Chapter 6: Born from Bones and Thunder
At a bustling dock.
A massive ship, ready for departure. The Hellinger family’s emblem flutters on the mast.
The dock is packed with women waving at the ship.
“Young Lord! Come back safely!”
“Please be careful!”
“You think that place is dangerous enough for our Young Lord to need caution?”
“What’s that? Do I know you?”
“Hmph! What family are you from? How dare you give me that look?”
“Young Looord!”
“If you get hurt, you’re dead to me!”
“Just stay and hang out with me, Young Lord!”
“You’ll be back soon, right?!”
Some of the women bicker, and heated words occasionally fly, but overall, they’re dressed up, here to see him off.
Right now, on the ship’s railing.
“Haha! I’ll be back soon, so everyone calm down.”
The handsome man brushes back his shining blond hair under the sunlight.
“After I take down that Monster Island you all call terrifying, I’ll return quickly. So, don’t worry about me and take it easy!”
Iban Hellinger.
Called a troublemaker by some, a playboy by others, he waves his hand.
Today is the departure ceremony.
Not only to impress his usual admirers but also to steal the spotlight at the upcoming royal ball, he’s setting sail to crush the infamous Monster Island.
Sparkle!
If he returns, the adoring gazes of these women will shine even brighter! Rumors will spread, and even the royal ladies at the ball won’t be able to take their eyes off him!
With that thought.
“Set sail!”
Commanding the ship to depart, Iban Hellinger turns sharply and disappears to the other side.
Flutter!
As his cape flutters and he vanishes, the ship starts to pull away from the dock.
“Wait a second!”
One loud-voiced woman among the crowd shouts.
“You’re leaving just like that?”
At her words, as if something’s missing, all the women gasp and yell toward the ship.
“Young Lord! Hold on!”
“You’re not coming back here?”
“Are you trying to die? Come back now!”
“Is he crazy, for real?”
What’s so important that he’s leaving like this?
Monster Island subjugation?
No matter what, how could he!
“Are you really going to do this?!”
How could he forget to blow a kiss goodbye!
Since deciding to rebuild my skeletal structure, I sometimes wonder.
‘Do I really have to go this far?’
Somewhere in a sunless swamp.
In a place thick with the stench of blood.
I sigh, slowly scanning the scattered corpses of goblins and gnolls. It’s time to “do it,” but like the past few days, I really don’t want to.
‘Really, truly, absolutely, do I have to go this far?’
Frowning, a thought hits me.
An excuse to buy time.
Oh, right, I almost forgot.
‘Perimeter check.’
Looking at a spot hidden by dense foliage.
I focus all my senses.
This is the opposite edge of Monster Island from my hideout. An unfamiliar place, so I need to be sure of any sudden threats.
Bits of gnoll flesh float on bubbling mud, a rat scurries through the brush, a small bird flies toward a wide field beyond…
‘…Nothing.’
Even extending my senses far, I feel nothing.
No ground tremors from an approaching ogre, no air ripples from a thunderbird’s wings or a cyclops’s boulder throw. No threats in this area right now.
‘Is there really, truly, absolutely no other way but to do this?’
I’m going crazy.
The pain when I first broke my shinbone was excruciating.
Enough to make my manic grin freeze.
Because there was no adrenaline.
Think about it: even a cold shower feels daunting without adrenaline. Breaking my own bones is genuinely insane.
But it actually worked.
Breaking and healing bones—foot, hand, shin, ankle—this crazy body showed superhuman recovery.
My skeletal structure, compared to when I started, is now shockingly massive and sturdy.
The problem is one thing.
The process is so painful it’s getting harder to bear. At first, I’d shout “Let’s go!” and break bones with grit, but now I’m reaching my limit.
Even fighting hordes of gnolls, goblins, or orcs doesn’t get my adrenaline pumping anymore. Their numbers have dwindled compared to months ago.
So, maintaining adrenaline to break bones during a fight isn’t easy now.
“Fck…”
My huge right fist, poised to smash my left forearm, hesitates.
I know rationally.
I have to do this to survive.
It’s been months since I woke up here, and that bastard will soon tear this island apart.
[Iban Hellinger]
In the original “Yeong-gwan-dok,” his strength is beyond imagination.
An unparalleled swordmaster.
A monster among monsters who could kill an ogre like it’s a stroll, without even using aura on his blade.
- Haha, how embarrassing! Talking about such gruesome things in front of a lovely lady like you is rude. How about we share our dessert preferences instead?
The original story was so sweet and light.
Among its characters, a sub-male lead swayed by the heroine.
That sub-male lead casually tore apart this Monster Island.
And I, who can’t even beat its top predators, woke up as a damn test subject.
Grind!
Realizing my situation, my teeth clench.
Why? When everyone else is basking in dreams, hope, and sweet vibes, why am I stuck in this sht? Training through blood and sweat, eating disgusting monster flesh, breaking my own bones?
‘If I had to transmigrate, why not into Iban Hellinger?’
Even doing this, I doubt I’d surpass that guy from the novel.
Born into a prestigious swordsmanship family, blessed with a gifted body, slathered in elixirs since childhood, trained one-on-one by the continent’s Swordmaster—that’s Iban Hellinger.
That’s not all.
The stoic, tsundere Northern Grand Duke or the bulldozer-like romantic prince from the neighboring kingdom—both as strong as or stronger than Iban.
Not just those tied to the heroine.
The kingdom’s Knight Commander, the Magic Tower’s scholar, the yet-unrevealed Adventurer Guild leader—all oozing lovey-dovey vibes in the original, with staggering achievements.
‘So why?’
Why this body?
When the original is full of stronger guys? Absurdly powerful ones living sweet, flirty lives.
Why the hell!
…Wait.
Am I going to keep this up?
“…Haha! No way.”
Slapping my cheek with a hearty laugh, blood spills from my mouth, snapping me back to reality.
“Phew, almost got possessed by a demon.”
Wiping blood from my mouth with my thick forearm, I mutter.
Yeah, that’s a demonic thought.
Who cares how others live?
Life’s always been unfair—I knew that in my past life. Haven’t I lived countless days where tomorrow was tougher and scarier than today?
“At least tomorrow can be better than today.”
Progressive overload.
Recalling my past life’s training, I decide to stop overthinking. When things suck, focusing on records and data keeps my mind sane.
So.
I swing my right fist like a hammer onto my left forearm.
Crack!
As excruciating pain erupts, I press my left fist with my right foot, pulling my shoulder to widen the gap between the broken forearm bones.
Then, I tear into a nearby gnoll corpse with my right hand.
Gulp.
The demonic energy and nutrients from the monster seep into this experiment-riddled body.
It doesn’t take long.
My forearm bones start realigning. The slightly stretched, broken bones increase in density as they heal.
Crack, crunch!
Hiss!
Steam rises as the forearm bones rebuild stronger.
It doesn’t even take long.
Painful, sure, but this body shows perfect recovery and enhancement.
Crack!
Now the right forearm.
“Hnngh!”
Bloodshot eyes, I repeat the process, gnawing on another gnoll corpse.
Crack, crunch!
Hiss!
Seeing my right arm’s bones grow stronger and longer, I swallow the pain and mutter desperately.
“Spine, pelvis, scapula. Spine, pelvis, scapula, spine, pelvis, scapula…”
All the bones I need to grow and strengthen.
Not just the spine and pelvis supporting core muscles, but the shoulder blades for punching or throwing.
“Throw, grab, swing, throw, grab, swing, throw, grab, swing…”
Muttering my purpose, swallowing the pain.
The skeleton is crucial for strength.
Larger shoulder blades and longer arms increase throwing power and striking force—it’s basic biomechanics.
So.
Muttering like a madman, I start rebuilding my skeleton in earnest.
Grind!
Hiss!
Grind!
Hiss!
The insane process of breaking and healing my limbs with monster consumption, making them longer and stronger.
In the haze of pain, I recall that demonic question.
‘Do I really have to go this far?’
My answer no longer wavers.
“Argh!”
Rumble! Boom!
Torrential rain pours.
Dark clouds cover the sky, and on days like this, with thunder and lightning raging across Monster Island, the thunderbird loves it most.
“Kururu!”
Flapping wings spanning meters, the thunderbird glides over the island. Its beak crackles with lightning as its gaze sweeps the land.
Nothing to fear.
Its body, evolved to read air currents, knows every threat on this island.
Today, even the cyclops, its natural enemy, isn’t a concern.
Ogres? No need to think about those idiots.
Zap! Crackle!
With lightning dancing on its steel-like beak and wings, the thunderbird’s swift attacks, twisting the air, are several times stronger today.
In short, today is a day for the thunderbird to feast freely.
In this storm, even the cyclops hides in deep caves. Prey hunted today can be stashed in cliffs for a long, satisfying meal!
“Kurururu!”
With that hope, the thunderbird flaps its long wings, descending toward the lower valley.
“Kurururu?!”
Strange.
The orc tribes usually here are gone.
Not here, not there, not even far off.
Flapping again, it glides toward the opposite canyon.
“Kurukuru?!”
Still strange.
No trace of the prey it had scouted before.
Not only that, but even the swamp, where delicacies sometimes sent up smoke, shows no movement.
Whoosh!
What’s going on?
Its heightened senses, sharper in this storm, shouldn’t miss anything.
Then.
Flash!
As lightning strikes through the storm.
“Kuru?!”
The thunderbird thinks it saw something.
A silhouette, briefly visible on the opposite canyon.
“…Kururu?!”
But it only rolls its eyes.
Must’ve been a mistake.
Nothing that massive exists in its knowledge of the island.
But.
Flash!
Rumble!
When an even bigger bolt strikes.
The thunderbird knows, through sight and every sense.
Whoosh!
Something massive is there.
Probably.
“Did I pick the wrong day?”
The massive thing mutters unintelligible words.
“…Haha! No way!”
It moves toward the thunderbird.
Boom!
A 2-meter giant, steaming with heat even the rain can’t cool.