Chapter 43 …
What is a Divine Beast?
A cool appearance, outstanding performance, extreme rarity…
There were many things one could list, but at the core, there were two.
Intelligence high enough to be mistaken for an NPC, and lore so extraordinary within the world setting that it could truly be called a spiritual creature.
“Intelligence high enough to curse the Forgotten Tribe… Hm, if you look at just that part, it does fit…”
In that sense, Jihad Black was a guardian that could be called a Divine Beast.
Highly intelligent, and within the world’s lore, a survivor of the Forgotten Tribe… There was nothing that didn’t fit.
— I’m finished now… I’ve become the slave of a filthy human…
No matter how intelligent a Divine Beast was, it wouldn’t express emotions that vividly.
Logically, it made sense to consider it a Divine Beast. But emotionally, he just couldn’t accept it.
‘A goblin is a Divine Beast…?! And that same guy who screamed “foul!” after getting hit in the bones is a Divine Beast?!’
His first Divine Beast—no, his first guardian—and this was it?
The majestic images of Yongyong and Hosik floated through his mind. That purple uncle who used to walk around with them tucked under each arm, bragging about their dragon-tiger rivalry… he had looked so cool.
Compared to that, what did he have?
Kiruk… kiruruk…
He had to walk around with that small goblin sniffling in its distinctive goblin voice.
It hadn’t looked too bad when it wore the robe, but now that it had taken it off, it looked unbearably shabby.
A salamander or even a golem would look several times cooler.
The thought made his chest tighten, but Dohyun soon let out a sigh and accepted reality.
‘What matters is that I got a guardian.’
Even if it might not truly count as a Divine Beast… it was clearly no ordinary guardian.
He could calmly check things first.
[Would you like to check the information of Guardian ‘Jihad Black’?]
‘Yeah.’
[Jihad Black]
[Title: Hero-grade Named Guardian]
[Type: Goblin]
[Level: LV1]
[Loyalty: 0 / 100]
[Traits: Bloodline Factor, Curses, Necromancer, Nimble Hands]
[Guardian Traits: Strong Against the Weak, Opportunist]
[Description: A survivor of a fallen tribe.
Jihad, who carries an outstanding bloodline, is a goblin who has lived for hundreds of years. However, he is now destined to live as the guardian of a human.]
[Due to the current low level, most abilities are sealed.]
[Available Skills: 1]
Create Undead
“…Hmm.”
Jihad Black’s information was similar to before, yet different in some ways.
First, the title had changed from Hero-grade Named Boss to Hero-grade Named Guardian.
It was only a one-word difference, but its meaning was significant.
‘Not a Hero-grade Divine Beast or Spirit, but Named…’
Divine Beasts were all inherently named beings, so they didn’t need the “Named” modifier.
Spirits weren’t unique unless they were Spirit Kings, so they weren’t considered Named either.
‘The fact that it came out as a card too… it really is strange.’
At least, Dohyun had never heard of anyone obtaining a guardian like this.
If defeating a boss meant you could obtain that boss as a guardian, countless rankers would be walking around with boss monsters as their guardians.
‘If that were the case, I’d have dozens of guardians by now.’
Of course, what he knew was Demrock, not God of All Ages. Maybe cases like this existed here.
But it certainly wasn’t common.
‘The traits are the same… but Guardian Traits: Strong Against the Weak? Opportunist?’
Guardian Traits were, simply put, defining characteristics.
A single-word expression of that guardian’s core personality or nature.
They helped players better understand their guardians, and also helped raise loyalty more efficiently.
The conditions for increasing loyalty differed depending on those traits.
Using that information, players would decide how to utilize and raise their guardians.
‘What kind of garbage Guardian Traits are these?’
In that sense, Jihad Black’s Guardian Traits were shocking.
In his life, Dohyun had never seen traits like Strong Against the Weak and Opportunist.
Most guardians had fairly neutral traits like Friend of Water, Brave, Commander, or Coward.
They weren’t this blatantly low-class.
And it didn’t end with just a description.
[Guardian Jihad Black’s loyalty is extremely low.]
[Due to the traits Strong Against the Weak and Opportunist, if loyalty is low, he may run away or stab you in the back. Please be cautious.]
‘You’ve got to be kidding me…’
Many guardians would break their contract if loyalty was low.
But he had never seen a system message warning that a guardian might stab its master in the back.
There truly wasn’t a single normal thing about this guy.
Kiruruk…
When he glanced over, the distance between them had already widened.
The goblin was muttering to itself, eyes full of hostility, looking like it could strike from behind at any moment.
‘This won’t do.’
Drastic measures were necessary.
Whether he liked it or not, it was now his subordinate. He couldn’t just let it stab him in the back.
He could evaluate its performance later.
Since ancient times, there had only been one kind of education suitable for creatures like this.
[Remaining Play Time: 00:15:11]
“Fifteen minutes… that should be enough.”
After checking the time, Dohyun quietly sheathed his weapon and tossed it into his inventory.
Crack—crack.
He loosened up his body and slowly walked forward.
Seeing him suddenly approach, Jihad Black flinched.
Rolling his eyes, he spat out nervously.
— Wh-what? Why are you coming at me like that, human?
“Human? To your master? Your mindset is rotten.”
— …What?
“Let’s say one hit per second… no, maybe that’s too much with stamina in mind. Still, this should be enough.”
— …?
Jihad Black looked completely confused.
Ignoring him, Dohyun stopped right in front of him.
When the goblin looked up, Dohyun gave a faint eye-smile.
“Let’s start by getting hit.”
— ?
“Hup!”
He bent down and drove a short punch straight into the goblin’s abdomen.
Bam!
A satisfying impact echoed.
— Ggueeeek!!
A sound like a pig being slaughtered—no, a goblin’s shriek—followed.
[You have attacked your guardian.]
[The master deals reduced damage to their guardian and can never kill them.]
‘Yeah, this is it.’
A master could never kill their guardian.
Damage was heavily reduced as well, making accidental death nearly impossible.
But guardians were AI that lived within God of All Ages.
Even if the damage numbers were low and death impossible, they felt pain fully—unlike players, who only experienced minor simulated pain for immersion.
Thud! Bam!
— Gguek! Kkuek! S-stop…!
That was why Jihad Black was rolling on the ground, crying with snot and tears.
And why Dohyun could beat him without worry.
— You vicious human… so you resort to fists first! Fine, I won’t just sit back— Gguek! Kkugh!
Thud! Bam!
— I’ll never let this slide—!
Crack!
— Hah… hah… y-you dare, human…
Even as he crawled backward on the ground, there was no loyalty in his eyes.
But Dohyun saw something else.
[Loyalty: 2 / 100]
After a few punches, it had risen—just slightly.
‘Since ancient times, they’ve said that for guys like this, the rod is the best medicine.’
Feeling the wisdom of his ancestors, Dohyun slowly approached again.
Today’s goal was 20 loyalty.
How many minutes had passed?
Crack! Thud!
The cheerful sounds of impact had echoed through the cave hundreds of times, and the screams had filled it even more.
— S-stop…! Please, stop!
“Stop?”
— N-no… please stop! I was wrong, Master!
Finally, honorifics came out of Jihad Black’s mouth.
It took exactly 97 strikes to various vital spots before that change occurred.
Considering he had deliberately targeted only the most painful areas, the goblin’s stubbornness was almost admirable.
But—
Thud!
— Kugh! W-why…?
“I just don’t like the look in your eyes.”
— That makes no sen— Gguek!
Dohyun didn’t stop.
He wasn’t venting anger because of a bad personality.
[Loyalty: 10 / 100]
[Loyalty is low. If given the chance, he will attempt to flee.]
‘After all that, only 10?’
He shouted “Master,” but was still waiting for an opportunity.
He’d probably try to lull him into complacency, then scheme an escape during logout.
Impressive, in a way.
But in this area, Dohyun had confidence too.
‘If 100 hits aren’t enough, then 300. If that’s not enough, even more.’
If someone didn’t change after being beaten, it just meant they hadn’t been beaten enough.
Back in Demrock, when he made examples of those who tried to scam him, there were a few who didn’t come to their senses at first.
When that happened, he simply crushed them more thoroughly.
After that, they couldn’t even meet his eyes again.
That was the instinct of the strong-against-the-weak.
— Maybe I can endure this much?
He had to beat him until even that thought couldn’t surface.
Thud! Crack!
— W-what did I do wrong, Mast— Kkugh!
— I’m sorry. I’m sorry— Kkek!
— You devil of a human—! Kugh! Gguek! Kieeek!
No matter what sweet words he tried, Dohyun didn’t respond.
He just kept swinging.
There was no need to listen.
[Loyalty: 11 / 100]
[Loyalty: 10 / 100]
[Loyalty: 13 / 100]
The fluctuating numbers were the most objective indicator of all.
How long had he continued in silence?
— N-no, I was insane. I did have bad intentions. I won’t ever think like that again. Waaah…
For the first time, Jihad spoke sincerely.
Only then did Dohyun finally stop his fist.
He was crying like a child now. There was no trace of deception.
No matter what he said before, only fists had answered him.
He had finally realized that tricks wouldn’t work.
[Loyalty: 18 / 100]
[Loyalty is low. Caution is advised.]
[Remaining Play Time: 00:00:41]
The result of fifteen full minutes of “loving discipline.”
‘Too bad it didn’t hit 20… but this should be enough.’
At least the warning about backstabbing had disappeared.
He wouldn’t run away upon reconnection. The rest could be handled with periodic “education.”
Even if he hit him for forty more seconds, it probably wouldn’t rise much.
And when someone truly repented, it was better to offer a carrot than a stick.
“Good. You’re finally looking obedient.”
— Waaah… sniff…
“If you’d been like this from the start, this wouldn’t have happened. Right?”
— Y-yes.
There was none of the earlier aura left in Jihad’s cautious, submissive demeanor.
He looked like a dog watching its owner’s mood after being scolded.
Of course, he couldn’t let his guard down just because of that look.
If he kept being nice, the goblin would quickly climb back up.
[Maximum connection time has ended.]
[You will soon be logged out.]
Seeing the message appear, Dohyun added one last line.
“I’m leaving.”
— What? Where—
“Don’t get happy. I’ll be back. So behave yourself.”
— O-of course. Have a good trip, Master!
Jihad bent nearly in half.
Only five seconds after Dohyun vanished did he finally raise his head.
It showed just how deeply fear had been engraved in him.
— …H-he’s gone, right?
