Chapter 51

Since consciousness arose by Taehyung’s doing, Gloki had never once deeply pondered his own identity.

He only had the awareness of being a primordial slime.

Primordial slime. The progenitor of all slimes. A unique species born with the ability to parasitize, absorb, and grow.

Utilizing his abilities to the fullest, he expanded his influence. That was all. There was no room for any kind of introspection.

Because a primordial slime was originally born that way.

However, the trial bestowed by the Guardian of Balance shook Gloki’s consciousness to its core.

Gloki saw the future.

In the future, he himself was the embodiment of destruction.

His subordinates were monsters incarnate. They were so mutated that one could hardly guess their original forms. How much had they changed to become like that?

Those monsters had tentacles sprawling everywhere, looking grotesque, and their cries sounded like boiling lava from hell.

Among them, the most recognizable was a flying species of monster, vaguely reminiscent of a giant wasp.

Each of those monster flying species, larger than a giant toad, was originally a giant wasp.

When those monsters took a step, the earth turned upside down. With one flap of the flying monster’s wings, a fierce gale arose, swallowing everything in its path.

Most living beings perished, and the ecosystem was on the brink of destruction. The whereabouts of the five powerful kings remained unknown.

It was all caused by him, Gloki.

The future Gloki was a face that couldn’t possibly be satisfied even after doing all that. He only sought to greedily devour everything in sight.

Well, let’s assume that’s the case.

What shocked Gloki the most was that in the future, he devoured his master.

Unbelievable!

How could that be possible?

I devoured my master?

Taehyung was everything to Gloki. He was the master and the parent. Like a newly hatched duckling imprinting on the first thing it sees and following it as its parent, Gloki did the same.

The thought of devouring such a master was akin to the world turning upside down for Gloki.

Oh, the audacity!

Since then, Gloki constantly pondered about himself.

Who am I?

Yes. I am a primordial slime. As the Guardian of Balance said, I am a constantly absorbing being. A creature faithful to instinct, a creature that simply doesn’t know satisfaction.

But is that really true?

Is it really right to blindly follow instinct?

Did I ever truly regard the master as special?

Under the pretext of the master’s commands, wasn’t I just executing parasitism, absorption, and mutation to my heart’s content, just as a mere indulgence?

Such thoughts constantly plagued him. After much contemplation, Gloki arrived at his own answer.

Yes.

Blindly following instinct is for beasts, not for sentient beings.

I am a sentient being. Therefore, I will not blindly follow instinct.

The first tangible result of Gloki’s determination was the unique skill “Recovery.”

[Unique Skill: Recovery

-Gloki made a pledge with his existence. He vowed not to live a life dictated solely by instinct. With that strong willpower and ‘mystical power’ combined, a new skill that defies the instincts of the species was born.

-Select a target. After finding what the selected target has lost, choose one of the found items to “recover.” The content of recovery varies depending on how much mystical power is spent.]

Aaargh!

A simple effect where light flashed brightly and disappeared. But the effect was far from simple.

[The link of the pact······, it’s restored.]

Gloki’s body, which had stuck to Fenrir’s body like a sticky substance, weakly slumped down and dripped off. Eventually, it fell to the ground.

It was because all the mystic power had been expended.

[Are you alright?]

[I’m fine. Just exhausted. I’ll recover soon.]

[Thank goodness.]

Fenrir breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she suddenly surprised herself.

Worrying about a creature other than the Giant Wolf.

[Did my recovery work?]

[Yes. It had an effect. Thank you.]

[Release me now. I can’t see anything with your fur all over my face.]

[Oh, right.]

Fenrir carefully set Gloki down. Gloki slowly crawled towards the giant wasp general.

There was no elasticity in Gloki’s body. The once sparkling colors had disappeared. It was a clear sign of exhaustion.

[If it had an effect, I’m glad. Then, is it time to repay the favor?]

[Maybe, maybe not.]

[Hahaha.]

Gloki chuckled quietly. Fenrir closed her eyes and focused on her inner self.

He could definitely feel it. The severed link of the pact, which had been neglected for a long time.

‘We received more than just a favor.’

It had been nearly a thousand years since the link of the pact was severed.

The only one who had recently formed a pact was the son they had acquired.

It wasn’t the rest of the pack. Since there was no way to do it with her, she had given up. In fact, she still didn’t know why only the son had formed the pact.

But now, what they had given up on had come true.

It wasn’t just him. The entire pack had reconnected.

‘Indeed, it’s amazing. Is this the power of a primordial slime?’

The primordial slime possesses an extremely rare ability to touch the “species itself.” When that ability is combined with ‘mystic power,’ it can restore the defects of the species itself.

If other species had the same skill, it would be hard to imagine such an effect.

Fenrir smiled quietly.

‘With this, it becomes difficult to just ignore.’

How could they treat the one who resolved the long-standing issue of the species lightly?

It couldn’t be done. The king’s pride couldn’t allow it.

Hmm… Since I don’t have anything immediate to do, should I do something like this?

“Um… Since there’s nothing urgent at the moment, should I do this?”

“Hmm… It’s quite far from our territory here. Wasn’t it quite difficult to come here?”

“Um… I guess so.”

“Shall I take you to our territory? And your subordinates as well?”

Gloki seemed intrigued.

“Climb on top of me.”

Gloki settled around Fenrir’s neck area, amidst the giant wasps.

“The wind might be a bit rough, so hold on tight.”

Fenrir stretched herself out.

And then, she leaped.

Fenrir soared through the sky.

*

What happened between Gloki and Fenrir manifested as an astonishing effect in a place they never imagined.

[A new door of opportunity opens for the Blue Axe Orc tribe!]

[Members of the Blue Axe Orc tribe are granted eligibility for the new class, ‘Orc Wolf Rider’!]

– Insane.

Taehyung’s eyes widened.

This was truly astonishing.

Now, among the Blue Axe tribe orcs, there would be orcs capable of summoning wolf mounts.

“I thought only High Orcs could summon them?”

Gloki repaired it for Fenrir.

The link of the pact.

As soon as it was restored, this happened to the orcs.

So, it means that the link of the pact extended to the orcs. This is the result.

But that wasn’t the only surprising thing.

[The bonus effect of the unique skill ‘Force Development’ has been activated!]

[We have discovered clues for racial evolution!]

[- Racial evolution prerequisites 1: Linking the Pact (O)]

[- Racial evolution prerequisites 2: Achieving class evolution of the Karim’s Force Field (X)]

[- Racial evolution prerequisites 3: Growth of the Blue Axe tribe beyond a certain size (X)]

Racial evolution. So, it means the evolution of the entire race, not just Karim.

All members will become High Orcs.

Orcs and High Orcs look no different from each other. You’d never know just by looking. You’d know by looking at Karim. Karim is a High Orc, but he just looks like an orc to anyone else.

However, they’re different on the inside.

High Orcs are stronger than regular orcs, tougher, and much healthier. And that’s not all.

They generally live longer than regular orcs, are more skilled with their hands, and much smarter.

The biggest difference is their sensitivity to energy.

High Orcs are sensitive to intangible energies, including mana. They are comparable to natural-born mages or spirit users like elves. In other words, orcs are the enhanced version of High Orcs.

Originally, I didn’t know, but I learned after obtaining the ‘Will of the High Orc.’

High Orcs and orcs are not different races, just degenerated versions.

However, the reason for that isn’t stated in the ‘Will of the High Orc.’ The question of why High Orcs fell will be a problem for the orc tribe to solve in the future.

Anyway.

The fact that my precious orc fellows will become High Orcs just like Karim.

How could my heart not race!

Taehyung shared this news with Karim.

“That’s truly a good news. It seems there’s even more reason to work hard now.”

Karim nodded contentedly.

The rewards in sight seemed very sweet. It provided even more motivation.

But he didn’t rush. He now had a steadfast heart that couldn’t be shaken.

He would just take one step at a time toward the visible summit.

The plan to create a homeland for the orc tribe was progressing smoothly. It seemed almost half completed.

As they say, the beginning is half done, so there’s not much left.

When the tribes gather to complete their homeland, they will start expanding immediately after maintenance.

“Still, I do miss seeing the Wolf Riders.”

– Me too.

Wolf Rider units crossing the battlefield on silver wolves!

Just thinking about it made their hearts flutter involuntarily.

It wouldn’t be long before it became a reality.

Taehyung and Karim thought so.

*

Lately, Taehyung had been spending increasingly busy days.

He had more outings. There was much to do.

The first thing he did was issue identification cards for the orcs in the otherworld.

Just as foreigners couldn’t freely come and go in Korea, the same applied to those from other realms. Without identification cards from other realms, no matter how strong they were, they were just illegal immigrants.

So, he took care of the most urgent matter first.

Of course, he couldn’t do it for all the orcs. Karim selected orcs who showed willingness to participate in Earth activities, and they were the ones to be registered first.

So, a total of 51 individuals, including 50 Blue Axe tribe orc warriors and Karim, were officially registered in South Korea’s system. This wasn’t everyone, it was more like the first batch.

The next thing was to establish a hunter organization.

Since anyone with qualifications and establishment fees could create a hunter organization, it wasn’t particularly difficult to establish one.

Many hunters harbored dreams of creating famous guilds. Of course, most realized the bitter reality and gave up on those dreams.

Taehyung also had such dreams.

Kim Taehyung. With his current abilities, it wasn’t difficult for him to enter a famous guild. But he didn’t do that.

He wanted to establish his own organization. In fact, he was already doing it.

In Afroxia, the orcs, and in the Abyssal Chronicles Dimension, Gloki, were actively expanding their influence. As the Link skill grew, the number of summonable allies would increase, and perhaps new allies could also grow their influence.

Taehyung wanted to extend their influence to Earth.

That was why Taehyung established the hunter organization.

Taehyung, a group composed of himself and his summoned allies.

In essence, it was Taehyung’s one-man guild!