I Can See Evolution Paths

Nobody said anything. Arthur slowly lowered his spear. "What is happening?"

Athena stared through the barrier, eyes following the blue light spreading through the water, and Luna had gone pale beside her. "I don’t know."

More light spread through the ocean, one section of the ancient city lighting up after another, ruins rising out of the dark, massive towers, ancient roads, collapsed bridges, statues of creatures none of them recognized, the city stretching further than any of them could see.

"That’s not a city," Sun said, staring down.

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.

"It’s a kingdom."

Everyone looked again, and Athena’s expression only sharpened. "He’s right." It wasn’t a small settlement, it had whole districts, massive structures, something that looked like a central palace far in the distance, and several huge circular formations built directly into the city itself.

"How could something this large just disappear?" Luna whispered.

"Maybe it didn’t," Arthur said, still staring down.

"What are you thinking?" Athena asked.

"Maybe it was hidden."

"Under an ocean?" Mithra said.

He shrugged. "Apparently."

Melo curled her tails around Mithra’s arm and shook her head. "Even Melo thinks that’s ridiculous."

Arthur laughed. "She’s right."

The water trembled a second later, a massive shadow sliding beneath the city, and the whole group went quiet.

"That’s big," Kong said, eyes wide.

"How big?" Sun asked, tightening his grip on Long.

"I don’t know," Arthur admitted, watching the depths. The shadow moved again, and this time buildings shook as it passed. Athena had Aegis up before anyone said another word. "Whatever that is, we shouldn’t wait to find out."

Arthur nodded, but Athena’s eyes had already snapped sideways. "Wait." She pointed. "Over there!"

A second wooden boat floated between the ruins, nearly identical to the one they’d lost earlier.

His eyes lit up, and Vedas caught it at the same moment. "Another vessel."

"Push us over to it!" Athena said.

"You were thinking the same thing?" Arthur grinned.

"For once, yes."

Vedas raised his spear, Arthur raised Dusk, golden mana gathering around both of them, and Sun grabbed the edge of the barrier. "Oh no."

"What?"

"Whenever you two look that excited, something usually explodes."

"That’s not always true," Arthur said.

"Usually," Kong nodded.

"Exactly," Sun said, pointing at him, and Arthur laughed before he and Vedas released their abilities at once. The explosion threw the barrier forward hard enough to send everyone stumbling.

"Arthur!" Mithra grabbed the edge to steady herself.

"Almost there!" he called, bracing against the surge, and another burst sent them shooting through the water until the barrier reached the second boat.

"Jump!" Arthur shouted, grabbing the railing, and everyone moved at once, Sun hauling Kong up, Mithra pulling Melo onto the deck, Athena landing smoothly with Athy right behind her, Eden floating overhead, Star bouncing onto the wood. Arthur landed last.

"Perfect," he said, looking it over.

"You said that way too early," Sun muttered.

The whole cavern shook a second later, and the water started moving unnaturally, flooding through the tunnels around them.

"It’s coming from everywhere," Luna said, looking at the walls.

"The ruins are flooding," Athena said, eyes narrowing, and Arthur looked ahead just as water crashed through one distant tunnel, then another, then a third.

"Then we leave."

The boat lurched forward on its own current, and Arthur and Vedas took the rear together. "Vedas—"

"I know."

Magic Burst fired in tandem and the boat surged forward, water crashing around them as the city started tearing itself apart, a stone tower breaking in half, a whole section of road collapsing into the flood.

"The city is breaking," Kong said, watching it go.

"The flood’s destroying everything," Athena said.

"Then let’s not go down with it," Arthur said, and another burst sent the boat surging harder.

Then the roar hit, loud enough to shake the whole cavern. The boat rocked violently, Star flattened itself against the deck, Eden stopped flying mid-air, and even Kong went quiet for once.

Mithra looked back slowly. "That wasn’t the flood."

Arthur turned in time to watch an enormous serpent rise out of the dark, its body coiled between the ruined buildings, blue markings glowing across its scales, head lifting above the water.

"Peak Bronze," Athena said grimly.

"That’s a Peak Bronze Beast?" Sun stared.

"Yes."

Kong cracked his knuckles. "I can fight it."

"No," Arthur said immediately.

"Why?"

"Because the entire ocean’s coming after us too."

"He’s got you there," Sun laughed, and Kong grumbled but let it go.

The serpent’s mouth opened. "Move!" Arthur shouted, and it charged as he and Vedas fired Magic Burst together, the boat lurching clear just as the serpent slammed into the space they’d left behind, sending a wave rolling up behind them.

"Brace!" Athena raised Aegis, and the wave hit hard enough to slide her feet backward across the deck.

Mithra caught her arm. "I’ve got you."

"Thanks."

"You owe me."

"We’re being chased by a Peak Bronze Beast."

"Exactly. I’m collecting later."

Melo’s eyes glowed and Dream Weave spread across the water, three identical boats appearing in an instant, and the serpent hesitated just long enough for Mithra to dart across the deck and layer another illusion on top. It charged one of the fakes and passed clean through it.

"Now!" She darted again, and Melo sent another wave of dream energy scrambling the creature’s perception.

"I honestly can’t tell which one’s real," Sun said, watching it thrash between illusions.

"That’s the point," Arthur grinned.

Then the serpent lashed its tail through two of the illusions at once and the third one shattered on impact.

Mithra’s smile disappeared. "It adapted."

Melo’s ears dropped. "Vedas!" Arthur shouted, and a barrier snapped up behind them just as the tail crashed into it. It cracked but held.

"My turn!" Sun raised Long. Ember Shock blasted the tail back before it could strike again.

"And mine!" Kong lunged forward and punched a chunk of flying debris out of the air, shattering it on contact.

"You really do solve everything by punching it," Sun said.

"It’s simple," Kong smiled.

The serpent kept coming, and Athy split into clones above it, drawing snaps and lunges that took out one clone after another while she kept producing more. Eden’s Vision Sharing caught the pattern first. "It’s going left!"

Arthur cut the boat’s direction just as the attack missed, and Athy dove in with Brave Light, forcing the serpent to recoil.

That was when something on the ceiling caught his eye, massive ice formations hanging overhead, and his expression shifted. "Athy!"

She turned.

"See those?"

Her eyes went wide the second she looked, understanding instantly.

"Bring them down."

She shot upward with her clones trailing behind her, and Mithra glanced at Arthur. "You’re going to drop the ceiling on it?"

"Only the part that’s already falling."

"You make that sound reassuring," she laughed.

Athy and her clones struck the ice together, cracks spreading through the formation, then another hit, more pieces breaking free, and the serpent looked up just a fraction too late. The whole thing came down on top of it in one massive collapse, sending a wave through the water strong enough to nearly flip the boat.

"Keep moving!" Arthur grabbed the railing, and Vedas fired another burst to send them surging on.

The ocean started narrowing ahead of them, frozen ground visible beyond the edge.

"There!" Luna pointed.

"We’re almost out!" Sun said, but Arthur didn’t relax, glancing back to see the serpent rising again from beneath the broken ice, battered but very much alive.

"It survived that?" Mithra stared.

"It’s a Peak Bronze Beast," Athena said, tightening her grip on the shield.

The serpent’s mouth opened again, water spiraling toward it, blue light building in its throat, and Eden’s warning came through a half-second before Arthur turned. "Everyone down!"

The beam fired. Arthur and Vedas planted their feet and raised golden barriers together, the beam slamming into them and rocketing the boat forward instead of stopping it cold.

"Vedas!" Arthur gritted his teeth.

"I’m holding!"

Cracks spread across the barrier as Sun grabbed Kong, Mithra held Melo close, and Athena braced Aegis flat against the deck. Arthur looked ahead, saw the boat being pushed straight onto the frozen ground, and his eyes lit up. "Don’t block it."

Vedas caught on instantly. "I understand."

They kept the barrier up but stopped resisting the force, letting the beam push the boat harder, sliding it across the ice while the serpent kept firing.

"Keep pushing!" Arthur laughed, and the boat crashed further onto the frozen ground before the beam finally died out. Silence. The serpent stared at them, completely out of the water now, and then it roared and launched itself forward.

"It’s coming," Arthur said, smiling.

"Good," Mithra said, drawing Kusa, and Melo’s tails spread as Dream Weave scrambled the serpent’s vision, dozens of Arthurs suddenly scattered across the ice. It hesitated, and Mithra vanished and reappeared beside it, slashing at the wrong target as another illusion drew its attention, and another after that, Melo’s dream work slowing its movements with every pass.

Arthur and Vedas rushed in together, both spears glowing. "Now!"

"Together!"

They struck as one, the combined force blasting straight through its defenses and hurling it backward through the ice, the water erupting where it landed. Then silence.

Sun lowered Long slowly. "Is it dead?"

"I don’t know," Arthur admitted, watching the water.

Kong raised a fist. "Should I check?"

"No," Arthur said, grabbing his arm.

"Why?"

"Because checking is how people become meals."

"Finally, some wisdom," Sun said.

The relief didn’t last long. Athena looked back the way they’d come. "We still have a problem." Water was already rising fast through the passage behind them, the flood still chasing.

"Move!" Arthur said, and everyone broke into a run at once, Vedas throwing up barriers against falling debris, Athy scouting ahead and feeding her sightline to Eden, Mithra and Melo covering the rear in case the serpent surfaced again, Sun and Kong smashing through anything blocking the path, Arthur firing burst after burst to keep the group ahead of the rising water while the whole ruin shook apart around them.

A notification flashed in front of him mid-sprint, and he paused for half a second to read it.

[Level Up!]

[Goblin King]

[Level 22 → Level 23]

He smiled.

"What happened?" Vedas asked, catching the look on his face.

"Good news. We survived, and you leveled up."

Vedas’s smile widened. "Then that is very good news."

"Good work, Vedas," Arthur laughed, and another notification lit up right after.

[Synchronization Increased]

[73% → 75%]

His eyes widened slightly. Their coordination during the fight had pushed it forward on its own.

Then a third notification stopped him mid-stride.

[Additional Evolution Data Updated]

[Goblin Genesis Emperor]

[Requirement 2: Defeat 50 Chief Beasts.]

[Progress: 1/50]

He blinked, realizing a half-second later that the serpent had counted as a Beast Chief, and let out a quiet laugh.

"What is it?" Vedas asked.

"Nothing," Arthur said, closing the window.

Then one more notification appeared, and this time his eyes went wide with something closer to shock.

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