Gobun led me towards his tiny little settlement, the other Goblin who called Gobun earlier accompanying us, while Manny left to inform the others. There are enough wooden huts to house at least ten goblins. Glancing around the encampment, I can see tiny green heads peeking around the corners, trying their best to get a good look at me, their current Boss, if what Gobun told me earlier is any indication.

“Boss, we Goblins are at the bottom of the food chain by monster standards,” Gobun waved his arm around. “It is extremely difficult for a Goblin to develop any sort of skill in their lifetime, except for hunting and other activities related to it. However, Goblins, young ones in particular, are easy to teach, although their limits are easily reached, such is the nature of a Goblin.”

I nodded in understanding. If Gobun is correct, goblins can be taught anything and expect results quickly, but they are also incapable of reaching master-tier in their chosen craft.

“So, let’s say I teach them how to make a weapon. An expert Goblin would only be able to craft, hmm… a beyond average weapon?” I asked while focusing my gaze on the elderly Goblin. Gobun smiled weakly as we arrived at one of the huts, a hut not his own.

“You assume correctly, Boss,” Gobun nodded and knocked on the flimsy, wooden door big enough to only fit a Goblin. “This is one of the factors why Goblins are on the lowest rung of the monster food chain.”

The door opened, revealing another Goblin wearing some kind of ragged clothing. It saw me and bowed nervously.

“However, there is one way for a Goblin to overcome its limits,” Gobun patted the Goblin, causing it to lift its head up and stand still like a statue, waiting for a command or something. “And that, Boss, is called evolution.”

… Evolving monsters is a thing here…? Well, this gives me another reason to recruit/kidnap more monsters, regardless of strength. If I can cultivate their strength, teach them some knowledge I get from Skillbooks, and have them evolve into a higher species, I can create another form of defense that is separate from my summons.

“How does a monster evolve?” the moment I said this, Gobun’s pointy ears wiggled, then deflated.

“That, Boss, is completely random,” Gobun sighed as he motioned his hand for the Goblin inside the hut to follow. Once he did so, the four of us began walking in another direction. “In my entire lifetime as a Goblin, I have only seen one evolve, and he was just an average Goblin. He had little strength and intelligence, so imagine our surprise the next day when he was as tall as a human, stronger, and smarter.”

… So, if evolution is as random as he claims, it can not be trusted. I wonder if there are any factors leading to an evolution, I must experiment…

“Ah right, I’ve been to engrossed in our conversation that I forgot to introduce you to this fellow,” I glance at the slightly shaking Goblin that Gobun called from the hut. “Her name is Gobi, a somewhat skilled trap maker. Of all the young Goblins in this camp, this young ‘un is the best at what she does.”

“I-I-I fol-follow B-Boss!” the young Goblin’s stutter makes it a little amusing, bringing out a slight chuckle out of me.

“Relax, I’m not going to hurt you,” I patted her head with my giant, meaty hands. She shirked in fear, but was unable to escape, my giant hand landing on her tiny green head with hair. A few moments of patting, and Gobi calmed down, but still not used to my pats, as obvious from her shaking.

I withdrew my arm from the little Goblin’s head, and she breathed a sigh of relief, which she tried to hide quickly with an anxious expression.

Seeing this somehow reminds me of videos from a video platform where a child gets caught red-handed with his hand in the cookie jar, prompting me to chuckle again.

“Anyway, back to business, you say that she is skilled at trap making?” I snapped out of my funk and regarded the elderly Goblin who had a slight smile on his wrinkled face.

“She’s not the best, mind you, but she’s above average,” Gobi shook slightly, taken aback by the compliment.

“Is that so?” I approached Gobi, causing her to shake more. I grabbed a fruit from my inventory and handed it to her, causing her to look at me in confusion. “Gobi, if you can place traps in my Dungeon, I will reward you. This fruit is the first of many, and if you do well enough, I will grant you a gift you may not refuse.”

The little Goblin looked at me apprehensively, but relented and took the fruit from my hand, before taking a bite out of it. She perked up at the taste and began to devour it happily, her face munching on fruit, looking like a little hamster.

“Are there any more Goblins with a specific set of skills?” Gobun shook his head in response to my question.

“Unfortunately, they are ordinary goblins who know how to fight, hunt, and kill. Gobi here is an outlier,” Gobun smiled softly at the tiny Goblin girl. “You see, the reason why she became a trap maker was that she was no good at fighting directly, and since if a Goblin does not work, he can’t get food, Gobi had to find another way. What’s a better way to hunt than using traps to kill an animal without bringing harm to oneself?”

“That… is a good point,” I rubbed my chin with my hand.

“I believe this is all I have to show you,” Gobun bowed his head towards me with respect. “You have no idea how grateful we are to you. If you had not found us, I believe we would’ve already died from natural causes, or been torn to shreds by other monsters and animals. Please accept my gratitude on behalf of my camp.”

“Then, show your gratitude by proving to me that you are useful in my Dungeon,” I grinned back and promptly left the Goblins to do their thing, but not before commanding Gobi to place traps all around the Forest areas, and, if possible, in the Poison Swamp area as well.

As I made my way through the foliage, I thought to myself, ‘I should probably check in on the monkeys.’ Apparently, the forest areas merged together, seeing that the room was bigger than before. I had no idea before I came to this area again, so this gives me some more knowledge of how to benefit from this feature.

I should probably check out the mines later…

A few minutes of walking and I found myself within the circle of monkeys.

“Boss back!”

“Boss!”

“Big Boss!”

The cacophony of greetings and yells almost burst my eardrums. Who knew a mixture of monkey species could produce such a sound?

“I’ve returned; how’s the dungeon?” I waited for all of them to gather in front of me before one of them piped up, none other than Gong.

“Boss, Dungeon quiet, no intruders,” Gong smacked his shield with the club I gave him.

“Good,” I nodded and heaved a sigh of relief. “All of you train… Invaders may be arriving in the near future. I will also tell the Goblins to train with you, and also, I will personally train each of you.”

The monkeys saluted and I left. Other than giving them orders, there isn’t much I can say to them. I knew I could just command them with the Dungeon Menu, but I needed a report on how they were doing in the Dungeon while I was gone. It’s not that I didn’t trust Manny; it’s just that I needed another source of confirmation.

This time, I went back to my Dungeon Core Room. Before I head to the mines, I need to make some pickaxes for the other Summons, and with my [Blacksmithing] skill, the recipe for the pickaxe was all in my head.

That reminds me, the damned system gave me a gift when he fucking nerfed me, the asshole…

Once I reached the Dungeon Core Room, I opened my inventory and saw the innocent looking red gift box icon.

[System’s Gift] x1

… How I want to throw this thing away just to spite the damned asshole, but beggars can’t be choosers, and I need everything I can get to survive the incoming wave of death.

So, without further hesitation, I grabbed it and pulled it out. The red box wasn’t that big, about the size of a box that could fit a person’s head into it. I grabbed the tie, and pulled, unwrapping the ribbon. It caused a domino effect and the wrapper wrapped around the box came undone, revealing the box.

It opened by itself, with a few light shows here and there. Someone’s clearly compensating…

The contents floated out of the box, and the moment I saw it, I had a headache…

Acquired [Dungeon Helper Domino] x1

… Why the hell does it have to be a little girl!?