Night fell, and Byung was left with his thoughts. There was no Maui to distract him, but there was no doubt he missed laying on her chest, because his back was already feeling the effects of this.

Byung noticed they had little to no livestock and realized they had to broaden what they traded.

Women wouldn't cut it anymore in the long run; the reward was too low.

"I wonder, can I talk to my system…" Byung thought to himself before opening his lips, but before he could form a sentence, the system responded.

[Ding!]

[The host can communicate with the system!]

The system informed him, confirming it was interactive, and Byung was beginning to understand he wasn't crazy.

Everything he saw was real, but he had no way to put it into words because his mind had yet to fully comprehend what he saw.

"Tell me, who was the dead goblin in the mine?" Byung questioned his system.

It was literally the only thing that could give him an answer, because wherever that place was, it wasn't in this plane of existence.

The system fell silent, like it didn't hear him, which was impossible since it was literally in his head.

[Error 404!]

The cyan screen informed him, and Byung sighed the moment he saw this, because it showed the system couldn't give him the information he needed.

"Fine, my fluids… What can they do?" Byung requested, wanting to be sure if they had the same or different effect.

[Ding!]

[The host's fluids have three unique properties!]

Byung could have asked the system what each fluid did, but something told him it wouldn't have an answer.

If it did, it would have told him in that single message, because this system wasn't sentient and shouldn't be withholding information from him.

Byung found out that his blood was responsible for siring goblins, which meant there was no way Maui was sired to him, which meant her loyalty had nothing to do with what she consumed.

The semen she consumed was an aphrodisiac, but Byung had no idea what his urine did.

He had to find out, and fast, because all of this could play a role in the upcoming battle.

Byung knew they were past a point of no return.

Byung heard a light knock on his door, forcing him to his feet.

"Who that?" Byung questioned, and a hushed voice came from the back of the door.

Byung instantly recognized it—it belonged to 008.

Byung had been so busy that he had never bothered to ask his name, because the naming ceremony had taken place.

"Hey! What doing here?" Byung questioned, but he pushed past him and into his room before shutting the door behind him.

Byung had no idea what he was doing here, but his eyes scanned the room as if looking for something, yet nothing was in sight.

He was looking for Maui, and her absence seemed to confirm something.

"She escape!" the slender goblin barked, but he was way too late to break this news to him.

"Internert explorer? Is that you?" Byung thought to himself, but that joke seemed to make him laugh.

"Is funny something?" 008 was puzzled by why he started to laugh out of thin air.

Byung immediately straightened his face, but it was too late; he had to come up with something quick to save the situation.

"No, tired," Byung responded with the straightest face possible, but there was something 008 noticed—he didn't look shocked by this.

Byung had figured out what he needed to sire goblins, but it would be stupid to try to do so on just any goblins when he had 10 slots.

But he also noted it was only goblins he might be able to sire, as his system explicitly stated 'Goblins' and not 'Creatures.'

He had to pick the goblins carefully, but this particular goblin was his first friend, and Byung wished to keep the relationship that way.

He didn't want to perverse it, and this was proof the goblin was kind as well.

He noticed Maui had left through unknown means and came to report to Byung right away.

"I can trust him, can't I?" Byung thought to himself. He could easily tell the other goblins he learned to speak from Maui.

They had stayed together long enough for this to be a possibility, and Byung decided it was time to speak normally—not just with 008, but everyone.

He had already shown he was a genius, so learning to speak should be the least surprising feat.

"It is fine, 008… I am aware of her absence. She is running an errand for me," Byung responded without pause or hesitation.

"YOU SPEAK!" 008 screamed before clamping his mouth shut almost immediately.

Byung noticed his innocent reaction to this revelation, and it was better than he expected.

"I can, I learned it from Maui, the orc," Byung was quick to give himself an alibi should things spiral out of control.

"T-Teach me!" 008 asked with a hopeful look across his face, and Byung was once again surprised this was his first instinct.

"Wow, is that it?" Byung questioned, and 008 nodded vigorously.

"What is your name?" Byung asked, and 008 thought about it for a second.

"Poggle," Poggle said with a gleeful smile, but Byung almost chuckled because this sounded like the name of a dog.

"I'm Byung, as you know," Byung officially introduced himself to the goblin.

Poggle smiled. He was one ugly son of a bitch, but so were all goblins. But Byung wondered if there has ever been a female goblin.

If the answer is no, did the goblins come into existence by a deformity? That would explain their reproduction problem.

There were so many things he didn't know about goblins, but Byung knew he had to uncover all the answers.

Time was ticking, and genuine allies would come a long way, because he couldn't do this alone.

Byung already knew how Murkfang slipped through unnoticed; it must have been the same path he showed him.

--

Maui arrived back at her village and reported straight to Kragg, as she was aware of the purpose of her mission.

She spent the afternoon refreshing herself, as Kragg wasn't around, but she noticed how everyone was up in arms.

They were preparing for something, and she found it hard to believe all of this was for Drekk. He was a decent fighter, but wasn't worth this much trouble.

However, he had returned later that night, and Maui was ready to see him, but Shava had already come to see her.

"Are you okay?" Shava showed empathy, because she had to deal with the goblins, and there was no telling what she had to endure to achieve their collective goal.

She wasn't here with Naruz or Naz either, which told her everything she needed to know.

"I'm fine, but there is something happening in that settlement," Maui hinted, and Shava leaned in to absorb every piece of information that was about to leave her lips.

"What is happening, Maui?" Shava requested, but there was so much to say.

However, Kragg had to be the first to hear any of this, because she had no idea what Shava would do with the information.

They were friends, but Shava had a direct hand in the extermination of the tribe her boyfriend belonged to.

Maui believed she was the one that found a way for Borg to turn on his sister, because it was no secret they weren't getting along.

All Borg needed to do the extreme was a little push, and Maui was certain that push came from Shava.

She was a smart lady, and the daughter of the chieftain of their clan, so she held quite the position.

"The goblins… They have built forges," Maui revealed. She told Shava this because she already knew it would make its way to them eventually, with or without her.

This way, she gets to remain in her good graces, because she was an orc in a position of power.

However, Shava was isolated by other female orcs, which meant she didn't have friends in the traditional sense.

"Forges!? How is that possible? It shouldn't be possible," Shava muttered under her breath, especially because it hasn't been long since Borg visited there.

He reported nothing of this sort, which meant it just manifested recently.

And there were no reports of visits during that timeframe, which meant this was done by a goblin.

Shava was in disbelief, and Maui was satisfied with this because this was all the information she planned to reveal to her.

This would taint the perception that goblins were mindless creatures incapable of any complex thought.

This is why this news was so important; it wasn't because of the forge itself, but it would change how the goblins were viewed in this region.

"Kragg is ready to see you now," an orc informed her, and Maui politely bid Shava a farewell before hopping away.

Kragg was another thing entirely; Maui knew who he was behind the face he wore for the public.

This orc was as evil as they came.

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