Final Quest Unlocked!
Objective: Defeat the Elder of the Island.
Reward: Tutorial Completion
- +50 Genesis Crystals
- Title: Progenitor — Be one of the first enlightened in a newly integrated universe.
- Permanent Effect: +10% to all stats.
Additional titles may be awarded based on performance.
Max blinked at the glowing prompt, his pulse quickening. The rewards alone nearly stole his breath — fifty Genesis Crystals, a permanent stat boost across the board. But it was the title that rooted him in place. Progenitor. The System had called him that once before, in whispers on his status screen, but now it was a promised reward. Whatever it truly meant, it was bound to change everything.
And yet, even with the enormity of the reward staring him in the face, the words “Defeat the Elder” lingered like a shadow. What did the system mean by “Elder?” Was this some sort of super powerful cultivator or something like a beast Alpha. Max wasn’t sure but knew time would tell.
When the glowing letters finally faded, Max lifted his eyes, and the sight before him left him stunned.
He stood at the jagged peak of a mountain, the wind tugging at his robe, the vantage granting him a sweeping view of the land below.
The “island” wasn’t just another dense forest or a hidden cavern. It was massive, a sprawling landscape so wide it seemed to defy the idea of being called an island at all. Carved across its valleys and plateaus was something Max had never expected: A civilization.
The first city lay directly beneath him, its stone walls reinforced with sharpened palisades and watchtowers that glared outward like the teeth of a predator. Within, true buildings rose — crude stone halls, longhouses, smoke-belching forges, and wide squares where merchants haggled at stalls. The goblins here weren’t scrambling tribes. They were a society, in a fully functioning city.
Beyond it, the horizon revealed more. Three additional cities dotted the vast terrain, each one distinct, like territories under different banners. Road’s cut across the valleys, leading from one settlement to the next. Aqueduct-like channels carried water down from the mountains into cisterns and troughs, feeding fountains in their plazas. Smoke drifted upward from countless chimneys. Tens of thousands of goblins moved like ants below, soldiers drilling in formation, shamans raising totems in ritual circles, children darting between huts and stone courtyards.
The scene reminded him a lot of the old Roman empire he had seen in history books in school. Nearly everything was made from stone and looked like it would last for hundreds if not thousands of years. There wasn’t any technology that Max could see, and he noticed only a few of the better-made buildings had actual glass windows, with the rest just being open holes or had wood shutters covering the opening.
Max swallowed hard. He had fought and destroyed multiple camps of goblins before. That alone had nearly killed him. Now, there was an entire goblin empire, four cities strong, each ruled by its own Elder.
His grip tightened around Solaris Edge. His quest was clear. The path forward, however, was not.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Max crouched lower against the rocky peak, letting his eyes roam over the city beneath. At first glance it looked like chaos — goblins filling the streets, fires burning in forges, markets choked with noise. But the longer he watched, the more he realized it wasn’t chaos at all.
There was order here.
Two goblins brawled in the street below, fists and knives flashing as a crowd gathered to jeer. Before Max could even blink, a squad of armored goblins rushed in. They dragged the fighters apart, slammed one’s face into the dirt, and hacked the other down in a single brutal stroke. The crowd scattered as the “police force” hauled the survivor away in chains.
Max’s stomach tightened. They’re civilized. They’ve got laws. They’ve got enforcers. This isn’t just another raid camp — this is an actual city.
He leaned back against the stone, chewing over what that meant. Sneaking into one cavern and collapsing the roof had worked against the council, but here? Here he was looking at tens of thousands, organized, armed, and ruthless with their own kind. Cutting through them all wasn’t just reckless. It was impossible.
Max exhaled slowly. This just got a whole lot harder.
Hours later, he made his way down into the valley. By the time he slipped through the outer wall of the city, the streets were bustling with activity. Smoke curled from forges, merchants shouted over one another, the air thick with the smell of sweat, roasted meat, and acrid incense. It was all so… alive.
And deafeningly incomprehensible.
A dozen goblin dialects barked at him from every corner, none of it making sense. Max tried to focus, catching scattered syllables, but it was hopeless. His brows furrowed. I can’t blend in, I can’t barter, I can’t learn a damn thing until I understand what they’re saying.
He spotted a merchant stall built from old planks and a cracked stone counter, cluttered with scrolls and dusty tomes. The goblin behind it was older, tusks filed short, and his eyes flicked with a calculating gleam.
Max approached cautiously. The merchant squinted at him — clearly aware he wasn’t a local — but instead of raising an alarm, he spoke. Words Max couldn’t understand, yet… something in the cadence hinted at patience, curiosity.
Max pointed at the books, then tapped his temple. He mimed reading, then shook his head. “Language,” he said slowly, enunciating. “I need to understand.”
The goblin merchant tilted his head, then rummaged under the counter. He came up with a small scroll bound in red twine. Holding it up, he tapped the parchment, then tapped his own temple in the same gesture Max had made.
Max’s chest loosened with relief. “You do have it.”
The merchant held out his hand, his fingers spread wide. Max’s stomach dropped as the meaning clicked. The cost was steep.
“Genesis Crystals?” Max asked.
The goblin nodded, with his palm still out. With his other hand he flashed five fingers three times. Fifteen.
Max clenched his jaw. He had fifteen left, scraped together from all his fighting and looting. All of it. He looked at the scroll again. Without this, he’d be stumbling blind in the middle of an empire. With it, he’d at least stand a chance of blending in, listening, and planning.
Slowly, he pulled the crystals from his ring and set them on the counter. The goblin’s eyes gleamed as he swept them up, pushing the scroll across.
Max didn’t wait. He sat down right there in the dirt of the market, broke the twine, and unfurled the parchment. As he infused the scroll with a bit of his energy, a surge of light flared.
[System Prompt]
You have learned: Language Skill – Goblin Tongue
Grants comprehension and speech of all goblin dialects.
Knowledge poured into his mind like water into a vessel. Words, phrases, intonations. When he blinked, the shouts of the marketplace were no longer just noise, they were voices, bartering, laughing, cursing. For the first time since stepping foot into the city, Max understood.
He let out a shaky laugh. “That… was worth it. Now time to see what we can find out.”