BXBX NOVEL Chapter 416 Goblin Evolution
'Is it… Evolving?!?' Keng was surprised. He knew monsters and beasts had the capability to evolve but he didn't think he'd actually see one evolve. "Can I kill it before it evolves? Isn't evolution a vulnerable time!?!" Keng rushed at the goblin. He needed to test out the theory.
"Displacement!" Keng flashed forward, sprinting straight for the goblin. He lifted Hydrosphere and went in for the kill when the energy shot at him. Keng blasted away, rolling in the dirt as Hydrosphere fell from his grip. The goblin's high pitch giggles grew louder as its form grew taller. It's pitch went from high to low as it stepped out of the light.
"You thought you could kill me?!? HA!" The hobgoblin chuckled. "I'm a hobgoblin now and you'll suffer for what you did to me!" The hobgoblin flashed from its place and swung its sword down for Keng. Keng tried to roll, feeling the blade connect with his arm as the dexterity of the hobgoblin sent him flying as its sword impacted the ground.
Keng bounced, rolling and sliding as the hobgoblin began to manically laugh.
"You see my strength?!? My strength is as good as my speed! None can best me! Not even you, Fox Spirit!" The hobgoblin sprinted, disappearing from its spot. Keng forced his tails to create a shield around him as the hobgoblin appeared slamming down on it. The sword and hardened tail sparked as Keng felt the ground rumble.
"DIE, FOX! GIVE ME YOUR ESSENCE! DIEEE!" It repeated over and over. Keng could feel the ground cracking and becoming uneven beneath him.
'I can't just sit here like a duck!' Keng thought. His wound quickly healed. The ground cracked and the chunks of dirt and stone began to jump and move around. 'I used my second displacement earlier trying to get him while he was evolving. I only have one hydrosphere dagger. What do I do?' He glanced at his dagger and noticed the information pop-up from it.
Hydrosphere Daggers, Lv. 2: 140/200 Leveled Up!
'I managed to level it so fast… That Two Bodies, One Soul skill wasn't kidding when it said I'd get more progression with skills… I would figure out what else is leveled but I don't think my hardened tail will hold this any longer… What do I do?' His eyes focused on the dagger. 'Aha!' A light bulb went off in his head.
"God Weapon Art: Sphere of Hydran!" Keng shouted. A large orb of water shot out from the blade as he shrunk his tail. The hobgoblin slammed down on the hardened thin tails and watched as a rush of water exploded from the dagger. The orb swallowed both of them in the water, knocking the hobgoblin off balance. Silver flames wrapped around Keng as he slashed at the hobgoblin.
'Sky Devourer: Energy Siphon!' Keeng watched as a large energy ripped out of the hobgoblin causing it to open its mouth. Water rushed into its mouth as Keng pulled the dagger towards him. He felt rejuvenated and watched as the hobgoblin began to choke on the water. Keng tried his best to hold his breath as he watched the hobgoblin reach out for him.
Keng pushed himself backwards out of the sphere and let out a gasp for air as he crushed his free hand into a fist. The orb grew smaller and the hobgoblin thrashed for its life. He watched thee hobgoblin drown and sat down in a puddle of his own trap.
"Oh my god." Keng gasped. "That was close!" He lifted his head up into the air and sucked in another breath. "I didn't even know I was holding my breath there for a second! Such a waste of time!" His eyes went back to the hobgoblin who was floating near the bottom of the orb.
Keng swiped his hand and watched the orb spill, dropping the body with a loud thud. The battle between the goblins and Keng was finally over. He took the time to scan his surroundings and noticed something small yet familiar in the distance. His eyes narrowed as a whoosh of shadows flew past him, revealing Jyu'so, Gorrum and Lily.
"Finally found you!" Jyu'so shouted. "Where in the gods did you go?!?" Gorrum and Lily was already taking in the situation. They noticed Keng was soaking wet and the hobgoblin lying dead in the puddle. Goblins were littered around the trail and the glint of a dagger caught Lily's attention.
"What happened here?" Gorrum asked. "Did you get jumped by a hobgoblin and his goblins?"
"They were all goblins." Keng replied out of breath. "That one evolved into a hobgoblin. I didn't know that monsters had a cheat for evolution. The energy attacked me!"
"The energy will attack you regardless if you're goblin or Fox Spirit!"
"I wish I was told this beforehand." Keng sighed. He stood up and attempted to "wipe" the water off of him.
"You underestimated evolution, didn't you?" Jyu'so asked as he raised his hand. A gust of wind blew Keng dry, almost knocking him off his feet. Keng squeezed his eyes shut and nodded.
"Maybe, why?" Keng asked. He snapped his fingers and the other hydrosphere dagger appeared in his hand. He slipped the daggers back into place and patted his hair back into place.
"Evolution is unpredictable. The limits of a creature can be surpassed in that one moment. Their evolutions may differ from us and each other. You shouldn't think they're weak in that time." Jyu'so told him. "Not to mention, this seemed to gain a lot of strength to match his speed. You would've gotten more injuries if you didn't drown it."
"I know what I'm doing, Elder." Keng brushed him off. He kicked the hobgoblin and shook his head. "He just caught me off guard so I caught him off guard with a Hydrosphere ability."
"You're still using those skills without any care in the world?" Gorrum asked. "These are God Weapon Arts. They're dangerous if not used right!"
"I know!" Keng raised his voice. "I only have two God Weapon Arts compared to your library of God Weapon Arts. I can literally only create bubbles and a shield of water!"
"You use it like you have a lot of it to use! That's dangerous!" Gorrum shouted. "You think you're just playing some game? This isn't a game! It's a Godweapon and if you abuse it now, you won't have anything to use. Then what?" Keng pulled the dagger out and swung it straight for Gorrum's head. He stopped the swing in front of Gorrum's face, inches away and held it there for him to see.
"Look, you may be on limited time but Hydrosphere can regain its chargers over time." Keng wiggled the dagger. An inscription written in God tongue was half black and half faded out. It was slowly refilling the inscription in black as Keng pulled it away. "I've done my homework with Hydrosphere, sir. Don't need to worry about me."
"Worry?" Gorrum tilted his head at him. "You've done nothing but make us worry for you ever since you got here, Keng! You just disappeared and never came back! You went Feral and hurt Lily! You've done nothing but cause trouble!" Keng narrowed his eyes at Gorrum and then looked at Jyu'so.
"So that's what you think of me? I'm just a liability? Someone you have to babysit and make sure they're okay because if I died, Lee Seng would immediately turn into a corpse, huh?" Keng asked. Jyu'so and Gorrum twitched. Their faces were saying what Keng knew.
"That's not—" Gorrum began.
"Exactly." Keng turned. "Y'know, I feel really bad about hurting Lily. Yes, I slipped into Feral Madness because I knew it could get me to win but I never intended to hurt an ally. I know it's dangerous now and I swore to myself I wouldn't use it again. All you ever do is berate me. 'Keng you aren't doing it right! Keng, you didn't hunt enough! Go get more! Keng, why aren't you meditating? It's meditating time!'" Keng spun around and locked eyes with Gorrum.
"I'm sorry I can't do everything my 'master' wants me to do." Keng mocked Gorrum. "I'm not like you. I don't get the chance to sit on my ass and call it a job like you do, Gorrum."
"Keng!" Gorrum shouted.
"What? I'm right aren't I?" Keng tilted his head.
"Enough, boy." Jyu'so's voice cut like ice. Jyu'so turned and looked at him.
"I can't leave anyways so I might as well do what I want on my time. I'll learn better by getting into trouble than staying with him or you. Lily's scared of me so she might as well just take this as her sign to never come back and take care of the Tomb!" Keng shouted. His feelings swirled in his chest. His eyes were holding back tears as his lip quivered. "I'll spend the rest of the time on my own. I don't want to be pulled in whatever direction because you think its the best thing for me."
"It isn't what I think!" Jyu'so shouted. "It's what I know."
"Then tell me what you know." Keng shouted. Jyu'so recoiled from the sentence. He could sense Keng knew of something. "Tell me why I have to wait two years when I could be trying to get back my partner."