Chapter 36: Confusion (end)

Dawn was dreaming but in reality, he was awake. He was aware of what was happening in his body while having his consciousness sucked in a state of dreaming.

---What is that...

Dawn was in a state of confusion for almost a day and whether that was the cause or not, he started seeing things.

Dawn narrowed his eyes to get a better view but...

---A dot?

That was the only thing he could see. The dot was small but it was definitely moving.

It wasn't fast or slow; he couldn't describe it. It was a peculiar sight for Dawn.

---Huh?

He tried reaching out but then as if it was the signal, the dots stopped moving. Dawn couldn't see their distinct features but Dawn knew that when they stopped, they all turned to look at him.

---It's warm.

It's warm. The gazes, whether he could describe it as such or not, were warm.

For some reason, he felt satisfied. Even happiness was evident in his emotions. It continued like that for a while then the dot started moving towards Dawn.

He wasn't confused by this, no...He even felt as if he knew what was happening and that confused him more.

After a while, the dots stopped moving as a bigger dot than the rest appeared. The dream had no colors making Dawn unable to tell what kind of a dot that was.

The bigger dot was looking at him. Dawn felt his happiness rise above a level and it turned to euphoria. He was satisfied but...

---W-what's happening now?

The bigger dot, in a blink of an eye, blinked. Its whole existence blinked and Dawn could feel pain, disappointment, anger, rage...madness.

However, as if Dawn wasn't Dawn, he couldn't express it. The dots simply looked at him and at some point; they started moving again, moving far away from him, with the bigger dot in the lead. And this made him sad.

Sadness that he couldn't explain has started to creep up into his heart...

****

"Pah!"

Dawn stood up, awaken from the dream. As if it was proving that it was a dream, he couldn't feel the emotions that he felt then.

He touched his chest where he felt the emotions strongly. It was vivid but it was nowhere.

"Just what is happening..."

He thought that his questions were answered when the goblins called him king. He thought that he was a being that demanded respect from them; making him assured that what he thought was correct. But...

---Was it wrong?

The initial questions that he had were about his pride, instincts, and dreams but when the goblins called him king, those questions were answered but now, another popped out.

"Who am I?"

He wasn't sure anymore. Was Dawn, Dawn? Was Dawn a goblin? Was Dawn the king? He wanted to find out as soon as he can but...

"Dawn."

A voice interrupted his thoughts from the outside. It was the Elder's voice.

"Enter."

Dawn was in a state of confusion but it's not as if he'll let that linger on. He wasn't a human; he was a goblin. He had a strong mentality or rather instincts that help him in these kinds of cases.

If questions popped up, he could just get his answers. If he couldn't get his answers now, then he would be fine with later.

The Elder entered with graceful movements that you wouldn't see from a goblin. He spoke to Dawn as he bowed his head.

"The goblins have gathered and all blessed are here."

Dawn nodded. He walked out and the Elder followed him. He focused all of his attention on the current matters as he brushed off his problems aside. This was his decision as he was the king of his men, as his pride makes him be.

****

Dawn stood atop a fallen tree as he overlooked his surroundings. His village has much more space than before and his goblins could fit in here with some extra space remaining.

His goblins, with the exact count of 184, were filling up the village's center. He looked at them and he felt satisfied.

These goblins were starting to become his pride. No, it could already be said that he felt that these monstrous beings were his pride.

And now, it was time to make sure that his pride wouldn't crumble from any external threats.

"Karkas."

"Yes, king."

The blessed goblins were standing in a line with the main ones at the front. There were some goblins who have been blessed while they were hunting in these parts and not all of them could lead.

Dawn knew this and that's why he lined them up like this. He can't have his army be scrambled by having too many leaders. But there was a problem.

Dawn was thinking about how he actually knew close to zero about these kinds of matters...

---What do you call Karkas when he is in an army?

In a goblin village, many of them want to have a name to make sure they have their own identity. In other words, individuality. So, of course, his goblins forces want to have the same thing.

A goblin village could be considered as an army but the king was different. The goblins instinctively knew that some of the goblins, down the line, won't fight. And the one to protect them was the king's forces.

In such a time, what would the king call them? What kind of position will he give them? The Blessings of the Battlefield is their source of strength and the king's reward is their motivation.

---Hmm. This is hard.

At that moment, as if to answer his question, the scene in front changed. Dawn knew that this was a dream. He had the same feeling from before.

A voice leaked out from that scene and after, he returned to reality.

Dawn smirked after seeing and hearing it.

---I guess it isn't so bad to have these kinds of...dreams.

He decided to name Karkas' position as the same thing that he heard from the dream.

"You shall lead our overall forces and will be called the Schemer."

Karkas deeply bowed and didn't answer. After all...

"Didi."

"Yes, king."

Dawn already called the next goblin.

"You shall lead 50 goblins and will be called..."

He quickly named the leading goblins and assigned men under them. After some time passed, his forces were ready.

****

In the dark underground, a man was walking in a hallway-like road. It couldn't even be called a road; it was just dug up by some magicians and made it so it wouldn't collapse.

A lantern was hanging by his side, making the area visible. The ground was smooth and there were various mechanisms in place when he reached his destination.

A door could be seen in front and the man stopped right in front of it. He held out his hand and pushed the door.

Ggeaaak.

It let out a shill cry as it was pushed out of the way and the man quickly put the lantern in front.

Inside the room was an old man reading a book with his glasses on. He looked quite saggy and his back was bent so when he stood, he didn't reach the man's height.

It was quite strange that an old man wearing glasses was reading in a dark room but the glasses wasn't ordinary. It had some magic on it, helping the old man read in the dark.

The man spoke first with a gruff tone.

"Have you figured it out, Great Sage?"

"Tsk! Youngsters these days have no patience!"

The old man spoke while moving towards the table. The table had an incredible stack of books on it and the old man called Great Sage seems to have read it all.

There, the old man pulled out a book and he showed it to the man. The man looked at the book and he tilted his head.

"What's this about?"

"Do I have to explain every little thing!"

The old man quickly threw a tantrum while flailing his arms around. Watching it, the man, that could be described as a young man when in front of the old man, popped a vein on his clenched fist. He spoke with a cold voice, incomparable to the one before.

"Teacher...you know that I am short on time right? Your student is quite busy."

"Huh? You're my student? You don't look like the innocent child that I've brought with me."

The young man let out a sigh of frustration. He knew that the old man was an old man but remembering the times when the old man was teaching him, he couldn't help but see the Great Sage as a strong guy.

"Well if you're my student, I guess I can help you out. So tell me, why did you need my help?"

Another sigh escaped the young man's mouth. He had already come here many times and this was the same process every time. He was reaching the limits of his patience.

He only spoke after regaining his wits.

"I need to know what Lakan is. My instincts are telling me that it is closely related to the reason why a child has gone berserk. The investigation has already proved his hideous acts but we have yet to have clues to the child himself."

The old man nodded his head several times before looking straight at the young man's eyes.

"Huh? A child...? I wonder if that child is my student. I bet he looks so innocent compared to you."

Hearing the reply, the young man couldn't help but blow a fuse. But he was stopped by the sudden flash of light in the old man's eyes. He felt the atmosphere changing and the temperature of the room rising.

'T-this is!'

The old man spoke in a clear voice, and with a bit of playfulness, he took the book from the young man's hands. He looked at the book with a mysterious gaze. He traced the book's title with his forefinger.

"L-a-k-a-n. Lakan is from the ancient language and it means the supreme ruler. Kuku. If that child knows the word 'Lakan' then there's something going on. There's no way a child would know the ancient language."

The young man's eyes widened from the sudden change and he bowed to the old man as he gave his thanks. The young man quickly got out of the room, leaving the old man alone.

Looking at the door where his student passed through, the old man...Great Sage muttered to himself.

"Datu...?"