Chapter 81

< The Demon King's Spinning Wheel (2) >

“What’s going on?!”

The door connecting to the guardian’s room burst open, and Kim Sung-han poked his head out. His gaze shifted from the goblin to me.

“It’s just a friend visiting. Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes. The goblin is known to be neutral. It’s fine.”

A goblin capable of teleportation, even with a person in tow. It was understandable that he would be concerned about my safety.

Kim Sung-han closed the door, still looking uneasy. In the meantime, the goblin was fiddling with the remote control.

“Boss, is there anything interesting on TV?”

“No, not really.”

I followed the goblin’s gaze to the TV. The news was reporting that a group advocating for the natural occurrence of dungeons breaking out overseas had attacked the Hunter Association.

[Claiming that the release of monsters through dungeon breaks is the will of the gods, they occupied the road—]

‘Those people are already showing up.’

They were supposed to appear much later. Or was that not the case? It’s been five years, so my memory isn’t entirely clear. They might have been causing trouble sporadically even before it became a major social issue.

“What’s this? It’s pretty!”

The goblin’s eyes were drawn to the box of chocolates on the bedside table. Sung-hyun had given them to me. I don’t particularly like sweets, but I ended up eating half of them out of boredom. They were expensive and delicious.

“Chocolates. Do you want some?”

“Yeah!”

The goblin nodded and picked one up, popping it into its mouth. It really does act like a child.

But now it’s time to put it to work again.

While I was carried out of the dungeon, the facility and the connected building have been fully renovated. Seok-hwan’s team has already moved into the building.

The data I sent earlier has also been organized, so it’s time for new data.

“Yun-yun, my dear, have you been resting well?”

Speaking softly, the hand that was picking up chocolates stopped. Then, it slowly turned to look at me.

“You always talk like my grandmother.”

Indeed, like a grandmother. Checking my child skill window, I see a new entry: (Yun-yun-B). Han Yu-hyun, you crazy guy.

“We need to go back to the dungeon for more research, so eat a lot. You can finish them all. If you want anything else, just let me know.”

I can get you anything. If you listen well, I can be like a doting grandmother.

I used the My Child skill on the goblin, who was focused on the chocolates. My heart was racing with excitement at the thought of getting the long-range gate skill.

[Incomplete race.]

A strange message window popped up. Huh?

[To grow, the incomplete race needs an item similar to its components. The completion and quality of the race will vary depending on the characteristics and grade of the item.]

‘...Incomplete race. Come to think of it, it’s a completely new race...’

I had just assumed it was a goblin, but now that I think about it, it’s definitely not human. There are also the system administrators and the spirit from Myung-woo’s forge, so it’s not entirely surprising. Still, the goblin is the only one actively appearing in this world.

...There might be more.

Anyway, an item similar to its components. Ah, maybe.

‘Will this work?’

I opened my inventory list. The old spinning wheel of the nameless demon king caught my eye.

‘A wheel similar to a millstone, old and used. And it’s a high-grade SS item.’

It looks like it was custom-made for this. Could the system administrators have had a hand in this?

There’s no reason to refuse a prepared meal, so I took out the spinning wheel from my inventory.

“Yun-yun.”

“Yeah?”

The goblin, who had finished the last chocolate, turned to me. It tilted its head when it saw the spinning wheel in my hand.

“What’s this? It feels a bit strange.”

“An item needed for your growth.”

But how do I use it? Just give it? I handed the spinning wheel to the goblin. It tilted its head again, holding the item.

“The old spinning wheel of the nameless demon king? It’s a demon king’s item? Demon kings are really scary, right? They have big horns, are red, huge, and powerful!”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Then I want to be a demon king!”

Is this a nine-year-old’s career aspiration? Can you just change your race like that? A single wrong choice can affect your future—

Woooom!

The spinning wheel suddenly vibrated and emitted a dark red light. Sensing something was off, I picked up the sleeping Piyak.

“So, it really is the demon king’s spinning wheel.”

The goblin muttered to itself.

“It’s really old. Older than me.”

“...Yun-yun?”

Surely, it won’t become the main body just because it’s older. Checking the status window with the Seedling skill, it’s still the same as before.

“Yeah, demon kings are the scariest. Right. That’s what I’ll be!”

Swoosh—

The spinning wheel crumbled like a sandcastle, seeping into the goblin’s palm and body. Is it okay to just let it happen? Should I stop it? I tried to call Kim Sung-han, but Yun-yun’s status window changed.

[1st-Class Demon ? Demon King Yun-yun

Current Stat Grade: SS

Awakened Stat Grade: SS]

Yun-yun, the Awakened, now had a monster-like designation. The stats were also SS grade. But more importantly, a demon? It had never appeared even five years later!

“Goblin!”

“I’m a demon king!”

Goooom!

Yun-yun’s body swelled and grew. At the same time, a sinister aura burst out like a flood. Furniture shattered and toppled over,

Crack—

A crack appeared in the special wall of the Hunter Association’s VIP room.

‘...It’s not affecting me.’

Against an SS-grade opponent, I would be like a straw house in a typhoon, but I used a B-grade defense skill. However, not a single strand of the overwhelming force touched the defense.

‘Is the personality the same?’

This grandmother is happy. Thinking it’s a relief, I lowered the defense to talk,

Bang!

“What’s going on?!”

Kim Sung-han burst in, the door twisted and broken by a table. By then, Yun-yun had completely transformed.

The typical image of a demon king. Exactly that.

A pair of large, curved horns, massive bat-like wings, red skin, long black hair, a fierce face with sharp fangs, and a body several times the size of a human, bulging with muscles and wrapped in a writhing black mist.

Sharp claws and a long, reptilian tail.

The kid’s imagination is a bit lacking. More importantly, the initial optimized skills have all changed. They’re all combat-related. My long-range gate...

“Han Yu-jin! Right now, ugh!”

Kim Sung-han, who was trying to run towards me, was enveloped by the black mist. Though it was uncharacteristic of Yun-yun, it only restrained him without attacking.

Kim Sung-han struggled to break free, but the mist didn’t budge. The grade difference was too great. With the title of demon king, Yun-yun might be at the top tier of SS-grade. The awakened grade is precisely SS, higher than Babar.

“Yun-yun.”

-Grrrr

The demon king made a deep, rumbling sound in response to my call. I hope it hasn’t lost the ability to speak.

The demon king, turning its head towards me, twitched its body and then roared,

-Not scary!!

“No.”

-...Why? Why isn’t it scary?

The demon king’s expression turned gloomy. The wrinkled face reminded me of a bulldog, making me chuckle.

Thank goodness. The inside is the same. Still our Yun-yun.

I smiled and replied.

“You were much scarier as a goblin. Remember when we first met? You really scared me.”

-But I’m a demon king? Demon kings are scarier than goblins, right?

“Look at me. Do I look scared?”

-No.

The demon king shook its head even more dejectedly. Don’t act cute with that face and voice. It’s adorable.

“But you were scared of the goblin. Remember how you panicked?”

-Not after that!

“Anything can become less scary with familiarity. But you didn’t even flinch at the demon king. So, naturally, the goblin is scarier! That uncle was just worried about my safety, not scared of you.”

The demon king looked at Kim Sung-han. Kim Sung-han nodded quickly.

-...Eh, demon kings are boring.

“They are. Too common and lack personality.”

I’m not dismissing the SS-grade demon king. But a goblin is better. Not just the skills, but if I let the demon king loose, it would start causing trouble right away.

Just restraining Kim Sung-han shows that its aggressiveness has increased. If it goes outside and causes a bit of chaos, it will quickly realize how much people fear it.

A demon king that enjoys scaring people. What else could it be but a disaster?

-Then I’ll be a goblin. A goblin king!

The demon king, now a goblin king, started to change shape again.

The status window also changed.

[Awakened ? Goblin King Yun-yun

Current Stat Grade: S

Awakened Stat Grade: S

Initial Optimized Skills

Ancestor of the Goblin Race (L) acquired

Goblin Gate (SS) acquired

Who’s There? (S) acquired

Cloud Steps (B) acquired]

The stat grade dropped to S. It’s a significant improvement from before. The initial optimized skills increased by two. The Goblin Gate seems to be a long-range gate skill,

‘Ancestor of the Goblin Race?’

It’s even an L-grade skill. The demon king didn’t have any L-grade skills.

Meanwhile, the demon king, now a goblin king, had completely transformed.

“I am the Goblin King!”

A higher, more cheerful voice laughed joyfully. It was a voice that tickled the heart in a strange way.

The long, flowing hair from the demon king phase turned white. The mask had broken, revealing the face.

Bright blue eyes with long, white eyebrows. The elegant yet striking appearance made it hard to determine the gender. The puffy, patchwork clothing was distinctly Eastern but otherwise unidentifiable.

“Here, take this, Kim Seo-bang!”

The goblin king detached the remaining horns from its head and threw them onto the bed. After soothing the crying Piyak, I picked up one of the horns and checked the information window.

[The Right Horn of the Vanished Demon King ? SS-grade

The remaining horn of the demon king, whose last piece has completely vanished.]

The last piece, huh? This spinning wheel was no ordinary item. It’s definitely a material item. I should give it to Myung-woo.

“Do you know what the new skills are?”

“Yeah! They are—”

Yun-yun turned to look at Kim Sung-han. Kim Sung-han, who had been watching the goblin king, narrowed his eyes reflexively.

“Sung-han, can you step out for a moment? The noise was quite loud, so you might need to explain the situation outside.”

“Is it safe?”

“Yes, it’s fine. It was just, um, an awakening event? A passing storm. It’s all good now.”

Kim Sung-han hesitated but left the room. Yun-yun nodded and continued.

“The Ancestor of the Goblin Race, the Goblin Gate, and the Goblin Mask.”

Thanks to the keyword effect, it’s telling me everything willingly.

“The Goblin Mask is this!”

Zap, and Yun-yun’s appearance... changed to mine. The face, height, and body shape were exactly the same. The clothes were also a hospital gown. Piyak squeaked in surprise.

-Piyak, piyak!

“No, no. That’s not Dad.”

I showed Piyak my face, and its eyes widened.

-Pi... yak?

“Change back. You’re scaring the baby. ...Can it change gender too?”

“Perfectly!”

Yun-yun said, returning to its original form.

“It doesn’t change skills or stats, though.”

That would be too overpowered. But the transformation was truly perfect.

“Keep that skill hidden.”

“What? How can I hide something this fun? I need to use it!”

It’s hopeless. Seeing it get excited, I know trying to calm it down is pointless. It’s a skill that can be used as it becomes known.

“The Goblin Gate can create a portal to a very distant place. It has to be somewhere I’ve been, and only once every ten days!”

“Please don’t use it unless it’s absolutely necessary. If you can’t use it when you really need it, that’s a problem.”

“I’ll try~.”

I don’t trust it. Now that it’s a king, it should change a bit. Since it can only go to places I’ve been, I need to make it travel more, even if it’s not for dungeon research.

“And the last one, a skill to create subordinates!”

“Subordinates?”

“Yeah, subordinates~ or citizens? So, Leader Kim Seo-bang! I’m busy now! I need to go find old, used, and abandoned things.”

“...You can create goblins? Yun-yun, you can?”

Yun-yun nodded vigorously. Wow... Is that even allowed? Unlike monsters, they can communicate and aren’t aggressive, but it’s still a sudden emergence of a new intelligent species.

“Do you need to start creating them right away?”

“Yeah! I’m a king, so it’s my responsibility and duty!”

The voice was cheerful, but the eyes were serious. It won’t listen if I try to stop it. Maybe I should buy some land and create a goblin village. How many will there be? At least they need to be abandoned, so museums won’t be raided.

“I’ll create a lot of subordinates~.”

I grabbed Yun-yun, who was about to leave.

“To find them, you should go to a place with a large population. Go to China. You can do dungeon research while you’re there. Okay?”

Work, work. A king born in this land should work for the people.

In the end, the Goblin King promised to do dungeon research and disappeared.

< The Demon King's Spinning Wheel (2) > End

ⓒ Geunseo