[Mana Tempering: An Ability to temper an item to reduce brittleness and improve the durability using mana]
[Mana Repairing: An ability to repair an item using mana.]
[Mana Sharpening: An Ability to sharpen a tool/weapon using mana.]
[Fireball: Create and shoot a ball made of fire at the target, exploding on impact.]
Red read the description of his new skills since he didn't have the chance before. He didn't understand Mana Tempering, but he had a gist of what Mana Sharpening and Mana Repairing were.
From those two skills, he understood a little bit what Manasmith did. All those skills might be related to weapon-making. A little bit disappointed that the skill was not related to combat, but he could see the potential of having those skills. He could make his own weapon.
Another benefit was that he could make more metal balls. He no longer worried about running out of ammunition for his slingshot. It was still a good hunting tool, after all.
"But I still need to learn how the skill works first before making my first weapon…"
Red figured out that making a weapon or ammunition for his slingshot was not as easy as it sounded. It was not like he could magically create them by activating the skill, or else the Manasmith would not give him six skills, and potentially, there might be more skills to learn relating to the Manasmith.
Things were peaceful after the battle. Darla kept attending to him for one more day. She was next to him, aside from lunch and dinner time. But she always prepared his food first before leaving.
This gave him a chance to learn more about human language. He learned more words since he had nothing to do that one full day. It was a peaceful day for him, but he could hear the chaos outside. He even heard the angry shout from the Chief.
The next day, he was summoned by the Chief. From what he remembered, fewer than ten Hobgoblins survived from the battle, but he saw more than twenty of them in the main building.
That meant more than ten goblins evolved into hob when he was unconscious. That showed the harvest from the battle against the Dire Wolf pack was quite big, and he got none of them. It was a pity, but he had his own gain when he changed the Dire Wolf outside the village, as well as the Shaman for the loot.
Two hobs escorted him once he entered the main building, which was barely functional. He was stopped when he was eight meters away from where the Chief sat.
It seemed only three Matrons survived the attack as the three sat below the Chief. Then a line of hobs on his right and left.
"Kneel!"
The hob to his right put a hand on him and forcefully pushed him down. He could resist the push, but he decided not to. He let himself get pushed down on his knee.
"Greet the mighty Chief!" The hob to his left ordered him.
There was a pause for a moment. He tried to recall his name, a name given by the Matron. Each goblin was named by the Matrons, including him. However, nothing came to mind.
"Red greets the mighty Chief!"
"Mnnn."
The Chief grunted and nodded, "Make sure to mind your manners next time you are in this hall!"
"Do you know why I summon you?"
His heart jumped a bit, thinking that the Chief might find his connection with the Shaman's disappearance. There was a chance for that, but then, if they knew about it, the Chief would not bother to summon him. He would be dragged by the hobs in half-death instead of walking here with his own feet.
"I don't know."
The Chief grunted, signaling for the Matron to do the talk.
The Matron in the middle received the signal and stood up, "The Chief recognizes your contribution in defending the village and assisting him to defeat the Dire Wolf King…."
The Matron prepared a long speech, and more than half was praising the Chief.
Red kept his head low, trying to sort out what Matron said. In short, he was rewarded for his contribution in defeating the Dire Wolf.
The first reward was that he was appointed as the head of Hunter. The head of the hunter was in charge of managing the food for the tribe to make sure everyone had enough food, and he would be in charge as the head of the guard as well.
The Chief seemed to want to work directly under him, but it was mentioned that he needed to evolve to hob first if he wanted to join the Chief's adventure, the team that went outside to raid the humans' village and caravan.
The second reward was three dire wolves. The Chief allowed him to exchange the three dire wolves for loot. Lastly, the Chief asked if he had any requests. As long as it was reasonable, the Chief would grant him that request.
The third reward was tricky. If he asked too much, he might not get anything and leave a bad impression on the Chief instead. He needed to think carefully before making the request.
He lost his weapon; maybe he could request a good weapon. However, he quickly rejected the idea. He was the leader of the hunters now. He had access to the armory and took anything he wanted.
It was harder than he thought to think of a request. Rather than angering the Chief, it was better not to make a request.
"Hurry up if you have a request!" The Matron raised her voice and sounded annoyed as Red took too long.
It was then that a name popped up in his head, something he wanted and most likely granted by the Chief, "I want the female human who cooks us food! I want her for myself!"
He wanted Darla, and if the request was granted, he could learn the human language more quickly. Then he could start asking Darla about the window status, especially magic, if possible. Any information about the window status was good for him, as he needed it most right now.
The Matron frowned but didn't reject the request outright, waiting for the Chief to make the call. Meanwhile, the Chief and the other hobs were grinning ear to ear, misunderstanding Red's intention of wanting Darla.