Alruk looked at the chief in surprise.
The two remained silent for a while.
It wasn’t that Alruk didn’t want to become the chief of the tribe.
In fact, that had always been part of his plan.
To change the way monsters were viewed by the other races, he would first need to unite the four monster races.
But to do that, he would need influence over them.
And to gain that influence, he would first have to become the chief of his own tribe.
He just hadn’t expected the chief to want him as his successor.
Sighing as he organized his thoughts, Alruk asked calmly,
“Why me?”
He wanted to understand the reasoning behind the chief’s decision.
The chief remained quiet as he watched several young goblins training with wooden swords.
“I am getting old,” he finally said.
“Soon my body will no longer be able to handle the responsibilities of being chief.”
Silence followed.
Alruk knew what he said was true.
The hobgoblin before him was roughly equivalent to a human in his sixties.
It was already remarkable that he had managed to keep the tribe together for so long without ranking up.
“Why not Ruft?”
Ruft was the other hobgoblin.
In a wild goblin tribe like this, strength was supposed to be the most important thing.
It was well known that, after the chief, Ruft was the strongest.
“Ruft can’t lead the tribe forward,” the chief replied flatly.
“All he knows is strength—his own strength.”
He continued,
“I want the tribe to remain long after I am gone.
I want it to grow stronger together.”
“If he becomes chief, Ruft will only think about making himself stronger, not the tribe.
The strong may grow stronger, yes, but the weak will grow weaker and be trampled.”
“That could lead to the tribe’s destruction.”
After saying this, he looked directly at Alruk.
“But you will not,” he said with certainty.
“It already shows in the way you help the tribe with even the smallest things, and in how you train the goblins from your age group.”
A slight smile appeared on his face.
“That is the mark of a true goblin chief.”
The chief had watched the adolescents training under Alruk every day.
He knew the tribe needed stronger warriors, and somehow the training Alruk provided was more effective than the traditional methods used by the tribe.
He didn’t know how Alruk did it, but he knew it had all started when Alruk was very little.
At first, everyone thought it was simply a game the children played.
Perhaps back then, it really had been.
But later, he noticed them repeating the same routine every day, even going so far as to tie stones to their bodies to increase the weight they carried.
That was when he realized it was genuine training.
He never questioned how they had come up with it.
He simply assumed that, through play, they had discovered they could become stronger by repeating those activities.
Alruk remained silent for a moment before speaking again.
“How chief make me next chief?”
“Tribe not agree.”
Not only was he not the strongest, but he was also very young.
If the chief simply declared him his successor, the tribe would likely reject the decision.
“True.
They will not accept it now,” the chief admitted.
“But if you are given important responsibilities within the tribe, it will become easier.”
Alruk had to admit the chief was very clever.
Because of his current lack of strength, the only forms of power he could build were influence and reputation.
An important role would help him increase both.
“What role chief give?” he asked, already planning ahead.
But the chief simply shook his head.
“You will hear the announcement tomorrow, after the maturity ritual is completed.”
“For now, think of ways to catch the beasts we need for carrying heavy loads.”
“You also need to prepare for your first hunt the day after tomorrow.”
With that, the chief dismissed him, allowing him to return to his tree.
As Alruk walked back, he continued thinking about their conversation.
It was unexpected coming from a goblin chief who had never been exposed to civilization.
Nearly all of the chief’s thoughts revolved around improving the tribe’s future.
Although he was ruthless and crude in many ways, he genuinely cared for his people.
Only a true leader thought about the future of those under his care, even knowing he might never live long enough to see that future.
As for catching beasts for labor, Alruk already had the perfect plan.
As for the new role the chief planned to give him…
He would simply have to wait until tomorrow.
When he reached his tree, he prepared for his daily training.
He picked up several stones tied together with ropes made from vines and fastened them around his ankles, wrists, waist, and shoulders before beginning his exercises.
The more civilized races used gravity rooms to place pressure on adolescents, tempering their bodies and accelerating the growth of their stats.
He had no access to such equipment in this life.
So he made do with stones.
Alruk didn’t need to call the others.
As always, within a few minutes, several adolescent goblins joined him.
Like him, they had stones tied to different parts of their bodies, though each carried different amounts depending on their strength.
It had always been this way.
Alruk had taught them to train with him every single day without fail.
Over time, they developed a consistent routine that everyone could follow.
Of course, not everyone participated.
Some goblins still followed the tribe’s traditional training methods.
After all, the tribe had its own training routines long before Alruk was born.
The difference was that Alruk’s methods were more structured, targeting several stats at once.
He also assigned weapon training based on each goblin’s natural talent.
Only Draz was exempt, as he was still too young.
Alruk continued training even after several of the others had already become exhausted.
That was part of his philosophy.
If he himself couldn’t endure the training plan, then what was the point of creating it?
Still, he never looked down on the others.
He knew his stats already surpassed theirs.
By noon, they had all finished training before heading to the kitchen to collect their portions of breakfast.
After eating, Alruk climbed back into his tree.
As he lay down to rest, one thought lingered in his mind.
‘Tomorrow is the ceremony’.
‘And the day after…
my first hunt’.
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