====================================================================================================== DMCA NOTICE =================================================================================================================

Heya guys!

We've received a double dmca (Novelpia + Kakao) and as a result, I'll be taking down all korean novels from the site and possibly the site as well.

Strongest Guild is my baby; it makes me very sad to have to part with it this way. But hopefully Novelpia does well — or even better — with their own translation… assuming they translate this one.

This week's chapters have been posted, so you all have 6 final chapters to read. I've compiled the posted chapters into a .txt file and a .epub file available in the discord. These files and all the novels on the site will be taken down on Thursday.

So what's next? I'll be looking at CN and JP novels this week. I haven't read one in almost a decade at this point but hopefully they've improved since then. If I find publishers/novels I like, that'll be the next step. If not, then that might be it.

I'm feeling pretty motivated, thinking I'll use this as an opportunity to make a brand new site with proper systems in place (assuming I find things I like in the CN/JP section). I made this site 2 years ago from youtube tutorials when I was learning how to code and while I've made adjustments here and there, the foundation is still from back then. I love it but it's ass.

8589 chapters. 43 novels. Thank you everyone for being part of the community. It was a lot of fun and I hope to see some of you in the discord or maybe on the new site if I decide to do it.

See ya, enjoy the chappies! Oh and some have talked to me about not being able to find the discord link. Never made it more visible till the end... It is just above this message and is part of the text. You'll see a nice orange 'Here,' blue if you use light mode(bleh).

-raei

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Two more adventurers climbed onto the deck behind the adventurer we'd seen yesterday.

There were three in total: a warrior, a mage, and what appeared to be an archer like myself.

"What, what's going on..."

The adventurer we'd seen at the hotel yesterday expressed his bewilderment at seeing us.

The impressive greatsword he'd been holding high slowly lowered to the deck.

"They've already been caught...?"

The greatsword adventurer from yesterday muttered with a deflated expression.

Although adventurers were known to be competitive, I felt guilty for stealing their thunder like this.

'What should I do...'

Unable to break the uncomfortable silence, I glanced around nervously.

Levinas seemed to share my discomfort.

"W-who's the captain...?"

Levinas darted her eyes back and forth.

Gaeul pointed at Levinas and smiled brightly.

"Captain!"

"Huok! Puppy Gaeul! You're supposed to hide that at times like this!"

"Uing?"

Gaeul tilted her head in confusion, then raised her finger and pointed directly at Levinas's head.

The pirate captain's hat sat prominently on Levinas's head.

"Huuuok!"

Levinas cried out with her hands on her cheeks, resembling a famous painting I'd seen somewhere.

Finding this amusing, Gaeul placed her hands on her own cheeks.

"Levinas is a peaceful pirate... doesn't even steal treasures..."

Levinas muttered loud enough for the adventurers to hear.

Unfortunately, at that exact moment, Marin opened the cabin door and stepped out.

"I heard a bang, what's happening?"

Marin emerged onto the deck carrying a basket filled with the jewels and valuables the pirates had stolen.

It looked as if we were the ones who had plundered them.

"Uhuhuuk! Why did Levinas have to become a pirate...!"

Levinas fell to her knees in the face of this incriminating situation.

Fortunately, the adventurers didn't actually believe Levinas was a real pirate captain.

"H-hold on, kids, we know you didn't steal anything..."

The greatsword adventurer moved his weapon aside, signaling he had no intention to attack.

His expression was tinged with bitterness.

It seemed like regret over having missed the pirates.

"I'm sorry... if my tracking skills were better, we would have arrived earlier..."

The woman holding a staff hung her head.

She was blaming herself for letting the pirates escape.

"It's okay, I was the one pushing you too hard anyway."

"...Sorry."

The mood among the adventurers who had boarded was gloomy.

Their downcast expressions naturally made us children solemn as well.

I wondered if I should have invited them to catch the pirates together.

I should have been brave and suggested cooperation instead of competition.

Just as I was sighing with regret, Sophia emerged from the cabin holding what appeared to be an old diary.

"It's too early to be disappointed."

"Why?"

"The pirates we captured were merely underlings, it seems."

"Underlings?"

I approached Sophia to examine the diary.

The handwriting was so squiggly, like ramen noodles, that I couldn't understand a word.

"What does it say?"

"It's a long story, but to summarize... the pirates were originally ordinary sailors. Until they became minions of the ghost kraken."

"G-ghost kraken...?"

I knew what a regular kraken was, but what in the world was a ghost kraken?

I decided to listen to Sophia's explanation first.

"Originally, they were an expedition assembled to hunt down a kraken. They succeeded in defeating it, but then a problem arose."

"Did the dead kraken turn into a ghost?"

"Yes, they were swallowed by the kraken and became its minions."

Wow.

A ghost kraken.

It was as surprising as a Tyrannosaurus ghost.

Of course, given that I could use spectral form myself, it wasn't impossible.

"Despite becoming the kraken's minions, it seems they retained their desire to defeat the kraken. Though their methods weren't exactly right..."

"What kind of methods...?"

"They were collecting treasures from the land. Shiny objects have the power to purify evil spirits. Their method was theft, but it's remarkable that even as the kraken's minions, they never harmed people."

Sophia looked around the ship with reverence.

She seemed to respect these beings who, despite becoming minions of the evil ghost kraken, still refrained from hurting people.

'They weren't just simple monsters.'

Of course.

Monsters don't just pop up like in games.

It was only natural that monsters had their own stories too.

"Sophia, does that mean there's a ghost kraken in these waters?"

"Probably..."

Flinch.

Sophia stopped mid-sentence and looked out to the distant sea.

Marin was also staring at the water, suggesting they had sensed something beneath the surface.

All of us—me, the children, and the adventurers on the ship—turned our attention to one part of the sea.

Swooosh-

A massive, translucent pillar rose from the sea.

A single sucker on the pillar was larger than my head.

"...So that's why we couldn't find that enormous thing underwater."

"Indeed..."

The transparent tentacle gradually became more visible, then struck the water's surface with tremendous force.

Splash-!

Though we were some distance away, the shockwave from its impact reached our ship.

"G-giant octopus!"

"It's not an octopus, more like a squid...?"

"What?! Then it has even more tentacles?!"

Gasp.

Levinas grabbed her ears in terror.

At the same time, the kraken began charging toward our ship at an incredible speed.

It moved with astonishing velocity for something so enormous.

"Gyeoul, did you receive an item from Yeoreum?"

"Yes. I have it."

"Hand it to me."

The item we'd brought to anchor the ghost ship.

As Sophia took it, she called out to everyone:

"To kill the kraken, we must remove all its tentacles. I'll assist from underwater, so cut off the tentacles as they surface."

"O-okay."

Though the adventurers weren't from our guild, they readied themselves under Sophia's command.

In the face of danger, there was no time to worry about our relationships.

Splash-

Sophia jumped off the ship, and Marin pulled up the surrounding seawater.

With water at their disposal, Sophia and Marin were incredibly powerful, enough to slow the kraken's charge.

'It's still fast, though.'

They'd reduced the impact from ship-destroying to merely ship-flipping, but even flipping would be dangerous for us.

I decided to help Sophia and Marin reduce the kraken's speed.

I fired an ice arrow toward the sea.

Heavily imbued with mana and enlargement, I aimed it at the kraken's path.

Craaack-!

A sizeable glacier formed in the kraken's path.

Though the kraken slowed down to avoid crashing into the sudden obstacle, I'd achieved my goal of protecting the ship.

"A-a tentacle is coming up!"

The tentacle was so tall I had to crane my neck to see it.

One of them was falling toward the ship like a whip.

The first to move against the tentacle was none other than Saebyeok.

"Bom, can you strengthen the deck with magic?"

"Y-yes...!"

Bom used her black mana to increase the hardness of the ship's supports and deck.

After confirming this, Saebyeok stretched out her hands toward the falling tentacle.

Boom-!

The massive impact from above pushed the ship partly underwater before it resurfaced.

If it had gone just a bit deeper, the entire ship might have been submerged.

Splash-!

Waves created by the kraken's strike washed over the deck.

On that deck stood Saebyeok, holding onto the kraken's tentacle.

"Huk."

Just how strong was Saebyeok?

Everyone's eyes widened at her formidable strength.

"I'll hold it, cut the tentacle."

"O-okay."

The greatsword adventurer rushed toward the tentacle.

He jumped high and brought his weapon down, but the greatsword only embedded halfway through the kraken's thick tentacle.

"Pull out the greatsword and move aside!"

At my shout, the adventurer withdrew his weapon and stepped back.

As he moved away, I pulled out an explosive arrow and fired it at the kraken's tentacle.

I aimed precisely at the gap where the tentacle had been partially cut.

Boom-!

The special arrow made by Jung Yu-na left the tentacle tattered, but even then, the kraken's tentacle didn't sever completely.

This arrow would have shattered most monsters into pieces.

I couldn't even begin to comprehend how tough this creature was.

'If I use the giant explosion, Saebyeok will get caught in it.'

I needed to use another explosive arrow.

Just as I decided this, Saebyeok, who had been holding the tentacle, exerted her strength and ripped apart the damaged section.

"KIEEEEEK!"

A scream from underwater pierced our ears.

Simultaneously, three more tentacles rose above the sea.

Each tentacle bore numerous wounds that appeared to have been inflicted by Sophia.

"I-I don't think I can block three at once..."

For the first time, Saebyeok expressed uncertainty.

Truthfully, I shared her concern.

'This is bad.'

It had taken all our combined efforts to cut off just one tentacle.

How could we handle three at once?

Even if we managed to block these three, there were still six more tentacles underwater!

Despite the feeling of despair, I nocked another arrow.

After using a giant explosive arrow to take out one tentacle...

As I was formulating a plan to fight the kraken at high speed by slowing down the world, I noticed Gaeul standing with a blank expression amid the intense battle.

"Uing?"

Gaeul was staring at her Woodcalibur with round eyes.

The wooden sword was emitting a dazzling light all on its own.

'Ah...!'

Gaeul's Woodcalibur contained the sacred power of Chae Juyeon.

It was a tremendous power with overwhelming effectiveness against evil monsters.

Since this was a 'ghost' kraken...

Perhaps Gaeul's Woodcalibur was responding to the kraken's massive evil.