I howled and cried in pain, my head pulsated in agony, my vision distorted as I stared at my detached foot. Blood flowed endlessly from the cut, mixing with the soil. The monster stood over me with a toothy and malicious grin. It let out a horrid chuckle as it raised the dagger in the air, ready to stab me. The beast crept towards me, savouring the look of despair on my face. But it was mistaken, my face scrunched in torment, and yet I did not despair, instead I raged. I spat the blood in my mouth right at its face. The vile fluid hissed on its face, its thick skin preventing any damage, but I had blocked its vision. I didn't have enough mana for my [Sapphire Spear], but I had to kill this frog in one go. I summoned a single disk of stone from the ground, and with my hand, and I moulded it into a sharp needle. I twisted and wriggled my body on the ground like a worm, manipulating the stone to stab the frogman in the stomach. As the stone javelin penetrated its body, it dropped the dagger in pain but it was not dead. Greenish bubbles formed around its raised hand. It was preparing to finish us both off with an explosion. Before it could complete its spell, I grabbed the stone bolt that was jutting out of its body. I shaped sharp and jagged branches inside the frog's body, shredding its insides. The fire from the hellish frogman's eyes faded, its lifeless body crumpled to the ground. Interface You gained 6035 experience. You levelled up 5 times. You have 15 stat points. You have reached level 11, you can select new skills to learn, you can select a new class, you can select a new subclass. Would you like to do so [Now] or [Later]? You have learned a new skill, you have gained new titles. You have gained 15 stat points which you can distribute freely. You have raised your Health, by 227, (40/140 → 40/367) You have raised your Mana, by 213, (6/177 → 390/390) Due to your title of [Chieftain of the Amber-Skin Goblins], and due to reaching level 10, you have been granted the skill [Goblin-Thrall Conversion].

I woke up in my room, with a sore head and notifications assaulting my vision. I had no clue how much time had passed, and my last memory was of a dead frogman. My throat was parched but luckily someone had left a jug of water beside me. After a refreshing sip, I lifted the blanket from my body, to discover that my right leg had been amputated. The leg now ended a bit below the knee, and it was covered in bandages.

My face sank into my hands, my vision turned blurry again and salty streams ran down my face. I felt pain, pain in my leg which was no longer there, I could not fathom it. But before my streams could turn to rivers, I heard footsteps heading towards me from the hallway. I wiped my face clean and tried to compose myself. Voglo and Olma entered the room. Their eyes grew wide upon seeing me awake. Olma lunged at me and gave me a deep hug. I lethargically wrapped my arms around her. “Thank Yantago you’re okay!” She cried. Voglo cleared his throat. “You should step away from the Chief, he is still recovering.” Olma stepped away from me, trying to hide her embarrassment for the obvious oversight. “Voglo, what happened to my leg,” I asked. Their faces turned dark. “You were losing incredible amounts of blood. Bandages did not work, and herbs only had a slight effect. Not even my [Healing Glow Heliodor] helped." Voglo gritted his teeth as he stared at my leg. "We had to cauterise the wound, but after a few days, you caught a severe infection. I could not use anything to treat it. I even spent some money on human medicine, but it did not help." His eyes were turning red. "The infection was threatening to spread to your entire body. You were in critical condition already due to severe blood loss, amputation necessary.” The [Blood Scarred Opal], although it made my blood toxic, it gave me anaemia as well. That gem had saved me against that brutish frogman, but it was also a great liability. I could remove it at the cost of 500 health points, but I didn’t have that much health. "What about casualties? How are the rest?” Olma took my hand. “None, two injured but recovering. Those other frogs.” I felt some weight lift from my heart. Voglo's dour expression changed into a smile. "Those frogs were no match for us! We crushed them!" He cackled. I leaned against a soft, goat fur stuffed pillow. "What was that thing I fought? The other frogmen were weak, but their chief was on another level! It even had magic." Voglo rubbed his chin. “It was probably a Refined.” I raised my eyebrows in confusion, Voglo noticed this. "When a being reaches a certain level, they undergo the Refinement and become a stronger creature. Humans call it evolution, dwarves call it Augmentation, and so on." I sank into a goat fur filled pillow, in contemplation. "What does a goblin become?" "Goblins can Refine at level 20. Usually, they become Hobgoblins or Bugbears. I don't know the specifics, since it's very rare for a goblin to reach level 20. But there are tribes with Hobgoblins, like the Bloody Bones tribe." I sighed. "I understand, let's let this be. I am still tired." They both nodded and left the room. I opened up my interface. Interface You have raised your Disks of Stone (Beginner) to Disks of Stone (Initiate) You have raised your Sapphire Spear (Initiate) to Sapphire Spear (Budding) You have raised your Cut (Initiate) to Cut (Budding) You have raised your Stab (Initiate) to Stab (Budding) You have gained new titles: Ruler of the Forest You are the sole sovereign remaining in your area, you have been crowned as the local ruler. You can name the forest. Chief Slayer You have slain the chief of an enemy tribe, thus displaying your strength and superiority. This title provides a slight intimidation effect against other chiefs. Due to your status and level, you have been granted a skill. Goblin-Thrall Conversion You can convert a member of a different goblin race into a loyal and obedient Crystalline Thrall. These Thralls are hardy and durable but have a severe lack of intelligence. A Crystalline Thrall can reach Refinement, to become an Amber Skin goblin. To convert the victim into a thrall, the victim must be convinced of their imminent demise and their will must be broken. The victim must ingest 10 millilitres of the caster's blood. A sacrifice of a once-living being, weighing at least 20 kilograms, must be prepared. An offering of a magically imbued gem or crystal, weighing at least 10 grams, must be presented. The victim and the ritual items must be within 2 metres of the caster. Cast time: 10 minutes, Consumption: 350 mana, Recharge rate: 1 Hour, Persistent. Interface You have new classes available. Select one. Geomancer You gain greater insight into the inner workings of the earth and mana, allowing you to conjure stone related spells far easier. This class will provide more earth-related spells during future spell selections. Research on spells relating to the earth will come easier to you. Crystallomancer The secrets behind gems and mana interest you. Your earth-related spells are slightly easier to conjure, and gem related spells become more powerful. This class will provide more gem and earth-related spells during future spell selections. Research on spells relating to gems and earth will come easier to you. Hunter You stalk the forests in silence, awaiting your next prey from the shadows of the canopy. Your hunting abilities will improve, you will receive more skills related to hunting, such as archery, stealth, tracking and so on. You will gain more experience from the hunting of beasts. Barbarian Your rage fuels your martial might. Grow stronger with each kill during the tide of battle and lose yourself in the heat of the moment. This class will provide more skills related to combat, rage and madness. The higher your kill count within a fight, the greater the experience you will receive. Mounted Barbarian Your rage fuels your and your steed’s might. Charge into battle mounted upon a ferocious beast, nothing can stop your trampling rage. This class will provide more skills related to mounted combat, rage and madness. The higher your kill count within a fight, the greater the experience you will receive. The pressure of picking the right choice was suffocating. It was no longer about picking what would help me, but it was also about how it would affect the tribe. Going by the process of elimination, I removed [Hunter] first. The experience from beasts was appealing, but I would hardly be doing any hunting any time soon. Not to mention I hunted with magic, so I didn't get any proper hunting skills. When looking at the barbarian classes, I felt embarrassed. The Interface recognised I had difficulties with my emotions and gave me a class related to that. But regardless, those emotions were not sustainable and would only lead to ruin. Giving in to anger was far from desirable, and the madness aspect of those classes was not enticing. [Geomancer] and [Crystallomancer] seemed the same. Both were earth-related so they would go well with my affinity. Geomancer seemed more stone focused and simpler. [Crystallomancer] was more specialised but more powerful, I would select [Crystallomancer]. Interface You have new subclasses available. Select one. Mason You have a talent for constructing buildings out of stone. You will receive skills related to masonry and will gain experience upon completing masonry related projects. Mineralogist You have a keen interest in the physical and chemical properties of minerals. You will receive skills related to mineralogy and will gain experience upon completing mineral-related research. Artisan You have general skill in the crafting of items. You will receive skills related to general craftsmanship and some experience upon completing a craft. Lapidary You have talent in the artistic use of stone and gems. You will receive skills related to lapidary and experience upon completing stone and gem crafts.

[Lapidary] seemed by far the best out of all the other options. Although I conjured bricks of stone, I would hardly call that masonry. I had not the slightest clue as to where to begin if I picked mineralogy. As for artisan, it was simply inferior compared to Lapidary. Why bother to not specialise when I had a built-in specialisation for stone and gems?