So, would he actually be forced to complete the task now that he had accidentally accepted the quest?
Gopuro planted his feet wide, gripped the massive 500 kg slab with both hands, and strained with everything he had. Veins bulged across his thick green arms and neck. His face twisted with raw effort as he sucked in a deep breath and let out a thunderous roar.
"RAARRRRR! HNNGGGGHHHHH!!!"
(Ohh!)
(Ooohh!)
I found myself secretly cheering him on.
(Oh god… Don't tell me 500 kg is possible too?!)
But in the end… nope.
There was no miracle for Gopuro.
His grip faltered. The stone didn't even budge an inch off the ground before his hands slipped completely. He tumbled backward, landing hard on his ass with a heavy, thud.
[Ding! Gopuro has abandoned your "Strength Demonstration #3" quest!]
(Well, I figured!)
(Nice try though!)
It seemed citizens could abandon a quest once they realized they couldn't complete it. That was good to know.
But why had he still tried, even though he knew he had no chance?
The answer lie in something I had secretly added:
[Punishment: Failure to complete the quest will result in uncontrollable laughter for five minutes!]
(Muahahahaha!)
The moment the quest was abandoned, the punishment activated!
Gopuro's face twisted in pure horror. He clutched his belly, doubled over, and suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter. He rolled around wildly in the dirt, kicking his legs and squirming as if an invisible magical feather was mercilessly tickling every inch of his body.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Tears streamed down his flushed cheeks while he laughed and screamed at the same time. The sight was so absurdly contagious that Gopuran immediately joined in, pointing at him and cackling with gleeful revenge.
Gopuro's face grew redder and redder, his eyes watering nonstop, but there was no escape. For a full five minutes, no matter how hard he tried to stop, the laughter kept pouring out.
(Haha, sorry Gopuro,) I thought, watching him suffer with pure glee. (That's what you get for not reading the fine print. Be more careful next time, okay?)
With this little prank, I hoped the two of them had learned a valuable lesson about accepting quests too hastily.
That aside, another important hypothesis had been confirmed.
So…. through punishments, I could force my citizens to endure all sorts of ridiculous, or even terrifying consequences.
If uncontrollable laughter was possible, then unbearable, soul-shattering pain would likely be possible too… or even death.
Perhaps I could even use it to tamper with their memories. Brainwashing or memory erasure didn't feel entirely out of reach either.
And that was… honestly quite scary.
Yes, that had been the real purpose of this test. Pretty dark, I'll admit.
Of course, I had no intention of doing anything truly harmful to my own citizens or making them suffer excessively. I wasn't that much of an evil tyrant.
Still, having more opportunities to experiment with punishments in the future would be useful, especially if I ever needed to use them on my enemies.
Anyway, after five long minutes, the punishment finally ended. Gopuro lay sprawled on the ground, chest heaving as he gasped desperately for air like he had just run a marathon. Sweat covered his entire body. The poor guy looked completely wrecked.
****
I gave Gopuro a few quiet minutes to recover from his laughter marathon. He sat up slowly, wiping tears from his eyes and taking deep, shaky breaths.
Once he finally stood, still breathing a little heavily but looking determined, it was time for the next test.
This time, it wasn't a solo challenge. Both goblins could participate.
I materialized two identical quest scrolls and let them read the content together.
[Quest: Strength Demonstration #4!]
- Quest Info: Your ruler wishes to evaluate your strength. Mighty followers, perform push-ups to prove your worth!
- Objective: Complete 100 push-ups with perfect form as quickly as possible.
- Time Limit: None
- Reward: 1 chicken drumstick if completed in under 1 minute. 2 chicken drumsticks if completed in under 30 seconds!
"YAAHHH!!!"
Both goblins shouted with excitement and instantly accepted the challenge!
They dropped to the ground without hesitation. Their powerful bodies moved in perfect sync as they began pumping out push-ups with flawless form, arms rising and falling like well-oiled pistons.
Thanks to their impressive physical prowess, they breezed through the quest, and both finished well under the 30-second mark.
Gopuran finished in a blazing 24 seconds.
Gopuro, despite being slightly fatigued from the earlier rock-lifting and laughter punishment, still managed it in 29 seconds. He remained impressively strong.
Both earned the full reward of two chicken drumsticks each.
However, this was only the warm-up. The real fun was about to begin.
I let them quickly devour their drumsticks, giving them a short moment to catch their breath and savor the meat.
(Now then… which one of you is ready for the ultimate challenge?)
[Quest: Strength Demonstration #5!]
- Quest Info: Your ruler wishes to evaluate your strength. Mighty followers, perform push-ups to prove your worth!
- Objective: Complete 300 push-ups with perfect form as quickly as possible.
- Time Limit: 1 minute.
- Reward: 5 chicken drumsticks.
- Punishment: Failure will result in being forced to complete 500 push-ups immediately afterward!