"This kid will surely bring lots of blessings to this land," A soft voice said.
"You think? We'll see... He is the first---" The voice fades.
"Ughh... What's with this smell of something burning..." Ioki slowly opens his eyes.
The Goblins that were resting were now crowding Ioki, offering him food and drinks.
"Chief! Eat this!"
"Drink this first, Chief!"
"Let him rest first, you morons!"
The wolf licked Ioki's cheek upon seeing him waking up.
Ioki patted the wolf as it playfully wagged its tail and barked cheerfully.
"Brother! You've been sleeping for the past couple of hours! How do you feel?" Mr. Turtle typed.
Ioki looked at the chat window while putting his palm on his temple, "I forgot you guys actually were watching me."
"CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" DarkFlame typed.
"You have eyes yourself. You just witnessed it as well. This kid just defeated a Goblin Chieftain, created a special quest, and put a battalion under his command," Duckduck typed.
"Ignore him... He is an idiot," Ihatelife typed.
"Now, after seeing the viewers list... There are new names... Tons of them!" Ioki exclaimed, "There were only 10 viewers, but now there are 57! Woah!"
"Kid, wanna join my guild? The Crossed Moon is looking for new members!" Aries6 typed.
"It's been the 3rd time I've changed LIVE... please, can I just enjoy a LIVE where I don't see your guild name?!" BiggieGin typed.
The chat went wild as they tried to catch Ioki's attention. Some were offering to party, some still pushed their invitation to Ioki, some even pried into his details...
"Wow, stop there! Just let it be known that I don't intend to join any guild, nor will I be joining any party soon enough! I will only be playing this game for 3 days in game time... I won't be playing this game again for a reason." Ioki explained
The chat suddenly was flooded with tons of chats and notifications of people joining the chat.
"Brother, what do you mean by that?" Mr. Turtle typed.
"I got my circumstances. I didn't go to school today for some reason, and well... I ended up in a capsule net. I went ahead and rented a capsule for 6 hours, so that would be 3 days in total, right? So please, let us enjoy this moment to the fullest!" Ioki replied.
"Do you want big sis to give you a capsule? Or if you want, you can even come into my apartment (つ≧▽≦)つ," Ms. Maria typed.
"This is not a matter of whether or not I want a capsule; this is simply me telling you that I will stop playing the day after tomorrow. I don't even know what would happen if my parents figured out if I skipped school..." Ioki explained once again.
While he explained his circumstances, the chat was asking more questions.
Paying no attention to such things, Ioki saw how the Goblins were staring at him as if he were talking to a ghost.
Ioki explained, "Ah, I am talking to the spirits of the forest! They were whispering bad words to me!"
"It's probably because this is a haunted forest! Lots of other tribes and guided souls went down by Rag---"
Before it could finish its sentence, another Goblin hit its head.
"Stop saying the former Chieftain's name! It's disrespectful!"
Ioki could see the expression of the Goblins were sad at the mention of Ragthar's name.
"So that's the problem... You guys have been holding yourself back. I respect Ragthar as an opponent; seeing how he treats all of you with kindness made me look at him as a father figure." Ioki said as he looked at the Goblins.
"The former Chieftain is the only kind one! He treats us all the same while sharing the loot equally!"
"He always tells us to eat first even though he hasn't eaten any meat..."
"He is our guardian..."
The Goblins replied that they were remembering their glory days with Ragthar as their Chieftain. The nostalgic mood they went in affected the atmosphere.
Some of the Goblins laughed, some cried... These mobs have their own things going on for them, even though it looked like they simply served as Experience Points.
In truth, they have their life going for them; they could converse, they have emotions, they... They are just like Humans...
Even the once furious wolf is now waggling its tail on Ioki's side.
"That's what I want to address first. There is no way I could replace Ragthar... He is just one of a kind; even I wish for him to be someone on my side." Ioki replied with a sorrowful tone.
"Alas, you lost your Chieftain, and here I am... That's why, please have it easy and reminisce your Chieftain! Speak of his name even louder! Talk about him till you get tired of talking about him! Call his name till the wind itself whispers his name into the ears of the other tribes!" Ioki exclaimed.
"RAGTHAR! RAGTHAR! RAGTHAR!" The Goblins shouted in unison.
"Even though you've gone first to Valhalla, we are in good hands! Fight to your heart's content, Chief!"
Slowly, the shouts turn into the familiar chant.
"Under the blue heaven, Goddess Terra, bless our journey to the end of the Earth. O' Ragthar the brave! Crush the path forward!" The Goblins sang.
"O' Goddess Terra, watch as we embark on our new journey under the brave Human Ioki!"
As Ioki heard the once-foreign chant enter his ear, he couldn't help but shiver in awe.
"Ioki, may we send the one standing against us into Valhalla under your guidance!"
"Let our stories reach Valhalla!"
The Goblins sang as the skies darkened and cold winds blew over the Battalion. The once calm orange flame is now dancing wildly, revealing the wooden ember as it slowly glows.
As the night arrives, the newly forged bond between Ioki and the Battalion is slowly blooming as their chants get louder into the night.
"You've reached maximum affinity with the Goblin Battalion. You have their utmost respect!"
A blue window popped up.
"Goblin Whisperer | Grade: Unique
You've reached maximum affinity with a Goblin.
Bonus: Goblin's Tongue (Passive), You will have an easier time conversing with any Goblins, Goblin's Horn, Cha +10."
"ANOTHER UNIQUE TITLE!" DarkFlame typed.
"Shouldn't you check on your level and the stat points now? You have leveled up around 18 Levels in total. You got 5 stats each level, which means 90 points to be allocated." Absusbsj typed.
Ioki then opened his status window and saw his stats.
v Ioki
v Lvl: 21 | Job: None
v Str: 28
v Dex: 28
v Con: 28
v Int: 28
v Wis: 28
v Cha: 38
Ø Stats Points: 100
"What the... 100 stats points available, but all his stats are way above mine on average even though we only have a few levels difference..." StrayDog typed.
"Hehe~ that's what you get if you are kind! If you keep on giving, then the world will give back." Ioki replied smugly.
"I've given half of my life savings and my resignation letter when this game came out, yet you are saying a kid that just played for not even a day already had his stats close to mine? I want to die..." Ihatelife typed.
Ioki laughed a little bit at one of his viewer's remarks.
"By the way, talking about Ashen Fantasy. There must be something like secret stats, right? I mean there are tons of secrets because of the game itself, operated by the Terminus AI," Ioki asked.
"There are secret stats indeed as the hidden mechanic. Let us make a fair trade; how does that sound, brother?" Mr. Turtle typed.
"What kind of trades are you offering?" Ioki replied.
"Tell me about your titles, and I will tell you about all the hidden stats that I know of!" Mr. Turtle replied.
"The hidden stats are as follows: Luc, Agi, Vit, Chr, Per. These stats are hidden with certain rules, or you need to upgrade them until they get advanced and evolve into a new branch, e.g., Charisma will unlock Charm." Absusbsj typed.
"Woah, someone just explained it to me for free... I'm sorry, Mr. Turtle..." Ioki said in awe.
"..." Mr. Turtle typed.
"My groups have been messing around and found a lead to another possible 3 or 4 hidden stats. Tell me about your titles, and I will give you everything I know," Absusbsj typed.
"Deal!" Ioki replied.
"Wait for me by the fountain at Ruina when the day changed." Absusbsj typed.