Cheonsol's Education (1)

Back when I was a kid, the games I loved had this whole breeding culture. Swap that into the Game of the Gods and it was basically the practice of pairing male and female minions for sex so they'd pump out kids nonstop — all for a shot at pulling a minion with good skills.

And whenever I checked the info on a kid born that way… I can't even describe how my heart used to race.

This wasn't a game, though. This was reality. And Lulu wasn't some scrap of data — she was my own flesh-and-blood daughter. So my heart raced even harder.

When I'd checked Lan-lan-i's and Evni's status windows, the whole "I'm a dad now" feeling had been so overwhelming I hadn't really registered it. But this was already the third hatching. Counting Evril, it was the birth of my fourth — so I'd gotten used to it.

"What a curious feeling."

Cheonsol seemed to feel something similar. When I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, she leaned her head against me.

"Lan-lan-i… ente—"

Lan-lan-i had come barreling in with a full-throated battle cry, but the moment she saw Lulu sleeping, she dropped her voice. The Lamia who'd been slithering along leaving a winding trail of water on the floor carefully lowered her upper body as well.

Slither, slither.

Not that crouching did anything to hide that tail of hers. What a space case.

"Master…"

"Got it. Let's all check Lulu's info together."

Sophia shared Lulu's status window.

Talents I'd never seen. Skills I'd never seen. Up through the third kid, every one of them had been born with at least one of my talents or skills attached. But Lulu, the youngest, seemed to have inherited only her mother's genes.

More importantly — why was her race just ???

"Lady Sophia. What's Lulu's race? Is there actually a race that comes with three question marks?"

"As if."

"Is that so? This lady had assumed such a race existed."

"No…"

Sophia answered weakly. Wondering if the high-ranking spirits might know, I glanced their way — and they quietly tried to slip off.

— Why are you looking at us like that. We don't know either.

— Honestly, how are we supposed to believe a child hatched from an egg born of an undead and a human coupling in the first place.

Hard to argue with Krista on that one. The only reason it had happened at all was because I'd been the one doing the impregnating.

If anybody else started a story with "so I had sex with a Death Knight…," I'd tell them to shut the hell up and crack their skull open.

"It saays it's adjusting. Maaaybe because it's a race the world has never seeen before, it still shows up as question maaarks?"

"What."

Sophia whipped around to stare at the Lamia in pure shock. I couldn't hide my own surprise either.

Na-a saying something that actually sounded smart? I'd just written her off as a dimwitted airhead.

"Unexpected."

"Husband and wife, of one mind."

"This lady can finally understand the Mad Demon's manner of speech. Thou hast thought the same as this lady."

"Mom's amazing! How'd you do that?"

Cheonsol lifted her chin and gave her shoulders a proud little roll.

"The Mad Demon has a tendency to speak while cutting out all context before and after. If one accounts for his nature and imagines what comes before and after, the words make sense."

"Ohhh! I'm gonna try that later too!"

Cheonsol knew me way too well.

"Dad…"

"You can't tell much just from the talent and skill names, so you want to see the detailed descriptions?"

"Mm…"

"You heard her, Lady Sophia."

"Right, clearly you're the god and I'm the minion."

Not exactly wrong. In everyday life Sophia held the reins, but in bed I was basically a god.

We still hadn't actually had sex yet, though. Come to think of it, I needed to make progress with Lady Sophia too. And I still had to take the Lamia. And Cheonsol's education still needed doing.

Busy man. Let's just check Lulu's talents real quick.

"I've seen Royal Blood on the community boards. It's a talent that synergizes really well with Lulu's skills, so you all should look too."

"Noble bloodline?"

Same idea as "kings and nobles are born, not made." No wonder Cha-cha was so pretty for a Death Knight.

So that was why — she was royalty. Suddenly I was curious. Had Cha-cha been a princess? I hoped so. That would mean I'd taken a princess knight and gotten her pregnant.

Thinking about it, she couldn't have been a queen. Queens only came from non-virgins, and Cha-cha had been a virgin undead.

"Yep! It's a talent only some royals are born with! Minions who have this talent get trained as summoners, spirit mages, or dark mages. Know why?"

"Because royal dignity lets them control summons better?"

"That's right…"

Sophia's shoulders slumped. She looked disappointed she hadn't gotten to deliver the explanation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠herself.

"Mad Demon. Why didst thou do that."

"Next time I'll pretend I don't know."

"To make a promise… thou hast grown."

Cheonsol stroked my head. I was enjoying it when suddenly another hand joined in.

"Lan-lan-i."

"Lan-lan-i's a grown-up too, so she can pat Dad's head!"

"Very well."

Having my teenage daughter stroke my head was way better than having her ignore me. The former just cost a little dignity and left me feeling proud; the latter just hurt.

"The next talent is Reversal. Probably similar to Defying Heaven, right?"

"This lady thinks so as well. To go against the natural order. Considering Lulu's origins, it is a fitting talent."

"Why?"

"Because she came from the dead, and embraces both life and death. Frankly, this lady would not have found it strange had a talent like Half-Life Half-Death appeared instead."

Cheonsol was dropping literary phrases, so I wanted in on it too.

"Seeing is believing. Enough talk — let's just check it."

"Ah. Very well."

"That's a broken-ass talent."

"No kidding."

Sophia and I said it at the same time. The spirits were so speechless they forgot how to talk.

Sophia muttered to herself.

"Raising undead, maintaining them, empowering them — basically every single act of necromancy costs zero mana? As long as her mental strength and command ability hold up, she can grow her forces without limit. And on top of that she gets dual corrections from Royal Blood?"

Hearing Sophia talk to herself, I really did feel like this talent was ridiculously overpowered. Anyway, talents checked. Time for the skills.

Necromancy was exactly what I'd expected, but One Soul Two Bodies was a little unusual.

An S-rank skill, same tier as Impregnation. The description really lived up to that S-rank label. It was basically a superior version of a Lich's life vessel — like the rabbit from the old folktale who kept its liver stored separately as a backup life.

The slave spirit muttered.

— What kind of race is this even. In all my long years I have never once seen a technique like that.

"Slave. Honorifics."

— Truly, one can call her Master’s daughter. Remarkable. She shows every sign of growing into a child who will make even Central League minions tremble.

I pressed a finger to the corner of my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eye, then jabbed it at Lirota.

"I'm watching you."

— Yes, sir!

Slave spirit educated. I stroked the heads of Lan-lan-i and Evni, who were still staring intently at Lulu's skills.

"Happy your little sister's talents are so good?"

"Yeah! She's worthy of being Lan-lan-i's little sister!"

"Unnie…"

Both Lan-lan-i and Evni were delighted. Our kids were beautiful on the outside and genuinely good-hearted on the inside.

Was it because they were beautiful that they had good hearts? No. It was because their dad was such an outstanding man that the kids turned out with great personalities.

In the end, it was all thanks to me!

"Looking at the skills makes me even more curious about Lulu's race. I searched the World Tree Wiki and it said that when a race first appears in the universe, it displays ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as ??? until a name is decided. I wonder how it'll get named."

"Oh, really?"

"There exists such a thing as a World Tree Wiki?"

Unlike me, who was used to Earth's namuwiki, Cheonsol wasn't familiar with this kind of culture and looked curious. Sophia, wary of me snatching another chance to explain, jumped in first.

"Yep! It's a site that collects useful info about the Game of the Gods!"

"It would appear similar to the Hao Sect."

"Huh? Sort of, maybe? Anyway, according to that, once they figure out the race's characteristics, they give it a name! Let's just wait until then."

"Do we really have to wait? Can't we name it ourselves?"

On Earth, the person who discovered a new organism got to name it. I figured the Divine Realm wouldn't be that different.

"It's possible under the observation of the administrators."

"Will that book from when I contracted with Cheonsol show up again?"

"She was a minion. This is a far more significant matter, so a high god will probably come in person. Since it's a new race, they'll bestow a blessing too. I hope someone of as high a rank as possible comes!"

Cheonsol looked happy just imagining it. I stroked the head of Lulu, who was sleeping soundly, thinking of that day.

"Lulu. On the day you were born, and on the day we name you…"

"Thou art about to say something strange again. We have checked the status window, so let us leave her to sleep."

Cheonsol shut me down.

"Master. Art thou not tired from working again after returning from the walk. Are Lan-lan-i and Na-a not worn out from playing. Is Evni not tired from assisting her father."

"Huh? I'm a little tired, but not enough to sleep yet."

At Sophia's answer, Cheonsol's breathing roughened slightly. Everyone else looked puzzled about why she was acting this way, but I'd already figured it out.

It was because of the sex promise we'd made during the walk. Cheonsol's body was in heat.

They say once a monk tastes meat, not a single bedbug is left in the temple. Now that Cheonsol had tasted dick, she'd gotten this aggressive.

"Lan-lan-i's sleepy. Gonna sleep."

"Naa-a's tired tooo. Gonna sleep by the riveeer."

"You're not sleeping with Lan-lan-i?"

Lan-lan-i went round-eyed like a betrayed Cheonsol. Enchanted by that cuteness, Na-a swished her tail.

"Sleep togeether."

"Me too…"

"Evnii too, sleep togeether."

The kids and the Lamia piled onto the bed in a friendly heap — Lan-lan-i hugging Evni, Na-a wrapping her tail around all of them.

"I'm going to my room to look some more things up. You all rest."

"Okay."

"Understood."

Sophia left the room. After checking that the kids' door was locked, Cheonsol turned to me with a smile.

"Mad Demon. At last, only the two of us remain."