WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈

Chapter 81: Demon King's Spinning Wheel (2)

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“What’s going on?!”

The door connecting to the custodian’s room flew open with a bang, and Kim Seonghan poked his head out. His gaze went to Goblin, then returned to me.

“A friend just came to visit me. Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Yes. Everyone knows Goblin is neutral. It’s fine.”

Goblin had spatial movement, and could even take people along. Of course Kim Seonghan would be concerned when he was supposed to protect me.

Kim Seonghan shut the door, still uneasy. Meanwhile, Goblin was fiddling with the remote.

“Captain, is there anything fun on?”

“Not really.”

I turned my gaze to the TV along with Goblin. A news report was covering a group that had carried out a terrorist attack on the Hunter Association, claiming that dungeon breaks abroad were natural.

[Claiming that monsters being released into the world through dungeon breaks is divine providence, the group occupied a road...]

‘They’re already showing up?’

I thought they had appeared much later. Or maybe not? It had been five years, so my memory wasn’t exact. They might have caused trouble here and there even before becoming a serious social issue.

“What’s this? It’s pretty!”

Goblin eyed the box of chocolates on the bedside table. Seong Hyeonje had left it behind. I didn’t care much for sweets, but I had eaten about half the box because I’d wanted something to snack on. They were delicious, perhaps because they were expensive.

“Chocolate. Want some?”

“Yeah!”

Goblin lifted their mask slightly, put one into their mouth, and nodded. They really did seem like a child.

Still, it was time to put them to work again.

While I had gone into the dungeon and been carried back out, they had finished repairs not only on the rearing facility but also on the connected building. Seok Hayan’s team had already moved into the building.

They said they had finished organizing the materials I sent first, so it was time for new material.

“Our dear Yun Yun, you got lots of rest, didn’t you?”

The hand picking up chocolate stopped at once when I spoke sweetly. Then Goblin slowly turned to me.

“You said that before too, but you really talk like my grandma.”

So I really was a grandma. When I checked My Kid’s skill window, a new entry had appeared: Yun Yun, B-Class. That crazy Han Yoohyun.

“We have to investigate dungeons again, so eat plenty. You can have it all. Just tell me if there’s anything you want.”

What couldn’t I buy for them? As long as they listened well, I could be as doting a grandma as they wanted.

I used My Kid on Goblin, who had returned their attention to the chocolates. My heart was already racing at the thought of gaining an ultra-long-distance gate skill when an unexpected message appeared.

[This is an unfinished species.]

[For growth, an item similar to the components of this unfinished species is required. The completed species and degree of completion will vary according to the item’s properties and grade.]

‘...An unfinished species. Come to think of it, they really are an entirely new species...’

I had just accepted it because they called themselves Goblin, but they were clearly an intelligent being who wasn’t human. With the system administrators and the spirit in Myeongu’s forge around, it wasn’t particularly surprising. Still, Goblin was the only one actively operating in this world in person.

...There might be more.

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

‘Would this work?’

I opened my inventory list. Nameless Demon King’s Old Spinning Wheel caught my eye.

‘A wheel like a waterwheel, an old, used object. It’s even SS-Class.’

No matter how I looked at it, it seemed custom-made for them. Could the system administrators have had a hand in it?

There was no reason to refuse a feast laid out before me, so I took the spinning wheel out of my inventory.

“Yun Yun.”

“Yeah?”

Goblin, who had cleanly finished the last chocolate, turned to me. They tilted their head upon seeing the spinning wheel in my hand.

“What’s that? It feels a little strange.”

“An item you need to grow.”

But how was I supposed to use it? Did I just give it to them? I handed the spinning wheel to Goblin. Holding it, Goblin tilted their head again in confusion.

“Nameless Demon King’s Old Spinning Wheel? It belongs to a Demon King? Demon Kings are supposed to be really scary, right? Huge horns, red, really big and strong!”

“More or less, I guess.”

“Then I’ll be a Demon King!”

This wasn’t a nine-year-old’s career dream. Could they really change species that suddenly? One wrong choice could ruin their future...

Hummm!

The spinning wheel suddenly vibrated faintly and gave off a dark crimson light. Sensing something unusual, I picked up the sleeping Peep first.

“I see. It really is a Demon King’s spinning wheel.”

Goblin muttered to themself.

“It’s really old. Older than me.”

“...Yun Yun?”

Surely, just because it was older didn’t mean the spinning wheel would become their main body or something. I checked their status window with Sprout, but it was still unchanged for now.

“Yeah, Demon Kings are definitely the scariest. Right. I’ll do that!”

Shhh...

The spinning wheel crumbled like a sandcastle, sinking into Goblin’s palm and body. Was it all right to leave them alone? Should I stop them? Of course, I couldn’t stop them myself, so I was about to call Kim Seonghan when Yun Yun’s status window changed.

[Grade 1 Demonkin, Demon King Yun Yun

Current Stat Rank SS

Awakenable Stat Rank SS]

Awakened Yun Yun’s listing had changed to resemble a monster’s. Their stats were SS-Class. More importantly, demonkin? They had never appeared even five years later!

“Goblin!”

“I’m a Demon King!”

Rumble!

Yun Yun’s body swelled larger. At the same time, an ominous aura burst out like a tidal wave. Furniture shattered and toppled with a tremendous clatter.

Crack...

Hairline fractures appeared in the special walls of the Hunter-only hospital suite.

‘...It isn’t affecting me.’

Against an SS-Class opponent, my B-Class barrier skill should have been like a straw house before a typhoon. Yet not a single trace of the raging power touched the barrier.

‘Was their personality unchanged?’

This grandma was happy. Thinking that was fortunate, I lowered the barrier to talk to them.

Crash!

“What’s going on?!”

Kim Seonghan charged in, smashing apart the twisted door after a table crashed into it. By then, Yun Yun had completely transformed.

It was exactly the image that came to mind when one thought of a Demon King.

A pair of large, curling horns. Enormous membranous wings. Long black hair whipping over red skin, protruding fangs in a fierce face. A body three or four times the size of a human, covered in bulging muscles and clothing like writhing black mist.

Sharp claws on their hands and feet, along with a long reptilian tail.

The kid’s imagination was a little lacking. More importantly, their optimized initial skills had all changed too. The names alone made it obvious that every single one was combat-oriented. My ultra-long-distance gate...

“Mr. Han Yujin! Right now, urk!”

Kim Seonghan, who had rushed toward me, was caught in a tendril of black mist. I was startled by behavior so unlike Yun Yun’s, but it only restrained him without attacking.

Kim Seonghan struggled to break free, but the misty tendril did not budge. The difference in their ranks was too great. With the title Demon King on top of that, weren’t they likely among the higher-ranked SS-Classes? Their awakenable stat rank was a flat SS, not S to SS. That meant they were of a higher grade than Babar.

“Yun Yun.”

- Grrr.

At my call, the Demon King gave a low growl. Surely becoming a monster hadn’t made them unable to speak.

The Demon King turned toward me, shifted their body, then opened their mouth wide and roared.

- Scary, right!!

“No.”

- ...Why? Why aren’t you scared?

The Demon King’s expression became crestfallen. Their deeply wrinkled face reminded me of a bulldog, and a laugh escaped me.

Thank goodness. They were the same inside. Still our Yun Yun.

I gave them a relaxed smile and answered.

“You were much scarier when you were Goblin. Remember when we first met? You scared me half to death.”

- But I’m a Demon King! Demon Kings are scarier than Goblins!

“Look at me. Do I seem scared?”

- N-no.

The Demon King shook their head, even more dejectedly. Don’t act cute with that face and voice. It was too cute.

“But you were scary when you were Goblin. You remember how I freaked out, right?”

- But you weren’t scared after that!

“People stop being scared of anything once they get used to it. But even though this is my first time seeing a Demon King, I wasn’t surprised. So Goblin is obviously scarier! That man was startled because he was worried I might be in danger. He wasn’t afraid of you.”

The Demon King looked at Kim Seonghan. Kim Seonghan promptly nodded.

- ...Man, being a Demon King is boring.

“It’s boring. They’re too common, and not very distinctive.”

It wasn’t that I was looking down on an SS-Class Demon King. But Goblin was better than a Demon King. Not just because of the skills. More than anything, if I let a Demon King loose like this, they would obviously start rampaging in no time.

Just looking at how they had subdued Kim Seonghan in an instant, their aggressiveness had clearly increased. If they went outside and showed off even a little, they would quickly realize how afraid people really were of them, contrary to what I said.

An aggressive Demon King who liked scaring people. What could that be except a disaster?

- Then I’ll be Goblin. The Goblin King!

The Demon King shouted cheerfully in their rough voice and began changing form again.

Yun Yun’s status window changed along with them.

[Awakened, Goblin King Yun Yun

Current Stat Rank S

Awakenable Stat Rank S

Optimized Initial Skills

Progenitor of the Goblin Race (L-Class) acquired

Goblin Gate (SS-Class) acquired

Guess Who? (S-Class) acquired

Cloud Steps (B-Class) acquired]

Their stat rank had dropped to S-Class. Still, it had shot up compared to before. They also had two more optimized initial skills than before. Goblin Gate seemed to be an ultra-long-distance gate skill, but...

‘Progenitor of the Goblin Race?’

It was even L-Class. Not even the Demon King had possessed an L-Class skill.

Meanwhile, the Demon King, no, the Goblin King’s transformation was complete.

“The Goblin King has arrived!”

A higher, clearer voice laughed happily. It was a voice that strangely tickled at people’s hearts.

Their long, streaming hair, like when they were a Demon King, had changed to pure white. Their mask had broken, revealing their face.

Their eyes were vivid blue, and the ends of their white eyebrows were long. Their beautiful face had the graceful elegance of white porcelain, yet it was still difficult to distinguish their gender. Their loose, colorful clothing looked as though it had been pieced together from cloth, and aside from having an Eastern style, it was impossible to tell what it was.

“Captain Kim, take this!”

The Goblin King snapped off the Demon King’s horns still left on their head and threw them onto the bed. As I soothed Peep, who had woken up and started fussing, I picked up one horn and checked its information window.

[Vanished Demon King’s Right Horn, SS-Class

The remaining horn of a Demon King whose final fragment has completely vanished.]

So it hadn’t been an ordinary spinning wheel. This was definitely a material item. I should give it to Myeongu.

“Could you tell me what your new skills do?”

“Yeah! So, there’s...”

Yun Yun started to answer, then looked at Kim Seonghan. Kim Seonghan, who had been assessing the situation without taking his eyes off the Goblin King, reflexively furrowed his brow.

“Mr. Seonghan, could you step out for a moment? It was pretty loud, so I think someone needs to explain the situation outside too.”

“Is it safe?”

“Yes, it’s fine. It was just, um, something like an Awakening event? Like a passing gust of wind. It’s all right now.”

Kim Seonghan hesitated, but left the hospital room. Yun Yun nodded and continued.

“Progenitor of the Goblin Race, Goblin Gate, and Goblin Mask.”

The Keyword’s effect must have helped, because they readily told me.

“Goblin Mask is this!”

With a ta-da, Yun Yun’s form changed into... mine. Their face, height, and build were completely identical. Even the hospital gown was the same. Peep let out a startled squeak.

- Cheep! Cheep!

“No, no. That’s not Dad.”

I picked up Peep, who was struggling to get to Yun Yun, and showed my face to Peep. Peep’s eyes went round.

- Cheep...?

“Change back. You’re scaring the kid. ...Can you change gender too?”

“Perfectly!”

Yun Yun said as they returned to their own form.

“Not skills or stats, though.”

It would be cheating if they could do that too. Still, as far as appearance went, it was a truly perfect transformation.

“Keep that skill well hidden.”

“What? How could I hide something this fun? I have to use it!”

They were hopeless. Seeing how excited they were, there was no point trying to persuade them. Well, it was the kind of skill we could use even if it became known.

“Goblin Gate can make a gate to somewhere really far away. It has to be a place I’ve been, and only once every ten days!”

“Please don’t use that unless it’s truly necessary. You can’t be unable to use it when there’s a real emergency.”

“I’ll try~”

I couldn’t trust that. Now that they were a king, they should change a little. Anyway, if it had to be somewhere they had been, I needed to make them travel around diligently even outside dungeon investigations.

“And lastly, a skill that makes my subordinates!”

“Subordinates?”

“Yep, subordinates. Or subjects? Anyway, Captain Kim! I’m busy now! I need to go look for old, long-used, discarded things.”

“...Don’t tell me you can create Goblins? You, Yun Yun?”

Yun Yun nodded vigorously. Damn... was that all right? Unlike monsters, they could communicate and were not aggressive, but an entirely new group of intelligent beings would suddenly appear.

“Do you have to start making them right away?”

“Yeah! I’m a king. It’s my responsibility and duty!”

Their voice was cheerful, but their gaze was remarkably serious. They weren’t the type to listen if I tried to stop them. Should I buy land and make something like a Goblin village? How many would there be? At least they had to be made from discarded things, so museums wouldn’t get robbed.

“I’ll go make lots of subordinates~”

I grabbed Yun Yun just as they were about to leave with a bye-bye.

“If you’re looking for things, a place with lots of people is best. Go to China. Investigate dungeons while you’re there too. Okay?”

Work, work. A king born in this country was supposed to be worked to the bone.

In the end, the Goblin King promised to investigate dungeons too, then disappeared.

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