Wight Evolution

"Hmm… lets go home." Dante closed the shed full of materials, before hoping back into the Ute.

He was going to leave behind the Skeleton Labourers to work overnight but he left them with the goblin for the night and chose to see them the following day after being exhausted by the weird events that occurred throughout the day.

On the way home, Dante stopped by the public library near his home and borrowed some books relating to various trade skills which he thought would be important to learn about before starting any major work on his farmland.

The stack of books was quite the eyesore for anyone that saw Dante leave with them in his hands, but he couldn't care about the people looking in his direction.

Rather his mind was focused on the future tasks and jobs that would be required of so he could earn enough money for later projects.

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After returning home and finding his mother in the kitchen, Dante placed the stack of books on the dining table which made a loud thud sound enough to attract Katherine's attention.

"What's with all those books, sweetie?"

"Nothing Mom, just thought about expanding my knowledge on some topics.

I'm thinking of opening a store soon, so I want to have some idea of what I'm doing."

Katherines motherly smile quickly turned into a frown of concern after realising her child was already preparing for a major step which would no doubt have many problems involved in the process.

"Dante, sweetie…

Are you sure about this?

It's your first day and you're already thinking about opening a store?" Katherine walked over and placed her hand on Dantes forehead to see if his body temperature was burning.

"Mom!

I'm not sick!" Dante complained even though he let his mother do as she pleased.

He knew she did it out of concern and Dante honestly missed his mother's caring personality when he was stuck in the other world as a Hero that everyone had to rely on.

"*Sigh*

If you want to open your own store, then how about you spruce up one of the buildings your grandfather owns out by Holden Hill.

It's quite dilapidated and needs some work to bring it up to code for customers to enter.

I'll talk with your father once he is home." Dante smiled and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek, before heading to his bedroom with the books.

When he opened the first book, which was on Carpentry, the words all seemed to pour into Dantes mind like a gushing river that only stopped once the last page was flipped, and the book was shut.

He felt a little caught off guard by the burning sensation going on in his head, however after a couple of minutes, the pain had swelled down enough for him to think clearly.

"… What the hell was that…?" Dante said aloud to himself, however Astakron saw that as it being called to answer what just occurred.

'It's part of the System Function which is designed to help the Host acquire knowledge without having to spend years learning.

However not all knowledge can be absorbed instantly, especially if it requires previous theory so you can understand the topic properly.'

Dante thanked Astakron who turned silent again and picked up the next book, which was focused on Electrical work, like his father's career.

For the rest of the night, Dante stayed in his room and read through all of the books until he collapsed from exhaustion and fell asleep without dinner.

His parents had come over to see him after he didn't come out of his room for food and saw him crashed out on the bed.

"… He looks overworked…" Katherine voiced her concern after seeing her darling son laid out across his bed with books all around him.

Jonathan walked in and started packing away the books, even smirking when he noticed the book on Electricians, "He is eager to get his business started.

Can we blame him for working hard?

He is our child after all…" Jonathan said after tucking in Dante and kissing his forehead.

Katherine agreed with her husband, but she still felt uneasy about the workload Dante was taking on and asked Jonathan to help her organise a small gift what would alleviate some of the problems Dante might come across.

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"Hmm…" Dante woke up the following morning and noticed his parents had been in his room to clean up the books as they were neatly stacked on his desk.

There was also a note on his bedside table, written by his mother, to take the packed lunch she made for him after he missed dinner last night.

Dante chuckled at the small smiley face his mother had drawn before he got out of bed and started to get ready for work.

Today he planned to go by the store in Holden Hill and check out the work that needed to be done, but before that he needed to get his parents' permission.

To Dante surprise, his father had left the keys to the store out on the dining table with a small note of his own saying the electricity and water would be connected to the building by lunch time.

His father tried to draw a cheeky smiley face with its tongue poking out, but Dante knew his father's pour drawing skills meant his mother had done it.

'… Your parents are weird…'

"Yeah…" Dante laughed at Astakrons comment as he walked out the door of his home and headed for his Ute.

.

"W-What… is… this!?!" Dante struggled to get his words out after seeing the changes throughout the Second Foundation Base on Terronious.

Having appeared before the Hub, Dante noticed the startling changes from the wooden logged walls to one made of stone.

Even the surrounding land, which was freshly planted with produce the day before, had turned into a flourishing farm with all sorts of fruits and vegetables maturing to the point they weren't far from harvest.

The tree and plant varieties around the farm were also nearly ready to be chopped down or picked, yet that wasn't anything compared to the building erected within the Hub.

Dante noticed the original tent and shoddy chest within the Hub had disappeared, to be replaced with an arch roofed workshop that reminded Dante of the great Viking halls.

Even though the building wasn't as large as most great Viking halls, it was still a decently sized structure, roughly 20 square metres.

He'd already realised the goblin had increased the size of the Hub, focusing the space on the Tree of Beginnings with it being the centrepiece, but there was something quite important Dante hadn't noticed just yet; however, it would definitely leave him stupefied.

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"Boss, your back!" a throaty voice with a deep tone called out to Dante from the doorway of the building within the Hub.

Amazed at the sight before him, Dante couldn't believe what he was seeing.

In front of him stood tall a muscular creature with a dazzling green skin tone that made the shine of an emerald seem insignificant.

The sharp pointy ears appeared to be carved from jade, highlighting the distinct facial features that could compete with leading actors in Hollywood.

Only after Dante stared into the eyes of the creature, with its dark iris and emerald pupils, whose height was roughly a couple inches shorter than his own did he realise that it was the goblin.

"Hahaha!

Boss, it seems like you just realised who I am."

"T-Thaestus… is that you…?" Dante struggled to register the freakish transformation that occurred with the goblin, so much so that he couldn't find the right words to say.

"Boss, I bet your wondering how I went through such a big change, right?

Well, when you gave me my name, something deep within my body's core exploded, that allowed me to evolve into a High Goblin.

Haha, if my bloodlines was an ordinary Goblin from the beginning, I think I could have evolved into a Prime Goblin to be honest."

While Thaestus continued chuckling alone, Dante struggled with his footing and nearly stumbled over, but was saved by Thaestus, who appeared by his side within a heartbeat.

"Come sit down Boss and let me answer any questions you have." Dante couldn't only nod helplessly and let Thaestus drag his weak body into the building.

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Once Dante sat down on a bench within the building which appeared to be a workshop from first glances, Thaestus started explaining the changes that occurred to himself and the Second Foundation Base.

It turned out Thaestus was an Inferior Goblin before his evolution, which restricted his kind to take on degrading work close to that of a slave since Inferior Goblins could be reproduced quickly through their Race Gene Tree.

The unique type of tree would be given sacrifices that would then spawn various types of eggs on the branches.

Because they would hatch within a short time period, the weak but hardworking Inferior Goblins could work till they dropped dead, only to be replaced by another Inferior Goblin.

High Goblins on the other hand, were a race of goblins who were treated similarly to High Elves.

They were known for their ability in alchemy and crafting intricate items which would typically help the wearer with a boost of their ability or strength.

It honestly depended on the requirements of the person who would have the High Goblins work to create them an item.

Dante felt like asking about the Prime Goblins but chosen not to since there were other things to worry about.

When he questioned Astakron about what happened, the Divine System Spirit told him that the Divine Sparks melded into his soul gave him greater power when naming monsters.

Astakron never expected the goblin to evolve beyond one stage, at most two, but seeing the Inferior Goblin turn into a High Goblin shattered any and all common sense the Divine System Spirit had.

.

"How did you do all… of this…?" Dante had a massive headache looking around the workshop to find various tools and equipment made from what appeared to be Steel, yet he didn't remember there being such a large portion of the material anywhere on Terronious beside what he brought over.

Even then it wasn't anywhere near the amount used throughout the workshop.

There were hammers, wrenches, vises, which were the typical tools Dante expected to see in a workshop, however there was some handheld tools similar to power tools, called braces, that had a U-shaped grip which would rotate.

Dante couldn't understand where or how Thaestus learnt to make such tools and equipment however he couldn't complain after seeing all the work done overnight.

"Boss…

I don't know how to say it but when my evolution was finished, my mind was inundated with all sorts of information that sent me into overdrive after seeing the poor state of the Hub and farm.

The houses were stripped apart to make everything I needed since I didn't have enough materials from what you'd left behind.

Not everything in the houses were stripped apart, as I wanted to study some of the items, I found interesting, but I made sure to keep one of each item if there were several of them found throughout the houses broken down."

Dante felt like smacking the grinning smile off Thaestus face after hearing the houses were stripped apart for materials, but his wrath disappeared in a heartbeat once he learnt there were items saved from the goblin's grubby hands.

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"You must be knackered after doing all of that work overnight, Thaestus."

"Not really Boss, the Skeleton Labourers helped out a great deal.

They also improved their own abilities as well, so the work progressed quite quickly compared to the slow speed at the beginning."

Dante didn't understand what Thaestus meant by the Skeleton Labourers improving themselves however after leaving the workshop, he noticed the visual difference about the Skeleton immediately when his eyes laid on them working out in the field.

There was a startling difference in the density of the bones as well as the structure of the skeletons which appeared to be wearing a suit of armour, but it was designed to help them with their work.

Just from a quick glance, Dante noticed some of the Skeleton Labourers had baskets hooked onto their body armour which was being filled with harvested produce.

They also had places to store tools around their body for quick access if needed.

Even their heads seemed to have a protective cover similar to a hard hat.

But the most surprising thing was their Levels.

"They've all gone up to Level 3!" Dante struggled to understand how the Skeleton Labourers had levelled up since 30 killed zombies would be required for each skeleton.

However, he never expected to learn the environment of Terronious was perfect for the Skeleton Labourers.

"I sent them out into the Fog of the Undead to absorb it into their bones.

It's the best thing for them to grow and improve their abilities." Thaestus thought what he'd said was common knowledge and something his master knew about; however, he wasn't aware of the turmoil going on in Dantes mind.

It didn't last long anyway as Thaestus noticed some of the Skeleton Labourers returned to the Hub with large amounts of fresh produce which needed to be stored quickly.

Dante watched the Skeletons wave at him before following Thaestus to behind the workshop where the High Goblin had created a storage facility to keep the produce cool.

An underground cooling facility was made which happened to connect with a root of the Tree of Beginnings.

Using the knowledge that came along with the evolution, Thaestus was able to set up a Basic Magic Circle that would keep the underground facility nice and cold.

When Dante went around to the back of the workshop and took the stairs to the underground storage facility, the first thing he noticed was the size of the structure was fairly large.

Roughly measured at 6 by 3 metres, the cold storage space had racks set up on the walls to keep everything sorted cleanly.

Unable to hide his shock, Dantes mouth was agape at the fact Thaestus had built such a room and used his creativity to have it connected with one of the roots of the Tree of Beginnings since it was the source of Magical Energy that was being expelled into the atmosphere.

His Basic Magic Circle could regulate the cool air coming in as well as turn off the need to blast the room with more cool air if it started to heat up.

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"Pretty neat, don't you think Boss…?" Thaestus smug grin made Dante want to hug the bastard but thinking of the number of resources the farm of the Second Foundation Base would produce daily needed a larger room.

"You've done an excellent job Thaestus…

I never thought you would have gotten this far to be honest.

One night and you've utterly gone beyond my expectations." Dante couldn't help but praise the man before he had to task the goblin with more work.

"Boss…" Thaestus couldn't help but smile at the praise he received.

His watery eyes were enough to tell Dante that the High Goblin was grateful for the praise, so he thought it would be best to give Thaestus his newest task, yet the Goblin had his own plans.

"Boss, come with me…

There is something I need to show you." Thaestus led Dante through to a adjoining room with the underground storage room, which was full of dead zombie corpses, which were kept cool so they didn't smell.

Thaestus made the plan to have them stored underneath for now since he didn't want the bodies to rot left out in the open on the ground of the Hub.

Looking around the room, Dante could tell the space was larger than the first room.

Before he could ask Thaestus why, the System notified him about the EXP earned.

…

..

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*Ding*

[110 Undead Creatures – Zombies – have been found within the Second Foundation Base]

[Each Level 1 Zombie offers 10 EXP]

[Basic Arithmetic Function Activated!]

[1,100 EXP (Max Multiplication by 10) equals 11,000 EXP]

[Host can utilise the 11,000 EXP through several options:

A. Store the EXP for later use

B. 10,000 EXP to upgrade walled space

C. Level 1 Inferior Goblin Craftsmen (2,500 EXP)

D. Upgrade two Level 3 Skeleton Labourers (4,000 EXP to Level Up)

E. Level 1 Wight Supervisor (8,000 EXP)]

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..

…

Dante chose option C and E, spending 10,500 EXP, leaving 500 in the bank.

Two fruits appeared on the Tree of Beginnings, one with a dullish green colour and another that had the greyish tint similar to the Skeleton Labourers with markings remnant of a bone outer shell.

They both fell on the ground and cracked open to reveal one Inferior Goblin Craftsmen and a Wight Supervisor, which looked very much like the Skeleton Labourers, but it had several distinct differences.

The Wight Supervisor wore glasses with cracked lenses that amplified the flames in their eye sockets from a greyish tone to one with a ting of red.

It even wore a tarnished tie around its bony neck, which Dante thought looked weird but considering it was a 'supervisor', he just let it be.

Both the Wight and Goblin kneeled before him, as they made themselves known to their Master.

'"Master, you given us life…

How may we serve you?"'

The two spoke together in unison as if it was painstakingly rehearsed.

Dante told them both to stand up before he decided on a name for the two, now that he knew they could evolve into higher forms.

However, Thaestus, who needed to clean up the room before the fresh produce was stacked in, asked Dante to lead them both out of the underground storage room.

The Wight heard Thaestus talking about cleaning the mess away and decided to give his brethren a helping hand

Waving his skeletal hand across the room, a burst of red flames left the palm of the Wight and burned across the room, leaving no burn marks behind as it cleaned away the guts and filth left behind by the zombie corpses.

Dantes mouth was once again agape by the actions of his Monster Labour Force, even though the monsters themselves didn't think much of it, clearly evident by the nonchalant attitude of Thaestus who nodded his head after sensing the room was clean.

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"Is the Wight going to be fine out their alone?" Dante asked Thaestus as the two watched the Wight leave for the Fog of the Undead.

The fog had vanished quite a fair bit with the Skeleton Labourers who were sent out earlier on by Thaestus after Dante returned to Earth the day before.

Leaving with a machete in hand that was improved by Thaestus for an increased sharpness and durability, Dante watched from atop the stone wall as the Wight disappeared into the Fog of the Undead.

"Don't worry, Boss.

Those Wights are tough buggers who don't take crap from anyone, especially with my revised machete in hand, it might even be able to conduct some Magical Energy into the weapon.

Plus, when I sent the Skeleton Labourers out into the fog, they had no issues so don't worry about a Wight Supervisor.

Those ferocious guys exude anger and fury." Dante could only agree with Thaestus and wait to see the results.

"So… you've already put the Inferior Goblin to work huh…"

"Yes boss, hehe…

I've got him managing the Skeleton Labourers until the Wight Supervisor returns.

Around then would also be a good time to name the two… that is if you wish to do so, Boss…"

Thaestus felt he was getting too comfortable around his Master and froze up a little after talking about naming the others to Dante, but he was overthinking it since Dante agreed with his suggestion.

"Mm… your right.

Its best they know that they won't be rewarded so easily.

I also need to take the other Goblin over to Earth so they can work on the Farm over there."

Dante had no issue expanding his strength throughout Terronious, but now that some of the work was completed here, he wanted to pay attention on the farmland back on Earth.

He'd yet to plant all of the extra plants and seeds he received after the Basic Arithmetic Function multiplied the number of items, he had brought over to Terronious.

Even though the water and electricity on the farm was connected with the Tree of Beginnings through the help of the System, it was quite basic from what he'd learn from Astakron and Thaestus.

According to Astakron the two resources connected with the Tree of Beginnings were automatically brought over to Terronious from Earth through the Systems ability, however due to it being a basic connection the water and electricity was quite poor.

Thaestus had already utilised the water coming over to drink for himself as well as the plants which were taken care of by the Tree of Beginnings on the Second Foundation Base, but if Dante had any plans to expand the Base range, then it was necessary for a connection beyond the basic level.

Dante planned to take over Thaestus or the other goblin later to help him transform the farm on Earth, yet they waited around till the Wight Supervisor returned.

To their surprise, it'd come back after an hour or so, during which Dante helped Thaestus with expanding the storage facilities underground.

When the two came up to the ground level after the Inferior Goblin informed them about the Wights return, they were stunned by the number of zombie corpses it'd brought back.

The Wight Supervisor found a few trollies and bound them together using some ropes it'd found.

Dante noticed the Wight Supervisor had also become a Level 3 monster which changed its appearance to include a body armour like the Skeleton Labourers, though the Wights seemed sharper.

The glasses with the broken lenses had cleared up slightly so it wasn't as cracked as before, but also the armour seemed sleeker and sharper than the Skeleton Labourers one.

Though he wanted to ask the Wight how it had faired out in the Fog of the Undead, his mind focused on the System Notification after the zombie corpses were chucked near the Tree of Beginnings.

…

..

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*Ding*

[32 Undead Creatures – Zombies – have been found within the Second Foundation Base]

[Each Level 1 Zombie offers 10 EXP]

[Basic Arithmetic Function Activated!]

[320 EXP (Max Multiplication by 10) equals 3,200 EXP]

[500 EXP already banked!]

[Host can utilise the 3,700 EXP through several options:

A. Store the EXP for later use

B. Level 1 Inferior Goblin Craftsmen (2,500 EXP)]

[Option B selected!]

[3/4 Monster Craftsmen summoned]

[Maximum number of slots filled in Monster Tab (20/20)]

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..

…

Dante chose to spend his EXP and watched another Inferior Goblin appear before Thaestus put it to work while he dealt with the Wight Supervisor.

"How did you find it out in the Fog?"

"Excellent Master, I was able to increase my strength and abilities within a short time which would have taken me a long time otherwise.

I also discovered certain facilities which could be beneficial for the Base once we expand." The Wight Supervisor had checked the Hub before leaving to see what areas needed to be improve upon.

Dante asked the Wight about a couple more things regarding the items it found, but from what he heard back, the Wight hadn't travelled too deep into the fog and moved around the border.

After chatting for a little while, before deciding on a name for both the Wight and the Inferior Goblin who'd appeared after Thaestus.

…

..

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*Ding*

[Inferior Goblins Craftsman has been awarded a name by the Host!]

[Divine Sparks connected to Host Soul Activated!]

[Named Inferior Goblin Craftsman evolved into High Goblin Craftsman called Palimus]

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*Ding*

[Wight Supervisor has been awarded a name by the Host!]

[Divine Sparks connected to Host Soul Activated!]

[Named Wight Supervisor evolved into Lich Manager called Xarl]

…

..

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