The clouds united artistically, forming a mat. The mat formed of clouds was covered like an arc—an eclipse, to be more specific. Parts of its ends extended downward like vast stairs.
The number of the stairs was exactly twelve. Each of the twelve cloud-made stairs extended to the king's throne, which was set near the ocean.
PSI was shocked the moment he heard the sound of the divine goblins. It resembled the sound of tube toys he once knew.
His face was washed away by confusion as he heard the sound and thought:
"Divine goblins… for real? We are taking this too far…"
His body reacted even worse—he didn't realize it at first. His hands and legs trembled as if he were standing under a cold shower. His teeth began to chatter slowly.
He realized it when he tried to stand straight and stretch. He looked at his right leg—the one he usually moved first—completely flabbergasted. He gritted his teeth as soon as he realized this wasn't a joke.
"I'm dead."
"But I will revive… tsk."
"Huh?"
He twisted and jumped on the ground, throwing his hands and body around, trying to wake himself from the state he was in.
The goblins ascended from the stairs made for them.
The twelve goblins.
The red goblins—these goblins' bodies were filled entirely with red, from their teeth to their nails. Even their eyes and hair were red. Once activated, they burned like hell itself. Their hair blazed upward like fire from a struck match, and flames burned around their knees as well.
He looked at the next goblins stepping down from their stairs in sequential order.
The blue goblins were exact copies of the red ones, but with a different element and color—blue. Their water magic was overwhelming. Clouds hovered above each of them, raining endlessly.
Water flooded from the stairs like a mountainside collapsing, groaning as the merciless titan of water tore away rock and earth in its wake.
Next, the yellow goblins ascended. They shone like the sun. Every single one of them possessed eyes that seemed to incinerate whatever they gazed upon. They were light magic users.
Then came the orange goblins—slow, yet the most terrifying. They didn't just burn the ground from above; they melted it. Lava magic users.
The lava dripped slowly, penetrating the ground softly.
Suddenly, something contradictory appeared.
The clouds darkened as shadows stepped down the stairs. They breathed black smoke, their eyes glowing light blue.
The black goblins.
Shadow magic users—also known as smoke manipulators.
Soon, a disturbing sound vibrated throughout the place. PSI's ears felt as if rushing phonk music were blasting at maximum volume through headphones.
Unlike the other goblins, this one felt strangely empowering. For a moment, PSI felt like he could defeat even the gods, let alone goblins.
But he never considered that the goblins themselves might actually be gods.
That was the effect of the purple goblins—sound magic users capable of manipulating the mind through chosen music.
The atmosphere shifted.
The wind began to wave slowly, forming a tornado at the very first cloud stair.
When the leader stepped out of the clouds onto the stair, the wind exploded across the land. Every goblin—now considered nothing more than leftovers of those PSI had already killed—was swept away.
They slammed into the mountains, their bodies exploding upon impact.
PSI stood his ground, grinding his teeth as he held onto a stone deeply embedded in the ground. It felt like opening an airplane window mid-flight and peeking outside. His face stretched unnaturally, making him fear it might tear apart.
Once stretched, it might never return.
These were the almighty light-gray goblins—wind magic users.
The next entrance was far more stylish.
Metal bars formed and shaped themselves into a renowned nouveau staircase design.
Each goblin wore chains, crowns, and intricate accessories. From rings to necklaces, everything gleamed with top-tier silver.
The cloud-made staircase was reinforced and elegant.
They were silver goblins—metal magic users. Flashy ones.
Never in his life did PSI imagine goblins could look this cool.
As the rain-tornado combination slowed, he sighed.
"Never in my life did I think I'd see goblins this hot. Damn it."
Then the sand and stones rose into the sky—even the stone PSI clung to lifted upward.
They covered the next two stairs.
The first stair held brown goblins—sand magic users.
The second held dark gray goblins—earth magic users, more specifically stone manipulators.
Finally, PSI turned not just his face, but his entire body, toward the last stair.
These goblins were different.
Perfectly green.
As they stepped out of the clouds, trees sprouted from the staircase itself. The entire stair transformed into a vast grassland, tall enough to conceal PSI completely.
The greenery expanded outward, covering the ground in soft grass.
True nature magic users—the green goblins.
The king rose from his throne, staring directly at Pathless. His voice echoed, vibrating with authority that alone placed him above all twelve goblins.
"Leader of the lesser goblins. I will make your dreams come true. I will elevate the goblins into thirteen divine goblins and grant them intelligence. They shall become special goblins, each bound to an element—if you succeed in my final request, as your god."
One figure remained standing.
Even when the wind swept away all the other goblins PSI had initially tried to defeat, this one did not move.
Their leader.
He possessed overwhelming strength. His body was far from that of an ordinary goblin. With a V-shaped physique and standing over six feet tall, he resembled something else entirely.
PSI was reminded of bodybuilders from his past life.
"He looks like Superman… Is he really that strong? Even the goblin king—who I already consider a god—acknowledged him. If it weren't for his brainless followers, he might have already ascended. It's best to think of him as the Thirteenth Divine Goblin."
Suddenly, PSI jumped and screamed.
"Ghoo—oust!"
"Haaa…"
A ghost stood before him, sweating and trembling. Even as a ghost, it was terrified.
But PSI was terrified of something far worse.
Just as the ghost spoke—
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BODY?!"
"WHO ARE YOU?"