God of Tricksters

Meanwhile, the rest of the groups had made their final approach to the island.

They hadn't dispersed yet because of the fishes' movement. They seemed to swarm around the edge, preventing any boats from distancing themselves.

This resulted in 1500 boats approaching the island from the same direction.

"Hmm… Where are Joker and the others? Have they reached the island?"

"Is it even possible?"

"Did they defeat the octopus? The octopus should be appearing soon… if it didn't appear, that meant Joker had killed the octopus. If not, then they might have either died or passed."

The people were confused, wondering where Joker's ship was. On the one hand, Joker's reputation was so mysterious that anything might be possible if it was him. On the other hand, they didn't believe Joker had enough strength to defeat the octopus.

Even Winston furrowed his eyebrows and looked around.

"I don't see them anywhere. Have they reached the island? Looking at how confident they're, they must have some way to slip past the octopus." Lexie looked down, falling into deep thought. "But how… It's impossible to go around the island since the octopus will be able to find you.

"There are a few records of the people going around, but they either died or were ambushed by the octopus.

"So, I don't know how Joker could slip past the octopus… Is he that strong to be able to pass the octopus? Or has he died from overconfidence? The threat from the sea is so big that not many people dare to tread lightly, so…" Lexie approached Winston and whispered her doubt.

Winston maintained his silence for a moment as he looked at the island, trying to find any hints about Theo. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find anything.

"Anyway, we're approaching the island soon. What should we do? Should we teleport to the island when the octopus appears?" Lexie asked, changing the topic. Since they were going to fight the octopus, it was obvious that they needed to carefully consider their options.

Teleporting to the island would be the safest choice, but Winston was acting weird.

He kept staring at the island as if he was in deep thought.

After a while, he finally opened his mouth. "Say… Why does that guy's reputation keep soaring? I know he defeated me, but why did I end up being the bad guy? We fought fair and square in that arena… Not only that, but he also got so much money and resources."

Winston closed his eyes, remembering what happened a few months ago.

Just for their duel, he had sacrificed seven A Rank Skill Cards as well as two billion Zils. He thought he could win, but in the end, he lost everything. His rank, followers, people's trust… Everything was completely destroyed in one single defeat.

He couldn't understand how that was even possible.

Lexie was surprised that Winston asked this question. She considered the answer carefully before giving it to him. "He's good at manipulating people's opinions. Your level was far above him, making the people lose trust in you. After all, they would think you bullied the weak and even tried to extort him by using that bait.

"Even if he was the one proposing the bet, only a few people witnessed it. Even if those people helped you, they couldn't withstand the 'truth' that millions of people worldwide were spreading.

"To put it simply, he showed his true nature to only the people present. And the rest… he put up a facade that could gain people's trust.

"The people wanted to see the birth of a hero, winning against oppression. That's why the people around the world will support him first by taking advantage of the fact that you were the one challenging him. Though, he also needed considerable strength to pull it off, or he couldn't even defeat you. That was the most important reason." Lexie sighed, explaining the reason.

"People's opinions… Hero…" Winston muttered these words as his expression turned grim.

"Winston?" Lexie started doubting whether Winston was in the right mind or not since he wasn't in his usual self.

Before the defeat, Winston would surely teleport himself from here, not caring about other people's lives. After all, his sole thought was to get stronger.

But due to Theo beating him, Winston somehow cared more about his surroundings even though he had no common sense because of his upbringing. Still, it didn't change the fact that Winston had changed.

Suddenly, the water began to rise as the waves started raging. A huge creature gradually came out of the water, revealing its appearance.

It was a giant octopus. With three hundred feet tall, the octopus looked like a scary creature. At the same time, the tentacles alone were five times their boats. A single sweep was all it needed to bring them down.

"That's the octopus?!"

"The Mythical Rank Octopus? Even though our boat is quick, there's no way we can take that on."

"Evasive maneuver!"

"Let's loop around the octopus. At least far enough from its reach!"

The people started to panic as they changed their course, scattering around.

However, Winston's boat still moved forward at a constant speed as if trying to challenge the octopus. Yet, no one thought Winston would dare to challenge the octopus, considering he had the teleportation ability. If they followed Winston and he disappeared, they would die in vain.

That was why no one hesitated to go around instead of following Winston.

Seeing their reaction, Winston squinted his eyes even more.

"Winston. We need to teleport right now!" Lexie warned him again as the octopus had appeared. They would be the first target if they continued this way.

But the words that came out of Winston's mouth truly shocked her.

"Lexie. If I trust my back to you, can you make me that 'hero' in everyone's mind?" Winston asked.

"Huh, hero?" Lexie dropped her jaw to the ground. She never expected Winston to be thinking about being a hero at his age.

However, Winston couldn't care less about her reaction. He reached out the microphone on the boat and turned the highest volume. "I might not be reliable, but those who want to reach the island can follow me to reach the island as fast as possible. Whether you want to follow me or not, it's up to your choice."

Winston's words were awkward because he wasn't Theo, who could form a good sentence that could move people's hearts. But the meaning of his words was clear.

'Follow me, and you will reach the island.'

The people were confused for a second, but Winston suddenly leaped forward, trying to face the Mythical Rank Octopus alone. His back kept telling them, "Follow me!"

"That is Winston…"

They were shocked when Winston stepped forward as if trying to fight against the octopus.

The octopus looked down on him as it slammed two tentacles to hit Winston.

"No!" Lexie shouted as she prepared to back Winston up with her water ability.

But Winston simply snapped his finger, using his teleportation ability. Instead of himself, the target was none other than the octopus.

That was right. He used all his strength to teleport the octopus.

'I will do it. I will become the hero in everyone's mind. If Joker can do it, I will do it too… This time, I won't lose!'