Chapter 11
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Lesson 3. This Is Your Pet - 3
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Why were over a hundred goblins gathered in the dungeon's boss room?
It wasn't because this dungeon relied on overwhelming numbers. It was because there was a special entity inside the boss room capable of commanding the goblins.
Its name was Hobgoblin.
In truth, the hobgoblins from English folklore passed down to Earth weren't mischievous goblins but rather house fairies that helped with household chores.
You know, the kind that gets excited over socks and bolts out yelling, "Dobby is free!"
It could be called a variant or lesser version of the brownies from Scottish folklore. But in the various media Ban Yu-won had encountered—especially games—hobgoblins were often depicted as goblin chieftains or upgraded versions. So, he figured if it was the leader of goblins, it had to be a hobgoblin.
And originally, his ability had a strong tendency to "show things as he imagined them."
"You filthy vermin!"
"You're the vermin using your comrades as shields."
The Dokkaebi Club, having awakened the concept of ferocity, went absolutely berserk, sweeping through the goblins in the boss room like a whirlwind.
In that process, the hobgoblin's commands were largely meaningless. It wasn't until more than half the goblins lay dead that the hobgoblin realized direct attacks on the club were pointless. It shoved a few goblins forward as shields and charged at Ban Yu-won...
"As expected, purely in terms of skill, that blind goblin warrior from before was better. Is it because they're different types?"
"Comparing me to an inferior species?!"
"So you are a different species. Still a goblin at the end of the day, though."
"Graaaaaah!"
By then, Ban Yu-won had already stripped every last concept of life and death, body and swordsmanship from the dead goblins. He was fully prepared to meet the hobgoblin's attack head-on.
His abilities had grown far beyond that time, and the opponent—brute strength aside—was far inferior to the blind goblin warrior in skill. It would be weirder if he got pushed back.
"Hah!"
Ban Yu-won decisively deflected the hobgoblin's razor-sharp blade, then lunged forward, thrusting his sword out.
The moment the hobgoblin's breathing faltered, the demon sword pierced its throat unimpeded, spreading blood poison.
"Kehack!"
"Too shallow?"
"Gueeeh!"
The hobgoblin's skin and hide were too tough to sever its breath in one go.
But as Ban Yu-won prepared to strike again, he saw the hobgoblin—having dropped its sword—clutching its freshly pierced throat with both hands, writhing in agony.
"Guh... Gweeeh...!"
"Oh...?"
"Puhack!"
The creature spewed purple blood.
As Ban Yu-won hurriedly dodged it, his focused vision scattered around the room. That's when he realized every last goblin in the boss room was dead.
The Dokkaebi Club floated over to his side, bobbing in the air like gentle waves.
It looked like it was asking for praise, which made him chuckle.
"Yeah, now just you... Oh, you're gone too."
That bloodcurdling scream mixed with blood must have been its death rattle.
The hobgoblin collapsed in a heap on the floor, wearing the same deathly expression as the goblins that had fallen before it.
Blood poison, spreading through its veins.
He hadn't realized how potent it was since all his previous foes had dropped in one hit. But seeing it kill the hobgoblin proved it was no joke.
"It's over. Good work, club!"
Ban Yu-won hugged the Dokkaebi Club in celebration.
He hadn't been entirely free of tension, but this dungeon had gone smoothly overall—a brisk and satisfying clear.
That was thanks in part to the club's perfect support and firepower, but also because Ban Yu-won had properly recognized and utilized his own abilities.
Above all, clearing this dungeon had filled him not with fear or terror, but with exhilaration and a thirst for growth.
It proved he could adapt just fine to this world—full of constant battles ahead—and to life at the academy.
"Whew, time to collect the spoils."
He'd harvested quite a bit of the goblins' language concepts even mid-battle, yet nearly fifty corpses remained intact.
He extracted massive amounts of concepts from their bodies and weapons, then turned his gaze to the most important prize: the hobgoblin's corpse.
"Let's see."
It had looked down on the goblins as an inferior species, so it had to have something impressive.
With that thought, he pulled golden strings of text from its body.
From the Hobgoblin, you steal: Life 5, Magic 3, Yokai 5, Body 3, Soul 2, Command 1, Murder 1.7, House Spirit 0.05.
Whoa, it really had a ton!
'Wait a sec. Life and Body are standard for any monster, fine... But Yokai instead of Demon? Magic came out separately, so does that mean hobgoblins are more Yokai than Demon? What's the difference between Demon and Yokai anyway?'
Of course, he had no way of knowing.
But the important part was that all these values were ridiculously high!
It had every right to look down on goblins as inferior.
More than double the impressive presence of that blind goblin warrior!
Even more crucially, he'd obtained the Soul concept from this one—something no other goblin had provided.
Wondering if Soul might be a key indicator of a monster's level, Ban Yu-won absorbed the rest.
'Command is straightforward... Yeah, it was pretty mediocre after all. I'll hold onto this for now. And House Spirit? What's that?'
Absorbing the word's concept revealed it meant a house fairy.
Ban Yu-won saw the hobgoblin as a monster, but he knew English folklore portrayed it as a house fairy.
Perhaps that's why it yielded even this faint 0.05 depth of concept from his vague knowledge.
It was a fresh reminder that language concepts yielded exactly as much as he knew and perceived.
'To properly rip concepts from monsters, I gotta study hard. Sigh, that's my lot in life. Skip university but still gotta grind the books...'
That's when it happened.
Something tapped his shoulder. Turning, he saw the Dokkaebi Club spinning complexly in the air, as if trying to tell him something.
"What's up?"
It pointed at the golden strings being sucked into his body in real time.
"Oh, you want some?"
As Ban Yu-won tilted his head, the club spun wildly in vigorous affirmation.
Makes sense. It had a faint ego, and it grew stronger every time he granted it code. Begging for some was understandable.
"Of course I'll give you some. Hold on. I'm detaching the ears right now."
But its request wasn't that simple.
Right before his eyes, it transformed into a pen and began writing on the stone floor.
"Huh? What're you—"
Ban Yu-won couldn't finish.
There on the floor, in neat clerical script: Life.
This was no coincidence.
Maybe it could read the details of the code he'd absorbed!
"How'd you know?"
The club, scribbling other characters too, lifted its nib without hesitation and pointed at him upon hearing the question.
So, thanks to his ability, huh.
Since the moment he created it, they were bound in a lord-vassal relationship, so it being influenced by its master's power made sense.
"Alright, Life. I hadn't thought of giving you this one. Here. How much?"
It wagged its nib as if to say "wait," then drew a 1 next to Life.
Then it trembled its nib, peeking at him cutely.
"I can spare that much. Even more if you want?"
"!!"
That seemed plenty.
Relieved by his response, it scribbled more furiously.
Soul 1, and then separately Yō and Ghost.
Soul paired naturally with Life, so that clicked. The odd part was requesting Yō and Ghost separately.
There had to be meaning in listing them apart instead of as whole Yokai.
"Life and Soul first."
He detached 1 each from the fresh hobgoblin haul and granted them.
Ban Yu-won didn't take it lightly, but the result was even more dramatic than expected.
The moment he finished, dazzling golden light erupted, and the Dokkaebi Club's presence amplified in an instant!
The artifact gains new and infinite possibilities, enabling steady growth henceforth.
The synthesized concepts achieve perfect harmony, enabling miracles! You gain great enlightenment, enhancing Babylonia Code proficiency.
For the Babylonia Code to display such a message—what could be more gratifying?
This time, the artifact had practically spoon-fed him an achievement.
Disconnected from the academy's system now, he couldn't tell, but if the professors saw the club like this, they'd lose their minds even more.
"Phew, good. Next up, Yō and Ghost, right?"
Despite no visible change (hard to spot anyway), the radically evolved-feeling Dokkaebi Club reacted even more fiercely, approaching him.
Splitting the 5 Yokai yielded 2.5 each.
Combining it with all the Ghost from slain goblins, its Ghost Tool jumped past 10 to 15 in one go.
But the real game-changer was Yō.
Yō 2.5 and Beast 4 automatically synthesize.
Perfect compatibility transcends depth limits in transcendent synthesis, completing Yōbeast 10. A perfect concept—cannot be separated again.
"Ah."
The sound escaped him naturally.
Right.
When creating ferocity earlier, he'd split out the beast of prey concept but left the base Beast concept lingering inside the Dokkaebi Club!
Stunned by the utterly unforeseen result, Ban Yu-won blankly watched as the club transformed in midair.
Yōbeast—a quintessentially fantastical term blending monstrous yō and beastly su.
It referred to creatures transcending mere animals into the realm of mystery.
And now, borrowing the power of transformation, Life, and Soul, the Dokkaebi Club was evolving into a living yōbeast!
'It can still turn back into a gun or shield later, right...?'
An all-too-pragmatic thought as he witnessed new life being born. Ignoring it, the fully transformed Dokkaebi Club let out a breath.
"Shhh."
Ban Yu-won, who had inwardly worried it might turn into some monstrous form, sighed in relief at its appearance.
It was a snake.
A snake with exquisitely beautiful white scales.
Its eyes gleamed blue, swirling with unmistakable yōki and guiki.
"Can you turn invisible too?"
"Shrrk."
With a deflating hiss, it vanished into transparency.
As if reading his mind, it shifted forms in that state—club, gun, shield, and more.
Finally releasing transparency and reverting to snake, it swam through the air before coiling gently around his arm.
"Shik, shrrk."
"Alright, from now on, your name is Eve."
"Shiiiik!"
Couldn't keep calling it Dokkaebi Club forever, and now that it lived and moved, it deserved a proper name.
Overjoyed at the unexpected moniker, it squeezed his arm lightly.
For the record, "Eve" came from the biblical tale of Satan as a serpent tempting Eve with the fruit of knowledge—spur-of-the-moment inspiration.
"Now, let's smash the core and head out. Lunchtime soon, back to school... Wait, no."
It was actually a bit late for lunch. Unsure if the student cafeteria would even serve latecomers.
Maybe check out the outer city, like Yumina suggested.
'I can scout the layout and head back if it's too far.'
Resolved, Ban Yu-won shattered the dungeon core and sorted all concepts.
He dumped unnecessary ones into the Code Core and assigned the essentials to himself.
His internalized concepts had grown incomparably from this morning.
"How's that? Think I can hang with the others now?"
"Shik..."
Admiring his skyrocketing internal code—truly one step ahead every hour—Ban Yu-won felt great asking, but Eve shook its head apologetically.
He knew it deep down, but the firm denial still left a bitter taste.
'Whatever. The real key is growth speed, right?'
Today, with the entrance ceremony, was Monday.
Tower entry was Friday.
Ban Yu-won vowed to grow enough by then to keep up with his peers, striding confidently out of the dungeon.