ALL NOVEL Chapter 268
Chapter 268. Island of Death (6)
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
After arriving on the island, Yoo Ji-han was shocked to hear the command to stop.
Park Jae-kyung, wielding her sword, had an expression full of distrust towards Desa.
If he tried something funny, she was ready to slice him right then and there.
But at that moment, Desa spoke.
“I can feel the curse all over this island.”
“What did you say?”
“Now I understand a little. Why this place is called the Island of Death…”
The mages, tilting their heads at Desa’s murmurs, raised their staffs.
After slowly dispersing their magical power to conduct a detailed investigation of the surroundings.
“…It’s real?”
“There really is a curse like the one the mages of Kallem taught us.”
“Not just a part of it! The curse can be felt all across the island!”
The sand, dirt, various plants, and trees that filled the ground where the ship had settled.
Every object in Yoo Ji-han’s view on this island was tainted by curses.
Several heroes who were about to jump off the ship and disregard Desa immediately withdrew their feet.
Yoo Ji-han then remarked.
“Does that mean we can’t set foot on the island?”
“Can you see that sand over there?”
“I see it.”
“If your bare skin touches it, you’ll feel a pain as if that area has suffered severe burns.”
“…!”
If the heroes had jumped off the ship onto the sandy beach.
That sand would have splashed against their bodies, and they would have fallen victim to the curse that Desa mentioned.
“That’s not all. There’s a curse on that tree that induces hallucinations if you get too close.”
“Hallucinations?”
“Be cautious of the grass growing next to the tree too. It seems there’s a curse that robs you of your sight and hearing.”
“W-what kind of a ridiculous island is this…?”
“This island has an unusually high concentration of curses. It’s like all the curses we’ve seen from Kallem are gathered here.”
Yoo Ji-han listened to Desa as he pointed out each curse, feeling a chill run down his spine.
What a dreadful place, rich in curses, for a place so suitable for dimension magic.
“Isn’t there any way to lift the curses?”
“There’s no way I could purify the entire island even if I dedicated the rest of my life to it.”
“So it can’t be done.”
But at that moment, Yoon Do-ha stepped forward.
“If it can’t be done, then we’ll make it happen.”
“…?”
“It’s finally time for action, Mumu!”
“Um-mum-mum!”
Kugugugugu!
As Yoon Do-ha stretched his hand toward the island, a golden glow emanated from Mumu’s body.
Then a slight earthquake occurred around the area where the ship had settled.
And shortly after, the moist sand from beneath the ground shot up into the sky.
“W-what the hell is happening?!”
Desa was horrified at the sight of the erupting sand.
He flailed his arms, trying to avoid the sand from touching his covered body.
However, contrary to his expectations, not even a single grain of the cursed sand soared toward the ship.
Swish!
The wet sands that sprang up from underground began to cover the ground.
It was as if they were enveloping the cursed land that was previously thick with jinxes.
“Upon checking, I confirmed that the curse did not reach more than 20 meters deep underground. If we scoop up the safe soil and cover all the land we plan to walk on, we won’t have any restrictions for a while.”
“Y-you can differentiate that underground?”
“Hey! What do you take me for? Anyone who has used my power should know this much.”
Desa quickly turned his head away as he met Yoon Do-ha’s playful tone.
Even having directly borrowed Yoon Do-ha’s strength, it was a realm he would never understand.
*
It didn’t take long for Yoon Do-ha to cover part of the island with the sand he had brought up from underground.
After confirming multiple times that there was no curse felt in the newly created ground, the heroes all disembarked from the ship.
Kim Si-hu gathered the nearby mages and said.
“I’ll look for a place to draw the magic circle.”
“Should I go with you?”
“Hyung Ji-han, you should rest for a bit with Noona Mi-a.”
“Why?”
“You’ve had a tough time coming here.”
Separating Yoo Ji-han and Lee Mi-a, Kim Si-hu headed into the island with Yoon Do-ha and the other heroes.
Left alone, Yoo Ji-han scratched his head and gazed at the sea.
The sea was eerily calm without a single wave after the giant octopus fell.
“Desa.”
“What is it?”
“Why does someone who seems so knowledgeable about curses have such a fallen state?”
“……”
“You had many options available, even without being a royal mage of Leron.”
Desa kept his mouth shut at Yoo Ji-han’s question.
At that moment, Sylph jumped up and said.
—Hey! Ji-han is asking! Don’t you have to answer quickly?
“I refuse to answer.”
—I refuse your refusal!
Swish!
Sylph created a gust of wind, slapping Desa’s cheek.
Desa glared at Sylph with his head shaking side to side.
In contrast, Sylph laughed heartily.
—Hehe! I always wanted to slap you like this at least once!
“You brat! How dare a lowly creature that isn’t even human…!”
—What? Lowly?
Swish!
“Ugh! This brat really…!”
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Sylph’s winds continuously struck Desa’s cheeks.
Desa, whose neck twisted in pain, was mortified.
“Stop!”
—A lowly creature didn’t understand human words!
“……!”
“Let’s stop there.”
Yoo Ji-han teased Desa, stopping Sylph from wanting to attack further.
—I’m still not done venting my displeasure at him!
“He’s necessary when we return to Korea.”
—Hmm… You’re lucky to be alive thanks to Ji-han.
Once Sylph’s frustration toward Desa concluded.
Yoo Ji-han approached a nearby tree.
The only surface covered by non-cursed sand was the ground.
Other objects, including the trees, still brimmed with curses.
“Why does such an island exist here?”
Even if curses exist in Kallem as a form of magic.
It was a bit strange for an island to be entirely filled with curses.
Even stranger was that neither sailors nor ordinary citizens knew anything about this island.
“It must have been for research purposes.”
The assumption was that the old mages intentionally polluted the island for experiments on curses.
If they hadn’t recorded such a shameful past, it made a certain level of sense.
“Hm.”
Yoo Ji-han forcefully stomped his feet on the ground with his magic-infused soles.
Thump!
The magic starting from his foot quickly seeped into the ground below.
As it did, various pieces of information were relayed to Yoo Ji-han through the connecting soles of his feet.
“That’s quite a height.”
He could sense how thick Yoon Do-ha had piled the new layer of sand above ground.
And he could even sense the cursed land beneath it.
It was a remnant left on his body after breaking a temporary contract he had with the earth spirit.
“If I make a temporary contract with another attribute spirit, I’d be able to use at least some of that attribute’s power even after breaking the contract.”
The magic of Mumu, which melded into Yoo Ji-han’s own power rather than Sylph’s.
Although it was a very faint strength compared to when Mumu helped him directly.
It allowed him to mimic some of Yoon Do-ha’s abilities, albeit awkwardly.
Such knowledge would surely be something that even earth spirit researchers from his own world had not uncovered.
“Well, there’s no spirit that would demand multiple contracts from someone already in contract with spirits.”
This was just a special case due to circumstances.
Typically, it was nearly impossible to have contracts with two spirits.
“Hmm?”
However, Yoo Ji-han suddenly caught something while spreading his magic into the ground.
An object discovered much lower than the height from which Yoon Do-ha scooped up the earth.
It wasn’t a cursed object, but he could feel a distinct magic emanating from it.
Yoo Ji-han tightly shut his eyes, focusing and wrapping his own magic around the object’s surface.
“Paper?”
A very thin sheet of paper, about the size of A4.
The magic contained within was something he found exceedingly familiar.
“Why is this so familiar?”
The problem was that he didn’t even understand why it felt familiar.
That problem overlapped with the fact that someone had crossed over from Earth to Kallem in the past, piquing his curiosity.
After pondering for a moment, he wrapped the buried paper in magic and slowly began to pull it upwards.
—Ji-han! What are you doing?
“Oh, can you come help me with this?”
The flimsy paper seemed like it would tear apart from even the slightest pressure.
Pulling up that paper buried deep underground using only magic was no small feat.
However, with the aid of Sylph, he was able to pull it up a few times quicker.
—It’s out!
“……!”
Yoo Ji-han was shocked when he finally pulled the paper out of the ground.
It was hard to believe that something buried so deep could be so pristine.
‘Was it under a preservation spell?’
If there was a spell protecting the paper, he had been overly cautious.
Thinking that it couldn’t be an ordinary object, Yoo Ji-han slowly examined the paper.
—There’s nothing written on it?
“Exactly.”
Just as Sylph had spoken, it was simply a blank sheet of paper with nothing on it.
Yet, Yoo Ji-han could still feel the familiar magic from the paper.
Rustle.
And just as he began scratching at his suddenly itchy neck with his nails.
Desa, quietly observing him, gasped.
“Huuh!!”
“Huh?”
“You, you bastard! What the hell is that?!”
“What do you mean?”
“That black pattern on your neck!”
“……!”
As Yoo Ji-han was pointed out by Desa, his heart sank.
He hurriedly ran to the tranquil sea, checking his reflection in the water.
‘…This can’t be a joke, right?’
A uniquely shaped mark that had only existed in childhood photos.
That mark was faintly visible on his neck.
Even just a few days ago, when he was washing his body, it hadn’t been there, and even scratching at it with his nails wouldn’t make it disappear.
“How terrifying of a curse must this be! It’s incomparably worse than this mere island’s curses!”
“……”
“How are you still alive and well?!”
Desa, seemingly covered in goosebumps, wiped his arms.
Looking at his reaction, it seemed the mark on his neck was indeed a specific curse sign, just as the mages of Maz had warned.
‘It must be due to this paper.’
The only thing that could be counted as the cause for the appearance of that mark was the paper he had just pulled up from the ground.
Yoo Ji-han narrowed his brows and carefully examined the paper again.
‘It’s visible!’
Faintly emerging letters, as blurry as the mark’s appearance.
Yoo Ji-han silently read the words written there.
[Kallem]
[Strength: 5 / Magic: 7 / Social Stability: 5 / Peace: 4 / Development Potential: 3…]
[Overall Rating: At best, only about three have reached a transcendent level. It’s not the worst score, but…]
[Unfortunately, this dimension is also unsatisfactory for settlement.]
[Travelers who check this record remotely may withdraw immediately.]
It was as if someone had evaluated the dimension of Kallem based on those words.
Yoo Ji-han wracked his brain to figure out the intention of the one who wrote those words.
[A place with much greater development potential is needed.]
[To give an example, there must be a society with at least ten or more individuals who have either reached or will reach the transcendent level.]
[A society where anyone, regardless of status or race, can access high-level information.]
[There is no choice but to set unreasonable conditions. It’s the minimum requirement to end our long wandering.]
[—From Traveler Y.]
“Transcendent, wandering. And traveler…”
Just as Yoo Ji-han was muttering the words written on the paper.
Sylph leaned in close to his face and asked.
—Ji-han! What does it say on that paper?
“Can’t you see it?”
—I can see it! But I can’t read a single word!
“Ah.”
Only after hearing Sylph’s response did Yoo Ji-han realize.
The language written on the paper was neither Korean, nor English, nor even the common language of Kallem.
‘Why can I read this?’
His eyes were rapidly shaking as he interpreted the unfamiliar characters as if they were his native language.