Chapter 135: Please Call Me Kirby the Goblin Merchant

Kabby was annoyed!

And what was bothering the usually optimistic and energetic goblin was none other than that mysterious white stone.

Unable to figure out what the mysterious object was for, Kabby had tossed it aside to focus on his own goblin shop; he had no time to go looking for an appraiser. Yet, after two days of busying himself, he was startled to discover that the white stone had begun to glow.

It lay quietly on the wooden table by the window, emitting a faint white light under the soft moonlight. Yes, this was light emanating from the stone itself, not a reflection of the moonlight. Of this, Kabby was absolutely certain.

Kabby shuffled toward the stone and touched it cautiously. It was neither hot nor cold; the light was not from a heat source, but from some mysterious magical energy within. Based on its ability to absorb moonlight and convert it into its own energy, Kabby initially judged it to be a special piece of magical equipment from another plane.

With this realization, and out of a desire to experiment, Kabby pulled out a magic crystal. To his astonishment, the moment the crystal neared the white stone, the stone began to click and shift, unfolding itself. After a sequence of movements that left Kabby dizzy, a mysterious mechanical device resembling a communication water mirror appeared before him.

A mechanical arm extended from the device, grabbed the magic crystal, and shoved it into a slot in its belly. Immediately, a strange mechanical voice echoed through the room.

"Foreign primary energy crystal detected, usable as an energy source. Magic core serial number 03768, estimated function restoration 17%, starting up now..."

Then, with a series of creaks and strange noises, the device—now a magic core—stood up and aimed its upper screen at Kabby. After a violent flickering on the screen, a giant glass eyeball suddenly popped up, followed by a noisy, raspy, and strange voice.

"Bizarre... bizarre... How could a magic core that hasn't moved for over two hundred years suddenly activate? Hey, little one, did you activate this magic core?" The voice coming from the core was in a language Kabby had never heard or learned. Yet, inexplicably, as the sounds entered his ears, he understood exactly what they meant.

"Who are you? How did you get inside that thing? And what... what is this thing?" Kabby’s cowardly nature flared up. Judging by the size of the eyeball he was seeing, the creature inside had to be a terrifying giant. If it climbed out, would he even survive?

In that moment, Kabby regretted not telling his master about this discovery sooner! Perhaps only his miraculous master could save him from the giant's gaping maw.

Just as Kabby was caught in a fierce internal struggle, the glass eyeball on the screen retreated, finally allowing him to see the other’s appearance. To his surprise, the being was almost identical to him in size and looks: barely over a meter tall, green skin, two large bat-like ears, a long, pointed nose, and a head of messy, fluffy yellow hair. The giant eyeball he had seen earlier was actually a special set of goggles the other was wearing.

It was a goblin!

The goblin on the screen wore a filthy lab coat, had a drafting pen tucked behind his ear, and sported high-magnification lenses over his eyes, giving him a bizarre appearance. But no matter how strange he looked, Kabby was certain: the creature was a goblin!

After peering at the screen for a long time, the goblin on the other side clearly hadn't expected the communication request from a distant plane to come from a fellow goblin. After grumbling and complaining for a while, he finally warmed up and began to communicate enthusiastically with Kabby.

"Are... are you a goblin too?" Kabby asked timidly.

"Little one, you are currently speaking to Duke Gazlowe, the greatest chief inventor of the Great Goblin Empire. When you ask me questions, you had best use honorifics!" the yellow-haired goblin on the screen threatened, waving his arms in dissatisfaction.

"Then, great Duke Gazlowe, could you tell me what this thing is? And why can I understand what you... you are saying?"

"Dammit... it seems you little ones really don't know anything." The yellow-haired goblin cursed wildly for a moment before explaining helplessly: "What you see is my invention—the magic core for a super-long-distance magic mechanical communication transmitter. Simply put, it's a small device that allows two goblins to communicate and transfer items across vast spatial distances. As for why you can understand me, it’s because you are a goblin! As long as you are a goblin, no matter which plane you are in, you can naturally understand the goblin tongue. It is our unique language!"

Kabby’s eyes widened, unable to believe his ears.

"If you invented this machine, why did it end up here?" Kabby asked curiously.

"Since it’s a super-long-distance transmitter, it’s naturally used for inter-planar trade! When I was young, I built hundreds of them and threw them into different corners of the multiverse using random teleports. The powerful locals who found these machines naturally became my customers. If I recall correctly, the last person to connect to unit 03768 was a powerful Molten Giant. Too bad he was poor and had nothing good to trade!"

"You... you are a great inter-planar merchant?" Kabby’s eyes turned into round saucers, his naturally greedy nature taking over. Clearly, the title of "Great Goblin Empire Chief Inventor" was far less impressive to him than being an inter-planar merchant!

"Of course! As the greatest engineer, inventor, and plane-merchant of the Great Goblin Empire, I, Duke Gazlowe, am famous throughout the multiverse!"

"You’ve mentioned the Great Goblin Empire several times. What is that?" Kabby asked.

Gazlowe shouted proudly, "The Great Goblin Empire is the Great Goblin Empire! It is a plane occupied and ruled by us goblins. There, we are the true masters. Since you ask, I assume goblins must have a very low status in your plane?"

Kabby clenched his fists in excitement, his eyes filled with stars of envy. But then, thinking of his own situation, he couldn't help but let his ears droop in frustration.

Gazlowe sighed silently. He had seen this scenario many times. In the vast majority of material planes, goblins were discriminated against and treated as pathetic creatures that anyone could bully. They lacked combat ability and natural talent; even among monsters, they were at the very bottom of the food chain.

However, Gazlowe was incredibly curious about this goblin from another plane who had accidentally activated the core. After patient questioning, he learned that this seemingly depressed little goblin was actually a servant to a mysterious wizard.

(Kabby was bragging!)

When Gazlowe couldn't help but question if Kabby was a penniless wretch, an indignant Kabby opened his pouch and showed off his treasures one by one.

Fist-sized fire diamonds, sapphires, rubies, green agates, citrines, and emeralds saturated with magical elements, along with rare, region-specific Night-Eye Stones, Burning Stones, and Red-Spike Stones...

Seeing such a nondescript little goblin pull out so many rare gems at once, Gazlowe’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. He didn't care much for the elemental gems, as they existed in his own plane, but the Night-Eye Stones, Burning Stones, and Red-Spike Stones were things he had never seen before, and he was deeply interested in several of them.

In his Great Goblin Empire, the most powerful assets were all manner of magic-mechanical devices, driven by large amounts of energy crystals and unique magical gems. If he could get his hands on these special gems and understand their energy patterns and coexistence, it would be a huge boon for his inventions.

The two goblins hit it off, eventually reaching a trade agreement to secretly conduct inter-planar material exchanges. Both sides produced dauntingly long lists of goods.

Kabby’s list consisted of magic gems, witchcraft materials, and special wizard resources he had heard of or encountered in the wizarding world. Gazlowe’s list was filled with powerful, albeit dangerous, magic-mechanical devices and specialties from the goblin plane.

After browsing each other's lists, they began to make targeted offers and bargain. Goblins were, as the world recognized, the most greedy and profit-driven creatures in existence. These two "brothers" who had been chatting so happily turned into skin-flinting, nitpicking monsters the moment prices were mentioned. For the sake of a difference of one or two magic crystals, they would glare at each other, curse each other’s female relatives, and act as if they would break off the deal immediately if the other didn't concede.

Kabby didn't sleep all night, spending over twenty hours battling the greedy, stingy, shameless, selfish, and unhygienic Duke Gazlowe—who also had a terrible case of body odor—to tentatively finalize two trades worth less than five magic crystals.

To maintain the connection throughout the night, Kabby had consumed three magic crystals alone.

Yet, neither side found this strange. Kabby was dancing with joy for having managed to lower the price by one crystal, while Gazlowe roared in anger, cursing Kabby as the most shameless green-skin he had ever met.

And so, in this "friendly" atmosphere, they concluded their first call!