Chapter 35: Strength Demonstration Quest

Gopuro then motioned for his sister to move aside, clearing some space for his performance.

After evolving into Super Forest Goblin, the guy had grown seriously buff, with muscles thick and well defined. Considering his current strength, I had no doubt that lifting 50 kilograms would be little more than child’s play for him.

He crouched down and gripped the block with both hands, planting his feet firmly against the ground. His expression became surprisingly focused.

Then he heaved.

"Rarr!"

With a powerful burst of strength, he hoisted the 50 kg stone overhead and held it steady!

His arms barely trembled under the weight.

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

The instant the quest was completed, Gopuro hurled the slab aside and let out a triumphant roar.

The stone landed with a heavy thud, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

At the same time, the promised chicken drumstick materialized in his hand.

He immediately devoured it right in front of Gopuran, even flashing her a smug little grin as he chewed.

"Oh, haha! This bastard!"

I couldn’t help chuckling inwardly.

Gopuran continued pouting, her hands planted firmly on her hips. Her green face seemed to take on a deeper, embarrassed reddish hue as she glared at her brother.

I was definitely seeing some serious sibling dynamic right there.

"Now then... time for round two."

"Gopuran, you’ve got to be faster this time! You have more Speed than Gopuro, right? I believe in you!"

I absorbed the stone back into my Inventory, then materialized a new one.

This time, I doubled the weight.

100 kg!

BAM!

The massive slab crashed onto the courtyard floor, kicking up a cloud of dust.

I immediately slapped another quest scroll onto its surface.

The objective was identical: lift the stone overhead and hold it there for two seconds. The only differences were the stone’s weight and the reward: 2 Chicken Drumsticks.

I was counting on Gopuran to snatch the quest this time.

But nope.

Gopuro beat her again.

By a fraction of a second.

Like... 0.00001 seconds!

[Ding! Gopuro has accepted your "Strength Demonstration #2" quest!]

"YAHAHAHAA!"

His laughter was even louder and smugger than before!

Gopuran’s frustration finally boiled over. She stomped her foot hard enough to send a tiny puff of dirt into the air, glaring at her brother as though she were ready to challenge him to a duel.

It was honestly kind of adorable seeing this girl get this mad.

"Well... it is what it is."

"Go on, Gopuro! Show me what you’ve got!"

Gopuro cracked his knuckles with a wide grin, then tilted his head from side to side, loosening his neck. He bent down and rolled his shoulders a few times, apparently taking the challenge much more seriously this time.

I watched eagerly.

Fifty kilograms had been child’s play.

But what about 100 kg?

That remained to be seen.

Gopuro gripped the slab tightly with both hands and planted his feet. Then, with a deep, guttural grunt, he poured every ounce of strength into the lift.

"URRRRGGHHHH!"

This time, it was clearly much tougher.

His arms trembled under the strain, and the muscles across his body tightened as he fought to raise the massive slab. His feet dug into the dirt as he slowly forced the stone higher.

But the stubborn goblin refused to give up.

Slowly, he pushed it higher...

Higher...

Until he finally managed to hoist the entire 100 kg slab overhead!

For a moment, he wobbled beneath the weight.

Then he steadied himself.

He held it there for the required two seconds.

Then, the instant the System notification appeared, he let it crash back onto the ground.

[Ding! Gopuro has completed your "Strength Demonstration #2" quest!]

The System immediately delivered the two promised drumsticks.

And that silly Gopuro boy promptly inhaled both of them right in front of Gopuran’s increasingly teary eyes, just like before.

"Haha! Excellent!"

I mentally showered the guy with praise he couldn’t even hear.

I already knew that their evolution and stat increases had made them much stronger. But numbers on a screen were still just numbers.

Watching them perform actual physical feats gave me a much better sense of what their bodies were truly capable of.

So, at their current stats, 100 kg is still basically ’easy as cake,’ huh?

With Gopuro claiming yet another victory, I reset the field and spawned the third slab.

BAM!

The instant the massive stone crashed down, both goblins lunged toward the quest scroll without so much as glancing at each other.

Gopuro still beat his younger sister to it.

[Ding! Gopuro has accepted your "Strength Demonstration #3" quest!]

"YAHAHAHAHAHA!"

His cackle rang through the courtyard once more, like the laugh of an absolute cartoon villain.

But the moment he actually read the quest details, his smug grin completely evaporated.

"Muehehehehe..."

I laughed evilly inside.

"What are you gonna do now, my guy?"

Because this time, it wasn’t 100 kg.

It wasn’t even 200 kg.

It was...

500 Kilo-freaking-grams!

With that, my original question had been decisively answered.

Even if a citizen lacked the ability to complete a quest, they could still accept it.

Hell, they could even grab the quest scroll without reading it and have absolutely no idea what they’d just signed up for!

****

Now, would he actually be forced to complete the task now that he’d accidentally accepted the quest?

Gopuro planted his feet wide, gripped the massive 500 kg slab with both hands, and strained with everything he had.

The muscles across his thick green arms tightened as veins stood out along his forearms and neck. His face twisted with raw effort as he drew in a deep breath and unleashed a thunderous roar.

"RAARRRRR! HNNGGGGHHHHH!!!"

"Ohhhh! Come on Gopuro!"

"You can do it!!!"

I found myself secretly cheering him on.

"Oh god... Don’t tell me 500 kg is actually possible too?!"

For a few seconds, Gopuro continued pushing with everything he had.

But in the end...

Nope.

There was no miracle for Gopuro.

His grip faltered, and the massive slab didn’t even budge an inch off the ground before his hands slipped completely.

Gopuro lost his balance and tumbled backward, landing hard on his rear with a heavy thud.

[Ding! Gopuro has abandoned your "Strength Demonstration #3" quest!]

"Well, I figured!"

"Nice try, though!"

Apparently, citizens could abandon a quest once they realized they were incapable of completing it.

That was good to know.

But why had he still tried, even though he knew he had no chance?

Hehe. The answer lay in something I’d secretly added to the quest.

[Punishment: Failure to complete the quest will result in uncontrollable laughter for five minutes!]

"Muahahahaha!"

The moment the quest was abandoned, the punishment activated.

Gopuro’s face immediately twisted in pure horror!