Expelled Hero Is Too Strong

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Chapter 266. Island of Death (4)

Yoo Ji-han looked at Desa, the only outsider aboard the ship.

His arms were tightly bound under the intense watch of Min Yu-ri and Park Jae-kyung.

He was staring at the direction of Kallem, which had already vanished from view.

“Do you still have any lingering feelings for Kallem?”

“Not at all.”

“Your gaze says otherwise.”

“I just… didn’t expect to leave like this.”

Desa had wanted to use the kidnapped Yoon Do-ha to bring down Leron, who was in the process of collapsing and was the royal mage of Maz and Kabuum.

But his plans had been derailed from the very start in Maz.

After contemplating death, he ended up completely leaving Kallem, guided by the heroes.

It was an oddly sentimental feeling he couldn’t shake off.

‘Perhaps it would have been better to leave Kallem like this from the beginning…’

Not as a metaphor for another dimension, but a truly uncharted continent that might exist.

Desa thought it might have been better to leave Kallem in search of that place.

Yoon Do-ha, who had approached him, asked, “Do you know anything about the Island of Death?”

“All I know is that it was originally an unnamed island, and there’s a rumor that you shouldn’t get close to it.”

“I heard there’s no one who has gone there and returned.”

“I can’t confirm if that’s true. It might just be a sailor’s tall tale.”

“The royal mage of Kabuum also told us not to go.”

“Hmph! I’ve met that guy before. He was quite superstitious and gullible.”

At the mention of the mage he had encountered during his time as a royal mage, Desa scoffed, mocking him for believing the rumors surrounding the island.

While they were having this conversation, Yoon Do-ha looked over at Park Jae-kyung.

“Jae-kyung. I’ll keep an eye on him, so you go take a break over there.”

“No way, Guild Master.”

Yoon Do-ha, who tried to take over the monitoring of Desa, scratched his cheek.

Park Jae-kyung had been speaking very stiffly to him for several days now.

“Are you still sulking?”

“Sulking? What are you talking about?”

“You’re sulking, definitely.”

“I can’t let our Guild Master, who’s as soft as tofu, handle serious matters.”

“S-soft? Me?”

Yoon Do-ha pointed to his face with an utterly dumbfounded expression at Park Jae-kyung’s remark.

After recruiting Park Jae-kyung, whom he had been watching closely since he founded the Dice guild, this was almost the first time he was hearing something like this.

“If you weren’t like that, you wouldn’t be suffering like this in a place like this.”

“Mmm! Do-ha. Soft.”

“You too, now… ”

Yoon Do-ha’s shoulders drooped as Park Jae-kyung chided him, followed by Mumu’s commentary.

But since they had even suffered casualties while attempting to rescue him, frankly, there was nothing more to say.

All he could offer to the deceased was his utmost respect.

“You dare attack the Guild Master with words?”

“That’s our Vice Guild Master for you…!”

The Dice guild members, who wouldn’t dare challenge Yoon Do-ha, cheered for Park Jae-kyung from a distance.

Meanwhile, Kim Si-hu and Min Yu-ri were looking at the direction in which the ship was heading.

“I think we should turn about 5 degrees to the left.”

“Please do, Sylph.”

—Kuaaah!

The ship’s movement was entirely handled by the Sylph, who manipulated the wind.

Having already drawn her bow, Min Yu-ri was on high alert, watching for anything approaching the ship.

She had heard that there were creatures in the sea that could attack ships.

“Chirp chirp! How peaceful!”

However, aside from the seaweed that had initially bound their ship, the atmosphere remained calm without any significant incidents.

Just before their departure, Chilla, who had been ready with his shield, was now lying flat on the deck, soaking up the warm sun.

Thump! Thump!

Lee Mi-a gave Chilla a light smack on the back.

They had become quite friendly after enjoying a hearty meal together in Kallem.

“You’re just lying there all by yourself. How arrogant.”

“Chirp! A tank should be sturdy yet arrogant!”

“Who said that?”

“The captain! Chirp!”

Chilla was taking a leisurely break, capitalizing on Yoo Ji-han’s advice.

However, that rest did not last long.

Just as Chilla was about to doze off…

Pitter patter!

Raindrops began to fall from the sky.

“Ugh! Ugh! Salty! Chirp!”

The moment Chilla was doused, he snapped back to attention.

It was far too clear of a sky for rain.

The salty droplets were from the sea splashing up.

“What’s under there?!”

The wooden boat tossed violently along with the rough waves.

Min Yu-ri, generating a Magic Arrow, shot it towards the sea.

Bang!

However, her arrow, which could have burrowed deep into the water, got stuck just below the surface.

And soon, as a creature emerged from the water, everyone gasped.

“Yikes!”

“What is that?!”

“……!!”

A round head radiating a red aura.

Countless suckers adorned the long legs connected to that huge head.

‘It’s an octopus?’

The interruption came from an octopus with eight legs.

The problem was, it was five times larger than the ship Yoo Ji-han was on!

Was this what it felt like for a Kraken to appear in reality?

Seeing it, Yoo Ji-han instinctively drew his sword.

Sway!

“The ship, it’s tilting too much!”

“Uaaah!”

“We’re going to capsize at this rate!”

The wooden boat rocked violently, shaken more than the waves created by the octopus.

It was grabbing the ship and shaking it with its long legs.

—Let’s go!

“Mmmm!”

The spirits, commanded by Yoo Ji-han and Yoon Do-ha, immediately moved beneath the ship.

This was to counter an attack from a blind spot they couldn’t handle.

“Are we having boiled octopus for dinner tonight?”

Watanabe gripped his sword’s handle.

And as his katana shot out from its sheath—

[Single Slash (一閃)]

A horizontal line was drawn in the air.

—————————

A strike from a swordsman ignoring the distance, cutting into the opponent.

Following a trajectory as precise as if measured with a ruler, a long cut appeared on the octopus’s smooth skin.

‘It didn’t cut?!’

However, that wasn’t the outcome Watanabe had desired.

The strike, meant to slice the octopus’s body in two, had only resulted in a split in the skin, causing him to frown.

Phwoooh!

The octopus’s whole body turned a bright red, as if it was boiling.

“I think it’s really angry now…!”

And indeed, the infuriated octopus raised its submerged legs high into the air.

“Uaaah!!”

“It’s falling!”

“Attack! Attack!”

“It’s no use!”

Even if they cut with swords, shot arrows, or cast spells, nothing could pierce the octopus’s skin.

The skills overflowing from the artifacts possessed by the heroes couldn’t harm it at all.

Its smooth skin and the slime covering it deflected most attacks.

‘It can regenerate?!’

Seeing its wounds heal rapidly, Yoo Ji-han could only frown.

What a terrifying regenerative ability!

Splash! Splash! Splash!

The octopus’s legs flailed violently towards the ship’s surface.

With the tsunami-like waves crashing down upon the deck, a massive surge of seawater poured in.

—Ah, that creature is truly annoying!

“Be careful not to tear the sails!”

If Yoo Ji-han hadn’t urgently called the Sylph back onto the ship, it would have capsized long ago.

With the wind they conjured, they could barely evade the octopus’s attack!

Kim Si-hu, hugging the mast tightly, extended his staff towards the octopus.

“Hyung Ji-han! Just let me…!”

“No! You can’t go out there!”

Yoo Ji-han stood in the way of Kim Si-hu, who was trying to summon a wooden giant against the massive octopus.

His role in deploying dimensional magic was too crucial.

“But!”

“Just wait.”

Kim Si-hu, unable to suppress his anger, bit his lower lip while glaring at the octopus.

However, if he used up his mana carelessly, even if they reached the place called the Island of Death, they might have to stay there for several more days.

They didn’t know how many more times they would face things like that, so they couldn’t afford to waste Kim Si-hu’s mana from the very start.

‘Did those sailors who went to that island end up being taken down by that thing?’

The reason why the island so far from land was called the Island of Death was likely due to that octopus, whose existence remained unknown.

One might even think that the most terrifying creature in Kallem was not the King of Kabuum, but that octopus.

‘Of all places, out on the sea!’

Yoon Do-ha clung to keep everyone from falling off the constantly rocking ship.

Although he was unable to use even one-third of his strength over the water instead of land, this was a suitable role for him.

Yet, Yoo Ji-han felt a bit pained that the strongest member of their party was out of the fight.

<—How to kill that octopus>

By using Sampling, he saw two vague afterimages flying up into the sky.

But this time, Yoo Ji-han had no choice but to give up.

‘That’s insane.’

One afterimage seemed to fly around the many legs like Superman and, with immense luck, would eventually stab its sword into the octopus’s head, and another afterimage seemed to purposefully get caught by the octopus, tossed into the sea multiple times, and then wield a sword against it while nearly exhausted after the ship with heroes on board flipped over completely.

It was a scenario where his unique skill was giving him the answer but was nearly impossible to execute.

‘I thought it was all over with what happened in Kallem…!’

While he had successfully prevented Kallem’s downfall,

The biggest trial seemed to remain here.

“Ji-han!”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to shoot this!”

“……!”

At that moment, Yoo Ji-han’s eyes widened as he saw what Min Yu-ri had pulled out.

‘A piece of Hyper Dragon bone?’

The object in her hand was a fragment of the Hyper Dragon he had gifted.

The moment it entered his field of vision, Yoo Ji-han’s mind began to race.

‘There’s potential.’

The Hyper Dragon’s bone was known to be extremely difficult to craft into an artifact.

The reason was that the bone had properties that blocked magical power.

The octopus’s regeneration would likely be a phenomenon connected to magical energy.

Thus, using the dragon’s bone could lead to an effective attack.

“Your intention is good, but shooting it with a bow isn’t a good idea!”

“Why not?!”

“Just like earlier, the arrow will get caught on the octopus’s legs!”

“Then what should I do…!”

Yoo Ji-han glared at the flailing legs of the octopus, leaving Min Yu-ri in suspense.

And as he controlled the ship through the Sylph, he continued using his Sampling repetitively.

<—Kill the octopus with the Hyper Dragon’s bone>

<—Subdue the octopus with the Hyper Dragon’s bone>

<—Knock the octopus out with the Hyper Dragon’s bone>

<—With the Hyper Dragon’s bone…

…

…

With a few more conditions added to the Sampling, Yoo Ji-han was provided with a more advanced form of afterimage.

It was like previewing the answers for an unresolved problem.

He scanned the many possibilities laid before him while simultaneously conjuring new conditions.

‘Forget all that nonsense and give me the best feasible method!’

What had changed from the time he once used his skills before meeting Nirochi was that he was now being provided with solid solutions.

Whatever he chose would lead him to the right answers, yet Yoo Ji-han sought an even better option.

Swoosh!

The blurry afterimages visible in his sight began to overlap.

An overwhelming amount of information for a single individual to handle.

“Ugh!”

As a torrent of information barreled into him, a splitting headache struck.

But Yoo Ji-han gritted his teeth and endured.

—Ji-han! Stop!

The Sylph hastily tried to dissuade his actions, aware he was taking on a significant risk.

“Ten seconds! Just ten more seconds.”

And after the ten seconds he marked as a critical limit had passed,

As he wiped the blood from his nose, he glanced at Lee Mi-a with bloodshot eyes and spoke.

“Lee Mi-a.”

“……?”

“Help me.”

From Kim Hyun-tae’s party all the way to now,

Lee Mi-a, who trusted Yoo Ji-han endlessly, nodded slightly.