He had to leave his family shortly after as the task wouldn't solve itself. With his black robes of the explorers with the silver uniform underneath, Arthur gave out an air of authority as he walked toward the train station.
He could've teleported straight toward the mountain range, but he felt slightly nostalgic as he arrived at the train station. Seeing his robes and the badge – that was shaped in a J sign – pinned to his chest, the people whispered and looked at him with reverence.
A kid who wiggled free from his mother, who tried to grab him, came rushing toward Arthur with a figure of a mage with a staff.
"Mister, mister!" The kid said nothing else but simply showed Arthur his toy with his eyes glistering in admiration. The mother rushed to grab him but Arthur smiled and raised his hand.
With a tap on the toy, it levitated from the kid's hand and started circling him. The kid tried to follow it with his eyes as his mouth was agape.
"Careful, it might fly away." Arthur patted the kid's head as the toy landed in his hands. Arthur nodded toward the apologizing mother and left to catch his train.
The incident that has just happened made Arthur smile for the rest of his way toward the mountain range. This was the first time he enjoyed this type of admiration, which he held toward awakeners as a child as well.
'The people respect awakeners because they protect them.' Arthur thought to himself. 'However, for how long can that protection last?'
When he reached the mountain's range station, he found Ellen waiting for him. He nodded and she followed after him. The two started walking toward the mountain range together where a camp has been set up by the Golden Warhammer Guild.
The place has been cleared from civilians or adventures alike, making it look like a military post. As he was about to enter the camp, two guards obstructed him with their spears.
"What business do you have here?" One of them asked curtly. "This area is off limit."
"I'm a Jerano Student." Arthur showed his badge. As soon as he did, the guard's face was drenched in sweat.
"I-I-I'm sorry, sir. I didn't see that at first." The guard started stuttering. "I'm sorry for my rudeness, I..."
"It's alright, man. You're doing your job, that's all." Arthur patted his head, making the man's face flush and salute him.
"Thank you, sir!"
"Can you lead the way?" Arthur smiled and the guard nodded before starting to lead him into the camp.
As they walked toward the largest tent in the middle, the guild members looked at them with both fear and wariness. It wasn't only because of their status as Explorers, but also because most Jerano students were nobles or influential people.
They reached the tent in the middle of the camp, who Arthur has spied on before. The guard guided them inside where several men were seated around a table.
"Welcome, Sir." The Pig was the one who welcomed him with open arms. "My name is Norman Kanefsky." This would be the first time Arthur took the time to look at him probably.
With a bowl cut and raised nose, this guy looked like the person who'd steal from kids.
"Glad to meet you, I'm Alexie Linan and this is my assistant, Ellen Dervo. We're here to help in the investigation." Arthur shook his hand and introduced himself. However, the men laughed.
"No offense, sir." One of them coughed. "We realize the formalities here. One first-year student won't be much of a difference, no?" The man stroked his beard. "You can enjoy your time here until this matter is resolved."
"Ah-hah." Arthur furrowed his brows. He knew that his existence wouldn't be appreciated, but maybe this was normal? Either way, he wouldn't mind it. After all, that meant he would get to work on his plans. As he was about to agree, Ellen sprung up to answer.
"This matter is Jerano's responsibility. If anything happens, wouldn't be the one held responsible? Please stop such nonsense and allow us to do our job."
Her righteous word made the men upset but they couldn't refuse it. After a moment of tension, the man who talked earlier tried to shift the atmosphere.
"Of course, I was simply saying some pleasantries." The man said with a smile. "We'll be honored to have you here, please let the guard take you to your tents."
Arthur wasn't upset by Ellen's interference, but surprised. This was the first time he had seen Ellen take the initiative, and in such a conferential manner too.
They left the tent and followed the guard who took them to their two tents. On the way, Arthur tried to satisfy his curiosity.
"What was the reason for that?" He asked and Ellen turned to face him. Unlike her usual self, she had a serious face.
"This place is my hometown; I'm not going to take shortcuts in protecting it." She said before going into her tent.
'I guess that's kind of true, but is it that serious?' He wondered as he went into his tent. The guard told him that their next exploratory expedition would be early morning.
He sat in his tent and asked to not be disturbed. As he was left alone, he used his teleport rune and left the camp. With another few uses, he found himself in an empty plot of land.
He walked forward and the scenery started to change in front of him. Instead of a desolated land was a village that was bustling with life. Like a different world, the village looked nothing like the lifeless forest.
"Kakan!"
A goblin saw him and rushed forward to prostrate itself to Arthur. Soon, most of the village saw him and rushed to offer their greetings to him.
A howl came from a distance as Kira came rushing toward him. The ground shook with how big he had gotten and Arthur realized that he had evolved to the Peak-Mid-tier while Arthur was gone.
Kira started licking him with his giant tongue and Arthur started laughing. Mero came forward and was also different from before.
Instead of the chubby face was a clearly defined jaw. Mero had gotten two feet taller than before and Arthur realized he was at the low-high-tier now.
"I guess I'm not the only one who got stronger." Arthur smiled at them as he patted Kira's giant mouth. Seeing him this big, Arthur remembered the trial of the holy crown.
Kira was now as big as he was back in the trial. This made Arthur's heart drown in worry. Whatever was going to happen, it'll be soon.
He walked around the village and saw that new goblins have been born. Arthur was amazed at how fast these creatures reproduced.
Mero came rushing after a while with a few goblins following after him. They were all of the Mid-tier. There were five in total, making Arthur break into a grin.
These were the five that he had strengthened when he was here before. These were the first goblins to be fully strengthened since they were infants.
Arthur's help made their potential explode. In a short while, they reached the Middle-Mid-tier. Seeing these results, Arthur was eager to strengthen the new goblins as well.
He gathered the newly born goblins and started creating a bond with them. There were twenty toddler goblins, making his progress soar. Before he knew it, Arthur's skill evolved.
[The Skill Goblin's Bond has evolved. New Skill has been obtained.]
[Goblins Lord (Unique – 10%): You have the obedience of your goblin's subject. Understand goblin's language. Every month, you can evolve a goblin to a higher sub-species. Once a day, you can summon a goblin permanently. The goblin will be of the Middle-Mid-Tier.]
Arthur's eyes glammed as he read the description. He looked toward Mero with a gaze that made the goblin tremble. Mero was his most loyal subject and his strongest too, after the death of Nero.
If any of the goblins deserved to evolve to a higher species, it would be the Mero. He asked them all to wait for him outside as he took Mero inside the house.
"Sir?" Mero looked at him with fear. Arthur's eyes widened when he understood what Mero said. He turned to him with shock.
"You can understand me?"
"What... God can talk our language?" Mero said the same rubbish he said before, but it started to make sense to Arthur.
There was a word he said that made the hair on Arthur's body stand up. The goblins have always called him a certain title: Kakan. Now that he understood their language, he realized it didn't mean Boss as he had imagined before.
It meant God.
"I'm not a god. I'm your lord." Arthur reprimanded with a flushed face. "This is not important right now, I'm going to evolve you now."
"..." Mero looked at him with shock. He fell to his knees as tears flickered in his eyes. "Kakan, I'm not worthy of your kindness. I am..."
Arthur's head buzzed with Mero's rubbish. As far as Arthur cared, Mero was simply being his experimental subject. He directly used his skill on Mero and the change began immediately. Mero started evolving.