Chapter 2 - Of stats and skills

~Hey, author here. I'm from a country that uses the metric system, but since I like to be inclusive I'll graciously add a translated measurement in feet and pounds and Fahrenheit where needed so you don't need to google to get a grasp on sizes and temperatures etc~

I slowly come to, my breathing slightly hampered by a little blue goblin laying across my chest. It seems both of us have grown in the time I've been asleep. World Knowledge did mention that Goblins reach 75% of their adult size in a week or so. too bad I have no real comparison to gauge my size to.

*An adult un-Evolved Goblin rarely gets higher than 120 cm (ca 3.93 feet) tall, females tend to be slightly smaller than males; you're currently about 40 cm (ca 1.3 feet) tall.*

Aha. That answers that I guess. I gently remove my brother from my chest and sit upright. Looking around I see that most of my other siblings are still sleeping, only moving to reposition  themselves into a better spot in the pile. Me and the little blue goblin, I'll nickname him Blue for now, are a little bit away from the rest of the group, but I don't mind. Even in my old life I was never one for physical contact, unless I initiated it myself.

I then survey the outside of the nest. We're, predictably, in a cave. Not a rocky one though, seems like this one was more or less excavated from the dirt, probably the founders of this cave just dug straight into a cliff or a hill. There is an adult laying on a pile of dried grass not too far from the nest, I'm guessing they're the baby-sitter. Since the adult is sleeping, I suspect it's currently night, unless goblins are active during the night in which case it'd be day?

*Goblins are typically active in the time where there are the least amount of predators around, which varies from habitat to habitat. There is no real way to know the time of day without seeing the sky at the moment*

I... see. Oh well, I can at least tell that it is sleep time. Before I settle back down, I want to confirm something. I inspect my body, hoping something will tell me more about my current state, there seems to be some sort of tutorial system in place, so there might be some sort of status or stat display? Innate World Knowledge called itself a Skill after all.

*Do you want to display your stats?*

I reply with yes in my head.

*Displaying stats*

Name: Unnamed

Species: Goblin (Goblinoid)(Common)

Gender: Female

HP: 10 (100%)

MP: 10 (100%)

SP: 7 (100%)

Attack: 2

Armor: 3

Magic Attack (M.Attack): 5

Magic Armor (M.Armor):5

Speed: 2

Strenght (STR): 2

Constitution (CON): 2

Intelligence (INT): 5

Willpower (WIL): 5

Dexterity (DEX): 2

Skills:

Innate World Knowledge (True - Unique)  -  Language Comprehension: Goblin (Great)

Teamwork (Lesser)  -  Power Osmosis (True - Fated - Unique)

Condition Resistance: Poison (Lesser)  -  Condition Resistance: Disease (Lesser)

Hardy Digestion (Normal)

Social Titles:

Compassionate  -  Makeshift Midwife

Huh, I seem to have a very basic stat spread with a focus on magic? Also I'm resistant to poison and disease it seems. The social titles are weird though, what do they do? also this "Power Osmosis (True - Fated - Unique)" gives me a bad feeling. What does Fated mean?

*Social titles affect how other living things interact with you, for example, Compassionate makes others more willing to accept your help, Makeshift Midwife makes it easier to safely deliver or hatch babies, but has a lesser effect than the proper Midwife title.

Next: The suffixes behind the skills denote their tier, there are four normal tiers, and one tier only available through extraordinary means. The tier scale goes like:

-Lesser - Small and limited effect, but not so small that you could have performed just as well without it.

-Normal - A medium effect with few drawbacks

-Great - Additional effects are added and the overall utility of the skill goes up

-Grand - Great effects and even better added utilities, hard to reach in one lifetime. Less advanced versions of Skills do not reach this tier, instead they convert into the Lesser tier of the more advanced Skill when reaching Great tier and then achieving enough expertise with it.

-True - Not normally available, Skills cannot reach this rank through practice. Enormous benefits are granted from skills with this tier.

The other suffixes denote these properties:

-Unique - Is unique to the individual, or in the case of Unique("Species") it is unique to the species as a whole, meaning only the individual or the species can obtain and use the Skill.

-Fated - The Skill is granted by the Divine for the purpose of aiding in the completion of a designated task. Unfortunately there is no way to know the task or how to complete it just from the information the skill gives. Many Fated skills are also True skills.

Finally, the description of Power Osmosis:

"By landing the final blow on an opponent, absorb the life essence of the entity and convert it into Core Stat boosts and Skill Acquisition.

True tier: No loss when converting life essence into Core Stats and Skills (first time bonus upon slaying a member of a species; after this, convert Stats and Skills at 50% loss when slaying other members of the same species), Skills can be obtained regardless of ability to use them or uniqueness.

Fated: the holder of this skill is fated to accomplish great things that will surely alter the course of history

Unique: This Skill is one of a kind and only the current user can have it."*

O-oh. H-holy shit. So in true isekai fashion I've got a completely broken skill. Sure. I mean I still have to actually kill things to get the boost. But if i can increase my stats forcefully through this skill, how does one normally increase ones stats? I didn't see an EXP gauge or anything when I looked at my stat display.

*In the case of monsters, their stats increase as they age and experience life, using a predetermined pattern dependent on their genetic disposition. In the case of humanoids (non-monster) it follows the same pattern, but humanoids rely more heavily on equipment to grant Stats and Skills, and even a single Goblin could pose a danger to a poorly equipped humanoid*

So this isn't a world of only monsters, there's humanoids here as well. I'm guessing since I haven't encountered any yet I have no way of knowing their names and/or how many types of humanoid there are...

*Correct*

I see. I yawn as I lie back down to sleep some more. Blue immediately worms his way on top of me again.

I wake with a great hunger in my soul. I yearn for food! It seems that my siblings also desire food, as what actually woke me up was the cacophony of "geeeh" and "grooo" that currently fills the cavern. I wiggle free of Blue, who is still half asleep, and crawl over to the edge of the nesting-box. There's several adults carrying in a plate (more like an upturned shield?) covered in a pile of meat. The meat seems to be raw, and roughly ripped into baby-goblin sized chunks. My mouth water at the sight of it, I just hope my resistances prevents me from getting worms or something equally terrible.

*Goblins are also carrion eaters, and they are even able to digest bone fragments should times be especially hard. What a goblin wont eat is truly inedible (or very poisonous)*

Oh so I don't have to worry too much. I hope at least. Thanks for easing my mind, World Knowledge.

It seems the others have also noticed the imminent feast. They crowd around the edge of the nest that is closest to the plate. The fragile nesting box overturns and a horde of roughly fifteen baby goblins descend on the food before them.

I quickly maneuver myself to the side of the shield/platter that has the fewest siblings, and beckon Blue over to me. He crawls with all his speed towards me as I start securing pieces of meat from the plate, taking care not to lose fingers in the process.

By the time Blue has reached me, most of the food is gone, and as he tries to grab at some pieces, the others quickly move to prevent him from getting any.

The moment he has a piece snatched from him, I reach over to the thief and firmly pinch them on the back of their hand, forcing them to drop the stolen meat. I quickly grab the reclaimed meat, take a small bite and hand it back to Blue.

I'll look out for him, but I will not give free handouts. If he wants to eat an untasted piece of meat, he will have to defend himself. He seems to grasp this, and after scarfing down the first piece, he starts imitating my technique for getting thieves to drop the meat they steal.

*Social Title earned: Runt Defender*

*Runt Defender: Other Goblins try their best to freeze out or outright ignore the runt of a litter. they usually have less than average potential, and in the hard knock world of a goblin tribe, a member is only worth as much as it can contribute. You however go against tradition, believing that all life has a role it can fill, it just needs a chance to find it. You're seen as weird by other goblins, but they can see the potential for a kind and caring leader in you.*

*This Social Title affects future Evolution options*

Oh nice, a Social Title. Though the description of it seems to ascribe a philosophy to me that I'm not sure I actually follow. I just know how its like to be the sickly one and I don't want others to feel sad.

I eat until I'm full, and there's not really anything left on the platter to eat even if I was hungry still. Blue seems to have gotten his fill too, and the others eventually decided it was more hassle than it was worth to try to keep the food from him.

The next two days fell into a rhythm. We'd sleep, eat and then train our bodies by playing with each other, usually roughhousing or chases. Typical baby play.

I'd make sure the others weren't too rough on each other, and the weaker siblings would come crying to me to avenge their bruises.

*Social Title earned: Big Sister*

*Big Sister: Your siblings look to you for protection and support, and they're more likely to obey your directions*

That should come in handy later. On the morning of my fifth day of life as a goblin, I get a notification:

*Stat requirements met*

*Please select an element to gain affinity in:

- Life

- Death

- Light

- Dark

- Earth

- Fire

- Water

- Air*

I consider my options, all of these are basic elements that are present in most games in some form of another. What does it mean with affinity? Will I be better at things related to the element?

*Elemental Affinity is required for even basic spell-casting. Gaining affinity will also teach two Spells directly related to the chosen element. The number of spells you can learn is governed by the INT stat.*

Aha, so I'll be able to learn and use spells related to the element, and I'll get two for free. So what should I pick?

Death would probably be devastating spells aimed at destruction. Light and Dark seem to be alignment type spells? Like they might do the same but with different flair?

And then there's Water, Fire, Earth and Air. Manipulating the environment and/or make it out of thin air?

Of course what I'm most interested in is Life. Healing injuries and curing diseases would be super good to have as a monster close to the bottom of the power-scale.

I pick Life

*Skill obtained: Element Affinity: Life (Lesser)*

*Enables the holder of this Skill to cast Life aligned Magic*

*Spell obtained: Heal (Lesser)*

*Heals small scrapes and wounds (up to 12.5% of targets max HP restored per cast)*

*Spell obtained: Cure (Lesser)*

*Removes status effects of tier (Lesser) or below, status effects of a higher tier needs multiple casts to remove.*

Sweet! I can now treat my siblings for injuries and such if/when they get hurt.

I quickly scan my still sleeping brothers and sisters and start casting Heal on the ones that have less than 100% HP.

It seems I can cast about 10 spells before running out of MP. I feel very tired once I'm empty on MP, and my SP converts into MP at roughly 1% SP for 5% MP. It still takes a while to recover though, and I'm not liking how hungry it makes me. Is there a way to recover MP without expending SP?

*Not that you know of*

Ehh, why the attitude. I guess I'll be looking for monsters with skills along the line of "MP recovery" or something, then. Also I've been seeing everyone's stats and I cant seem to make out their total HP or any other stat. It's just displaying in percentages. Wouldn't it be better to see it in number/number format?

*Enable Advanced Stat display?*

(Warning: Not intended for use during combat as the mental toll the advanced display puts on the mind can cause anything from: Lapsed attention, delayed reactions, pauses at inopportune times, general degradation of combat performance)

*Yes - No*

I answer yes in my head, and then inspect the stat display of Blue as a test

Name: Unnamed ("Blue")

Species: Goblin (Color variation) (Goblinoid) (Uncommon)

Gender: Male

HP: 15/15

MP: 15/15

SP: 10/10

Attack: 5

Armor: 8 (+2 Vs Cold)

M.Attack: 7

M.Armor: 8 (+2 Vs Cold)

Speed: 10

STR: 5

CON: 7

INT: 7

WIL: 7

DEX: 10

Skills:

Language Comprehension: Goblin (Great)  -  Teamwork (Lesser)

Condition Resistance: Poison (Lesser)  -  Condition Resistance: Disease (Lesser)

Hardy Digestion (Normal)  -  Element Resistance: Cold (Lesser)

Social Titles:

Runt

His stats are higher than mine? He also has resistance to Cold, is that a magical element? I didn't get to chose that one when picking my affinity, I feel cheated!

*It's been 2 days since you first checked your stats, they should have grown along with your body in that time.

Cold is a "Compound Element" created from the unity of Water and Dark. Affinity in both base elements is needed for Elemental Affinity: Cold to be available. His resistance to this element can be deduced to be caused by his position in the nest during incubation.*

Oh so since he was on the edge of the egg-pile, he was cold in his egg, and when he survived it he got the resistance.

*Most likely*

Based on my knowledge from the title Runt Defender, the Runt title makes the other goblins not like him very much I guess. So all of that caused by positioning. Jeez, makes me glad I got lucky in my positioning.

The others are starting to stir, and an older looking goblin has just entered the "room" (it's more of a small bulge off the main cave path though).

"Line up" was the simple command given to us.

My siblings, Blue included, immediately shake the sleep from their bodies and scramble to line up in front of the older goblin. I hesitantly follow their lead, unsure about what is going on. By now our limbs were developed enough for them to hold our weight when walking, so I walked up next to Blue and stood by him. He seemed very nervous, glancing from the elder, to me, and then to his feet.

The elder then starts at the opposite line from where I'm standing, looking my siblings up and down, nodding or shaking his head before directing them to stand in a spot. He seems to be building up teams? Poor Blue has started shaking in fear and seem to be on the verge of crying.

I lean over to him and stroke his head. He looks at me with big wet eyes.

"Not danger. Goblin protect goblin." If I could, I would have used more words. The goblin language is crude and basic however, not unlike stereotypical caveman-speech. There is also no written language, so part of the skill tiers for language is completely useless for "goblineese".

Blue nods, breathes in deep and tries to steady his trembling. The goblin next to him is directed to his own spot, away from the groups that have already been formed.

The elder gets to Blue, and as he is inspected, I perform an inspection on the elder myself.

Name: Unnamed

Species: Goblin Shaman (Goblinoid)(Uncommon)

Gender: Male

HP: 50/60

MP: 100/100

SP: 25/50

Attack: 25 (+25 from Staff)

Armor: 45 (+2 from Rags)

M.Attack: 75 (+10 from Staff)

M.Armor: 50 (+0 from Rags)

Speed: 40 (-0 from Rags)

STR: 25 *MAX*

CON: 30 *MAX*

INT: 65

WIL: 35

DEX: 30 *MAX*

Skills:

Language Comprehension: Goblin (Great)  -  Teamwork (Great)

Leadership (Great)  -  Elemental Affinity: Life (Great)

Elemental Affinity: Light (Normal)  -  Elemental Affinity: Dark (Normal)

Spellcasting Affinity: Bolster (Great)  -  Spellcasting Affinity: Weaken (Normal)

Wide-Casting (Grand)  -  Damage Resistance: Physical (Normal)

Condition Resistance: Poison (Great)  -   Condition Resistance: Disease (Great)

Hardy Digestion (Great)    Guard Share (Grand - Unique(Goblin Shaman))

Spells:

Restore (Normal)  -  Great Heal (Normal)

Empower (Normal)  -  Barrier (Lesser)

Weaken (Normal)  -   Crumple Defenses (Great)

Social Titles:

Runt Defender    -   Tribe Leader

Big Brother   -   Lifesaver

Long Lived

Equipment:

Wooden Staff (+25 Atk, +10 Matk)

Filthy Cloth Rags (+2 Def, +0 MDef)

So this is the leader of the bunch. A goblin shaman. Is he an evolved Goblin or is he just a Goblin that has the role of Shaman?

*Goblin Shaman is one of many first Evolutions a Goblin can undergo. The Goblin Shaman can then Evolve into other kinds of Goblinoids, but since it usually has an important role in the community, there's often little reason or will to evolve further. They specialize in support and healing, and usually end up leading the tribe due to their usefulness and longevity.*

The Shaman has finished inspecting Blue, and points him to the same spot as the goblin before him. Blue sends a nervous glance at me, I smile back reassuringly. The elder then goes before me and looks me up and down. His eyes widen and seems to double check something. He then turns around to think, before absentmindedly pointing me to where Blue and the other goblin male are standing.

Walking to the main section of the cave, he then turns back around as if he forgot something, and instructs: "Go with group Shaman set up, hunt, learn, survive. Night danger, return before night"

Then he walks off, deeper into the cave, seemingly completely lost in his own thoughts.