Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

One-Eyed took out a wooden board and used a knife to carve a mark on it.

He had thrown the wooden plank, which was covered in scratches, into the fire; those scratches were simply to record how many days he had survived at the hands of the two trolls.

He once thought he no longer needed to carve wooden boards, but long-standing habits are not so easy to break, so he started carving marks again.

This record shows how many days he ate his fill.

One-Eye is sometimes strange. Despite the leader's height of 1.3 meters, Red Eye and Grass are willing to listen to him. When the leader asked him to lead people to dig a hole, he naturally agreed without thinking there was anything wrong with it.

He asked the Red-Eyed leader if he was very powerful, and the Red-Eyed leader said he was very powerful, much more powerful than any adventurer, goblin, or troll. He pressed further, asking why the leader didn't look very tall or strong. The Red-Eyed leader laughed and said that the leader's strength wasn't in his height or strength, but in something that other goblins couldn't match.

One-Eyed couldn't understand Red-Eyed's answer, and he wanted to ask Bucktooth, but in the end he gave up. Bucktooth was now speaking incomprehensible gibberish every day, and he felt that Bucktooth had gone mad.

After these days, One-Eye finally figured out an answer: the leader is very strong.

He couldn't explain his strength, but he knew that other tribal leaders couldn't feed their subordinates properly, and in that respect, the Green Egg leader was very powerful.

He was glad that he hadn't run away beforehand, but had held out until the leader arrived, and he was happy to accept the tasks assigned by the leader.

In the One-Eyed's mind, goblins cannot betray the leaders who work hard to feed them.

"Manager, should we keep digging?" a goblin asked as it ran out of the hole.

"As the chief said, we'll dig a section of the log and then prop it up with a few logs." One-Eyed put down the plank and directed the goblins to carry the logs.

I don't know what the leader was thinking. He made me lead a dozen goblins to focus on digging the tunnel and even gave me the title of manager. One-Eye didn't know what a manager was. The leader said it was the chief commander of the construction site, the leader of all the cattle.

Even the one-eyed man didn't understand; he just thought it was amazing.

"Be careful, dig slowly. The chief said to prop up a piece of wood after each section you dig," he reminded the goblins again.

It turned out they were digging the crack where Furu was hiding. The Green Egg leader said something about rabbits having three exits, but One-Eyed didn't understand and just followed orders. However, later, they were assigned to dig the corner of this large stone chamber where various materials were piled up.

"The leader's arrangement must be correct," the one-eyed man said solemnly.

…………

"You're saying these patterns are from ancient times?" Charles asked, somewhat shocked. "How ancient is 'ancient'?"

"Five thousand years ago," Agatha put down the magnifying glass and said seriously, "Do you remember me telling you about the legendary advanced race that established a more powerful civilization before humans and invented magic?"

"You mean this fortress is their base?" Charles's eyes widened. "Or is this the Tower of Babel?"

He looked around and then said, "This Tower of Babel looks rather shabby."

"No, Charles, this is certainly not the Tower of Babel." Agatha smiled and shook her head. "I mean, what's here is related to them."

"And it's not impossible that they built this base." She smiled and picked up a book, handing it to Charles.

Charles took the book, glanced at the cover (which read "Historical Society Quarterly Journal, Issue 302"), then turned the pages and carefully read the contents. After a few minutes, he looked up and said, "This article mentions two strange patterns found in different places; could they possibly be a script used by an ancient race?"

"Yes, I've read a lot of articles discussing this. Some say it's ancient writing, while others say it's a prank. After all, writing comes in sentences, not just a single letter." Agatha took the book, closed it, and carefully placed it aside.

"People have always said that ancient civilizations exist, but both academia and the four major churches have denied this claim." She walked to the side of a stone material and reached out to touch the patterns carved on it. "I used to think it was just a legend, but today, I'm wavering."

"There are many patterns here. I even saw the patterns printed in the article. No one would play such a prank. This may really be something preserved from ancient times."

"So what exactly are they, and what are they used for?" Charles asked.

Agatha thought for a moment and said, "I'm still studying it. My initial assessment is that these aren't writings. I think they might be ancient runes."

"Ancient runes?" Sharmo stroked his chin. "Sounds pretty powerful."

Agatha's slender fingers traced the pattern, then she lifted her finger and gently rubbed away the dust. "I think it should be like this. The runes used by arcane mages now are said to be converted from the sacred runes of the Church of the Four Gods, but such runes are already very powerful. I once saw the arcane archmage Afif use rune arrays to make prophecies, and the effect was very impressive."

"Prophecy?" Charles asked with interest. "What are you prophesying?"

Agatha Christie paused for a few seconds before squeezing out a sentence: "He gave a red-light district beauty a prediction about whether she could become the top courtesan."

Seeing the stunned Charles, she immediately said, "But the flow of magic and the changes in the magic field really shocked me at the time. Moreover, I heard that the Holy Runes of the Church of the Four Gods are also very powerful. For example, the Limb Regeneration spell requires the assistance of Holy Runes."

"So you mean these ancient runes aren't weaker than those?" Sharl asked, pointing to the stones on the ground and frowning.

"I need to study this further. What exactly they are and how to apply them requires more time to discover." Agatha raised her palm, staring at the fingers that had just traced the "ancient runes." "In the past, I could definitely have written several papers that would have shocked the Historical Society, but now..."

Her voice gradually faded away, and she seemed to dim down.

"It doesn't matter. You can take your time to study here, and when you write your paper, I'll ask a friend to help you submit it to the History Society," Charles said with a smile, reassuring her. "Besides, I think there are definitely more unknown historical treasures in the forest that have been hidden away, waiting for you to discover them. Humans can't stay in the forest for long, so this is specially prepared for you."

"Hmm, maybe you're right." Hearing Charles's words of encouragement, Agatha calmed down a bit. "I'll sort out these patterns as soon as possible and try to find out how to use them."

"And I'd like to ask you for a helper." Agatha held up one finger.

"Who?" Charles asked.