I Can See Evolution Paths

They entered once they saw Arthur walking inside.

Immediately the temperature rose.

Steam covered portions of the passage, forcing them to slow down. The walls were covered in strange mineral formations, some glowing faintly red, others shining with golden orange light. Water ran through narrow channels in the stone before disappearing deeper into the cavern.

Arthur looked around in wonder. "This place is incredible," he said.

Luna looked at him. "You’ve never seen anything like it?"

Arthur shook his head. "Not like this."

Athena examined one of the glowing formations without touching it. "These minerals are producing heat," she said.

Arthur looked at her. "Naturally?"

"I think so."

Arthur crouched near one of the formations. "So the entire cavern is heated by them?"

Athena nodded. "Possibly."

Melo looked at the steam. "It’s like walking inside a giant cooking pot," she said.

Kong looked at Melo. "That isn’t reassuring."

Melo smiled. "I wasn’t trying to reassure you."

Kong grunted. Arthur laughed.

As they moved deeper Arthur noticed something. The compass was still pointing forward. But the path became increasingly narrow.

Luna looked around. Arthur noticed her expression. "You’ve been here before?"

Luna shook her head. "Not this far."

Arthur looked at the cavern. "Your grandfather really didn’t want you coming here."

Luna nodded. "He always told me to stay away."

Arthur looked ahead. "That makes me even more curious."

Vedas sighed. "Of course it does."

They continued. Then Luna suddenly stopped.

Arthur noticed immediately. "What is it?"

She pointed at the ground. Tracks. Large ones.

Arthur crouched, examining them carefully. "These are fresh," he said.

Vedas knelt beside him. "How fresh?"

Luna looked at them. "Very."

Mithra looked deeper into the cavern. "But I thought you said Beasts avoided this place."

Luna nodded. "They do."

Arthur slowly looked up. "Then these tracks shouldn’t exist."

Luna shook her head. "They shouldn’t."

Kong sniffed the air. His expression changed.

Arthur noticed. "What?"

Kong looked toward the deeper cavern. "Something’s here."

Everyone became more alert. Eden moved closer to Arthur. "A Beast?"

Kong nodded. "Several."

Arthur’s eyes widened slightly. "Several?"

Kong grinned. "Looks like we’re popular."

Melo’s ears twitched. "I don’t think they came here to welcome us."

Vedas looked at Arthur. "You were hoping for this."

Arthur smiled. "I was hoping for something interesting."

Vedas sighed. "Same thing."

The steam suddenly shifted and everyone stopped.

Something moved inside it. A shadow. Then another.

Then another.

Arthur raised his spear. The group formed up naturally.

Steamfang Wolves emerged from the mist, their dark gray fur almost black beneath the cavern’s dim light. Thin red veins pulsed beneath their skin, glowing brighter whenever they breathed, while steam escaped from their jaws with every breath.

Arthur stared at them.

He had expected something strange inside the cavern.

He hadn’t expected an entire species he had never seen before.

"Steamfang Wolves," Luna whispered.

Arthur glanced toward her. "You’ve seen them before?"

Luna shook her head quickly. "No. I’ve only heard stories."

Before Arthur could ask what kind of stories, the ground behind the wolves began to tremble.

Something heavy was approaching.

The steam parted.

Massive humanoid figures slowly emerged from the mist. Their bodies were formed from fused volcanic rock, and glowing orange cracks ran across their chests and arms. Their fists were almost as large as Arthur’s torso.

Luna’s eyes widened. "Steam Golems..."

Athena’s expression became serious. "Both at once."

Arthur looked between the wolves and the golems. "So these are the Beasts that supposedly don’t come near this place."

Luna swallowed. "That’s what makes this strange."

Vedas tightened his grip on his spear. "We’re about to find out just how strange."

The wolves suddenly moved.

Vedas barely had time to raise his spear before the nearest one lunged at him. Its jaws snapped toward his shoulder. Vedas twisted aside and drove his spear into its flank. The impact sent the Beast skidding across the stone, claws scraping against the ground.

"They’re faster than they look," Vedas said.

Arthur watched the wolf recover almost immediately. "And they’re not afraid."

The wolf snarled.

Then two more rushed through the steam.

Mithra stepped forward before they could reach Vedas. "I’ll take these."

She drew Kusa, her movements almost effortless as she slipped between the two wolves. One snapped at her arm. She leaned away by a fraction, allowing its jaws to pass through empty air before her sword struck its side.

The second wolf tried to attack from behind.

A silver-pink illusion suddenly appeared in its path.

The Beast bit down on nothing.

Melo stood several meters away, her five tails swaying calmly. "You’re welcome."

Mithra glanced over her shoulder. "I didn’t ask."

Melo’s ears twitched. "You were going to."

Mithra laughed. "Probably."

The wolf realized its mistake and spun toward Melo.

Its claws never reached her.

One of Melo’s tails struck its chest and sent it tumbling backward. "Don’t touch my partner."

Her voice remained calm, but the dream mist around her suddenly thickened.

Mithra smiled. "You really are protective."

Melo looked away. "Obviously."

...

A Steam Golem turned toward Kong and its enormous fist came down. Kong caught it with one hand. The impact forced his feet backward, leaving two deep grooves in the stone.

Kong’s expression changed. "Heavy."

The Golem pushed harder.

Kong’s arms trembled for a moment before his grin returned. "But not that heavy."

He suddenly twisted his body and threw the Golem sideways. The massive Beast crashed against the cavern wall.

Kong charged after it and his fist ignited with golden flames.

[Fiery Rage]

The punch struck the Golem’s chest.

CRAAACK!

Glowing pieces of volcanic rock broke away.

Kong looked at the exposed molten core. "Oh." He grinned. "That’s your weak point."

The Golem swung again.

Kong ducked. "Big and slow."

He punched the exposed core. "Easy."

Another Steam Golem charged toward Athena.

Athena raised Aegis just before its fist crashed into the shield.

The impact pushed her backward.

"Athy!"

The owl immediately understood.

She dove from above, golden feathers scattering behind her. Her talons struck one of the glowing cracks along the Golem’s shoulder.

The creature staggered.

Athena’s eyes narrowed. "There."

Athy circled once. "There?"

"Its body is strongest where the rock is intact. The glowing cracks are weaker."

Athy looked toward the crack. "Then hit it."

Athena smiled. "Exactly."

Athy dove again.

Athena followed.

Their attacks struck almost simultaneously.

The crack widened and then the Golem’s arm shattered.

...

Another wolf suddenly broke away from the group and rushed toward Eden. Arthur intercepted it before it could reach her. His spear struck the Beast across the shoulder, sending it crashing against the stone.

It tried to rise but the spear slashed iArthur could have finished it.

Instead, he stepped aside.

Eden stared at him.

"Arthur?"

"You said you wanted to fight."

Eden looked at the wounded Beast.

Then she looked back at him. "You weakened it for me?"

Arthur smiled. "I made an opening."

Eden’s eyes brightened. "Then I’ll take it!"

He pressed Dusk into her tiny hands. The spear was far too large for her, nearly the length of her entire body, but Arthur kept one hand steady beneath the shaft, guiding its weight without controlling the strike itself.

"You’ve got this," he said.

Eden’s eyes widened. She gripped the spear with everything she had, golden light gathering around her small fists, and drove it downward into the wounded wolf’s exposed side.

The wolf let out a final, choked snarl before collapsing entirely, steam sputtering weakly from its jaws before fading altogether.

Silence.

Eden stared at her own hands, then at the fallen Beast. "I did it!"

Arthur took Dusk back and smiled. "You did."

Athy cheered from above. "Good job!"

Melo, still weaving between two wolves with practiced illusions, called back, "Not bad!"

Kong, still grappling with the second Golem, grinned without looking over. "Hit harder than you look."

[Level Up!]

[Time Fairy]

[Level 8 → Level 9]

Eden’s whole body lit up with golden particles. "I’m stronger!"

Arthur laughed, already turning to meet another wolf lunging from the steam. "A little."

Eden puffed her cheeks. "More than a little!"

The remaining Golems and wolves pressed in from multiple directions now, and the fight scattered across the cavern floor.

Vedas cut down two wolves in quick succession, spinning to intercept a Golem’s downward swing with the flat of his spear, the impact numbing his arms but holding.

Mithra danced between three attackers at once, Kusa a blur, while Melo’s illusions kept the wolves perpetually half a step behind her real position.

Sun’s absence was notably felt, but Kong alone tore through Golem after Golem, his fists wreathed in gold fire, cracking their molten cores apart one by one.

A final wolf lunged at Vedas from behind a jagged outcrop.

[Armor Piercing]

His golden spear drove through its chest.

[Level Up!]

[Goblin King]

[Level 9 → Level 10]

Vedas blinked at the sudden warmth spreading through him.

Arthur grinned, driving his spear through the last struggling wolf. "You too?"

Vedas nodded, mildly surprised. "I wasn’t expecting it from wolves."

The last Golem finally crumbled beneath Eden repeated blows, its molten core sputtering out entirely, and the cavern fell quiet except for the hiss of dying steam and everyone’s heavy breathing.

Mithra laughed, sheathing Kusa. "She’s already getting confident."

Vedas looked at Arthur. "You created this."

Arthur nodded proudly. "I know."

Vedas sighed.

After the fight, Athena noticed something strange as she examined the fallen Beasts. Neither the wolves nor the Golems had been pursuing them toward the entrance. Every body lay facing deeper into the cavern, as though they’d all been fleeing something behind them and had simply run into the group by accident.

Arthur crouched beside one of the wolves, examining its tracks leading backward into the darkness. "They weren’t coming toward us," he said. "They came from there."

Luna looked toward the deeper passage, uneasy. "Then why did they attack?"

Nobody answered.

Melo’s tails curled tighter. "Maybe they were protecting something," she said.

Arthur’s eyes brightened.

Vedas immediately groaned. "Please don’t."

Arthur turned. "Don’t what?"

Vedas gestured toward his face. "That look."

Kong chuckled, wiping golem dust from his knuckles. "The adventure look."

Melo nodded. "Definitely."

Arthur grinned. "Maybe there’s something interesting deeper inside."

Vedas closed his eyes. "I knew it."

They continued deeper. The steam thickened. The glowing minerals grew brighter. Then they found it, a footprint far larger than any wolf’s, pressed deep into the stone.

Kong crouched beside it, expression turning serious. "That’s big."

"Very," Arthur agreed.

Melo’s ears lowered. "I don’t like this."

"You were just encouraging me."

"I changed my mind."

Kong sniffed the air. "Something strong."

Vedas tightened his grip. "How strong?"

Kong stared into the darkness ahead. "Strong enough that I don’t want to meet it yet."

That got everyone’s attention, because Kong was rarely intimidated.

Arthur smiled slowly. "Now I’m really curious."

"Of course you are," Vedas muttered.

A deep roar echoed through the cavern, far heavier than anything before. The ground shook. Dust rained from the ceiling. Steam rushed toward the deeper passage as though something massive had just moved.

Everyone froze.

Arthur looked forward. "That wasn’t one of those," he said.

"No," Vedas agreed.

Arthur smiled. "Good."

"Why is that good?"

Arthur gripped his spear. "Because it means we’re getting closer to whatever they’re protecting."

Then the ground trembled beneath them.

Boooooom!

A massive crack split across the cavern floor, golden red light spilling upward through the fissure.

Everyone looked down. Arthur’s compass, still in his hand, suddenly shifted direction, no longer pointing forward but straight down.

Arthur looked at the others. "Looks like the cavern has another level," he said.

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