“Okay, dude.” Artian stretched as he adjusted the backpack he was carrying. “Let’s get this hike started.” He declared. “Man, this brings back some memories,” Sylvester said as he looked upon the treeline. “It’s been a while since I went out to do some hiking.” “We’re not here for R and R though, well, looking at the surroundings I do get your point. This place is very beautiful. Kinda hard to imagine it’s still on Inanis Orbis. The fuck is this school anyway?” Artian blurted out as he and Sylvester started walking forward the path laid for them.

“Don’t know man.” Sylvester shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. I bet even if we asked the headmaster he would just give us some very coy and stupid answer.” “Yup! Still, this is a very beautiful scene. I think I should bring Estelle here one day for a good walk or even a jog.” Artian remarked.

As the two continued their trip they noticed that the forest was alive in a sense that birds were singing from afar and they even encountered some insects and even a few squirrels. Though they do question why there was a squirrel of all things. They feel like it seemed out of place for some reason.

Almost an hour went by and they still weren’t anywhere close to the end of the path as the sun started to rise higher and higher into the sky. At this point, the two were starting to get a little bit weary.

“The fuck is this place? Where is that master uh what was that guy’s name again?” Artian asked. “Master Grom-Ilk?” Sylvester replied. “Ah yes, Grom Ilk whatever. We’ve been walking for a long time now and I don’t think we’re getting anywhere closer!” Artian started to complain.

“Well, the headmaster did say he liked seclusion so this would make perfect sense. I bet the guy won’t appreciate two dumbasses suddenly knocking on his door to disturb him.” Sylvester commented as he let out a laugh.

“You say that but we do have the headmaster’s backing. Still, this is turning out to be even more of a pain in the ass than I thought it would be.” Artian continued to complain. As the pair approached the two-hour mark they started to feel a little bit more tired, even contemplating just using mana fortification to run faster, anything to just get this unexpectedly long walk over with.

Thankfully the two were smart enough to bring generous amounts of water rations just in case, a little bit of foresight that ended up being fruitful. Still, they were starting to get a little bit annoyed with this trip, and the once beautiful and welcoming setting started to become oppressive and samey.

Finally, upon reaching the 3-hour mark and just 1 hour before lunchtime or so, the two found themselves at the end of the trail but it didn’t seem like their journey ends here. For what lay before them now was a large cave entrance, the last thing they wanted to see but something they really should have expected.

“What the actual fuck is wrong with this Grom Ilk guy?” Artian was now getting infuriated and impatient. “Why does this asshole live in the middle of nowhere?” Artian screamed as his voice echoed throughout the cave.

Suddenly Sylvester let out a scream of his own. “Oh my god, why didn’t I realize this sooner!” He suddenly yelled, causing echoes of his own.

“What is it now?” Artian asked.

“Dude, I just realized we’re gonna have to walk back to the freakin elevator!” Sylvester said as he slumped down into the ground. “God damnit!” Artian was just about ready to pop a vein. “This master better be worth the effort because holy fuck I’m starting to feel like we’re just wasting our time here.” Artian declared.

With disgruntled resignation, the two continued as they ventured deeper into the cave. As they made towards the darker parts of the cave, torches that were embedded into the walls themselves suddenly lit up on their own much to their surprise and relief.

“Okay, finally. Something a bit more magical.” Sylvester commented. “I was beginning to forget that we’re here for a magic related quest.” Sylvester joked. “I don’t care anymore, I just want this over with,” Artian replied with an annoyed tone. The two then continued to walk deeper and deeper into the cave, but thankfully there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. Literally.

They soon found themselves at another opening but this time something was very different. There was a large break in the cave’s ceiling that allowed the sunlight to pierce through revealing what was hidden inside of it.

Sylvester and Artian found a large waterfall within that led to a cave river flowing out towards another opening, but that wasn’t the most striking feature they found. The interior of the cave had a shabby looking hut that looked like it was Chinese inspired.

But that wasn’t all.

Perhaps the strangest feature was the ultra-realistic statue underneath the waterfall. It was a small statue, probably the size of a child. But this was no human figure. It was colored green with a long crooked nose that previously held a ring on it as evidenced by a large hole on the skin. Its body too showed some kind of ultra-realistic scarring.

It looked so real the two thought it was an actual living goblin at first, but they didn’t sense any sort of mana coming out of it immediately throwing that hypothesis into the trash. It sat down underneath the waterfall with its eyes closed and assuming a meditative position looking all serene and enlightened. This statue caught Artian and Sylester’s eye because they thought it was an amazing piece of work.

“Wow, that is one cool statue!” Artian declared.

“Yeah. That is way too detailed! I wonder who made it? Though I think it’s kind of a waste if it's just stuck here inside a cave in the middle of nowhere.” Sylvester gave his two cents, only for Artian to extend it.

“You forgot the part about the whole island inside an infinite void that the headmaster said contained many realities.” Artian added.“Oh yeah, that too.” Sylvester wholeheartedly agreed. “It’s a goblin meditating! This is some Y*da tier stuff man.”

“Hey, let’s go take a quick snap before we go knocking on that shack,” Artian suggested.

“I was just going to suggest the same thing!” Sylvester agreed.

The now very enthusiastic pair started acting like shitty tourists who didn’t care about the place they were visiting as they somehow managed to forget their earlier frustrations. They then approached the statue and tried to take a picture but they were having a bit of trouble with it since it was directly underneath a falling torrent of water, though they were not going to be deterred.

Sylvester placed invisible platforms close to the statue, far enough where it can be seen on a phone camera and not get them drenched. Thankfully, their smartphones were waterproof so just in case something went wrong, the phones would be fine.

“So dude, how are we going to go about this? A selfie?” Artian asked.

“Well duh.” Sylvester sarcastically replied. “It would be much quicker this way. Okay dude you go first.” Sylvester declared. The two then tried to find an angle that fit both of them plus the statue behind in one neat picture, which thankfully didn’t take a while.

With one snap Artian took his picture first, looking very satisfied with the result.

“I should probably send this to Estelle fir- Oh, no signal that’s strange.” Artian then placed his phone back into his pocket, not thinking much of the new detail he picked up.“Alright dude, say cheese!” But suddenly, something unexpected happened. As Sylvester was about to take the picture, the statue behind them suddenly opened its eyes revealing bright yellow eyes and deep green pupils that looked very reptilian.

“Whoa holy fu-!” The two screamed in unison, losing their balance and falling into the water below. They however immediately recovered and gathered mana into their hands, immediately ready for a fight. The supposed statue however suddenly unleashed a very dense amount of mana that caught Artian and Sylvester off guard. It was so great that the tiny little goblin felt like a giant that is comparable to their teachers.

At first, the goblin looked a little irritated before letting out a loud sigh.

“Stupid children. You barge into my home and act like absolute fools, then you have the audacity act all aggressive. Maybe I should send you back to that idiotic old man who calls himself headmaster.” The goblin spoke, in a voice that they didn’t expect a goblin to have.

It was a deep male voice, that sounded like it was filled with wisdom but there was a certain grating edge to it that was very hard to describe. Nevertheless, this was enough to stun the two men who went on this trip.

They stood there in complete silence and disbelief. They may have seen many things throughout their lives and Artian himself has a very strange girlfriend that can change into an assortment of fantasy races while Sylvester has toured the world and has seen his fair share of strange shenanigans.

But seeing something you thought was mere fantasy head-on, will still surprise you no matter how much you are used to the supernatural. Sylvester was the first one to snap out of his shock and asked the irritated looking goblin a question.

“A-are you master Grom-Ilk?” Sylvester said, trying to be as sensitive as he can.

“Yes, I am.” The goblin immediately replied.

“Holy shit! A goblin! A freakin goblin!” Artian screamed out loud in a very rude manner as his voice echoed throughout the cave while Sylvester could only look on in horror and embarrassment over his friend’s action.

“Dude, shut up!” Sylvester screamed inside his head as he stared daggers into Artian. However, it seems that Artian immediately realized what he had done and moved his hands to cover his mouth. The goblin who now revealed himself as Master Grom-Ilk could only sigh in disappointment.

“Yes, I am a goblin.” He replied in a very tired tone filled with disinterest and dismay. He then looked at the still shocked duo before speaking in a stern voice.

“So, what is your business here?”