(Oh, I see!)
(The description is still kinda vague, but I think I get it now!)
Basically, my System functioned on Points. But I couldn't just hand Points to my citizens, as they didn't have the same interface as I did. So, I needed to materialize my Points into a new form of energy that could exist in the physical world!
The description claimed Powerstones' potential was endless. I wondered what exactly they could be used for.
Since I had some Points to spare, I exchanged 25 Points for 5 Powerstones.
Points remaining: 66
My trading volume hadn't reached 100 Points yet, so I didn't have to pay the fee this time. But if I did this four more times and the volume hit 100 Points, the System would automatically deduct 10 Points from me.
Now that I held Powerstones, the option to convert them back into Points became available. I could swap 5 Powerstones back to 25 Points. It was nice to think about. If I somehow managed to gather Powerstones in the real world, I could sell them to the System for Points!
But… since the fee was a whopping 10%, I had to avoid unnecessary trades.
Now that everything was clear, I created a quest, filling in the remaining lines of the form. The system actually made me some quest examples, so I just needed to modify it a little bit.
[Quest Creation Form]
Quest Name: Wood Gathering Quest
Prerequisite: None
Quest Info: Collect wood from the surrounding forest to help build and expand the castle.
Quest Type: Repeatable
Objective: Gather 100 Units of Wood from the forest, and drop them within the castle territory. No deadline
Reward: 1 Powerstone (F)
When I input 100 units of wood as the objective, the System recommended a reward of 0-1 Powerstones. But if I increased it to 200 units, the recommendation shifted to 0-2 Powerstones.
(Wait, a 0 Powerstone reward? Is that even possible?)
But as I thought about it… yeah.
The goblins viewed me as a powerful being now. I hadn't only saved their lives; I'd evolved them. Obviously, even if I paid them no wage, they would gladly accept the quest.
But… I wasn't that heartless of a ruler! They were my citizens, not slaves! I needed to pay them fairly!
As far as my calculations went, I could get back 20 Points if I sold all 100 wood back to the System. That was equivalent to 4 Powerstones. Thus, for the labor of gathering 100 wood, it made sense to give the goblin 1 Powerstone and keep the rest.
And even though it might seem evil taking 75% the yield of their work... hey! I also needed to make a profit here, which would later be reinvested into the castle to improve their lives. And not to mention, they were getting free rent and food!
Since I had no idea how long it would take one goblin to gather 100 wood, I decided to start with a smaller amount. After all, it was a Repeatable quest. They could take it again if they finished early and had enough stamina to spare.
(Yeah, let's go with it!)
I hit the [Create Quest] button after I was done.
[Are you sure you want to create this quest?]
[Warning: Once a quest has been issued, you cannot modify it unless you take it down! Once a quest has been accepted, you cannot modify or cancel it!]
(Oh!)
I paused to read the warning.
(Oh! I see!)
Basically, no take-backs. I needed to be careful! Imagine messing up a zero and ending up paying ten times the intended reward! Plus, this rule ensured I could never scam my own citizens by canceling a quest right before they turned it in.
(Tch, I'm not that evil, you know!) I told the System.
I double-checked the quest details to ensure everything was correct.
Then, I hit Confirm.
As soon as I did, a scroll icon appeared in my vision. The quest text swirled and was drawn into it. Suddenly, a physical scroll materialized in my inventory. Its description mirrored the quest details perfectly.
Now came the question… how do I distribute it?
[To issue the quest, either give it to a citizen, or post it on a flat surface.]
[If you give the scroll to a specific citizen, it will be assigned to them only.]
[If you post it on a surface, that surface will become a Quest Board. Anyone who sees the paper can accept the quest.]
(Alright!)
I did as instructed, focusing on the wall.
Whoosh!
A sheet of paper materialized on the stone surface, displaying the quest details. A sharp ding! echoed through the room, not just in my head, but loud enough for the goblins to hear, too.
Gopuro and Gopuran perked up, heads snapping toward the wall.
They scrambled to their feet and approached the notice, pausing to study it for a solid minute.
"OOOoo! Wara wara!" Gopuro exclaimed, his eyes suddenly widening and sparkling.
Gopuran was no different. She was just as excited once she finished reading!
The two goblins placed their hands on the paper.
[Ding!]
[Gopuro has accepted your "Wood Gathering Quest" quest!]
[Gopuran has accepted your "Wood Gathering Quest" quest!]
(Nice!)
Excitement surged through me.
(But wait a minute!)
It hit me then. The details on that scroll were in English! How the heck could those goblins understand English?
(Is this the System's doing?)
(So, if the System can make the goblins understand English, it must have a way for me to understand Goblish, right?)