Since the first day I came here, I etched tally marks into the wall to count the days. In the blink of an eye, a few small marks grew to cover nearly a quarter of my room.

The weather had gradually changed from sunny and warm to somewhat cloudy with the occasional drizzle. Each day was spent hunting, gathering resources, crafting and building. Through all that physical and magical labour, my stats had grown slightly. I had gained 673 experience in total and reached level 4.

Interface You have raised your Strength by 1, (6 → 7) You have raised your Dexterity by 2, (10 → 12) You have raised your Intelligence by 3, (14 → 17) You have raised your Willpower by 3, (16 → 19) You have raised your Health, by 44, (60/60 → 104/104) You have raised your Mana, by 47, (100/100 → 147/147) You have raised your Stone-Shaper (Beginner) to Stone-Shaper (Novice) You have raised your Ground-Shake (Beginner) to Ground-Shake (Novice) You have raised your Sapphire-Spear (Beginner) to Sapphire-Spear (Novice) You have raised your[Mana-Control (Beginner) to Mana-Control (Novice)

I was also granted 9 free points which I could distribute freely into my stats. I decided to improve my lowest attributes first, and then use whatever I have left for my main attributes. [Strength] and [Agility] were key to my survival, I needed to be able to run away, or throw a punch if I ran out of mana. I could raise my [Intelligence] and [Willpower] through constant practice of magic, while physical exercise was simply too exhausting.

Interface You have raised your Strength by 3, (7 → 10) You have raised your Agility by 3 (9 → 12) You have raised your Dexterity by 1, (12 → 13) You have raised your Intelligence by 1, (17 → 18) You have raised your Willpower by 1, (19 → 20)

As I distributed my points, I could feel physical changes happening within my own body. My muscles cramped slightly but then quickly relaxed, my head hurt for a moment and then it felt light. I feel slightly stronger now, my confidence grew.

Interface Gems Blood Scarred Opal Empty Empty

These empty slots drove me mad, I desired power deeply, but nothing could be done about it. Currently, our lifestyle was far from sustainable. Every day we were at risk of hunger if we didn't manage to catch something that day.

The goblins had little luck in any mining-related projects, at the moment they were far too weak and the tools used far too crude. They only managed to produce a storeroom with 2 weeks of effort.

When not hunting, Rugum spent the majority of his time either carving bows and arrows or teaching others archery. He was a stoic figure with a permanent neutral expression on his face. During our evening banquets, while other guys would typically try to show off or flirt with the girls, Rugum would silently eat his food. Naturally, I liked him the best, simply because he behaved himself decently and listened to my orders properly.

Despite our continuous efforts, our situation had only improved by a little. Anger boiled within me, and I shot my [Sapphire Spear] in frustration, piercing through a tree, causing it to fall down and nearly landing on a passing goblin. The creature yelped in fear and scurried away on all fours back to the cave.

Voglo had experimented on my blood, trying to determine its toxicity and come up with medicines from it. He ran around madly his tiny little room, grinding a herb one moment and then scribbling on a piece of bark the next. He would occasionally let out a deranged cackle when his idea works, but he would become extremely dejected when something failed.

He didn't discover any healing uses for my blood, but he learned that my blood remained potent for only about an hour. This, fortunately, meant that we no longer had to boil the meat of every creature that was slain by my poison.

Olma had decided to brazenly follow me around the camp. While I sat down to practice spells, she would sit right beside me, showing off her latest craft of the day, such as an ornate dagger, a stone goblet with engravings upon it, even a figurine of me at one point. If her craft did not catch my attention, she would start boldly flirting with me, which I found more than annoying since I was trying to concentrate on my magic.

"Olma, why do you follow me around?" I asked her as she stalked me through the hallway.

As I turned around, I caught her quickly arranging her hair. "What woman would not want to be in the company of our Holy Leader?" She asked with a teasing voice.

I was not amused. "If my company is so desired, why does it seem that only you dare to encroach on my personal space!"

She quickly took a big step back from me. "You misunderstand! I simply wish to provide you with company! The others don't approach simply because they don't think they are worthy," she quickly found an excuse.

I raised my eyebrow in puzzlement. "That means you think you are worthy?"

"Of course!" She regained her flirtatious composure. "Who better to accompany our mighty chief than the most talented artisan in the tribe!" She placed her hands on my shoulders. "It would be a perfect match, no?"

I pulled myself away from her while keeping my face still. "Yes, whatever. Just keep in mind to not get too close." I walked away in a random direction, trying to escape as soon as possible. But Olma simply smirked and continued to follow me, but simply at a greater distance.

I was never one for romance, my one and only partner was arranged to me by my father, to form a stronger business alliance. I had never experienced any love for that woman, and neither did she feel any for me. The only reason we had not divorced would be due to public backlash. I had no feelings for Olma either. How could I possibly be attracted to a horrid creature like a goblin?

Voglo had often advised me, not subtly, that it was my duty as a Chief of the tribe, to leave an heir behind. I was not too keen on the idea either, my last "heir", had become estranged and not visited me on my deathbed. Not that I blamed him, I would be the first to admit my poor fatherly qualities. And yet, through constant insistence from Voglo, and daily amorous displays of craftsmanship, I spent the night with Olma. That was a grave mistake since her actions had then become even more brazen.

Over this period of time, my magic had improved significantly. It was still difficult to shape stone perfectly according to my vision, but it was slightly easier compared to before. My products were slightly smoother and more refined, but basic and rudimentary by all normal standards. Thanks to my efforts, all the goblins now carried spears as a measure of self-defence, including myself. Some goblins had a bit of luck with spearfishing, so we had the opportunity to improve the diversity of our meals.

Morning rose once again, so my hunting party and I embarked once more on our daily expedition. The group felt less nervous in general, thanks to the extra weaponry and food. However I still kept myself surrounded by them, and I still kept my spear clutched tightly. After hours of travel, we had come across something unusual, a thick path in the dirt that stretched across the forest floor. It was serpentine and was incredibly long.

A goblin’s face went pale. “We should probably return, this was probably left behind by a giant snake!”

All the goblins began to quiver, but I stood against them. “We’ve been hunting for weeks now, and you are willing to run with your tails between your legs? Have I caused you to grow accustomed to cowardice? ” I yelled.

Rugum spoke up. “Holy Hero, I understand your sentiment, but it will soon turn darker, we should return and hunt once more in the day.”

“Fine. But don’t think you lot will get out of this, we will continue on tomorrow.”

In the banquet room, I sat in my rock throne that I decorated and smoothed out with magic, sipping on water mixed with some crushed berries. I beckoned Voglo to approach.

“Apparently, there are giant snakes in these woods. Do you know anything about that?” I asked.

His eyes widened in shock. “I’ve never seen a giant snake, but I didn’t know there were any in this forest. Rumour has it that they are descendants of wyrms, a type of limbless dragon. As such they tend to amass a modest pile of treasure.”

“Treasure you say?” My eyes gleamed with interest, as the word ‘treasure’ echoed in my head.

“Indeed. But they are vicious beasts, some even say they can spit poison. I think it would be best to steer clear of this beast. Perhaps we might even have to relocate.” He warned.

“It may be a dragon descendant, but it’s still a snake. We’ve been hunting for months now, and our levels have risen. Not to mention, there could be potential great resources, if there is indeed treasure as you say.”

Voglo’s brow sagged in worry. “But my lord, it’s too dangerous!”

“Enough! Should we just run away every time there might be a strong creature? We’ll simply kill it. How could a snake’s intelligence compare to ours? If you accompany us, our success will be even surer.”

The shaman bowed down to the ground. “Yes, I understand. It will be my honour to accompany you.”

In truth, I was motivated to go on this hunt solely for the sake of acquiring power. As the number of dead boars and elks mounted, the experience each kill provided diminished. If I were to continue hunting nothing but these beasts, I wouldn't be able to become strong. In a period of around 5 weeks, I had only gained 3 levels, and each level took much longer than the last to obtain. The thought of being stuck at this level of strength induced great fear in me. As I saw it, this hunt was a perfect opportunity to earn a lot of experience. The others would benefit from this hunt as well.

The next day, we outfitted all the men of the tribe with weaponry as well, bows and spears and such. Even if they aren’t skilled or strong, some extra firepower would always be beneficial. We continued onwards, following the tracks left behind the giant snake. All the traps we had built were broken, and the bait inside was taken, perhaps the snake was extremely hungry? After hours of travel, the tracks had led us into a clearing in the forest. In the middle of the clearing was a large stony pit, in which lay a giant snake.

Its entire body was perfectly camouflaged against the forest environment, the only thing that gave it away was its bleeding wounds. Spears and arrows were sticking out from its flesh, with fresh blood flowing unto the stone. In the pit, there were several small piles of miscellaneous items: treasure chests, armour, weapons, bones and more. We hid behind trees and bushes, observing the injured beast, trying to not make a sound.

I began using my [Command] skill. “Everyone, dip your arrows in the poison,” I whispered.

Voglo took out a waterskin filled with my blood, and one by one everyone dipped their arrows in the blood.

“Ready your bows.” Everyone drew their bows and aimed at the sleeping monster.