[ The Demon King’s Spinning Wheel (2) ]
“What’s going on?!”
The door connected to the guardian’s room swung open, and Kim Seonghan stuck his head in. His gaze shifted from Goblin to me.
“It’s just a friend visiting. Don’t worry about it.”
“Are you sure it’s safe?”
“Yes, of course. Goblins are famous for being neutral. There’s no need to worry.”
This Goblin was capable of teleportation, and not just alone—she could bring others with her. From the perspective of someone trying to protect me, it was natural for him to be a bit on edge.
Still uneasy, Kim Seonghan closed the door. Meanwhile, Goblin was fiddling with the remote control.
“Boss, is there anything fun on?”
“Not really.”
Following her lead, I glanced over at the TV. The news was reporting on an attack by a group claiming that dungeon breaks and monsters escaping into the world were part of some divine providence.
[Occupying roads, they shouted that dungeon breaks and the release of monsters into the world are God’s will—]
‘They’re already making an appearance?’
Originally, I thought this kind of thing happened much later. Or was I wrong? It was five years ago, so my memory isn’t crystal clear. Maybe they were acting up before they became a full-blown societal problem.
“What’s this? It looks pretty!”
Goblin’s eyes were drawn to the box of chocolates on the bedside table. Seong Hyunjae had given them to me. I wasn’t big on sweets, but I had been eating them out of boredom, and half the box had already disappeared. They were delicious, and probably expensive too.
“It’s chocolate. Want some?”
“Yes!”
Goblin lifted her mask slightly, popped a piece into her mouth, and nodded. She really did act like a child sometimes.
But now, it was time to put her to work again.
While I was recovering after being dragged out of a dungeon, the breeding facility and even the connected building had undergone complete internal renovations. Seok Hayan’s team had already moved into the new building.
They’d also finished organizing the previous data, meaning it was time for new materials.
“My dear Yun Yun, you’ve had a nice long break, haven’t you?”
At my sweetly coaxing words, the hand that had been picking up chocolates froze mid-air. Slowly, she turned to look at me.
“You always talk like my grandma, you know that?”
Grandma, huh. Sure enough, when I checked the My Kid Is The Best skill window, Yun Yun’s name appeared under a new category—(Yun Yun-B). That crazy bastard Han Yuhyun.
“You should eat up since we’re going to be heading back to investigate another dungeon. Eat as much as you want. If there’s anything else you want, just say the word.”
I’d buy her anything she wanted as long as she behaved. I was ready to spoil her like a doting grandma to her grandchild.
As Goblin returned her focus to the chocolates, I activated My Kid Is The Best on her. My heart was pounding at the thought of her getting a long-distance gate skill.
[The species is incomplete.]
Huh?
[To promote growth, you need an item similar to the structure of this incomplete species. The completion of the species will vary depending on the item’s characteristics and grade.]
‘Incomplete species? Technically, she’s more like a whole new species…’
She called herself a goblin, so I hadn’t thought too much about it. But now that I think about it, she’s clearly not human, though she’s still an intelligent being. Given that even the system administrators had spirits like the one in Myungwoo’s forge, it wasn’t too surprising. Still, Goblin was the only one actively operating in this world.
…Though, there could be more out there somewhere.
Anyway, an item similar to her structure? Oh, could it be…?
‘Would this work?’
I opened my inventory and saw it—the Old Spinning Wheel of the Nameless Demon King.
‘An old, well-used spinning wheel, reminiscent of a waterwheel. And it’s SS-rank.’
It looked like it had been tailor-made for this. Maybe the system folks had a hand in this.
I had no reason to refuse such a perfectly laid table, so I pulled out the spinning wheel from my inventory.
“Yun Yun.”
“Hmm?”
Goblin, who had just polished off the last of the chocolates, turned toward me. Seeing the spinning wheel in my hands, she tilted her head in curiosity.
“What’s that? It feels a bit weird.”
“It’s the item you need to grow.”
But how exactly was I supposed to use it? Should I just give it to her? I handed the spinning wheel over to Goblin. She held it, still tilting her head in puzzlement.
“The Old Spinning Wheel of the Nameless Demon King? Demon King? A Demon King is scary, right? Big horns, red skin, huge, and super strong!”
“Well, more or less.”
“Then I’ll be the Demon King!”
What is this, the sudden career aspiration of a nine-year-old? Can you really just switch species like that on a whim?
Vroooom!
The spinning wheel began to hum softly, radiating a dark red light. Sensing something unusual, I quickly picked up the sleeping Chirp.
“Oh, it’s the real deal. A genuine Demon King’s spinning wheel.”
Goblin muttered to herself.
“It’s super old. Even older than me.”
“…Yun Yun?”
I really hope she isn’t about to turn into the spinning wheel itself or something. I checked her status with my Promising Talent skill, but for now, everything seemed the same as before.
“Yeah, the Demon King’s the scariest. You’re right. Let’s do this!”
Shhh—
The spinning wheel crumbled like a sandcastle and melted into Goblin’s hand and body. Was this okay? Should I stop this? Well, I couldn’t stop her even if I tried. I was about to call for Kim Seonghan when Yun Yun’s status window suddenly changed.
[1st Rank Demon ? Demon King Yun Yun
Current Stat Rank: SS
Potential Awakening Stat Rank: SS]
Yun Yun’s status as an awakened being had transformed, almost like a monster’s status screen. Her stats were now SS-rank. But a demon? Not once, even five years from now, had demons appeared!
“Goblin!”
“I’m the Demon King!”
Rumble!
Yun Yun’s body swelled dramatically. At the same time, an eerie aura erupted from her, like a tidal wave. Furniture crashed to the floor, shattered, and the reinforced walls of the Hunter-exclusive hospital suite cracked.
‘…It’s not affecting me.’
Normally, I’d be like a house made of straw in a hurricane against an SS-rank. I had activated a B-rank shield skill, but the swirling energy didn’t even touch it.
‘Her personality’s still the same.’
Thank goodness. Feeling relieved, I dropped my shield, preparing to talk when—
Bang!
“What’s going on?!”
Kim Seonghan charged in, smashing through the now-dented door. Meanwhile, Yun Yun had completely transformed.
She looked exactly like the stereotypical image of a Demon King.
A pair of massive horns curled from her head, leathery wings stretched out from her back, and her skin glowed a deep crimson. Long, black hair cascaded down her back, and sharp fangs jutted from her fearsome face. Her body was gigantic, at least three or four times larger than before, rippling with muscles, and draped in what appeared to be writhing black mist.
She had sharp claws, and even a long tail that resembled a reptile’s.
Her imagination was a bit lacking. Still, her optimization skills had all shifted to combat-oriented ones. My long-distance gate…
“Han Yujin! Right now, ugh!”
Kim Seonghan, who had been trying to rush to my side, was suddenly wrapped in tendrils of black mist. I was taken aback by this uncharacteristic behavior from Yun Yun, but she wasn’t attacking—only restraining him.
No matter how much Kim Seonghan struggled, the tendrils didn’t budge. The gap in their power was just too large. And with the title of Demon King, she was probably one of the strongest SS-ranks, possibly even at the top. Just looking at the potential awakening stats, SS-rank was absolute. She was on a higher tier than even Babar.
“Yun Yun.”
-Grrrrr.
At my call, the Demon King growled deeply. Please don’t tell me she’s turned into a full-fledged monster and lost the ability to speak.
The Demon King’s head turned toward me, her body trembling as if struggling to contain something. Then she opened her mouth and roared.
-Scary, right!!
“No.”
-…Why? Why aren’t you scared?
Her expression fell, looking downcast. Her face wrinkled up like a bulldog, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Thank goodness. She’s still the same Yun Yun. I smiled warmly and answered her.
“You were way scarier as a Goblin. Remember when we first met? You scared the life out of me.”
-But I’m a Demon King! A Demon King’s scarier than a Goblin, right?
“Look at me. Do I look scared?”
-…No.
The Demon King sulked even more, shaking her head. Don’t make that face in that body; it’s almost… cute.
“But I was scared of you when you were a Goblin. You remember how terrified I was, right?”
-But after that, you weren’t scared anymore!
“That’s how it is. You get used to things. But this is the first time I’m seeing you as a Demon King, and I’m not scared. So obviously, the Goblin was scarier! Even this guy,” I gestured toward Kim Seonghan, “wasn’t scared of you. He was just worried about me.”
The Demon King looked over at Kim Seonghan. Quickly catching on, he nodded.
-…Ugh, Demon Kings are lame.
“They are lame. It’s too common, no personality.”
I wasn’t disrespecting SS-rank Demon Kings. But Goblin was better. The skills, the personality—everything. Plus, if I let her run wild as a Demon King, things would quickly spiral out of control.
Seeing how easily she subdued Kim Seonghan, her aggressiveness had definitely increased. If she wandered outside like this, she’d soon realize just how scared people were of her, no matter what I said.
An aggressive Demon King who enjoyed scaring people? That’d be a disaster waiting to happen.
“Then I’ll be a Goblin again. A Goblin King!”
The Demon King shouted cheerfully in her gruff voice as her body began to change once more.
And just like that, Yun Yun’s status window shifted again.
[Awakened ? Goblin King Yun Yun
Current Stat Rank: S
Potential Awakening Stat Rank: S
Initial Optimization Skills Acquired:
Founder of the Goblin Clan (L)
Goblin Gate (SS)
Guess Who? (S)
Cloud Steps (B)]
Her stat rank had dropped to S. It was still a huge leap compared to before. Plus, her initial optimization skills had increased by two. Goblin Gate seemed to be the long-distance gate skill I was hoping for.
‘Founder of the Goblin Clan?’
Even more surprising was the L-rank skill. There hadn’t even been an L-rank skill as a Demon King.
While I was processing all this, Yun Yun, now the Goblin King, had completely transformed.
“The great Goblin King has arrived!”
Her voice was now higher-pitched and rang out joyfully. It was a strange, playful voice that made you feel oddly ticklish inside.
Her long, flowing hair had turned pure white. Her mask had crumbled, revealing her face.
Bright blue eyes gleamed under long, white eyebrows. Her appearance was both glamorous and serene, with a delicate beauty that made it hard to tell her gender. She was dressed in a colorful, patchwork robe with an unmistakable Eastern flair.
“This is for the Boss!”
The Goblin King casually plucked off the remaining horns from her head, the remnants of the Demon King’s form, and tossed them onto the bed. I picked up one of the horns while soothing the now-fussy Chirp and checked its information window.
[Right Horn of the Vanished Demon King ? SS-rank
The last remnant of the completely extinguished Demon King.]
So it wasn’t just an ordinary spinning wheel after all. This would definitely make a good crafting material. I’ll give it to Myungwoo.
“Could you tell me what your new skills are?”
“Yup! So, there’s…”
Yun Yun trailed off as she glanced at Kim Seonghan. Still keeping an eye on her, he instinctively furrowed his brow.
“Seonghan, could you step out for a bit? There was a lot of noise, so you might need to explain the situation outside.”
“Is it safe?”
“Yes, it’s fine. It was just a, um, awakening event. Like a passing storm. Everything’s okay now.”
Though still hesitant, Kim Seonghan left the room. Yun Yun nodded and resumed speaking.
“I’ve got Founder of the Goblin Clan, Goblin Gate, and Goblin Mask.”
Maybe thanks to the keyword effect, she revealed everything without hesitation in front of me.
“Goblin Mask is this!”
With a flourish, Yun Yun transformed—into me. Her face, height, even her build, all identical. Her clothes were now the same hospital gown I was wearing. Chirp let out a startled peep.
-Chirp Chirp!
“No, no, that’s not Daddy.”
I held Chirp up to show him my real face, and his eyes went wide.
-Chirp… Chirp?
“Turn back to normal. You’re scaring him. …Wait, can you change your gender too?”
“Perfectly!”
Yun Yun reverted to her original form, grinning.
“I can’t change my skills or stats, though.”
If she could, that’d be ridiculously overpowered. But her disguise was perfect, at least on the surface.
“Keep that skill under wraps.”
“What? How could I hide something so fun? I’m definitely going to use it!”
This is hopeless. She’s too excited; trying to talk her down won’t help. Well, if it gets exposed, I’ll deal with it then.
“Goblin Gate lets me create a gate to a place I’ve been before, even if it’s super far away. I can use it once every ten days!”
“Please try not to use that unless it’s an emergency. It’ll be a disaster if we can’t use it when we really need it.”
“I’ll try~.”
I wasn’t convinced. You’d think being crowned a king would make her more responsible. Anyway, if the gate could only open to places she’d been, I’d have to send her on lots of trips, even beyond dungeon investigations.
“And the last skill is making my own minions!”
“Minions?”
“Yup, minions! Or maybe subjects? So, Boss, I’m going to be busy now! I need to find old, used, and abandoned stuff.”
“…Wait, you’re saying you can create more Goblins? You, Yun Yun?”
Yun Yun nodded vigorously. Whoa… Is this even allowed? Goblins weren’t as aggressive as monsters, and they could communicate, but still, suddenly creating a whole new group of intelligent beings?
“Do you need to start right away?”
“Yup! I’m a king now, so it’s my duty!”
Her voice was bright, but her gaze was serious. No way she’d listen if I tried to stop her. Should I buy some land and build a Goblin village? How many of them would there be? Well, at least since she needed abandoned things, we wouldn’t be raiding any museums.
“I’m off to make lots of minions~.”
As she waved and prepared to leave, I grabbed her arm.
“If you’re going to look, isn’t it better to search in a densely populated area? Go to China. And while you’re there, investigate some dungeons, alright?”
She has to work too. After all, a king born in this land must toil for the people.
In the end, the Goblin King promised to investigate dungeons and disappeared.
–TL Notes–
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt