Trait Hoarder

In Search of Legends — Part 4

The pillars of light split apart.

Like doors opening, they parted, and figures stepped forward.

Women in white wedding dresses.

Each wore black ceremonial headdresses, and instead of bouquets, they held thick shotguns in their arms.

Naturally, my gaze went straight to the shotguns.

Those were Dokkaebi Clubs.

Held upside down for melee attacks—

Fired mercilessly in battle.

Their realm was unique—the majority of their warriors were female.

Male Dokkaebis were closer to mages than fighters.

“Ooooh! My bride!”

“My husband!”

“Finally! Finally!”

The male Dokkaebis rushed toward their brides.

Each one found his match, and they broke into wild, celebratory dances.

The female Dokkaebis joined in, spinning their heads and twirling their bodies, wedding dresses nearly tearing from the intensity.

A full-blown dance battle erupted.

I simply leaned against a nearby tree and watched.

No need for me to jump in.

“Dokkaebis sure know how to have fun.”

“Right?”

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

The festivities only settled when a rooster crowed in the distance.

A massive sun rooster, peeking its head from the east.

If only male Dokkaebis were here, they would’ve immediately turned into brooms.

But now, the female Dokkaebis were present.

They flipped their shotguns upside down.

“Bring back the night—hocus pocus!”

A synchronized shout.

Darkness surged from the shotgun butts, racing across the horizon.

The sun rooster yelped in shock and fled.

Time reversed—night returned.

The male Dokkaebis brushed off their disheveled robes and straightened up.

“Ahem, ahem. Shall we begin, my dear?”

“Yes, my husband.”

The Dokkaebis lined up in pairs.

Just like human couples at a wedding ceremony, facing the officiant.

“Kim West, be our officiant.”

“Sure. Everyone, shrink down a little. You need space to bow.”

The village plaza wasn’t that big.

If they all tried to bow at full size, they’d run out of room.

So, they shrunk down instead.

Some even performed acrobatic flips as they did so.

They shrank to one-tenth their original size, looking like tiny dolls.

A lineup of miniature Dokkaebi couples stood before me.

I couldn’t help but grin.

They were adorable.

At the same time, something stood out—

The couples were hilariously mismatched.

‘How did they end up with such opposite partners?’

For example—

Dango-ma, the small Dokkaebi, was paired with a massive, muscle-bound female Dokkaebi.

Fatso was matched with a delicate, reed-thin bride.

The old-looking Dokkaebi was with a baby-faced bride.

The round-faced Dokkaebi was with a square-jawed partner.

And so on.

But one thing wasn’t random.

Using Bright Eyes, I saw their mana wavelengths.

Each couple’s mana patterns were almost identical.

“Groom and bride, bow!”

No need for unnecessary formalities.

At my command, a white ceremonial bowl appeared.

It overflowed with pure cleansing water.

The Dokkaebis respectfully bowed toward each other.

Thud!

“Ah!”

“Ow! Sorry, my dear!”

“It’s alright, husband.”

Everywhere, Dokkaebis smashed foreheads and yelped in pain.

I let them recover before continuing.

“Groom Dokkaebis, do you swear to always love, respect, and build a happy home with your bride, no matter what?”

“Yes! We swear!”

“Bride Dokkaebis, do you swear to always love, respect, and build a happy home with your groom, no matter what?”

“Yes! We swear!”

“With these vows, in the presence of their kin and ancestors, I declare these Dokkaebis to be lifelong partners in joy and hardship.”

“WOOOOAAAH!”

Bang! Bang-bang-bang!

Overwhelmed with excitement, the Dokkaebis fired their guns into the air.

Magical fireworks shot up and exploded.

Giant, grinning Dokkaebi faces formed in the sky.

Baaa! Baaaa!

The sheep-clouds cried out in chorus.

Boom. Rumble.

The ground split, spitting out boulders into the air.

The boulders exploded mid-air, scattering golden mist and rainbow-colored clouds.

In the distance, the ink-wash mountains rose and danced.

Even the trees swayed in rhythmic pulses.

“Party time!”

The male Dokkaebis’ revolvers transformed.

Their barrels lengthened, handles extended, and shoulder stocks attached.

No longer pistols—

They were now shotguns.

Dokkaebi Clubs.

Slightly thinner and smaller than the ones the females carried, but still authentic.

“Meat, appear—hocus pocus!”

Boiled pork rained from the sky.

“Kimchi, appear—hocus pocus!”

A gust of wind delivered bowls of freshly seasoned kimchi.

“Rice cakes, appear—hocus pocus!”

The ground heaved, lifting massive slabs of rice cakes.

“Buckwheat jelly, appear—hocus pocus!”

The trees shook, dropping blocks of buckwheat jelly like fruit.

“Bwahaha!”

“Heeheehee!”

“Have a drink, my love.”

“Yes, my dear. You too.”

A feast began.

Was it a wedding reception or an afterparty?

Either way, it was wild.

The Dokkaebis sprawled out, gorging on food and drink.

A private table was set for Seo Woojin and me.

Seo Woojin cautiously took a bite of the pork—

Then, his eyes widened.

“This is delicious.”

Obviously.

Boiled pork that was hastily cooked with no seasoning versus properly prepared pork—

No contest.

This was the best boiled pork in all of Korea.

Why?

Because it had been copied from a dish made by the greatest pork master in the country.

If Dokkaebi Caps had [Invisibility], then Dokkaebi Clubs had [Duplication].

A phenomenally useful trait in any situation.

“Kim West!”

Dango-ma stumbled over, his face flushed red from alcohol.

“Come meet my wife! This is Big-Big!”

“Nice to meet you.”

Big-Big, Dango-ma’s bride, gracefully lifted her wedding dress with both hands and bowed, just like a Western lady.

I returned the gesture with a polite bow.

“Congratulations. I wish you both a hundred—no, ten thousand years of happiness.”

“Haha, thanks.”

“Thank you. This is our gift to you.”

The two Dokkaebis clasped their hands together and extended them toward me.

At first, their hands seemed empty—

But the moment I reached out, pop!

A shotgun materialized.

A massive, oversized shotgun.

Even larger than the shotguns the female Dokkaebis carried—let alone the ones the males had.

“You’re really giving this to me?”

“Of course! Who else but Kim West?”

“This is the best Dokkaebi Club we have.”

“We’ve never given it to anyone before!”

“No one has ever arranged this many marriages for us.”

A weapon, both a gun and a club.

SSR-tier.

It had top-tier attack power and could shift forms, functioning as a pistol, rifle, or sniper rifle as needed.

But…

Was it better than Dasan Guns?

Unfortunately, no.

If I didn’t have the Dasan Gun Set, I’d use it—

But compared to Dasan’s Weapon Cache, it fell far behind.

“Thank you. I’ll make good use of it.”

Was this it?

No way.

I had matched one hundred couples. Full marriage completion.

In the game, this level of success rained down rewards.

Rip!

Just as expected—

One of the Dokkaebi brides ripped her wedding dress with a sharp motion.

“Dokkaebi Flight Suit, appear—hocus pocus!”

She struck the torn fabric with her shotgun.

Whoosh!

The cloth expanded and morphed into a wedding dress once again—

A Dokkaebi Flight Suit.

An SSR-tier armor piece imbued with the [Flight] trait.

Seo Woojin eyed the dress and grimaced.

“…Are they expecting our teacher to wear that?”

Because, of course—

It was for women.

A gender-restricted item.

The Dokkaebi bride blushed.

“It’s really good, though… You could give it to your future wife later…”

“That works. I’ll accept it. Thank you.”

I needed the Dokkaebi Flight Suit as well.

I couldn’t extract its trait, but—

With the Dokkaebi Series, there was something else I could do.

I took the wedding dress, then pulled out the shotgun and cowboy hat I had received earlier.

Placing the shotgun on the dress’s sleeve and the cowboy hat on its headpiece, I channeled mana into them.

Not my warrior’s mana—

But the purest mana I could muster.

Vrrrrr! Vrrrmmm!

The Dokkaebi Series shone brightly—

Then, suddenly—

Poof!

They evaporated into pure mana and vanished.

“H-huh?!”

“Kim West! What did you do?!”

“Oh my god!”

The hat, dress, and shotgun—

All gone.

Only a single glowing point of light remained.

A tiny, grinning Dokkaebi the size of my fingertip.

The Dokkaebi Soul, born from merging the Dokkaebi Series.

The Dokkaebis erupted into celebration, clapping and dancing wildly.

“A Dokkaebi Soul!”

“That was real?!”

“The prophecy… the prophecy has come true!”

“We’re going out into the world!”

I reached out my hand.

The light Dokkaebi wiggled its hips in a tiny dance, then hopped onto my palm.

And then—

Absorption.

It crawled along my nerves and blood vessels, traveling straight to my heart.

Buzz!

My mana circuits vibrated—

A new ability bloomed within me.

Acquired the trait: [Phasing].

A rare trait, even in Arcane Seoul.

Essentially, one second of invincibility and the ability to phase through matter.

Much stronger than Iron Fist.

Iron Fist had been penetrated by the Massacre Empress.

Phasing, however, wasn’t absolute.

It couldn’t block ethereal attacks—

True invulnerability only existed in skills like the Massacre Empress’s Untouchable, or mythical artifacts.

But its versatility was unmatched.

It wasn’t just for defense—

I could use it to walk through walls or slip through barriers.

One more thing—

Phasing was a required material for the Lightning God Trait.

Now, I only needed one more—[Psionics]—to complete the set.

Dango-ma grabbed my hand tightly.

“You’ll take us with you, right? Open the portal for us?”

“Of course. But you know it can’t be right away.”

“Yeah, yeah! We’ll wait! Just promise!”

“I promise. But I need something first.”

“Anything! Just say it!”

“I need Geumcheok and Hwaju.”

“I’ll get them right now!”

The Dokkaebis rushed into their houses.

They rummaged through their homes for a while, causing a ruckus—

Then, they returned triumphantly with the items I requested.

A golden ruler and a flaming pearl.

One Dokkaebi proudly held up the golden ruler.

“This is Geumcheok. In the past, it could even bring the dead back to life, but its power has weakened. It can’t revive people anymore—”

“—But it can heal people on the brink of death. And if someone’s lifespan has run out, it can extend their life by three years, once per person. If it loses power, bring it back—we’ll recharge it for you.”

“Thank you.”

Essentially, it was a rechargeable elixir.

But that wasn’t why I wanted Geumcheok.

It was because of the zombie plague.

Geumcheok’s healing power surpassed healing potions and holy water combined.

It couldn’t cure people who had fully turned into zombies—

But for those bitten or infected, simply infusing mana into Geumcheok and tapping them with it would heal them.

Even just drinking water infused with Geumcheok worked.

“And this is Hwaju. If you throw it, it shoots fireballs—we call them Dokkaebi Flames. It’s effective against evil beings—malicious spirits, phantoms, undead, demons, anything like that.”

“The old Kim Wests used to call it Exorcist Fire and loved it. Even if it runs out of power, you don’t need to bring it back—it recharges on its own.”

“I’ll make good use of it.”

“Originally, there was one more treasure—Okjeok, a bamboo flute. But the last Kim West we lent it to lost it. After that, the gate from our village to the outside world closed.

Kim West, we need you to find Okjeok and bring it back. If Geumcheok, Hwaju, and Okjeok are together, the gate will open again. We’re counting on you.”

“I understand. I’ll find Okjeok and bring it back.”

Another name for Okjeok was Manpasikjeok.

Originally, it appeared in Episode 7: Ice Age.

It dropped from one of the boss monsters, and obtaining it triggered a reputation questline that unlocked Dokkaebi Realm Reputation.

But this time, things were happening in reverse.

Didn’t matter.

As long as I reached my goal, the path didn’t matter.

By my calculations, once I opened the gate, the Dokkaebi realm would officially become a firm ally.

“It’ll take some time. Please be patient.”

“Haha! That’s why we trust you! We’ll wait, of course!”

“With such beautiful wives to keep us company, waiting is nothing!”

“Just come back before we die!”

“We can wait two hundred years if we have to!”

I already knew where the boss was.

But hunting it? That was a future task.

The boss holding Manpasikjeok was a high-level Arctic beast.

To hunt it, I needed fire-attribute traits.

Black Flame would work, but it wouldn’t be enough.

What I needed was Supreme Flame—

The strongest fire trait a warrior could obtain.

‘The ones left were Dragon King’s Flame, Celestial Flame, and Chaos Flame.’

I still had plenty of time before my bet with the Sun Mage Tower, but I should start preparing.

Supreme Flame would also be a huge advantage in my battle with the Saintess.

Fighting her with Black Flame alone would be a pain—

It would be far easier to devour her holy flames with Supreme Flame.

I gathered Geumcheok and Hwaju and stood up.

The Dokkaebis rose with me, their faces filled with reluctance.

“Take care, Kim West!”

“Make sure to come back!”

“Thank you for everything!”

“We love you!”

“Come back within a hundred years!”

“Don’t die!”

A hundred years?

It won’t even take one.

I waved and took out Hwaju.

Seo Woojin leaned in beside me.

“Teacher. I don’t see an exit.”

“The gate is closed. Normally, there is no entrance or exit. The only way out is getting expelled when the sun rises and breaks the illusion.”

“But… isn’t the sun blocked? The Dokkaebis stopped it from rising.”

“Exactly. So we need a different way out.”

I threw Hwaju.

The copied flame pearl shot forward—

And set the well on fire.

Then, a strange phenomenon occurred.

Like burning a scroll of rice paper, the very space itself was consumed by flames.

The well vanished—

Revealing a completely different scene.

A chamber of neatly stacked stone bricks.

Even at a glance, it was massive in scale.

Blue mana lanterns still flickered, dimly illuminating the endless passageways stretching into the depths.

This was the Gunslinger Ruins.

A labyrinth created by King Jeongjo, the Reformist Monarch, with the help of Great Mage Dasan Jeong Yakyong and the Dokkaebis.

–TL Notes–

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