The goblins stared at me, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, as I stacked the corpses one by one.
The pile kept growing—Direwolf after Direwolf, all of them thick-furred and massive, their bodies heaped like firewood for a festival no one wanted to attend.
By the time I stopped, the mound had risen taller than most of them.
"Chief... y-you..." Zzok stammered, his eyes darting from me to the corpse mountain. "You killed all of these?"
Zzok promptly fell to his backside, stunned silent. His mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air. He had seen strong goblins before—his previous chief had been no slouch—but this... this was beyond anything he’d imagined.
Then, without warning, he bowed low to the ground.
"Chief! I devote my life to you. I swear it."
That came out of nowhere.
Before I could even blink, Thok—who had just regained consciousness, still swaying a little on his feet—lurched forward into a deep bow. His forehead hit the stone with an audible thunk.
I winced. That couldn’t have felt good.
"Totem, use me as you please. I pledge my servitude." Thok shouted. His voice oddly articulate.
Thok? When did you start speaking like that?
Last I checked, he could barely form a sentence.
Then it happened all at once.
Goblin after goblin dropped to their knees, shouting.
I blinked, turning around in confusion.
When did they all wake up?
A moment ago, half the room was asleep—or unconscious. Now every goblin in the chamber was kneeling, their faces alight.
I blinked in amusement.
Something about the sudden wave of kneeling goblins felt... different. There was genuine awe in their eyes—real, chest-thumping loyalty.
I activated [Analyze], scanning their loyalty levels, and saw they’d spiked.
Zarah... the only one for me: 100.
Even the ones I hadn’t memorized by name—half the background goblins—were now showing 99s and 100s across the board.
I couldn’t help but feel a little giddy. It was my display—this brutal, bloody stack of dominance—that had shifted their hearts. As I’d suspected, goblins respected one thing above all else: power.
And nothing screamed power like killing their symbol of fear—the Mooncat—and dragging in over a dozen Direwolves solo. No normal goblin would even face one.
Flogga hobbled toward me with slow, deliberate steps, her walking stick tapping softly against the stone. She didn’t kneel—her bones probably wouldn’t allow it—but she bowed her head in respect, which, coming from her, meant more than a full-body prostration.
"Totem, forgive me. My knees aren’t what they used to be."
"No problem," I said, waving it off. Honestly, I didn’t want her to kneel. She was old—clearly—and a respected elder. More importantly, she was a valuable asset to the clan, even if her face gave me nightmares.
"So... can I leave this mess to you?" I nodded toward the pile of bodies.
"Of course, Totem," she said, practically bouncing on her heels. "I’ll get the others working immediately."
Her eyes sparkled like a child in a candy shop.
"With so many fresh specimens, I’ll have all the organs I need for potions and poisons. Hehehe..."
She grinned—revealing her teeth again.
I turned away reflexively, disturbed.
Just when I was starting to get used to her...
Then I noticed Zarah standing at the edge of the room, frozen like she’d seen a ghost.
I walked toward her, slowly.
The moment I got close, she dropped to her knees in apology.
"Totem... I’m sorry. I should’ve stayed calm. I shouldn’t have doubted you."
I crouched beside her and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"
She nodded quickly. "Yes..." Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. She looked up just long enough for our eyes to meet—then dropped her gaze like she’d touched a hot coal. Her cheeks flushed red, and she twisted a strand of hair nervously between her fingers.
"You must be exhausted," Flogga said as she walked past, already assigning work to the others. Zzok and the rest began hauling bodies. Thok tried to help too—but ended up buried under a particularly large Direwolf.
Flogga was right—I was dead tired. My limbs were numb, and every muscle ached.
"Alright then. I’ll trust you to handle things. Wake me if anything happens."
But then Flogga added—casually, almost like she was suggesting a midnight snack—
"If you’d like... Zarah could accompany you."
A brief pause followed.
"WHAT?!" Zarah shouted, her face turning crimson. "Wh-what are you even saying?!"
"Isn’t that what you want?" Flogga asked innocently.
"NO! NO, NO!" Zarah waved her hands in a panic. "What are you saying, Ma!?"
I chuckled quietly at the scene. Too tired to say anything. Too tired to take Flogga seriously.
I just made my way to the small room carved out of the cave.
It wasn’t much—just a mat on the ground, a few wooden crates stacked as furniture, and a flickering torch stuck into a crack in the wall. But right now, it looked like paradise.
I collapsed onto the mat, lying flat on my back.
Then I summoned the system.
Title: The Chosen Leader
(Available Points to Distribute: 12)
Innate Skill: [Phase Walker] (SSS)
Passive Skills: [Analyze (N)] [Iron Fist (E)] [Roar of Intimidation (C)]
Active Skills: [Stealth (C)]
I had leveled up four times just from wiping out the Direwolf pack. Seven levels total in one night. Insane.
I’d already spent the earlier points, but now I had twelve more to assign.
I considered spending them—but my eyes were already fluttering shut.
I’d decide in the morning.
Sleep crept in, heavy and warm. My mind drifted...
But something tugged at the edge of my thoughts. Like I’d forgotten something important...
[Daily Quest will end in 1 minute]
[You have not completed today’s Daily Quest]
[Failure to complete will result in Penalty]