Chapter 14: A Walk on the Island

The island women began preparing the feast to celebrate the guild’s creation, but I felt uneasy. The forge view didn’t allow me to see living beings outside the guild’s property. I didn’t know what kind of creatures roamed the area, and too much tranquility made me nervous. This island was hiding something, and I had to find out what was special about it. After saying goodbye to Manaia, it was time for a little reconnaissance. "Mirage!" With my Mirage skill active, I left the village unseen. The sun was setting, and the evening breeze felt refreshing and relaxing. If it weren’t so dangerous, I could take Manaia on a romantic stroll. I had barely moved a couple of kilometers from the village when I found the first surprise. The island wasn’t as pristine as it seemed. There was movement. Too much. First, I saw a group of goblins sniffing around a stream, as green and filthy as I remembered them. To one side of the stream, a patrol of kobolds was on a small rock mountain, using their picks to dig up minerals, while inside the stream, a group of sealakels (lizardmen) with their scales gleaming under the sunlight were enjoying themselves, lying in the water. Using [Hero’s Vision], I saw their levels ranged from 10 to 25; there were even several zone bosses at level 35, quite strong for a small island. I ventured deeper, and the panorama got even more fucked up. Near the coast, some Ogres, looking like giant pigs with cold stares, patrolled the shores. They were territorial creatures; they didn’t usually mix with anyone, not even among themselves; they seemed like mantises: the female devoured the male after sex. What a sad fate! Then, an orc camp stood on a hill, their grunts reaching me. And not far off, the shadow of a solitary ogre moved heavily, a true walking tank. I even saw some stone golems, inanimate until someone got too close. It was a big surprise; if it weren’t for my skill, I wouldn’t have detected them. These golems were very stealthy and were level 65. The variety was insane. Goblins, kobolds, sealakels, orcs, ogres, golems... What the hell? On the continent, these races didn’t mix. They killed each other for a piece of meat or territory. They never agreed to live together, unless... A shiver ran down my spine. My gamer mind, trained by thousands of hours of dungeons and grind, connected the dots. The mix. The variety of low to medium-level monsters. The hostility between them that seemed suppressed here. Shit! "There’s a dungeon in this place...!" I whispered, slightly panicking. Excitement took over me. A dungeon meant loot, experience, resources. It was the perfect opportunity to strengthen my family guild! My eyes gleamed with the greed of a veteran gamer. But the excitement didn’t last long. Logic hit me again, harder than before. If there was a dungeon, that meant there weren’t just monsters. It meant there was a fucking Demon King. And that... that was truly dangerous. It could be a threat level I couldn’t deal with yet. I had to be cautious; I wouldn’t have the backing of the King’s army or the Holy Church of Light to support me, so assaulting the dungeon alone, no matter how tempting it sounded, would be suicide. I finished my reconnaissance. Although I didn’t go deeper than one-fifth of the island, I managed to understand approximately how the territories were distributed. The island was a gold mine, but also a death trap if I didn’t play my cards right. I returned, and the feast had already begun. With my skill active, I approached Manaia from behind, who was chatting with her guards. "Matriarch, what should we do with our new clan leader? We are not used to serving anyone but you..." "That’s right, matriarch," the other guard added. "We understand he is trustworthy and incredibly strong. We are not so naive as to believe that if he leaves, we will survive. I’m afraid he might still hold a grudge against us due to our lack of tact with him... If possible, could you intercede for us? We would like to continue being guards; please ask him to train us." The words of the chocolate beauties made me laugh. "I’m not that scary, you know? And even if I’m going to train you whether you like it or not, it wouldn’t hurt to eat some chocolate... Hahaha!" Without warning, I took Manaia by the waist, hugging her from behind and lifting her into the air, spinning her like a little girl. "Ahhhh...!" Manaia screamed in fright, making the whole village turn to look at her, but upon seeing me appear, they just let out a chuckle, returning to what they were doing before. "I’m back. Did you miss me?" "Jax...!" The guards shouted in unison, turning pale as if I had caught them doing something wrong. "What’s wrong? Were you talking about me?" "No, Mister Jax, we were asking about the plans for the village..." "Yes, yes, we were asking about our future tasks." "Don’t worry, later I’ll discuss the plans for the village with the matriarch, I mean, with Manaia." "We thank the young master for his help." With those words from Zyra, both bowed, leaning in and running as if they were escaping this place. I seriously want to try that chocolate; I wonder if it will be sweet like almond chocolate or bitter like dark chocolate, hehe, maybe it has strawberry filling. "Jax... It’s good that you’re back. I was worried. I know you’re very powerful, but anyone can have an accident." "Don’t worry about that; I’ll have time to tell you what I found later. For now, let’s have the celebration; I wouldn’t want the food to get too cold." With a nod, Manaia walked beside me to the center of the wooden platform. As we passed the tables, I could see that everyone was still working on roasting meat and preparing side dishes. "Your attention, please, come closer for a moment!" With a voice imbued with mana, I called all my new members to begin the celebration.