Chapter 16: New Path
Arthur read the screen twice, then a third time, as though the third reading might produce different text than the first two had.
[Goblin Commander]
Requirements 1: Lead Followers: 3/3]
[Requirement 2: Gain Loyalty of 10 Goblins]
[Requirement 3: Reach Level 20: 10/20]
[Requirement 4: Complete Ancient Trial]
Arthur sighed as he rubbed his head. Vedas looked up from where he was sitting on the unconscious Golden Dragon.
"Ten goblins and Ancient Trial?" He frowned. "...What’s an Ancient Trial?"
A pen stopped moving.
The girl with purple hair and the owl on her head turned slowly, the way someone turned when they wanted to confirm they had heard correctly before they committed to a reaction.
"What did you just say?"
"Ancient Trial."
She stopped breathing.
Or rather, the visible signs of breathing ceased, and she stood with both hands slightly raised at her sides. Her notebook slipped from her fingers. The owl sitting on her head had frozen too. Even its eyes looked wider.
Arthur muttered. "She’s weird."
He leaned closer and saw some fragments of what she was writing.
Ancient Trial.
Impossible evolutionary divergence.
Need subject observation.
Potential testing schedule.
Possible sleep sacrifice.
"Do you not sleep?"
Athena didn’t answer because she was still writing.
Arthur nodded. "...Definitely weird."
He decided to come back to this girl later and then he saw Cassian followers descending on Vedas.
"YOU DID IT!"
"THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!"
"YOU WON!"
The Goblin Warrior, who had survived a Golden Dragon, looked at the four with a look of fear. He wanted to escape but it was already too late as they reached.
One follower grabbed his hand. Another hit his shoulder with the open-palm enthusiasm of someone who had been holding that celebration in for several minutes. A third began listing his accomplishments in sequence and had already reached item four before Vedas’s expression fully committed to discomfort.
The Taurus had moved.
The massive beast crossed the ground between them without hurry and stopped directly in front of Vedas. It looked at him for several seconds, and then it lowered its head and bumped him, a single solid motion, not hard enough to be anything other than what it was.
Vedas looked at the Taurus. The Taurus looked at him. Neither of them looked away before smirking.
The other beasts followed.
The black hawk landed on a nearby piece of stone. The deer approached at a careful pace. The spiky ape pounded its chest twice while the crocodile huffed. All of them gathered in loose arrangement near Vedas and nodded at him.
Vedas looked at all of them.
Nobody was laughing at him.
Nobody was calling him disgusting.
Nobody was telling him to leave.
For the first time since opening his eyes, the attention wasn’t something he wanted to run from. Melo came up near him before jumping on his head and then her body began glowing. Vedas shivered before he looked down to see his wounds healing.
Arthur watched and smiled at this amazing sight. Then he saw Cassian walk into the group and stop in front of Vedas.
He looked away. "...Good fight."
Then he turned and walked back the direction he had come from, and the followers stared at him.
"He did it."
"He said it."
"Write this down."
Cassian’s pace increased. The laughter that followed him out of the inner crater was the loudest the group had been since the fight ended.
From the opposite edge of the crater, someone shouted. "THIS IS ROBBERY."
The boy with the monkey was on his knees in a patch of undisturbed dirt, and around him was a group of students who were also hitting the ground.
"You said this is a friendly bet!" one of them said.
"This was meant to be easy!" another added.
"But damn it, we didn’t think he would win!"
The brown-haired boy pointed at Mithra with the conviction of someone who had identified the source of his problems. Mithra was walking toward him with a small paper in one hand and an expression of absolute serenity.
"You all owe me," she said, in the pleasant tone of someone confirming arrangements that had already been made.
Arthur looked at her. "You actually bet on us?"
"Of course." She pocketed the paper without counting it. "I believe in you."
Arthur smiled. "Good job."
The brown-haired boy looked physically wounded. "STOP PRAISING HER!"
Arthur ignored him and thought for a moment.
"We should’ve told the instructors."
"Why?"
"Bigger prize pool."
Mithra immediately nods. "He’s got a point."
The entire crater froze.
He sighed. "Mother would have appreciated it."
The crowd did not hear that part.
What they heard was: We could have earned even more from all of you.
The brown-haired boy looked ready to cry while the followers slowly backed away. But Arthur remained completely oblivious.
Mithra was laughing too hard to help. After a while she finally calmed down, she walked over to where Vedas had finally been allowed to descend from the dragon and was sitting on a section of broken stone. She put one hand on top of his head.
"Your vision," she said to Arthur. "It was real."
Arthur grinned. "Now you believe me?"
"I believe you now."
Vedas immediately relaxed beneath her hand.
Melo narrowed her eyes; she looked a bit jealous.
Behind them, the other students had moved into small groups and were already whispering.
"He knew."
"He predicted Leon. He predicted the dragon."
"No wonder the goblin could evade the dragon move."
"And we even saw him directing the whole fight."
The purple-hair girl started writing even faster and Arthur noticed none of it.
At the edge of the crater, Leon laughed. The sound traveled through the gathering and the gathering went completely still, because no one present had a memory of hearing Leon laugh before.
And then everyone saw it.
Golden light erupted.
The light flooded upward from Mephistopheles in a column that turned the forest gold, and the pressure wave that followed moved every person in the crater back by a step.
Students immediately backed away as their weapons came out. While the Beasts step back with their bodies tensing up.
The dragon rose into the air as power rolled off him in waves.
When the light finally faded, a figure appeared. What remained was a dragon bigger than a human with crimson markings on its body. Before anyone could react, Mithra walked directly toward it.
The entire crater panicked.
"Is that girl crazy?!"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
But she simply ignored them as she reached Mephistopheles. The dragon blinked at her before she started petting him. "You did amazing."
Mephistopheles blinked in surprise. "And I know you’ll go even further. After all, you are a great dragon."
Mephistopheles puffed out his chest.
Mithra smiled. "And very smart as well."
Mephistopheles eyes narrowed before it grinned and then spoke. "You understand greatness. Good."
The brown-haired boy paused before staring at the dragon in shock. Several students near him said nothing but were all blinking while the purple-hair girl slam her notebook shut.
"What?!" the brown hair boy finally spoke. "It talks?!"
"Don’t tell me... It really did evolve?!"
"But it’s only the first day...."
The purple-haired girl opened her notebook again. "I see, so first evolution really does allow for speech."
Mephistopheles closed his eyes in the direction of Mithra. "Continue," he said.
Melo sat down and narrowed her eyes at the dragon. But before she could do anything, Vedas patted her head. Mithra continued for several minutes, and Mephistopheles accepted each compliment with the ease and a smug look.
Then Leon finally spoke.
"Mega Blast."
The dragon turned and then golden energy gathered. The air distorted and then a terrifying explosion appeared before everyone.
BOOM.
The explosion swallowed part of the forest as a massive golden dome expanded into the sky. The shockwave hit moments later.
Everyone stared while staying silent.
Arthur’s eyes shone. "Awesome!" Everyone slowly glance at him in disbelief. "I wonder what it will evolve into next."
The entire crater mentally collapsed.
"He wants to fight that too?!"
"Someone stop him!?"
"Is he trying to say this form isn’t enough?!"
"What?" Arthur said.
It’s then everyone saw Leon walking to the left of the forest as if he was leaving. They all saw Mephistopheles walking behind him, each step shaking the area. But then he paused and glanced toward Arthur.
"I hope this isn’t the only surprise you will show me."
"Sure." Then Arthur casually added with a smile. "I hope you can keep up with Vedas."
The entire crater died.
Complete silence.
One student dropped his weapon.
Another looked at Leon.
Then at Vedas.
Then back at Leon.
"...did he just volunteer Leon?"
"As a training dummy?"
"No."
"That’s worse."
"He is basically saying Leon was the minimum requirement."
The brown-haired boy blankly stares and muttered. "... He’s serious."
"Interesting." The purple-hair girl pencil snapped. "Very interesting."
Cassian’s eye twitched.
Even Mephistopheles turned toward Arthur and narrowed its eyes.
Arthur blinked. "What?"
Nobody answered.
Leon stared at him for several seconds and then laughed even harder. "I’ll try."
Everyone just stared in shock and disbelief again.
Vedas covered his face. "...please stop talking."
Then Leon left with Mephistopheles following behind with a snort.
Arthur shrugged his shoulders before tapping the purple girl who was still writing. "Do you know where goblins are?"
"I do. My name is Athena Silver." She was still writing without looking up while the owl bowed its head to him.
"Arthur Cronwall." His eyes lit up and rubbed the owl head as he replied. "What an amazing owl."
Athena looked up. "Let’s make a deal. Let me do some research and tests on Vedas and I will show you the way."
"...Will it be interesting?"
"Very."
Arthur fell in thought for four seconds before saying. "Sure."
Mithra will raise a brow and speak. "...Are you really sure?"
"She’s not a bad person. Just weird."
Athena and the owl glared at him.
Mithra chuckled before saying. "Why are you looking for goblins anyway?"
"I want to check something."
"It’s about the Ancient Trial right?" Athena asked with a grin.
"Kind of."
"Ohh, I can’t wait. Come on, we should be going!"
Mithra giggles. "We’re going to get dragged into something dangerous, aren’t we."
"Absolutely," Athena said with a nod.
Athena pointed deeper into the forest.
"The Goblins are this way."
Arthur’s eyes lit up. "Goblins..." He looked deeper into the forest. "I’ve never met wild ones before."
Then he started walking.
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