Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP

Chapter 379: Crystals

"Well, I’d be depending on your experience going forward," I said to him.

Caius gave a small nod.

"I’d be here to help... Chief."

There was a brief pause after that before the discussions resumed once more.

From there, Caius began bringing up different areas of the clan that needed improvement moving forward, and honestly, most of what he said made sense.

The biggest issue, according to him, was individual and overall combat strength.

The clan had grown rapidly, but rapid growth also created an imbalance. While some goblins had become monsters in their own right, others were still far too weak compared to the level of threats we would eventually be facing.

And he was right.

A one-man army approach simply wasn’t sustainable anymore.

No matter how strong I became, there was a limit to what a single goblin could handle alone, especially during large-scale battles like the King’s Games, where we’d be facing hordes, organized enemies, and possibly other clans.

If the clan itself remained weak, then eventually I’d reach a point where I wouldn’t be able to protect everyone, no matter how strong I got personally. Which meant strengthening the others was no longer optional. It was necessary.

Caius also emphasized the importance of siege weaponry, artillery, and long-range defenses, especially for the first phase of the King’s Games.

"If we’re truly going to be facing monster hordes," he explained, "then ranged suppression becomes extremely valuable. The more enemies we can eliminate before direct engagement, the better."

The ideas themselves sounded realistic enough, considering the abilities available within the clan already. And thankfully, we actually had goblins capable of developing those kinds of things if given enough time and resources.

Then came equipment.

The clan was growing beyond the point where we could rely purely on scavenged gear and whatever random equipment goblins happened to carry around individually.

We needed proper systems now.

Which reminded me of something Talia had mentioned to me the other night.

Something potentially important.

"Gork, Talia mentioned something about monster crystals that can be used to enhance armor," I said, turning toward him. "Tell me about that."

Gork seemed to think for a moment before answering.

"Yes, Chief," he said slowly. "We discovered traces of them in the past, but only in very small amounts. After that, we searched for monsters that might possess more of the crystals, but we couldn’t find anything reliable."

His expression tightened slightly as he continued.

"At the time, Jael was already prioritizing preparations for the King’s Games, so eventually he decided the search wasn’t worth continuing."

I frowned slightly at that.

If the crystals were capable of strengthening armor or equipment, then abandoning the search entirely felt wasteful. Something like that could massively improve the clan’s survivability, especially if we were truly going to face endless monster hordes during the first phase of the game.

Before I could ask another question, a voice suddenly came from the corner of the room.

"Monster crystals..."

Ariel, who had been quietly sitting off to the side for most of the meeting, lifted her head slightly.

"I know where we can get some."

The room immediately turned toward her. Even Caius looked interested.

I raised a brow.

"Really?"

The fox nodded lightly.

"While I was out hunting, I came across monsters that dropped those crystals," Ariel explained. "A pack of wolves."

That immediately caught everyone’s attention.

"They were strong too," she continued, sounding slightly annoyed at having to admit it. "Not strong enough to stop me, obviously. I killed a few of them before things became troublesome."

Ariel curled her tails around herself

"Then their alpha appeared."

The slight irritation in her voice disappeared at that point, replaced instead with something noticeably more serious.

"And I fled."

The room went quiet for a moment.

"You are surprisingly honest about that," I said.

Ariel immediately frowned at me.

"He was terrifying," she replied without hesitation, as if that alone justified everything.

Which, considering who it was coming from, honestly made the situation sound far more dangerous than she probably realized.

Ariel wasn’t weak. Far from it. Even now, she was one of the strongest beings inside the clan, and her growth rate was absurd. So if something had genuinely frightened her enough to make her retreat instead of fighting head-on, then this so-called alpha was definitely no ordinary creature.

Still, hearing that the wolves possessed monster crystals immediately made the place valuable in my eyes. Resources like that couldn’t be ignored.

"Then that’s settled," I said after a brief moment of thought. "You and I would be heading there."

Ariel visibly perked up for a split second before quickly forcing herself to calm down again. She turned her head slightly afterward, acting like she wasn’t particularly pleased by the idea despite the obvious reaction earlier.

I ignored it and shifted my attention elsewhere.

"Caius."

"Yes, Chief?"

"You’d be responsible for leveling up Dribb, Gobbo, and Zarah moving forward."

Gobbo and Zarah, who were in the room, immediately looked toward me after hearing their names.

"Your goal is to get them all to level fifty as quickly as possible."

"I’m not as strong without my innate skill," Caius said after a moment of thought. "Higher-level monsters might be difficult for me to handle alone, especially since I wouldn’t just be killing them. I’d have to weaken them carefully so the others can finish them off."

"Take Kharos with you then," I replied.

At that, Caius smiled faintly. A very subtle smile.

I knew exactly what he was trying to do. He wanted his domain skill line back. Or at the very least, he wanted me to start considering it. After all, I had already returned Kharos’ skill line to him before, so Caius was probably hoping I’d eventually do the same for him as well.

But no. Not yet.

His domain ability was far too valuable to casually hand back, especially this early. Trust or not, I wasn’t stupid enough to ignore how dangerous Caius could become once he regained that level of power again.

Maybe someday. But definitely not now.

I shifted my attention away from him afterward.

"Narg."

"Yes, Chief?"

"You’d be responsible for leveling up the weaker members alongside Zonk and Thok."

Narg immediately straightened after hearing their names.

"Focus on the newer goblins and the ones falling behind. Build up their levels, improve coordination, and make sure they become useful in actual combat situations."

"Yes, Chief," Narg replied.

But then he paused slightly.

"...If all of us leave the clan for training and hunting," he said slowly, "wouldn’t that leave the...