The Fleet Sets Sail
A massive ship poised for departure at the harbor. With the Hellenger family crest fluttering proudly from the mast, the dock was packed tight with women waving frantically toward the vessel.
"Young master! Have a safe trip!"
"Please take care of yourself!"
"You think he's so fragile he needs to watch out for himself?"
"What the hell? You know me?"
"Hah! What family are you from? How dare you make that face at me?"
"Young masteeeer!"
"If you get hurt, you're dead to me!"
"Don't go—just stay and play with me, young master!"
"You'll be back soon, right?!"
Fights broke out among the crowd now and then, and bursts of raw emotion flew, but overall, the vibe was one of heavy makeup and heartfelt send-offs.
Up on the ship's railing right now.
"Hahaha! I'll be back before you know it, so everyone calm down."
The handsome blond swept back his hair, sparkling under the sunlight.
"I'll wipe out that Monster Island those ladies here find so terrifying! Then I'll return in no time, so don't worry about me—just relax at home!"
Ivan Hellenger. The man some called a playboy, others a womanizer, was waving to the crowd.
Today was the departure ceremony. Not only to score points with his usual crowd, but also to grab everyone's attention at the kingdom's grand ball soon after, he was setting sail to smash that infamous Monster Island.
Sparkle, sparkle! When he returned, those sparkling eyes of the women gazing at him now would shine even brighter!
Once the rumors spread, not just the nobles, but even the kingdom's princesses at the ball wouldn't be able to look away!
With that in mind.
"Alright, set sail!"
Issuing the command to the entire ship, Ivan Hellenger turned crisply and vanished to the other side.
Flutter! His cape billowed as he disappeared aft, and the ship began pulling away from the dock.
"Wait—!"
One of the women from the send-off crowd, with a powerful voice, shouted out.
"You're leaving just like that?"
Her words, as if something crucial was missing, made every woman there go "Ah!" and scream toward Ivan's ship.
"Young master! Wait a minuteee!"
"Aren't you coming back here?"
"You wanna die? Hurry back!"
"He's lost his mind, for real!"
How important could it be to vanish like that right away? Subjugating Monster Island? Even so!
"Are you really doing this?!"
How could he skip the hand kisses at parting, of all things!
"We're gonna feel so jilted!"
Ever since I resolved to rebuild my entire skeletal frame, this thought creeps in sometimes.
Do I really have to go this far?
Somewhere in a sunless swamp, thick with the stench of blood.
I sighed, slowly surveying the goblin and troll corpses scattered around me.
Now it was time for that, but just like the past few days, I really didn't feel like it.
Do I really, truly, absolutely have to go this far?
As I grimaced, an excuse to buy time popped into my head.
Right, almost forgot about this.
Sensory perimeter.
Gazing at a spot hidden by dense underbrush.
I focused all my senses intently.
This was the farthest edge of Monster Island from my hideout. An unfamiliar area, so I had to thoroughly scout for any sudden threats.
Troll flesh floating on bubbling mud, baby rats rustling through the bushes, a tiny bird fluttering toward the sky beyond, somewhere in the wide field it headed...
...Nothing.
No threats, even stretching my senses far out. No ground tremors from an approaching ogre, no air quivers from a thunder bird's wingbeats or a cyclops hurling rocks.
Meaning no immediate dangers nearby.
Is there really no other way but to go this far, no matter what?
I'm going insane.
When I first started this madness, the pain of my shinbone snapping clean in two was pure hell. Enough to jolt my cackling eyes wide open.
No adrenaline rush, that was the issue.
A resting body barely musters the will for a cold shower—snapping my own bones was straight-up deranged.
But it worked.
Breaking and healing my own foot bones, shinbones, ankle bones, and so on—this insane body displayed superhuman recovery beyond imagination.
Now, at the point where my full skeletal frame has rebuilt into a massively larger, sturdier structure than when I started.
One problem: the process was getting excruciatingly painful, increasingly reluctant.
Early on, I boldly yelled "Gandalf—!" and smashed blindly. But now, I'm hitting my limit.
Trolls, goblins, orc packs—no more adrenaline even in fights. And their numbers have plummeted compared to months ago.
Hard to maintain blood-soaked battle adrenaline for bone-smashing now.
"Fuck..."
My massive right fist hesitated to slam my left forearm.
Logically, I knew: for survival, I had to.
It's been months since I woke up sane on this island, and that mad bastard's tearing it apart soon, right?
Ivan Hellenger
In the original Young Lady's Poison, his strength was beyond imagination. A peerless magic swordsman who could casually slaughter ogres without channeling aura into his blade—a monster among monsters.
- Haha, how embarrassing! Telling such gruesome tales in front of a lovely lady like you feels improper. How about we share our dessert preferences instead?
The original story's overall vibe was too sweet and light. Among its characters, this sub-male lead gets tossed around by the heroine.
That same sub-lead lightly shreds this Monster Island.
And me, the damn lab rat who can't even beat the island's top predators.
Grind!
My molars ground at the fresh realization of my place.
But why? While everyone's lost in dreams, hopes, and sugary vibes, why am I the one suffering like this? Dodging death, sweating blood in training, choking down raw monster meat, and now snapping my own bones?
If you're gonna possess someone, why not Ivan Hellenger? Way easier.
Doubt if this grind even makes me stronger than that novel powerhouse.
Born blessed in a prestigious sword family, slathered in elixirs since childhood, privately tutored one-on-one by a continental Swordmaster—that's Ivan.
And that's not all. The stoic tsundere Northern Duke, the bulldozer-like lovestruck prince from next door—even stronger than Ivan, if anything.
Not just those tied to the heroine. The kingdom's knight captains, magic tower scholars, hidden adventurer guild leaders—all drip with fluffy vibes in the novel, yet their feats are insane.
So why me?
Why this body, when the novel's packed with stronger ones?
Those absurdly powerful guys flirt and live cushy lives.
Why the fuck!
......Wait.
Am I gonna keep this up?
"...Hahaha! As if."
I slapped my cheeks with a mad cackle, blood spurting from my mouth, snapping me back to reality.
"Whew, almost got possessed there."
I wiped the blood from my lips with my thick forearm, muttering.
Yeah. That's demonic thinking.
What others do—why care? Life's unfair; I knew that from my past life.
Tomorrow's always tougher than today; I've slogged through endless anxious days.
"At least here, tomorrow can be better than today."
Progressive overload. Recalling my past life's training, I decided no more dwelling.
When shit's rough, focus dry on records and data—best for mental health.
With that, I slammed my right fist like a hammer onto my left forearm on the ground.
Crack—!!
As massive pain exploded, I pinned my left fist with my right foot, yanked my shoulder to widen the break in my forearm bone.
Then tore into a nearby troll corpse with my right hand and swallowed.
Gulp.
Monster mana and nutrients seeped into this experimental freak body.
The process wasn't long.
My forearm bone began realigning immediately. The snapped, slightly stretched bone increased density to reconnect, healing.
Crack, crackle-crackle!
Sizzle! Steam rose as it rebuilt tougher.
Didn't take long. Painful, sure, but recovery and strengthening? Perfect.
Crack—!!
Now the right forearm.
"Hngh!"
Eyes bloodshot, I repeated: pinned, yanked, devoured another swamp troll corpse, crunching.
Crack, crackle-crackle!
Sizzle!
Gazing at my now denser, longer right arm bone, I swallowed the agony, muttering desperately.
"Spine, pelvis, scapula. Spine, pelvis, scapula, spine, pelvis, scapula..."
All bones to grow and reinforce. Spine and pelvis for core support, scapulae for punches and throws.
"Throw, grab, swing, throw, grab, swing, throw, grab, swing..."
Chewing pain, muttering purpose.
Skeleton matters for power. Bigger scapulae, longer arms mean stronger throws and impacts—biomechanics fact.
Like that.
Mad muttering, I dove back into full skeletal rebuild.
Grind! Sizzle-! Grind! Sizzle-!
Legs and arms breaking, devouring monsters, healing longer and tougher—this deranged cycle.
Mind fogging in pain, that demonic question resurfaced.
Do I really have to go this far?
My answer now? Unshakable.
"Gr, grraaaaaah!!"
Rumble! Boom-boom-!
Torrential rain poured. Storm clouds blanketed the sky, lightning cracking across Monster Island—thunder birds' favorite weather.
"Kuru-ru-!"
Wings spanning meters, the thunder bird floated over the island, beak clacking with crackling lightning, eyes scanning below.
Nothing scary. Evolved to read air currents, it knew every threat on the island.
Today, even its predator, the cyclops, held no fear.
Ogres? Not worth mentioning.
Crackle! Zzzap!
With steel-hard beak and wingtips wreathed in lightning, this thunder bird's swift dives—twisting air to hurl its bulk—were several times deadlier.
In short: perfect day to feast unbound.
Even cyclopes hid in deep caves on days like this. Stash kills in cliffs, and it'd eat hearty for weeks!
"Kuru-ruru-!"
Expectant, it flapped down toward a high valley gorge.
"Kuru-ruru-?!"
Weird. No orc tribes here usually.
Nor there, nor far off.
Flapped again, gliding to the opposite gorge.
"Kuru-kuru-?!"
Weird again. No prior prey in sight.
Even the swamp where delicacies smoked occasionally—dead silent.
Pourrrrr-!
What happened? On foul days like this, its sharpened senses should've caught something.
Then.
Flash!
Amid the thunder, a bolt struck.
"Kuru?!"
The thunder bird thought it glimpsed a silhouette across the high gorge.
".........Kuru-ru?!"
But it just rolled its eyes. Must've been wrong.
No info from its island scans matched that level of menace.
But.
Flasssh—!!
Rumbbbble—!!
A bigger bolt hammered down.
The thunder bird knew for sure, through sight and every body sense.
Pourrrrrr—!!
That menace was there now.
Probably.
The thing that'd rapidly thinned out island prey.
Something utterly foul.
"Did I pick the wrong day?"
The foul thing muttered incomprehensibly alone.
"...Hahaha! As if!"
It approached.
Rumbbbble—!!
Steaming hot even through the downpour, a 2-meter behemoth lumbered forward.