This was the Isle of Exile, an isolated island with a diameter of approximately one hundred kilometers.
At the center of the island stood a mountain range stretching for ten kilometers, where a massive gray-white dragon lay in eternal rest.
Beyond the island, there was only pure nothingness, even space itself seemed to cease to exist.
The entire dimension appeared locked in absolute stillness, as if time had stopped, until a certain moment.
A beam of seven-colored light appeared from the void and descended onto a point on the island.
The vegetation began to sway as wind returned, and life slowly resumed its movement.
About twenty kilometers from the central mountains, within a dilapidated village, Link slowly opened his eyes.
Around him, a group of short, ugly creatures with dark green skin, each about half the height of a human, danced excitedly while making constant "hohoho" sounds.
Link could instinctually understand their language.
"A god has descended!"
"God will lead us to more treasure!"
"Treasure, and women!"
At the same time, a notification from the Thousand Realms appeared in his mind:
"The Overlord-level Novice Trial Dungeon, Fall of the Radiant Dragon King, has begun."
"Background: The seal on the Isle of Exile is about to break. This goblin tribe, sensing the coming disaster, used their final treasure to summon a god from another world, you."
"Out of faith, they will obey all your commands. Make proper use of this to complete your mission."
"So this is my temporary familia…"
Just as he expected, greedy, lustful, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, the lowest tier among all familias.
Link let out a small breath, then raised his hand in a silencing gesture.
Strangely, the noisy goblins immediately fell silent. They tilted their heads upward, as if listening carefully.
At least they could follow orders.
That was something.
"Who is your leader?" Link asked.
An elderly goblin stepped forward. His hair and beard were white, and he clutched a worn book as he dropped to his knees.
"Great god, I am Gobruk, chieftain of this tribe."
With a thought from Link, detailed information appeared before him.
⸻
Race: Goblin (Low-tier Familia)
Class: Goblin Warlock
Level: 5
Faith: Devoted
Skills: Fireball, Greed, Plunder
Combat Rating: 6
Evaluation: Extremely weak, among the lowest of all races, easily killed by competent opponents. Low potential not recommended for development.
⸻
"…That evaluation is…," Link muttered, shaking his head.
Still, he had never expected much from their combat ability.
What mattered were their two innate traits.
Greed: A strong desire for treasure, increasing the chance of discovering hidden wealth.
Plunder: A very low chance to steal an item when attacking an enemy.
Link looked around again.
Aside from the goblin warlock chieftain, there were goblin slingers, warriors, assassins, and other types, most with combat ratings around 5.
Fortunately, all of them possessed Greed and Plunder.
The Radiant Dragon King likely had a combat rating of at least 30,000.
Fighting it directly was a suicide mission.
The only hope was that the island held abundant resources.
When the Time Rift recruitment point appeared on the seventh day, he would need enough wealth to exchange for powerful items.
Thinking of this, Link asked, "Gobruk, what do you know about this island?"
The old goblin trembled and immediately knelt lower.
"Great god, the fallen dragon is about to break free from its seal. Its leaking power terrifies us. We do not dare leave the village, we know nothing. Please forgive us!"
Link nodded, not showing any anger.
The difference between them wasn't just strength, it was far beyond itself. Fear was instinctively in them.
"Now that I am here, I will protect you," Link said calmly. "You will investigate the island. Find resources, monsters, water, and food."
Scholars in later generations believed that familiars in the Thousand Realms were likely remnants of destroyed civilizations, their memories shaped to increase loyalty and initiative.
That effect was clearly visible now.
"Yes, great god!" the goblins shouted excitedly.
Link selected several goblins with combat ratings of 6 or higher and assigned them as leaders.
"You will explore along different routes. Mark minerals, monsters, water sources, and food. Avoid danger where possible."
There were only 120 goblins at the start.
Given the unknown situation, he needed them for intelligence. Sacrificing them blindly was not an option.
Soon, 100 goblins split into five teams and departed.
On the system map, the fog of war gradually began to clear.
The remaining 20 goblins were sent to the nearby forest.
Their task was to gather wood and build a proper residence for their "god" before nightfall.
With the village now quiet, Link finally had time to observe his surroundings.
Even as a beginner base, it was extremely crude.
Only a few broken wooden huts, a Conversion Altar, and a Summoning Altar stood in the center.
The former could convert any energy-containing material into Soul Crystals, the primary currency of the Thousand Realms, essential for base upgrades, troop upgrades, and recruitment.
The latter allowed recruitment using resources.
With a thought, the information appeared.
⸻
Summoning Altar (Basic):
Allows recruitment of goblins (10% chance of mutation into advanced variants such as warlocks or slingers).
Cost: 0.1 Soul Crystal
Daily Limit: 1000
⸻
The cost was low.
But…
Looking at the clear 0 under Soul Crystals in his resource panel, Link gave a helpless smile.
For now, there was nothing he could do until the scouting teams returned.
After a moment, Link opened the Realm Interface.
Three options appeared before him:
Leadership Rankings
Power Rankings
Regional Channel
The first two were currently locked, only those who survived the trial could enter the rankings.
The third, the Regional Channel, was open to all participants in this trial.
Each person could send between one and eight messages per day depending on difficulty, and all messages required real-name identification.
The channel was lively.
Davion Voss (Hard): Brothers, I drew Siege of Drakemire. Apparently I'm supposed to to duel Lord Malrik. What do I do?!
Muhammad (Normal): Easy. Kill your commander, kneel, and pledge loyalty. You know the rest.
Brahmin Diaz(Normal): That's basically a free clear, you can skip the mobs and go straight for the boss!
Garrick Stone (Brave): These idiots are trying to get you killed. That's horrible advice.
As they chatted, a new message appeared at the bottom.
Link Wright (Overlord) has entered the channel.