I'm the Only Totem in Another World - Chapter 130

Chapter 130: Dojo Challenge （3）

Gruaga Castle.

I think I’ve heard of it somewhere before, so I logged into the community forum and searched for it.

[Pumopumo: Strategy Guide） Everyone, aim for the Hidden Pieces.]

Ah, right. I remember now. I saw it in this strategy guide.

The Imperial Arena, the Necromancer’s Tomb, the Skeleton Mountain Range, Gruaga Castle, and the Assassins’ Guild Headquarters.

Pumopumo, who was a member of George’s Raid, said that there might be Hidden Pieces in these five locations. He said that they were secret dungeons or special rewards in the game, so they might exist in this world as well.

His words were true. I went to the Necromancer’s Tomb and the Imperial Arena, and I got Hidden Pieces.

I obtained the Zombie Control skill from the Necromancer’s Tomb and the Meteor Sword from the Imperial Arena. Both are very useful.

There might be a useful Hidden Piece in this place called Gruaga Castle as well.

Should I ask?

━ Have you ever heard of the term “Hidden Piece”?

“No. This is the first time I’m hearing it.”

━ Is there anything unusual stored in Gruaga Castle?

“…I don’t know.”

Hmm. Is information about Hidden Pieces only known to those who are possessed? I asked because I thought she might know the location of the Hidden Pieces, but it was a waste.

I was going to ask Close-Range Spy for information about Hidden Pieces like I did with the Imperial Arena, but I decided not to. That guy wouldn’t give me any information since I’m pretending to be Malak’s messenger.

━ Why did you choose Gruaga Castle?

“A High-ranking Demon who lost one eye lives in Gruaga Castle.”

The Saint’s detailed explanation followed. She said that when the Empire hadn’t fallen yet, there were a few demon subjugations led by the Goddess Religion.

The subjugation team of the Goddess Religion encountered a creature with the head of a crocodile, the upper body of a lion, and the lower body of an unknown animal during the last subjugation.

“Despite its ridiculous appearance, it was a powerful demon. The subjugation team suffered near-annihilation due to the battle with that demon.”

The Saint said that she saw the appearance and abilities of that crocodile-lion（?） demon through a survivor using the psychometry ability that the Pope had told her about.

She said that it has the ability to paralyze someone by just looking into its eyes. Unlike Medusa’s ability, where the body turns to stone, it makes the body unable to move as if it were paralyzed.

She said that because there were followers who knew how to use the Goddess’ blessings, they were able to take at least one of the demon’s eyes.

“Since the place where the battle took place was Gruaga Castle, if that demon is still alive, it would be there. Demons rarely change their place of residence.”

Okay. Should we go to Gruaga Castle first?

By the way, I suddenly got curious about something.

From what I’ve seen so far, not all followers of the Goddess Religion use supernatural powers called “blessings.”

Except for Sister Grace, the Pope, the Saint, and a few other followers who joined first, everyone else was just an ordinary human.

I asked if there were conditions for using blessings, and if blessings could only be used by a select few.

It wasn’t something I absolutely needed to know, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to know.

“When a human born with spiritual abilities converts to the Goddess Religion, they become able to handle small blessings. The Goddess has awakened their abilities. When followers of the Goddess Religion see such people, they say that they have become ‘kinsmen’.”

Kinsmen. I have kinsmen too.

The status window refers to the priestesses who serve me as ‘kinsmen’. Of course, it’s not only priestesses who can become kinsmen.

To become a kinsman, one had to have shamanistic（spiritual） power, a kind of supernatural ability. If one had supernatural powers, they could become my kinsman even if they weren’t a priestess.

The Saint, who is currently talking to me, and Rake, who is leaning against Totem No. 1 and looking at the Saint with indifference, are also kinsmen.

So…kinsmen are those born with supernatural abilities who have become followers of a specific god.

It’s like a shaman who has received a divine blessing.

━ I see.

The reason why priestesses like Paya, Muri, and Bojak were able to use supernatural powers called shamanism before becoming my kinsmen must be because they were kinsmen of other Loa.

Ah, except for Paya. Paya has served Jin Malak from the beginning.

━ Saint, are you also a kinsman?

“That’s right. I could be considered a special kind of kinsman. Because my ability is unique.”

She’s an elite kinsman. She must have been someone with strong spiritual abilities from birth.

“As you know, I am not only a kinsman of Ishtania-nim. Now I am also a kinsman of Malak-nim.”

She smiles again. What does she mean by that?

Is she saying that the Goddess’ kinsman with unique abilities is now yours too, so take good care of her?

Take good care of your kinsman~!

It’s not like she’s acting cute, what the…

Since she’s blind and I can’t read her eyes, I don’t know what she’s thinking. It’s not important, so let’s move on.

Then what about Paladins? Should they also be considered kinsmen since they are possessed?

━ Then what are Paladins?

Since I have the chance, let’s ask this too. The Saint is one of the few people who can satisfy my curiosity about this mysterious world.

I asked Pope Holland about this and that, but he couldn’t answer properly. I’m starting to think that the information I’m getting now might be exclusive to the Saint.

“Paladins are those who have been chosen by Ishtania-nim. They are also called ‘Blessed Ones’. Paladins who have reached the peak can use Her power. They cannot be compared to kinsmen.”

So Paladins are like followers who have received personal blessings.

I thought Paladins were avatars of the Goddess. That’s because the power they could use was too strong compared to priestesses or kinsmen of the Goddess.

Just like I gave personal blessings to Kanto, Paya, and Rake, couldn’t the Goddess have given personal blessings to the possessed?

I gave various blessings like Berserker, Spirit Master, and Guardian, but that Goddess bitch just gave the same Paladin blessing to everyone.

She must have been a twisted god who didn’t respect diversity.

━ My question has been answered. Thank you.

I lightly praised the Saint and sent her back. Now I have to do what I need to do.

“So, are we going to this place called Gruaga Castle?”

Rake, who had been leaning against Totem No. 1 and staring at the Saint for about an hour, got up.

She was honestly scary because she didn’t change her expression and stayed in the same position the whole time.

It was almost like a pressure interview.

If I were in the Saint’s shoes, I might have trembled and fainted. It takes a special person to be a Saint.

━ I’m thinking of going after I finish some minor tasks.

There’s a lot of work that’s been piling up because of the Golden Sun Tribe joining and killing Karon.

A thousand people joined. The Tribal Federation Headquarters is starting to reach its limit.

It’s not the limit of the accommodation space. It’s a castle that was built to accommodate about ten thousand people from the beginning.

It’s not a building that was built solely for military purposes like a fortress, but a city protected by walls. There are quite a few civilian residential areas, so we still have plenty of space.

The problem is food. There wasn’t enough food to feed over a thousand people.

Even at this moment, farmers are sweating and growing crops, but that was food prepared for only a few hundred people.

It’s woefully insufficient now.

It can’t be helped. The time has come for me to step up and copy food using the ‘Power of the Wind and Rain God’.

Just like Jesus in the Bible performed the miracle of the five loaves and two fish and used the bread and fish duplication cheat.

━ Let’s go to the village.

“I’ll watch those who sow seeds.”

Rake, who hates farmers, sighed. Maybe because she grew up in a barbarian society, she looks down on those who aren’t warriors or priestesses.

It’s like her hatred for humans has been combined with contempt for the weak.

The problem is that I’m the Wind and Rain God. Unlike other Loa who are focused on hunting or war, I’m closer to a god of agriculture.

Farmers are the ones who have every reason to serve me, but Rake insulted them.

This is nothing but an insult to me, Malak, the god of agriculture…but it’s a bit much to say it strongly, so I decided to just give her a simple warning. By copying a template.

━ Even though farmers may seem less impressive than warriors, they are also amazing people. They grow life, harvest it, and feed many people with the results. So never look down on farmers again.

For a moment, I almost brought up the story of Park Ji-sung’s left foot and Kim Yuna’s right foot. It’s hard to copy templates.

“I was ignorant and said nonsense. I’m sorry. This won’t happen again.”

Rake bowed her head with a look of regret. She’s such a good kid. She just doesn’t know any better.

I accepted Rake’s apology and told her to let’s go.

Now, shall we go copy sweet potatoes, potatoes, and wheat?

▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄

After finishing copying the crops, we arrived at Gruaga Castle.

━ Oh my…!

Someone came before us. Someone who even engraved something on a stone.

[I’m so sorry about this! Paladin who wanders in search of Hidden Pieces!

This ‘Close-Range Spy’-nim took the Hidden Piece.

Ah, don’t worry, I also took care of the High-ranking Demon~!

Uhaha fanfare~!]

Ha. This is infuriating. The High-ranking Demon that Close-Range Spy killed must have been the crocodile-lion.

This son of a bitch. He’s not helpful at all.