Yong-ho’s eye color shifted to a green hue. It wasn’t a dramatic change, not enough to make golden flowers bloom around him like his father’s had, but anyone paying close attention would notice the difference right away. Yong-ho took a slow breath. He could feel his magic draining as time passed. The amount consumed was small, but given how poor his current magic reserves were, even that minor drain felt significant. 'Still, no need to rush.' He still had plenty of time. Yong-ho looked up and examined the goblins displayed on the screen.

[Race: Goblin (Male)] [Strength Specialization | ☆]

Huh? The first goblin he looked at had only one Light Script and one box. Compared to what he’d seen when looking at Katarina or Elligoth, the difference in information was almost embarrassingly stark. Why was that? Because goblins were inferior monsters compared to Katarina or Elligoth? That was certainly possible. But a more reasonable and convincing explanation came to mind. 'They’re not my familiars.' Katarina and Elligoth were Yong-ho’s familiars. Not ordinary ones, either, they were Bound Familiars, whose very souls and bodies were subjugated to him. The fact that the two of them were higher beings than goblins was probably part of the reason, but Yong-ho felt it was more likely the difference between a familiar and a non-familiar. 'At least I can still see something. That’s a relief.' Yong-ho examined two more goblins in succession for comparison, finding the positive.

[Race: Goblin (Male)] [Strength Specialization | ★ (1)] [Race: Goblin (Male)] [Strength Specialization | ☆ (0.5)] [Stamina Specialization | ☆ (0.5)]

There were differences, clear, immediately comparable differences. 'So even within the same race, each individual has different fields into which they can evolve?' That made sense. Not every member of the same race had to be identical. 'Does the number of stars mean potential? Even if I evolve them the same way, the results won’t be the same.' A smile crept onto Yong-ho’s face. Now that he had a rough grasp of how the Authority of Evolution worked, it felt almost like he was writing a game guide. 'So Katarina isn’t a complete airhead after all?' Even among identical goblins, some had only one evolution path while others had two. And Katarina? She had a whopping five evolution paths, and even her lowest star count was three, an exceptionally high potential. Considering that Elligoth, who could be considered Katarina’s equal in terms of current state, had three evolution paths and two stars, Katarina’s talent was clearly outstanding. 'If I raise her well, maybe she’ll go on an unstoppable rampage all by herself?' Like Liu Bei having Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun at his side. Having Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun at his side. He wondered if such a future was really possible, picturing Katarina’s tearful face, but he couldn’t help feeling excited. Yong-ho snapped out of his pleasant daydreams. He didn’t have time to waste like this. Even at this very moment, magic was being consumed as communication fees and as the cost of maintaining his power. Thirty goblins in total appeared on the screen. Yong-ho quickly checked the information for all thirty, weeding out the ones with more evolution paths or higher star counts.

[No 04.] [Race: Goblin (Male)] [Strength Specialization | ★ (1)] [Stamina Specialization | ★ (1)] [No 17.] [Race: Goblin (Male)] [Strength Specialization | ★☆ (1.5)] [No 22] [Race: Goblin (Male)] [Stamina Specialization | ★☆ (1.5)]

'Wow, this is a real dilemma.' He could only pick two out of those. In the end, the deciding factor came down to versatility versus specialization. 'There’s just not enough information.' He had no way of knowing whether a goblin raised with Strength Specialization or one raised with Stamina Specialization would be more efficient. Honestly, it was just a single worker, maybe he was overthinking it. According to Elligoth, he’d eventually need to manage at least dozens of workers. But even so, he couldn’t just pick randomly. In game terms, this was the very beginning. Every single worker was precious, and the choice of which workers to take could create a huge gap in early development speed. After wrestling with the decision, Yong-ho reached out absentmindedly and touched one of the goblins on the screen. Then he jumped back in surprise. The moment his hand touched the box indicating an evolution path, the goblin’s appearance changed. More precisely, a translucent silhouette overlaid the goblin’s form. Yong-ho sensed it intuitively. He swallowed hard and reached out to touch each box one by one. The Strength Specialization goblin transformed into a broad-shouldered, inverted-triangle build. The Agility Specialization type grew longer arms and legs overall, and the Stamina Specialization type became more robust all around. It was only a silhouette, but that was enough, more than enough to imagine what they’d look like after evolution. 'Should’ve tried touching Katarina and Elligoth too.' But the two of them weren’t here, and what Yong-ho needed right now was two workers. Yong-ho finally made his decision, alternating between the Strength Specialization and Stamina Specialization goblins.

[You have selected No. 17 and No. 22.] [Thank you, dear customer. Delivery is expected to take 1 - 2 days.]

Yong-ho couldn’t help but laugh again at the thoroughly home-shopping-style message on the screen. He had chosen one Strength Specialization goblin and one Stamina Specialization goblin. It was a little disappointing that he couldn’t aim for maximum efficiency, but he felt that gathering data on the Authority of Evolution was the more pressing priority right now.

[Would you like to conclude your transaction?] [Yes / No]

He’d already burned through a significant amount of magic. There was no reason to waste communication fees after the transaction was already done. Yong-ho pressed 'Yes' without hesitation and opened his eyes after a brief twitch. Instead of the all-white space, the desolate Family Head’s room came into view. “Did the transaction go well?” Elligoth asked from just the right distance. Judging by his expression, he was quite anxious. - He hadn’t fully realized it since it was his first time entering the virtual space, but the time spent shopping for goblins had exceeded a full hour. - Yong-ho nodded and answered. 'Yeah. Got two goblins. They’ll be here tomorrow, the day after at the latest.' “Ohhh… finally, workers in this dungeon again… we can reinforce the traps and build all sorts of facilities.” His voice sounded like he might burst into tears at any moment. Yong-ho could at least understand Elligoth’s emotion a little. It had been nearly a year since the previous Family Head took his own life. Throughout that period, the Mammon Family dungeon had been nothing but in decline over and over, so this moment, the start of a turnaround, must have been deeply moving. “So how does this delivery thing work, exactly?” At Yong-ho’s question, Elligoth wiped his wrinkled eyes with the back of his hand and answered immediately. 'A delivery rider affiliated with the Dungeon Trading Company will bring it. They’re fast and reliable.' 'A delivery rider, guess that’s something both the Human Realm and here have in common.' Sometimes the anticipation of waiting for a package was more exciting and enjoyable than the moment it actually arrived. And on top of that, there was more good news. “Family head! Family head!” Katarina’s thoroughly excited voice rang out from beyond the door, and Yong-ho and Elligoth both turned toward it simultaneously. And perhaps three seconds passed? Katarina literally kicked the door open and appeared. Where that frail body found the strength, she carried a ferocious-looking wild boar on both shoulders. “I caught a wild boar! I caught a wild boar!” It was a bright face packed with a mix of elation, triumph, and all sorts of other emotions, so bright and radiant that Yong-ho and Elligoth couldn’t react right away. When no response came from the two, Katarina seemed to feel self-conscious and quickly set the boar down on the floor. Then she tried hard to put on a cool expression. It was a far too belated effort, though. Yong-ho finally burst out laughing. He rose from the throne and praised Katarina, who stood with her long ears drooping in embarrassment. 'Good job, Katarina. Really great work. That’s our guard knight for you. Truly the finest fighting force in our dungeon!' At the effusive praise, Katarina tried to maintain her cool expression and offer a formal bow, but her long ears fluttered like a puppy’s tail. How was he supposed to react to this? Elligoth smiled gently, and Yong-ho tried hard to suppress his laughter. He praised the guard knight once more, truly befitting the pushover knight. And that night, the second day after his inauguration as the Family Head of the Mammon Family. Yong-ho tasted the meat of the Demon World for the first time.