Book 2: Chapter 226

After that, Lukas fought three more times.

Every warrior he fought was stronger than the ones before them, but from Lukas’ perspective, it was all the same. This could be seen from the fact that he used the same method to deal with all of them.

He simply cast Hyper Bolt three more times.

“…”

After experiencing a series of emotions ranging from astonishment and anger to worry and disappointment, the Temple Master now sat silently in his seat.

Lukas simply stared at him.

He couldn’t help but wonder if the Temple Master was contemplating whether to step forward or not.

In all honesty, he knew that it wouldn’t be possible to win so easily if the Temple Master came forward to test him personally.

However, after a brief silence, the words that the Temple Master said next were surprising.

“…those clothes.”

“…”

“They were made by the hands of a master. With them, you could probably survive on Death Island for an entire month.”

“…they can only last a month?”

Of course, Lukas intended to return with Sedi much sooner than that, but it was still a bit unpleasant to know that he had a time limit.

The Temple Master snorted when he heard that.

“The clothes made by the craftsmen on Dragon God Island tend to last no more than two weeks. I don’t know who made those clothes for you, but you should appreciate their work a little more.”

“…”

“As for your qualifications… You have proven yourself capable enough.”

The Temple Master spoke in a voice as if he wanted to get rid of him quickly.

“I will have a boat prepared immediately. Mars, take him to the dock in 30 minutes.”

“Ah. Ye-, yes sir.”

Mars quickly came to his senses and bowed, but the Temple Master had already gotten up from his seat and left the room with a blank expression.

“S-, somehow, I think you gained his recognition.”

“…”

Lukas didn’t respond.

Gulping slightly, Mars observed the man beside him. He knew that this person couldn’t be ordinary since he was acquainted with the Young Dragon, but he didn’t think he’d be able to gain the Temple Master’s approval by force. Not to mention the fact that he’d defeated four Chief Warriors in an instant.

“Then for the next half hour… Ah!”

Recalling something, Mars reached into his pocket and pulled out a few items.

“Lord Young Dragon asked me to give this to you. Please accept it.”

In Mars’ hands were a black ring and a folded piece of paper which appeared to be a note.

After receiving them, Lukas decided to put the ring aside for now, and read the note first.

[Master, hello. It’s Arid.

Receiving this letter means you were able to reach Temple Island without any problems. Thank you for your hard work. And I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be of more help to you.]

Lukas could almost hear Arid talking to him as he read the letter.

[I left Master this letter because there are a few things I need to tell you.

Firstly, I’ll tell you about the Goddess. I don’t think the Goddess wants Master to go to Death Island. She seemed very angry that I told you to go to Temple Island and gave you the Dragon Plaque without asking her first. I got scolded a lot. But I don’t regret it.]

The Goddess?

Lukas didn’t understand her intentions, but he chose not to think about it for now and continued to read the note.

[…I think the Temple Master who manages Temple Island received secret orders from the Goddess. He may try to use some tricks to prevent you from going to Death Island. The Temple Master is not someone to take lightly, so I’m warning you in advance.]

Lukas was finally able to understand the reason for the Temple Master’s unexpectedly sharp attitude.

Nevertheless, from the contents of the note, it seemed that he was supposed to read it before meeting the Temple Master.

[The ring is my gift to Master. As I said before, my control over my power has improved a lot. With the ring, it would be a little easier for you to find Sedi. Besides that, I also added a few other functions for Master. I don’t mean to brag, but it took me five years to make, so I’d be happy if you wore it all the time!

I pray that Master will be able to find Miss Sedi quickly and return safely.

I miss you, Master.]

“…”

Lukas could feel Arid’s emotions in the note. Not wanting to throw it away, he folded it once more and placed it in his pocket.

Then, he put the black ring on his index finger.

A cool sensation filled him as soon as he put it on.

Now that he thought about it, this was the first time he’d received a gift from one of his disciples.

* * *

The boat the Temple Master prepared for him was by no means an ordinary boat.

The wood that the keel and hull were made of had a deep, earthy color.

“They’re made of black beech wood. That wood is the only one capable of sailing across the polluted water.”

This comment was from Mars.

The Temple Master was already on board the boat. He didn’t seem to have any intentions of making trouble for Lukas anymore.

Maybe it was because he wasn’t as loyal to the Goddess as he thought. Or maybe he had his own opinions on the matter.

Lukas felt that it was probably the latter.

The Temple Master seemed to be a prideful person, but he seemed to be more straightforward than that.

“Take this.”

Mars handed him a small canteen.

“What’s this?”

“It contains ‘purification liquid’. It can purify any polluted water into drinkable water. One drop per liter.”

On Death Island, finding drinking water and food was as difficult as picking stars out of the sky. So the top priority was always securing enough of the two.

Mars said that when Temple Island sent scouts into the island, they all carried purification liquid without fail.

“If you use it sparingly, it should be enough to last you a month.”

“Isn’t this a precious item?”

“…it usually takes about a year to make that much. Of course, various precious materials are also essential ingredients.”

“Thank you.”

Mars smiled humbly.

“You don’t have to thank me. This was also part of Lord Young Dragon’s arrangements.”

Lukas realised that he owed Arid a huge favor. Without his help, his journey on Death Island would have been many times more difficult.

—It didn’t take very long for them to get to Death Island. This was natural since the island was close enough to see from Temple Island with the naked eye.

After about half a day of sailing, he was able to set foot on Death Island.

Swoosh!

Lukas stood on the dead but unpolluted ground beneath him and listened to the sounds of the ocean.

The Temple Master, who was looking at him with his arms folded, said.

“Remember this location well. It is one of the few safe zones we manage here on Death Island.”

As if encircling the shoreline, stone statues were placed in a line not far away from them. The ground around the statues was many times darker than where they were. It was as if the stone statues were guarding this area.

Lukas realised that there were semi-permanent runes on every stone statue. These runes allowed the statues to absorb the demonic energy, pollution, and death energy in the area.

“If the protective function of your clothes is ever impaired because of unavoidable circumstances, evacuate to this place immediately. At the very least, you would be able to prevent your body from being contaminated with demonic energy.”

“What unavoidable circumstances?”

“For example, being exposed to too much demonic energy… You will have to use your discernment in order to avoid entering places with high concentrations of it, but unexpected and unavoidable situations can occur at any time.”

After saying that, the Temple Master shook his head.

“That’s enough of that. When do you plan to finish your task?”

It seemed that the Temple Master was performing his duties as the manager of Temple Island. Lukas answered briefly.

“I plan to complete it within a week.”

If he took longer than that, then he wouldn’t return in time for the Championship.

“I see. Come back to this place when you’re done. You see that flying dragon statue over there with one wing? When ki is injected into it, a signal flare will be fired into the sky. Personnel of Temple Island are always monitoring Death Island, so unless there are any unforeseen circumstances, a boat will be sent within half a day.”

In other words, to get off of Death Island, he would have to return here after completing his task.

Lukas nodded, and with that, the Temple Master left Death Island.

“Then I’ll be going.”

“Take care.”

Mars gave Lukas a slight bow before he left.

Lukas nodded.

He wanted to see the boat off until it faded into the distance, but he couldn’t afford to.

So with those words of farewell, he turned around and took the map out of his bag.