Editors: Ana_Banana, Sei

“I don’t know anything about the situation on Temple Island.”

The captain spoke these words to Lukas as he disembarked.

“So I wish you the best of luck.”

“Thank you.”

After saying that the captain headed in a different direction from Lukas. He was probably going to restock food and other supplies for the journey back.

Lukas turned his attention away and looked at Temple Island.

Before stepping off of the ship, he’d already gotten a full view of the island. It was just his speculation, but he didn’t think the population of this small island was more than a few dozen.

Because of this, it felt like a small island village that could be found anywhere else. However, it was the scenery beyond the island that proved it was anything but.

Death Island was visible in the distance.

The sea around it was badly polluted, and the sky above was black. Like poisonous gas, clouds of purple energy rose up from the ground.

As Lukas stood on the pier looking at Death Island, several men approached Lukas.

The man in the lead spoke up first.

“Are you Mr. Lukas?”

“Yes. You are?”

“…mm. You probably received something from Lord Young Dragon. Please show it to us.”

Lukas took out the Dragon Plaque. After receiving it, the man took out a stone slab from his pocket. There was a groove in it, and Lukas realised with a glance that it matched the size and shape of the plaque.

Click.

As he expected, the Dragon Plaque fit perfectly into the stone slab. After which, the stone slab began to glow.

After performing this check, the man took the plaque out of the stone slab and handed it back to Lukas.

“I apologize for the delay. Lord Young Dragon has given us a rough explanation already. Welcome to Temple Island. I’m Mars, the island guide.”

“Lukas.”

Lukas nodded.

“Yes. First, please follow me.”

After saying that, Mars turned around and nodded. Taking this signal, the people who had come with him, scattered. It seemed that they had come because they were wary of the newcomer.

“I know that your situation is urgent. And I wish I could take you to Death Island immediately, but… Before that, you will need to prove your qualifications to the Temple Master.”

“Temple Master?”

“He is the person in charge of managing Temple Island.”

“…isn’t the Dragon Plaque enough to prove my qualifications?”

Mars’ expression became a bit shameful at those words.

“Well, originally, that would be enough but…”

His expression seemed to say that he couldn’t say more than that.

Lukas glanced at him.

“Where is the Temple Master?”

* * *

There was only one temple on Temple Island.

And that was where the Temple Master was.

He was an elderly man with a rather stern temperament.

Lukas could tell with just a glance that he was no ordinary person. At the very least, he was on the same level as the East and West Priests that had accompanied Arid last time.

And yet, such a talent had been assigned to this small island. This showed just how much importance Dragon God Island placed on Death Island.

“Are you the Dragon Hunter?”

Lukas could immediately tell from his attitude and tone. For some reason or the other, this man was not pleased to meet him.

“You must be the Temple Master.”

“…”

When he heard his tone, Mars, who was standing beside him, couldn’t help but turn to look at Lukas with a confused expression.

A subtle light shined in the Temple Master’s eyes.

“Quite the temper you have. Or do you think you can do what you want just because you received the Dragon Plaque from the Young Dragon?”

“Is it wrong to return what I receive? If you want me to be polite, then you should do the same.”

This time, there was a hint of anger in the Temple Master’s voice.

“Watch your mouth, boy. Regardless of whether you are the Young Dragon’s guest or not, I am the one who decides things on this island. Do you think it would be hard for me to bury you here and deliver a false report?”

Knowing that it wasn’t a bluff, Mars couldn’t help but gulp slightly.

He knew what the outcome of foolishly offending the Temple Master would be.

“Am I supposed to prove my qualifications by fighting you? Fortunately, that won’t take too long.”

“…while I praise your confidence, it isn’t necessary for me to personally check your skills.”

The Temple Master gestured with his chin.

Then, a man who was standing behind him, walked forward.

He was a young, muscular man, and he also looked at Lukas with a nasty expression.

“This is one of the Chief Warriors of our temple. He is qualified to enter Death Island, and in some missions, he has even had to endure the harsh environment for more than two months. If you can knock him down-”

Before he could even finish, Lukas tapped his staff to the ground.

Thud.

And in that same instant, a highly condensed Hyper Bolt appeared. (TL: Lukas is trying to commit murder.)

However, it was much smaller than a normal Hyper Bolt.

In fact, it was so small that it was almost invisible.

Soon after appearing, the Hyperbolt shot towards the Chief Warrior with incredible speed.

“…!”

The warrior instinctively realised that Lukas had done something, so he pulled out his sword and held it in front of him.

Nevertheless, although he had responded in time, he made the wrong choice.

He should have dodged.

Crack!

The sword shattered like a pane of glass. The warrior only had enough time to widen his eyes in surprise before he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. It felt like he was being ripped in two.

Bang!

Nevertheless, he wasn’t even given the time to scream. As if he’d been hit by a huge invisible being, the man shot backwards like a cannonball and crashed into the wall so hard that he became embedded in it.

Mars forgot how to close his mouth for a moment, and the Temple Master was similarly speechless.

Lukas spoke a phrase that carried many mixed meanings.

“I’ve wasted enough time.”

It had taken four days to get to Akad with the Sun Carriage, the Skystorm had forced him to wait three days, and it had taken four days after that to finally reach Temple Island by boat.

He knew that he had already used the fastest method available. But knowing that didn’t rid him of his impatience.

It had already been more than ten days, and Lukas still had yet to set foot on Death Island.

The time spent traveling couldn’t be helped.

Being in a hurry didn’t mean he could make the Sun Carriage or the boat go faster, nor did it solve the weather problems.

But this was different.

Convincing them or subduing them.

Depending on how Lukas acted, he could shorten the time he spent on Temple Island as much as he wanted.