Silence reigned over the communal area. Everyone was stunned by Elder Jeb’s words, including Elijah. He hoped to gain the trust of the village over several days of interactions and helping out in different areas. However, Elijah never expected Elder Jeb would cut through all the red tape at this moment.
Nobody wanted to be the first to speak. All the leaders looked at each other, but none of them were saying anything. Some people would be bothered by the silence, but Elijah thought it was a good sign.
Hesitating to speak, showed that nobody completely disagreed with what Elder Jeb said. Otherwise, they would have immediately began questioning him. Looking around Elijah saw a variety of expressions that showed everyone was open to what Elder Jeb proposed. Well, almost everyone.
Justin stood below with an expression that was a mix of hatred and betrayal. Elijah was sure Justin would normally be loudly protesting Elder Jeb’s decision. However, Justin was currently being viewed in a negative light because of his decision to attack the goblins.
“Isn’t this a bit sudden?” Someone finally asked.
“It is,” Elder Jeb agreed. “I originally wanted to observe Eli for a few weeks, but I don’t think we have the luxury to wait. All of us know we arrived here and were able to create the village because we quickly made the correct decision at crucial moments. I believe we are facing a crucial moment.”
“All of us have already discussed the chaos that would affect our world when people from another world arrived. We discussed finding ways to ally with these people to protect ourselves. Now that my grandson has provoked the goblins, I think it would be best to make Eli our chief. He has the ability to grow in power quickly and would benefit from having the chief position more than I do.”
“Eli has a lot of good qualities, but I still think we should postpone making any decisions until after we deal with the goblin threat.” An elder said.
“That’s why I said we are facing a crucial moment. Letting Eli become the chief now will be beneficial to him. After we overcome the goblin crisis, he will receive a lot of experience and quickly grow as a chief. If we wait till later, Eli will lose out on the opportunity for growth and lose the opportunity to gain an advantage over others. Although deciding to make him our chief has the potential to harm us in the present, postponing the decision has the potential to harm us in the future. We are making a gamble, but” Elder Jeb turned to look at Eli. “I think Eli is someone worth gambling on.”
Eli smiled and gave Elder Jeb a nod of thanks. Looking at the other leaders, Elijah could see many of them were swayed by Elder Jeb’s words. Eli was sure he could continue to sit quietly and wait for the position of chief to be handed to him. However, Elijah felt that it was important he say a few words of his own.
Pushing back his chair, Elijah stood up and addressed the leaders. “Everyone, I would like to say a few words.” Elijah made eye contact with the leaders before he continued speaking. “I’m sure all of you have some concerns about handing over control of the village to a young outsider. However, I think your concerns will disappear after you look at things from a different perspective.”
“Treat me like a doctor. A doctor is someone you hire to heal you. For the doctor to be able to heal you he will need you to follow the orders he gives you. But the choice to follow those orders is still up to you. If a doctor tells you to consume poison, you can ignore their order. A chief is in charge of maintaining and developing the village. If you feel like my orders are harmful then ignore them.” Elijah smiled when he saw that his words had a positive effect on the leaders.
“Is it all right to have this mindset?” A man asked. “If nobody follows your orders how will anything get done?”
“Everyone here wants to see the village and themselves grow. I don’t think anyone will intentionally get in my way, bringing harm to the village and themselves.”
“Doctors can say they are healing their patient, but might secretly be poisoning them instead,” A woman said. “How do we know you won’t poison our village?”
“Doctors are able to poison people because they have more knowledge about the human body. I don’t have more knowledge about the village then all of you, so it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for me to harm the village without any of you knowing. Of course, it’s possible for me to harm the village in the future, but I hope that I will have earned your trust by then.”
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Everyone took their time to take in Elijah’s words. In the silence, Elijah watched the leaders exchange glances and nods. Eventually, they came to a silent agreement and one of the leaders spoke.
“I think we should take the gamble.”
“Yes, we all agreed that we would eventually be in this situation willingly or by force.”
“It looks like everyone is willing to accept Eli as our new chief. In that case, Elder Jeb you can-”
“I refuse!” Justin glared at the leader and Elijah. “How can you make an outsider our chief? All of you are acting like this is the only option. There are other options, other people that we can choose before we begin relying on an outsider.”
“Other people, like yourself,” Elijah responded. “I don’t think it would be wise to make a person who lies to his people and doesn’t think twice before leading his people into danger for his own benefit, the next chief.” Elijah calmy watched Justin’s anger rise to another level.
“Do you dare to come down here and say that to my face?”
“Why? So, you can punch me in the face?”
Elijah smiled as Justin glared at him. After holding eye contact for a few seconds, Elijah stood up and walked toward him. Everyone was surprised and Elder Jeb quickly spoke up.
“Eli, you don’t have to respond to him.”
“It’s all right.” Elijah jumped down to Justin’s level as he responded. He continued to walk forward until he was face to face with Justin.
“You’re a liar and you didn’t think twice before endangering the people following you.”
Elijah spoke with a serious expression. He watched as Justin took several deep breaths as he tried to contain his anger. Elijah didn’t show it, but he was worried that Justin was going to punch him. It wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to him, but Elijah would prefer to avoid it if possible.
“I didn’t say those words to humiliate, provoke or anger you. I said those words because you needed to hear them. Think about your actions and the decisions you made. Why did you lie about attacking the goblins? As a leader, you should be honest with the people following you and you should never shy away from admitting your mistakes. Today you didn’t act like a leader. You acted like a child afraid of punishment from your elders.”
Elijah watched the changes Justin’s face went through as he spoke. There was surprise, thoughtfulness and finally embarrassment. Elijah ignored the emotions Justin showed and continued speaking.
“The leaders here and the people that followed you into battle have placed their trust in you. I’m sure there was at least one or two people that doubted your actions, but they still followed you into battle. In the future you need to at least think twice before you lead people into battle. If you recklessly lead people into battle and they die, then their blood will be on your hands.”
Justin bowed his head in shame. Elijah looked at him in silence for a few seconds before he turned and walked away. Once Elijah was a few steps away, he looked at the leaders and asked one question.
“Are there any more concerns?”
After a moment of silence Elder Jeb spoke with a smile on his face. “Since there is no disagreement, I will hand over the position of chief to Eli. Eli, are you willing to tie your life to this village by becoming our next chief.
You have been offered the Chief job for an unnamed village. Will you accept? Yes, or no?
Warning: Unlike other jobs the Chief job cannot be removed or switched once chosen.
Congratulations! You have Chosen the Chief job. +1% increase to all stats.
Job: Chief
Tier: 0
Level: 1, 0%
Description: As a chief, you are responsible for the development of your village and your strength is tied to your village. Except for special circumstances, leaving the area that is your village’s territory will result in a 10% decrease to all stats.
Rewards: +1% increase to all stats each level
Congratulations! You have completed the Get a Job quest. Would you like to learn a passive or active skill?
A smile spread across Elijah’s face the moment he read the first line of words. He did it. He took his first steps and became the ruler of a village. A feeling of pride, excitement and accomplishment swept through Elijah’s body. It took a few seconds for him to calm down and continue reading. Quickly, Elijah made it through the rest of the information that appeared before him, and he chose to learn an active skill.
Congratulations! You have learned the Heal Minor Wounds skill.
Skill: Heal Minor Wounds
Tier: 0
Stage: Initial
Effect: Focusing mental energy onto a minor wound and restore five health points. The number of points restored varies based on the size of the wound.
Cost: 10 mental energy
Elijah was happy about his new skill and was able to think of a variety of uses for it. He was prepared to speak to the leaders after he finished looking at his new skill. However, sometimes when it rains, it pours.
Congratulations! You have reached level 2 in the Ruler specialty. +1 to all stats, +1 to attack and +1 to defense
Congratulations! You have reached level 3 in the…
Congratulations! You have…
Congratulations!...
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Congratulations! You have reached level 11 in the Ruler specialty. +1 to all stats, +1 to attack and +1 to defense.
Congratulations! You have learned the Ruler's Defense skill.