Chapter 1: The Grey Egg
The sight of his mother patching a leak made Arthur clench his fist. Once again, she was trying to fix this dying house, and once again there was nothing he could do to help her.
Until today, which was Beast Awakening Day,
The one day every eighteen-year-old waited for. The day that decided who could leave Greenleaf and who would stay.
His mother climbed down from the stool and caught him staring. Maria Cronwall had long blonde hair and bright gold eyes.
"You’re doing the face," she said.
"What face?"
"The one where you ignore everything for a bit. What’s wrong?" She walked towards him with a smile.
"It’s the ceremony..."
"Oh? That’s a first, but you don’t need to worry." She chuckled. "You will do amazing, like always."
Arthur furrowed his brows as he looked at her trembling hands from hours of work. "You don’t know that."
"Maybe, but whatever happens today," she said, "you come home, and you tell me all of it. Good or bad."
"And if it’s bad?"
She smiled. "Then I’ll make the dinner you like, and we’ll figure out what comes next." She stepped back and looked him over once more. "You were born to see things I never got to see. I’ve known it since you were small." She pointed at the door. "Go make a story worth telling me tonight."
Arthur went.
He didn’t say one day he would take her to the capital and tell about his adventures.
Today was the first step.
...
Greenleaf Town’s central square was already packed when Arthur arrived. A crowd of students his age stood near the crystal.
One of the Academy representatives stepped to the front of the stage, a tall man in dark navy trimmed with silver. He waited until the crowd settled before speaking.
"Place your hand on the crystal. It will determine your talent. Following that, you will each receive a contracted beast egg. Your talent and your egg will together determine the path you walk from this point forward."
He stepped back, and the first student moved to the platform.
The process was quick for most of them. D-Ranks, C-Ranks, the occasional B-Rank that drew a sound from the crowd somewhere between approval and excitement. Eggs followed each reading, wolves and hawks and a forest serpent that made someone near the front of the crowd cheer.
Then Leon Draken stepped forward, making the crowd gasp because everyone knew the name.
He placed his hand on the crystal.
"SS-Rank Talent."
A golden egg appeared.
The crowd erupted.
Several merchant representatives immediately began writing notes. A noble family steward hurried away. An academy recruiter activated a communication crystal.
Leon held the golden egg before it began to shine. Then it started cracking, and out came a small golden dragon with crimson eyes. Everyone in the crowd gasped again, with some of them trembling and others cheering.
But Leon ignored them as he walked off with the dragon following after him.
After a bit, the representative called his name. "Arthur Cronwall."
He stepped forward.
He placed his hand on the crystal and waited. A faint light emerged. Not gold, not even white, but instead it was black. The color spread over the crystal for a few seconds before fading, and a letter formed in it.
The representative read the display.
"F-Rank Talent."
A few students near the platform exchanged looks. Someone in the crowd held back their chuckle, and a couple others shook their heads in disappointment.
Arthur stepped back with a frown. He thought about his mother’s trembling hands, and his wish to give her an easier life.
An F-Rank would make everything harder.
He then looked and saw the crystal begin shining.
And soon an egg was formed above it. The shell was gray, with cracks running across its surface. The crowd burst into laughter and spoke before Arthur could even take it.
"Seriously?"
"A defective egg?"
"That’s just sad."
"F-Rank Talent and a broken egg."
"Some people really are unlucky."
Arthur held his grey egg and felt it begin to shake. All around, everyone fell silent and began leaning in.
"Quickly place it down on the ground–"
Arthur already did so and stepped back.
After a couple more seconds, the egg broke open. A tiny goblin climbed out of the shell. It looked around with wide eyes.
The square went silent.
Before it erupted into laughter again.
A noble’s servant laughed. "A goblin? How disgusting."
Another merchant shook his head. "Poor kid."
The goblin heard all of it. It covered its head with both hands and curled into itself. And then Arthur felt the noise of the crowd fade away. His mother’s face came to him again, and he didn’t like the exhausted look on her face.
For one terrible moment, Arthur wondered if his dream had already ended.
Then his mother’s voice echoed in his mind.
’I hope you try something before you give up. So you will have no regrets.’
Arthur raised both hands and slapped his own cheeks. The sound was loud enough to make the crowd blink in surprise. Arthur’s face was warm where his hands had hit it, and he stood in the middle of the laughing crowd.
He grinned. "How can I give up without even trying?" he muttered.
He looked at the goblin.
The goblin looked toward Arthur as if asking if he was laughing at it as well. Then it bolted away from him and launched off the platform edge. It disappeared into the crowd before he had finished the thought.
The crowd laughed even harder.
"It ran away!"
"Even it knows it’s useless!"
One of the Academy instructors sighed. "Arthur. Go get your contracted beast."
Arthur searched the crowd.
The baker.
Old Man Rolf.
Anyone.
But no one was there, and somehow that hurt more than the laughter. It bothered him more than the laughter. But he couldn’t dwell on it as he rushed after his goblin.
...
Arthur found the Goblin a minute later. It was crouching down under a chair with both hands covering its head. He knelt down until he was at eye level with it. The goblin heard him and went rigid without looking up. He didn’t say anything for a bit, waiting for the goblin. The goblin soon peeked through its fingers and quickly closed them.
"There you are, partner." He said softly.
The goblin trembled.
"You’re safe," Arthur said.
"...Gi."
"Hm? You think I wish I had a better partner?
The Goblin looked down. "Gi..."
Arthur chuckled. "Who says you can’t be it?"
The Goblin froze before looking up at him in shock.
"You see, I got an F-Rank," he said. "In case you’re wondering if you got a good partner." He paused. "The answer is that I’m the worst-ranked tamer and just like you... No one here to cheer me on." He looked at the goblin’s wide green eyes. "I’m basically in the same boat as you. The only difference is I want to keep trying; how about you?"
The goblin pointed at itself in surprise.
Arthur smiled. "Yes, you."
He reached out to the Goblin before gently caressing its head.
And the world froze.
The vendor behind the stall stopped mid-motion, and all the sound around vanished. A translucent screen appeared in front of Arthur’s eyes with dots of light connecting with each other.
[Evolution Path Talent Unlocked:]
[A New Evolution Available]
[Goblin Warrior]
What?
Arthur quickly touched the warrior’s name, and then he saw lines branching out from it with new names appearing.
[Goblin Warrior]
[Goblin Commander]
[Goblin King]
Arthur gasped. ’Goblin... King?’
The weakest monster in existence could become a king?
Another line appeared.
[Goblin Warrior]
[Condition:]
[Defeat 10 Enemies]
[Progress: 0/10]
Then immediately something appeared behind the text.
Arthur saw a ruined throne with a golden goblin sitting on it with a broken crown. And then he saw a massive black dragon roaring out at him.
The Goblin King didn’t move.
Yet somehow...
Arthur knew the dragon wasn’t the predator.
And then the vision was gone.
The square noise returned all at once, and underneath the chair, the goblin was still staring at him. Arthur looked down at the tiny goblin to see it was gripping his shirt.
Arthur looked at the tiny goblin in his arms. "A king..." He smiled. "Let’s find out if that’s true."
The Goblin blinked. "Gi?"
Arthur smiles. "Besides... Kings have to start somewhere."
If the whole world said it was impossible...
He suddenly wanted to see it even more.
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