Episode 217
“Is that the Island of the Sea God?”
The island, revealed after passing through the whirlpool, was quite large, shrouded in a thick, eerie mist that gave it a foreboding atmosphere.
Zeke instructed the captain to steer the ship towards the shore.
The captain, trembling with fear, muttered prayers under his breath as he cautiously navigated the ship closer to the island.
Once the ship was anchored, Zeke ordered Nahuel to stay behind and guard it.
“If anything seems off, don’t hesitate to flee.”
With a rumble, Zeke and his companions disembarked onto the island in a small boat.
Even near the shore, the waves were unexpectedly rough.
As they finally set foot on the island, Zeke surveyed the surroundings.
“Just as it looked from afar—ominous.”
Though not as oppressive as the demon realm he had seen in the overturned tower, the mist felt heavy, as if it were pressing down on them.
Then, something caught the attention of his warrior instincts.
A rustling sound!
From the forest behind the sandy beach, dark shadows suddenly emerged.
Zeke shouted to his companions, “Enemies! Prepare for battle!”
Weapons were drawn as Zeke and his group readied themselves.
Moments later, something burst from the forest.
A giant spider monster, moving on its long, spindly legs, approached.
“What the hell is that?” Felix recoiled at the sight of the grotesque creatures, only to be smacked back into focus by Clone.
The spider monsters quickly surrounded Zeke’s group.
Zeke gripped his sword, Bahamut, and observed the spiders’ movements.
“Giant spiders. Not a common sight… and I’ve never seen so many at once.”
These were high-level monsters, usually found deep within the Forgotten Forest, their tough exoskeletons like armor, and their webs used to ensnare prey, which they would then drag back to their nests for later consumption.
“They’re weak to fire.”
Recalling his past life, Zeke conjured a field of flames.
With a whoosh, fire erupted around them, causing the spiders to retreat.
But only for a moment. The monsters, excited by the rare prey, attempted to charge through the flames.
A particularly large spider, trusting its tough armor, rushed headlong into the fire.
Zeke focused his elemental power, altering the quality of the flames.
Pure white fire, capable of incinerating anything, melted the spider’s armor, reducing it to ash in an instant.
The spider let out a final screech before vanishing.
Seeing one of their own consumed by the flames, the other spiders hesitated, their instincts telling them to hold back.
Despite their intelligence, the spiders watched Zeke’s group, waiting for the flames to die down.
“Persistent creatures.”
Zeke knew he couldn’t maintain the pure fire indefinitely and needed a plan.
He opened his map to find a suitable location for a base camp.
“Is this mist something special? The map isn’t showing any landmarks.”
He had no choice but to explore the area himself.
Zeke devised a strategy and addressed his companions.
“As you can see, they’re weak to fire. I’ll enchant your weapons with holy fire. Get close and aim for their undersides—that’s their weak spot.”
Activating his special skill, Zeke imbued their weapons with holy fire.
“Wow, what is this, my lord?” Felix asked, awed.
“It’s a fire that deals extra damage to monsters and demons. While you handle the spiders here, I’ll head into the forest to find a suitable base camp. This white flame will last for an hour. If more monsters come, retreat inside and send up a signal flare.”
With his instructions given, Zeke swiftly moved beyond the white flames.
The spiders, seeing Zeke leave the safety of the flames, swarmed towards him.
Using his flight technique, Zeke distanced himself from his companions, heading deeper into the forest.
The spiders shot webs at him as he ran.
In that moment, Zeke channeled the power of the holy fire into his sword.
A burst of light exploded among the spiders.
The spiders caught in the holy fire writhed in agony, their screams echoing.
Zeke began to understand the capabilities of his holy fire.
“It’s like a combination of a light mace and shield. In that case…”
Imagining a shield of light, Zeke used the holy fire.
The fire expanded, forming a shield of light.
“So that’s how it works. Good.”
Zeke hurled the shield of holy fire at the approaching spider monsters.
The massive shield blocked the spiders like a wall.
The spiders shot webs at the shield, but it was futile.
Zeke extended his hand towards the shield.
“Explode!”
The shield shattered into dozens of fragments, scattering in all directions.
The fragments transformed into spears of light, decimating the spider horde.
The spiders hit by the spears shrieked and scattered.
But it wasn’t over.
“Die!”
Clone, wielding a mace imbued with the power of light and punishment, charged at the spiders with wild eyes.
Thwack!
Clone’s mace shattered the tough armor of the spider monsters with ease.
The other companions, their weapons also imbued with holy fire, calmly hunted the spiders.
Having hunted every monster in Troy for training, they quickly adapted to fighting the spiders.
“Die, die!”
Clone’s frenzied cries echoed along the beach.
The giant spiders, the island’s predators, trembled involuntarily at the madness.
Inside the forest, Zeke moved swiftly, assessing the island’s size and terrain.
He soon discovered a cave.
“This cave could serve as a base.”
Approaching cautiously to ensure it was safe, Zeke moved towards the cave.
Then he sensed it.
A presence inside.
“More spiders?”
Preparing to summon the holy fire, Zeke was surprised to find a different monster.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A massive creature with a powerful jaw and sturdy tail.
“A Shark Dragon?”
It was much larger than the ones Don Juan raised on his farm, but unmistakably a Shark Dragon.
The Shark Dragon, known for its aggression and combativeness, surprisingly showed signs of fear upon seeing Zeke.
“Does it sense the dragon’s aura in me?”
To test his theory, Zeke approached the Shark Dragon.
[You have instilled fear in a dragon-type monster.]
[Unique ability Dragon Subjugation is activating.]
[Would you like to subjugate the target?]
Zeke saw no need to make the monster a summon, so he opted to use the skill ‘Tame’ instead.
The Shark Dragon approached Zeke, nuzzling against him.
“Taming a Shark Dragon… Don Juan would be envious.”
With a chuckle, Zeke led the tamed Shark Dragon into the cave.
The cave was spacious, seemingly a habitat for Shark Dragons.
The one Zeke tamed appeared to be the leader, as the other Shark Dragons also showed submission.
“Good, this place will keep other monsters away.”
Zeke decided to establish a base camp here. He quickly set up a campsite in one corner of the cave and summoned Richmond.
With a whisper, Richmond emerged from Zeke’s shadow.
“Ah!”
Startled by the sudden summoning, Richmond looked around in confusion.
“M-Master! Where are we?”
“An island in the southern sea.”
“A-an island in the southern sea… Have you been here for months?”
“No, it’s complicated. I’ll explain later. For now, we’re setting up a base camp here, so release the minions and tidy up the area.”
“Understood. But is that a Shark Dragon?”
“Yes, it is.”
Richmond’s eyes sparkled as he examined the Shark Dragons, muttering to himself.
“The scale color and tail shape seem different from regular Shark Dragons. Is it a different species from the southern continent? I should take a closer look…”
“Want a taste of purification again?”
“No, sir!”
Snapping back to reality, Richmond quickly summoned skeletons to set up the campsite and inspect the cave’s surroundings.
While waiting for the campsite to be completed, Zeke retrieved items from the tower from his inventory and handed them to Richmond.
“What… what is this, Master?”
“These are the items I acquired. They’re from a Royal Vampire and a Balrog, so take a look.”
“What? A Royal Vampire and a Balrog?”
Zeke had a knack for bringing back things that were nearly impossible to obtain and casually handing them over.
As Richmond’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, he began to examine the items Zeke had brought.
“Huh?”
One of the skeletons signaled to him, and he called out to Zeke.
“Master, there seems to be something deeper inside the cave.”
Zeke led Richmond toward the skeleton that had sent the signal.
As they ventured further in, they found the cave branched off into several paths.
Zeke discovered the signaling skeleton in a section far from where the Shark Dragon resided.
Before moving closer, Zeke sensed something ahead with his warrior’s intuition.
‘These breaths are human. More than five, and two of them are seriously injured.’
Leaving Richmond and the skeletons behind, Zeke advanced alone.
The deeper he went, the stronger the scent of blood became, and the louder the ragged breathing sounded.
Blending into the shadows with his stealth skill, Zeke approached silently, gripping Anexi’s dagger in his hand.
As he neared, he could make out the figures of people inside the cave.
‘Who are they?’
To his surprise, the ones hiding in the cave were members of the Silver Knights, led by Kali.
Zeke dropped his stealth and revealed himself to them.
The sudden appearance of Zeke startled the knights.
“Sir Zeke Draker?”
The knight who seemed in the best condition recognized Zeke and struggled to his feet, astonished.
Zeke addressed the knight.
“Where is Sister Kali?”
The knight shook his head at Zeke’s question.
“We don’t know the captain’s whereabouts. Our ship was wrecked in a storm, and we were scattered. We barely made it to the shore, but then we were ambushed by monsters and fled here.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Over a week now.”
The knights looked in poor shape, clearly suffering from lack of food and water.
Zeke quickly retrieved water from his inventory and handed it to them, then examined the injured knights.
Their wounds, likely inflicted by spiders, were turning blue from poison, and necrosis was setting in.
Zeke pulled out antidotes and potions from his inventory.
“This might sting a bit.”
He poured the antidote and potion onto the wounds.
Sssssss
“Ugh!”
The wounds bubbled and frothed.
He treated the other injured knights, but their severe injuries and weakened state made it impossible to fully heal the necrotic areas.
‘Taking them to the camp with skeletons and monsters isn’t ideal. We’ll have to move them to the ship.’
Zeke spoke to the knight.
“It’s best to move you to the ship for proper treatment.”
Despite their weakened state, the Silver Knights were elite members of the Draker Knights, having joined with top scores.
Agreeing with Zeke’s suggestion, they carried their injured comrades out of the cave.
Zeke led the Silver Knights toward the coast where the ship was docked. Fortunately, they encountered no monsters along the way and reached the shore without incident.
And when they arrived at the coast, an unbelievable sight awaited them.