The base camp of the goblins is right next to the Teleport Gate on the 14th Floor of the Tower.
As soon as Kousuke and the others went through the Teleport Gate, a group rushed out from the base camp.
This was not unusual. Perhaps influenced by some intelligence, the goblins had shown this kind of reaction to Kousuke’s arrival for some time.
The problem was not the reaction itself, but the fact that the group had bowed down upon seeing Kousuke and his party approach.
In particular, the individual at the forefront of the bowing group had undergone a transformation that made them almost unrecognizable as a goblin from before.
Aside from the two horns on their head and their pointed ears, they looked almost indistinguishable from a Human.
Upon closer inspection, the significant change was that they had grown hair.
When Kousuke first saw them, he had thought that hair alone could alter one’s impression so drastically.
Furthermore, the change extended beyond mere appearance to something substantively different.
“Welcome.”
Though their words were broken, they could now speak.
Originally, it seemed that goblins communicated through some form of language.
However, this was a language understood only among themselves, and they had not spoken a common tongue.
The individual before them appeared to understand it perfectly.
A Skill check revealed that they possessed not only “Language Comprehension” but also “Common Tongue.”
It was likely due to this Skill that they could now speak.
Including this goblin, the southeastern tower had seen the emergence of not only Oni, but also new species like the Great Ogre Demon and the Ogre Demon Head.
It was the Ogre Demon Head that could now manipulate language.
Great Ogre Demons were about a head larger than Oni.
Their appearance clearly indicated they had become Power Fighters.
Unfortunately, only one of the individuals who came to greet them had become an Ogre Demon Head.
While several Great Ogre Demons had evolved, there were also those who had evolved independently of Kousuke’s blessings, suggesting evolution occurred regardless of his intervention.
The exact evolutionary route of the Ogre Demon Head was unknown, but as their numbers grew, it would likely become possible to confirm. Their name also hinted at further possible evolutions.
With the presence of the Ogre Demon Head, the group had become completely unified.
Previously, it had felt like small groups gathered together, but now they moved in coordination with each other.
In many ways, they had become an interesting species.
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While astonished by the goblins’ transformation, Kousuke finally went to check on the foxes.
To his surprise, they were no different from usual.
Of course, the number of evolved individuals had increased, but there were no new types of evolution.
However, for the first time, a few individuals other than Wanri had become Multi-tailed Foxes.
Currently, they were only two-tailed, but if they grew, they might become individuals capable of shapeshifting like Wanri.
“Are there any other Tenko or Jiko with shapeshifting abilities, or any that can now shapeshift among the fox spirits?”
Currently, there were three (or rather, three individuals) fox species capable of shapeshifting, including Wanri, but no others had appeared.
“Hmm. I don’t know,” Wanri replied to Kousuke’s question.
Even Wanri did not know everything about all the fox spirits.
“I see. From which species did those who became Multi-tailed Foxes evolve?”
“They evolved from youkai foxes, just like me. It seems Tenko and Jiko do not evolve into Multi-tailed Foxes.”
At the Lily Shrine on the 8th Floor, Kousuke confirmed the status of the foxes with Wanri, and it appeared there were no particular changes.
Wanri was also keeping a close eye on the Multi-tailed Foxes, and promised to bring them immediately if any gained the ability to shapeshift.
Kousuke had come to the Lily Shrine to hear about the foxes’ condition from Wanri, and took the opportunity to ask Saki and the others about the current situation.
However, since Saki and the others regularly reported to Wahid, he knew there were no ongoing issues.
Recently, Saki and the others seemed to be managing things properly in place of Cecil and Arisa, who had become quite busy as adventurers.
Occasionally, Cecil and Arisa also came to check on them.
Since his conversation with the three of them was brief, Kousuke was about to return to the Management Layer when Yuri called out to him.
“Kousuke-sama, may I have a moment?”
“Hmm? Did something happen?”
“Yes. We’ve recently been able to stably incorporate the power of this entire area, so we were thinking it’s time to expand the area.”
“Oh, right. You mentioned that before, didn’t you?”
Previously, Kousuke had discussed with Yuri the possibility that if the area functioned similarly to the World Tree, expanding the floors would naturally increase its power.
At that time, Yuri had advised him to consult again once the power stabilized, as it was not yet stable.
Kousuke had completely forgotten about it, but Yuri had remembered.
“Understood. I’ll try merging the floors. As for which floors to merge… Wanri.”
“Yes?”
“I’m planning to merge the 10th Floor and the 48th Floor. Are there any problems?”
Both were floors inhabited by foxes.
He thought it would be better to combine them while he was at it.
“No. There are no particular problems?”
“I see. Then, those two floors will be decided for now.”
“Understood.”
Kousuke informed her that the Divine Power for merging the two floors was still abundant and he would execute it immediately upon returning to the Management Layer.
“Speaking of which, as my power increases, will my capabilities also increase?”
Yuri nodded at Kousuke’s question.
“Yes. Your capabilities will increase.”
“For example, what kind of new capabilities will I gain?”
“If you grant me permission to prepare a branch temple, I will be able to transfer power to it in case something happens here.”
“Would that branch temple be established on a Ley Line intersection, as before?”
He wanted to know if a normal shrine needed to be built, like when the Lily Shrine was prepared.
However, Yuri’s reply indicated no such necessity.
“No. There’s no need to do anything in particular. I will prepare all the buildings. You only need to grant permission for the installation.”
“What is that, convenient… wait? Is that within this area?”
Kousuke realized there was a slight discrepancy in his conversation with Yuri.
“Yes. It is.”
“Ah, I see.”
Kousuke had been under the impression of creating a branch temple in a different floor’s area.
“Can’t it be made on a different floor?”
“That would be difficult. The floors of the Tower are, in essence, independent worlds.”
She explained that creating a branch temple on a different floor would require a considerable amount of power.
“What would happen if the floors were merged?”
“I can’t say for sure without seeing it, but it would probably be fine.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“If the floors are merged, and the power of the Ley Lines increases, it means that the Ley Lines are physically connected.”
The physical connection of the Ley Lines meant that power transfer to the branch temple would be possible.
“I see. Should I try merging them and see how it goes first?”
“Yes.”
They had not yet performed a floor merge.
The discussion concluded with the idea of trying it out first, as with usual practice, after the merge and subsequent power increase.
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Upon returning from the 8th Floor, Kousuke immediately proceeded with the floor merge.
Immediately after the merge, he returned to the 8th Floor as a precaution to check the situation, and it seemed there were no particular issues.
Currently, only two floors were merged, but he planned to merge more after observing the results.
Similar to the World Tree, his ultimate goal was to combine all nine floors.
He did not have as much Divine Power as he did with the World Tree, but with this floor merge, the Lily Shrine would also become a significant source of Divine Power.
This concludes Chapter 21 of the main story.
How was the rapid evolution in the last two episodes?
We fully intend to continue the goblins’ development! We considered letting them do more from the start, but decided against it, thinking that too much rapid evolution might be overwhelming. And floor merging has reappeared after a long time. The author himself finally remembered its existence.
