Book 2, 227

Book 2, Chapter 227

Translator: Seven

Editors: Ana_Banana, Sei

“...”

He’d read it in several books before, but at that moment it really struck home.

—It wasn’t just large, it was the largest.

Death Island was the largest of the Seven Islands of the Heavenly Realm, surpassing even Untamed Island.

It was millions of square kilometers wide, and its population was so low that it would be difficult to find anyone to ask about Sedi’s whereabouts. (Note: For reference, Asia is 44,614,000 sq km)

In fact, it could even be said that more people were living in one of the major cities on Combat Island than in this vast land. Moreover, it was still unclear whether he’d be able to communicate or not if he did manage to encounter someone.

He’d been told that the Dragonmen who lived here were all barbaric and violent.

Even if they could communicate, the probability that they wouldn’t be hostile towards him was extremely low.

‘...it might be possible to track Sedi’s demonic energy.’

The environment on this island had already been heavily corroded by death energy and demonic energy.

These things wouldn’t affect Sedi, but for Lukas, who was looking for her, it made the situation many times more difficult. It was like searching for a beehive in a dark room filled with the scent of honey.

Of course, there were differences in the energy signatures of Sedi and the demonic energy in the environment, but she would need to be relatively close for him to tell them apart.

‘Moreover...’

Lukas looked down at his hands.

There was practically no mana on Death Island.

This was something that he’d expected to an extent.

It would be almost impossible to find the energy of nature in such a dead land. The coast, which bordered the ocean, was a bit better, but as he went deeper into the island, the mana in the air would gradually disappear.

In the end, his decision to not use flight magic to fly over from Akad was a wise one. From now on, he would have to save every single drop of mana. Because he had no way to replenish it.

It was truly fortunate that he’d managed to reach 8 stars before coming here.

‘It would be nice if I could quantify my remaining mana...’

Just as he had this thought,

[The participant’s request will be applied immediately.]

[MP(Mana Points) has been activated.]

[From now on, the participant will be able to check their remaining mana.]

[Current mana 10,000/10,000]

“...”

As he heard this voice, Lukas couldn’t help but wonder if the voice was truly automated, or if it had an ego of its own.

Shaking the thought from his head, Lukas injected mana into the ring Arid had gifted him.

Lukas gripped his staff tighter.

* * *

K-... uhhh... uh...

The Ancient Dragon let out a low moan. But that soon faded as its body stopped moving entirely.

Lukas looked down at it.

The battle itself hadn’t been difficult. The difficult part was trying to end the battle as quickly as possible while also conserving as much mana as possible.

‘...moreover...’

In the rich lands of the Heavenly Realm, his spells would be enhanced even if he used less mana, but it was different in this place. In this dead, desolate land, the same spells required twice as much mana. It went without saying that the power of the spells was also reduced.

‘This place is the worst for Wizards in many ways.’

On the other hand, the Ancient Dragon, which had adapted, survived, and evolved in this environment, was countless times stronger than the black dragon he’d fought before.

Nothing was more dangerous than a beast that was driven by hunger. Moreover, an Ancient Dragon was a being that could not be compared to a wild beast.

Lukas checked his remaining mana.

[Current mana 8,741/10,000]

‘I used about 1,300.’

Of course, it wasn’t like his mana didn’t refill at all.

However, in this dead land, the amount of mana he could obtain was about 100 points per day.

‘Ah.’

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.

The Ancient Dragon’s heart.

It might not be possible to refine it here, but it should at least be possible for him to extract mana from it. With such hopes, Lukas used a spell to cut open the Ancient Dragon’s chest.

“Mm...”

But he couldn’t help but frown when he saw the mess that was revealed.

The Ancient Dragon’s heart was black. This wasn’t because it had decomposed after it died. After all, not that much time had passed.

Instead, Lukas was certain that it had been like that from the start.

This cursed land had even caused its heart to become twisted.

He couldn’t absorb it.

Instead of replenishing his mana, he would be lucky if he didn’t do any harm to his body.

“Huu.”

With a soft, dejected sigh, Lukas turned away and injected his mana into the black ring once again.

Fwoosh-

The beam of light shot in the direction he had to go, but the light was still dim.

(Note: I’ll be taking a break from the 20th to the 2nd. But if I ever feel bored during that time I might post a chapter or two. Just giving advance notice so you guys can prepare your hearts.)