Chapter 165 - Rain, Mud, and Fire (2)

As I stepped out, I reflexively closed my eyes.

"Grrr."

The darkness of the cave had been deep. Its lifting was all the more dramatic for it. With every step, I felt as though another beam of light were switching on.

Light swept over us.

"Ke, ker!"

The goblins quickly bowed their heads. Their long years in the cave had altered the Earth Spiritfolk’s physiology. Thinner eyelids. Enlarged eyes. The goblins had grown sensitive to light.

For a while, we walked with our eyes on our feet.

"..."

A breeze blew.

The next moment, the sunset opened before us.

"The sky..."

The goblins murmured softly.

It was already evening in the world outside.

The oil seeping from the sunset flowed down in red streams.

"The sky is red."

For the first time in their lives, the slaves looked up at a sky that stretched on without end. Being born and looking at the sky ought to have been anyone’s natural right, but for the cave’s slaves, it was a luxury they were enjoying for the very first time.

"What the elders said was true. It’s the sky."

"Why is the sky red? Goreuk. Is it bleeding?"

"It’s red..."

"The world is burning."

Dumbfounded. Frightened. Or swept up in an unfamiliar joy, the goblins whispered among themselves. They turned their heads this way and that, looking at the world.

[The Earth Spiritfolk are freed from slavery.]

[The Earth Spiritfolk’s status changes!]

Text appeared before my eyes.

[Earth Spiritfolk]

Extinction Grade: B (Danger Level: Caution)

Proverb: ‘We are fire.’

Description: The Earth Spiritfolk are a race whose abilities all fall within the lower ranks. The abilities of each individual are insignificant. Thus, they unite as a single collective!

The Earth Spiritfolk have developed only a very small number of written characters. Every member of the race knows these characters, from the lowliest to the noblest. Minimal language. Minimal writing. Knowledge cannot divide the Earth Spiritfolk.

‘We are fire.’

Though fire burns in many branching tongues, it always burns as one. The Earth Spiritfolk have devised many cultural practices to become ‘one.’

They hold ‘gatherings’ in the dark of night rather than the bright of day. Their outward appearances are buried in darkness, and individuals cannot be distinguished. Thus, every Earth Spiritfolk attending a gathering speaks ‘anonymously.’

Keep the Earth Spiritfolk’s fire burning!

Traits: [Cavefire(※)], [Doctrine of Guru], [Legacy of Records], [Supreme Greed(※)]

Evolved Forms: Unknown. There are a total of 2 evolutions.

Epithets: Goblins, etc.

※Warning! Some traits are in danger of disappearing.

‘Ah. Just as I thought.’

I furrowed my brow.

‘With the priest dead, [Cavefire] is in danger of becoming a lost art.’

The attendant spirit shrugged.

"Well, on top of knowing how to use aura, they specifically have to use red aura. That’s a tough requirement."

‘Right... Hmm. For this stage, I’ll have to do something about their aura first.’

"Got a way to do that? Buying aura from that Civilization Shop thing costs a fucking fortune, doesn’t it?"

‘Yes, it does. So I’m going to buy something else.’

I thought,

‘Open Civilization Shop.’

The items on display in the shop scrolled into view.

[Oracle Message] - 20p

[Possess an Animal] - 40p

[Appear in a Dream] - 100p

[Locate Prey] - 5p

[Locate a Brass-Tier Settlement] - 80p

[Tribal-Tier General (Random Draw)] - 100p

[Invent a Brass-Tier Technology (Random Draw)] - 1,000p

I bought an item I had never used before.

‘I’ll buy one [Appear in a Dream].’

A coin-dropping sound effect rang out.

CLINK!

[Purchasing ‘Appear in a Dream.’]

[100 Race Points are consumed!]

[You currently have 70 Race Points.]

‘Okay.’

I already had a goblin in mind to use the item on.

I turned toward a young goblin.

The goblin, fast asleep with another goblin’s buttocks for a pillow, was named Gorke.

‘It meant clear water, didn’t it?’

Gorke, the goblin whose name meant clear water, mumbled in his sleep.

"Kereukke."

Rain.

"Kerreuk."

Mud.

"Guru."

I quietly watched Gorke, asleep and dreaming of somewhere other than here.

Then I used the item.

‘[Appear in a Dream].’

A brilliant flash erupted. My vision swirled, and my surroundings turned white.

A moment later, I stood in the middle of a plain.

"Oh?"

The plain stretched on without end. Rain hissed down over its boundless expanse. Drinking in the rainwater, the earth grew soggy and dark.

In the middle of the muddy plain, Gorke lay with his mouth wide open.

The pouring rain wet the inside of his mouth.

"Gorrr. Gorrrrr."

Gorke happily caught and swallowed the rainwater.

His face said there was nothing more in the world he could wish for.

That was the landscape inside the dream of a young goblin longing for his homeland.

"I see..."

A great many things made sense to me.

"Goblin or human, there isn’t much difference in what we want."

"Goreuk?"

Had he heard my voice?

Gorke moved the arm he had been using as a pillow and jerked his head up.

"Who are you!"

"Can you hear my voice? Can you see my form, Gorke?"

"Gor...? A Conforming Human?"

Gorke tilted his head, a vacant look on his face.

I adopted the most solemn, dignified posture I could.

"I am no Conforming Human, you poor child. My name is Kekereukker. I am the White Lion whom you revere as holy, the one who guides you to Guru, your promised homeland."

"Kereuk...? Kekereukker? Impossible!"

Gorke snorted.

KPHOOM!

Goblins had large noses, so when one snorted, the sound was as majestic as an actual fart.

"Kekereukker is a lion. He has a beautiful mane and boasts a thick hide. But what are you? Your hair is all black and spiky, and you’re nothing but skin and bones. Kekereukker isn’t ugly like you!"

"Why, you little fucker!"

"Fucker? Kereuk? What does that mean?"

"It means a bastard I’m going to dig a hole for and shove into it upside down, headfirst."

"Th-this Conforming Human has an incredibly filthy mouth. Ker. Something as vulgar as you could never be the White Lion!"

"Gorke. I taught you writing. I taught you how to hunt. Kekereukker is I, and I am Kekereukker. Why do you doubt me?"

"Show me proof!"

"Very well."

I dug a hole in the mud.

Then I grabbed Gorke’s ankles and shoved him headfirst into it.

"Can you see some proof now?"

"Kerrrr? Kerrr! A demon! A demon has appeared!"

"What’s that? You can’t see it? Then there’s nothing for it. Out of my great fondness for you, I shall show you some more proof."

I scooped up handfuls of mud and dropped them into the hole.

The rain was still pouring down. Mixed together, the mud and rain gave Gorke a literal full-body mud pack.

He screamed.

"I believe! Kereuk, I believe! You’re definitely Kekereukker!"

"Mm. It pleases me greatly that you catch on so fucking quickly."

I pulled Gorke out of the hole.

The goblin trembled, his head covered in mud.

"Gorke. I have appeared in your dream for a worthy purpose."

I continued, brushing the mud off the goblin’s head.

"I, Kekereukker, wish to teach you aura."

"Aura?"

"Did the priest not show you Cavefire? Did red energy not ripple around both his hands? That is aura."

"Ah. You mean [Holy Blood]."

"Holy Blood?"

"We have bodies, and we have a soul. Everyone has a body, but the soul is one. Complete as one. Goreuk. Those who overcome the limits of the body and reach the soul become able to bleed not just from their bodies, but from the soul as well... But..."

Gorke frowned.

"That’s strange. This is what Kekereukker taught us. If you really are Kekereukker, why the hell have you forgotten your own teachings?"

"Kid. I never taught you any of that crap. What I taught you was how to write, how to count to three, and how to hunt."

"Ker? Are there idiots who can’t count to three?"

These little bastards.

Only two hundred years had passed, and they had already forgotten their past.

After all the trouble I had gone through trying to teach them Arabic numerals.

"Forget it. If you’re still suspicious, go find Kekereukker the lion when you wake up in the morning! You’ll discover that I am that lion, and that lion is the one who appeared in your dream. So for now, shut up and learn what I teach you."

"You mean Holy Blood?"

"Indeed. Let us begin the lesson at once."

I raised my arm and began beating the goblin.

"Kereuk? It hurts! Kerrrr! What? Why are you suddenly hitting me!"

"Getting beaten is the fastest way to learn aura."

It was the method the attendant spirit had taught me long ago.

In fact, it was the only method I knew. Sitting cross-legged and doing this or that, focusing your mind and so on—if there were some sensible method like that, I’d have wanted to learn it myself, but that wasn’t an option...

"From now on, I shall beat you until you think you would be better off dead. As I beat you, I shall keep sending aura into your body, so feel the currents flowing within you. Feel them and grasp them. Recognize for yourself the energy pathways spread like a spiderweb through your body."

"Kerrr! It hurts! It hurts! Kerrrreuk?"

"Hmm."

Gorke curled up. I gently took his wrist and straightened his arm, then struck his palm, wrist, shoulder, and chest in that order.

THUD! THUD!

Aura flowed through my fists into Gorke’s body.

"Kerrrr?"

"These teachings will become your flesh and blood. Concentrate."

"There’ll be nothing left of me but flesh and blood!"

"Exactly. Did you not call aura Holy Blood? To show Holy Blood, must your soul not be wounded and bleed?"

Even at my perfectly logical words, Gorke kept shaking his head.

"I’m going to die at this rate!"

"No. This is a dream, not the waking world. However much I beat you, it will merely hurt enough to kill you. You will not actually die. It is truly the ideal environment for mastering aura."

"Kerup!"

The dreamscape changed, from the muddy plain to the arena in Slimepolis. To Gorke, his current situation was no different from a scene in the colosseum.

"Oh! This is even better!"

I was delighted.

"Now, Gorke. Those gladiators over there are glaring at you. Their eyes are so fierce, they look ready to do anything to take your head. Even in a dream, having your head cut off would hurt, would it not? Come now, struggle for your life!"

"A-a nightmare. Ker. A terrible nightmare!"

Gorke wept.

"O Kekereukker! You saved us from hell, but where are you now! A demon is tormenting your servant! Save me, ker! Save me!"

"Come now, I’m telling you I am Kekereukker."

Time passed slowly within the dream.

What felt like an immense span of time passed, but Gorke’s dream did not end. Thanks to that, the young goblin suffered countless deaths that were not deaths, while I took my time guiding him.

How long had passed like that?

"Oh!"

Flames rippled in Gorke’s palm.

Faint though it was, it was unmistakably aura.

"Look, Gorke! Aura. Holy Blood has manifested within you!"

"Kerrr..."

The young goblin looked down at his palm. His eyes were hollow, as though he had lost something precious.

"Kill me... Just let me go, demon. I can’t endure any more..."

"If dying does not matter, dying as you learn is the fastest method. The universe is overflowing with martial artists who spend their entire lives pursuing martial arts without mastering aura. Yet you have grasped its mysteries in a single night. Is that not a truly extraordinary opportunity?"

"Please kill me...!"

"From now on, you must work hard in service of the Earth Spiritfolk."

Smiling with satisfaction, I planted a hand on Gorke’s shoulder.

Gorke flinched.

"S-service?"

"With the priest dead, there is no one left to perform [Cavefire], is there? You shall take his place. I consider your culture beautiful. You must strive to ensure that your beauty does not die out."

"Kerrr. But I lack the qualities to be a priest..."

"Still, your aura seems rather immature. What do you say, Gorke? Would you like to suffer for another ten days and realize aura’s ultimate secrets?"

"I’ll do it. Gorke! Will be a priest!"

"Excellent."

I nodded, satisfied.

"Then I shall leave your dream. When you wake, come find me and see for yourself. If I truly am Kekereukker, I shall pat your shoulder."

Then I woke from the dream.

A quiet dawn.

The goblins were already awake, preparing to set out on their homeward journey again today. Mothers caught fish by the river, and children grilled them until crisp. Many goblins were quietly watching the rising sun.

"Kereuk...!"

Not far away, a young goblin sprang upright. It was Gorke. His green forehead was deeply creased and drenched in cold sweat.

"Kerrr... I-I’m alive? Alive, ker?"

Gorke breathed raggedly. As though trying to check whether he was dreaming or awake, he slapped his own cheeks six times. Finally realizing that the nightmare was over, Gorke let out a deep sigh of relief.

"..."

That lasted only a moment.

Hesitantly, Gorke approached me.

"Kekereukker..."

The young goblin looked up at me with pleading eyes.

"Last night, a demon came to torment me. Ker. It dared impersonate Kekereukker and tortured me. I felt like I would die. I thought I was dying. I wish you would show me that Kekereukker is not a demon..."

"Grrr."

I slowly raised a forepaw and planted it on Gorke’s shoulder.

"..."

Despair washed over Gorke’s face.

"Grrrr. Gor, kreuk. Grrr."

‘Don’t forget what I told you. Do a good job, kid.’

He could not possibly have understood the lion’s words, but Gorke trembled.

[A new successor to Cavefire appears.]

[The Earth Spiritfolk are no longer in danger of losing the Cavefire trait!]

That worked out well. Very well.

"You little bastard..."

The attendant spirit muttered. He had watched me teach Gorke aura from beginning to end.