Chapter 20 – A Search and an Evolution.
"Grunt. My lord, it pleases me that you are awake."
The guttural voice echoed faintly across the wide cavern that served as the throne room. Jagged stones rose like fangs from the ground, and the air was thick with the scent of blood, smoke, and something fouler still.
Seated upon the stone throne, the Returned Goblin Leader leaned forward ever so slightly. His red eyes glowed with intelligence and quiet fury, a beastly awareness behind the gaze. In his hand, he held a massive hind limb — unmistakably belonging to the wolf Sam had fought earlier — and tore a chunk of flesh from it with his jagged teeth.
He chewed slowly, deliberately. The sound of bone cracking under his bite made the goblins gathered around flinch.
Before him stood the Goblin Shaman, gripping its staff so tightly its knuckles paled. Sparks of mana flickered along the gnarled wood — nervous, uncontrolled.
Around them, nearly a hundred goblins and wolves lingered in uneasy formation. Ninety-six — old, young, broken. the last remnants of the horde after Sam's earlier rampage. now they stood bound together by fear.
For a long moment, the only sound was the wet grind of the leader's chewing.
Then his voice rolled out, low and heavy as shifting stone.
"Grunt. Tell me… where were you when my son was killed?"
The shaman froze. The staff nearly slipped from its grasp.
"Grunt… your son?"
The word rippled through the gathered crowd, disbelief spreading like wildfire. Goblins did not speak of sons — they spawned, they fought, they replaced. But this? This was different.
Then, as if by instinct, every gaze turned toward one among them — the goblin who had once followed the prince and returned alone, dragging with it a human female.
Now that same goblin trembled beneath the stares of its kin. It raised its arms in a flurry of gestures, grunting frantically — trying to say the prince had still been alive when it left — but fear strangled its words.
A stone spike erupted from beneath its feet, spearing it through the chest in one swift motion. Its dying grunt gurgled out, cut short as green blood splattered across the floor.
The shaman's staff glowed faintly — the source of the spell clear. But no one moved. No one dared breathe.
The leader's gaze turned to the shaman, slow and deliberate. The shaman's expression twitched between terror and ecstasy — as though being noticed by him was both a curse and a blessing.
The leader's voice came again, quieter now, colder.
"I told you to watch over my clone while I slept… not my body."
He leaned forward, claws dragging against the armrest, the meat forgotten.
"So tell me… how did my clone and my son both die?"
The shaman collapsed on his knees instantly, slamming its forehead against the stone floor.
"Grunt—! Forgive me, my lord! I was gone only a moment! I did not know the human—"
The words broke off as the shaman struck its head again, and again, until thin cracks spidered across the ground. Blood smeared its face, but it didn't stop.
The leader watched in silence. Then he lifted a single clawed hand.
The shaman froze mid-motion. Silence pressed heavy over the chamber. Even the crystals that lit up the chamber seemed to flicker in fear.
Drip.
A drop of blood hit the floor.
And then came the command — deep, resonant, final.
"Find him."
The shaman raised its head, eyes wild and bright with fanatic purpose. Around them, the horde stirred. Wolves growled. Goblins howled. The air filled with the restless noise of beasts preparing for a hunt.
The search had begun.
⸻
In the Cave.
Far from the blood-soaked throne, peace reigned in a quiet cavern. Firelight danced across the rough walls, its glow soft and steady against the dark.
Serena sat cross-legged before the flame, a small crystal core floating above her palm, pulsing faintly with mana.
"You don't have to sit like that, you know," Sam said from behind her, leaning against the cave wall. His tone was dry but fond. "It's not meditation."
"I know," she replied without opening her eyes, a small smile tugging at her lips. "But it makes me look cooler. Like one of those immortals from thenovels."
Sam sighed. "You mean the ones who explode because they absorb too much energy?"
"Exactly."
He blinked. Then He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Just remember what I told you. Picture the energy flowing into you — steady, controlled. Feel it spread."
"Alright. And then?"
"You'll feel your stats increase."
"And then?"
"You'll get a system notification."
"And then—"
"That's it," he said flatly with a deadpan.
She giggled at his expression, before closing her eyes. "Okay, okay."
The glow in her palm shimmered, then faded slightly as fine threads of blue light seeped into her skin. A heartbeat later, her eyes snapped open in delight.
"It worked! My mana stat increased!"
Sam smiled, genuinely this time. "Good. Keep going. I'll leave the rest beside you."
He dropped a small pouch of cores next to her before moving toward the far end of the cave. Sunlight spilled faintly through a crack near the entrance, mixing with the warm light of the fire.
Once seated, Sam let out a slow breath and summoned his panel.
———
STATUS
Name: Sam Walker
Age: 19
Rank: F (Evolve)
Talent: Devour (SSS / Unique)
Attributes:
Strength: 149
Agility: 153
Endurance: 144
Mana: 146
Skills
Empowering Howl (E)
Disorienting Punch (—)
———-
The numbers had shifted slightly since last he checked, but it wasn't the stats that held his attention — it was the faint, glowing word beside his rank.
[Evolve]
His pulse quickened. Memories flashed — every fight, every wound, every desperate moment.
He still didn't fully understand what was going on but he understood the danger they were in. So if evolving means he can better protect them so be it.
He didn't hesitate. Mentally clicking the option to evolve.
The instant his thought triggered the command, the air itself thickened. His vision darkened at the edges, and a clear chime rang in his mind—followed by a system message.
[Evolution in progress…]
But he didn't really need the system to tell him that as he could already feel it.
Heat surged through his veins, molten and alive. His muscles tightened, vision blurring as the cave seemed to fade away. His mind expanded, stretching beyond its boundaries, thoughts moving faster, sharper.
Along with that his mana that he had only been able to somewhat control instinctively now felt a touch more natural. A better description would be that he was beginning to become more attuned to the energy that is mana.
Serena stirred as the air around her began to hum. When she turned, her breath caught.
Sam hovered slightly above the ground, his body wreathed in a faint light. His wounds flaked away like ash, revealing new, unblemished skin beneath. His aura was raw, radiant — spoke of something that has begun officially on the path of ascension.
Serena blinked, eyes wide.
"…What's going on?" she whispered to no one in particular.
Around them, the cave trembled once more — as if even the earth was holding its breath.