Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP

Did she birth all of them?

The thought crossed my mind almost immediately.

But the more I looked around the chamber, the less likely that seemed.

The Matriarch wasn’t the only female wolf in the pack. Which meant many of these pups probably belonged to the wolves I had killed outside.

My expression softened slightly at that realization.

I activated [Analyze] and began inspecting them one by one.

The results were exactly what I expected.

Level 0. Level 1. Level 2. Nothing higher.

They were little more than newborns.

Then a realization suddenly hit me.

I had spent the entire fight wondering what the Alpha had been protecting so fiercely. Why it had reacted so aggressively whenever Ariel or I approached the cave. Why it had repeatedly thrown itself into danger instead of simply retreating deeper into its territory.

Now I understood.

For a moment, I found myself looking back toward the tunnel we’d entered through. The Alpha had never been fighting for territory. It had been fighting for its family.

I exhaled quietly before turning my attention back to the pups.

As I approached, several of them immediately noticed me.

Tiny yips echoed throughout the chamber.

One particularly brave pup attempted to growl at me, puffing itself up as much as its tiny body allowed. The sound that came out was so weak it was almost adorable.

A second later, the effort seemed to exhaust it completely, and it promptly plopped onto its backside.

I had to fight the urge to laugh.

The others seemed cautious at first.

They watched me from behind their siblings, peeking out with curious eyes while staying close to one another.

But that caution didn’t last long.

The moment they noticed how relaxed the Matriarch was around me, their fear gradually faded.

One pup took a hesitant step forward.

Then another.

And before long, several of them were slowly making their way toward me, curiosity overcoming whatever instincts were telling them to be afraid.

I crouched down as they approached.

The first pup stopped only a short distance away and tilted its head while staring up at me.

Then, after a brief moment of consideration, it waddled closer.

Ariel, who seemed noticeably uneasy about the entire situation, suddenly spoke.

”Careful. If they swarm you, it could become dangerous.”

I gave her a look.

”Really? You think a bunch of level one and level two wolf pups are going to harm me? Really?”

She scoffed.

”You cannot be too cautious.”

I let out a sigh and lowered myself closer to them.

The nearest pup immediately stumbled forward, allowing me to scratch beneath its chin. Another quickly followed, pressing itself against my leg while demanding equal attention. Then another arrived. And another.

Within moments, the number of pups surrounding me began to grow rapidly.

What started as a few curious wolf pups soon turned into nearly the entire litter crowding around me. Some climbed over my legs, others pushed their siblings aside in an attempt to reach my hands first, while a few simply collapsed against me as though they had already decided I was a perfectly acceptable place to rest.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

At this point, it felt less like I was sitting in a wolf den and more like I was bathing in a pool of puppies.

One of them had somehow managed to climb onto my lap. Another was chewing on the edge of my sleeve with all the ferocity its tiny teeth could muster. The little monsters were relentless.

Not that I particularly minded.

Meanwhile, Ariel remained exactly where she was.

She showed no interest in joining us and instead kept her distance, her posture rigid and alert as she watched both the Matriarch and the pups.

Unfortunately, that seemed to affect the Matriarch as well.

Although she had accepted me, she clearly hadn’t reached the same level of trust with Ariel.

The large wolf continued glancing toward the fox every so often, her body remaining tense whenever Ariel moved. She wasn’t acting aggressively, but the caution was obvious.

And, judging by the way her ears flattened whenever Ariel’s gaze landed on the pups, she seemed genuinely worried that the fox might attack them.

”Ariel, why don’t you wait for me outside? I’ll be back in a second.”

Ariel didn’t argue.

In fact, she wasted no time leaving the chamber.

The moment the words left my mouth, she turned around and headed for the exit, clearly more than happy to put some distance between herself and the wolves.

I watched her leave before carefully rising to my feet.

Several pups were still gathered around my legs, forcing me to pay close attention to where I stepped. The last thing I wanted was to accidentally crush one of the little things.

As I began walking deeper into the chamber, a handful of the pups followed after me, stumbling across the ground with clumsy determination.

My destination was at the far end of the room.

A massive crystal protruded from the cave wall.

Unlike the countless manacore deposits scattered throughout the cavern, this one was different.

The difference was obvious the moment I laid eyes on it.

The crystal pulsed with power.

A deep bluish radiance flowed through its interior like liquid light, illuminating the surrounding chamber with a soft glow. More importantly, I could actually feel the mana leaking from it.

The energy wasn’t dispersing randomly. It spread outward from the crystal, flowing through the surrounding deposits like veins branching from a heart.

My eyes widened slightly.

”So that’s it...”

This wasn’t merely another manacore crystal. It was the source, the origin point feeding the entire crystal vein.

Slowly, I stepped forward and placed a hand against its surface.

The moment I did, a notification appeared before me.

[Manacore Heart Crystal]

Description:

A colossal manacore crystal that serves as the heart of an entire crystal vein. Saturated with immense quantities of mana over countless years, it continuously releases pure mana into its surroundings, nourishing and strengthening nearby crystals. The blue radiance it emits is a visible manifestation of the vast energy contained within.

Effects:

• Generates mana continuously.

• Accelerates the growth of nearby mana crystals.

• Enriches surrounding mana deposits.

• Can influence the evolution of creatures exposed to it for long periods.

Note: Extractable, but removing or destroying the Manacore Heart Crystal may destabilize the entire crystal vein.