Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP

Every movement sent another jolt through me, sharp enough to steal my breath. I crumpled onto the dirt, writhing, my body twisting on instinct to escape a pain that wouldn’t let me go.

The scream tore out of me again, louder this time, ragged and hoarse. It hurt like nothing I’d ever felt—worse than any wound, worse than any broken bone.

That was when I heard it.

Hoofbeats, closing fast.

I hadn’t warped far enough from the herd, and my own voice had betrayed me. The sound must have carried straight to them.

The Alpha appeared first, stepping into view through the haze of my pain. Its head was lowered, antlers blazing brighter than before, its posture carrying the confident stride of something that knew the kill was already certain.

”Goblin...” The voice rumbled in my head, low and venomous. ”...you’ll pay for killing my mate.”

Then it fired—another beam, the glow condensing into a blazing spear of energy that screamed through the air toward me.

So it could speak, huh?

Even through the haze of pain, I caught that detail—Strange really. I should be thinking about how to escape.

The agony in my chest was crippling, each breath like dragging fire through my lungs. [Danger Sense] flared again, screaming for me to move, but my body lagged behind the warning.

I couldn’t respond—not fully—not until the very last moment.

I forced my head to tilt, catching the faint shimmer of moonlight above, and willed myself to [Warp].

In an instant, I was high above the battlefield, the cold air rushing past me, my body weightless for a fraction of a second before gravity began to pull me back down.

But I used warp to remain up.

Below, the beam ripped through the space I had just vacated, the sound splitting the night like a crack of thunder.

How was I going to do this?

Every throb from my chest clouded my thoughts, making it hard to focus, harder still to string together the kind of precision this fight demanded. I could leave right now—warp back to the safety of the cave, live to fight another day.

But my eyes stayed locked on the Alpha below.

Nah!

This wasn’t just about hitting Level 25 anymore.

I wanted to kill it.

I needed to kill it.

The pain wasn’t fading—it was boiling, fueling something sharper. Rage.

I wanted payback, and I wanted it now.

Even half-conscious from the hit, I decided I would throw everything I had at this thing.

Hanging in the air wasn’t an option; lingering up here would only give the Alpha time to reset, to find its footing and prepare another attack. That would be bad for me—very bad.

So I let myself fall.

Halfway down, I triggered [Swap], trading places with one of the few remaining herd members. There weren’t many left now, which meant every missing body would be obvious to the Alpha.

The moment my feet hit the ground, I rolled into [Stealth]. My presence bled away into the shadows, my breathing shallow, every movement controlled.

The Alpha’s head snapped toward the sudden absence in its ranks, its antlers flaring faintly. It knew something was wrong—but it didn’t know where I was.

Meanwhile, I was already moving, teeth clenched against the throbbing in my chest, every step careful but deliberate.

I could feel its gaze sweeping across the battlefield, searching. I didn’t dare look back—locking eyes, even accidentally, would be suicide.

Being trapped in that illusion earlier had been... terrifying. The kind of helplessness that lodged deep in your bones and refused to leave. It made a part of me want to avoid the Alpha entirely—turn, flee, and live to fight another day.

But I knew, if I wanted to take a step toward real power, I shouldn’t run from the strong. To become strong and powerful, you have to defeat the strong and powerful. That sounded redundant.

I slipped through the shadows, closing in on one of the remaining deer. My blade flashed once, clean and fast, opening its throat before it could even cry out. Before its body hit the dirt, I warped to the next target.

Another kill.

The Alpha’s head whipped around sharply, its antlers glowing brighter as it scanned the battlefield. It knew its herd was shrinking, but it couldn’t find me.

I made sure of that—because while it was still looking, I slit another one’s throat.

This time, the Alpha flinched. A tiny, almost imperceptible reaction—but enough to show I was getting under its hide.

Then it snapped.

Mana surged into its antlers, the glow spiking, and it fired another beam—furious, unrestrained. The blast hit the ground with explosive force, tearing up soil and rock, but nothing else.

It hadn’t homed in on me because it hadn’t been aimed at me. It was lashing out blindly, desperate to hit something.

I was already gone.

”Where are you, goblin?” the Alpha deer rasped, its voice low and venomous. ”Show yourself.”

You’re too loud, I muttered inwardly, my thoughts almost sluggish.

The pain was eating at me, dulling everything, but adrenaline kept my legs moving and my mind just sharp enough to survive.

I ran, my body moving on instinct while half my focus was consumed by the searing burn in my chest and the other half trying to work out a plan. One thought stuck in my head—if I could warp with him high enough, far beyond the altitude he could safely land from, even if he tried that trick of killing his momentum with a beam, it wouldn’t be enough to save him.

But for that, I needed to touch him.

That was the part that had my nerves on edge. The Alpha wasn’t like the others—it was frighteningly perceptive, tuned to every sound, every whiff of scent, and maybe even something else... a sixth sense that let it pinpoint my general location the moment I got too close.

Even now, darting through the battlefield’s torn earth and shattered trees, I could feel the near-misses—each beam grazing closer than the last, always within a fraction of an inch from ending me.

One misstep, and I’d be a...