MTLNOVEL Chapter 51: Evolution
And right then, Dribb burst forward like a pint-sized green missile, his axe raised high and his battered shield in front of him. A throat-shredding goblin war cry erupted from his lungs.
"RAAAAGHHH—!"
Then he did something I didn't see coming.
He threw the damn shield—Captain America style.
WHOOSH!
It sailed through the air with all the grace of a rusty frying pan and slammed into the python's scaled jaw.
CLANG!
The sound of impact was dull. The shield bounced off the injured python's head without leaving so much as a scratch.
Still, it was a nice effort.
Strangely effective. Just not in the way Dribb intended.
The python's hiss deepened into a guttural growl, low and rattling, like a rusted engine on the verge of tearing itself apart. One of its pupils shrank to a slit; the other, still bleeding thanks to Thok, swam in red.
Then it lunged—straight for Dribb. Its jaw unhinged wider than should've been possible.
Uh-oh.
Dribb scrambled backward, arms flailing, legs kicking like a rabbit who'd just realized he insulted a bear.
I knew I had to save him—fast.
I warped again, blinking beside him in a burst of distorted air.
POP!
I grabbed his shoulder, and with a flick of thought, we vanished.
WHOOSH!
We reappeared midair, directly above the python's enormous, scale-armored head.
For half a heartbeat, we hung there—suspended at the peak of the arc—before gravity kicked in.
I caught Dribb's wide-eyed stare, gave him a smirk, and tapped the hilt of his weapon.
"He's all yours."
Then I blinked away, vanishing just before he started to fall.
Dribb understood the assignment.
As he dropped like a meteor, he gripped his axe tight and drew it back, bellowing a war cry that sounded like it came from the lungs of a seasoned warlord.
"DIEEE!"
The python must've heard him, because it instinctively tilted its head upward. Perfect. The charred wound Narg had left earlier was exposed—blackened, cracked, and still faintly smoking.
Dribb didn't hesitate.
He let gravity lead the way, both hands locked around the axe handle, his eyes burning with a wild mix of fear, fury, and bloodlust.
He swung down hard.
THWACK.
The sound was sickeningly solid. A perfect strike. Right into the softened flesh.
Right into the scorched wound.
Right into the brainstem.
The python didn't just scream—it shrieked. A raw, violent sound torn from deep within. Equal parts pain, rage, and something almost... confused. Like it couldn't quite believe this tiny green creature had actually hurt it.
Badly.
Blood burst from the wound in a thick, steaming spray—dark crimson fountaining high into the air.
The python convulsed, and Dribb was thrown off its head, tumbling across its coiled body like a rag doll. He bounced once—face-first into a rubbery muscle ridge—then flopped to a stop.
Ugly landing. But not fatal.
"Good job, Dribb!" I shouted.
Then I turned, eyes locking on the last piece of the puzzle.
"Narg! Finish it off!"
My faithful little shaman was already in position, perched atop a rock with his staff gripped tightly in both hands.
He didn't need to be told twice.
His eyes glowed faintly. With a quiet fwoosh, his staff flared to life, flames licking upward as a fireball began to form—larger than anything he'd managed before.
Then he thrust his staff forward.
The fireball erupted, howling across the battlefield in a stream of heat and sparks.
And then it struck—
BOOM!
It slammed directly into the open wound Dribb had carved.
The effect was immediate. Violent.
Fire exploded outward in a burst of pressure and heat, sending chunks of scorched flesh flying in every direction.
The scales blistered. The flesh erupted. Bone cracked and hissed.
The blast left a blackened crater in the side of the python's head.
Its final screech ripped through the canyon like a banshee's death cry—high-pitched, furious, and filled with dying rage.
My ears rang. My teeth ached from the pressure.
But it didn't last long.
The shriek died out, and silence followed.
The snake gave one last convulsive shudder. Then its eyes went glassy and unfocused. Its massive head dropped with a dull, echoing boom, sending up a cloud of dust as it hit the ground.
It was dead.
I let out a long breath—one I hadn't even realized I'd been holding.
My heart thudded in my chest. Not from fear. Not from exertion.
Just awe.
We'd won.
And we did it without a single casualty.
I warped down beside the fallen creature, landing lightly. Rolled my shoulder with a quiet wince. The acid burn still throbbed—a raw, stinging reminder of how close things had gotten—but nothing serious.
A few bruises. A few burns. But everyone was alive.
Everyone was intact.
Dribb clambered down from the python's back, limping slightly but grinning like a fool, his face streaked with blood and grime.
One by one, the rest of the goblins gathered around. Gobbo and Zonk had a few scrapes—nothing serious. Thok was missing a tooth and kept pointing at the gap with a proud grin, like it was some kind of battle trophy.
Otherwise, they were okay.
That's when I noticed it.
A faint shimmer rising from their bodies—soft, golden light tracing the edges of their skin.
I grinned.
"Well, would you look at that," I muttered, activating [ANALYZE].
Dribb – Level 8
Gobbo – Level 8
Zonk – Level 8
Thok – Level 8
Not bad. Not bad at all.
They'd leveled together—shared effort, shared kill, shared reward. Classic party synergy.
Then I glanced at Narg.
Narg – Goblin Acolyte – Level 10
"Whoa," I breathed. "Level ten?"
Way ahead of the others.
The reason was obvious. Narg had dealt the most damage—his first blast had softened the python, and his final strike had finished it. No doubt about it, he'd earned every level.
But then… something strange happened.
His class title began to flicker.
I frowned and looked again.
Narg – Goblin Acolyte – Level 10
Acolyte...
Acolyte...
Aco... lyt... e...
[CLASS DEFINING...]
[EVOLUTION TRIGGERED]
"What the hell...?" I muttered.
Then I heard a clatter.
Narg's staff slipped from his fingers and hit the ground. Then he doubled over.
"Narg?!" I called out.
But he didn't answer
Instead, he...