Chapter 34: Quest experiment

The next morning, I let the two goblins sleep in a little longer.

Today would be a relatively relaxing day for them. I planned to spend most of the morning testing my [Quest Creation] skill and figuring out exactly how flexible it was.

I started with a few small experiments that didn’t require their participation, mostly probing the hidden rules behind the skill.

Before long, the mechanics began to fall into place.

The first revelation was that I had previously assumed quest rewards were limited to items I already had in my Inventory.

That turned out to be only partially true.

The actual restriction wasn’t strictly "things I currently possess," but rather "things I can afford."

When I tried creating a simple quest that rewarded 1 kg of chicken meat, even though I had zero chicken in my Inventory at the time, the System still allowed me to generate the quest scroll.

But then it slapped a small note to beneath the reward section:

[If, at the moment of completion, no chicken meat is present in the Inventory, the required cost will be automatically deducted from your Castle Points balance.]

Interesting.

That meant I didn’t actually need to stockpile every possible quest reward beforehand. As long as I had enough Castle Points to cover the cost when the quest was completed, the System could simply purchase or generate the reward on my behalf.

Even more surprising, I could offer rewards that didn’t physically exist at all, such as "Level +1" or "+1 [Regeneration] Skill Level."

This worked because I possessed the [Lord’s Blessing] skill, which allowed me to directly increase my citizens’ levels and skill levels.

When I included such rewards in a quest, the System explained that it would calculate the equivalent cost and deduct the required amount from my Castle Points at the moment the quest was completed.

In other words, the cost would be exactly the same as if I had manually used [Lord’s Blessing] myself.

However, I couldn’t offer direct increases to Core Attributes such as Attack, Defense, Speed, and so on.

That was because the scope of [Lord’s Blessing] was currently limited to increasing overall levels and skill levels. It could not increase stats. And there was also no other way for me to do so.

Still, this also meant that if I ever acquired a skill capable of directly increasing Core Attributes, I should theoretically be able to create quests with those kinds of rewards as well.

Pretty nice.

On the flip side, there was naturally a limit to how extravagant I could make the rewards.

When I tried offering something completely beyond my means, such as "Level +20," the System simply refused to generate the quest scroll.

The reason was straightforward.

With my current Castle Points balance, I couldn’t possibly afford the cost.

Yeah, that makes sense.

The System wasn’t going to let me promise rewards that I couldn’t actually pay for.

Finally, I tested whether I could use items that my citizens gathered during a quest as part of the reward itself.

I drafted a simple quest:

Quest Objective: Gather 10 Twigs.

Reward: 5 Twigs.

At that moment, I had no twigs in my Inventory, and the System Shop didn’t offer them for sale either.

The only realistic source of twigs was...

The goblins themselves.

They would have to gather them while completing the quest.

To my surprise, the System accepted the quest without complaint.

Cool!

This opens up so much flexibility!

I could already imagine all sorts of possibilities.

As long as the quest itself could provide the resources needed to fulfill its own reward, I wouldn’t necessarily have to stockpile everything beforehand.

That could make resource-gathering quests far more efficient.

Just then, Gopuro and Gopuran woke up at almost exactly the same moment, as though they shared some kind of internal alarm clock.

For a brief moment, they both looked drowsy, blinking sleepily as they sat up.

But within two heartbeats, they were already wide awake and moving.

Gopuro immediately dropped to the floor and started doing a quick set of push-ups, while Gopuran stretched her arms and legs, loosening up her body after a night’s sleep.

"Perfect timing, you two!"

With my test subjects awake and ready, it was time for the next round of experiments!

*****

But of course, I wasn’t heartless enough to send my citizens to work on an empty stomach!

So I promptly provided them with a free steak breakfast. Just the raw ingredients, though. They handled the cooking themselves.

Now that I finally had a healthy stockpile of Castle Points, spending one or two Points on food barely felt like an expense. Of course, those costs could add up quickly once I had more citizens. For now, though, I was happy to let the two of them enjoy their privileged treatment.

Half an hour later, it was time to begin my experiments.

First, I spent a few Points to purchase five units of Stone.

Apparently, I could materialize them as five separate 10 kg blocks... or combine them into a single massive 50 kg slab.

Naturally, I chose the latter.

The enormous block materialized in the courtyard with a heavy thud. The impact immediately caught the goblins’ attention, and both of them rushed outside to investigate the sudden noise.

The moment they stepped into the courtyard, I slapped a quest scroll onto the surface of the stone.

It wasn’t a repeatable quest, so only one of them could take it.

[Quest: Strength Demonstration #1!]

Quest Info: Your ruler wishes to evaluate your strength. Mighty follower, lift this block of stone overhead to prove your worth!

Quest Type: One-Time

Objective: Lift the 50 kg stone over your head and hold it steady for 2 seconds.

Reward: 1 Chicken Drumstick

Gopuro was faster.

He snatched the quest scroll and accepted it before Gopuran even had a chance to react.

[Ding! Gopuro has accepted your "Strength Demonstration #1" quest!]

The goblin girl let out an indignant yell and puffed out her cheeks, clearly frustrated that she’d been beaten to it.

But Gopuro wasn’t fazed in the slightest. He simply laughed triumphantly, looking like a warrior who had just claimed victory in single combat!

Gopuran, meanwhile, was visibly seething with jealousy. She could only cross her arms, stomp one foot, and shoot him a glare that could have curdled milk.

"Haha, this guy is definitely no gentleman!"

I chuckled inwardly at their antics.

"Don’t worry, Gopuran. There’ll be more quests after this! You’ll get your turn soon enough!"