Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP

Either way...Finding a powerful enemy wasn’t even the main reason we came here in the first place. The crystals were.

I crouched beside one of the dead Flame Fang Wolves and rolled the corpse slightly onto its side so the chest area became more visible beneath the burned fur. Then I glanced toward Ariel.

”You said they dropped crystals when they died.”

Because so far, I hadn’t seen anything actually drop.

Ariel immediately gave me a look that practically screamed Are you stupid? in capital letters.

”Obviously, I didn’t mean it literally,” she said flatly. ”We have to harvest them manually.”

”...Oh.”

That honestly made more sense.

The crystals were embedded inside their bodies already, so expecting them to magically pop out onto the ground like game loot was admittedly a little dumb now that I thought about it.

Ariel walked toward another corpse nearby before rolling it slightly onto its side with one paw. She then tapped lightly against the crystal-like growth embedded beneath the wolf’s chest.

”This is the crystal we’re looking for,” she explained, her tails swaying lightly behind her while she spoke. ”It allows the Flame Fang Wolves to store and compress energy internally, which is what they release as those fire attacks.”

I stared at the glowing crystal again, more carefully. Now that she mentioned it, the connection made sense. The wolves weren’t naturally producing ordinary fire from their bodies alone. The crystals were acting like mana reservoirs and conversion organs at the same time.

That was actually kind of interesting from a biological standpoint.

”Are these wolves the only species capable of developing something like this?” I asked.

”Probably not,” Ariel replied while shaking her head. ”Creatures aren’t normally born with structures like these. This is most likely a mutation caused by the environment they live in.”

I frowned slightly after hearing that. Meaning the wolves themselves probably weren’t what was special, their territory was.

”Which means if another species lived in the same environment long enough,” I said slowly, ”they’d probably mutate too.”

Ariel nodded.

”And depending on the creature...” I added, ”The mutation might become something completely different.”

”Yes,” Ariel responded, baring her teeth slightly. ”How impressive of you to arrive at such an obvious conclusion.”

I frowned immediately. Sometimes I genuinely forgot how much of a brat the fox could be.

I summoned Gravefang, and used it to cut carefully into the wolf’s chest.

The moment the flesh split apart, heat poured outward immediately along with the smell of burnt blood and charred fur. Buried deep between the ribs was the crimson crystal I’d noticed earlier, glowing faintly beneath layers of blackened tissue like molten ore hidden inside a furnace.

Up close, it looked even stranger. The crystal pulsed faintly with mana. Alive almost. Like the thing was still functioning even after the wolf itself had died.

”There are probably more crystals deeper inside the cave,” Ariel said. ”Not harvested ones. Raw crystals.”

My eyes widened almost instantly after hearing that.

’Raw crystals?’

If that was true, then this trip had just become far more valuable than I initially expected.

”What are we waiting for then?” I said immediately. ”Let’s go.”

My interest in the cave had instantly doubled.

I turned and began heading toward the cave entrance without hesitation.

But behind me, Ariel suddenly spoke again.

”No...”

The fox shook her head slowly. But despite saying that, she still followed after me anyway.

”It’s better if they come out, or rather...” she corrected herself. ”It’s better if it comes out.”

”Who?” I asked. ”The alpha?”

Ariel immediately gave me that look again. The same one she’d been using all night, whenever I said something she considered stupid.

I sighed.

”I’m pretty sure I can hold my own against it.”

Ariel narrowed her eyes at me.

”You just witnessed these wolves moving through shadows,” she said slowly, as if speaking to someone mentally challenged. ”And now you want to walk into a cave with no source of light whatsoever. A cave filled with darkness,” she continued, ”where that three-headed wolf can move through shadows without restriction.”

Then she tilted her head slightly.

”Brilliant idea.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. ”Let’s absolutely go inside.”

My expression sharpened immediately.

”...Three-headed wolf?”

That detail immediately overshadowed everything else she’d just said.

”The alpha had three heads?”

Ariel stared at me for a second in complete disbelief.

”That is what you focused on?” she asked flatly. ”Out of everything I just said?”

I grinned.

”The fact that it has three heads makes me want to go in even more.”

”Why would you...”

Ariel stopped herself midway. The fox stared at my face for a few seconds before letting out a tired sigh, seemingly realizing there was absolutely no point trying to talk me out of this anymore. Especially after seeing how interested I suddenly looked.

”Fine,” she said flatly. ”Do whatever you want. But I am not following you inside.”

”No problem,” I replied immediately. ”I should be fine solo.”

Honestly, hearing that the alpha had three heads only made the cave sound more interesting. I tightened my grip around Gravefang and started walking toward the entrance.

Behind me, Ariel remained at a distance, clearly having no intention whatsoever of stepping closer to the cave than necessary.

The deeper I approached, the colder the air became.

The inside of the cave looked wrong somehow. Not simply dark from lack of light, but unnaturally black, as if the shadows themselves were swallowing everything beyond the entrance. Even moonlight seemed unable to penetrate it properly.

I stopped right before crossing inside. Then stared into the darkness silently for a few seconds. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. Yet the oppressive feeling pouring from within the cave only grew heavier the longer I stood there.

Finally, I stepped forward.

But the moment my foot crossed the entrance, instead of touching solid ground, it sank.

The surface beneath me suddenly collapsed entirely, and before I could properly react, my entire body dropped straight downward into the darkness below.