I'm the Only Totem in Another World - Chapter 131

Chapter 131: Dojo Challenge （4）

This means we came here for nothing.

“What should we do?”

Rake, who was carefully examining the writing engraved on the stone, asked for my opinion. She couldn’t understand it because it was written in Korean.

Yeah. What should we do?

━ I need to see the map the Saint gave me.

It’s a bit disappointing to go back empty-handed, so should we just go to the next destination?

I looked at the map Rake took out and chose the closest place.

Grips Mountain Range. This is where the griffin-like demon is said to live. Over 10 meters in size with a sharp beak and claws. And it was said to have the ability to control the wind, wasn’t it?

Looking at its abilities alone, it doesn’t seem very threatening. Its size alone is smaller than the Stingray Demon. At best, it would be at the level of the Centaur Demon. Let’s subjugate it.

“Understood.”

Rake nodded and moved. This… I feel sorry for making Rake train so hard.

Should I at least keep her company?

━ How’s it going controlling the Loa’s power?

We decided to call the divinity obtained through the Pope’s sacrifice “Loa’s power.”

It might have been Ishtania’s divinity when the Pope passed it on to Rake, but now that Rake has absorbed it all like a sponge, it’s more accurate to call it Loa’s power.

Even though she can only wear it and wield it for now.

“Ah, yes! I can feel myself getting stronger day by day!”

She’s really happy about it.

Rake likes and values honor, battle, strength, and ability. Her favorite is me, Malak, but that’s generally how she is.

━ Was there any noticeable progress?

“A little, but I think I’ve figured out how to release the power outwards… I can’t show you right now because I have to kill a high-ranking demon soon.”

She’s so disappointed that she’s trembling as she raises her fist.

Anyone who saw her would think she’s angry because she can’t beat someone up.

━ It’s alright. You can show me then. I’m glad you’re making progress. As expected of my guardian.

“Hehe…”

She’s laughing like a child. Cutely.

Rake and I continued to talk about various things as we headed towards the Grips Mountain Range, the habitat of the Griffin Demon.

“Have you ever seen the face of Bojak, the priest of the Golden Sun Tribe?”

━ No.

“I saw him briefly when he was eating alone, but he was more ordinary than I thought. Just an old man.”

Why would you look at someone eating alone? They might choke on their food.

Once she starts a conversation, my guardian talks excitedly as if a dam has burst open. （Not that kind of dam.）

It’s a bit awkward to say this, but she reminds me of the “explainer” characters that often appear in novels.

You know, the nerdy characters who have a lot to say but no friends to talk to, so they end up dumping all their knowledge on the protagonist.

Rake also eats alone, so she’s not completely a nerd… no, wait. How can there be a nerd this pretty and capable?

It’s not that people are bullying Rake. It’s Rake who’s bullying people. Those are two completely different things.

Let’s just think that way.

“That civilized woman, the Saint. She’s very strange. I had some free time so I watched her all day, and all she did was take walks, play with children who don’t have parents, ask about people’s well-being, and read books. I don’t think she has any ulterior motives, but she’s definitely a strange woman.”

The Saint revealed that she has an ability similar to psychometry. Maybe she’s not actually reading books, but using her psychic powers to see the memories of the person who wrote or read the book.

So-called “proxy reading.”

━ …I see.

Isn’t that living a very righteous life? She seems like someone who could be a role model for others.

And you say you had some free time. Rake… you’re always free when you’re not fighting. You’re the one who’s strange, spending more than half of your day with the totem.

I didn’t say it out loud and only nitpicked in my mind.

I know why Rake is badmouthing the Saint. She probably doesn’t like the Saint who smiles at me and says, “Trust me~!”

It’s the so-called “jealousy.”

She might have teased Paya because she’s still young and doesn’t see her as a competitor, but the Saint is a mature young woman in her early to mid-twenties.

On top of that, she has the title of “Goddess’ Representative,” so Rake probably thinks she’s in a position to threaten her.

She might even think that the Saint could steal even a little bit of my affection.

Actually, if you look at her as a person, aside from the fact that she’s blind, the Saint is a good woman. She’s beautiful, articulate, and has a good personality on the surface. Because she’s kind to everyone.

She even has the elegance of a noblewoman, so if you were to choose the best bride in the Tribal Federation, it would probably be the Saint.

If she didn’t have the incredibly burdensome title of “Goddess’ Representative,” she would have received a lot of courtship from men.

Rake… is close to a zero as a “good woman” in the way people of this era commonly think. She’s extremely beautiful, but she’s unkind to everyone except me.

━ If my guardian says so, then it must be so.

Let’s just agree with her here.

If I try to defend the Saint, Rake will get insecure. She might even get depressed and lie in bed without eating.

Honestly, I’m not sure if Rake can even have a romantic relationship. If someone annoys her even a little, she’ll probably beat them up saying, “If you mess with me, I’ll kill you, boyfriend!”

Wait, does this mean I’m the only one who can take her?

If you ask me if I like Rake… I can say I like her quite a lot. I don’t know if this feeling is love, though.

But I need to hear Rake’s side of the story too. How can a person have a romantic relationship with a totem? It’s not like Pygmalion who fell in love with a statue.

Come to think of it, Pygmalion didn’t marry the statue either. In the end, the statue became a real person, didn’t it?

Even if I get a physical body, it’ll be the same. I don’t think Rake likes me in a romantic way.

The object of loyalty and the one who gives loyalty, the god and the worshipper. It’s ultimately a master-servant relationship. That’s why I’m drawing the line too.

Well, I can’t be sure since I’m the guy who was always called dense by my ex-girlfriend.

Come to think of it, my first relationship was ridiculous too. Was it during the university orientation or the MT? It was probably the MT.

This ditzy-looking female junior kept talking to me, so I just responded, thinking, “She’s a chatty one.” She kept texting me even after the MT was over.

What are you doing? Did you see this? Let’s go somewhere. She kept saying that, so I got annoyed and just gave short replies. Then one day, she suddenly came to me, fuming, hit my shoulder, and burst into tears.

In an instant, I became a famous figure in the department, the “clueless guy.” After that, I was practically pushed into a relationship.

Wow, how many years has it been? I wouldn’t have known then that I would become a totem.

“We’ve arrived at the Grips Mountain Range.”

Time flew by while I was chatting with Rake. We got here so quickly.

Rake said she needs to focus, so I agreed and logged into the community. It was a pretty enjoyable conversation.

The community was divided into two factions, engaged in a heated keyboard battle.

A fight between those who like the Tribal Federation and those who don’t.

[LuluTV: Honestly, doesn’t Malak look like a man-eating monster?]

[Morning Tent Erection Knight: Honestly, isn’t LuluTV a total loser?]

Everyone’s rolling with pointless bait as if they have nothing better to do. Meanwhile, Close-Range Spy and I, who were the first to clash, are staying quiet.

Oh, Siu is in the middle of a keyboard battle in her post. I have nothing to do, so should I take a quick look?

[Morning Tent Erection Knight: LuluTV is probably a low-level noob lol What would you know with a low level?]

ㄴ [LuluTV: What level are you then? lol]

ㄴ [Morning Tent Erection Knight: Level 4, why?]

ㄴ [LuluTV: Bullshit lol You’re the guy who almost died trying to get Viagra.]

ㄴ [Morning Tent Erection Knight: How long ago was that? lol Are you a newbie who just read through all the community posts?]

ㄴ [LuluTV: Prove it if you’re so confident~?]

ㄴ [Morning Tent Erection Knight: Proof? You want it?]

ㄴ [LuluTV: Go go go Do it and I’ll grovel like a dog and apologize.]

ㄴ [Morning Tent Erection Knight: How should I prove it? Take a picture of me using a skill and show you?]

ㄴ [LuluTV: Go go.]

ㄴ [Morning Tent Erection Knight: Should I upload it as a post? Send it to you as a message?]

ㄴ [LuluTV: Anywhere.]

ㄴ [Morning Tent Erection Knight: Look at this scaredy-cat lol.]

ㄴ [LuluTV: Anywhere, I said, you impotent patient.]

━ A new post has been uploaded. ━

[Morning Tent Erection Knight: Sorry, I’m actually level 2.

（A picture of Siu grinning while using Purification, a level 4 skill.）

Did you think I’d do that?

Get lost, dude lol.

I’ll kill you, you bastard.]

What is she even doing?

I transferred my consciousness to Totem No. 1 and called Rachel.

“Malak-nim, you called for me?”

━ Paladin Siu seems to be bored. Is there anything that needs manpower?

“I can’t just order a Paladin around…”

━ Tell her I gave you permission.

“We were short on hands, so this is great.”

Rachel pushed up her glasses. Look at that change in attitude.

And speaking of Siu, that kid. He should be doing something productive instead of keyboard battling. Go do some manual labor, you punk.

I was watching the pathetic fight between the Tribal Federation supporters and haters when…

“That looks like a high-ranking demon’s nest.”

Rake, hidden behind a rock, pointed to a huge nest perched on a cliff. The high-ranking demon wasn’t inside.

Is it out for a walk or something?

I looked around some more. The sky became noisy, so I looked up…

Screech! Screech!

Holy crap. What is this?

Human-faced birds, with human heads and bird bodies, were flapping around.