Through their drawings, the pieces came together, and I finally got a rough picture of the world around me.
First and foremost, I was deep inside a truly massive forest. My castle stood slightly southeast of its center. Most of this vast woodland was controlled by goblin tribes. There were thirteen tribes in total, each occupying its own distinct territory.
But goblins were far from the only creatures living in these woods.
There were horned gray wolves, whose den lay not far from here, just a little to the north. There were also large boars, giant spiders, bears, slimes, and many other fantasy beasts lurking in the shadows.
To the east, the goblins had drawn a winding river filled with simple fish shapes leaping from the water. It eventually flowed into a massive lake dotted with small, scattered islands a little farther south. The river itself began in the tall mountain range to the north, where several winged creatures soared above the peaks. They looked like dragons—or perhaps wyverns—judging by their broad wings and long, whip-like tails.
Farther south, beyond that massive lake, there were more mountains and hills. But there was also a mysterious region marked with skull-and-bone symbols, clearly representing great danger. I wondered what could possibly lie there.
Meanwhile, to the west lay a treeless wasteland crawling with giant segmented insect monsters that resembled oversized worms or centipedes.
And somewhere far, far to the east was a place marked by signs of human activity—stick figures of hostile people carrying weapons.
And that was all. That was the full extent of the knowledge these two goblins possessed.
But of course, I knew better than to trust every detail completely.
The more I studied the map, the more something felt slightly off. The scale of the drawn world seemed far greater than what these two goblins could realistically have explored on their own. Back when they were still below level ten, there was simply no way they could have ventured that deep into such distant territories.
If I had to guess, most of this information had likely come secondhand, passed down as stories and warnings from stronger, more experienced goblins within their tribe.
Which meant there were probably gaps in the picture, in the forms of missing details, or maybe even outright errors and exaggerations born from fear and rumor.
That was an important limitation I would need to keep firmly in mind going forward.
With that, today's experiments with the [Quest Creation] skill were finally complete. Things had gone far better than I had expected, and I felt deeply satisfied with the results.
****
Later, the two goblins rested and napped peacefully until the early afternoon sun. I couldn't bring myself to push them into more work today, as I had already put them through enough torture with those brutal strength demonstration quests earlier.
However, the moment they woke up, they wasted no time. They had a quickie to gain their OP buffs, then grabbed their axes with renewed vigor. Raising the heavy tools high overhead, they shouted something, clearly trying to get my attention.
(What? You two actually want to take the Wood Gathering Quest right now?)
Perhaps the allure of Powerstones was simply too strong for them to resist. These two had clearly turned into full-blown workaholics!
(Well, haha, since you're asking for it yourselves, who am I to refuse?)
I quickly checked their status screens to make sure. Both had fully recovered, their stamina bars somewhat replenished and their bodies looking fresh and ready to go.
So, I materialized yesterday's quest scroll and posted it back onto the wall. Since it was a repeatable quest, I didn't need to rewrite it every single time.
The contents remained exactly the same:
100 Wood for 1 Powerstone.
The moment the quest scroll appeared, the two goblins accepted it with obvious excitement and eagerly got to work.
Chop!
Chop, chop!
Once again, the familiar rhythmic sound of axes biting into wood echoed through the clearing, blending with the rustling leaves and the occasional grunt of effort.
****
Six hours later, just as the sun was nearly setting and the sky began to darken, the two goblins returned.
Thanks to their hard work, I gained 457 more pieces of Wood. And not only that, both of them had acquired the [Lumberjack Lv. 1] skill during their long work session.
That made me wonder: what would happen if someone who already possessed a particular skill equipped an item that granted that exact same skill? Would the extra effect become pointless, or would it still provide some kind of benefit?
As it turned out, it wasn't pointless at all.
Interestingly, the effect of their natural skill stacked perfectly with the bonus from the weapon. Now, whenever they held the axe that granted [Lumberjack Lv. 1], the skill description in their status changed to [Lumberjack Lv. 1 (Boosted)].
[Lumberjack Lv. 1 (Boosted)]
Effect: Chopping wood consumes 10% (+2%) less stamina and becomes 20% (+5%) more efficient.
(This is very nice!)
From the looks of it, reaching [Lumberjack Lv. 2] would likely provide an even greater boost in the future.
****
The next morning, the two goblins woke up early.
However, this time, I had a different plan in mind for them. This new quest was extremely important.
[Quest: Goblin citizen recruitment!]
Prerequisite: None
Quest Info: Your ruler wishes to take in more citizens! So go back to your tribe and tell your friends about this place!
Quest Type: One-Time
Objective: Convince as many people from your tribe as possible to come and become citizens of the great Castle Lord!
Time Limit: 2 days
Reward: 1 Powerstone per 10 successful recruits.
Punishment: None
I needed to increase my number of citizens as quickly as possible. More citizens meant more Castle Points and faster access to upgrading my shops and abilities.
On top of that, according to the map they had drawn earlier, their tribe wasn't very far from here—just a reasonable walk through the forest. It should have been a relatively easy task. There was really no reason not to do it.
All they needed to do was boast to their friends about an almighty lord who could provide unlimited delicious food, a steady supply of Powerstones, and perhaps even the chance for powerful evolutions.
To my surprise, the two goblins… didn't accept the quest immediately.
They stared at the scroll in silence for several long seconds, then slowly turned to look at each other. And in their eyes, I could clearly feel it, a complicated tangle of emotions.
The air suddenly grew heavy.