Feeling like ha had reached a higher realm for the briefest moment, Arthur saw the world in slow motion. All of his stats except for mana were amplified by his Legacy rune, not just his strength. This meant his perception reached a height where the chief's movements were in slow motion for him.
With his dagger in hand, he slashed at the chief who dodged just in time to avoid being killed. However, his arm couldn't be saved as it fell on the floor, rivers of blood gushing out. The chief roared in agony as he used his left arm to pick up a giant chipped sword, striking at Arthur who has just maneuvered his body to land on his feet.
His mana was already drained but he used his Restore-I rune, making mana resurge in his body from the outside world. He knew this rune would leave his body unable to use mana, but he doubted he needed any to defeat the others.
He used his shadow swap again and reappeared behind the monster that has been slashing at him. With a jump and a piercing motion, Arthur penetrated the chief's neck, ending its life.
It has been a short battle, but Arthur has gone all out in it. Strength was the undeniable truth in fighting determining who wins and who loses in an instant. If the goblin had been stronger, Arthur wouldn't have been able to kill it this easily.
He could hear chaos on the outside, and Arthur had to hurry. He picked up the high-mid-tier mana core from the ground and used his absorb rune.
[Strength has increased by 1.]
[Strength has increased by 1.]
[Strength has increased by 1.]
[Unique Skill has been absorbed: Goblin's Bond (Unique)]
[Goblin's Bond (Unique): Establish a bond with submitted goblins.]
[Strength-II rune has been obtained.]
[Agility-II rune has been obtained.]
[Strength-II: Increase strength by 10 points.]
[Agility-II: Increase agility by 10 points.]
There were many rows of messages that Arthur stood there blankly to read them. The skill was an unexpected harvest, but he didn't know there were 'Unique' skills out there. He has never heard of them, so he had no way to judge how useful it was.
The only thing he thought about is how he seemed to be going on the right track here. His plans of taking over the goblin's village would be a lot easier with this kill.
His Absorb legacy absorbed skills even if they didn't drop as Skill Stones, but sometimes it did not. There was that one time when he needed to absorb the essence of different monsters to get the skill Earth Manipulation, so it was clear that the skills he obtained depended mostly on the monster he absorbed.
That makes it rather reasonable that he gained this skill by killing the chief of this goblin village. He didn't know if Unique skills like this dropped as a Skill Stone or not, so he had to assume his Legacy had something to do with it. That's why it was a 'Unique' Skill.
His new runes were a result of the Runes-Tree doing its function, finally evolving the runes he used the most. Even though he hasn't researched the relevant runes, it seems his constant use of them allowed them to be more refined.
The door of the hut, poles tied together, was pushed open by the two middle-tier goblins, only to be dumbstruck by the scene they saw. A sole figure stood by the corpse of their chief, looking at them with his golden eyes shining dangerously in the darkroom. Their bodies trembled but they steeled their hearts to fight the intruder.
Before they could do anything, Arthur walked to the body of the chief and used the last of his mana to decapitate its head. It was a gruesome experience for Arthur but he had to stomach down the nauseousness he felt. He threw the head toward the two guards and they retreated like scared chickens.
Arthur walked out of the hut and he found himself to be surrounded by fifty-something goblins. They were all low-mid-tier except for the two guards trembling in front of the house. They had different features, some masculine and others were feminine. Standing there in fear, they watched as Arthur raised his dagger and pointed it at the two guards.
"Kneel!" He roared so powerfully that the two guards fell to their knees intimidated. Arthur walked over to them and used his Unique Skill on them, establishing a bond.
[A bond has been established. This goblin would now follow your will as long as it didn't endanger its life.]
He read this message twice and he felt his theory to be closer to the truth. This message was from his legacy, proving that Unique Skills were needed the combination of the essence he absorbed with the essence his legacy provided to be created.
The goblins were more at ease now, but Arthur felt his mana bottom out. He had to use the core he obtained earlier to replenish some of his mana.
The rest of the goblins submitted a lot easier, and their bond was established at a minimum amount of mana. When the break of dawn arrived, Arthur had the whole village submitted to him.
***
His body felt like it weighed a ton, but he needed to go back to Kira. He was worried that something might befall the young wolf, but he was relieved when he found it sleeping in the pit he had dug on the sloped hill.
Together, the two walked toward the goblins' village. It would be his new residing place in this mountain range as he explores it since there would be no safer place.
He also had plans of strengthening the goblins since Arthur now saw them as his group. With primitive cores being so easily obtained, he could make permanent runes to strengthen them. He could even give them skills, like Heal, Detection, Protection, Restore, Vegetation, and Compress.
As he headed to the village, he was already making plans on how he would make use of his runes. Giving specific skills to goblins created something like a class system, where he could strengthen the fighters and give them healers and scouts. Vegetation and Compress were both for helping them grow plants and make better weapons, creating a sufficient supply for the village.
Entering the village, the goblins all looked at him with fear and submission. He had yet to gain their loyalty, but the bond prevented them from taking any actions against him without repercussion. It worked like a contract that would bind two creatures with a gap in the middle, and it solely worked on goblins.
That meant he can't make a bond with Kira, but he didn't feel like he needed to. Furthermore, there was no doubt there would be a rune of that kind somewhere, no matter how rare it was.
Arthur walked under the wary gaze of the goblins, who had different statures and faces. They were far from being cute, but Arthur wanted to take care of them and make them love him. Even if it was the act of a skill, there was still a bond between them. He wanted to turn that fear into loyalty, as no leadership lasted long through intimidation.
First, he needed to rest. He entered the chief's hut where the corpse still lied there. He didn't know if he could sell its body, but he was not willing to go back. He looked at Kira and pointed at the corpse. It was the last meal Kira had before it evolved.
***
After resting for several hours, Arthur went outside. He called the goblins to assemble in front of him, and they made several rows like a military squad. He started pacing back and forward in front of them thinking of what to say.
"This," He pointed at one of the irregular swords one of the goblins held. The goblin trembled and gave Arthur its sword before it knelt on the ground. Arthur took the sword and raised it for everyone to see. "Who made this?"
Words were no suitable method of communication with these creatures, but Arthur felt like their 'bond' would convey his meaning. Sure enough, the goblins scattered to leave out three goblins standing there. The three of them were short muscled males, with faces even uglier than the rest.
The three of them were scared. They were trembling visibly at being singled out and looked at Arthur like he was a grim reaper.
Arthur felt a headache as he felt his impression of himself would change into something worse if this intimidation persisted. However, he knew this was only temporary as long as he made them loyal.
"Come here,"
The three goblins walked over like a turtle, huddling together. Arthur pointed again at the sword and ordered.
"Show me."
The three goblins looked at his golden eyes, bobbing their head vigorously like chickens.
"Ka, Kaaka ka." They spoke incomprehensible words before the youngest started running toward one of the huts. He brought out several metallic ores that Arthur had no idea where from and placed them on the ground in front of Arthur.
Looking at one of the goblins who walked forward, Arthur wondered what they were up to. It was then that he witnessed an amazing feat of magic.
The goblin picked up the ore and treated it like clay, reshaping it as its hands glistered with mana. He picked another ore and fused the two and reshaped them into what looked like a pole.
However, it seemed the goblin's mana was at its limits as he handed the pole to the other goblin. The next one resumed the work and made something like a handle, slowly reshaping it into a sword. When the last one was given the incomplete weapon, it started reshaping it with his hands to make slightly sharp edges of the sword.
Arthur was dumbstruck at such a fascinating process. It was still primitive and faulty, for sure, since it didn't refine the ore nor did they make a good weapon. Heck, it was barely sharp. Even still, Arthur's eyes held money signs within.