Chapter 92: More Evolutions
The flames raced through the corridor behind them. Heat pressed against Arthur’s back as he ran. He ran at the front, the King’s Mark still glowing steadily against the dark, the only real light guiding their way.
The others followed close behind, footsteps echoing off ancient stone that hadn’t heard this much noise in centuries.
Sun kept glancing over his shoulder every few seconds, watching the fire gain ground. "They’re getting closer!" he shouted.
Arthur laughed without slowing down. "Then run faster!"
Athena’s voice cut through the chaos, sharp with disbelief. "Stop encouraging the dungeon!"
Sun groaned loudly. "I hate that you’re enjoying this!"
Melo raced alongside Arthur, weaving effortlessly through the narrow passage. Kong stayed toward the rear, smashing through fallen debris before it could slow anyone down. Above them, Athy flew ahead, scanning for danger before they reached it.
Then, without warning, the corridor split into three identical tunnels.
The flames kept rushing toward them, and nobody had time to properly investigate. Then the King’s Mark on Arthur’s hand pulsed.
One tunnel lit up with faint golden lines.
Arthur pointed immediately. "This way!"
Nobody questioned him. They followed, trusting his instincts the way they had trusted them through everything else.
The corridor opened suddenly into an enormous underground cavern, and everyone slowed without meaning to.
Everyone slowed.
The cavern was enormous with darkness stretching beneath them, and the ceiling disappearing into the shadow. The only way across was an ancient stone bridge with its edges lined with carved statues.
Each statue depicted a Goblin Commander standing beside ordinary Goblins. Arthur noticed something as he studied them. Every Commander was smiling. None of them stood in a fighting stance. They stood protecting.
Mara whispered quietly beside him. "This bridge wasn’t built for war," she said. "It was built for people."
Arthur slowed. "They’re all smiling."
Athena looked at the nearest statue. "They’re looking at the Goblins."
Arthur blinked and looked again. She was right. All of the commanders were looking down as if ordinary goblins were there. Almost... Like they were making sure everyone crossed safely.
Mara smiled softly. "Even now they’re still guarding this bridge."
They began crossing together.
Halfway across, something clicked beneath their feet.
Arthur froze instantly. "Don’t move," he said.
It was already too late.
Ancient runes ignited along the bridge, and the entire structure began to tremble beneath them. Massive sections started collapsing, stone slabs dropping away into the abyss one after another.
Everyone reacted on instinct.
Arthur drove his spear into the stone and used it like a vaulting pole, launching himself across a widening gap.
Vedas planted his spear deep into the bridge, creating a stable anchor point that let others leap past the worst of the collapse.
Sun caught Athena the moment a section vanished beneath her feet, pulling her forward before she could fall.
Mithra danced across the falling stones with practiced precision, never once losing her footing.
Melo bounded effortlessly between the collapsing platforms, and Athy carried a bag of equipment that nearly slipped into the darkness below.
Then the largest section of the bridge broke away entirely.
Kong roared and caught the whole slab across his shoulders before it could fall. Stone rained down around him as his muscles strained under the weight, and for a long moment it looked like he might not hold.
Then the bridge stopped falling completely, steady beneath his grip.
Everyone turned to look at him.
Arthur smiled. "I knew you’d hold it," he said.
Kong grinned proudly, and only after everyone had finished crossing did he throw the massive slab backward into the abyss, letting it vanish into the dark below.
Then one of the carvings beneath him briefly glowed.
It showed another enormous ape, not fighting, but holding an entire mountain steady while Goblins built beneath it. Kong froze for a split second, eyes locked on the image.
Only Arthur noticed.
Arthur frowned. "Kong?"
Kong looked down at his own hands and then back at the carving.
For just a second something gentle appeared in his eyes. Not confusion but recognition. Then it disappeared.
Kong simply scratched his head. "Ooh?"
Arthur quietly smiled. "We’ll figure it out."
Kong beamed at him before they continued to catch up with the others.
The corridor widened after that until it opened into another enormous chamber. This room was different. No weapons or traps, just rows of stone workbenches.
Half-finished sculptures stood exactly where their creators had abandoned them centuries ago, and ancient tools rested neatly beside unfinished projects, like whoever had been working here had only stepped away for a short break that never ended.
Athena turned in a slow circle, taking it all in. "A workshop," she murmured.
Mara shook her head gently. "No," she said, a faint smile crossing her face. "A Builder’s Hall."
Arthur looked around in amazement at the dozens of statues surrounding them, each depicting a different Goblin in different armor, carrying different equipment, wearing different expressions.
Mara knelt beside one unfinished statue. Her fingers brushed across the stone. "This was abandoned mid-carving."
Athena frowned. "How can you tell?"
"The chisel marks." She pointed. "The sculptor never came back."
Silence settled over the room.
Arthur walked toward the nearest one and reached out to touch it.
[Evolution Path Discovered!]
[Species: Goblin]
[Goblin Historian]
[Goblin Archivist]
[Goblin Chronicle Sage]
His eyes widened.
Mara stepped beside him and brushed centuries of dust from the base of the statue, revealing faint runes underneath. She smiled. "My grandfather used to tell me stories about these," she said. "They were called Goblin Historians. They traveled between tribes recording important events so knowledge wouldn’t disappear."
Athena’s notebook was already moving in her hands. "They preserved history," she said quietly, looking around the hall with something close to reverence. "So that’s how so much survived."
Arthur grinned to himself, then turned toward Vedas. "So," he said, pointing at the statue, "you could’ve become the tribe’s librarian."
Sun burst out laughing. "I’d actually pay to see that," he said.
Vedas stared at him flatly. "No," he said.
Arthur nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah," he agreed. "I don’t think anyone would’ve returned the books."
Even Mithra laughed at that.
Arthur moved to the next statue and touched it too.
[Evolution Path Discovered!]
[Species: Goblin]
[Goblin Mage]
[Goblin Arcane Sage]
[Goblin Mana Sovereign]
He nearly smiled again before composing himself. Mara stepped closer, tilting her head at the statue. "I remember this one too," she said. "The Goblin Mages. "They controlled the weather, raised barriers, and supported entire armies."
Sun blinked. "Goblins used magic?"
Mara nodded. "They weren’t frontline fighters," she said. "They changed the battlefield itself."
Athena froze mid-sentence. "Entire armies?"
"So Goblin magic wasn’t individual," she said slowly. "It was strategic."
Arthur looked at Vedas again. "I can picture you," he said. "Wearing robes. Carrying a little staff."
Sun pointed immediately. "Don’t forget the beard."
Mithra smiled. "And the hat."
Arthur nodded seriously. "The hat is important."
Vedas looked around at all of them. "None of you survive this dungeon," he said.
Everyone laughed.
Arthur reached the third statue and touched it without hesitation.
[Evolution Path Discovered!]
[Species: Goblin]
[Goblin Beast Warlock]
[Goblin Beast Sage]
[Goblin Primal Guardian]
He blinked, staring at the statue for a long moment. Something about it felt familiar in a way he couldn’t immediately place.
[Evolution Paths Discovered: 18 → 21]
Arthur quietly counted. "Three."
Sun looked over. "Three what?"
Arthur grinned. "Nothing."
Sun looked toward Mithra. "That’s a terrifying smile."
Mithra nodded. "He’s up to something."
Arthur immediately looked away. "No comment."
Mara spoke before he could say anything. "This one," she said, walking toward it slowly. "I’ve always wondered about this one."
Mara stared at it for several seconds before speaking again. "Doesn’t it look exactly like Voro?"
Everyone leaned in closer. Sun frowned. "Now that you mention it," he said, "it really does."
Mithra nodded slowly. "The posture. The size. The horns."
Athena stepped closer still. "The mana channels carved into the beast," she said. "They’re almost identical."
Mara’s voice grew quieter. "Could this be what our Guardian Spirits originally looked like?"
Nobody answered. Even Vedas studied the statue far longer than the others, his expression unreadable.
Arthur looked around the hall one more time, unable to stop the small smile pulling at his mouth. One new evolution. Then another. Then another. He wondered how many more were still hidden throughout this kingdom. This wasn’t just an ancient city to him anymore. It was a treasure vault, and every room might hold another forgotten path waiting to be found.
Sun noticed his expression. "Why are you smiling like that?"
"I’m just happy," Arthur said.
Sun narrowed his eyes. "That answer somehow worries me."
Mithra laughed. "I think he’s enjoying himself again."
"I am," Arthur admitted.
Athena closed her notebook. "I knew bringing Arthur to ancient ruins would end exactly like this."
Vedas looked at him. "You’re impossible," he said.
Arthur smiled even wider. "I’ll take that as a compliment."
Then something clicked.
Arthur’s smile disappeared instantly.
Sun sighed. "I knew it," he muttered.
Stone scraped against stone all around them. The statues lining the walls slowly turned their heads, blue light igniting deep within their carved eyes.
Arthur lowered his spear. "Round two."
Stone scraped against stone.
One by one, the Guardian Constructs stepped down from their pedestals.
A spearman.
A swordsman.
A towering shield bearer.
An archer.
A construct carrying a massive war hammer.
Without a single word, they moved.
The shield bearer planted itself at the front. The spearmen slid in behind it and the swordsman drifted toward the back. The archer climbed onto a broken pillar and drew its bow.
"They’re organized," Arthur said.
"They’re soldiers," Athena replied.
The constructs never shouted.
Never roared.
Never made a sound.
They moved with perfect discipline with every step they took like soldiers who had practiced together for centuries.
The shield wall charged.
Arthur met it head-on.
Bang!
His spear slammed against the nearest shield. The construct staggered back half a step.
"Vedas!"
Vedas burst through the opening before the wall could close again. His spear flashed twice and one spearman fell. Then a second construct raised its weapon but Mithra appeared beside it.
Her blade cut across its wrist.
The spear clattered to the ground.
An arrow whistled through the air. "Above!" Athena warned.
Sun swung his staff.
The arrow shattered against it.
Kong leaped from his shoulder, landed on top of the shield wall, and roared. With both hands, he grabbed a construct by the helmet and hurled it into two more.
Crash!
The entire formation collapsed.
"The knee joints!" Mara shouted. "Strike the cracks!"
Arthur changed targets immediately. His spear pierced the gap behind a construct’s knee and the Guardian dropped to one leg. Athena plunged her sword through it before hurling a shield into another construct.
And Vedas finished it with a thrust through its chest.
The hammer construct charged.
Sun stepped aside at the last second.
Its weapon smashed into the ground.
Arthur and Vedas attacked together. One spear struck low and the other struck high. Cracks spread across the construct’s body. It exploded into fragments.
The last archer released one final arrow.
Mithra dashed forward.
Her blade flashed.
The bow split cleanly in two.
The shattered constructs stopped moving. For one second there was none left standing. And then the pieces began to shine before the fragments started to pull themselves back together.
But then they reformed once more and continued charging at them. As Arthur and the others got ready for another round, one construct suddenly stopped moving.
Its glowing eyes locked onto Arthur, then dropped to the King’s Mark on his hand. Slowly, it lowered its weapon, stepped aside, and bowed before going completely still again.
Arthur froze. "Did it just–" he started, unable to finish the sentence
Sun slowly lowered his staff. "I don’t think we’re supposed to be here."
Athena’s eyes never left Arthur’s hand. "No. I think we were expected."
Nobody knew which answer was more unsettling.
Beyond the constructs stood another entrance, smaller and simpler than everything before it. No traps here, no statues, only strange writing carved across the surface that nobody recognized.
Mara shook her head slowly. "It’s older," she said. "Much older."
Arthur stepped closer, and the King’s Mark grew warm against his skin. The symbols began to glow, and without meaning to, he read them aloud. The words came naturally, like something else was speaking through him rather than from him.
Silence followed.
Arthur blinked. "I don’t know that language," he said.
Athena’s notebook nearly slipped from her hands.
The gate unlocked slowly, ancient mechanisms grinding to life after centuries of stillness, and the doors began to open.
Everyone expected another corridor waiting on the other side. Instead they saw an entire underground city stretched before them.
Wide roads.
Towering buildings.
Gardens.
Everything is perfectly preserved.
Arthur took one slow step forward. "Impossible," he whispered.
One lantern lit.
Everyone looked.
Another and then another.
Soon golden lights spread across the city, street after street, and building after building. Until the entire underground kingdom slowly woke beneath them.
Nobody moved.
It felt like the city had opened its eyes.
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