Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP-Chapter 43: Graveyard

Flogga stepped forward, her voice shaking.

"Zzok... Zzok is dead."

I froze.

I already knew. I’d felt it in my arms—the absence of breath, the chilling stillness in his body. But hearing it spoken aloud struck deeper. It wasn’t just a sinking feeling anymore. It was reality.

Pain bloomed in my chest as I looked down at Zzok’s lifeless form. His eyes were closed, and his once-proud shoulders had gone slack.

I sighed, long and slow.

This was my fault.

If I’d done the daily quest earlier... If I had returned just a little faster... If I’d been here during the emergency—maybe he’d still be alive. My absence had forced the others to fight without a proper leader. To take unnecessary risks.

And now Zzok was gone.

I exhaled again, then rose to my feet with effort, like the weight of guilt had tripled.

"Flogga," I said quietly, turning toward her. "When exactly did he die?"

"Not long after you left," she replied, her voice hushed.

I closed my eyes and nodded slowly. That... was oddly comforting. At least it hadn’t happened just before I arrived. If it had been just a matter of seconds or minutes, I would’ve hated myself even more.

Still... it didn’t make the guilt disappear.

"Chief," Flogga said after a pause. "What about the enemies? Did they retreat? Or are they still—?"

"They’re dead," I said flatly. "I dealt with them all. The shaman too."

That last part gave me a flicker of satisfaction—but it didn’t last.

A sudden thought hit me, lighting a small spark of hope.

I turned sharply. "The graveyard. You mentioned earlier it was used to resurrect fallen goblins, right? Can’t we use it for Zzok?"

Flogga shook her head, regret clouding her features. "No... even if we managed to set up the graveyard now, it wouldn’t work for him. It only binds to those who are still alive when it’s created. Once someone dies, they’re no longer connected."

I stared at her for a long moment.

Then sighed again.

"So that’s it," I muttered.

"Dammit." The word slipped out harsher than I meant.

"I should’ve set it up earlier. What was I thinking?"

"In what time, Chief?" a voice called out.

I turned to see Zarah walking toward me.

"You’ve been fighting non-stop to protect us ever since you became chief," she said. "You can’t blame yourself for every loss."

Her words hit harder than I expected.

It was like she’d pulled them straight from my thoughts.

"She’s right," Flogga added. "We can’t afford to fall into despair. We need your guidance now more than ever. If you don’t lead us... we’ll crumble. Our survival depends on you."

"So... we await your command, Chief."

Chief.

That word hit different this time.

I hadn’t even noticed until now—Flogga had been calling me that instead of ’young totem.’

What changed?

I used [Analyze], and the result surprised me.

[Flogga]

Goblin Alchemist | Level: 2

Skill: Potion Making | Loyalty: 100%

Her loyalty was at 100%?

Why?

If anything, I expected it to have dropped.

"Chief."

"Chief."

"Totem!"

The others called out too. I checked their loyalty.

Also 100%.

I felt something stir in my chest.

They didn’t blame me. Not one of them.

And not only that... they trusted me completely now.

I felt honored.

I felt seen.

It almost made me want to cry.

But goblins weren’t exactly known for tears.

So I swallowed it down and raised my head, determined.

I had failed them once.

I wouldn’t do it again.

Whatever it took, I’d make sure we survived.

I was about to speak when a chilling thought hit me, stopping me mid-breath.

"No way..." I whispered.

"It can’t be...can it?"

I turned sharply toward Flogga.

"Flogga," I said slowly. "Do... all goblin clans have graveyards?"

She nodded. "Yes. It’s a sacred part of goblin society."

My stomach sank. "Then... the clan that attacked us. They’d have one, wouldn’t they?"

Flogga’s face paled. She understood where I was going with this.

"No doubt." she responded grimly.

I gritted my teeth, the implications hitting like a hammer.

That bastard shaman... he was coming back.

Everything I did to take him down was wasted if they just crawl back out like nothing happened.

"Shit..." I muttered, fingers curling into a fist.

It made sense now—why the hobgoblin who attacked my clan before I arrived had made sure to destroy their graveyard first.

The ability to come back from the dead was a cheat code.

If I wanted a real win, the first thing I needed to destroy wasn’t the enemy. It was their graveyard.

But what about the shaman’s skills?

Killing him had granted me his innate abilities and the ones he had stolen from killing other Drugar’s chose..

What would happen when he returns... would he keep his skills? Or would he lose them?

I don’t know.

But I hoped it was the latter.

I looked down at Zzok’s body one more time.

I wanted to mourn him. I really did.

But there wasn’t time.

The goblins I killed could already be preparing to return. And when they did, they’d bring more with them.

The shaman would be back, and he’d bring more numbers. Maybe even other Chosen of Drugar

Anomalies like me.

Those weren’t enemies I could prepare for fully as I had no idea what they could do.

But the rest? I could prepare for that.

I turned to the rest of the goblins.

Their levels were far too low.

And if we were to survive the next assault, that had to change.

I opened my status screen and brought up the description of my title:

---

[Title: The Chosen Leader]

A title granted to a goblin chief who has been willfully chosen by their subjects.

Effects:

Skill Sharing: You can share all active and passive skills with your subjects, excluding innate skills.

Cordiality Boost: Automatically increases your rapport with new goblins by 15%. The percentage adjusts based on your actions.

Battle Aura: Clan members who witness you in combat gain +10% morale, attack power, and defense for 5 minutes.

---

"Skill sharing."

There was no doubt in my mind it had...