Thud!!! Thud!!! Thud!!!
Oasis, Azael, Zane, Aya, and Lily walked towards the main temple, landing at the edge of the island to avoid attracting unwanted trouble.
Unlike other times, this island seemed to draw people towards it.
There were a lot of cultivators rushing there, some already making camp.
Fights were frequent, and the mystic beasts here were stronger compared to other islands.
The deeper they went towards the temple, the more dangerous the mystic beasts became.
After some time, Oasis and the others reached a clearing with many cultivators who seemed to be in a meeting.
Cultivators from different kingdoms and families were all busy listening to one man who stood on a cliff, addressing them.
"We are all here for treasures and opportunities. Now, I would like all of us to cooperate as one so we can kill the mystic beasts here with fewer casualties," he declared,
pointing to the main temple that was visible from anywhere on the island.
"The goal is that temple."
"And to reach there, they are dangerous and strong mystic beasts. To make it there, we need to cooperate so we can survive," he continued.
"What about the treasures we get while we're going there?" one person in the crowd asked.
"We shall distribute treasures we get equally as long as we are in the same party," the man replied.
"Say we kill an A-rank mystic beast, how will we distribute the beast core?" another asked.
"The one who contributes the most gets the core," the man answered.
Commotion and misunderstanding started in the crowd of about 100 cultivators.
They didn't trust each other since they came from different families and kingdoms.
"Oh, you think what I'm suggesting is rubbish?"
"Then amongst you, who here is confident enough to kill a B-rank mystic beast alone?"
"Raise your hand," the man spoke, his words breaking through the commotion.
The crowd fell silent as no one said anything.
They realized that going towards the main temple alone was suicide.
It was better to form a party. The meeting went underway as they started understanding each other.
Oasis and his companions passed through the crowd, heading to the other side without saying a word to the people in the meeting,
Continuing to converse among themselves as if the crowd wasn't there.
"Brothers and sisters, do you mind joining our party?" the man called out to Azael's group.
"Nah, we'll pass," Azael and Oasis spoke simultaneously.
"Huh, arrogant brats. They're just marching to their death," one person in the crowd muttered.
"Let them be. We offered, but they didn't take it, so it's their loss," another said.
Oasis and his companions paid no attention to the group, continuing to move towards the main temple.
Days went by on the main island.
Oasis and his companions moved, resting from time to time and roasting the meat from the beasts they killed.
Lily, despite staying with them for some time, was not at ease. She felt like she was walking with a group of lions while she was just a sheep.
Zane was slowly getting used to Oasis, who now looked like his age mate.
Although he usually thought Oasis always behaved like he was older, now it seemed like he really was older than Zane.
Then, one morning after a week on the main island of Tir Na Nog...
Huff!!! Huff!!! Huff!!!
A man breathed heavily as he ran at a terrifying speed.
"Damn it, they killed everyone. They killed my brothers," the man thought, his injuries visible.
"Hey, stop there, bastard!" another group of people behind him yelled as they chased him.
There were about six of them, and it was evident from their attire that they were part of the Abyss Hounds.
The man jumped down a waterfall, going downstream.
After jumping, just as he removed his head from the water, he found himself surrounded by three women who were washing themselves.
!!!
"Huh!" the man thought, surprised.
The look on the women's faces was not welcoming.
"I'm dead," the man thought.
The women beat the man black and blue until his head was swollen all over.
The women were Magnolia, Azalea, and Tyla.
"But I did not do anything," the man managed to speak through his pain.
"Wait, you look familiar!" Magnolia exclaimed, recalling him before they beat him up.
"You are Caizo Consano," Magnolia said.
"You were doing your 5th-year practical in the academy, and you are the youngest 1st-grade alchemist and the youngest son of the Consano family."
"Yes," Caizo agreed, his voice barely audible.
"Big sister, you know him?" Azalea asked Magnolia.
"Yes, he goes to the Verdantial Academy as we do," she replied.
!!!
"Ha ha ha, thank you, pretty ladies, for catching our prey for us," the man chasing Caizo finally showed up.
Some of the men were attracted by the beauty of the wet ladies, unable to look away.
"You ladies might as well give us some fun," another man said.
"Water Magic: Healing Grace," Magnolia quickly healed Caizo.
Magnolia's magic healed most of Caizo's injuries.
"Thank you, Lady Riverwind," Caizo spoke with respect.
"Don't ignore us, ladies. But it doesn't matter since none of you are going to leave this place," the man said.
"That young man there is our prey, so his treasure belongs to us since he and his companion killed about four of our men," one of the men spoke, pointing at Caizo.
"I assume you killed his companions?" Magnolia asked.
"Even a chicken can tell that," the man replied.
"So you just confirmed that you and your men killed Verdantial students, and you also confirmed that you want to kill this young man," Magnolia stated.
"That's a given," the man replied, pointing his dagger.
"And after you kill him, you want to molest us and kill us afterward?" she asked.
"You are making it easy for us by understanding the situation, pretty lady, I like you."
"You qualify to be one of my concubines. Too bad we are in this place," he said, pointing to the surroundings with his dagger.
After his words, he laughed loudly with his men.
"Thank you for clarifying. Now I have a reason to kill all of you," Magnolia said.
"Tyla, stay behind me. Azalea!" Magnolia instructed Tyla to stay behind her and called out to Azalea, who stood near Magnolia.
"Let's finish this filth quickly," Magnolia said.
"Yes, sister," Azalea affirmed.