“Elder Folg, start the ceremony.”
“Yes, Chief.”
The old goblin, Folg, replied as he bowed before the chief seated upon his throne.
He stepped onto the stone path leading to the wooden platform and turned to face the crowd.
Raising his voice—rough, aged, yet commanding—he began.
“We here for young ones, like last birth ceremony and ones before.”
Though his language was broken, he spoke boldly.
The entire village fell silent.
The only sounds were the creaking of the worn throne and the uncomfortable shifting of the female hobgoblin sitting on the chief’s lap.
Folg’s gaze swept across the gathered goblins before he continued.
“Always sun bless our blood.”
Many in the crowd nodded in understanding.
Some even lowered themselves in reverence, whispering prayers to the sun.
Folg waited patiently for the murmurs to die down.
‘Seems they don’t interrupt prayers’.
Alruk thought.
“And every time our young step under sun before breeding season, we be blessed with strong warriors of sun.”
A smile spread across the elder’s face.
“And again, today, we see wonders of sun in young.”
Turning toward the gathered toddlers, Folg spoke once more.
“Young ones, this your first step in tribe.”
He raised his staff slightly.
“Say ‘Screen.'”
One by one, the infants spoke the word.
Screens appeared before them.
Many of the children flinched or cried out, frightened by the sudden floating displays they didn’t understand.
Alruk watched carefully, finally understanding the true purpose of this ceremony.
This was how the tribe evaluated its young—by viewing their records in the Archive and determining who was worthy of attention and resources.
The question now was simple.
‘Do I let them see my stats’?
If he did, they would immediately notice that something was different about him.
For a wild goblin tribe, different could mean dangerous.
Dangerous could mean death.
Alruk quickly weighed the possibilities.
‘I’ll decide when it’s my turn’.
The ceremony continued as the infants stepped forward one after another.
When the first child approached, Elder Folg raised his staff.
“Sun bless blood!”
The crowd erupted.
“Great Sun!”
“High Sun!”
“Praise Bright Sun!”
They cheered because the infant had awakened the tribe’s bloodline.
Alruk glanced at the screen and immediately recognized what they paid attention to.
[BLOODLINE: Solar Flare (Rare)]
It became clear that the tribe cared little about anything else.
Bloodline was everything.
Elder Folg instructed the child to say “Close,” then explained that the screen could be summoned again mentally whenever needed.
As Alruk watched, he came to a realization.
His bloodline was most likely a mutation.
Bloodline mutations were incredibly rare.
Sometimes they increased the grade of a bloodline.
Other times they weakened it.
Both outcomes were possible, though a positive mutation was considered extremely fortunate.
The chance of a mutation occurring was said to be only one in a thousand.
Furthermore, not every descendant inherited a bloodline.
Even among close relatives, it was normal for many children to receive nothing at all.
The higher the bloodline’s grade, the harder it was to pass on.
Time passed.
Occasionally, Folg would shout once more.
“Sun bless blood!”
Soon, it was Juff’s turn.
He stepped forward while Alruk waited directly behind him.
Juff’s screen appeared.
[NAME: Juff
RACE: Goblin
BLOODLINE: Solar Flare (Rare)
COMBAT CLASS: None
LIFESTYLE CLASS: None
QI: 50/50
STATS
Strength: 5
Speed: 3
Dexterity: 4
Stamina: 5
Intelligence: 4
AFFINITY: Fire (High), Earth (Low)
SKILLS:
Monster Language (Vulcan), World Language (Tebanik)]
Juff’s stats were decent for a young goblin.
Without mana, he would never learn Mana Sense and become a shaman—but that was normal.
Only around ten percent of the world’s population possessed both mana and qi.
“Sun bless blood!” Elder Folg shouted as Juff moved aside to join the others.
Then it was Alruk’s turn.
He stepped forward.
His screen appeared before him.
The moment Elder Folg saw it—
He screamed.
“SUN GREAT!
SUN BRIGHT!
SUN BLESS WITH STRONG BLOOD!”
The elder threw both hands into the air.
The entire tribe froze.
Even the chief, who had been far more interested in the hobgoblin woman on his lap than the ceremony itself, snapped his head upward.
And for the first time that day—
Every eye in the village focused on Alruk.