Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP

The moment I asked that question, the atmosphere immediately sharpened again, anticipation spreading visibly throughout the gathered crowd.

”Thank you for allowing this, Chief,” Dribb said respectfully before rising to his feet.

Then he lifted his axe and pointed it directly toward Kharos.

”I want to test my skills against the one the chief said gave him trouble,” he declared. ”I want to see his strength for myself.”

There wasn’t much hostility in Dribb’s tone when he said it. If anything, he sounded genuinely interested in testing himself against someone I had regarded highly.

The moment the axe pointed toward him, everyone’s attention immediately shifted toward Kharos.

Kharos clicked his tongue in irritation, clearly unhappy about being singled out like that, but he didn’t step back.

Instead, he summoned his axe into his hand.

”Alright then,” he said while stepping forward, his expression hardening. ”I’ll show you the difference between us, punk.”

But before he could move any farther, Drel suddenly grabbed his arm tightly.

”Idiot,” Drel muttered under his breath. ”Did you forget you don’t have your innate skill anymore?”

Kharos paused.

Then one of his brows slowly rose.

”...That’s true.”

The realization clearly irritated him more than the challenge itself, and the confidence he had shown moments earlier visibly faltered once it fully sank in.

Without his innate skill, Kharos wasn’t the same fighter he used to be. His physical strength and combat experience were still there, but a huge portion of what made him truly dangerous had disappeared the moment I took that skill from him.

And judging from the way his gaze lingered on Dribb now, he had already realized something important.

Dribb wasn’t weak.

Far from it.

Even without activating [Pain Rush], Dribb already possessed multiple abilities and terrifying physical combat instincts. Fighting him head-on while weakened would probably end badly.

”Why aren’t you coming?” Dribb asked with an open grin now, clearly enjoying the hesitation. ”What? Are you scared of fighting me?”

Kharos immediately clicked his tongue in irritation.

”I can always choose someone else if you’re too scared to fight,” Dribb added casually. And as he said that, his gaze briefly shifted toward Caius.

The moment I noticed where he was looking, I immediately shook my head internally.

No, Dribb. This was not an opponent you should be considering.

Caius wasn’t someone Dribb could overwhelm through raw aggression alone. Against someone with future-reading abilities, reckless attacks could become suicidal very quickly.

Kharos gritted his teeth visibly now, his pride clearly taking a direct hit from the way Dribb was speaking to him.

And honestly, the part that seemed to offend him the most wasn’t even the challenge itself.

It was the fact that Dribb had casually considered challenging Caius afterward, as though he wasn’t worth taking seriously anymore.

”I don’t care,” Kharos snapped at Drel before wrenching his arm free. His glare shifted back toward Dribb almost immediately. ”I’ll fight this punk with my bare fists if I have to.”

The humiliation from earlier had clearly struck a nerve deep enough that Kharos no longer cared whether the fight was smart or not.

The moment those words left his mouth, the crowd immediately reacted.

Goblin instincts took over almost instantly as everyone began moving aside to create space in the center area for the fight. Excited murmurs spread throughout the settlement while whistles and loud cheering erupted from multiple directions.

Even the younger goblins climbed onto nearby structures and walls to get a better view of what was about to happen.

The atmosphere shifted so quickly that the tension from earlier almost vanished beneath the growing excitement for the fight.

”Show him no mercy, Captain Dribb!”

”Break his teeth!”

”Rip his throat out!”

The shouting only grew louder from there.

Meanwhile, Sheera stood off to the side with a tired expression, already shaking her head at the entire situation.

Unlike the others cheering excitedly for bloodshed, she clearly wasn’t excited in the slightest.

Beside me, Caius suddenly glanced in my direction.

I already knew what he was thinking because, honestly, I was thinking the same thing.

As entertaining as this fight was about to become, letting Kharos fight in his current weakened state wasn’t exactly fair.

Not when Dribb still had access to all of his abilities.

So after a brief pause, I exhaled quietly and summoned my system screen.

Without wasting time, I selected [Skill Share], scrolled toward the skill line I had taken from Kharos—[Blood Tyrant Legacy]—then selected Kharos as the recipient.

The system screen flashed.

[Do you want to share this skill line to the recipeient Kharos?]

Yes.

The moment I confirmed it, energy suddenly burst outward from Kharos’ body.

He stopped walking instantly.

A powerful crimson aura flared around him as the energy surged violently through his body before stabilizing, and I watched his expression immediately change the moment the familiar abilities returned to him.

Kharos slowly clenched both fists, staring at his own hands in disbelief as power flowed through him once again.

”...It’s back,” he muttered, sounding genuinely stunned. ”My innate skill...”

His voice almost sounded disbelieving, as though part of him still couldn’t fully process the sensation of power returning after losing it.

Then his eyes widened slightly.

”How?”

A second later, realization seemed to hit him, and immediately he turned toward me. A look of gratitude on his face.

”Th-Thank you, Chief.”

I simply nodded once in acknowledgment.

The moment that brief exchange ended, however, Kharos’ entire demeanor shifted almost immediately.

The uncertainty from earlier disappeared completely, and confidence returned to his expression as he turned back toward Dribb and pointed his axe directly at him.

”You bastard,” Kharos said with a grin that carried far too much confidence now, ”you’re screwed now.”

The crowd immediately reacted loudly to that.

Cheers erupted again while several goblins started shouting even more aggressively now that the fight had suddenly become much more interesting.

Meanwhile, Dribb remained completely unfazed.

He calmly rested his axe over his shoulder and stared back at Kharos without backing down in the slightest.

”We shall see.”