Chapter 95

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Translator: Ace

Chapter: 95

Chapter Title: Ddol Ddoli's Moment of Enlightenment

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Ddol Ddoli couldn't make sense of it at all. The enemy had surrendered right in the middle of the fight.

Actually, surrendering wasn't all that strange. If they figured they couldn't win, anyone would do it. Ddol Ddoli had dealt with surrendering foes before, so he got that part.

But this was different. Surrender was something the weak did to the strong—not the other way around.

They'd been winning handily, so why throw up their hands like that?

-No matter how I think about it, I don't get it. Honestly, if you'd kept fighting, you would've won. So why stop?

"If we hadn't known you, we would've kept attacking. But now we do. And knowing that, we can't strike at you anymore. It would deny our very core."

-I don't get what you're saying.

"I understand. Of course you wouldn't. It must all be so confusing."

Noas smiled. Gone was the icy sneer from before; now it was a remarkably warm, benevolent expression.

"It's fine. That's only natural. A young, innocent soul freshly born into the world—how could you possibly know?"

-…….

"Don't worry. We'll guide you."

Ddol Ddoli scratched his head. Still no clue what they meant.

Ddol Ddoli clamped his mouth shut and replayed the explanation he'd heard earlier.

They called him the incarnation of the Spirit God. And Spirit God meant exactly that—the god of all spirits, reigning supreme over every spirit in this world.

Unlike ordinary spirits tied to a single element, the Spirit God embraced them all, or so they claimed.

'Hmm. Definitely not me. I'm just Ddol Ddoli.'

Ddol Ddoli wasn't dumb, just a little clumsy with words. He had enough sense not to swallow obvious nonsense as truth.

'I've had memories since I was made. Master made me. So I'm no god or anything.'

He wasn't sure what "incarnation" meant precisely, but from the vibe, it sounded like some kind of underling.

Which meant...

They were saying the master who created him was some god-tier being. But Master wasn't like that, was he?

'Or... is he?'

Ddol Ddoli froze. Come to think of it, Master really might be that incredible.

If he wasn't, how else could he create all these beings?

'Master made me first. Then Lara.'

Lara was tiny but an incredibly powerful fairy queen. She commanded hordes of fairy minions and wielded devastating magic.

Making someone like that? Had to be amazing.

'Then Arcbon.'

Arcbon was a ridiculously strong skeleton king. The guy could revive after death—a feat no one else could pull off. Only Master could've baked that in.

'And Kez.'

Kez, the elder goblin assistant who helped Master. Sharp as a tack, that one.

Goblins were supposed to be dimwitted, though. Master must've made him smart.

Who else could manage that?

'Master.'

Because he was the greatest.

He'd even whipped up a special dog recently, or so Ddol Ddoli heard—hadn't seen it yet.

'Master really is incredible. Way more than I realized. Super, super incredible.'

If Master was that great, didn't that make him god-like?

Plus, Master had something no other human did.

He came back to life after dying.

Humans couldn't do that. No race could.

Maybe it was a Master-only thing.

'Maybe Arcbon's revival power came from Master too.'

One thought led to another, speculations snowballing into certainty.

'I wasn't wrong. Master really is amazing.'

Ddol Ddoli snorted triumphantly. Excitement from his revelation surged through him.

Now he got why they'd halted their attack.

Why they'd built him up like that.

They knew Master's greatness too.

Spirit God, incarnation—whatever. Did it matter?

Master was great?

'Master's great. So Master's Ddol Ddoli is great too.'

That's it! That was it!

-You guys are actually pretty nice!

"Pardon?"

Noas cocked his head at Ddol Ddoli's outburst after the brief silence.

-Yeah! Master's the best. You guys get it.

"Pardon? M-Master?"

-Yep! Hahaha!

Ddol Ddoli bellowed with laughter. Noas's eyes clouded with confusion.

"Wh-what is that? Seems like you didn't get it. Let me explain again. You see, you are..."

Puck!

"Ack! Why'd you hit me?"

"You moron. Just roll with it. Why keep forcing him to understand?"

"What're you implying? Skip the details and gloss over it?"

"Obviously. Can't you tell? He doesn't get it! He's too young for this. Not ready!"

"Unacceptable. He's a great one—the incarnation. We have to help him understand. It's basic respect."

"Ugh, you'll blather on forever with your 'respect.' You planning to camp out here? Never return to the Spirit Realm?"

"I have to go back. But this is separate."

"God, what do I do with this inflexible blockhead?"

Elraim sighed in exasperation, fanning herself ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wildly.

"Hold on. I'll handle it."

"Elraim, I started first, so by rights I should..."

"Forgot, huh? I'm the king's original guide. This is my role."

"But he's above the king. Guide duties don't apply..."

"Shut it. I'm doing this."

Elraim glared, and Noas backed away. She stepped up.

"Right. You're spot on, Ddol Ddoli-nim. We meant your master is incredible."

-Knew it. I got it right.

"Exactly. Haha..."

-Hahaha!

Ddol Ddoli roared with laughter—pure, boisterous, and utterly innocent. Elraim sighed watching him.

'Long road ahead.'

Still, it was a win. Their original mission to guide a new king had flopped, but they'd scored big by finding the Spirit God's incarnation.

Something was going haywire—tons of notifications piling up for Ddol Ddoli.

Reaping a ridiculous haul.

Blessings galore, and even a trait boosting spirit affinity.

What on earth flipped the Spirit Kings' attitudes? They'd descended in the flesh for a showdown, then done a total 180, showering Ddol Ddoli with blessings and traits.

They'd marked him negatively at first, but meeting him changed everything?

'Fair enough. Our Ddol Ddoli's pretty cool.'

To list Ddol Ddoli's greatness would take all day.

Tall and imposing, super strong, loyal to a fault—and cute as heck despite it all.

'And he can transform.'

He'd already done ice and fire forms. Now mud too.

His base had 'Mini Mode – Mid Mode – Original Mode,' a three-stage shift.

That made six stages total.

How versatile was that?

Even robots couldn't hit six.

"Argh, too curious to stand it."

Couldn't resist asking.

Thank goodness for the consciousness link network.

Just pump in some mana, and connect.

-Ddol Ddoli, hear me?

-Yeah, Master!

-What just happened? Weren't you fighting two Spirit Kings?

-I was! But we made up! Nicer guys than I thought!

Made up?

-Can you explain what went down?

-Water lady and dirt guy chased me, called me king. But I'm no king. So we fought.

'...?'

-I'm no king or spirit. I'm Ddol Ddoli. Love the body Master gave me. Not going to Spirit Realm.

What the heck was that even mean?

-But misunderstanding. Water lady and dirt guy like Master. And I'm Spirit Ghost's volcano. Didn't know, so fought. Made up. Master's still the best. Wahaha!

Uh... um.

Not lying—zero idea what he meant.

'Shouldn't have asked.'

Our Ddol Ddoli's so pure-minded, adorably so.

"So, all good with the Spirit Kings now?"

-Yep. All sorted. But water lady beat up dirt guy bad. Called him rigid moron or something.

All sorted—relief.

Almost a disaster, but they patched it up dramatically.

Fine, that's what mattered.

'But water lady and dirt guy... Elraim and Noas?'

-So you told the Spirit Kings about me?

-Yeah. Don't usually talk about Master, but those two? Trustworthy.

Ian nodded. Made sense. Ddol Ddoli landed two new "customers."

Dwarves, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then Spirit Kings.

'Thanks, Ddol Ddoli. You're the best.'

If this were Earth, sales job for him. He'd crush it.

-Master. I became mud golem. Can change shape freely. Wanna see?

-Later. Busy right now.

-Got it.

Yeah, busy—thanks to whoever started that Spirit King brawl.

Around the time the Spirit Kings' marks etched onto Ddol Ddoli...

Sudden news rippled across the peaceful Empire. Disasters had struck nationwide.

Rivers overflowed. Earthquakes shook the ground, triggering landslides.

All simultaneous, everywhere. Like it was orchestrated.

Shocking, to say the least.

Why now?

No one knew. No answers.

Obviously. How could humans judge nature's whims?

Just guesses.

-The gods are angry!

Some blamed furious gods.

-Evil's come! Omen of chaos for the Empire!

Others pointed to demons.

But Ian knew the truth.

'Spirit Kings, obviously.'

Two of them manifesting at once, unleashing massive power? Disasters were inevitable.

One hit spot: Ian's territory, the County of Landert.

Translation: screwed.

Ian sighed in the rattling carriage heading to his lands.

'Sigh. Life.'

Ddol Ddoli gave medicine and poison.

Spirit favor boost was great, but disasters too?

'Not Ddol Ddoli's fault. Spirit Kings.'

Wanna chew them out next time. First, check territory.

"Milord, you've arrived."

"Yeah, Wilson. How's the situation? Damage?"

"Minimal. No casualties. Thanks to your quick warning... Most residents evacuated. Miners pulled from the shafts too."

"Good."

Ian exhaled in relief. No injuries—huge.

Besides, tiny territory meant little to wreck.

"Alright. Get back to it."

"Yes, sir."

Dismissed Wilson, geared up to head out.

Time to inspect the lands.

Damn Spirit Kings probably flooded and buried everything.

"Woof woof!"

"Hey, Hwanggu. Good boy?"

"Pant pant pant!"

"Yeah, missed you. Sorry I couldn't play."

"Woof woof woof woof!"

"Not upset? Thanks."

Heading out for a stroll-cum-inspection.

Then Hwanggu suddenly grabbed Ian's pant leg and tugged.

"Huh? What?"

"Woof! Woof woof!"

"What's up? Something wrong... Huh?"

Hwanggu's eyes glowed blue. He bolted like a shot.

'Did he find something?'

Despite all their searches?

Ian followed.

Up a mudslide-ravaged mountain they went.

There it was.

Hwanggu digging furiously.

"What is it? What's there...?"

"Woof woof woof woof!"

"Whoa."

Ian's eyes widened.

'No way!'

A second mana stone vein?

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