Chapter 12: The Dominator

The primordial goddess El.

The "traits" borne by those chosen by her were a tremendous blessing and, at the same time, a powerful curse.

Special constitutions or talents that far surpassed ordinary humans.

They could give birth to great heroes, but on the flip side, they also created villains who shook the world...

The so-called Five Evils were prime examples.

If the Eight Great Seats, including Rohbark, were heroes who upheld human civilization with their respective families—

The Five Evils were villains who moved their warlord forces from the shadows, disrupting the world and reaping profits.

There were even rumors that they had joined hands with the Red Cartel.

And one of the Five Evils.

—The Crimson Flame Legion Commander, Karmine Pavik.

She was a mage who obsessively gathered summoning mages, brainwashed them, and built her own massive legion.

It was said that if word got out that a young mage had a trait related to summoning, she would secretly appear and extend her clutches.

As revealed in Asena's Exploration, my presumed third trait, Manipulator or Commander, was of the summoning lineage.

Which meant the very trait I would acquire could become a vulnerability.

But I had no intention of putting it off.

'At least my trait won't be a weakness. Hierniorn.'

'Traits can serve as shields too.'

A trait is an innate attribute.

It's something you're born with, imprinted on your soul and fate.

It's also a latent potential that awakens when certain conditions are met.

I'd learned late, but my Transcendent Eye was one such trait.

'The talent to directly perceive and insight into magical phenomena was etched into my soul, and forming a mana heart was enough to awaken it.'

In simple terms, it was like a dormant seed sprouting through personal effort or chance opportunity.

If a person had two or more traits, which one would bloom first was impossible to predict.

But the hierarchy between traits was clear.

'I mastered Leap Ability early on, but the late-blooming Transcendent Eye is far superior.'

The world evaluated them by rank.

By that standard, Leap Ability was upper-grade, but it paled beside the Transcendent Eye.

The Transcendent Eye was an unclassifiable trait with no records in history books, as Asena had said.

The same would hold for awakening my third trait today.

Nothing superior could emerge.

'Exactly. I could even turn the weakness into a trap. Like how I turned Asena's Exploration spell against her.'

Hierniorn nodded.

On the other hand, I was curious.

What secret art did the Crimson Flame Legion Commander use to dominate summoning mages?

'I'll find out if I meet her myself?'

For now, it was unknowable.

I cleared my thoughts and began the process.

With the golem core in hand, I opened my Transcendent Eye, and information surfaced.

What would happen?

I began infusing the golem core with mana.

The silver-gray crystal slowly melted, seeping into my mana circuits throughout my body.

An energy with a unique wavelength for handling artificial familiars, distinct from pure mana.

My Origin of All Things reacted fiercely to the alien power, and my whole body heated up.

'Fitting for something from a colossal golem. The output is insane.'

I gritted my teeth.

It had more than enough power to awaken a trait.

Indeed, minute ruptures occurred in my mana circuits across my body, bringing pain like my skin tearing.

At least, it meant something was changing inside me.

Hierniorn chattered, but I didn't respond.

Absorbing the melted golem core was far more grueling than expected.

The intensifying agony made my limbs tremble uncontrollably.

'Is this right?'

I was deeply suspicious, but I couldn't stop just because it hurt.

How much time passed?

As I clenched my teeth and endured, absorbing the energy—

"Hah...!"

Suddenly, my mind went white.

At the same time, sentences appeared before my eyes.

An overwhelming exhaustion crushed my body.

I had no time to celebrate the mana heart growth message.

I unwittingly dropped the golem core and collapsed onto the floor.

Hierniorn flew over in alarm, wrapping my body with spread wings.

'No.'

I shook my head.

I'd learned something, but I couldn't call it a full awakening of a new trait.

'Only part of the trait awakened.'

'Hard to explain, but it's definitely not Manipulator or Commander. I couldn't fully absorb the golem core.'

'Asena was wrong. But not entirely.'

Hierniorn tilted its head and eyed the golem core.

The great guardian spirit pierced exactly what I was thinking.

'Yeah, seems like it.'

An attribute similar to summoning but of a different nature.

Our guess was that the one-eyed merchant hadn't examined my third trait perfectly and made a slight misjudgment.

I gleaned hints even from the barely usable power.

Mobilizing Transcendent Eye and Leap Ability to draw out the unidentified trait's maximum potential—

The result—

The half-melted golem core floated lightly.

I flicked my hand casually, sending it under the table.

There sat the toy train set Libiel had gifted me on her first visit.

The core stuck snugly to the largest locomotive among them.

Then, transformation began.

Clank, clank, clank...

The toy train disassembled itself.

I hadn't used a shred of mana.

I'd merely projected the unidentified trait onto the 'Golem Core,' attached it to the locomotive, and watched.

The parts split apart on their own, reassembling into a new form.

'Doesn't it feel familiar?'

A trait slightly different from summoning-lineage Manipulator or Commander, yet vastly more powerful.

Hierniorn blinked at me.

In the meantime, the toy train completed its transformation.

A very small golem.

But it had self-evolved without blueprints.

Its control system was already complete.

Proof was the golem kneeling sharply toward me and speaking.

"Operation ready. Awaiting orders."

Hierniorn, watching, seemed to grasp it.

My third trait went beyond handling artificial familiars.

It was a far broader control.

I knew one mage who used this power to command countless followers.

'Ulfrik Kirchheis...'

None other than my old master.

The Allmaster who betrayed his disciples 500 years ago to become the new Demon King possessed this trait.

'Yeah. Probably.'

Golems and chimeras were mere subsets of the familiars a Dominator could command.

So I couldn't fully awaken it just by absorbing a golem core.

Hierniorn chuckled lowly in admiration.

I hadn't fully awakened it yet, but it wasn't bad.

For starters, Dominator far surpassed Manipulator or Commander.

If ranked, it was top-tier.

A powerful attribute that could even command the dead.

'Ulfrik used Dominator to lead countless disciples and form an expedition force.'

A power encompassing not just humans, but all manner of magical beings and non-humans.

Depending on usage, it opened infinite possibilities.

The phoenix perched atop the micro mecha golem's head cackled.

A theory that some traits manifested from bloodlines.

By that logic, the Dominator emerging in me wasn't strange.

Ulfrik's blood flowed in my veins now, after all.

'That said, I hear Dominator is tough to awaken...'

From what I knew, the Allmaster awakened it in his youth.

After earning merits in war and rising to commander, it fully bloomed.

'Yeah, that's right.'

It meant securing multiple loyal followers to awaken.

A truly finicky trait.

But once drawn out, it would be a formidable power independent of magical ability.

'Not right now. I'll think of a way slowly.'

'Then the Crimson Flame Legion Commander won't be the problem.'

The emperor of the Human Alliance Empire.

A figure on par with Rohbark might come to wary me.

Dominator was, above all, suited for rule.

'To avoid needless trouble, I'll hide the trait's existence for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a while.'

Of course, that didn't mean not using it at all.

I wiggled a finger at the micro mecha golem.

Transformation occurred again.

Clank, clank, clank!

It returned to the toy train Libiel gifted me.

An entity that could transform into golem form anytime to execute my orders.

'This'll repay the debt.'

I packed the mecha golem with the other toy parts into my bag and went to bed.

The next morning.

"Jenice."

"Yes, young master? What is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it?"

"Take this to her."

"This is...?"

"Libiel's stuff. Don't wanna see it."

"Ah, yes. I'll return it right away."

New operation underway.

Time to exact fitting retribution from the girl who dragged me into her trap.

'Gonna have a serious talk with Libiel.'

'I've got ways.'

I grinned.

This time, Libiel would come crawling into the cave I'd prepared.