This strange ability he acquired was the skill known as "Latent Shadow."
It came with many restrictions.
First, the transmission distance was short.
Second, it could only be used in shaded areas.
Most importantly, it could only teleport the user alone.
Carrying additional objects was impossible. Simply put, he couldn't transport anything that exceeded his own body weight.
This meant he couldn't take his mother, Rosentine Arzen, with him.
While undeniably useful, the skill's limitations were clear. Yet, in Kaito's hands, it proved to be extremely powerful.
Using Latent Shadow, Kaito easily escaped the cage within the room.
Since the guards had been steadily reducing in number as others were taken away, the remaining vigilance was weak. Only a few scattered goblins patrolled the area.
Relying on his previous life's experience, Kaito skillfully avoided the goblin patrols.
For him, this level of security was almost laughable.
But he had only one objective in mind now:
The goblin who insulted his mother—the one who dared to look at her with that disgusting gaze that morning.
Kill.
As he moved through the lair, Kaito realized something: this place was an underground network of tunnels—a goblin den.
The room he'd been confined to was merely one small chamber in a labyrinth-like nest that stretched both above and below.
If someone unfamiliar wandered in without guidance, they'd be hopelessly lost.
But this didn't bother Kaito in the slightest.
"Crunch... crunch... so good."
In the dim corridor ahead, two goblins walked side by side. One gnawed on something grotesque—human fingers.
"Hahaha! Yeah, there seem to be more adventurers around here lately."
"You have no idea how many slaves are in the lair now."
"It's amazing!" one goblin laughed harshly.
"Hahaha!"
"Still," one of the goblins' tones shifted, "we need to be careful."
"Huh? Why's that?" the other asked, suddenly uneasy.
"It sounds like that bastard who's been hunting us lately has made his way here."
The goblin's face twisted with fear, as though haunted by some unseen force.
Moments later, it forced a grin. "What are you scared for? We have the general."
Despite its attempt at bravado, its voice trembled.
"If that guy dares to come here, he'll never leave."
"Hahaha!"
The goblin's laughter stopped abruptly. The sharp snap of bones breaking echoed down the corridor.
Click!
A shadowy figure appeared above one of the goblins, landing squarely on its neck. Before it could react, its head twisted a full 360 degrees with a sickening crack.
In mere moments, Kaito dispatched the goblin with brutal efficiency.
Almost immediately, the voice of the world echoed in his mind:
[Congratulations on killing an adult Goblin. Based on the effect of your skill "Prey," you have obtained the Goblin's talent: "Self-Recovery."]