< The Power of Evolution #3 >
“How come I don’t have a horn?”
Yong-Ho’s question was very simple.
Why he didn’t have a horn.
If having a horn is that important to a demon and if it’s related to the mana that they have, then how come Yong-Ho, who was a demon king, didn’t have one? Was it because he was half human?
Catalina had a surprised look on her face and her eyes started blinking. Eligor also looked at Yong-Ho with a surprised expression.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“Well...you see...you do have a horn.”
Yong-Ho blinked his eyes after Catalina quietly answered him.
Catalina carefully raised both of her hands and pointed to the small horns that were located above her ears.
“It’s in the same location as mine.”
Yong-Ho was really shocked. But, he somewhat understood it.
Yong-Ho noticed that he hadn’t seen a mirror once since he became the owner of the House of Mammon.
He did feel something when he was washing his hair, but he didn’t think those were horns.
‘This damn dungeon doesn’t even have a mirror.’
Yong-Ho followed Catalina and placed both of his hands above his ears. He asked.
“These are horns?”
Instead of answering him, Catalina nodded. It’s because Yong-Ho’s face and voice were filled with disappointment.
‘I’m a demon king and yet, I only have two horns?’
They were really small too. They were more like rocks than horns. No, not even rocks. It was more like his bones were slightly sticking out. No wonder he wasn’t able to recognize it before.
“It’s because it hasn’t been that long since you became the owner. The dungeon’s power will soon be yours. When the dungeon grows, your powers will grow stronger as well. It applies both ways.”
Eligor quickly explained. Catalina nodded her head once and turned into the cold, intellectual woman he met during their first meeting.
“It’s true that one obtains more horns the more powerful they become. However, the number of horns and their sizes don’t necessarily represent one’s power.”
Yong-Ho knew that behind that cold mask, she was a clutz, but since she was speaking with a straight face, he decided to take her seriously.
‘Well, there’s still a lot I need to work on.’
All he had to do was get stronger, like Eligor mentioned. It was too early for him to feel disappointed.
After calming himself, Yong-Ho looked at Catalina again. It’s because he was getting more curious.
“You said that demons tend to reduce or hide their horns, right?”
“Yes.”
Yong-Ho continued looking at Catalina and thankfully, Catalina understood what Yong-Ho meant. She spoke again after clearing her throat.
“Ahem. I will now open the mana.”
Since there was no reason to stop her, Yong-Ho crossed his arms and nodded. Catalina took a step back and after breathing in deeply, she released her power.
The Change in Mana. Open.
This was the mana of the spirit that was connected to the dungeon.
Yong-Ho definitely felt it. It felt like he was seeing it with his eyes. Catalin’s mana. Her spirit. The mana and spirit’s color and attribute.
“Haaa, ha…”
Catalina stood up straight after catching her breath. Above her two long ears, yellow horns that were the size of a thumb and index finger added together grew out.
As expected, they weren’t that big. It looked more like an elephant’s ivory rather than a deer’s antler.
Maybe it’s because she released her power, because there was a different aura around her. She seemed more keen.
After staring at her horns, Yong-Ho stood up from the throne and asked.
“Hey, can I touch them?”
“Y-yes, master.”
Catalina’s face turned red. But it felt strange.
She slightly tilted her head down with two fists clenched. She lightly bit her lips and the way her eyes moved made it seemed like she was filled with nervousness, anxiety and a bit of fear.
Yong-Ho gulped after catching onto the odd feeling. He slowly extended his hand and touched Catalina’s horn.
When his hand touched it, Catalina flinched and her shoulders shook a bit, but that was all.
The horns were cold, soft and hard. It was true when they said that the horns were connected to one’s mana because every time he moved his fingers, he felt Catalina’s mana. The reason why Catalina was flinching was because she felt the mana’s movement.
‘I-I should stop.’
He felt like he was getting addicted to it. As someone that attended an all-boys school, this was too much.
Yong-Ho quickly pulled his hand away and stepped back. Catalina let out a small sigh of relief. Yong-Ho felt like an employer that was using their power to control their employees.
And then.
“You can touch my horn as well.”
Eligor pushed his head towards him and spoke. Unlike Catalina, his horn was a light grey horn and was located on his forehead. It resembled a rhinoceros’s horn.
Remembering how Catalina reacted when he touched her horn, instead of touching Eligor’s horn, he stepped to the side. He looked at the two Goblins and spoke.
“Anyways, you two now have horns.”
“Master?”
“I can give you two names, right?”
Yong-Ho ignored Eligor’s question once again and asked. The Spirit of the Dungeon answered.
“Would you like to register the dungeon spirits’ names?”
Yong-Ho nodded his head instead of answering and thought for a moment.
If what Eligor said was true, then there will be more of these guys within the dungeon later on. However, since these two were the first ones, he wanted to give them special names.
‘Whatever. I’ll just give them any name.’
As long as they’re easy and unique names. On top of that, since they were names that the Goblins had to memorize, using easy names was the best.
“Your name is Jon and you’re Ron.”
The Goblins blinked after hearing the names and a wide smile appeared on their faces.
“Jon, Jon.”
“Ron, Ron.”
The power type was Jon and the stamina type was Ron.
The two Goblins repeated their names several times and bowed their heads towards Yong-Ho.
“Master, thank you, thank you.”
“Happy, happy.”
“The spirits are happy. The employee’s satisfaction level has increased.”
A smile appeared on Yong-Ho’s face as well. This time, Catalina asked.
“Excuse me, master.”
“Huh?”
“Are you able to use the Power of Evolution on anyone?”
He was expecting her to ask that question and Yong-Ho was prepared to answer.
But, Eligor was different. Eligor looked at Catalina fiercely and Catalina’s eyes widened as she flinched. After realizing what kind of question she asked, she kneeled down right away. She tilted her head down in front of Yong-Ho.
“I apologize for overstepping the boundary. I ask that you forgive me.”
Her ears were shaking and he felt bad about it. Yong-Ho was shocked, but he understood why this happened.
For a demon king, their power was their strongest weapon. Catalina was only a spirit that belonged to the dungeon, but she was requesting him to tell her his biggest secret.
‘It seems like the previous owner wasn’t really laid-back.’
After letting out a deep sigh, Yong-Ho lowered himself and helped Catalina stand up. She still couldn’t look at Yong-Ho, so he spoke to her as calmly as he could.
“Well, you know. You two are spirits that belong to the dungeon. Unlike the other spirits, you two are special. So, asking questions like that is fine.”
‘The satisfaction level doesn’t increase?’
He expected them to say that their impression of him increased, but the Spirit of the Dungeon didn’t answer. However, since Eligor and Catalina both looked touched, Yong-Ho was satisfied.
He continued talking with a smile.
“I can use the Power of Evolution on you two as well. You two might become stronger.”
“Oh, so that’s why you asked that question before.”
Eligor spoke quietly as if he suddenly remembered it. It seemed like he remembered the time when Yong-Ho asked whether strength was better or stamina was better.
“Catalina, would you like me to evolve you as well?”
Catalina’s face turned red at Yong-Ho’s question, but it was only for a moment. She quickly turned her attention to the Goblins and answered nervously.
“Hav-having a large body is a bit…”
As a female, it seemed like she didn’t like it. Yong-Ho jokingly moved his finger and even though she closed her eyes shut, she didn’t move a muscle. Yong-Ho laughed out loud and lightly flicked Catalina’s forehead.
“I can’t do it right now. When you’ve fulfilled the requirement, I’ll let you know. Also...there are different ways you can be evolved.”
When she felt Yong-Ho’s hand, Catalina slightly opened her eyes and nodded her head. Her two ears were of course drooping.
‘I’ll become addicted if I don’t be careful.’
Pulling pranks on her was fun.
Yong-Ho turned his attention from Catalina to Eligor. And as if he was waiting, Eligor spoke. He looked prepared.
“Sir, there’s something I have to tell you.”
Since his expression looked so serious, Yong-Ho’s expression became serious as well. As soon as Yong-Ho nodded his head, Eligor spoke.
“We still have some emergency funds left. It’s not the House of Maimon’s asset...they’re assets that I saved up in case of an emergency.”
As soon as he finished talking, Eligor took out a small bag from his chest. Catalina looked like she didn’t know about this at all, because her eyes widened due to the shock.
“It’s not much. But, you’ll be able to purchase a one-star spirit with it. For low-ranked spirits like the Goblin, you’ll be able to purchase three...no, four of them.”
Eligor pushed the bag towards him. Yong-Ho wasn’t sure what to do during this situation, so Eligor placed the bag in Yong-Ho’s hand and bowed his head.
“Please forgive me for being disrespectful. This old spirit was hiding this money all this time so that it can only be used during an emergency. But, I was sure of it after seeing your power. You’re the only one that can revive the House of Maimon.”
As always, tears filled both of his eyes. Catalina was also on the verge of crying.
“I beg of you. Master. Please use this money. The dungeon needs more spirits right now.”
He understood why Eligor gave him the money now.
Yong-Ho lightly bit his lip. He honestly didn’t like these melodramatic situations. But, he understood how Eligor felt.
What were they thinking when they first visited Yong-Ho?
Were they dreaming of the moment when the House of Maimon would be revived again?
That’s probably not it. All they wanted was to extend the time before the dungeon completely died.
But, Eligor was now dreaming of the moment when the House of Maimon would be revived.
Honestly, he felt pressured by Eligor. He did this in order to be more cautious and even though it was his own money, the fact that he was hiding it seemed a bit disgraceful. But that didn’t meant that Yong-Ho disliked Eligor.
In the end, Yong-Ho put on a smile.
“I’ve accepted it, Eligor.”
Today as well.
In order to enter the labor market, Yong-Ho sat on the throne.
“This is an unexpected visit.”
< The Power of Evolution - #3 > End.