Chapter 305: Valentine’s Day and Chocolate and Mana Golems (4k)
Despite Dak’s belief that Ditto had surely mistaken the holiday, the blessing from the Mana Golems kept his expression in a state of constant melting.
He had never imagined receiving such blessings from them when he first crafted the Mana Golems.
Moreover, it was such a carefully prepared surprise.
He didn’t even need to open the gift box; just looking at the note in his hand, which showcased Ditto’s learning results, was enough to excite him for half a day.
This feeling, Alvaraite had experienced over a month ago during Christmas in the capital city.
The letter and the Crimson Star medal Dak sent brought her to tears as she hid in her room.
A child’s growth always brought the most comfort to parents.
Dak took out a brand new notebook, flattened the note again, and placed it between the pages.
“I should treasure this.”
After closing the notebook, he began to unwrap the lavender-colored gift box.
He hadn’t expected much from the gifts inside the box, considering the Mana Golems couldn’t leave their dorms.
But even a small thing made him feel happy.
“No, I need to control myself.”
Dak pressed on his chest, trying to calm himself down.
Finally, he opened the box.
Unlike Eudora’s gift, which had layers, Ditto’s box contained nothing but a pile of chocolates.
The chocolates were heart-shaped, flat like cookies, with obvious handmade traces; the edges weren’t smooth, and some parts were even incomplete.
Yet, the more imperfect they were, the more one could sense the hardship behind them.
How did the Mana Golems, unable to leave their dorms, prepare these materials?
And how did they successfully make these handmade chocolates in secret?
Dak carefully picked up one chocolate, biting into it with a martyr-like attitude!
Immediately, the distinctive bitterness of chocolate spread as it melted.
But before he could frown, he tasted a hint of sweetness.
That hint of sweetness mixed with the intense bitterness felt like finding a clear spring in the desert, amplifying infinitely in his mind.
Dak was greatly surprised.
This dark chocolate unexpectedly suited his taste.
He instinctively bit a few more pieces, finally putting the rest in his mouth and savoring every bite.
“Busy—”
Two small, beady eyes peered out from under the covers as Ditto couldn’t help but wiggle its body.
Every detail of Dak opening the gift was captured by Ditto, making it almost uncontrollable with excitement.
Meanwhile, the other Mana Golems secretly hoped Dak would open their gifts next.
…
After finishing the chocolate, Dak resealed the box and put it aside.
Although he wanted to finish all the chocolates in one go, there were still many boxes left, and it wasn’t appropriate for a Demon God to favor only one.
Next, he chose a pink gift box.
“Same pink as Eudora’s, is it from Eevee?”
Dak opened the box and looked at the chocolate inside.
He couldn’t help but show a hint of surprise.
After seeing Ditto’s chocolate, he thought the simple shapes were already the limit of the Mana Golems, but Eevee had carved a chocolate cat!
“Hmm… From the left ear and neck, this must be Eevee herself.”
“Though not very detailed, the features are quite obvious.”
Dak carefully took the chocolate Eevee out of the box, unable to stop looking at it.
The more he looked, the more he couldn’t bear to eat it!
He swallowed hard, forcing himself to look away, then pulled out a card cut into a heart shape from the bottom of the box.
It looked like a Christmas card modified, with neat handwriting saying: [Eat me!]
…
“Grammar error, bad review!”
Dak showed his strict side.
Eevee, hiding under the big bed pretending to sleep, immediately perked up its ears, as if all its energy had been drained, turning into a puddle.
But after criticizing, Dak still smiled and slipped the card into his new notebook.
Childhood mistakes are treasured.
When revisited, one feels the warmth of the person who collected it.
…
Dak eventually put the chocolate Eevee back into the box, already thinking about what potion could preserve chocolate for a long time.
“Best to wrap it up like amber, as a decoration.”
But after some thought, he realized eating it might be better.
“Let’s see!”
…
Pushing Eevee’s gift aside, Dak picked out a third box.
This green box contained a chocolate shaped like some kind of plug.
But Dak knew, this should be an eagle!
The fourth box was blue, containing a ring-shaped chocolate, similar to a donut.
Clearly, this was from Piplup.
Wrestler Eagle and Piplup also left notes, but only scribbled their names.
It reminded Dak of his childhood.
Most children learn to write their names first.
Dak was no exception.
He also put the two notes in his notebook, then opened the fifth box.
This box was slightly smaller than Diana’s large box among many others.
The color was plain white.
Opening it, he found a ball inside!
A large chocolate ball!
Dak found it amusing to think about which Mana Golem was so lazy.
But when he picked up the chocolate ball, he suddenly noticed three holes on the other side!
“Bowling ball? No, Mana Guidance Ball!”
Dak suddenly understood.
This was a chocolate Mana Guidance Ball!
“Heartfelt.”
But when he took out the card from the bottom of the box, he saw spider-like handwriting: [Less experiment, more duel, the world will be full of love!]
No signature.
“No name, can’t tell it’s you, Imp Beast!”
Looking back, he indeed saw a bulge in the bedding tremble, making him smile even wider.
Imp Beast was still as lively as ever.
That’s right, it shouldn’t hurt to use it!
…
“The sixth one, let’s see… It’s, Lil’Eevee’s, right?”
Dak opened the brown box with star patterns and saw a chocolate that looked like both a cat and a fox.
The chocolate tail was broom-like, somewhat distinctive.
If they had simply made a simple heart shape, the Mana Golems seemed to prefer making chocolate in their own shapes.
It felt like a child desperately molding clay but failing to get it right.
Cute.
But the Mana Golems seemed to have a misunderstanding about “Valentine’s Day.” Few truly understood what the holiday was about.
Some just followed the trend.
As if everyone else was doing it, and if they didn’t, they’d fall behind.
But where there are people, there’s social interaction.
It couldn’t be helped.
Dak took out the note from Lil’Eevee’s box and read: [Eat me up!]
[Ibute (correct)]
“Uh…”
If the same “eat me up” was coincidence, the (correct) after Ibute was intriguing.
Dak suppressed the urge to laugh.
This copycat.
Why not add (revised edition)?
…
The seventh box was from Big Milk Jar.
The chocolate inside was shaped like a milk bottle, filled with fresh milk, but it wasn’t clear whether it was from Dairy Cow Grass Plant or Big Milk Jar.
In theory, if preserved long-term, it should be from Dairy Cow Grass Plant.
But since it was a surprise, it might have just been freshly poured.
“Taste it to know.”
Dak bit open the bottle, licked it.
The milk mixed with the chocolate flavor burst on his tongue.
Vitality surged through his limbs, instantly making him realize this was Big Milk Jar’s freshly poured milk!
He gulped it down quickly!
A surge of vitality exploded, almost making him feel something was about to burst!
Dak squinted, savoring the aftertaste.
All the gifts were made from the same chocolate ingredients, but each had unique touches.
Regardless of quality, at least they were heartfelt.
He took out Big Milk Jar’s card, written in neat font: [Thank you, Master Lun!]
[Big Milk Jar]
Though there were typos, it seemed to express gratitude for the Ultimate Skill card.
“What a polite child!”
Dak carefully stored the card, then continued unwrapping gifts.
…
The eighth box had yellow paper with red spots, clearly chosen by Huhu.
Opening it, the chocolate inside…
was two exquisite chocolate turtles, one small and one large!
The small turtle sat on the large turtle’s shell, stretching its neck to look at the world.
The meaningful composition touched Dak.
Huhu’s craftsmanship was clearly better than the previous Mana Golems; the two chocolate turtles were lifelike.
But they were turtles.
And you’re a bug, Huhu!
After a while, Dak found a card inside—likely the only card without text, but it depicted a long-necked small turtle.
The top of the small turtle’s shell was painted with a red heart-shaped plate.
Beside it, a circle of turtle eggs, one cracked, seemingly suggesting the small turtle hatched from it…
“Though it’s drawn well, you’re a bug, Huhu!”
…
Dak tried hard to keep a straight face, then opened the ninth gift box.
This box, similarly packaged to Ditto’s, was uniquely flat, resembling a pizza box.
Inside was indeed a pizza-shaped chocolate cake.
But the shape was disturbingly eerie.
On closer inspection, it was a sunken ghost face!
He carefully took out the chocolate cake, examined both sides, and noticed the other side was flat.
“What is this?”
Dak was startled.
Honestly, he couldn’t immediately figure out what it was.
But the longer he looked, the more familiar it felt.
After playing with it for a while, he suddenly realized it fit perfectly!
“This is a face mask!”
Dak’s thoughts shifted, realizing this must be from Trash Slime.
Since Trash Slime gained partial sentience, Dak no longer treated it as a garbage processor.
Similarly, he no longer used it as a face mask.
But now, it seemed lonely without that purpose.
“Is this right…?”
Dak muttered to himself.
He felt using Trash Slime casually was disrespectful.
But from Trash Slime’s perspective, it was just a normal feeding behavior.
And it could also serve its purpose!
“Handling garbage is fine, but face masks can continue.”
Dak pondered, realizing he sometimes didn’t consider the Mana Golems’ thoughts deeply enough.
This was perhaps something to reflect on.
He exhaled slightly, taking out the note from the box.
The note was folded several times, unfolding to reveal messy handwriting: [Mommy master, I love you too!]
“Surely Ditto wrote this, right?”
…
Dak smiled helplessly, slipping the note into his notebook, then reached for the last Mana Golem’s Valentine’s gift.
“Only Deoxys left.”
It was a square box wrapped in pure white packaging, tied with a pink ribbon.
Untying the ribbon, Dak opened the box to reveal four cookie-shaped chocolates.
One large and three small.
The large chocolate cookie was at the bottom, with the smaller ones on top.
But all four chocolates had identical designs, etched with vivid cat faces, clearly Deoxys!
Obviously, Deoxys shared the same idea as the other Mana Golems.
But it correctly assessed its abilities, not attempting a full-body “Deoxys,” instead choosing just a face.
Thus, its work appeared very refined.
The large-and-small design was also suitable for tasting.
Dak picked a small one, starting from the ears, biting and swallowing slowly.
He also picked up a card from the box, ready to see what Deoxys wrote.
Among Dak’s Mana Golems, Deoxys had the highest calligraphy skills.
Only Imp Beast could match it.
This was due to the digital monster’s significant advantage in speaking human language and its diligence.
Even the information about Valentine’s Day was taught by it.
Though not entirely accurate…
But as soon as Dak picked up Deoxys’ card, he heard a resounding “Meow.”
He turned sharply, a white blur flashing past his eyes.
His vision was instantly obscured, his face covered with a soft touch, his entire body leaning backward.
“Meow—”
