The Evolution of a Goblin to the Peak

Souta slowly opened his eyes. He sat up and held his head.

'Souta, are you fine?' Saya quickly asked him.

"Yeah. I'm fine..." Souta answered her before he inhaled deeply. He could clearly remember the voices that he had heard before. The images were blurred, but he was sure that it was connected to his past.

They were talking about the Door. What's coming here, and what's on the other side of the Door? Also, about the Four Authorities. The Ten Commandments were trying to find those authorities. How much of it is connected to the Door? The Aspect of Sins?

And the Star Zodiacs?

Is everything connected to the Three Bringers of Calamities?

There are so many questions in his mind, but he doesn't know the answer to any of them. Also, it seems that someone deliberately erased his memories. Is he being controlled by some people? Are those people connected to his system?

"Fuck!!"

Souta gritted his teeth as he smashed his fist on the ground. He hated the idea of someone controlling or manipulating him. It was especially difficult if he didn't have any idea about what they were planning. They were just leaving him in the dark.

Damn! Those people... Am I just a pawn? I will not let it go the way they planned it. I will do what I want.

Anger was filling his heart. He didn't even know if he was dancing in the palm of an unknown person.

He didn't like this feeling. It was unpleasant.

'Souta! Why are you so angry?!' Saya was confused. She didn't even know why Souta had fallen unconscious before, and now he had suddenly become angry.

Souta closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a while, he opened his eyes once again and said, "I'm fine now."

It seems that he had to know everything. He wanted to know what they were planning for him. He doesn't like being kept in the dark.

But for now, he should focus on his goal. He would know the truth in the future. No, he will try to know it. He will use everything that he has gained.

Souta examined his body. His hair grew a little bit, but its color has changed. It has a blood-red color, and his eyes have the same color. His skin tone was darker, as it was close to black. A red-colored gem the size of a fist was situated in the center of his chest. It was his monster orb.

He thought that his monster orb would be internal, but it seems that it was the same as Yuko's, an external monster orb.

On his monster orb, a light red tribal tattoo spread out on his chest. It looks like a pair of eyes. His sharp nails also turned red. He also grew taller by one inch. Well, it's not that bad. At least he grew taller.

But the problem was that he only had one arm. He thought that he would regenerate it when he evolved, but it seems that's not the case for him.

His health regeneration was 246 per hour. He would receive the ability to regenerate his limbs if it reached 300 per hour. Well, he was already halfway through it, so it's not that bad.

"For now..."

Souta muttered as he activated the bracelet that Alice gave him. He changed his appearance back to that of a normal human, but he couldn't hide the monster orb. The effect of the bracelet wasn't affecting the part where his monster orb was situated.

"I'm always wearing clothes, so it's not that much. But at this rate..."

Souta rubbed his chin. At this rate, he couldn't go to a brothel. It was a big problem. Those girls would recognize the monster orb the moment they saw it.

Wait!

Oh? In the sub-world, people rarely saw monster orbs. They didn't even know that all monsters could form it, not just a dragon. If that's the case, he could make some excuses.

But in the Imperium, the monster orb was widely known. Everyone would recognize it in a single glance, but he wasn't in the Imperium. He was currently staying in a sub-world.

"Good."

Souta nodded with a satisfied expression. After settling his mind, he looked at the last piece of information in his system. He hasn't read it because he felt that intense pain before.

[You've reached the third evolution stage!]

[You've finally become a true monster!]

[Every time you level up, you will gain: 100 health, 20 energy, 20 stamina, 50 strength, 30 agility, 30 dexterity, 30 intelligence, and 30 vitality. You will also receive +5% physical and energy damage, +5% to all resistances, and +10 to health, energy, and stamina recovery!]

This is what he was talking about. The benefits from leveling up after reaching the third stage were something that couldn't be compared to the second stage.

In the second stage, he only received 15 points for strength and 10 points for agility, dexterity, intelligence, and vitality every time he leveled up. The difference was too large.

...

Souta walked outside, and he found Yuko sitting alone. She was looking around, trying to see if anyone would approach this place.

"Master...?"

Yuko turned to look at Souta. She naturally felt the difference in Souta's vibe. Yeah, even though Souta was hiding his aura, Yuko could still feel it with her instinct.

"Yeah, I've reached your level. I'm also a third evolution monster now."

Souta smiled as he patted her head. Yuko simply closed her eyes as she enjoyed him caressing her head.

"I'm going to contact Lydia first."

He said as he took out the transmission talisman from his pocket. He then contacted her.

"Lydia..."

He said, but the one who answered him wasn't Lydia but Isabella.

"S-Souta. Lydia is sleeping right now."

"Oh? Can you wake her up? I want to ask her some questions." He said to Isabella.

"Okay. Please wait for a moment," Isabella said.

After a few moments, Souta heard Lydia's voice.

"What do you want to know, Souta?" She quickly asked.

"I want to know about the situation in the Prison World. About the rulers of this world." Souta asked her, and Lydia slowly explained to him about the wardens, the rulers of this world.

From her explanation, Souta understood the state of the world. He also learned from her the territory of the wardens and the prisons that they controlled.

Catastrophe rank prisons...

This was his target for now, as most of the powerful creatures were being detained in that place. He was sure that if he freed the creatures in that place, they would cause chaos in this world.

But a single catastrophe rank prison wasn't enough. That's why he had Lydia on the other side to free the creatures in the other catastrophe rank prison.

"I understand now. I'll leave the other side to you. I'm going to the prisons of the Third Warden." Souta said to Lydia before he hung up the talisman.

Now that he had reached the third evolution stage, he wouldn't back down from the commanders of the Great Astley Empire. They couldn't pose a threat to him with their current strength. Unless they had more than fifty B-ranks at their disposal, he wouldn't be in trouble while fighting them.

It will take a party of an A-rank who specialize in different classes to subdue him.

At his current strength, he is even stronger than Yuko.

"Let's go out now."

...

The entire forces of the Great Astley Empire were trying to find Souta's group. They were looking everywhere, trying to find their trails.

Souta and Yuko arrived at one of the catastrophe rank prisons in this world. It was under the rule of the Third Warden, a powerful Warden who specializes in wielding spears.

This prison was large, and it felt like Souta was looking at a city.

Fifty-meter-high walls surrounded the entire place, and there were more than dozens of security posts that were looking around and guarding the place.

Also, cannons were installed on the walls, with a gap of twenty meters. And at the center of the place was a huge, five hundred-meter-tall building. This building has no windows, and it only has one door.

"Yuko, just stay here for a while. I'm going to sneak in there."

Souta said to Yuko before he left. He used his [Burrow] skill and went underground. He was sure that this type of base didn't have any sensory devices or spherical barriers that protected it in the air and under the ground.

After a few dozen minutes, he managed to sneak inside the place. Inside the prison, things were different than what he expected. Screams and cries from people could be heard.

The guards were torturing the prisoners in this place.

'I will observe this place first before I start freeing the prisoners.'

Souta said inwardly. He then glanced at the tallest building and silently approached it.

Sneaking into this kind of place was nothing for him. The guards were just E-rank, and none of them were sensory-type.

'Let's see...'