Chapter 151: The Prophet Was Right
Three days passed.
The rebuilding of Dawn continued without pause, and every day brought some new improvement worth noticing.
The Outer Wall stood completely restored and was even more reinforced. Golden runes continuously flowed throughout the stone. Stone Guardians stood proudly atop it and Goblin Builders cheered.
The Children’s School was finished, twice the size of what it had been with two training yards. A bigger classroom, practice dummies, and painting done by the Goblin children themselves.
One Builder proudly announced, "We may have gotten a little carried away."
Arthur looked at the enormous building. "A little?" he said.
Athena adjusted her glasses. "I merely suggested a larger library," she said.
Mithra pointed. "Why does the library have two floors?"
Athena smiled proudly. "Future proofing," she said.
Arthur couldn’t help laughing. "The children are spoiled already," he said.
Nearby the Goblin children exploded with excitement. "It’s amazing!" "I’m going to become a Hunter!" "I’m going to become a Builder!" "I’m going to become King!"
Vedas looked over. "Good luck," he said.
Everyone laughed.
Over in the Residential District, the houses had all been rebuilt. Except they looked much nicer.
Arthur blinked. "Didn’t they used to be smaller?" he said.
Leon folded his arms proudly. "Obviously," he said.
Sun proudly nodded. "Every home should feel comfortable," he said.
Arthur looked between them. "You two worked together?"
Sun nodded. "I designed comfort."
Leon nodded. "I designed efficiency."
One Goblin Builder proudly pointed. "We combined both," he said.
Arthur walked into one house and immediately froze. "This is nicer than my dorm," he said.
Soft beds.
Storage.
Shelves.
Even flower pots.
Arthur slowly looked toward Leon. "When did you learn interior design?" he asked.
Leon shrugged. "My mother and aunt," he said.
Sun proudly folded his arms. "Comfort is important," he said.
Kong immediately jumped onto one bed. "Approved," he said.
Athy nodded. "Very soft," she said.
Even Eden landed on a pillow. "Bouncy!" she said.
Everyone laughed.
The golden pillar descended once more.
[Dawn Descend]
Golden light spread across the plaza, and one by one the Cronwall Tribe appeared. The Goblin children immediately cheered. "They’re back! Suri! Gruk!"
Builders waved happily. Hunters greeted one another. Even the Direwolves barked as several Goblins rushed over to pet them.
Arthur smiled. "Welcome back," he said.
Gruk laughed. "We’ve only been gone a few days," he said.
Arthur shrugged. "Still," he said.
Suri smiled warmly. "It’s good to be back," she said.
Arthur’s smile slowly faded. His eyes swept across the tribe. Something felt different. Not stronger. Not weaker. Different.
Several Hunters carried tired smiles. Others looked unusually quiet. A few had dark circles beneath their eyes. Even Gruk looked more exhausted than Arthur remembered.
Arthur blinked. "Have you all been sleeping?" he asked.
Gruk immediately laughed. "Haha, of course," he said.
Suri quickly nodded. "We’re fine," she said.
Several Hunters agreed a little too quickly.
Arthur frowned slightly. Something felt off. But nobody seemed willing to talk about it.
Arthur glanced toward Vedas. To his surprise even Vedas looked confused. The Goblin King quietly observed his tribe, then simply smiled. "It’s good to have you back," he said.
The Cronwall Tribe smiled back. Whatever it was, it could wait. For now everyone simply enjoyed being together again.
Gruk scratched the back of his head. "Arthur," he said. "You mentioned before that you’ve been keeping track of us."
Arthur blinked. "Oh. That?"
Sun immediately sighed. "Here we go," he said.
Arthur nodded casually. "My connection with Vedas lets me monitor the development of the Cronwall Tribe." He continued as though it were perfectly normal. "I’ve just been checking in every now and then." He smiled. "You’ve all been doing pretty well."
Gruk tilted his head. "Checking?"
Arthur nodded. "You rolled an avalanche onto the Orc settlement."
Gruk froze.
Arthur continued. "Suri. You collapsed several buildings onto a group of Orcs. You successfully formed an alliance with the Direwolves. You planted fruit fields. You expanded the settlement. You built watchtowers. You discovered the Forest Totem. The Deer willingly entered your territory. The Wild Boars started following your Hunters. You accidentally started another fire."
Gruk immediately protested. "That one really wasn’t my fault," he said.
Arthur laughed. "I know. But it still happened."
Complete silence.
The entire Cronwall Tribe stared.
Gruk slowly looked toward Vedas. "Chief," he said. "Did you tell him?"
Vedas blinked several times. "No," he said. He slowly turned toward Arthur. "Partner. You’ve really been watching over them this entire time?"
For a moment, Arthur simply smiled. "Of course. I know everything you all have done and it makes me really proud."
Several Hunters slowly lowered their heads.
Gruk quietly laughed. "So we really weren’t alone."
Arthur shook his head. "Never."
For a brief moment Vedas simply stared. Then a smile slowly spread across his face. "As expected of my partner," he said.
Sun blinked. He slowly turned toward Arthur. "Wait," he said. "Every single time you started talking about Goblins."
Arthur nodded. "Yeah?"
Sun’s eyes widened. "YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THEM?!"
Arthur blinked. "Obviously," he said.
Athena slowly adjusted her glasses. "I appear to owe you an apology," she said.
Kong folded his arms. "I thought you just liked talking to yourself," he said.
Athy nodded. "I also believed that," she said.
Arthur looked genuinely surprised. "You all actually thought I was making them up?" he asked.
Sun shouted, "YES!"
Arthur blinked again, then sighed. "I expected more from all of you," he said.
Sun pointed at himself. "US?!"
Arthur nodded. "You all reached your own conclusions. I never once said they were imaginary."
Athena opened her mouth. "Technically," she said, then paused. "He’s correct."
Sun looked horrified. "You’re taking his side?!"
Athena calmly adjusted her glasses again. "I’m taking reality’s side," she said.
Arthur smiled innocently. "So whose fault was the misunderstanding?"
Sun opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. "I don’t like this conversation," he said.
Arthur nodded sympathetically. "I wouldn’t either," he said.
Kong scratched his head. "So you’ve really been watching them this whole time?" he asked.
Arthur nodded. "Pretty much."
Athy looked thoughtful. "Interesting," she said.
Sun looked between everyone. "Am I the only one who thinks this is ridiculous?" he asked.
Arthur smiled. "Probably," he said.
Leon finally burst into laughter. "Another surprise," he said, shaking his head with a grin. "I really wish I’d been there for those conversations."
Arthur chuckled. "You would’ve fit right in," he said.
Beside him Mephistopheles tilted his head. "I wonder," he said, "if you’d gain an ability like that if I ever built a Dragon Tribe."
Leon laughed even harder, rubbing Mephistopheles’s head. "That would actually be pretty amazing," he said.
The dragon happily leaned into the head pat.
Nearby Eden floated closer, her tiny eyes sparkling. "So Arthur, you really knew what everyone was doing?" she asked.
Arthur smiled. "A little," he said.
Eden gasped. "That’s so cool! So Big Brother Vedas wasn’t the only one watching over everyone!"
Arthur rubbed her head with one finger. "I was just cheering them on from far away," he said.
Eden beamed. "I want to do that too someday!" she said.
Arthur laughed. "I think you will," he said.
Arthur looked around at everyone, then smiled. "You know," he said, "I really thought someone would’ve figured it out."
Sun immediately pointed. "How?!"
Arthur shrugged. "The clues were obvious," he said. "I repeatedly mentioned exact population numbers. Average Hunter levels. Settlement expansions. Individual achievements. I even complained about Gruk starting fires."
Gruk awkwardly coughed.
Arthur continued. "I assumed one of you would eventually ask how I knew."
Sun slowly looked toward Athena. "He’s making us feel stupid," he said.
Athena sighed. "Unfortunately he has evidence," she said.
Arthur nodded. "I appreciate your honesty," he said.
Sun pointed again. "I WASN’T COMPLIMENTING YOU!"
Arthur looked toward Kong. "What about you?" he asked.
Kong proudly puffed out his chest. "I thought you were imagining very realistic Goblins," he said.
Arthur blinked. "Somehow that might be worse," he said.
Even Athy quietly nodded. "Agreed," she said.
The entire plaza burst into laughter.
The Mu. The Su. The Yan. They had all quietly watched.
One Goblin Elder slowly spoke. "The Prophet can watch over us even when he isn’t here," he said.
Another whispered, "He always knows."
Children immediately beamed. "So even when we leave, Arthur can still see us?"
Arthur blinked. "Probably," he said.
The Goblins gasped. "He really watches over everyone!"
Arthur immediately realized his mistake. "Wait. That’s not what I meant."
Too late. The Prophet narrative exploded.
Vedas laughed. "You really do make my job difficult," he said.
Arthur sighed. "I didn’t even do anything," he said.
Vedas smiled proudly. "As expected of my partner," he said.
A warm current flowed through Arthur.
It wasn’t the King Aura.
It was Vedas emotion rushing in again, the feeling of respect, and joy. It made him instinctively look toward Vedas.
Ding.
[Synchronization Increased]
[Synchronization: 68% → 70%]
Arthur blinked. Another notification appeared.
[Synchronization Milestone Reached]
[70% Synchronization Achieved]
[New Synchronization Ability Unlocked]
[Can now view the Evolution Paths of other races before evolution.]
[Can now view their Evolution Requirements.]
Arthur’s eyes widened. Then the familiar tree appeared.
[Goblin] → [Goblin Warrior] → [Goblin Commander] → [Goblin King]
Arthur smiled. "Vedas," he murmured.
Then the system expanded, like countless new branches opening.
One.
Then another.
[Goblin] → [Goblin Warrior] → [Goblin Commander] → [Goblin King] → [Goblin Genesis Emperor]
Arthur’s smile disappeared. "...What?"
Another branch slowly extended.
→ [???]
Arthur blinks. "Huh? I can’t see it?"
Then after a second...
Golden letters slowly write themselves.
[Goblin Origin God]
Arthur completely froze as his breathing became uneven.
Goblin Genesis Emperor.
Goblin Origin God.
There’s two more evolutions.
Two more!
Another notification appeared.
[First Requirement]
[Find the Continent Splitting Hammer: Phanetium — 0/1]
[Location: Secret Realm of the Everglades]
Arthur’s grin slowly widened. Amazing. Looks like our next adventure has already found us.
His gaze quietly swept across Kong.
Athy.
Mephistopheles.
Even the Direwolves nearby.
’So I can finally see the paths of other races now.’
His eyes quietly lingered on Mephistopheles for a second.
The golden dragon suddenly shivered. "Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?" he said.
Leon blinked. "Bad feeling?"
Mephistopheles slowly backed away. "Never mind," he said.
Arthur’s eyes walked over and then smiled at Mephistopheles.
The golden dragon suddenly froze. "Leon."
Leon blinked. "What?"
"I think... I’m being evaluated."
Arthur’s smile only grew.
Mephistopheles shivered. "I don’t like that smile."
"Neither do I." Leon laughed. "I suddenly feel bad for you."
Arthur then gently rubbed the golden dragon head.
And instantly another ding echoed.
[Species: Golden Dragon]
[Royal Golden Dragon]
And then Arthur began seeing more of Mephistopheles evolution lines. As golden lines not only formed but they began branching out like a tree.