“I want the hunters to pick more goblins to go hunt with them. I need more trained personnel, who can provide some help in combat. The rest will be responsible for gathering resources. Do you know about which plants are useful?”

He nodded. “Yes, since I am an [Initiate] in [Herbalism].”

"Right. I want you to gather anything edible, anything that can be used as rope, and, most importantly, anything replantable."

“Replantable?” The shaman stroked his chin.

“Turnips, potatoes, herbs, anything! We need a reliable source of food. Hunting does not always produce results, and our people will only grow if we have a surplus of food. We need to stockpile for winter.”

Voglo smiled. “Indeed, such a simple thing escaped my mind. You are a very wise Chief. We are nearing the end of summer, so we should have ample time during fall to prepare for winter.”

I blankly stared at him, as if he made a bad joke, before continuing. “The other goblins will chop wood, carry clay and water, and fish.”

“I understand, but how will we do that, we have no tools?” The shaman frowned.

I grinned, I had made an excellent prediction. “I have the skill [Stone-Shaper]. I can shape stone to my will. Although stone is not a very good material, it's the only one we got now.”

The shaman gave a toothy smile, revealing missing and chipped teeth. “That is a very useful and rare skill! Thank you, my Chief!” He bowed down.

“Alright, now bring me some stone.”

Voglo immediately ran off, and with great effort brought back a piece of rock half his size, and dropped it in front of me. He sat down cross-legged and watched me with great anticipation.

I extended my hand to touch the stone. “Stone-Shaper.” I could feel the mystic force called mana flow through me, even though I never felt it before in my previous life, it felt oddly familiar to me, like it was always a part of me. I supposed it had something to do with this body, and how the goblins spoke in squeaks and growls but could understand them perfectly.

I imagined a simple dagger, smooth and symmetrical, with an inward curve running through the middle, a swelled handle for grip and a round pommel. The piece of the stone swirled and bubbled as if it was boiling, and I could feel some sort of resistance from it. It was as if I was trying to wade through molasses. I tried to force my image of the dagger onto the stone, but the resistance increased. I tried to use my other hand to mould the stone-like clay into the image I wanted, which alleviated the resistance but not by much.

My mana was running out so I stopped the spell, and the dagger fell to the ground from the rock. It was a much cruder and primitive image from what I imagined, but it nearly took all of my mana to create. I gnashed my teeth in frustration and shattered the failure of a dagger with the heel of my foot.

The old goblin put his hand on my shoulder. “Do not worry. I can tell you are a [Beginner] in this skill. If you simply practise enough, your skill will raise rank. I recommend you try to create simpler things.”

My anger quickly cooled. Indeed, It would be far too easy if I could create knives and daggers from the get-go.

“You said you have a skill called [Shamanic Concoctions], what does it do?”

The old goblin smiled and lifted this robe, revealing various wooden flasks attached to the inside of it. “My skill allows me to make potions with various effects, this one is similar to a [Mana Potion] but less potent. I can also make ointments, tinctures, elixirs and so on.”

He handed me a flask made of darkish brown wood. I opened the flask and looked down inside it, to see a blueish-green fluid within, although it didn't smell, I was still reluctant to drink it. After swishing it around for a bit, I quickly quaffed it down. It tasted bitter, but as the liquid travelled down my body, I felt as if my oesophagus and nasal cavities expanding, and I instantly felt refreshed.

Interface +28 Mana restored Mana 34/100

I had used up all my mana, but it must have recovered a bit on its own. It would probably take a few hours for it to recover completely. If I raised my [Intelligence], perhaps it would recover faster. Yantago had also mentioned [Willpower] can improve spells, but he didn’t explain to me in what way.

“How can I raise my stats?”

The shaman thought for a bit. “Well through training, I suppose. You can exercise to increase your strength, or study to increase your intelligence. However, we don’t have any books or such for that.” He bowed his head in apology.

I clicked my tongue in irritation. “Alright then, lead me to my room. I wish to rest for tomorrow.”

He nodded and led me through a short hallway that was naturally formed in the cave. On the sides were two rooms. I peeked through the battered rags acting as doors and saw the goblins sleeping with each other in a pile.

My room was not much better, a tiny room with a bed frame carved from the stone, with dried leaves acting as the mattress. At least my room had a wooden door, a rotten, hole-ridden, wooden door.

“Tomorrow, the real work starts. Your god summoned me here to save this poor excuse of a tribe, and that’s exactly what I plan to do. Wake me up when it's appropriate.”

The shaman’s face soured at my description of the tribe, but he sighed in agreement. He quickly prostrated himself before me. “Most definitely, Great Champion! With a man such as yourself leading us, I’m sure our tribe will prosper.”

I sneered and closed the door. Although in my past life on earth, I didn’t have much experience in wilderness survival or tribal leadership, I did what I had to do to succeed as a cutthroat businessman. The only difference between here and Earth was the things I had to do for success, either way, it would be hard. Nothing in life came easy, whether you are a human or a goblin. I clenched my fists in anger and determination.