Chapter 1156: Earth
The group of five greeted me, coming at lightning speed to greet me as quickly as possible the moment they sensed my return.
"It's good to see you again, Lady Maria. I've been doing my best to take care of the place with everyone else."
The first to speak was Gobu, the goblin chief which had been assigned with taking care of this place alongside many others.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
He had grown in more ways than just size, his appearance as a whole had evolved, before he had become a Hobgoblin, but now he had become something else.
Taller, almost over two meters, his green skin became darker, and there were now a pair of black horns growing from his forehead.
"Auntieee! I'm happy you're back!"
Then a girl hugged me tightly, this voice... It was Gofumin! The young daughter of Gobu, and an adorable and extrovert little goblin girl.
She was my daughter's first ever friend too, and she was often playful, always looking forward to play and also explore, and grow stronger.
Her appearance had grown too, she was still a goblin before I think, but now she evolved past a hobgoblin, becoming similar to her father.
However, unlike her father's green skin, her skin was of a pale blue, and her horns were smaller, her body was cuter and smaller too, probably due to her age, and her ears pointy, with golden eyes.
"Hohoho, is it my idea or has Lady Maria become more beautiful now?"
The giggle of an old man echoed by my left side, the elder of the goblin tribe without a doubt, the old man known as Gobagi, I couldn't believe he was still alive and kicking.
His appearance become similar to that of the chief, although older and smaller.
All three of them were wearing clothes they probably purchased from the dwarf merchants, as they looked rather well made and not as homemade as other clothes produced here.
"It's you guys! Hi! You've all changed a lot! Gofumin, you too! What happened?" I asked. "I guess your phantom clones here don't pay attention to us that much," sighed the chief. "We underwent a special evolution a couple of days ago. I think something that changed within you triggered it, a power blessed us, giving us these new forms."
"Yeah! It was crazy! Even I evolved twice in a row!" said Gofumin. "Now I have these weird phantom powers..." she showed me her hands overflowing with blue phantasmal flames. "She has phantom powers?!" I wondered. "Interesting... I think I know what it might have triggered it. After all, you're all below my protection. It simply became divine now after I obtained a Divinity Flame- well, two, and also obtained two divine thrones."
"W-Wha...?!" muttered the rabbit-kin man at my side, his tall and graceful appearance and brown, white, and gold fur made him look even more majestic than before. "Is that really the truth, lady Maria?!"
This meant a lot of things for the future, although our area is protected by Hel's Divine Protection, it doesn't mean the Gods can't descend anyways.
Although they are weakened when descending, still... They can do it, and if they prepare enough, they could destroy everything anyways.
Frigga is here though, so perhaps something else can be done as well.
Maybe even the possibility of recruiting more gods into our cause to slay Odin and free Yggdrasil from his tyranny and lies.
The truth about the tower did hit them hard, but who wouldn't be hit hard from such a revelation?
There was a lot to process, even more for me, when Eustace, in our conversation about his origins, revealed where he came from.
"Yes... I do remember things more clearly now," he smiled. "I come from the tower's first
floor, Earth."
The tower's first floor was my original world, where I came from.
I couldn't believe his words at first, asking him desperately to stop joking.
Yet he wouldn't stop, he said the truth and Emeraldine confirmed it.
"Earth... Earth exists? It is connected to the Tower too?!" I screamed in utter disbelief. "T- This is insane! I... My soul did reincarnate from that world if some of you didn't know yet... To think I could ever return... I never imagined it."
"It could have changed a lot since your death there, Maria," said Eustace. "But Earth remains strong even after the Tower appeared and Dungeon Gates opened across the world. Hunters rose and new organizations to battle monsters were created. I used to be a Hunter too, before I climbed the Tower as a Player."
"I-I see..."
The sole thought of being able to see my mother and my sister again, from my first life, was
making me go nuts.
Now, without a doubt...
I have to descend the tower.