Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP

Eli’s POV

"What the hell is this?"

I muttered as I stood in a strange space that looked almost like a bubble prison. The walls appeared to be made of glass at first glance, but the moment I looked closer, I realized they weren’t glass at all. Bluish glowing lines flowed through the surface, twisting and spreading in slow, fluid patterns, almost like ink had been mixed into water and suspended within something completely solid.

I reached out and pressed my palm against the wall.

It was solid.

Not merely hard like stone or metal, but solid in a way that was difficult to explain, as if space itself had been frozen in place and given physical form.

As beautiful as it was, however, I couldn’t bring myself to admire it for long.

Because this...

This place was an actual prison.

I couldn’t see any bars, chains, or obvious restraints, yet I could immediately tell that I was trapped. There was no visible opening, no weak point, and more importantly, I couldn’t sense any way out.

I sighed, raising my head.

I had been caught.

To understand what happened, we have to go back to the fight I had with the orcs and the possessed Razak who opened the portal that began the invasion.

I had killed so many of them using [Deathroot], draining their life force until there was nothing left to drain, leaving only the possessed body of the goblin that had started this invasion.

I didn’t bother asking him any questions, even though I had plenty, nor did I waste time trying to engage him in any kind of dialogue. Whatever answers he had could wait.

I simply attacked.

There was no reason to waste time dealing with him when I already knew he was dangerous, and the longer I allowed him to act freely, the more damage he could cause.

So I went straight for the kill.

And he didn’t last long under my assault.

I activated [Absolute Freeze], a newly awakened class skill that instantly locked the target in place, rendering its entire body completely motionless.

The possessed goblin couldn’t move.

In a flash, I appeared directly in front of it, drawing both my arms back as I gathered all the force I could into my fists.

Then I punched with everything I had.

BOOM!

A single punch tore straight through its gut, my fist bursting out through its back as blood splattered across the ground. The force of the blow completely shattered whatever defense it had put up, leaving a gaping hole through its abdomen as its body jerked from the impact. It groaned in pain, blood dripping from the corner of its lip as it struggled to remain standing with my arm still lodged inside its stomach.

I didn’t give him any chance to recover whatsoever.

I activated [Hand of the Raging Sun] without hesitation, channeling the skill directly into its body and scorching it from within. Divine light spread through its flesh like an internal furnace, burning through its organs and tissues while the heat began radiating from its skin.

But despite death already looming over it, and despite its body literally beginning to burn away, the strange goblin simply laughed.

There was no scream. No expression of agony. It didn’t even try to resist the flames consuming it.

Instead, it looked straight at me with an unsettling calmness and laughed as though everything happening to its body was exactly what it had expected.

Then it said,

"You really are as powerful as Raghul says, Eli."

My eyes narrowed.

The way he said my name with such a familiar tone was unsettling, especially since I had no idea who he was or how much he already knew about me.

But I did know who Raghul was. Made sense he had something to do with the invasion.

Before I could make sense of it, his burning body began to break apart, his flesh crumbling into glowing fragments before those fragments scattered into ashes.

"In that case, I guess I can make some sacrifices."

His voice remained calm even as the last pieces of his body disintegrated.

Sacrifices? What is that supposed to mean?

The last of the ashes faded away, and I frowned, still confused by its final words. What exactly did it mean by sacrifices? And why had it said that with such confidence, as though whatever was about to happen had already been decided?

I didn’t linger on the thought for long, however. I could still sense more enemies outside, and every second I spent standing there was another second the clan was left to deal with the invasion without me.

I had to get back.

So I turned around, preparing to use [Warp].

But before I could activate the skill, I heard the heavy sound of something striking the ground behind me.

THUD!

The sound echoed through the strange space.

I slowly turned around.

A strange box now sat exactly where the possessed goblin had been standing only moments ago. I hadn’t seen it appear, and I hadn’t sensed anyone approaching, which immediately put me on guard.

I didn’t waste time guessing what it was.

I activated [Analyze].

The moment the information appeared before my eyes, my expression darkened.

[Folded Prison SSS]

My eyes lingered on the word Prison.

The moment I saw it, I got a bad feeling.

And, as if the System itself wanted to confirm my suspicion, numerous eyes suddenly opened across the surface of the box, appearing one after another until dozens of them were staring directly at me.

Every single one of them was focused on me, their countless eyes fixed on my body as if they were watching for even the slightest movement.

I activated [Warp] immediately. The strange object was just too freaky.

But...

I was certain that I had successfully triggered the skill.

I had used [Warp], no doubt.

So why... why the hell was I here in this strange place instead?

I let out a sigh.

There was only one answer.

I had been caught by the strange SSS Rank prison.