Chapter 84: The Prophet of Dawn
Arthur’s eyes widened slightly. "Right," he said.
Mithra, nearby, turned. "What?"
"I forgot to try something," Arthur said.
Sun, who had been beginning to fall asleep against the wall with Kong on his shoulder, opened both eyes.
"That sentence," he said, "has never ended well."
Arthur turned to Elder Raku.
"Elder Raku," he said.
The Elder smiled. "Yes?"
Arthur held out his hand. "Would you let me hold your hand for a moment?" he said. "Just a second. There’s something I wanted to check."
Raku looked at the hand, then at Arthur, then at the hand again. He did not understand what was being asked of him or why, which was visible in his expression. He placed his hand into Arthur’s anyway, which was the decision of someone who had extended sufficient trust to cover situations he did not understand.
Arthur was already reading.
[New Evolution Path Discovered!]
[Species: Goblin]
[Goblin Guide → Great Sage → Goblin Wisdom King]
Then:
[Goblin Guide]
[Evolution Requirements:]
Guide 30 Goblins (30/30)
Approval of Goblin Commander (0/1)
Arthur read it. "That’s surprisingly simple," he said, and released Raku’s hand.
Raku blinked. "Is everything alright?" he said.
"Very much," Arthur said.
Nobody noticed his expression during the reading.
Arthur looked at Vedas.
"Hey," he said.
Vedas looked over. "Yes?"
Arthur pointed at Raku. "Do you approve of him?" he said.
The silence that followed had a specific quality.
Sun turned his head slowly toward Arthur. "What kind of question is that?" he said.
Arthur scratched his cheek. "I was curious," he said.
Mithra tilted her head. "About what?"
Arthur thought for a moment.
"I’m not sure," he said.
Sun stared at him.
Vedas looked at Raku. He stood and walked to where the Elder was sitting, which drew everyone’s attention because Vedas moving with purpose always drew attention.
He placed one hand on the Elder’s shoulder.
"Raku carried this tribe when carrying it was the only thing available," Vedas said. "He taught the children. He maintained the songs. He kept the walls standing and the people together through things that should have broken both." He paused. "How could I not approve of him?"
Raku had lowered his head before Vedas had finished speaking.
Only Arthur saw the notification:
[Goblin Commander Approval: 1/1]
[Evolution Conditions Achieved]
Arthur’s eyes went slightly wide.
Then Raku’s entire body lit with golden light.
...
The light was not subtle.
Raku looked at his hands. The glow was coming from him, which was the part he could not process.
"What," he said.
Every Goblin child in the vicinity turned. Every hunter turned. The Mu Tribe gathered in the way that groups gathered around something without being told to gather, drawn by the quality of what they were seeing.
Athena said: "He’s evolving."
Sun stood up. "What?!" he said.
Mithra blinked twice and then watched.
Arthur scratched his cheek. "That’s convenient," he said.
Every human in the vicinity turned toward Arthur.
"Convenient?!" Sun said.
The light swirled upward.
Raku’s old clothes dissolved into golden particles, and then ancient robes began weaving themselves from mana.
Brown.
Dark green.
Golden embroidery shaped like vines and ancient Goblin runes. His back straightens, and his wrinkles soften. His white hair became longer and started twisting into braids. Then golden beads appear naturally within it.
His old walking stick cracked apart, with the pieces floating up. And then golden roots began wrapping around them. They reformed into a beautiful staff with golden runes that slowly rotated around the crystal.
A gentle wave of mana spread through the village. The bonfire suddenly burned brighter. Flowers near the houses slowly opened. Even the surrounding trees seemed to sway gently. The light finally disappeared.
Elder Raku slowly opened his eyes. They now carried a calm wisdom that hadn’t existed before. He looked less like an old Goblin... And more like someone who had guided countless generations.
[Goblin → Goblin Guide]
The village became strangely quiet.
Even the wind stopped.
The birds perched on the rooftops instead of flying away.
Mana naturally gathered around Raku’s staff.
One Goblin whispered: "He looks like the stories..."
Vedas stared. "... He really evolved."
Raku slowly looked toward his own hands. Then toward Vedas. "Chief. Goblin Guide greets the Commander."
Vedas smiled. "Congratulations."
Raku lowered his head. "Chief"
Vedas gently shook his head. "No." He stepped forward and then placed one hand on Raku’s shoulder. "Stand beside me."
This made everyone pause.
The older Goblins stared.
The younger Goblins stared.
Even Arthur blinked.
"C-Chief?"
Vedas smiled. "A Guide walks beside a Commander." "Not behind one."
Raku’s eyes trembled. "Yes, Commander."
Arthur quietly smiled. "That’s exactly what a Commander should say."
Athena adjusted her glasses. "He became a Goblin Guide..."
One child pointed at Raku, then immediately pointed at Arthur. "Arthur made Elder Raku evolve!" the child said.
Another joined in. "The Chief Partner!"
A third: "He’s a Prophet!"
Sun immediately raised both hands. "No," he said. "He is not. He absolutely did not intentionally do anything. This is not; stop saying Prophet."
The Goblins continued saying Prophet.
Sun sat back down. Kong patted his knee.
...
Athena was thinking, which was visible in her expression.
"The King’s Mark is the most plausible explanation," she said. "It’s been responding to Goblin-related things since we entered the Realm. Vedas’s approval somehow triggered Raku’s conditions."
Sun turned toward her. "That explains nothing," he said.
"It explains the mechanism," Athena said.
"IT EXPLAINS NOTHING," Sun said.
Arthur looked at them. "I just asked a question," he said.
Sun turned to Arthur.
"That," Sun said, with considerable precision, "is what makes it worse."
Mithra was smiling with the expression she used when she had found something very funny and was choosing to allow it to be funny rather than to correct anything.
Arthur had already moved past his current position and was considering the next one.
If Raku had an evolution path that met its conditions after a specific interaction, and the conditions had been findable by looking at what he was holding, then the question was whether other members of the tribe had similarly accessible paths.
He looked at the Mu Tribe.
"Could I borrow everyone?" he said.
Mithra folded her arms. "I don’t think you can borrow an entire tribe."
Arthur thought for a moment. "Can I rent them?" Sun immediately answered. "No."
The Mu Tribe looked at him.
One of the adult goblins asked. "W-What would you want us to do?"
"I just want to check your hands for a moment."
Sun let out a breath that communicated his feelings about this development without requiring words.
...
The next thirty minutes became something Arthur had not planned and could not quite stop once started.
He moved through the tribe, touching hands and shoulders, and the notifications continued without anyone else seeing them. Montage.
Arthur shakes hands.
Touches shoulders.
High-fives children.
Notifications continue.
[New Evolution Path Discovered!]
[Species: Goblin]
[Goblin Hunter → Goblin Forest Ranger → Goblin Wild Warden]
[New Evolution Path Discovered!]
[Species: Goblin]
[Goblin Builder → Goblin Fortress Builder → Goblin Kingdom Architect]
[New Evolution Path Analyzed]
[Species: Goblin]
[Goblin Rider → Goblin Beast Cavalier → Goblin Wargeneral]
Arthur stops.
[Goblin Rider]
[Evolution Requirements:]
Reach Level 5 (10/10)
Earn Acknowledgement from a Beast (0/1)
He blinked. "Wait."
The Rider path appeared for one of the younger hunters. The requirements showed something interesting.
"Acknowledgement from a Beast."
The hunter’s level was met. The other conditions were met. Just this one remained.
Arthur looked at the requirement for a moment.
"Let’s try something," he said.
Sun, who had been sitting against the wall watching this entire process with the specific expression of someone observing a flood they could not stop, said, "There it is.
...
They found a Stone Bear at the forest’s edge, which was the closest available candidate with appropriate size and disposition. The fight to subdue it was straightforward, with the whole team involved. Once it was no longer actively problematic, Melo moved forward, and the healing light settled over its injuries.
The Stone Bear lay there.
Arthur looked at the young hunter who had the Rider path waiting.
"Go talk to it," he said.
The hunter stared at Arthur.
"Talk?" the hunter said.
"Introduce yourself," Arthur said. "That’s the first step with most things."
Sun pressed one hand over his face. "That should not work," he said.
Mithra was watching with her arms folded. "Which historically means it will," she said.
The hunter approached the Stone Bear with the specific posture of someone attempting courage without full confidence. He said his name. He said he was from the Mu Tribe. He said he had been training as a rider since he was old enough to learn.
The Stone Bear, whose head had been lowered in Melo’s healing light, slowly lifted it.
It looked at the hunter.
It lowered its head again. Not from pain. Something else.
[Acknowledgement Obtained (1/1)]
[Evolution Conditions Achieved]
Golden light surrounds him.
His leather armor disappears before golden leather straps form. A fur cloak grows across one shoulder. Bone ornaments hang from his belt, and a long beast horn appears at his waist.
Then...
The Stone Bear roars as golden lines spread across its body. The stones in its body became longer and sharper. Golden armor plates naturally formed over its forehead, and its eyes became brighter.
The bear slowly lowered itself. Without anyone telling him what to do...
The Goblin naturally leaped onto its back. And then the bear released a roar that shook the area.
The Goblin instinctively spins the spear, and then the Bear suddenly charges. Not because anyone told it to.
The Rider naturally leans forward while the spear lowers.
The Bear and Rider charge together.
The Goblins all gasp.
Then the Rider immediately pulls the Bear to a stop.
Arthur blinked. "That looked really cool."
[Goblin → Goblin Rider]
The Goblin Rider slowly climbed down from the Stone Bear and the bear immediately followed him.
Step by step like it had already decided where it belonged.
The young Goblin reached out almost hesitantly. The Stone Bear lowered its head into his hand. Neither of them seemed surprised.
Arthur watched quietly. "...They’re already partners."
The Stone Bear then turned to him and lowered its head again.
Arthur chuckled. "Hello." He gently scratched behind its ear. The Stone Bear let out a satisfied rumble.
Melo giggled. "Kyu."
The Goblin Rider laughed and said. "He says, thank you for making him stronger. And hope you continue leading us down more evolution."
Arthur blinked at those words.
Sun stared. "They’re really making you out to be this mythical existence."
Arthur looked confused. "Is that unusual?"
Everyone: "YES."
Athena had completely forgotten to organize her notes. Papers were sticking out in every direction.
Sun blinked. "You’re making a mess."
Athena didn’t even look up. "Professor Rowan is never going to believe this."
Sun sighed. "There she goes."
Arthur’s heart skipped while his mind immediately raced.
If a Goblin could become a Goblin Guide and Goblin Rider.
Then how many more paths existed? His eyes slowly drifted toward the rest of the tribe. "This is amazing."
Arthur looked toward the cheering Goblins and recalled how some of them had unique paths and others the same one. It was no wonder these goblin could create a Kingdom, there evolution paved the way for them.
It was too amazing, enough that his heart sped up.
"I really wish the Dawn Kingdom still existed. I bet they had a lot of unique Goblins."
Elder Raku quietly looked toward the distant mountains. His expression softened. "...Perhaps,"
Arthur looked over.
Raku smiled faintly. "A kingdom only truly disappears when nobody is left to carry it forward."
The night became quiet.
The fire continued crackling.
Arthur looked toward the eastern horizon. Toward where the King’s Road continued. He didn’t answer but something settled quietly inside him.
The Mu Tribe was silent.
One of the older hunters whispered. "He can help us evolve."
Another knelt. "The Prophet," they said.
Then a third.
Arthur blinked at the kneeling Goblins. "Should I kneel too?"
"NO!" Sun shouted.
The goblins didn’t answer.
They were too involved in the kneeling.
And then one little Goblin tugged Arthur’s sleeve. "Can I become cool too?"
Arthur smiled. "Definitely."
The child’s eyes sparkled. "I knew Arthur could do it!"
Sun immediately covered his face. "Please stop making him sound mythical."
The child blinked. "But he is."
Sun looked toward the sky. "Why me?"
Sun rose from the wall with the energy of someone who had been conserving their response for the right moment.
"NO," he said. "Stop. He is not a prophet. He is not King’s Chosen. He asked a Bear to make a friend, and it worked. This is not divine. This is just—" He pointed at Arthur. "Why are you not stopping this?!"
Arthur looked at him. "I didn’t say anything," he said.
Sun pointed more specifically. "THAT," he said, "is the exact problem."
...
Arthur looked at the rest of the Mu Tribe.
He had identified seven different incomplete evolution paths during the survey. Some needed more time. Some needed conditions he could not address tonight. Three were within reach.
"Who wants to go next?" he said.
Every Goblin in the Mu Tribe raised their hand. And then they quickly began lining up in front of him.
Hunters.
Builders.
Teachers.
Children.
Arthur blinks. "They’re really organized."
"Well, this is a chance to evolve," Mithra said lightly.
He looked at the raised hands. "This might take longer than I thought," he said.
Mithra smiled. "You seem to have become very popular," she said.
Sun sat back against the wall with the expression of someone who had decided that the situation was beyond his management capacity and had elected to witness rather than intervene.
"We’ve started a religion," he said. "We’ve come to an ancient Goblin Realm and accidentally started a religion."
Arthur scratched his cheek.
"Again?" he said.
Kong very carefully patted Sun’s shoulder.
Sun pointed at Kong. "Don’t," he said.
Kong immediately looked in a different direction.
Sun sighed. "Fine. If you’re really becoming a prophet..." He pointed toward Arthur. "You’re finding dinner for tomorrow. And it better be a Grade Five one."
Arthur grimaced. "I can’t do that.":
"Figure it out~" Sun smiled.
Mithra laughed. "It seems Sun got some payback."
Arthur looked across the village.
Hunters.
Builders.
Teachers.
Children.
Even Elder Raku quietly raised his hand with a smile.
Arthur blinked. "You too?"
Raku chuckled. "Learning never ends."
Arthur smiled. "Fair enough."
Sun slowly slid down the wall. "We’re never leaving this village."
Arthur looked around at every eager Goblin. Then smiled. "Looks like we’re going to be busy."
The excited cheers echoed throughout the village.
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