That dangerously powerful tribe was a looming threat. If they were already conquering other tribes, then it was only a matter of time before they eventually discovered me.
And once that happened, they would come straight for my castle.
Even so, I was confident I could crush them if they decided to pay me a visit. Even if their warchief was level 25 and capable of using magic, I doubted he would be strong enough to survive hundreds of kilograms of stone slabs crashing down onto his head from high above.
But…
(Yeah, let's not get careless and underestimate the enemy.)
And even if no enemy appeared anytime soon, I still had my own goals—my real priorities.
The objective remained the same:
I had to grow stronger, unlock more upgrades, and push my goblins to level up as quickly as possible.
In other words, I needed a large amount of Points.
That, however, was the problem.
It was a shame these two couldn't bring me more citizens. If they had been able to return safely to their tribe, I might have gained a steady source of new goblins to expand with.
But now, that option was gone.
I would have to work with what I had.
****
My attention turned to the two goblins standing in my hall. They looked up at my ceiling, clearly eager for their next task. I could feel it, their hunger to grow stronger, to become powerful enough to one day return and avenge their tribe.
Perhaps that was the reason they were pushing themselves so hard, taking on quest after quest without any desire to rest.
Now then, the question was… what kind of task should I give them?
Wood gathering came to mind first, but I hesitated. I wasn't building anything at the moment, and while Wood could be sold for Points, it didn't seem like the most efficient method.
From what I had seen so far, hunting provided far greater returns. That horned wolf alone had yielded an impressive amount of materials.
Still, sending them out to hunt right now didn't sit well with me.
The forest was dangerous, and there's also the risk of them running into their enemies.
I only had two citizens. Losing even one of them would be a serious blow, and losing both would be catastrophic.
Perhaps I was being overly cautious.
But I trusted my instincts, and right now, they were telling me not to take unnecessary risks.
In the end, I settled on the safer option.
At least if they were gathering wood nearby, I could keep an eye on them. If anything went wrong, they could retreat to the castle immediately.
I issued the quest, but only to Gopuro.
[Ding! Gopuro has accepted your "Wood Gathering" quest!]
As for Gopuran, I had something else planned for her.
[Ding! Gopuran has accepted your "Goblish teaching" quest!]
[Quest: Goblish teaching lession 1!]
Prerequisite: None
Quest Info: Your ruler wishes to learn your language so they can communicate with you more easily. You will not receive an immediate reward for this quest. However, if you continue taking on this quest, you will earn 1 Powerstone for every 3 hours spent.
Quest Type: One-Time
Objective: Pronounce the following words in Goblish as slowly, loudly, and clearly as possible. Repeat each word 20 times.
(Word list: hello, goodbye, yes, no, food, water, danger, friend)
****
If I wanted to command them properly and understand their needs, mastering their language was an absolute must!
With that decided, Gopuro headed out to chop wood nearby, while Gopuran stayed behind in the hall with me to teach me Goblish.
I paid her one Powerstone for every three hours of dedicated teaching. It felt like reasonable pay, and not too different from what Gopuro would be earning through lumbering.
Gopuran, naturally, was thrilled.
The little goblin girl eagerly took on the role of teacher, and a few minutes later, was already pacing back and forth across the stone floor of the hall as she pronounced each word slowly, loudly, and with surprising patience.
Meanwhile, I focused as hard as I possibly could, absorbing every sound and nuance she offered.
And slowly, through what could only be described as sheer, absurd effort on both our parts… I learned.
My first two hundred and thirty Goblish words… in just twelve freaking hours.
Even when the sun dipped below the horizon and Gopuro returned from his gathering, I was still deep in the lesson, continuing without pause. Gopuro even joined in at one point, clearly trying to squeeze a few extra Powerstones out of me.
Haha, what a greedy bastard…
Still, he turned out to be a surprisingly fun teacher—the perfect one for learning beautiful phrases like how to say "fuck you" or "big holy titties" in Goblish.
In the end, even I couldn't believe how quickly I was picking it up.
(Damn… is this the power of having no brain?)
I had never felt this sharp or capable before. It was like I had become a sponge, soaking up every word Gopuran taught me at record speed.
If this had been my past life, trying to learn a new language this quickly would have fried my brain and made me give up in under thirty seconds.
Yeah… maybe my mental fortitude had become something else entirely.
After all, I could handle dozens of overlapping visions at once without getting tired. I no longer needed sleep or rest, and I couldn't even suffer from headaches anymore.
It was almost as if castle life had been secretly training me for this exact moment.
Interestingly, Goblish didn't have a writing system at all. It was purely a spoken language, passed down by voice from generation to generation, with no letters, no symbols.
But strangely enough, it was quite easy to learn. The language itself was incredibly straightforward.
By the end of that first intense day, I was able to receive this:
[Ding! Achievement Unlocked: Tongue of the Greenskins!]
[+20 Points!]
[Skill Unlocked: Goblish (Beginner)]