Why can't humans do it too?

“…Miss Nirbalian,” Suer’s face was deathly pale, not a trace of blood could be seen, “Can you feel it?”

"What?" Xin Ke turned around in surprise, but the half of her face visible under her hood didn't seem to change much. "Mr. Monkey, did you sense something?"

“It is a bit,” Suer took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, calming himself down. “It feels like something… is watching me, like I’ve fallen into water and am completely enveloped from head to toe, making my body feel even heavier.”

Suer omitted the word "things" and quickly and briefly told Xinke about his situation, hoping she could come up with a solution.

"I say, did the God of Forging really not notice the two of us?" Suer asked softly, turning his stiff neck involuntarily to look at the divine furnace located not far from the two of them.

Chapter Sixty-One Giant Weapons

Suer's answer left Xin Ke speechless. Even a genius like her had never witnessed the power of the divine beings firsthand; she had only imagined it in the past and could not give an accurate definition.

"...At least so far I haven't felt the kind of being watched that you described," Xin Ke replied cautiously after closing her eyes and carefully sensing the elves around her.

If Suer's strangeness hadn't been exposed, Xin Ke wouldn't have taken a monkey's feelings to heart, especially since she hadn't noticed anything unusual. It was just an instinctive discomfort caused by the monkey's inability to adapt to such close contact with the existence of a divine being. But now it's different. Even she has to acknowledge the strangeness of Suer's soul, so it's highly possible that he really sensed something hidden that she hadn't discovered.

Returning to Suer's side, Xinke lifted Suer's head and looked into his pupils and face. Both the information from the spirit within him and his complexion after such a serious illness clearly told Xinke that this was not a trick by the monkey to escape.

“If the Forging God really noticed us, then as a forest elf who has been fighting the moles for countless years, I would definitely be surrounded by a large number of moles right now, and it wouldn’t be as peaceful as it is now,” Xin Ke analyzed calmly. “Or perhaps the Forging God noticed your strangeness, Mr. Monkey, but in that case, shouldn’t he capture you? The current calm is also abnormal.”

“Logically speaking, could it be that Mr. Monkey is just imagining things?” Xin Ke released Su Er and continued, “Or it could be because we’re in such a high position right now, right?”

“…Indeed,” unable to deny Xin Ke’s logic, Su Er silently glanced to the side.

It was as if one were peering down from a glass floor in a skyscraper, where the ground was no longer visible beneath one's feet; instead, various buildings and pipes stretched out horizontally. If the interior of the original spaceship had been at this height, then Sull and Hinker, who fell from there, probably wouldn't have experienced what followed.

“We should be very close to our destination. I can already feel that suppressed power, like a volcano that hasn’t erupted yet. At most, we’ll just have to roll upwards again—” Xin Ke’s words stopped abruptly. She suddenly lunged at Su Er, silently rolling on the ground before hiding in a corner.

The next moment, the sky opened up.

Leaving aside the fluffy balls flying through the air, what instantly caught the attention of Suer and Xinke, who were huddled and hiding, was what was revealed from behind the soon-to-be-opened iron wall—a gigantic…super robot?!

However, it is clearly not even a semi-finished product.

The only thing that made Suer's eyes widen and get excited was its obvious humanoid appearance. Even though many parts of the body were just empty and only had a frame, it was still a huge robot!

The ships they built looked exactly like normal spaceships, but the goblins were secretly building Gundams in their own backyard?!

Although he knew that the goblin race didn't need his praise, Suer's feelings of nostalgia and excitement when he first saw the city had now reached a level of affection upon witnessing such a creation—the goblin race really understood him!

So romantic!

Even though only a rough framework has been planned and manufactured so far, and the only part that has been filled is the robot's right shoulder and head, where solid iron blocks have been manufactured and the surface is covered with engravings that look like electronic circuits, even though the rest of the space is still blank, Suer has already imagined a sturdy and robust machine full of a sense of weight based on this.

On the wall to the side leaned a huge shield. Rather than a shield, it was more like a huge iron block shaped like a shield. It was unclear whether it was because it had not yet been fitted with defensive spells or because it was simply designed to withstand damage in this solid form.

"……impossible."

Suer heard the goblin muttering to herself beside her. Was she shocked and worried about the weapons the goblins were making?

"Such a huge whole... all of them are spirit armor?" Xin Ke asked, seemingly questioning the meaning of life, and even her voice was slightly out of control.

Compared to Suer, who knew nothing, Xinke, who was proficient in magic and inscription techniques, could see the design concept of this giant weapon at a glance. She didn't know what a giant robot or a Gundam was, but she could easily tell that this weapon was designed for one person to use.

But how is this possible? !

How could a single gopher possibly drive such a massive spirit suit?! Not to mention the various weapons and defenses attached to it, have the gophers gone mad?!

"Spirit Armor?" Suer asked softly. He knew the term and that Spirit Armor was the exclusive weapon of every goblin, but that was all he could learn from the intelligence.

"Well, the so-called spirit suit is a machine used by the mole individuals. It is a system that is synchronized with the nuclear medium and formed by performing multiple engraving techniques, so there are no restrictions on its shape, size, etc... But this spirit suit is just too big..." As she finished speaking, Xin Ke once again fell into her own world. She was still looking for a reason, searching for an explanation.

Sul also knew about the engraving formulas. Just like the magic of the forest elves, the goblin race's strength lay in engraving formulas. So, if we understand it this way, the spirit armor is like a small personal computer? Each goblin creates its own personal computer and then uses that core medium—the operating system—to automatically cast different engraving formulas to release magic.

After processing and converting the information that Xin Ke subconsciously uttered in his mind, Su Er wrote it down on paper, sketching and drawing.

"...Still writing in your 'diary'?" Xin Ke said with a smile as she glanced over. There was no doubt that this monkey was recording information again, even though it was a monkey that couldn't even find its way back home.

"Haha, by the way, what's that? The one on the robot's right shoulder," Suer chuckled dryly, pointing to the tops of their heads as he asked.

"A robot?" Xin Ke pondered the word. "That's quite fitting. Mr. Monkey seems to have a talent for naming things... That's the essence, you know?"

!!!

Chapter Sixty-Two Goblin Seeds

I was so shocked I forgot to breathe.

He didn't even bother writing down the intelligence, and he didn't take the forest elves' praise seriously at all. Suer suddenly raised his head and stared wide-eyed... even wider, just to see the object on the right shoulder of that giant robot more clearly.

A round, columnar object, gray and dull, not to mention how conspicuous or imposing it was, to be honest, if it were buried in a roadside stone with half of its body showing, Suer wouldn't even think that this thing was any different from a real stone.

"That's the essence?!" Su'er murmured in astonishment, unable to resist confirming it with Xin Ke once again.

It lacked any sense of majesty whatsoever, and was not even in the same league as the magnificent, towering divine furnace on the other side... In terms of appearance alone, it had no imposing presence whatsoever.

“To be precise, it should be inactive divine essence,” Xin Ke insisted on this judgment, casually answering Su Er’s question while her eyes remained fixed on the huge divine essence. “How exactly are the groundhogs going to use this divine essence…”

Muttering to herself, Xin Ke couldn't see the spell inscribed on the inactive divine essence from such a distance. She could only guess in her mind until she saw that familiar figure fly by in the air—hair that looked like it had been haphazardly cut, the color closer to gray and silver. Even though the clothes it wore were different from before, the arrogant aura that she could clearly sense even from such a distance was impossible to ignore simply by its presence.

arrogant.

How could Xin Ke forget what this groundhog looked like?

She had just seen it not long ago; the sword that emitted light patterns had pierced through her eight layers of magic. It could have killed her with just a light swing, but this groundhog arrogantly and foolishly spared her life—a haughty act of charity.

The humiliation of surviving only because of the enemy's charity made Xin Ke tremble with hatred just by recalling it, and every time she thought about it, it strengthened her desire to exterminate the entire goblin race.

Right here, at this very moment, she saw the gopher again. The time had come so quickly that she was far from ready for revenge—she hadn't even had time to learn a couple of phrases specifically used to mock goblins.

"Huh? Is that a goblin too? Why isn't it a fur ball?"

A monkey's innocent, questioning voice rang in her ears, reminding Xin Ke to temporarily look away and not expose herself to so many gophers because of her overly strong desire for revenge.

Seemingly sensing something, as Xin Ke looked away, the unique goblin standing at the top, next to the inactive divine essence, was already looking around with a strange expression.

Meanwhile, Sull was completely unaware that the forest elf hiding right beside him had mentally killed a certain goblin dozens of times in just a few breaths. He was still wondering why that guy, who looked like a high-ranking goblin, wasn't a furball.

No, it wasn't just that guy. Suer suddenly realized that several goblin-like creatures who had just passed through the iron wall weren't furballs either. They had smooth brown skin, and their clothes were more or less revealing, depending on their personal preferences. Their hair was silver, a stark contrast to their body color, and it shone brightly under the city's lights. They also had a pair of horns on their heads, and their pale eyes resembled dimmed volcanic ash. The only problem was that they were very short, but if that's the case, the furballs next to them didn't seem to be very tall either.

It is a female goblin species, and its size is almost the same as that of a junior high school girl.

"What furballs?" Xin Ke replied in a low voice, annoyed. "This is what goblins really look like. What Mr. Monkey saw was just their body hair."

"Body, body hair?!" Suer was already doubting whether he had misheard.

“Oh right, it’s body hair, which can also be called True Spirit Silver, and the eyes of the ground squirrels are Sensing Steel. Both of these are special spiritual substances. Heh, speaking of which, I’ve seen records of ground squirrels being attacked by Skywing Species in order to extract these minerals. Those birdmen are sometimes of some use, too,” Xin Ke said with rare delight.

"...Uh, let's not talk about treating other races like a mine," Suer scratched his head in frustration. After all, the corpses of the forest elves whose soul stones had been dug out were still vivid in his mind, and he really didn't know how to comment on it. "Do both men and women have these things? I mean, body hair?"

“Ah, right, but they probably shaved it off, right? Those female gophers,” Xin Ke said with a disdainful glance at a female goblin flying overhead in the distance. “I’m not a scholar in my tribe who specializes in studying gophers, but I do know that the amount of fur a gopher has is equivalent to its Pokémon’s enhancement power and material resources. Male gophers also keep their fur for boredom…”

"Oh, speaking of which, I suddenly remembered something that might interest Mr. Monkey," Xin Ke said, watching Su'er lying on the ground, already pulling out his paper and pen and writing furiously. "All the machines made by goblins use True Spirit Silver!"

Suer's pen suddenly stopped.

"Ah~, just like you think," Xin Ke said with a wicked smile, gently tapping the iron plate beneath her. "Including these buildings you're in now, as well as those airships and submarines, they all contain True Spirit Silver."

Suer's lips were already twitching uncontrollably.

He hadn't forgotten what Xin Ke had just said: the so-called True Spirit Silver... wasn't it just the body hair of a goblin?

In an instant, Suer's gaze as he looked around changed—a country built on body hair?

Male and female...

I ask you, what were you thinking when you created this new race?

For some reason, Suer wanted to rush to the nearby divine furnace and ask the question loudly.

"...Let's not talk about that for now," Suer said, writing down the piece of information that he had no idea how to use. He continued, "So what are the weaknesses of the goblins? After all, the forest elves and goblins have been fighting for so long, they should know each other quite well, right? If their bodies contain minerals that even the Skywings need, you should have collected a lot of them."

That's right, this man has now turned to openly and brazenly extracting information, without even trying to hide it.

To be honest, although the journey with the forest elves was not long, the information that Sull had obtained exceeded the amount of information that could have been obtained in the previous ten expeditions.

Testimonials

Before I knew it, this book was almost ready to be published. It feels like just yesterday that I was encouraged by a friend to start writing last September. Before I knew it, I had persevered and successfully finished the book.

I've gotten a bit off-topic. First of all, I must thank everyone who has consistently voted for this book every day, including those who have voted for it monthly! I'm truly touched. To be honest, when I first started writing this book, it was met with skepticism from all sides, from its subject matter to the source material I chose. But I really didn't expect that, thanks to the efforts of everyone who supports me, it would be featured in the editor's pick during its third week of recommendation. Whether it flops after it goes on sale tomorrow or not, I'm already very satisfied.

Thank you so much everyone! (Bows again!)

Then there's the story of Hedgehog Cat's Dark Forest. Because there were too many delays, readers were hesitant to subscribe, and because there were too few subscriptions, the author couldn't continue and had to cancel the book—I don't know how this vicious cycle started, but I can now proudly declare that even with the poor performance of my previous book, I still persevered and wrote 170 million words, giving the story a satisfying ending.

So my integrity is guaranteed. Gentlemen, if you want to support this book, you can rest assured to turn on auto-subscription (just turn to the latest chapter and swipe left; there's an auto-subscription option at the top). To make a living, this book needs subscriptions and income to keep me going. After all, writing has gradually become my job this year, and I, a miserable mortgage holder, desperately need this kind of support... Out of necessity, I thank you all in advance!

Let me talk about some updates. Based on tomorrow's first-day subscription figures, I won't make any big promises, but 1,000 subscriptions will still be considered a success! If it's an exceptionally high 4,000, then I'll offer a bounty and update at full speed every day. If things get even more fantastical, like a bizarre 10,000 subscriptions (I'm not even hoping for that), then I'll dedicate all my time outside of work, meals, and sleep to writing, updating four or five chapters a day—the first-day subscription results will be released at noon on Saturday. If I'm going to offer a bounty, I'll explain it in a separate chapter. So, just like waiting for exam results when I was a kid, I'm actually quite looking forward to it.

By the way, I'll thank everyone for their donations and criticisms at the end of each month, instead of scattering them in the postscript of each chapter.

The key points are as described above. Below is some information about the book; those who don't want to read it can quickly swipe left.

Regarding the pacing of this book, some readers have read the original work while others haven't. Also, some readers may have misconceptions or inaccuracies about the established settings. In order to cater to all readers, I have gradually introduced some of the world-building and basic settings within the plot to avoid confusing those who haven't read the original work. I can't just throw out all the settings at the beginning, so the pacing inevitably feels a bit slower.

In addition, rather than simply stating a person's personality in a few lines, I prefer to use subtle expressions, such as micro-expressions and behavior, to make a character more three-dimensional. This is also a personal writing habit of mine. I hope that the characters I create are not stereotypical figures. They are conflicted by joy, anger, sorrow, fear, and their own interests and impulses, so as to make a fictional world as real as possible and allow readers to immerse themselves in it.

Furthermore, humanity itself is a collection of contradictions, capable of both greatness and baseness. How could an ordinary person like me possibly explain it all? After all, a person might choose greatness on a whim, only to regret it in the dead of night, wishing they could kill their past self when they look back on their past choices… Uh, thinking back to my teenage self, so in this book I simply want to express this sense of contradiction as much as possible and explore it in a reasonable way—please, trolls, leave me alone, I'm easily offended.

As a logical person, I'm more afraid of being criticized for being slow than for the abrupt changes in the characters' personalities in my books. So, before each of Su Er's choices in the text, I subtly foreshadowed and hinted at them. I wanted my characters to act based on their own personality, interests, or emotional impulses, rather than having all their choices based on a pre-defined personality... That would be too unrealistic. Humans are not programs.