[Rick, it is now 0730. Wake up.]

  …

  [This is the time you requested. It is time to wake up. Please wake up.]

  ‘…Is it that time already?’

  [Yes.]

  ‘You know, I’ve fully embraced being a Goblin and not dwelling on my past life too much, but a cup of coffee would be great right now.’

  [What is coffee?]

  ‘Oh, it’s a hot, wait no it can also be cold too. Anyway, it’s a beverage made from a specific type of bean. People usually drank it too get energy.’

  [I see. Then perhaps we can find the bean somewhere out there.]

  ‘Yeah your right, I wonder if I could really find coffee beans in this world. Well, the dream invader did say other people are periodically pulled here. Maybe they already discovered coffee a long time ago.

  ‘Well, it wouldn’t even matter since I do not know how to actually make coffee from the beans… Maybe I just boil it? Whatever, just something else I need to add to the list of things to not only find but figure out how to use.

  ‘Got a lot to do today now that I’m back home and the Golems have been dealt with. Speak to Jaba, meet the newly evolved Goblins I saw, gather my belongings, check out what remains of the Golems and then we go from there!’

  [Jaba is currently approaching your tent.]

  “Rick! Are you awake?”

  ‘What perfect timing from Jaba. He probably has a lot he wants to talk about, which makes sense. Quite a lot has changed around here in a relatively short period of time.

  ‘I should probably greet him.’

  “Yes, Jaba! I’m up bright and early, ready to take another step to glory for gang green!”

  “If you're already able to still say such weird things, then I’m sure you're perfectly awake. We need to have a proper talk. Get something to eat and meet me in my tent when you're ready.”

  “Don’t worry! You won’t be calling it weird for long! I’ll come to your tent shortly. I have a lot I want to talk about as well.”

  “Alright! Stop screaming so loud! You’ll scare the other Goblins.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Yeah, yeah. They’ll be fine. See you in a bit.”

  ‘He walked away after I said that, so I went back into my tent.

  ‘By the way, Velora, can you tell me the time at each hour as the day passes? Starting at 0800 if it hasn’t already passed.’

  [Understood. It hasn’t already passed. It will be 0800 in four minutes.]

  ‘Oh, that's perfect, but since it’s so close, just 0800 for today and tell me when it’s 0900 instead and keep going from there. Oh, and skip it if I’m in a fight or a stressful situation as well.’

  [Understood.]

  ‘Oh wait, alright Jaba first, then I’ll go grab my stuff.

  ‘Once I reached Jaba’s tent, which was just right next to mine, I called out to him since it’s rude to just barge into another Goblin’s tent. Goblins are a noble race after all.

  ‘Well, maybe not yet, but we will be.

  ‘Though in the few steps it took me to arrive at the tent, I see that the remains of the Golems have been moved somewhere while all the unevolved Goblins are being led outside by the three evolved ones.

  ‘Wonder what's going on? I’ll have to find that out later.’

  “Jaba, it's Rick. Is it alright to come in?”

  “Yes, come inside.”

  ‘Inside the tent was basically the same as mine. A piece of hide laid out on the floor and two short spears laid to the side were the only things inside.

  ‘Jaba himself was seated in a crisscross applesauce position.’

  “Have a seat, then we can start talking.”

  ‘I nodded, then sat in the same position which was when Jaba dropped something unexpected on me.’

  “While you were gone, I’ve done a lot of thinking about the Tribe. The Tribe is my home and family, and as the Leader of the Tribe, I have to do what’s best.

  “So, after all that thinking and because of more recent developments, I think…no… I know I want you to become the new Leader of the Tribe. I know it’s kind of sudden, but I thought about it a lot.”

  ‘I always knew that if I wanted to accomplish my goals for the future of this Tribe and the Goblin race as a whole, I’d have to become some sort of Leader at some point. Especially with the word Royal being a part of my race.

  ‘What I didn’t expect was for it to come so soon, and especially not with Jaba being the one to suggest it. I really want to know what led him to this.’

  “Why do you want me to become the new Leader?”

  “The Leader of the Tribe should be the strongest and smartest Goblin. I’ve always known you were smarter than the rest of us with all the weird things you say, but it wasn’t until I saw you fight the stone monsters that I realized your strength.

  “There isn’t a better Goblin to lead us. Especially since it was with your ideas that led to the growth in strength we have now.”

  ‘Well, I understand his reasoning, but that can’t be the only reason. I’m sure Jaba enjoyed being the Leader, so why would he give it up so easily. And it’s not like I don’t want it, but I want to make sure of the circumstances first.’

  [That’s wise of you so just ask him.]

  ‘Thank you Velora, I will.’

  “Are those the only reasons?”

  “Well, I think my time is better put to use elsewhere in the Tribe.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Someone has to be there to train the unevolved Goblins.”

  “Oh, I see. You like being this sort of Goblin teacher?”

  “No, I’m just the right Goblin for the job.”

  ‘So, Jaba likes being a teacher… He even looks a little shy. Well, I won’t mess with him about it.’

  “If you say so… I’ll accept the position of Leader. But just so you know, I’m going to be changing a lot of things around here, though of course everything will be to the benefit of our Tribe.”

  “Sure, you're the Leader, and you haven’t been wrong so far.”

  “Alright, before I get into any Leader business, let's talk about all the things that happened during the past week.”

  “Sounds good. So, I immediately put your idea of making the Tribe stronger into action the day you left…”