Despite the pressure that had begun weighing heavily on his shoulders in recent weeks, Rick always knew deep down what his decision here would be.

  Isn’t this what he always dreamt about? In those days back on Earth in what felt like an eternity ago now?

  Watching all of those different Isekai anime, reading all of those web novels, daydreaming in class about waking up in a brand-new world filled with wonder and intrigue and all things fantasy.

  This was it.

  Of course, it wasn’t exactly what he had hoped, but he was a Goblin, and he had long since embraced that fact and become extremely proud of who he was.

  A Royal Goblin!

  The Future King of Goblins!

  This is what he asked for! The ability to create a Goblin Empire and take Gang Green to the very top!

  There was no need to worry about the pressure. He would embrace that too. What King didn’t face pressure? Legends weren’t written about the ones that caved under the pressure, no… they were written about the ones who stood tall in the face of adversity and pushed it back.

  The ones that wore the hopes and dreams of their people on their shoulders with pride.

  Yes… this is what he wanted.

  Rick selected Yes on the screen, and the evolution to Goblin King was immediately triggered.

  Rick was nowhere near the amount of Evo Points he needed for his Tier Six evolution, which meant his body hadn’t absorbed the necessary Essence to prepare him for that sort of change and strain on his body.

  He had to grit his teeth even further as the power that latched onto him earlier tightened its grip and continuously dove deeper and deeper into his body.

  Of course, neither Rick nor any Goblin within the Dark Lands of Mir knew what the power that was forcefully evolving Rick into a Goblin King was, but there were others who did…

  In the deepest reaches of the Dark Lands of Mir, a being slept.

  This is usually how it spent its time, and there wouldn’t be any shock to those who knew of the being to learn that it had currently been sleeping for a few hundred years at the moment.

  And it didn’t sleep due to any special reason. It wasn’t sleeping because it was weak from a fight or anything. Nor was it sleeping because it was somehow getting stronger with each passing year.

  No.

  It slept due to one main reason.

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  Boredom.

  The being was bored. And it had been bored for more than a few hundred years now. Forever slumbering deeply within the Dark Lands of Mir.

  In fact, there was a reason the Dark Lands were named as such.

  “Of Mir.”

  The name of this being was Mir, and the Dark Lands and the situation within were a direct result of the existence of Mir.

  And the number of individuals who knew of Mir’s existence and were still alive could be counted on one hand.

  Yet even though those people existed, none of them ever managed to stir Mir out of their boredom.

  Of course, that would be the last thing any of them ever wanted to do, because the reason Mir was bored was because it longed for a proper battle with its life on the line.

  And while they could give Mir that battle, the destruction it would cause in the process simply wouldn’t be worth it for them.

  Thus, they had all conspired to come up with a way to forever trap Mir within the Dark Lands.

  Something Mir never even complained about and just went to sleep.

  But…

  Mir…

  Stirred.

  The being’s body shifted slightly.

  Which wasn’t saying much since its body was constantly moving in the first place. It was like its skin was made out of the weaves of ethereal shadows from the void itself.

  Now although the being shifted, it did not get up. Though if one could see its face from beneath the tide of constantly shifting shadows, they would see the ever-so-slightest smirk.

  A few words flashed across its mind for the briefest of moments as it settled back into its slumber.

  ‘Laws…here…interesting.’

  That was all it thought.

  But Mir wasn’t the only being to sense the nature of the power that drove Rick’s evolution.

  There was a man meditating peacefully on the peak of a mountain that seemed to exist beyond even the clouds themselves.

  And as the power around Rick intensified, he opened one of his eyes and looked in the exact direction of Rick.

  It was to be noted that this man wasn’t even on the same continent, yet that was no problem at all for him.

  “Hm. Has Mir woken up?”

  The man had more than enough power to look through even the stone building where Rick was located now, but peering into the Dark Lands of Mir directly would leave more than just a good chance of Mir looking towards him.

  Something he wanted to avoid.

  “But if it isn’t Mir… hm… ah yes. Goblins live there as well. Laws of the World are involved… a Goblin King?”

  The man looked in the direction of Rick for a few moments more and then closed his eye.

  “I’ll leave it to the brats.”

  And the Dark Lands of Mir and its inhabitants were discarded from his mind after that last thought.

  Yes… Rick’s body was being evolved by the Laws of the World itself.

  Of course, these Laws are what governed everything, and technically they were the driving force behind every piece of action and power that existed anywhere in the world.

  But it is always behind closed doors. Beneath the veil of understanding for practically every existence in the world.

  Very rarely do the Laws take an active role in their actions.

  All of that just goes to show just how important this evolution to Goblin King was for Rick and his entire race, and just how much power he might potentially wield afterwards.

  But as those in Rick’s old world would say: No Pain, No Gain.

  “AHHHHH!!!!!”

  Rick screamed out in pain as the Laws of the World continued their work and didn’t look to stop despite the pain Rick was in.

  His voice carried beyond the room and reached the ears of the Chiefs standing guard outside. All of whom were completely oblivious to the eyes that had looked in their general direction a few moments ago.

  In this moment, all they could hear were the cries of their King.

  Elder Raj’s voice resounded in the area.

  “Trust in him! This is the price of Kingship! Never forget the pain he went through on your—and all our—behalf!

  “Make sure to serve him well and pay him back for the pain he is enduring for us!

  “That is all we can do!”

  As Elder Raj’s words rang in the ears of the Chiefs, they were soon superseded as Rick’s cries continued to resound in the area for the next 12 hours.

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