Chapter 165. < Rain, Mud, and Fire (2) >
Translator: Seven Editor: Sasha PR: LightBrin
As I took a step forward, I couldnāt help but close my eyes.
The darkness in the cave was heavy. And because of this, the scene was even more dramatic as we stepped out of it. It created the illusion that a ray of light was being produced with every step we took.
The goblins quickly lowered their heads. The long period in the caves had changed the goblinsā physiology. Their eyelids had become thinner, and their eyeballs had become larger. This caused the goblins to be affected by the light.
For a while, they walked while looking down at their feet.
And before long, sunset had arrived.
The goblins muttered to themselves.
It was now evening in the outside world.
The light from the sunset painted the sky red.
For the first time in their lives, the slaves looked up at the neverending sky. It was natural for someone to look at the sky not long after being born, but for these slaves who grew up in caves, this was the first time that they were afforded this luxury.
-The elders were telling the truth. This is the sky.
-Why is the sky red? Gork. It looks like itās bleeding.
Whether they felt astonishment, fear, or other unknown emotions, the goblins whispered among themselves. They looked around at the world that they were seeing for the first time.
[The Goblin Race has been freed from slavery.]
[The status of the Goblin Race has changed!]
Words appeared before my eyes.
Extinction Grade: B (Beware of Danger)
Proverb: āWe are Fire.ā
Description: A race with only low ranking abilities. The individual abilities of the Goblin Race are negligible at best. Therefore, they have united together to form a group.
The Goblin Race only developed a very small collection of characters. All of these characters are known by every Goblin, from the ones with the lowest births to the noblest. Minimal language. Minimal characters. Knowledge does not divide the Goblins.
Fire may burn in many different directions, but it always burns as one. Despite their many cultures, the Goblins are all āoneā.
They hold āmeetingsā at night rather than during the day. The appearances of the various goblins are hidden in the darkness, and not one Goblin is distinguishable from another. Therefore all the Goblins who participate and speak in the meetings are āanonymousā.
Let the fire of the Goblin Race continue to burn!
Traits: [Fire Painting(ā»)], [Guru Doctrine], [Legacy of Records], [Greed(ā»)]
Evolutions: Unknown. There are two potential evolutions.
ā»Caution! Several traits are at risk of disappearing.
āSince the priest died, [Fire Painting] is at risk of disappearing.ā
Bae Hu-ryeong shrugged behind me.
-Well, in addition to knowing how to use aura, they need to have a red aura. Thatās the tricky part.
āRight⦠Mmm. For this stage, I need to figure out what to do first.ā
-Do you have a way? If you buy it from the Civilization Store, itāll basically rip you off.
āYeah, youāre right. Thatās why Iām going to buy something else.ā
āOpen Civilization Store.ā
The items in the store appeared in front of me.
[Oracle Message] ā 20 points
[Animal Possession] ā 40 points
[Dream Appearance] ā 100 points
[Prey Search] ā 5 points
[Search for a Bronze Ranked Settlement] ā 80 points
[Clan Rank General (Draw)] ā 100 points
[Invention of Bronze Rank Technology (Draw)] ā 1,000 points
I bought an item Iād never used before.
āPurchase [Dream Appearance].ā
Clang, the sound of falling coins appeared in my ear.
[Purchased āDream Appearanceā.]
[100 points have been deducted!]
[You currently have 70 race points.]
I also thought about the goblin that Iād use this item on.
I turned to look at a young goblin.
This goblinās name was Gorke, and he was currently sleeping while using another goblinās butt as a pillow.
āIt means clear water.ā
Gorke, the goblin who was given the name clear water, muttered in his sleep.
I stared at Gorke, who was dreaming about a different place.
ā[Dream Appearance].ā
My vision blurred and my surroundings became white.
After a while, I found myself standing in a field.
The field appeared to be endless. It was raining in the endless field. And the ground was thick and soft because of the rain.
In the middle of the field lay Gorke with his mouth open.
The falling rain water landed wet Gorkeās mouth.
Gorke happily drank the rain water.
The expression on his face was one of extreme contentment.
This must be this young goblinās dream of his homeland.
āWhether theyāre goblin or human, their desires are the same.ā
It seemed he heard my voice.
Gorke relaxed his arm pillow and raised up.
āIt seems you can hear and see me. Gorke.ā
Gorke tilted his head to the side with a blank expression on his face.
I tried to be as solemn and serious as possible.
āIām not a human. Pitiful child. I am Kekerkker. The sacred white lion you worship, and the one who promised to lead you back to Guru.ā
-Kerkā¦? Kekerkker? Thatās impossible!
Gorke snorted. Kufum! Goblins had big noses, so when he snorted, the sound that came out was as grand as a fart.
-Kekerkker is a lion. He has thick, strong skin and a beautiful mane. What about you? You have thin, dry skin and messy black hair. Kekerkker isnāt as ugly as you!
āNo, should I punish you?ā
-Punish? Kerk? What does that mean?
āIt means to dig a hole in the ground and stick a little bastard upside down in it.ā
-Th-, this human is so foul-mouthed. Ker. There is no way someone vulgar like you is the white lion!
āGorke. I taught you how to write. I taught you how to hunt. I am Kekerkker and Kekerkker is me. You shouldnāt doubt me.ā
Then I grabbed Gorke by the ankle and stuck him into the hold head first.
āNow can you see the proof?ā
-Kerrr?! Kerr! A Demon! A demon has appeared!
āWhatās wrong? Canāt you see it? I guess it canāt be helped. I like you so Iāll show you some more proof.ā
I scooped a handful of mud and put it into the hole.
It was still raining. The mud and the main mixed together, and soon Gorke was covered in mud armor.
-Believe! Kerk, I believe! You are definitely Kekerkker!
āMm. Itās good that you were finally able to realize it.ā
I pulled Gorke out of the hole.
The goblin trembled with mud covering his face.
āGorke. Everything that appears in your dreams has a precious meaning.ā
I wiped the mud off the goblinās head before continuing.
āIām here because Kekerkker wants to teach Gorke how to use aura.ā
āDo you remember the priestās fire painting? His hands were covered in red energy, werenāt they? That is aura.ā
-Ah. You mean the [Sacred Blood].
-We have a body and a soul. Everyone has a body, but we all share one soul. Gork. Those who manage to overcome the limits of their body and reach the soul will bleed not only from their body, but also from their soul⦠By the wayā¦
-This is weird. These are the teachings of Kekerkker. If you are really Kekerkker, then how do you not know what you taught us?
āChild. I never taught you anything like that. All I taught you was how to write characters, count to three, and hunt.ā
-Ker? Are there any idiots who canāt count to three?
I had forgotten that 200 years had already passed.
āEnough. If you still doubt me, then when you wake up in the morning, go to the lion Kekerkker! You will know that I am the lion and that the lion is the one who appeared in your dream. So shut up and learn what Iām about to teach you.ā
-You mean the Sacred Blood?
āThatās right. Now then, letās begin class right away.ā
I raised my hand and started beating the goblin.
-Kerk?! It hurts! Kerr! What are you doing? Why are you hitting me all of a sudden!?
āThe fastest way to learn aura is to learn it while getting hit.ā
This was the method that Bae Huryeong had told me in the past.
In fact, it was the only method I knew. If there was a method to learn it while sitting cross legged or whatever then Iād love to learn it. But for now, this was all I knewā¦
āFrom now on, I will beat you till youāre an inch away from death. Pay attention to the aura flowing into your body as youāre being hit. Feel it and capture it. Find the blood vessels that spread throughout your entire body.ā
-Kerr! It hurts! It hurts! Kerrk?!
Gorke crouched down. I lightly grabbed his wrist and raised him back up. Then, with my other hand, I hit his palm, wrist, shoulder and chest. Puk! Puk! My aura flowed through my fist into Gorkeās body.
āThis is the teaching of blood and flesh. Pay attention.ā
-All that will be left is flesh and blood!
āThatās what I meant. Didnāt you call it Sacred Blood? In order to bring forth Sacred Blood, your soul must be injured and bleedā
Even after hearing my logical words, Gorke kept shaking his head.
-This is going to kill me!
āNo. This isnāt real, itās a dream. So no matter how much youāre hit, and no matter how much it hurts like youāre going to die, you wonāt actually die. This is the perfect environment to learn aura.ā
The landscape of the dream changed. It changed from the muddy field to Rimepolis. From Gorkeās perspective, this was probably no different from fighting in the colosseum.
āOho. Thatās more like it!ā
āNow then, Gorke. The gladiators are all staring at you. The scary glow in your eyes shows the determination to do whatever it takes. Since this is a dream, youāll be fine no matter how much it hurts. So work hard!ā
-Th-, this a nightmare. Ker. A terrible nightmare!
-Kekerkker! You have saved us from hell, where are you now? A demon is tormenting your humble servant! Save me, ker! Save me!
āUhh. I already told you that Iām Kekerkker.ā
Time slowly passed in the dream.
It felt like a lot of time had passed, but Gorkeās dream had still not ended. Thanks to this, the young goblin suffered the pain of being driven almost to death countless times. I calmly led Gorke along.
I couldnāt help but wonder how long it had been.
Flames erupted from Gorkeās palm.
Even though it was faint, this was still a sign of aura.
āLook, Gorke! Itās aura. You have gained Sacred Blood!ā
The young goblin looked down at his palm, but his eyes were blank, as if heād lost something precious.
-Just kill me⦠Stop sparing me, demon. I canāt take it anymoreā¦
āFrom the start, if you donāt have to worry about dying, then learning while risking your life is the fastest way. The universe is filled with people who cannot learn aura even after learning martial arts for their entire lives. You, on the other hand, learned it in a single night. Do you think that is a coincidence?ā
āFrom now on, you will have to work hard for the Goblin Race.ā
I smiled happily and put my hand on Gorkeās shoulder.
He flinched.
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āThe last priest died and there is no longer anyone to demonstrate [Fire Painting]. So you will have to take his place. I think your culture is beautiful. You should try to not lose that beauty.ā
-Kerr. However, Iām not talented enough to become the priestā¦
āWell your aura is still in its infant stages. How about it, Gorke? Are you willing to work for the next ten days in order to perfect your auraā
-Iām willing. Gorke! Priest! Iāll do it!
I nodded in satisfaction.
āThen I will leave your dream now. Come to me when you wake up and check for yourself. If I am really Kekerkker, I will pat you on the shoulder.ā
Then I woke up from the dream.
The goblins had already woken up and were preparing to continue the journey home. The mothers caught fish in the river, and the children grilled the fish nearby. Many of the goblins were silently looking at the rising sun.
Not long after, a young goblin jumped up not far from me. It was Gorke. His little green head was wrinkled and covered in cold sweat.
-Kerr⦠I, I survived? I survived, ker?
Gorke took a deep breath. He slapped himself six times to check if he was still dreaming or not. Finally, after realizing that his nightmare was finally over, Gorke sighed heavily in relief.
He sat in that state for a while.
The Gorke hesitantly got up and came to me.
The young goblin looked at me with eyes filled with desperation.
-Last night, a demon came to me in my dream and toyed with me. Ker. The demon dared to tease me by pretending to be Kekerkker. I thought I was going to die. I want you to prove to me that Kekerkker isnāt that demonā¦
I slowly lifted my paw and tapped Gorke on the shoulder with it.
Gorkeās face immediately became stained with despair.
āKrr. Gor, krrk. Grrrm.ā
āDo well and donāt forget what I said. Child.ā
There was no way he could understand the lionās words, but Gorke trembled nonetheless.
[A new heir of Fire Painting has appeared.]
[The race is no longer at risk of losing the trait Fire Painting!]
Thatās good. Thatās good.
Bae Hu-ryeong muttered. Heād watched me pass aura on to Gorke from start to finish.
-Why are you teaching him like that⦠Donāt do that⦠you should treat him bet-ā¦