Host, Please Be Honest! What Exactly Are You?

Finalizing things in his mind, Dorian continued onwards with the group of normies.

As for the matter involving Loki, he decided to throw it to the back of his mind.

Honestly... He was beginning to think the heavens might one day fall into dismay and chaos if this lesser God was allowed to run amok as he did.

That is, can't there anyone up there who could notice his schemes and put a permanent stop to it all?

Oops...

The Almighty has gone on hiatus. And even the other stronger Gods directly under who under the Almighty were also a no show.

It's almost as though they had gone on a vacation for who knows how long, not bothering to return.

Of course, one might think Dorian was worried about humanity or any of that.

But the system knew its host only hated to have this bothersome fellow ruin his plans to do his job.

The world could be in flames, and its host would still be in peace.

Since its host accepted it as a system and the mission from its master... Based on its host's personality, he would want to do things exceptionally well.

Loki...

That name brought grief to many in the heavens.

And in the end, the system also couldn't help wondering why the Almighty was on Hiatus and why its master wasn't doing anything about putting order into place.

Odd... Odd...

It was all too odd.

But as a system with absolute loyalty to its master, it didn't think much of it, thinking its omnipotent master should surely have a reason.

Bah!~... Whatever it was would definitely make sense.

(*^*)

.

In this way, Dorian led the gang of normies deeper into the strange forest.

The thin layer of pinkish purplish mist made everyone hold hands, lest they lose someone or 'something' tried kidnapping the real and exchanging with a fake.

No chances... They were taking no chances.

But even with their resolve firm, every step they took forward was done with queasy feet.

A strange wind caressed their cheeks, and a light eerie giggle echoed.

Ahh!

What was that?

Bubuum. Bubuum.

With their hearts pounding vigorously, the gang of normies swiftly turned their heads in all directions but saw nothing.

All that could be heard were the constant giggling noises from the surrounding forest.

Mommy...

Without even knowing it, they moved closer to one another, tightly hugging one another.

You look at me; I look at you.

Bro... Are you hearing what my ears are perceiving?

Both Navy officers and Bho guards didn't know there would be a day when they got so scared that their bladders began threatening to grow loose.

Ah!-

Wait up, Grandmaster!

Seeing Dorian still walking on as though he was deaf, everyone dared not delay any more.

They hastily followed behind him, trying to screen out the strange giggles in the air.

And as the seconds passed, the giggling grew louder and louder until they began seeing a few human-like shadow images in the mist.

'With the Grandmaster here, we have nothing to worry about.'

Bho Jin chanted words of belief like a soothing mantra, almost turning Dorian into the centerpiece of religion.

It wasn't just him but everyone else.

They kept their eyes on Dorian, not wanting to lose sight of him. But why was it that when they peeked at their surroundings, the trees seemed to be closing in tighter and tighter than before?

Or was it just their brains overthinking things in the height of fright?

!..!

.

Everyone wanted to know but dared not ask.

"Look! Over there!"

Now, they had walked close to the edge of some cliff.

It was strange to say it was no more than 15 minutes since they began walking. And now, they were already on a high cliff?

With the size of this island, they were still technically close to the shores.

And along their walk, they hadn't gone up any steep inclined path.

So how can they suddenly find themselves this high up?

"Because the part of the island which we docked on is higher than the other sides." Gia Ming replied, critically analyzing things.

It was strange to say that the massive open space they were starting at below should be covered with a large chunk of that purple water.

Yet, it was filled with barren forest trees with no sea water in sight.

This again defied physics, as the waters on the shores adjacent to the land were slanting downward, away from the space.

Wipe!

What sort of fantasy setting was this?

Everyone smacked their lips in disbelief, looking at the strange scene.

Of course, the object that caught their attention the most was the massive rusting cruise ship below.

Hey!... It was the one they spotted earlier when sailing closer towards the shores.

Its massive body was slanted in a shipwreck position below.

Just seeing this scene was enough to tell everyone they hadn't been walking straight into the island but sideways along the shorelines instead.

How strange... They could have sworn they were headed straight into the island earlier... So what changed?

.

[Host, it's moving]

'Hmmm...

Dorian hummed.

Since they stepped on the island, it had been moving. Its various parts moved subtly for ordinary people to move.

This was probably why everyone else was shocked.

A sly smile crept on Dorian's lips.

Since the island wanted to lead them toward the massive cruise ship, then why not play along?

For now, he had 5 hunches on what sort of creatures he might be up against.

But to make sure, he needed more hints or clues to access the matter further.

Gia Ming and the other Navy Officers clenched their trembling fists.

"Grandmaster, we have to go down and check it out. There could be survivors in there."

"Right!"

The others nodded.

Old Bho also nodded, placing both hands on his firmly planted cane.

"To safely find these survivors, as well as to know what truly happened to them, one must begin their investigation In the starting point of it all... The ship."

Old Bho's sage words were accepted by all, but they still looked towards Dorian for confirmation.

"Alright... Let's go. But first, relax your bodies."

Eh? Relax their bodies?

Dorian smiled, lazily tilting his head at the perplexed group.

And with a flick of his figure, everyone found themselves falling over the ridiculously high cliff.

1, 2, 3…

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!~~~

Bho Jin screamed at the top of his lungs at the sudden fall.

F***! F***! F***!!!!

Bho Jin had done parachuting before.

But he could only be brave then because he had a parachute strapped on his back.

Now, jumping down the high cliff, his first reaction was to reach for his back. And when the realization of no parachute came to mind, his entire being screamed in horror.

Murderer!... Murderer!...

What was he trying to do, kill them?

Bloody hell!!

Are they sure this Grandmaster that pushed them down wasn't the real one but a fake?

And what was so scary was that his falling seemed to be accelerated by a strange force, making him feel he was moving faster than the speed of light.

It wasn't just him who thought that but everyone else who died severally during their fall too.

Why? Who? How?... When can this joy ride stop?

.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!~

Bho Jin seemed to see his entire life flashes before his very eyes.

He was now falling in a lying position with his belly and face to the ground.

He flapped his hands like a bird, wanting to fly away the user his face was to the barn forest below.

And just when he thought he would smash into the ground and become shattered meat, a strange force slowed his speed.

Ahh!-... Ah?

Bho Jin and the others now found themselves gliding down gracefully like heavenly beings.

And when their feet touched the forest floors, some inwardly wanted to go on their knees and kiss the ground in glee.

F***!

If not for fear of this soil being rotten, they would've definitely done it!

Bho Jin looked upwards to see his Grandfather and the Grandmaster slowly taking their time to descend from above.

... Wait!

So they were pushed down while his Grandfather was slowly gliding down instead?

Well... His Grandfather was taken down as though the older man was seated on a slow-moving Ferris wheel, probably not to give the old guy a heart attack.

Old Bho wanted to say he could handle the adrenaline that came from what Bho Jin and the rest had faced.

But the envious eyes everyone was giving him, he decided to swallow his words.

Hey... It's good for this old man to have some privileges.

Doesn't this mean he was closer to the Grandmaster than their lot?

(^π^)

.

Like so, the gang began making their way towards the giant rusting ship when suddenly they heard a sharp cry from within the ship.

What?!

**Freeze**

Backs hunched, everyone's pupils dilated.

A survivor!