100. Mega Evolution

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"Don't dawdle, you bastards!"

The Guard Captain berated his soldiers. The soldiers guarding Kalea City were neither lazy nor weak-willed. It was only natural—they bordered a true demonic realm known as the Gray Mountains. With experience repelling the periodic monster hordes, Kalea's elite troops were all tough as nails. They could probably take two or three inland guards on their own.

"But... what are we supposed to do about it?"

Yet right now, only fear and tension showed on the soldiers' faces.

"It just looks like a volcano erupted or something..."

"I've never heard Kalea Mountain called a volcano."

"How are we supposed to check that out...?"

The Guard Captain smacked the helmet of a grumbling soldier.

"I saw it, you idiots. It was a fire lizard! A fire salamander!"

"Ow... You sure you weren't drunk?"

"You think two beers get me wasted? And don't you see the mayor's out here too?"

There was a reason the Guard Captain was putting on such a drill-sergeant display. The mayor of Kalea had come out in person. The mayor insisted he'd clearly seen a fire salamander.

"The dwarves came ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out of the mine, so he's just following them."

"Yeah, that's it. So shut your mouths and march."

The Kalea soldiers climbed the mountain in perfect formation. The mayor followed on horseback. They eventually reached the spot where flames had burst forth.

Thankfully—or not—there was no sign of any fire salamander. If the thing had really existed, there should at least be a corpse. Instead, embers still crackled around them, belching smoke, and a bunch of dwarves—whom you rarely ever saw—were gathered there.

The dwarves looked like hell. Many were wounded, and they were all soaked to the bone. These burly, muscle-bound folk were sprawled out everywhere, looking for all the world like battered heroes from some epic tale. Even the Guard Captain swallowed hard.

"Uh... we came because of the commotion."

"Commotion? It's all over."

"What exactly happened here...?"

Dwarves weren't known for their friendliness. They just stared at each other and gave no real answer. The silence stretched on until the Guard Captain tried again.

"Is there a leader here?"

"A leader? Hmm, who is our leader?"

The dwarves started debating among themselves who the leader even was. With no straight answers, the Guard Captain was at a loss. The bold Kalea mayor stepped forward and pressed.

"I'm the mayor of Kalea City. Isn't there someone in charge?"

Then, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a dwarf who could actually claim the role appeared.

"Looks like I'm the only one fit to take charge right now."

He had a thick beard. The mayor pretended to recognize him.

"Ah, you're the mine lord Bluebeard, right?"

Rozena's face—the dwarf called Bluebeard—twisted in fury. She stomped right up to the mayor's nose.

"Hey, does my beard look blue to you?"

"N-no..."

"If it looks blue, you've got eye problems. I'm just Rozena."

"Y-yes, Lady Rozena. I'm the mayor of Kalea. So then, the mine lord is...?"

"Bluebeard's dead. Burned to a crisp."

"Pardon? How did that happen?"

Rozena pondered a moment, then turned the question back.

"Flames shot up from deep in the mountain base. Would you call that a volcanic eruption?"

"Uh... yeah? Is Kalea Mountain a volcano?"

"Beats me. Aren't you the one calling it that?"

"Am I?"

"Guess we can say Bluebeard died in the volcanic eruption."

"My condolences."

"No need. He had it coming."

It sounded like a conversation between fools. Rozena sighed deeply and uncrossed her arms.

"Since I'm taking over as interim mine lord, I'll apologize on behalf of the mine."

"Pardon?"

"A fire we couldn't control damaged your property and cost lives. As representative of the Red Anvil Mine, I apologize and promise to make reparations."

Rozena bowed her head deeply. The dwarves who'd been slouched around took the cue and stood, bowing as well.

"Uh... property damage probably means the docks that burned..."

But the mayor was flustered by the dwarves' apology. He called over the Guard Captain and asked what "lives lost" meant.

"That fat guy, Batten? He's dead?"

"Batten? Who's that?"

"The bald, pot-bellied one. He ran the docks."

"Oh, that guy!"

He burst out laughing.

"Don't worry about him. He was already slated for trial for skimming fees on the sly."

"Still, a man died..."

"In a disaster like this, who cares? Don't sweat it."

The Kalea mayor showed no regret over the pot-bellied man's death. Rozena looked almost embarrassed instead.

"We'll repair the docks ourselves, so no worries there, but..."

The mayor's voice was as smooth as if he'd hand over his own liver.

"How about reopening trade lines on this occasion? Kalea has been eager to resume commerce with the Red Anvil Mine."

"We were planning to anyway. Stagnant waters rot. We want to sell new goods too..."

"Really?!"

The mayor looked ready to faint from joy. Rozena nodded.

"But the eruption wrecked a lot of our internal facilities... It'll take time to rebuild."

"Time? How much?"

"Short on funds. At least ten years, probably..."

"We'll help. We share our neighbors' burdens."

"For real? Uhahaha!"

Rozena clapped the mayor on the back in delight. He winced in pain but forced a smile.

"Oh, right!"

Rozena glanced around as if remembering something, then dragged over Royle, who was standing awkwardly in the distance.

"We got great help from this human. Name's Royle or something."

"Royle."

"Right, Royle!"

The mayor's eyes widened.

"He helped put out the volcano fire. Rode in on horseback. Without him, who knows how many more would've died. It'd be great if he helped with trade resumption too..."

"Th-this... Royle..."

The mayor already knew Royle. He grabbed his hand, eyes tearing up.

"You're Kalea's lucky charm!"

Royle smiled awkwardly. His humble demeanor no doubt won the mayor over even more.

"Talk to him more, then."

Rozena left the two and stepped back, stretching her stiff body with a sigh. Still a mighty warrior, but Rozena was plenty old. Interim or not, mine lord at her age? She was too old for that. She just wanted to get back to the forge and work on her 1,001st collection. She'd have to pass on the mine lord role soon.

To whom...?

"Lady Rozena."

"Ah, Dungkel."

Inside the mine, Dungkel greeted her. His hands were red with blood from tending the wounded dwarves nonstop.

"...Good work."

A snake perched on Dungkel's shoulder, head held high. Rozena addressed it.

"This work?"

Mentioning Royle was at the snake's request. Thanks to that, Royle would handle Red Anvil Mine's trade rights going forward. Immense wealth in the long term, of course. And... the snake had a cunning scheme.

Weapons sized for goblin hands. That'll be fun.

Rozena grinned. So the snake was on friendly terms with goblins too. Watching this would be entertaining. A shame, she thought, grinning as she bellowed:

"Attention!"

All the dwarves turned to Rozena.

"You all did great. For now, I'll take over as mine lord in Bluebeard's place. Anyone got complaints? Raise your hands."

Of course, no one did. Cheers erupted instead. Rozena didn't dawdle on business. And so, she dropped a bombshell right away.

"Also, my pick for next mine lord is Bluebeard's son and my adopted boy, Dungkel."

Shock! Outrage! Every dwarf's jaw dropped. Especially Dungkel's—suddenly thrust into such a heavy role.

"Complaints? Hands up."

Of course there'd be massive backlash. Even for the strong, respected Rozena, this was too radical. Hard-headed dwarves would never accept Dungkel.

"This makes no sense!"

And the opposition came—from Dungkel himself.

"Everyone else is fine, why're you freaking out?"

"Pardon? Everyone's fine?"

Dungkel looked around. No cheers like before, but no raised hands either. Why? From those who'd despised him.

"I'm not handing it over now. Once he proves himself a proper dwarf, then."

Rozena gripped Dungkel's hand tight. The scrapes from turning heated valves stung.

"Good work."

Rozena smiled.

I gave centipede applause to the touching end of Dwarf Dungkel's tale. Clap clap clap.

But unlike fairy tales, the world doesn't wrap up so neatly. Dungkel had trials ahead before claiming mine lord. Not every dwarf was won over heart and soul. Sure, he'd charged into the flames without regard for himself to save Red Anvil Mine. But many hadn't witnessed it.

I wanted Dungkel as mine lord. He's my friend—friends in high places are great, right?

But I had something more pressing now.

Prepare a warm nest—!

"Too hot's no good. From the Great Forest, so high humidity's best. I'll boil some water."

We were prepping Keybyangi's evolution. Everyone scrambled around in a frenzy.

Pellelian scolded, but we couldn't just sit idle. We carefully lifted Keybyangi from its pot and replanted it in the underground garden. Spritzed it with nutrient solution for wilted leaves too. Keybyangi had been curled up tight since yesterday, not dancing—a worrying sign.

I'll help.

Thanks to Keybyangi's special skill. Nothing dramatic happened right away.

I'm crashing. Guard it well.

"Don't worry."

Dungkel nodded responsibly. Evolutions often needed sleep. If we slept linked via Connection, maybe I could intervene?

Once Keybyangi evolved, name it, forge the Unbreakable Sword, and head out. Planned like a true J Snake. Best part of being a snake? Thick nerves. Mental Strength at 20, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠probably. Sleep anywhere, anytime. Super satisfying.

And so... I fell into slumber.

I came to. Like a dream, the familiar black void appeared.

Success!

It worked. Keybyangi was there too—a sprout on the floor, wagging its leaf happily at me.

Oh... I can see it.

Whoa! As expected of a World Tree descendant—Keybyangi's first evolution options were special. My first choice was just some pathetic Little Green Snake, but Keybyangi started with multiples.

Trent—walking tree folk. Little Trent means a small tree, right? Too on-the-nose, not appealing.

Second: Vine Chimera. Keybyangi used its vine hands well. Grabbed my tail, not quite like real hands yet, but this path might enable that. Then I could teach it swordsmanship? Pretty tempting.

Below seemed special routes. Probably reflecting Keybyangi's 'Fire' and 'Bone' traits.

Both powerful, sure. But Skeleton Chimera? No longer a plant. I don't hate skulls, but it'd lose the cuteness. Flame Moss Chimera... why moss? Slime-wiggly? But it'd probably be too hot to hang with me after. Tough choice.

Wish expert monster-chimera guy Pellelian was here. Never around when needed. But as always, check the last option. The magic stone infused with high demon Paimon's power—Keybyangi devoured it.

Different structure. Like an existing epithet. Vinegrass keeps it plant-based. Vines would be handy. But 'Demon Hunter's' is vague. Stronger vs demons? Not sure if we'll fight any... and no clue on looks.

But... Pellelian's advice: "Some stay in chimera line, some branch out. Might be good to change. Chimeras have limits."

So, Little Trent or Demon Hunter's Vinegrass. But he said "Trent's nothing special." Pellelian came through! Down to one.

Keybyangi, I like 5. You?

Me too. Nods. Crystal clear.

Then 5 it is!