fine.”
“Where’s Yan?”
“She’s leading the expedition team to take down the goblin chieftain.”
“Huh? Didn’t that wrap up already?”
The goblin chieftain expedition had successfully completed its objective not long ago.
[Goblin Essence completed!]
[Goblin Essence] [Mana 10/30]
The essence fragments had merged into a single 1.5-meter dungeon crystal, and the usable mana had increased to 30.
[A goblin village will be generated in front of the Demon King’s Castle. You can install fences, watchtowers, traps, and more.]
The goblin village served as a kind of forward outpost, handling minor monsters before they reached the Demon King’s Castle.
Anyway, I’d completely forgotten about the expedition team after the essence was done, but it seemed they’d kept hunting in the meantime.
“We keep getting fragments, so we figured it’d be a waste to let the orcs sit idle. We’re leveling up and collecting shards at the same time.”
“Busy bees.”
It would take time to gather 100 fragments, but eventually, we’d complete another goblin essence.
“By the way, what brings you here, Master?”
“Yeah. Got an experiment in mind. Could you fetch Gobling for me? Bring a giant spider along, too.”
Gobling, now a hobgoblin, stood at 2 meters tall. If he wanted, he could ride on a spider’s back.
Plus, his body was relatively light compared to his height. Goblins were a skinny bunch by nature.
“Try climbing on the spider’s back. Bling-a.”
“Up... scary. Bites.”
“It’s fine. I already told the spider. It won’t bite even if you get on.”
Even after I said, ‘Our spider doesn’t bite,’ Gobling hesitated for a long while before finally climbing cautiously onto the spider’s underbelly at my repeated urging.
Kieee-
The wary shaman spider let out an annoyed screech, but a gentle stroke on its forehead calmed it down.
“Good. Now stand up. Spider. Think you can manage?”
Krrrng-
I heard what sounded like straining from somewhere, and then the spider rose with Gobling on its back.
It looked a bit strenuous, but it seemed capable of walking with Gobling aboard.
“Nice. Now try throwing your sling.”
Atop the spider, the hobgoblin’s height reached nearly 3 meters. Raising his arm overhead made it at least 3.5 meters.
Whoosh- Thwack!!
The sling shot downward from above felt even more powerful than usual.
‘Orcs are about 2.5 meters tall, so if I station a rider in the rear, they could shoot over the orcs’ heads.’
Of course, I’d have to test it in real combat to see if it was truly viable.
“Kuweee!”
“Hm? What’s that noise outside?”
“Looks like an orc pack has invaded, Master.”
“Oh! Perfect timing. Bling-a. Go fight the orcs solo. On the spider.”
“No... can’t... win.”
“No backtalk. Just do it. I’ll save you if it gets dicey.”
“Mas... ter. Me... small....”
Grumbling all the way, Gobling urged the spider forward.
‘Can he really win?’
Maintaining the hobgoblin and shaman spider cost 2 mana.
If they couldn’t beat an orc—which also cost 2 mana—there’d be no point in using goblin riders.
Whirr-whirr- Whoosh!
Gobling opened with his sling shot.
The orc barely dodged, but the spider silk that followed tangled its legs.
“Chweeek?”
While the orc peeled off the webbing, a second sling shot cracked into its head.
“Kweek!”
The orc clutched its head against the onslaught. Then it started stomping in place.
A charge.
The orc closed in fast. The shaman spider hopped lightly, evading with ease.
Boom!
The orc slammed into the fence and staggered. The shaman spider pounced, injecting venom.
Gobling drew the dagger from his belt and jammed it into the orc’s nape.
“Kuuweeee!”
The orc didn’t drop instantly, but the relentless sling shots, evasions, and spreading venom wore it down quick.
Thud!
Ten minutes after combat began, the orc finally bit the dust. The shaman spider and hobgoblin combo had triumphed.
“Not bad at all.”
I recruited two more spiders with spare mana and had Marbling and Blingbling learn to ride as well.
‘Later, I’ll form a goblin rider unit to clear out spider caves and gather essences.’
As I’d said before, collecting 1-star monster essences myself was inefficient.
Running expedition teams like this helped my minions level up and was useful all around.
“Oh, right. Moemoe Kyun still not back?”
“It’s been a week since she left, so she should be due any time.”
Just entering gates wasn’t enough practice, so I’d sent her to scout for spider caves.
Hwangsung was west, so I figured following the western forest would lead to one eventually, but it was proving trickier than expected.
‘My ears keep itching. Is someone trash-talking me again?’
* * *
“When I get back, I’m grabbing that master by the collar and beating the crap out of him. For real!”
Moemoe Kyun ground her teeth in exhaustion from the endless searches. Did it even make sense for her to scour this huge area alone?
“It wasn’t supposed to be this hard at the start.”
This all stemmed from perfectly mapping the surroundings over two long months. So, finding a spider cave had seemed easy by comparison.
“Maybe I should’ve pretended not to find it? A few failures might’ve gotten me reinforcements.”
She muttered as she pushed through the forest. Suddenly, Master Cha In-hyeok appeared before her.
“Hey.”
“M-Master? Wait, how are you...?”
“Me? Obviously came to see you.”
“Me?”
Moemoe Kyun thought, ‘Is this guy nuts?’ and peered closely at Cha In-hyeok’s face.
Serious and kind expression. A gentle smile, too. This was a first.
“Didn’t realize you thought so much of me, Master.”
“Aww, this is nothing.”
“Perfect. I had something to say to you anyway.”
“Hm? What’s...?”
Before Cha In-hyeok could finish, a blade flashed. His chest split open with a rip, blood spraying.
“Wha... why...?”
“You should be asking how.”
Moemoe Kyun had transformed into Shinobi Yukie, holding a bloodied kukri.
“Right? Incubus.”
Incubi were male dream demons, same species as succubi.
Not that same species meant friendly. They were more like natural predators to each other.
Dream demons grew stronger by devouring other dream demons.
“How’d you know?”
Even as he retorted, Cha In-hyeok’s form shifted to a young, handsome man.
“No way Master would be that nice. Plus, that guy doesn’t do sappy lines like that. He’s more the pathetic type if anything.”
“Urk! Just straight-up stab me like that? The guy you like?”
“I was pretty pissed at Master anyway. Didn’t that feel sincere just now?”
“You crazy...!”
“And real Master wouldn’t get nicked by an attack like this.”
Moemoe Kyun glared coldly at the incubus.
“For daring to impersonate Master, pay with your life.”
The blade flashed again, severing the incubus’s head.
Shhh-
The incubus’s mana flowed into Moemoe Kyun, and light burst from her body.
When it faded, she had sprouted small bat wings and a devilish tail.
“Whew. Guess I’m on par with those goblins now.”
Succubus Princess.
Now she could wield the mighty skill, Phantom Dream.
Kriirik-
Right on cue, a giant spider arrived, drawn by the commotion.
“Giant spider? The cave must be nearby!”
She casually waved, casting Phantom Dream on it.
Kiii-
The spider shuddered like it was trapped in a nightmare and fled backward.
“That’s right. Lead the way!”
After five minutes of flight, the spider halted before a massive cave—the long-sought giant spider cave.
“Yes! No more of this damn overtime!”
The task done, the spider panted heavily, heart attack symptoms kicking in.
“Good work. Rest now.”
The spider’s legs trembled before its heart stopped dead. Death in the dream had become death in reality.
This was her new skill, Phantom Dream.
* * *
Not long after, Moemoe Kyun returned.
“Whoa? Wings? And a tail? What happened, Moemoe Kyun?”
In the interim, she’d grown unfamiliar wings and a tail. She even seemed more mature somehow.
“Believe me if I said endless overtime awakened the demon inside?”
Moemoe Kyun gnashed her teeth, looking half-dead, her eyes haunted by grudges.
“G-Geez, must’ve been rough. Good job, Moemoe Kyun. Scouting solo for that cave couldn’t have been easy, huh?”
I offered warm comfort, but for some reason, her glare sharpened even more.
It looked like anger, or maybe suspicion.
“Master...?”
“Yeah? What’s up? Super mad? Sorry. I didn’t mean to... Got it! I’ll reinforce the succubi. Got some mana spare from the goblin essence?”
I inexplicably went into grovel mode, rambling excuses.
“Phew. Now you sound like Master. Timid, pathetic, weak in that un-demon-king way....”
Moemoe Kyun smiled as she hurled insults. Unsure how to respond, I froze. She let out a small sigh.
“That’s what makes you special, Master. In this eat-or-be-eaten world, you’re one of a kind. Strong yet weak....”
With that, she slithered into my t-shirt.
“Sorry, but make some room. Might actually die of sleep deprivation at this rate, dream demon or not.”
“Huh? Uh, uh....”
Her not getting mad somehow made me feel worse. She looked so drained.
‘She’s definitely been overdoing it. Scouting, hunting.... Nope. Need more succubi reinforcements.’
I summoned more with spare mana. These would mainly be scouts.
As I dumped all remaining mana into recruiting succubi, a new message chimed.
[You can acquire the Succubus Princess’s skill ‘Phantom Dream.’]
‘Phantom Dream?’
I checked it immediately.
[Phantom Dream (F-grade): Puts a single target to sleep. You can grant sweet dreams or torment with horrific nightmares.]
[※ Caution: The deeper the target immerses in the dream, the more it affects their real body. In severe cases, it can kill.]
Phantom Dream was mental magic that could harm the body.
It required crafting intricate dreams, but mastered, it could kill without lifting a finger.
No external wounds either, making it ideal for covert ops like assassinations.
Sting!
Thinking of assassination made my left hand sting. Like a needle prick, or touching a hot pot.
“You’re back, huh. Leftie.”
Sting! Sting!
My left hand stung like it was pissed.
“Morse code or something? Respect?”
Sting!
“Sorry, but I won’t let you hijack my body again. And I’m not hurting anyone. Give up. This body’s mine. I’m human, not a monster.”
Sting! Sting! Sting!
The persistent stinging annoyed me, so I wrapped my left hand in a leather strap, tight like a bandage. The pain eased.
‘Gotta stock up on bandages.’
Middle school syndrome aside, I’d always wanted to wrap my hand like that.
‘Thanks. Dream come true.’
Sting!
Somehow, I could hear my left hand grumbling.