Bastion considered James’s predicament and could immediately trace the flow of fate from what he’d been told. As an archaeologist, James had the skills to eventually uncover that buried trove of resources and leverage it to grow strong enough to match or even surpass the goblin chief. The conclusion wasn’t hard to reach with the information at hand.

  It was also likely that he would gain full control of the tribe through some form of ritual combat. Although it was just as possible that the Chief would simply die in his sleep if there happened to be some rare Rank 4 poison they hadn’t discovered in the cavern yet.

  That would eventually place James as the next goblin chief since he was both smart enough and strong enough to take the position. And given James’s modern knowledge, he’d never consider turning the goblin tribe against the kingdoms, even if he had a real chance of winning.

  He understood how humans worked. Toppling one kingdom didn’t mean he’d be allowed to keep the spoils. The threat of imperial retaliation alone would be enough to stop him from ever attacking a human settlement, effectively nullifying the goblin tribe as a danger in the eyes of the gods.

  This all meant that James was well on his way to achieving his Great Fate without Bastion and the girls’ help, although they would have to give up some of the resources in the cavern. If they wanted to keep everything for themselves, they would need to replace what the resources provided, which meant personally killing the Chief themselves.

  Bastion turned to Seraphina, who was translating their conversation to the girls via telepathy, and immediately knew she was on board judging by the stars in her eyes. Lilia was still fixated on the resources in the cavern, while Ariel was very interested in a goblin she didn’t have to kill. Elyra was… well, Bastion didn’t think she particularly cared.

  “How strong is this goblin chief?” Bastion asked.

  “Easily a hundred times stronger than me. He can lug around warthog corpses like they weigh nothing,” James replied.

  “So Rank 3 for now, and he’ll likely start picking fights with the kingdoms once he reaches Rank 4. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been summoned,” Bastion concluded.

  “What do you mean by Rank 3 and 4?”

  “Oh, you don’t know about those? I guess that makes sense if you can’t even speak Common,” Bastion said, before explaining the power structure of Gaia as a whole, including the political landscape and what he knew about goblins in general.

  “So you’re telling me there’s an entire world out there, powered by the gods through some game-like mechanic, that considers goblins half-intelligent species and half monsters? That it’s purely up to their discretion whether to kill me on sight for being a goblin?”

  “It’s not that bad, I think, but essentially, yes. I can imagine plenty of people killing goblins, orcs, trolls, ogres, lamias, and harpies on sight rather than considering dialogue as their first option.”

  “I’m fucked. No wonder that bastard of a god wanted me to go to Subterra after my mission. I might have been killed on sight without knowing why if I decided to explore. And what the fuck is up with your power system? You kill things and grow stronger, while I have to eat shit and do random ass rituals for a decade just to reach my current, apparently Rank 1, level of power.”

  “Subterra?” Bastion asked, intrigued.

  “Rituals?” Lilia asked as well.

  “He didn’t explain anything, but judging by the name, it has something to do with going underground. There are plenty of unexplored tunnels in the goblin caves, so I was planning on going there if I managed to finish my mission.”

  That warranted a small investigation, Bastion thought. Nothing deep, just a little adventure to find out if there really was an entire world beneath Gaia’s crust and how things worked there compared to what he already knew about the surface. Maybe after this whole goblin business.

  “As for the rituals, they focus on strengthening the body with the help of ancestors, using offerings like ingredients or monster meat,” James explained as Lilia and Seraphina listened.

  He went on to describe how the magic worked, based on the markings he had read in the cave. It was a type of ancestral magic that relied on the power of past shamans instead of the elements.

  Seraphina and Lilia quickly lost interest. They had no ancestors to rely on, since they were probably still alive. On top of that, the burial rituals needed to make the magic work didn’t really apply to them, so it didn’t hold much appeal.

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  Returning to the topic at hand, Bastion asked for additional information. “What about the Tribe?”

  “We’re at 20,000 right now. It would have been more, but plenty of goblins were killed by the warthogs by accident, and the Chief kept insisting on taming them.”

  “What do you think, Seraphina?” Bastion asked.

  “I bet I could stack enough Rank 2 explosives to kill the Chief in one go,” Seraphina replied with an excited smile. It seemed she had developed some pyromaniac tendencies.

  “I don’t think explosives would work,” James said. “The Chief has this uncanny ability to detect danger. Any ambush we try probably wouldn’t be enough to kill him. If he is going to die, it would have to be in direct open combat, since he would never doubt his own victory even if his instincts were flaring.”

  “How do you know? I can make some pretty nasty explosives that could wipe out your entire tribe, let alone the Chief,” Seraphina said.

  “Mostly through stories from the goblins, but I did try poisoning him once and he just instinctively avoided all the poisoned food and drinks I sent his way. He just knows to avoid them but doesn’t know why.”

  “That doesn’t invalidate the option, especially if we can nail him point blank,” Bastion said. “It’s at least worth a try.”

  “I guess,” James muttered, though he sounded doubtful.

  “How do you feel about massacring the goblin tribe?” Bastion suddenly asked. “You’ve been living with them for a decade. I’m sure you’ve made some acquaintances.”

  “I’m pretty much a loner since I’m too smart for the rest of them to relate with. And have you met goblins? They’re pretty dumb most of the time.”

  “We’ve killed plenty of goblins,” Seraphina said, “but they’re just dungeon goblins, so I guess that doesn’t count.”

  “Well, they’re simple-minded creatures whose only priorities in life are food and sex. They don’t have a sense of progress and just live their lives one day at a time. Honestly, I miss being back in civilization,” James said.

  Bastion, however, could detect some doubt in James’s words. It seemed he was more attached to the tribe than he let on, judging by the slight panic from Bastion’s question as well as the small comfort he showed through his explanation.

  Still, it couldn’t be helped given the situation. Plenty of goblins would have to die for this plan to work. Ultimately, nothing had been decided yet, so Bastion turned to the girls.

  “What do you all think?”

  “I’m in,” Seraphina said. “I want to try making a really big bomb that can take down a Rank 3.”

  “I just want to start preparing the materials I’ve harvested,” Lilia said.

  “I don’t mind. Killing goblins shouldn’t be any worse than basilisks, right?” Ariel added.

  “I’ll follow whatever Master decides,” Elyra said.

  “It’s decided then,” Bastion declared. “We’ll help you take down the goblin chief.”

  “Thank you so much,” James said appreciatively.

  As they started to discuss the details, Bastion couldn’t help but think of another reason why he had agreed to help. It was for the sake of his Luck attribute, which had risen by 5 points when they entered the cavern and another 5 when they cornered James, totaling 30 at Rank 1.

  It seemed his Luck attribute increased each time he interacted with Great Fates. Perhaps taking down this goblin chief would further raise his Luck attribute, and he might gain additional perks if it reached the next rank. This little mission would serve as his first confirmation and shed light on this mysterious attribute.

  “So, what are we going to do specifically?” James asked. “I know you want to try bombing the Chief, but what else? What if he survives? What about his subordinates? What about the 20,000 goblins that’ll rush us if we fail?”

  “If the bombing fails, Elyra, Ariel, and I will try to bring the Chief down the old-fashioned way. I’m sure we can take him on ourselves. We have guns, after all,” Bastion said with a small shrug.

  “Right, the guns. I almost forgot about those. Any chance you have a spare?” James asked, eyes lighting up at the idea of finally getting a proper weapon.

  “No, but we can make one for you. It’ll take some time, though.”

  “We’ve got time,” Seraphina said. “I have some bombs to prepare, and we still need to empty the cavern of any resources we can carry.”

  “Right… about that.” James rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t suppose you’d let me do a little ritual? It should let me jump straight to Rank 2 so I can be better prepared for the fight.”

  “You’ll have to talk to Seraphina and Lilia about that,” Bastion said. “They’re the ones most interested in organic resources.”

  “Can we get in on this ritual?” Seraphina asked, leaning forward slightly.

  “I think so. There were no real specifications on the ritual requirements. You might not get the full effects, though, since it was designed with goblins in mind.”

  “What do you think, Lilia?” Seraphina asked.

  “If we can get some free attributes, I’m willing to give up my share,” Lilia replied with a calm nod.

  “Great!” James exclaimed, practically buzzing with excitement. “Let’s get right to it.”