Merin is conscious. Awake.
Surprise hits him.
The body contains no memories.
That can only mean one thing—this body is strong enough to hold all his memories.
So, the seal was not needed.
But then why is he still inside his sea of consciousness?
Is the body… not born yet?
If so, that means it is already strong even before birth.
A thought strikes—could he be a dragon?
If he is, it would perfectly complement the Dragon Law he once formed.
Curious, he releases his spirit—cautiously.
What he sees leaves him stunned.
A battle rages outside.
One side is losing—creatures with the head of a deer, the skin and body of a humanoid.
The other side—winning—has the head of a hyena, humanoid bodies, and mottled hyena skin.
Merin's spiritual will sweeps out.
In an instant, all the hyenas collapse—unconscious.
The deer-orcs freeze in place, confused.
Then, realising the advantage, they rush forward and slaughter the helpless enemy.
When it's over, they look around, bewildered.
Who helped them?
Merin hesitates. Should he reveal himself now… or later?
Before he can decide, an older deer-orc drops to one knee before him.
"Thank you, Totem."
Am I what?!
One by one, the rest of the deer-orcs kneel, bowing their heads, praying toward him.
Merin sends his voice into the old man's mind.
"How did you know I was the one who knocked all the hyenas unconscious?"
The old man answers, "Lord Totem, I am a shaman. I can sense spirituality. Yours was silent before… but then it became active."
Merin nods within his sea of consciousness and asks more questions.
From the old man, he learns the truth—he is now a Totem.
Totems are beings with divinity.
A divine object that becomes conscious is called a Totem.
Before Merin arrived, the crystal stone here was merely a divine object.
But when his soul entered, it transformed—becoming a true Totem.
The old man knows little of the wider world.
This tribe was an inferior tribe until moments ago.
All he can tell Merin is that they live in the Veridyn Hill region—home to Deer-orcs, Goat-orcs, Pig-orcs, and Monkey-orcs.
The Hyena-orcs that attacked were outsiders.
After speaking with the old man, Merin turns his focus inward, checking his own condition.
He quickly realises—absorbing the world's energy does nothing.
His essence is far greater than the ambient energy here.
Greater even than when he was Rank 12.
By his judgment, it is the essence of the Fourth Stage—equivalent to Rank 16 through Rank 20.
But he cannot use it fully until he understands it completely.
Without that comprehension, he cannot advance in the typical way.
The only path left is faith.
According to the old man, a Totem grows stronger as the tribe worshipping it grows stronger.
Tribes in this world are ranked by population:
Inferior Tribe — no Totem.
Small Tribe — fewer than 500 members.
Intermediate Tribe — 500 to 2,000 members.
Top Tribe — 2,000 to 5,000 members.
Great Tribe — 5,000 to 10,000 members.
Superior Tribe — 10,000 to 100,000 members.
Divine Tribe — more than 100,000 members.
The Deer-orc tribe numbers only 97.
If he wants them to exceed 500, it will take years.
There is a way to absorb other Deer-orc tribes—but it is dangerous.
And Merin never takes reckless risks when he is weak.
If he is to absorb other tribes, he must first make his own tribe stronger.
The two extraordinary paths are Shaman and Divine Warrior.
Shamans are born, not made.
Divine Warriors, however, are blessed by the Totem with its power.
Merin checks his current strength—he has enough faith to bless two people.
But not today.
The battle has left the tribe exhausted.
Merin's understanding of himself is still incomplete.
To break the curse of being unable to cultivate, he must first understand what Divine Essence truly is.
His spirit surges around his body as he sinks into comprehension.
The next day, he stops and calls to the old man through the mind,
"Shaman, send me the two best warriors. I will make them Divine Warriors."
The old man's joy bursts through his voice.
"Lord, I am sending them right now."
He rushes out of his home and shouts into the street,
"Ronald! Jacques! Quickly, come here!"
A few minutes later, he returns with two boys.
They may not be the strongest in the tribe, but their potential is unmatched.
The old man makes the two boys kneel before me.
Merin channels the power of faith into their bodies.
Golden light bursts from them as their screams tear through the air.
Their bodies twist violently, bones breaking, hides splitting to spill blood.
Moments ago, they were Level-0 lifeforms. Now they are forcing their way into Level-1.
The transformation is brutal.
Again and again, they teeter on the edge of collapse.
Such a leap demands immense energy—going from 0 to 1 directly, not through the safer cultivator path of 0.9 to 1.
Merin pours spiritual energy into them, driving the change to completion.
At last, the golden light fades.
Merin scans their new forms, comparing them to ordinary deer-orcs.
The difference is staggering.
The tribe erupts in jubilation.
The birth of two Divine Warriors means no more hunger—hunting ordinary beasts will now be effortless.
But before the celebration can settle, thirty hyena-orcs attack the tribe again.
Merin joins the battle indirectly.
He knows that if he always fights for them, they will rely on him for everything.
Now they have two Divine Warriors.
Even though hyena-orcs are stronger than deer-orcs, the two Divine Warriors alone can handle twenty.
The remaining ten fall to the combined efforts of the ordinary deer-orcs.
When those ten die, the two Divine Warriors and the ordinary deer-orcs finish off the rest together.
Nobody dies.
Merin's choice not to fight directly does not mean he will allow casualties—not when their numbers are so small.
After the battle, Merin ponders creating a training method that gives ordinary deer-orcs the strength of Divine Warrior–rank deer-orcs.
Even if they cannot have strength similar to Divine Warriors, reaching strength close to it would help.
That way, he would require less faith power to transform them fully.
But another thought comes.
He should let every deer-orc become a Divine Warrior.
Do not allow them to have strength merely similar to a Divine Warrior.
He knows strength breeds ambition, and he wants none of them to have ambition.
When his strength is weak.
If they become Divine Warriors, they cannot betray him—he can end them with a thought, even beyond his influence.
Merin expects the days ahead to pass quietly.
The tribe will hunt, eat, and rest within the totem, waiting for their population to exceed five hundred.
But it is not to be.
Two days later, the hyena-orcs attack again—this time with one Divine Warrior among them.
Merin has two Divine Warriors, but they are young.
They have strength but lack refined fighting skills.
The two must join forces to face the hyena-orc Divine Warrior.
Meanwhile, the ordinary deer-orcs begin to lose ground against the ordinary hyena-orcs.