Demon King
chapter-26

The Third Evolution (1)

The moment I saw the reminder, I immediately realized that only a few could satisfy this condition.

I think achieving Lower Level 5 is possible with a sword and a spear, but it would take a long time.

I’ve significantly reduced the time by predating fighters, warriors and knights with swordsmanship.

The other conditions would be a problem for others.

Even at a Beginner level, it is hard to reach Level 5 for other martial arts-based skills.

If one is determined to reach it, it is possible, but it meant constantly changing weapons to improve the level.

That’s why this skill would be hard to achieve unless one had Predation to steal other monsters’ abilities.

Of course, another factor would be that people may not know about reaching an advanced skill required conditions such as these.

So far, the monsters I met in this dungeon, as well as humans, appeared to have dull nerves and movements. They seem not to have skills such as Detection and Leap. Their skill levels are likely to reach the Beginner Level 2 and not exceed it at all.

This is not the only thing I’ve learned through the notification window.

I have a Predation skill, which will result in an increasing number of skills.

If so, I may be able to synthesize other advanced skills other than martial arts in the future. After all, this is also a strength of Predation.

[A higher skill is a skill that appears when a certain condition is satisfied based on a lower skill. It is difficult to raise the level, but it has high power even at the same level and has various benefits.]

[Would you like to synthesize to Lower Martial Arts?]

[In that case, Lower Swordsmanship, Beginner Spear, Beginner Smash, Beginner Archery, and Lower Throwing will disappear.]

[Combat support skills are further enhanced by the effects of martial arts skills.]

[Yes]

[No]

I had a little conflict. Lower Martial Arts is obviously a good skill, but it starts at Level 1. My swordsmanship is already at Lower Level 6. It may be painful to start again from Level 1. What’s more, Leap and Detection are essential to me.

But maybe, the Martial Arts skill will let me deal with all weapons and amplify the Beginner level powers.

Hesitation is natural, but in the end, by learning this, I will become stronger.

I closed my eyes and chose [Yes].

[Lower Swordsmanship, Lower Throwing, Beginner Spear, Beginner Smash, Beginner Archery have been extinguished.]

[You acquired Lower Martial Arts Lv 1]

[You can handle all weapons. Enhances the power of combat support skills.]

I felt a good feeling of relief and satisfaction.

It was exactly what I expected.

Now, it seemed that I would be able to wield any weapon at a high level.

That doesn’t mean I forgot that the swordsmanship went down from Level 6 to Level 1. My swordsmanship wouldn’t have the same power, but it would not have fallen significantly.

What’s more, this could be easily remedied by predating monsters dealing with swords.

“Good.”

It was a good thing to synthesize martial arts. I became stronger.

The chances of survival are even higher. I was so happy.

[Prey 5/5 after hunting goblin knights]

[Achieve quest!]

[You gained 200,000 experience!]

[You got 10 gold!]

[The level has risen a lot!]

[You got 3 lower health potions.]

[You got three iron javelins.]

Then came the moment I was looking forward to.

[Evolution is possible.]

[Choose a race to evolve into.]

[1. Hob Goblin Fighter]

[2. Hob Goblin Mage]

[3. Hob Goblin Warrior]

[4. Hob Goblin Commander]

[5. Hob Goblin Assaulter]

I seem to get a little sense of the law of evolution.

The first evolution was from an ordinary goblin to a Goblin Fighter, and the second evolution was to become a more advanced species in the Fighter, or to become an advanced species, a Hob Goblin.

Now, the third evolution is to move from Hob Goblin to another higher specie. I do not know when the fourth evolution would be, but maybe at that time, I will get a chance to escape from being a Hob Goblin and turn into a different monster?

“No, it’s okay if it does not happen on the fourth, the fifth, or the sixth. As long as I could move into a higher-level specie, I’ll take the opportunity.”

During the first evolution, I had no choice. On the second evolution, I got a choice to be a Hob Goblin. This time, there were five options to choose from. I hesitated.

Fighter, Mage, Warrior.

These three are easy to interpret. Maybe it’s because I have both martial arts and magic. Fighters and Warriors will be superior for melee attacks, and wizards will be superior for magic attacks.

Fighters have more aggressive features than Warriors. If you think about it, Goblin Knights come from Goblin Fighters, not Warriors.

Warriors are strong enough not to go through the Fighter phase.

If I choose any of these two, I’ll become stronger in a melee fight. However, Black Lightning is very important for me, and I also just acquired Flame Magic. I shouldn’t rush to lose these abilities.

The 4th and 5th options, however… I checked the information.

[Hob Goblin Commander]

[A high-level species that could direct other Hob Goblins.]

[Can command goblins with high leadership skills; elevate the powers of the subordinates; catch strong monsters that are hard to face alone. The troll, an intermediate monster, fears and avoids a Hob Goblin Commander’s group.]

[Hob Goblin Assaulter]

[A rare variant of the Hob Goblin, possessing various skills related to attack and magic]

[A terrifyingly combative monster polished to hunt intermediate monsters with combat and magic abilities.]

Fighters, Mage, Warrior, and Commander all sound good. However, the Assaulter is described as ‘rare’ in the notification window.

A commander who can catch strong monsters by leading a group. An assaulter who lives by hunting strong monsters.

There are certainly pros and cons to each of the 4th and 5th options, and it is clear that their abilities are incomparable to that of a simple Fighter or Mage.

My choice has been decided.

I haven’t even gotten an opportunity to use Leadership ability so far. It is at a Lower level, but I haven’t used it. In short, it is useless.

No way. Logically, it will be a great risk to choose Commander and eventually find out that I have no group to lead.

Even emotionally, the Assaulter feels more attractive.

It is the top specie specialized in combat.

Fighting with everything you have and defeating all enemies – I was convinced that this was the way I should go.

After confirming the safety of my surroundings, I boldly chose the fifth option, the Hob Goblin Assaulter, and waited for the pain to come.

“Oh, ah ah ah ah ah!”

The bones of my whole body are displaced and distorted. My skin was torn, my muscles were cracked, and my blood was soaring through the air.

My face seemed to be torn apart. Headaches that seemed to like dozens of knives stabbing have engulfed me.

“Ugh-go-go-go!”

But knowing that this pain will not kill me, and what the outcome would be, made the pain bearable.

[Beginner Regeneration has become Lv2.]

[Lower Level Resistance has become Lv5.]

Yeah, why not? Resistance also grew during the last evolution, and in the process of wounding and restoring it, the Regeneration skill increased inevitably in this situation where countless bones are broken, the flesh is crushed, and blood flows.

[Beginner Regeneration has become Lv3.]

Regeneration grew to two levels at a time. It’s a great thing, and I’m happy, but it also says how much wounds and pain I’m receiving for this skill to grow twice rapidly.

“Aghh… … Gh… ….”

I tried to distract myself with thoughts about getting stronger to escape the pain of reality until finally, the pain began to fade.

I opened my eyes.

I took off the armor that had increased in size in proportion to my body and checked myself for changes.

My arms and legs got thicker, looking more powerful and overwhelming than before.

What’s more, unlike my previous green-brown skin, my skin now turned dark. Maybe the Ebon Heart had an effect. Or is it typical of Assaulters to have dark skin?

I also grew in height. I had no choice but to estimate it by looking down on the ground. I think I am over 180 cm.

As I human, I was quite short.

Of course, I am a monster now, and that made all the difference.

[Hob Goblin Assaulter]

[Lower Martial Arts has become Lv2.]

[Beginner Flame Magic has become Lv2.]

[Beginner Black Lightning has become Lv10 and evolves to Lower Black Lightning. The range and power of black lightning increased.]

[Beginner Power Attack has become Lv7.]

[Beginner Power Arrow has become Lv2.]

[Beginner Surprise has become Lv10 and evolves into the Lower Surprise. Hiding ability is more proficient, and when launching a surprise attack, the attack power is increased.]

As evolution progressed, my skills continued to increase in level. Martial arts, magic, attack skills, surprise – all skills related to the identity of a Hob Goblin Assaulter improved.

Surprise is a skill that I liked very much because it does not use up too much mana. Nevertheless, it grew slowly because there were only a few instances where I can use it. I could not use it during the mass appearances that I triggered.

[Kang Si-ha (Fate)]

[Hob Goblin Assault Lv 40]

[Strength – 205 Stamina – 184 Magic – 105 Luck – ???]

[Skill-Ebon Heart, Predation Lv3, Lower Martial Arts Lv2, Lower Armor Defense Lv8, Lower Regeneration Lv3, Lower Flame Magic Lv2, Lower Black Lightning Lv1, Lower Power Attack Lv7, Lower Power Arrow Lv2, Lower Leap Lv2, Lower Leap Lv7, Lower Surprise Lv1, Lower Leadership Lv3]

I can’t help but smile as I looked at the status. After the evolution, I had a 40 increase for both strength and magic and received 20 increase for stamina. What’s more, all I can see now are Lower level skills.

Out of joy, I began to make a few leaps, trying Black Lightning, and wield my sword to test my new strength.

I continued to do that until a new notification popped in front of my eyes as if reminding me that I have forgotten what I’m here for…