Chapter 4: Goblin Warrior
The golden light faded away.
In its place was a familiar forest with trees either overturned or smashed into pieces. At the center was a golden dragon standing in a crate with shadows standing far away.
The golden dragon snorted and released a victorious roar. As it turned away, the rubble behind it shook once before it exploded. And Arthur saw a tall Goblin covered in blood glaring at the dragon above it.
Arthur couldn’t look away.
The Goblin raised its cracked shield and then roared. The sound wasn’t loud but seemed to contain something terrifying. The black shadows at the edge of this vision seemed to flinch or crouch down.
And then Arthur saw it, the dragon flinching for the briefest moment.
The Goblin Warrior swung its shield first and made the dragon stumble back. Before spinning with its spear, Arthur didn’t even see the attack.
One moment the dragon was unharmed.
The next, blood sprayed from its side.
Arthur stared.
Not because the Goblin Warrior had won. It hadn’t, it wasn’t even close, as the dragon still looked overwhelmingly powerful.
But it had bled.
A Goblin had drawn blood from a Golden Dragon.
The vision shattered.
...
Arthur came back to the Entrance Realm on both feet, and the white light of evolution was still happening. He glanced down to see the dead boar was still there and noted the forest was quieter than expected.
[Synchronization Increased]
[Goblin Synchronization: 20%]
"Huh." He blinked. "Wonder what that does."
And it was then, somehow, he knew exactly what the Goblin was feeling.
Relief.
Disbelief.
Gratitude.
He turned to see the white light growing. And then a figure that was almost as tall as him began to appear. They wore leather armor with iron plates, with a round shield on the left side and an iron spear in the right hand.
[Evolution Complete: Goblin Warrior]
Arthur’s eyes shone as he touched the new Goblin Warrior, and then once again, he saw a notification.
[Next Evolution:]
Goblin Commander
[First Requirement]
[Lead Followers: 0/3]
Arthur stared at the screen.
"Only three followers?" His eyes drifted toward the Goblin Warrior. "... I thought it would be more like twenty or even fifty."
He then paused before snapping his fingers.
"But that means one day he will have an army behind him." He clenched his fist. "We will definitely find those goblins."
The screen vanished.
The light went out.
The Goblin Warrior stood where the goblin had been, reaching roughly to Arthur’s chest, looking down at his own hands with both of them turned palm-up. He had a look of wonder and shock as he observed his new form.
Arthur blinked, and then he looked at the Goblin Warrior. Then back toward where the vision had disappeared. "You scratched a dragon."
The Goblin Warrior tilted his head.
Arthur grabbed both of his shoulders. "A Golden Dragon! Do you realize how insane that is?"
The Goblin Warrior blinked twice.
Arthur laughed. "Neither do I!" He pointed toward the endless forest. "A Goblin can hurt a Golden Dragon." His eyes sparkled. "Now I really want to see how far we can take this."
The Goblin Warrior stared at him in disbelief.
He laughed. "Actually... Let’s make it even crazier." He looked toward the endless forest. "We’ll explore every Secret Realm we can find."
"Every kingdom."
"Every ruin."
"Every place Mom dreamed about seeing."
"Then..." He grinned. "We’ll tell her all of it. Especially the unbelievable ones."
"...Ar..."
Arthur froze.
"...Ar... thur."
Silence.
Arthur blinked. "You..."
The Goblin Warrior looked nervous. "...Arthur."
Arthur immediately pointed at him. "YOU TALK!"
The Goblin Warrior jumped. "...Yes?"
Arthur burst into laughter.
The Goblin Warrior looked horrified. "...Was it strange?"
Arthur wiped a tear from his eye. "No. But only five minutes ago you kept saying Gi."
"... It’s because you made me evolve so fast."
He grinned and said. "I guess that’s on me. Still, what made you say my name first?"
The Goblin Warrior did not look at him. "...it was the first thing I knew."
Arthur cleared his throat. Something had happened to his voice, but he wasn’t going to examine that. Arthur suddenly looked around. "Can you show me your skills?"
The Goblin Warrior blinked. "Now?"
"Now." He shrugged. "Might as well see what changed."
The Goblin Warrior walked toward a fallen tree. And then a light shone over the spear before he hurled it.
BOOM!
The spear punched through the trunk, another tree, then a massive boulder, and more.
Both of them stared.
Arthur slowly turned. "Which skill was that?"
"... Armor Pierce."
"Awesome!" Arthur said as he walked toward the destroyed tree. He poked the hole. "Nice. I can see how you could pierce a dragon."
The Goblin Warrior looked around nervously. "...Arthur."
"Hm?"
"Loud noises attract monsters."
Arthur looked around. "Good point." He held his chin. "Think there are stronger ones nearby?"
The Goblin Warrior slowly closed his eyes. "...I knew you were going to say that."
He laughed before then sighing. "Still, how am I supposed to tell Mom this?"
The Goblin Warrior blinked. "What?"
Arthur pointed toward the boar. "If I start with the giant boar, she’ll probably panic." He thought about it. "...Maybe I should start with your evolution." Another pause. "Actually, no. That somehow sounds even less believable."
The Goblin Warrior stared. "...Arthur."
"Hm?"
"None of this sounds believable."
Arthur laughed. "Yeah. This might be my hardest story yet."
Before anything else could be said, both of them heard a noise which drew their attention to the bushes.
A familiar small fox leapt out of the bushes and then paused. It looked at Arthur and then at the Goblin Warrior before tilting its head. And then it rushed forward straight towards Arthur. The Goblin Warrior was about to move, but he held out his hands, a bit curious about what it planned to do.
Instantly, it sniped the belt pouch clean off his side before rushing back into the bushes. Arthur looked at the space where his pouch had been.
The Goblin Warrior looked at the same space.
"Was that," Arthur started.
"Yes," the Goblin Warrior said.
"Did it just?"
"Yes."
"My whole pouch."
"Yes."
Arthur was still processing this when a ring out.
"Melo, sweetheart. Please."
The shout came from the trees, followed immediately by the sound of branches being relocated.
A girl burst into the clearing with enough momentum that her first three steps inside it were just the conclusion of her previous running, and she stopped only when her feet ran out of forward motion.
She had pink, purplish, and blue hair that moved several beats behind the rest of her. She wore the standard Pathfinder Academy uniform with a skirt and black tights. Her silver eyes glanced around as if she was looking for someone, and then she paused at the Goblin Warrior.
Her eyes moved to Arthur. Then back to the Goblin Warrior. Then to Arthur again, slower this time. "Oh my stars."
Arthur recognized the familiar look on her face and took a single step back.
She crossed the clearing instantly and arrived next to the Goblin Warrior. Then she began examining the armor with both hands and then pulling the Goblin Warrior’s left ear gently.
"What an amazing beast!" She stepped back, stepped forward again, and circled him. "I didn’t see a big goblin like you at the ceremony. Then again, I did space out for a bit after gaining my beast egg." She grabbed both sides of the Goblin Warrior’s face. "I only heard about the small Goblin. I didn’t think there was another one, though. He’s adorable, although I think the small goblin I’ve been hearing about might be cuter."
The Goblin Warrior blinked before turning his head, very slowly, and looked directly at Arthur. The look communicated a request for assistance.
Arthur started laughing instead, which the Goblin Warrior processed as the expression of something that had made a serious error in his assessment of available allies.
She touched the iron plate on the forearm. One hand, light. "The armor suits you," she said. "I’m sure many other students wished their beasts came with their own protection." She stepped back. "You look very dignified."
Arthur grinned. "Right? He was terrified five minutes ago."
The girl looked between them. "Twenty minutes?"
Arthur nodded proudly. "Now he stabbed a giant boar."
She blinked and then smiled. "That sounds like a fun twenty minutes."
Arthur immediately nodded. "It really was."
"It wasn’t."
Arthur patted the Goblin Warrior’s back. "See? He’s already doing jokes."
The girl laughed before asking. "Are you hungry?"
The Goblin Warrior’s ears moved. "...what?"
The girl paused and gasped. "You can even talk? Even more amazing!"
Arthur nearly lost control of his laughter as he saw the red appearing on the Goblin Warrior’s face. "He is a bit shy when it comes to things like this."
The Goblin Warrior stared in disbelief.
The girl reached into her pocket. She pulled out a small cloth that contained berries and fruits. "I found these on the way. They’re pretty good. Here are some."
The Goblin Warrior looked at the cloth. Then at the girl. Then at Arthur.
Arthur shrugged. "Try it out."
He unwrapped it carefully, which Arthur found interesting given that he had just driven a spear through a boar without hesitation.
Small berries and apples were inside. The Goblin Warrior ate one and then another while not saying anything. But he saw how the warrior’s shoulder slumped more as if he was relaxing and felt safe.
Arthur thought about the requirement again.
Lead Followers: 0/3
This should mean there are Goblin villages somewhere. His eyes lit up as he couldn’t wait to find one, even if he had turned this place upside down.
"Oh right, my name is Mithra Lucis," she said, while the Goblin Warrior ate.
"Arthur Cronwall," Arthur said. "Is the fox that robbed my pouch yours?"
Mithra blinked before nervously shifting and saying. "Well..."
Melo chose this moment to walk back out of the undergrowth. She sat down in front of Mithra and set Arthur’s open pouch on the ground.
Arthur looked inside.
Empty.
He turned it upside down, and it was still empty. He looked at Melo. "...That was incredible."
Melo proudly wagged her tail.
Arthur crouched. "How long have you been practicing robbery?"
Melo blinked.
Mithra covered her face. "...Please don’t encourage her."
Arthur smiled. "I don’t think she needs encouragement. But I will say if you do become a bandit, try not to rob me."
Melo wagged all three tails.
Mithra’s lips twitched.
The Goblin Warrior was looking at Melo, and she stared back.
"She likes you," Mithra said to the Goblin Warrior.
"How can you tell?" The Goblin Warrior asked.
"She’s still here," Mithra said simply. "She leaves when she is not interested in something." A pause. "She has not left."
The Goblin Warrior looked at the fox again, and Melo closed her eyes. Something in the Goblin Warrior’s face did something quiet and small.
Mithra tilted her head. Then she pointed at the Goblin Warrior. "What’s his name?"
Arthur blinked. "What?"
"His name."
A pause followed, with Arthur and the Goblin Warrior blinking as Mithra continued staring at him. He looked at the Goblin Warrior, and the Goblin Warrior looked at Arthur.
Melo looked at both of them in amusement.
Mithra stared at both of them.
The Goblin Warrior’s expression, which had been handling embarrassment with reasonable composure up to this point, began moving toward something that looked more like concern.
Mithra’s silver eyes went wide by degrees. "You named him, right?"
Arthur opened his mouth. "Well..."
"YOU FORGOT?!"
"I was busy."
"Busy doing WHAT?!"
The Goblin Warriors nodded and stared at him with an expression that said: I cannot believe this is my partner.
Arthur scratched his cheek. "Okay. Maybe that one’s on me."
Goblin Warrior crossed his arms. "...Maybe?"
Arthur laughed. "Definitely."
"He admitted it." Mithra and the Goblin Warrior nodded after speaking at the same time.
Arthur looked between them. "You two just met."
"We bonded quickly," Mithra said.
"Over judging me?"
"It was... the starting point," the Goblin Warrior said.
Arthur rubbed the back of his head. "Okay." He looked at the Goblin Warrior. "Then we’ll find the perfect name."
The Goblin Warrior blinked.
Arthur smiled. "You’ve already exceeded my expectations by evolving so quickly. Your name should too."
A look of confusion appeared on Mithra’s face. "Wait... Evolving? Isn’t there two goblins–"
"Hm? No, only one Goblin." He said before patting Goblin Warrior’s shoulder. "My partner over here just trained a little and evolved."
The Goblin Warrior nodded while Mithra blinked before her expression turned serious. Her eyes moved toward the Goblin Warrior. "How is that possible, though? You just got him not even an hour ago."
The Goblin Warrior went still.
Arthur went still.
Mithra then smiled. "Okay."
Arthur blinked. "What?"
She pointed. "I have exactly two questions."
He tilted his head.
"How did he evolve in under an hour?" She pointed at the Goblin Warrior. "And second, what kind of adventure did I miss?"
Arthur immediately brightened. "Oh! It was amazing."
Goblin Warrior sighed. "...Here we go."
Arthur pointed at the dead boar. "So first there was this giant boar—"
Mithra immediately sat on a rock. "I’m listening."
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