Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP

Did I anticipate that something was going to happen if I stepped into the cave?

Absolutely.

So why did I walk into it anyway?

To save Ariel.

The fox hadn’t noticed it, but there was something lurking within her shadow. An entity she hadn’t sensed despite all her instincts and abilities. It remained hidden beneath her feet, waiting patiently, and from what I could tell, it was preparing to pull her in.

I considered attacking it immediately.

But I doubted any attack I launched would actually connect.

The presence wasn’t confined to a single location. It existed throughout the darkness around us, spread thin across every shadow in sight, yet concentrated most heavily beneath Ariel. If I struck and missed, then whatever was hiding there might react instantly.

And if it managed to drag Ariel into the darkness...

I wasn’t sure she’d survive whatever came next.

So what was I to do?

I didn’t know, but the moment I took a step toward the cave, the presence of the alpha wolf grew noticeably stronger within my own shadow, making me halt.

I took another step, and this time, the sensation intensified further. The darkness around my feet seemed to stir, and the creature’s presence began shifting away from Ariel and toward me instead, gathering in greater concentration beneath my body.

That was when it hit me.

It wanted us away from the cave.

That gave me the impression that it was protecting something.

Every time Ariel had moved as well, the presence shifted with her, gathering beneath her shadow as though waiting for an opportunity. I frowned at that.

If Ariel got pulled into whatever shadow space the creature was using, there was a chance she could escape. She was strong, after all. But according to her own words, the alpha had been powerful enough to make her retreat immediately the last time they met.

That alone told me all I needed to know.

If someone was going to deal with it, it should be me.

The bigger problem was that I couldn’t simply tell Ariel what I’d noticed.

There was always the possibility that the creature could somehow sense awareness directed toward it. And if it realized I had discovered its presence, it might abandon caution entirely and target Ariel before I could react.

So I decided to handle the situation without revealing my intentions.

Which was why I chose to enter the cave despite everything telling me it was a bad idea.

Despite the darkness inside being the wolves’ greatest advantage.

Despite sensing the alpha’s presence concentrated heavily around the entrance.

Despite knowing full well that I was walking directly into whatever trap it had prepared.

So I took a brave and maybe foolish step into the cave and immediately found myself sinking into complete darkness.

I couldn’t see anything. Nor could I sense anything.

The darkness didn’t feel natural. It was as though I had been submerged in black ink, a place where light, sound, and even perception were being swallowed whole. Instinctively, I moved my hands through the darkness around me, trying to feel for a wall, a floor, anything at all.

But there was nothing.

There was no resistance. No surface. No indication that I was standing anywhere.

It almost felt as though I were suspended in empty air.

Then I heard it, something moving behind me.

I turned sharply toward the sound, blade already moving into position.

But I saw nothing.

How could I? I was effectively blind.

The attack came a moment later.

Something slammed into me with tremendous force, hitting like a charging beast and sending me tumbling backward before I could properly brace myself. Almost immediately, a barrage of slashes followed, striking from multiple angles in rapid succession.

I reacted on instinct.

My blade stabbed toward where I believed the attacker should be.

But it was already gone.

The darkness swallowed its presence once again.

I twisted around, searching desperately for any sign of movement, any disturbance, but there was nothing. Only endless black.

Fortunately, the attacks themselves hadn’t caused any real damage.

[Fractured Reality] had done its job.

The slashes that should have torn through flesh and bone had been diverted away from me by the distorted space surrounding my body.

That realization brought a measure of relief. Because if I hadn’t possessed that skill...There was little doubt in my mind that the force behind those attacks would’ve shredded me to pieces before I even understood what was happening.

Then I was hit again.

This time, it wasn’t claws.

One of the beasts’ heads slammed directly into my stomach with enough force to send me drifting backward through the darkness. And the impact knocked the air from my lungs.

The moment I was dragged into this place, I instinctively held my breath and kept my mouth shut.

I had no idea what this blackness was. For all I knew, it could’ve been poisonous.

But while trying to orient myself, I eventually exhaled and reluctantly inhaled whatever surrounded me through my nose and mouth.

Much to my surprise...

I was completely fine.

I could breathe normally. There was oxygen here.

And despite feeling submerged in darkness, nothing actually entered my mouth or lungs. There was no liquid, no particles, nothing.

It was almost like being outside in the open air. The only difference was that I couldn’t see a thing.

The realization settled uneasily in my mind.

Whatever this place was, it wasn’t simply darkness.

I was hit again, and before I could recover, one of the wolves’ heads lunged for my head while another clamped down on my shoulder.

Acting on instinct, I shot out a hand and caught something solid.

My fingers tightened around it instantly as the wolf’s other heads continued attacking, their teeth grinding uselessly against [Fractured Reality], and I drove my blade downward toward where I estimated its neck should be.

But it disappeared, my blade cutting through space.

And the next instant, numerous slashes raked across my body from different directions.

The attacks struck so quickly that I barely had time to react.

The wolf had moved much faster this time.

I swung my blade through the darkness, but immediately realized something was wrong.

My arms felt slower. Heavier.

Far heavier than they had been moments ago.

The movement wasn’t dramatic enough to cripple me, but it was noticeable. Every swing required more effort than before, as though an invisible weight had been attached to my body.

I paid closer attention to the sensation and quickly realized the problem.

The deeper I...