Chapter 14.
Richard stood there for a moment, processing the sensation, and realized with amazement that he had just learned an entirely new language in the span of a few seconds, something that should have taken years of study or immersion, but the system had simply poured it into his head like water into a cup.
"Goblin god!"
"Goblin god!"
"Goblin god!"
The chanting reached his ears again, but this time, instead of meaningless sounds, Richard understood every single word, and his blood ran cold.
"W-What?" He blurted out loud, his eyes going wide as he stared at the goblins who were still chanting with their little faces full of devotion and worship.
Having learned the goblin tongue, Richard could finally understand what the goblins had been chanting for so long, but the moment he understood it, he was overwhelmed by disbelief, because they weren't thanking him, nor praising him as a friend or an ally or even a savior.
They were actually calling him a god?
****
Richard looked at the group of goblins gathered outside his fence, their small green faces staring up at him with wide, worshipful eyes.
Seeing those fantastical gazes, he knew he needed to get things organized before they got out of hand.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat, making sure he had their attention before he spoke. "Amongst you all, which one is the leader?"
He decided to ask this question first since talking to one goblin was far better than trying to talk to all of them at once, and if he wanted to control them efficiently in the future, he needed to have a spokesperson, someone who could speak for the rest and pass along his orders without confusion.
The goblins glanced at each other, murmuring amongst themselves in their strange tongue, it was clear that they were trying to decide who should step forward.
Some pointed at one another, others shook their heads, and a few seemed to be having a quiet argument about who was most worthy.
Eventually, a gruff looking goblin stepped out from the crowd, his chest puffed out and his chin held high as he approached Richard with a confident stride.
He was larger than the others, not by much, but enough to stand out, with broader shoulders and a few scar marks that suggested he had seen his share of fights.
"I strongest," the goblin said proudly, striking his chest with a closed fist to emphasize his point. "Goblin god choose me."
Seeing this, Richard couldn't help but frown a little bit, because he wanted someone intelligent to lead these creatures, someone who could think and plan and follow instructions, not some muscle brained brute who thought that being the strongest automatically made him the best choice for everything.
'System,' Richard thought silently, keeping his expression neutral as he studied the goblin before him. 'Create a passive skill I can turn off and on, something that can help me discern a person's capabilities. An appraisal skill, if you will.'
He paused for a moment, considering exactly what he needed. 'Bear in mind, it doesn't have to be too detailed or give me their whole life story, just something capable of revealing basic information like a person's potential, their age, their race, their name, and maybe a little bit about their personality with a small note about their character.'
[Understood.]
[Analysing creation cost]
[Price: 3 SP]
'Hmm...' Richard glanced at his remaining points, doing the mental math. 'It doesn't look too expensive, so I don't have to tweak the skill or try to make it cheaper. I'll take it as is.'
He thought for another moment before adding, 'Also, system, feel free to take your loan back as well. I'm tired of seeing that debt hanging over my head.'
[Understood]
[Deducting 3 SP for skill creation and 11 SP for loan from 29 remaining SP]
[Balance: 15 SP]
[Skill: "Appraisal" created.]
The moment the skill was created, Richard felt a strange tingling sensation behind his eyes, like something had shifted or adjusted itself, and then he saw several holographic panels emerging above the heads of the goblins all around him.
Every single one of them, whether male, female, old or young, had their own panel floating above them, revealing hidden information that he never would have known otherwise.
The panels were translucent and blue, easy to read but not so bright that they hurt his eyes, and each one contained a small collection of details about the goblin standing beneath it.
Richard started reading through them one by one, starting with the gruff looking goblin who had claimed to be the strongest.
******
[Name: Goby]
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Race: Goblin
Potential: 1 star
Personality: Competitive
Note: Tends to be distracted by women a lot.
*****
Richard raised an eyebrow at the note but moved on to the next panel, curious about what the other goblins looked like on paper.
*****
[Name: Goblina]
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Race: Goblin
Potential: ½ star
Personality: Quiet and subtle
Note: Is rather accepting towards most things but won't hesitate to stand up when provoked.
*****
He continued scanning through the crowd, reading panel after panel as the goblins watched him with confused expressions, not understanding why their god had suddenly gone silent and still.
*****
[Name: Gobu]
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Race: Goblin
Potential: ½ star
Personality: Observant and innovative
Note: Tends to limit his creativity due to fear of being shunned by others.
*****
Eventually, Richard had skimmed through every single panel that had appeared, reading names and ages and personalities until his eyes started to feel tired, but the ones that stuck with him the most were mostly the panels of Goblina, Gobu, and Goby, because they seemed to have the most interesting notes and the most potential out of everyone present.
Out of every goblin standing in that clearing, Goby, the one who had claimed to be the strongest just a few minutes ago, was the only one who displayed a 1 star potential rating. Everyone else was either half a star or less, with a few having no stars at all.