Ryu looked over his shoulder. Mother Skull's Ship was getting farther and farther away as they walked towards the jungle of Deadman's Rock.Cecily explained to them a while ago what they were going to do in the little island. She said that they needed to find a Jewel or something."Man, I can't believe that we're stopping in here of all places. This island is haunted." Kai placed his arms over his head and yawned. If only his face wasn't on the verge of sleeping, maybe then his words would sound believable."Who invited him here?" Rosa shot Kai a glare. She hadn't forgotten what he did to her on the night of the storm.Kai looked the other way and pouted. "I'm here to repay my debt to Ryu and Fifi. This doesn't concern you." The truth was, Kai just wanted to get out of the boat, even if it was just a day.Rosa sweetly smiled. "If you want to repay your debt to Fifi, then make sure to protect me."Kai shivered. "Lady, you might be beautiful, but I still prefer darling Fifi over you. Y

"Grindylows!""S-shit!" Kai almost wet his pants from the sheer amount of ugly little monsters chasing after them. Those sharp teeth and claws could shred skin, and with thousands and thousands of them, he'd be nothing but bones within seconds."Don't stop! And move to the drylands fast!" Lucian shouted and took to the back to hold the Grindylows while the other ran to the safety of the lands. Grindylows could only hold their breath out of water for ten minutes. They were persistent little creatures that were out for blood. They were weak but using their number, they could quickly overwhelm a party.[?]Lucian's long sword struck forward, and the force from its strike cleaved everything in its path, including the Grindylows. But no matter how much he killed the little boogers, more and more took their place and continued to chase after them.Rosa twirled midair and faced the Grindylows with her staff. "Burn to Ashes!"[Explosion]A beam of red light shot from Rosa's staff, and upon c

Outside the barrier, Ryu never ceased his glares at the Owner while the latter was all smiles at him.Ferris was counting and gauging the people on the Owner's side. The only problems were his two Rank-A bodyguards and the Owner himself. Ferris deducted that the male bodyguard was a great knight while the female was a mage based on their weapons. And the Owner. . .Ferris's eyes dilated when the Owner looked at her. He was a. . . "Where are you going?" Ferris asked when Kai tiptoed away from them."Gah." Kai gulped, and he looked over his shoulder. His smile was skewed in an awkward angle. "J-just. .. going to pee?"Ferris raised an eyebrow, but Lucian and the others faced the Owner and his group before she could say anything."We've agreed to pay her debt," Lucian said, "But on one condition."The edge of the Owner's eyes twitched. "Though I think that you don't have any right to impose conditions, let's hear it nonetheless."Lucian swept everyone with his eyes and said, "We want

The group had a momentary sense of peace when they continued rowing, and no sign of the Rusalkas appearing. "Ryu, don't lean too much." Kai grabbed Ryu's clothes, afraid that a Rusalka would drag Ryu if he showed even an inch of his face on the water.Ryu ignored him. His eyes were on the lake. He couldn't smell what was below, so he didn't know what to expect. But one thing was for sure. .. the rotten slimy smell was intensifying by the second.A growl vibrated in his chest when he saw a shadow looming below their boats. It was huge, and whatever it was, it was following them."What the matter?" Kai asked when he saw Ryu's serious face.Not hearing anything, Ryu focused all his senses on that massive shadow, and his eyes turned to slit when the lake rippled."Watch out!"At Ryu's shout came the thundering blast of water, and what came after was a massive beast more than three meters from tip to tail. It stood in two enormous feet and its claws raised in the air as its wide mouth roa

"Arrays?" Rosa asked unamused. "He is planning to capture that thing?""Not capture, restrict it until we find the jewel. The only way to defeat that thing is to cut all its head. But the Hydra can regrow its head as long as it has mana. We'll be dead before we can even deplete that things supply of mana. So the best choice is to seal it even for just an hour or two," Lucian said while assisting the situation they were in.Restrict it? Was that even possible? Cecily and Rosa thought.Athen and Athena barely managed to hold it while the mercenaries were almost wiped out. Meanwhile, the Owner was hiding in the shadows to cast the arrays, and all they had to do was delay the beast and keep it away from the Owner for at least thirty minutes."How do you supposed we delay that thing? Its hide is so tough that no spell nor skill could penetrate it. Not to mention that it's immune to status effect because of its multiple heads." Cecily felt resigned. Because of her, they were in this situat