Shakus also notices the tribe members gathering around, so he puts on a friendly smile and greets everyone one by one.
"Mother Pierre, Aunt Veyra, Uncle Aelro... hello there, thank you all!"
"Sha... Shakus, no—mighty warrior Shakus, hello there!"
The tribe members greet Shakus one by one too, but there's none of that old closeness—now there's some distance and respect mixed in.
Because starting today, Shakus is different from them.
Shakus has become a bloodline warrior, a tribal warrior, and there's now a hierarchy between them.
The tribe members sew beast hides of various sizes and quality onto the outside of Shakus's newly built tent to show their respect and admiration for him.
After a while, once all the tribe members who came to congratulate him have left, Shakus lets out a little sigh and ducks into his tent.
That's just how it goes sometimes—when you gain something, you also lose something else.
Shakus takes a look around the tent with its basic wooden furniture, and his emotions stir a bit.
From now on, this tent is his—this is Shakus's foundation.
Shakus squints his eyes. Only now does he have time to really examine his true foundation in this world—his data template.
=====
Name: Shakus Mivian (Elite Template)
Race: Troll
Title: Ashseed
Title Description: One who awakened after the Great Extinction of the world. When killing creatures in the new world, there's a chance to drop Ash Treasure Chests that only Ashseeds can see.
Strength: 85/100 (can be improved)
Agility: 75/100 (can be improved)
Intelligence: 85/100 (can be improved)
Constitution: 100/100 (maximum value)
Skills:
1. Spear Mastery (Advanced): When trolls fight with spears, attack power increases by 75%. Bloodline warriors born as trolls are trained as spearmen from childhood—with a spear in hand, they'll even face down dragons.
2. Spear Throwing (Spear Mastery branch skill): When trolls throw spears, attack power increases by 100%. Watch out—spears can pierce through anything!
3. Troll Blood (Basic Bloodline Skill): The troll clan's transformation ability. After transforming into an ancient troll, all attributes double, and the transformation lasts until stamina runs out. Roar, troll!
=====
Looking at his elite template with stats that have multiplied several times over—85 strength, 75 agility, 85 intelligence—Shakus can't help but feel his heart racing.
You gotta understand, before Shakus came of age, he was just some nobody with a common template.
Back then, his common template only had three attributes on the data panel: strength, agility, and intelligence.
And those attributes maxed out at 10—a totally garbage template.
Now Shakus has transformed from a common template to an elite template.
Not only have his strength, agility, and intelligence stats multiplied, but he's also gained a constitution attribute that common templates can't even have.
Most importantly, after awakening, Shakus's constitution attribute jumped straight to 100—the maximum value, the peak of elite template stats.
What does this maxed-out constitution mean?
It means the bloodline skill Shakus awakened—Troll Blood—is a top-tier skill among basic bloodline abilities.
And in terms of strength, agility, and intelligence, Shakus still has room to grow.
None of these three attributes have hit 100 yet—he hasn't reached the elite template's limits.
Shakus clenches his fist. The tightening muscles in his arm and the swelling sensation in his fist feel absolutely amazing.
"Oh right, I gotta go hunting with the Great Elder first thing tomorrow morning—better get ready!"
Thinking about this, Shakus leaves his tent and goes back to the communal area where he used to live. He brings all his personal belongings over, especially his weapons.
That night, inside the tent by the fire.
Shakus uses an unknown beast hide to polish the spear in his hands. The scraping sound makes the spear seem even sharper and deadlier.
Next to Shakus, there are already five simpler spears lined up, their tips gleaming and radiating cold menace.
...
The next day, before dawn.
At the valley's only entrance, a huge crowd of trolls has already gathered.
Every troll is armed to the teeth—all wearing leather armor and carrying spears, with plenty holding battle axes and maces too.
As soon as he gets close, Shakus can feel the wild and savage energy radiating from these trolls.
Especially from the Great Elder leading them—he's a troll nearly ten feet tall. Compared to Shakus at six-foot-three, this guy is just insanely massive.
"Hurrah! Great Elder Stehlkai, good morning!"
Shakus picks up the pace, walks up to Great Elder Stehlkai, and raises his right hand in greeting.
The Great Elder extends his right hand, touching Shakus's while shaking a short, straight tuft of hair on top of his head, laughing heartily.
"Hahaha... Look here, our little guy—no, our new member, bloodline warrior Shakus is here too!"
"Kids, get ready to move out!"
All the trolls preparing to go hunting look at Shakus—carrying a spear in one hand with a bundle of throwing spears strapped across his back—and think he looks pretty legit. They all let out good-natured laughs.
Shakus shrugs and walks over to Beigar and Lander, whose faces show a mix of excitement and worry. The three of them are the rookie newbies on this hunting party.
"Shakus, you made it!"
That's Lander talking—he's a troll who specializes in one-handed battle axes. Right now the massive axe on his back is wider than his whole body.
"We're newbies and don't know what we're about to face. You should probably keep that axe in your hands—it'll be easier to handle any crisis that comes up."
After Shakus says this, Lander slaps his huge forehead, thinks it makes total sense, and quickly pulls the battle axe from his back into his hands.
"What about you, Beigar?"
Shakus looks at empty-handed Beigar with some confusion.
Beigar looks excited, maybe even a little superior, and Shakus wonders if he's imagining things.
"I'm a wizard, Shakus!"
"My weapons are staffs or gems, but I don't have either of those!"
"The Great Elder told me to just follow the team and get familiar with the combat process and rhythm!"
What Beigar says makes Lander pretty envious.
Because in the troll clan, aside from the chieftain and the elders, wizards have the highest status—even higher than bloodline warriors.
Shakus doesn't really feel anything about it—he's not the jealous type.
Because Shakus's goal isn't to become some wizard.
Shakus's goal is to become the tribal chieftain and to keep evolving his data template.
Of course, evolving his data template takes priority over that chieftain position.
Creeeeak!
Just as Shakus is lost in thought, the valley's stone gate swings wide open.
"Kids, everybody stay sharp!"
"And you three newbies—get your butts to the middle of the formation!"