Chapter 30: Hard Workers

I had a theory.

What if... by consuming the Powerstone, he’s gaining Experience Points? And when his Experience is high enough, he levels up?

Since Gopuro’s status screen didn’t display an EXP bar, I had no way to verify it. Still, it felt like the most likely explanation.

Even if he was gaining EXP, perhaps he simply hadn’t accumulated enough yet to trigger a level-up. That would explain why I couldn’t see any noticeable changes in his stats.

Then it’s easy! I just need to have Gopuro complete the quest a few more times!

Anyway, Gopuran also completed the quest shortly afterward and received her reward.

I had assumed they would need to sit down and recover for at least a few minutes.

But they didn’t even need to rest!

After consuming the Powerstones, both of them were already back on their feet, walking toward the Quest Board to accept another Wood Gathering Quest with eager steps.

"Woah! These guys are insanely hardworking!"

And just like that, they worked and worked, chopping trees like there was no tomorrow.

The sun climbed higher into the sky, casting shifting patterns of light across the forest floor. Sweat rolled down their green skin, glistening beneath the bright sunlight as their arms moved in steady, rhythmic motions.

Swing, pull. Swing, pull.

The sharp sound of axes biting into wood echoed through the clearing like a steady heartbeat, accompanied by the occasional crack of splitting timber and the rustle of falling branches.

Eventually, the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the trees, and the forest slowly sank into twilight.

Their work for the day had finally come to an end.

They had completed the quest four times each.

Since each run took around three hours, they had worked for nearly twelve hours in total, stopping only briefly to eat the simple snacks that I gave them.

I couldn’t help feeling a little bad.

It almost felt like I was some villainous boss exploiting my own citizens.

Am I overworking these guys now?

I’m actually not really sure.

On one hand, working such long hours must seem like a terrible idea by human standards.

But on the other hand... these goblins seem to really enjoy doing the quests...

And it’s not like I’m forcing them to work or anything!

Yeah.

All I had done was post the quest on the board. Whether they accepted it or not was entirely up to them.

In fact, the two goblins even tried to take the quest for a fifth time.

They reached toward the poster with tired but determined hands, but I quickly removed it before they could accept it again.

"Come on! It’s already night! I can’t have you two going outside to work in the dark! It’s too dangerous!"

"What if those wolves come back?"

"Seriously, have you guys already forgotten what happened yesterday?"

The moment the quest disappeared, however, both goblins froze.

They stared at the now-empty wall, their expressions immediately turning disappointed.

Their ears drooped.

Gopuro’s shoulders slumped heavily, while Gopuran tilted her head at the blank stone wall as if sheer willpower alone might somehow make the quest poster magically reappear.

"Hey, hey, don’t worry. I’ll give you the quest again tomorrow! But for now, you two need to rest!"

Deciding that these two deserved an extra reward for their hard work, I materialized a few thick cuts of steak in front of them.

The goblins immediately cheered up and accepted the meat.

They didn’t even forget to bow to me to say thank you!

"Wahaha! I’m such a good ruler now!"

"Just work hard and remain loyal to me, and you two will have unlimited steak for life!"

To my surprise, however, they didn’t devour the meat on the spot.

Gopuran muttered something to Gopuro in their rough goblin tongue before stepping outside to gather twigs and dry grass.

She returned a few minutes later and carefully arranged the kindling within a rough circle of stones she had collected from the forest floor, forming a simple firepit.

Oh? What’s this?

I watched curiously as she arranged everything.

Then I realized what she was trying to do.

She wanted to cook the steak!

And that reminded me... Gopuran actually had [Cooking Lv. 1]!

The goblin girl picked up two pieces of rock and began striking them together.

Clack! Clack!

Spark after spark flew into the dry grass, bright but fleeting.

She was trying to start a fire the old-fashioned way.

But even after five full minutes of persistent effort, no flame appeared.

Gopuran frowned, her arms beginning to tremble slightly from fatigue. Each spark flared briefly before dying out, never catching the tinder. Only a few thin wisps of smoke rose from the grass.

Gopuro eventually stepped in to take over, using his greater strength to strike the rocks together.

But he met the same frustrating result.

Clearly, raw muscle power wasn’t enough.

"Oh, come on."

I chuckled to myself.

"Are you guys silly?"

"Fire?"

"Why make fire when there’s already fire in the castle?"

My torches were already burning throughout the castle, providing plenty of light. The flames danced along the stone walls, filling the chamber with a warm glow.

Yet for some reason, neither of them seemed to consider using them.

Hmmm... Perhaps... they think they’re not allowed to use my fire?

If that was the case, then I needed to intervene.

Just then, I noticed something else.

The small firepit had already been registered by the System as [Small Firepit].

And if it was recognized as an object within my territory, I could control it just like I controlled all the torches with my [Lighting Manipulation] skill.

"Haha! Let there be fire!"

I focused my will on the firepit.

The flames suddenly roared to life.

Fwoom!

The dry twigs caught almost instantly, sending a warm glow across the clearing.

Both goblins jumped back in surprise, their eyes widening.

For a moment, they simply stared at the fire.

Then, slowly, their faces lit up with pure wonder and delight.