The two goblins were now having a full conversation during dinner, and I could actually understand them!
"Chicken! Is! Delish!" Gopuro declared proudly, raising his grilled drumstick high like a trophy.
"Nu! Red meat! More delish!" Gopuran shot back, still chewing vigorously on her skewered steak. Meat juices glistened on her chin before she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand.
(Haha… these guys really love meat. They're easily the biggest eaters I've ever seen!)
Still, my Goblish comprehension was only around forty percent at best. I was very much a beginner, unable to make sense of nearly half of what they were saying.
While I did want to keep learning and understand them better, I knew I couldn't spend too much time on it. I couldn't just keep Gopuran inside as my private teacher forever. I needed her out there working so I could generate Points faster.
(Haaiz… if only I had a way to magically level up my Goblish skill…)
Then something clicked.
(Oh, wait…)
(I do have a way!)
And that was my [Lord's Blessing] skill.
I wasn't entirely sure whether it would work on myself, but the description clearly stated:
[Spend Points to enhance a citizen's attributes or even upgrade their skills.]
So, as long as the target was considered a citizen, I should be able to apply it.
Which meant it all came down to one question: Am I considered a citizen of my own castle?
My status screen clearly showed this:
[Population: 3]
Yes — three!
That meant I was being counted as part of the population.
Logically speaking, it made sense. Even if you were the ruler of a country, you were still technically a citizen of that same country.
(Hmmm… now that I think about it… does someone like the Queen of England even need a passport? And what about the President of the US? He probably needs one too, right?)
(Well, no harm in trying!)
Using [Lord's Blessing] didn't cost any Powerstones or Points just to attempt, so I went ahead and tried to apply the skill to myself.
However, the moment I focused my will, I was immediately met with a cold error message.
[Error: You cannot bless yourself! You can only bless your citizen!]
(OH COME ON!!!)
(This is not fair!!!)
(I AM CITIZEN!)
I thought the System had somehow turned nicer lately, like there had been a patch note or something. But no, it was still just as much of a bullshit scammer as ever!
(I don't understand this. Why the fuck am I not considered my own citizen?!)
Just then, a new notification followed.
[To level up your Goblish skills, you need to upgrade the Sovereign Shop!]
[Would you like to upgrade the Sovereign Shop right now?]
[Upgrade Sovereign Shop]
Prerequisite: System Shop Level 2 (Met), Castle Core Level 2 (Met)
Upgrade Cost: 300 Points
Unlocks: Ability to upgrade certain sovereign skills to level 2.
New Skills: Vassal's Eyes, Ruler's Voice, Devolution
(Haha, you really can't pass up any opportunity to farm my Points, can you?)
But well, those skills did sound pretty amazing!
[Vassal's Eyes], [Ruler's Voice], [Devolution]…
(If those skills are exactly what I think they are… I'll be super happy!)
(And who would've thought the [Goblish] skill I just obtained would also count as a Sovereign skill? That's actually pretty interesting!)
With that thought in mind, I opened my inventory and checked my current balance.
(Hmmmm…)
My net worth currently sat around 1100 Points by my rough estimation.
Sure, I had managed to harvest a decent amount of meat from the wolf carcass, but the system forced me to sell it all, over 400kg of meat for a little more than 200 Points. It only allowed me to keep fresh meat for 1 day maximum.
At least I was able to keep all the valuable non-perishable parts: all the bones, fat, fur, fangs, and claws, each of which could be sold for a surprisingly good amount of Points.
Besides the Sovereign Shop, I also wanted to upgrade my Item Shop for better equipment options. That upgrade only cost 100 Points to reach Level 2, so I figured I would probably have enough for both shops.
As for the other available shops… none of them seemed particularly appealing right now.
So, without further hesitation, I went ahead and started with the Sovereign Shop.
[Ding!]
[Sovereign Shop Upgrade Successful!]
[-300 Points]
[Sovereign Shop Level 2 Unlocked!]
[Nice! You can now upgrade certain sovereign skills to Level 2!]
[Nice! New Sovereign skills are available for purchases: Vassal's Eyes, Ruler's Voice, Devolution!]
I quickly opened the Sovereign Shop and checked the new skills.
****
[Vassal's Eyes Lv 1]
Type: Active
Description:
Connect to one citizen's senses, allowing you to see and hear whatever they are currently seeing and hearing.
At Level 1, you can only activate this skill on one citizen at a time. Activating it on another citizen will automatically disconnect the previous target.
Skill usage slowly consumes Points and also has a range limit.
Upgrade Potential: Higher skill levels allow you to target more citizens simultaneously while also increasing the range limit.
Max Duration: Unlimited
Range Limit: 3 km from your core
Point Cost: 1 Point per hour
Unlock Cost: 100 Points
****
[Ruler's Voice Lv 1]
Type: Active
Description:
Allows you to communicate with your citizens by sending messages directly into their minds.
You can freely customize the tone and sound of your voice, but no matter which voice you choose, your citizens will always recognize it as the voice of their ruler.
This skill has a range limit and consumes Points based on the number of messages sent.
Range Limit: 3 km from your core
Point Cost: 1 Point per 10 messages sent. Group message counts as multiple messages. The cost increases by 1 Point for each kilometer the citizen is away from your core.
Unlock Cost: 100 Points
****
[Devolution]
Type: Active
Description: Reverts a citizen back into an earlier evolution variant. 30% of the accumulated EXP lost during devolution will be refunded in the form of Powerstones.
Unlock Cost: 100 Points.