Chapter 10: Leader

The notification flashed before my eyes, glowing faintly.

[You have been chosen to become the chief by your fellow goblins]

A second message followed right after, catching my full attention.

[You have unlocked the Title: The Chosen Leader]

A title?

Now that was something I hadn't expected.

[Title: The Chosen Leader]

A title granted to a goblin chief who has been willfully chosen by their subjects.

Effects:

Skill Sharing: You can share all skills with your subjects, except for innate skills.

Cordiality Boost: You automatically gain a 15% increase in Cordiality when meeting a new goblin. The percentage may rise or fall based on your actions.

Battle Aura: Clan members who witness you in combat gain a 10% boost to morale, attack power, and defense for 5 minutes.

"Hmm."

I nodded slowly as I read through the information.

If I acted smart, maybe I'd become smart enough to actually comprehend everything. You manifest what you believe in.

Breaking it down one step at a time, I mulled over the details.

First, I could share both passive and active skills with my allies.

That sounded great, but the only skill I had, other than my innate ability, was [Analyze].

I frowned.

Sure, [Analyze] was helpful for gathering information, but sharing it with the goblins didn't feel like a game-changer.

What would they even do with it?

Look at rocks and grunt about their weight?

Then my eyes widened. There was another skill—a new one. Something I had unlocked after my fight with Narg.

[Skill: Iron Fist]

Type: Passive

Description: This skill enhances the user's physical strength, durability, and precision in hand-to-hand combat, transforming them into a formidable brawler. Increases attack power by up to 20% the longer you fight.

This was definitely a skill I could share.

I nodded, satisfied as I reread the description.

It made sense now—I must've unlocked [Iron Fist] during my hand-to-hand fight with Narg. A skill earned in battle. Not bad.

Then a thought struck me like a lightning bolt.

Could I learn more skills by repeating actions over and over?

From what had just happened It seemed like that's how the mechanics worked.

If that were true, it changed everything.

But I decided to shelve that theory for now. There'd be time to test it later.

Moving on, I turned my attention to the second effect of my new title.

Essentially, it guaranteed that goblins wouldn't try to kill me on sight. They'd see me as a figure worthy of some respect.

If I provoked them—like insulting their mother, mocking their god, or, worse, kicking them in the nuts then that respect would vanish in an instant.

Animosity would replace it and then, well, it'd probably end in bloodshed.

And then there was the last effect whichwas essentially an aura skill.

The description was clear: whenever I fought, my clan members would get a boost in strength, defense, and confidence.

If that's not an aura, I don't know what is.

It wasn't flashy or overpowered, but it was definitely practical. A small edge like that could mean survival in dire situations.

Feeling satisfied, I decided to check my stat window to view the changes.

[Stat Window]

Name: Eli

Race: Goblin

Title: The Chosen Leader

Level: 4

HP: 205

MP: 110

Stats:

Strength: 9

Stamina: 8

Agility: 9

Intelligence: 9

Perception: 9

Available Points to Distribute: 9

[Skills]

Innate Skill: Phase Walker (SSS)

Passive Skills: [Analyze], [Iron Fist]

Active Skills: None

Looking at my attributes, I couldn't help but notice something irritating—all of them were all at nine. And for some reason, that uneven number bugged me.

So, naturally, I decided to fix it.

First, I added one point to every attribute, making them all tens. It felt neat and satisfying, like organizing a messy desk.

Stats:

Strength: 10

Stamina: 10

Agility: 10

Intelligence: 10

Perception: 10

That left me with three more free stat points to distribute.

I paused, pondering how to use them best. After a few seconds of deliberation, I dumped all three into strength.

Why strength? Simple.

With my [Phase Walker] skill, I could teleport anywhere I wanted, so running (or agility) wasn't exactly a priority.

As for intelligence? It was not really useful at the moment. As all of my current skills were passive.

And perception? I had no clue what it did or how it worked, so I decided to ignore it for now.

With stamina, I also decided to leave it alone for now letting it improve over time as I levelled up.

Besides, the only reason I could think of for increasing stamina immediately was for perverse reasons.

If you know you know.

Anyway, back to something more practical: with my boosted strength and the [Iron Fist] skill, I could now punch someone into the afterlife if needed.

Yeah...that sounded way more useful.

Stats:

Strength: 13

Stamina: 10

Agility: 10

Intelligence: 10

Perception: 10

(Available Points to Distribute: 0)

Satisfied, I dismissed the stat window and turned my attention back to the goblins. They were still bowing to me, faces pressed to the ground.

It felt a little awkward.

"Alright, that's enough. Stand up," I said, gesturing for them to rise.

They immediately obeyed, standing at attention like soldiers.

Curious, I decided to test out [Analyze] on them again. This time, the skill revealed far more detail than before.

I started with the one who had been by my side through thick and thin: Zzok. My OG.

[Zzok] - Goblin Warrior | Level: 3

Skill: Weapon Specialist

Loyalty: 70%

As expected, Zzok was solid. A loyal fighter who trusted me enough to follow my lead.

A weapon specialist too, he'd no doubt become my general when the clan grew.

The dude had potential.

Next, I turned my attention to the granny goblin, Flogga.

My opinion of her had improved, but she was still ugly.

[Flogga] - Goblin Alchemist | Level: 3

Skill: Potion Making

Loyalty: 50%

This old hag was easily the most valuable goblin in the clan.

With her skill in potion-making and her sharp intelligence, she was like the brains of the clan.

But her loyalty sitting at 50%? That was... problematic.

She didn't fully trust me.

Thinking about it, though, it made sense.

From her perspective, I was just some random goblin who appeared out of nowhere and started calling the shots.

Everyone else might be getting swept up in the moment, but Flogga clearly wasn't one to trust blindly.

I really needed to win Flogga over.

Her skills and smarts made her a key player for the clan's future. Winning her trust would be essential if I wanted to keep things running smoothly.

Just as I was lost in thought, I heard groaning behind me.

Turning around, I saw Narg struggling to his feet, his face twisted in pain as he clutched his body.

Time to check on the stubborn fool.

I used [Analyze] on him.

[Narg] - Goblin Acolyte | Level:2

Skill: Fireball | Loyalty: 10%

Yo. Ten percent?!

That was abysmal, but honestly, I couldn't blame him.

I had just crushed his dream, stolen the position he wanted, and humiliated him in front of the entire clan.

Loyalty wasn't exactly going to flow after that.

Still, a loyalty score that low was dangerous.

Someone like Narg wouldn't hesitate to stab me in the back—or the face—if the opportunity arose.

And the last thing I needed right now was some revenge-driven fireball-slinger plotting my downfall.

I decided to check the loyalty of the rest of the goblins, and to my surprise, most of them were already at seventy percent or higher, like Zzok.

It seemed my display of strength had really made an impression.

Looking around, it was clear: no other goblin had loyalty below seventy—except for Narg and Flogga.

But then I remembered

I hadn't checked her yet.

My eyes landed on Zahra.

She was standing off to the side, her arms crossed and her expression unreadable. Our gazes briefly met, but she immediately turned away with a sharp harrumph.

What the hell was that about?

Did I offend her somehow?

Was she mad I beat up Narg? Did she have a crush on him or something?

She hadn't said a word since the fight ended, but her body language practically screamed that she hated my guts.

I decided to confirm my suspicions and used [Analyze] to check her loyalty.

But what I saw left me completely stunned.

[Zahra] - Goblin Archer | Level: 2

Skills: Archery | Loyalty: 100%