I issued the quest. The two goblins immediately snatched up nearby sticks and began scribbling on the dirt with surprising enthusiasm.
If anything, I was quite confident in their ability to draw.
After all, the two goblins who had doodled all over my walls with crude dicks were dead proof of that. So surely these two could manage a few simple drawings, right?
One by one, the scribbled objects appeared on the ground.
Of course, they weren't anywhere near what one would call "real artists." Their technique was rough and childlike at best. But they both poured genuine effort into their work, each presenting their own unique, chaotic style.
First, Gopuro's artwork.
The guy's drawings were hilariously simple, almost comically minimalistic.
He drew the sun as a big, uneven circle with straight lines radiating outward like spikes, while the moon was just a slightly curved banana shape. For trees, he sketched something that looked suspiciously like three lopsided circles stacked on top of an upside-down ice cream cone. When it came to animals, he clearly went for the easiest ones possible.
A round-bodied bird with a triangular beak and two stick legs.
A fish that was basically just an elongated oval with a fan-shaped tail and no fins whatsoever, plus an X for an eye.
And finally… a single, wiggly worm.
That was it.
The whole thing took him barely two minutes. Still, a pass was a pass. He received his reward promptly — a juicy chicken drumstick materialized on the ground before him.
Meanwhile, Gopuran approached the task with far more care and sincerity.
It didn't look like she was simply trying to complete the quest. She poured her heart into every single line, drawing with a bright, childlike smile spreading across her face, as if she was genuinely excited to show off her budding talent to her ruler.
As a result, her sun had a cheerful smiling face, happily "holding hands" with the crescent moon placed right beside it. She didn't settle for just one tree either — she drew an entire lively grove. Trees of different shapes and sizes filled her scene: a tall, pointy pine tree, a leafy oak with spreading branches, and even an apple tree heavy with round fruit. She added soft tufts of grass at the base and a few scattered flowers for good measure.
For the animals, she placed them naturally within the scene rather than drawing them separately.
A small, fluffy bunny sat gazing up at the smiling sun with big, curious eyes.
A large, menacing wolf lurked behind the trees, baring sharp fangs in a dramatic pose.
And a snake coiled quietly nearby, its forked tongue flicking out.
In the end, everything came together into one surprisingly cohesive little landscape. She even framed the entire picture with a neat, slightly crooked border.
(Woah…)
I was genuinely impressed.
I had to reward her with an extra chicken drumstick on top of the original prize!
But then, seeing Gopuran receive the bonus reward, Gopuro froze. His eyes widened in shock and sudden jealousy.
Without a moment's hesitation, he frantically wiped away his own crude drawing with the side of his foot and hastily began redrawing everything with much greater ambition! His second attempt featured more trees, more animals, and even a few extra silly details.
I couldn't help but chuckle warmly as I watched the competitive goblin try so hard to catch up.
(Alright, alright…)
An extra chicken drumstick materialized in front of him as well.
The dude received it with a wide smile and inhaled it in a single chomp.
(Now then… how about we try another drawing challenge?)
I prepared a fresh quest scroll and materialized it before them.
(This time… can you draw a car?)
****
This new quest included several unfamiliar objects: a car, a human, a gun, a book, a dress, and a burger.
The scroll appeared smoothly, but neither goblin reached for it right away.
They both leaned in close to read the objectives, then turned to each other with deeply puzzled expressions. They began muttering rapidly in their goblin tongue, scratching their heads and gesturing wildly at the list.
(I see…)
(So they can't accept the quest because they literally don't understand what most of those objects are.)
It seemed obvious in hindsight, but I still needed to confirm it. After all, the System was so magically powerful that it was even capable of bridging communication across races. For a moment, I had wondered whether issuing a quest might automatically implant the necessary knowledge into their minds. That's why I tested it.
Apparently, it didn't work that way.
With that important detail settled, I quickly adjusted the quest.
This time, I asked them to draw only the objects they actually recognized from the list.
In the end, they were only able to complete two: a human and a dress. The rest — the gun, the book, and especially the burger — drew blank stares and confused shrugs. They showed no sign of ever having encountered them.
But what caught my attention most was how they depicted the human.
Both goblins sketched nearly identical stick figures with wide, wicked grins full of sharp teeth, clutching weapons in their hands. Some held swords and shields, some held spears, and a few even seemed to be casting fireballs from their palms.
(Damn…)
(So this world really does have humans.)
If humans didn't exist in this world, the goblins wouldn't have been able to draw them at all. That single detail confirmed one crucial fact: humans were real.
Using nothing more than a simple drawing quest, I had just verified their existence in Azef.
And more importantly, they were known well enough here to leave such a strong impression. There was a high chance that these two goblins had encountered humans before.
(That's very, very good to know.)
At least this wasn't a world populated solely by monsters.
But that aside, something else concerned me.
The way the goblins portrayed humans… They didn't draw them as nice, friendly people. Instead, in their eyes, humans seemed to be some kind of scary, dangerous monsters.
(Seems like humans and goblins aren't exactly on friendly terms around here.)
That wasn't particularly surprising. I had already suspected as much from the start.
Still, it raised a potential long-term problem.
If I continued taking in goblins, or any other monster races, then sooner or later, I might find myself standing on the opposite side of humanity.
…
Well, that was a problem for the distant future.
It wasn't like I would be meeting any humans anytime soon. From the looks of my surroundings, I was deep within goblin territory, far from any human settlements.
(Hmmm… yeah… let's not worry about that for now.)
(Let's move on.)
I handed out their well-earned rewards, then issued two more thoughtful quests.
At first, I wasn't entirely sure whether they could handle them. But after seeing the detail and creativity in their earlier drawings, I felt a bit more confident.
[Quest: Draw the simplest images of all monsters or humanoid creatures living in this forest that you know — one image for each race.]
[Quest: Draw a map of this forest using simple symbols for each notable location. It doesn't have to be precise.]
Time Limit: 2 hours.