The days crawled by, each one feeling longer than the last. William's eagerness to reach their destination made ti seem to slow to a crawl.
He passed the ti by staying in his quarters, chatting with sailors on the upper deck, and gazing at the endless expanse of the ocean.
The mont they reached their destination was unmistakable. The island they were to explore boasted an enormous volcano, visible from a great distance.
The volcano's sheer size was awe-inspiring, and William could see smoke billowing from its peak. Even from afar, he felt dwarfed by its natural grandeur.
"Is it just , or is there a village over there?" William wondered aloud, pointing towards a cluster of houses on the island. "How can they live so far out here?"
He had assud the island would be deserted, or perhaps inhabited by only a few hardy souls, but he was mistaken. There were nurous houses and a bustling community.
Hemlock seed to have anticipated this and offered an explanation. "We're actually close to another continent," he revealed. "This island trades extensively with them. In fact, you could say they're residents of that continent, not ours. From what I understand, most of them speak more than one language."
William was surprised. The direction he had sailed in the past was different, so he had imagined this continent to be a separate one.
Of course, it was possible it was the sa continent, vast enough to stretch across different regions.
The answer remained elusive without further exploration. Captain Hemlock skillfully docked the ship and went ashore to speak with the port authorities, ensuring they had a place to moor and wouldn't encounter any trouble.
This island didn't receive many visitors from afar. It was more common to see ships from nearby islands or the larger continent, but a vessel arriving from as far as William's was a rare occurrence.
It took so ti for Hemlock to explain their purpose and assure the authorities they wouldn't cause any problems.
anwhile, William took the opportunity to relax at a nearby restaurant and order a drink.
"Give your best drink," he requested.
The waitress was taken aback by his unfamiliar accent and the language he spoke—a secondary language for the islanders. She imdiately recognized him as soone from a distant land.
Intrigued by William's unfamiliar deanor, the waitress approached his table with a smile and a few questions after delivering his drink.
"Are you from far away?" she inquired. "What brings you to our island?"
Despite the girl's seemingly harmless curiosity, William remained guarded. Sharing too much information with strangers could attract unwanted attention.
"Yes, I co from afar," he replied vaguely. "But unfortunately, I can't disclose the reasons for my presence here. Let's just say it's for tourism."
A hint of disappointnt flickered across the waitress's face. "I understand," she sighed. "I wish I could leave this island more often and explore the world, but I only travel to the mainland a few tis a year with my parents." Continue reading on My Virtual Library Empire
Her response piqued William's curiosity. "What's the mainland like?" he asked. "If you don't want to answer, that's fine. I wouldn't bla you, considering I haven't been entirely forthcoming myself."
"It's alright," she assured him. "It's a continent like any other, I suppose, though I haven't seen any others myself. It has diverse bios, but most of it is desert. The stories say it was transford into a desert long ago due to a fight."
"A fight?" William echoed, his brow furrowed in disbelief. "How could a fight transform an entire continent?"
The idea seed preposterous, but the waitress's conviction made him reconsider. This wasn't just a fantastical tale from a bygone era; it seed to hold genuine historical significance.
"Well, according to the legends," she explained, leaning in conspiratorially, "it was a battle between a powerful warrior and a fearso beast. So say he fought a giant, others a dragon, and so even claim it was against another man. The truth is shrouded in mystery."
William, having witnessed firsthand the destructive potential of magic, found the idea of a single person altering an entire continent entirely plausible. Mages could indeed reach incredible heights of power.
Eventually, the waitress excused herself. Though her parents owned the restaurant, she still had duties to attend to, and other custors awaited her service.
William savored his drink and the solitude it afforded him. The concoction contained ingredients foreign to him, though he detected a hint of pineapple in its flavor.
Captain Hemlock approached his table, a look of satisfaction on his face.
"We're all set," he announced. "The guards won't bother us, and we have ti to explore the island and retrieve the flower, though they say it's dangerous to approach the volcano."
William, already anticipating a challenging task, was unsurprised. "I see," he replied calmly. "Will we begin today or tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow," Hemlock answered. "Co with ; we're searching for a tavern together."
"Let just finish my drink," William said, gesturing to his nearly-empty glass.
Finding a tavern proved to be a simple task. The island offered limited options, so they didn't have much to choose from.
The tavern they settled on had plenty of space available—a consequence of its infrequent clientele—allowing the entire crew to lodge comfortably under one roof.
But it was still dayti, so no one was looking to sleep. The crew settled into the tavern to eat, drink, and mingle with the locals.
William, however, felt restless. He wanted to explore, to see more of this unfamiliar island. He wandered through the village streets, and to his surprise, he encountered soone familiar.
It was the waitress from the restaurant.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, his curiosity piqued. "Didn't you have a lot of custors to attend to?"
William's tone was genuinely inquisitive, not rude. He was simply surprised to see her outside of work.
"My shift just ended," she explained with a smile. "My parents hired soone to help a few years ago when I wanted more free ti to study magic. Working full-ti made it difficult to focus on my studies at the end of the day."
"Study magic?" William echoed, intrigued.
He couldn't sense any mana emanating from her. How was she concealing it? Was she a powerful mage? Or was there sothing else at play?
Asura's voice materialized in William's mind, offering an explanation. "She has an artifact on her wrist," Asura revealed. "I believe that's what's preventing you from sensing her mana."
William's gaze fell upon her wrist, where he noticed a delicate bracelet.
'How does she possess such a valuable item while living on this remote island?' he wondered.
"Yes, I'm studying magic," she confird, her eyes sparkling with determination. "It might be my ticket off this island. I want to earn enough money to allow my parents to retire comfortably so they no longer have to run the restaurant."
"A noble cause," William acknowledged, "but you know that the life of a mage seeking fortune is not easy. You could die."
The woman's gaze fell to her feet. "I know," she admitted softly. "That's one of the reasons my parents didn't want to start learning magic. But in the end, I convinced them."
"How is your training going?" William inquired, his curiosity piqued. "What level are you now?"
A blush crept onto her cheeks. "I'm only level nine," she confessed, embarrassed. "It's hard to learn on this island. I don't have any teachers."
William was genuinely surprised. Reaching level nine without proper resources or guidance was impressive. Did she gain experience by slaying monsters or through dedicated study?
"I see," he replied, offering a polite smile. "I wish you the best of luck in achieving your goals."
He turned to leave, his thoughts already shifting back to his mission. He found the woman pleasant and admired her noble aspirations, but he wasn't on the island to make friends or play the role of a charitable benefactor.
Suddenly, she grasped his arm, her touch surprisingly firm. William turned back to face her, his expression guarded.
"Please, hear out," she pleaded, her eyes filled with a desperate hope. "Could you be my teacher? Can I go with you?"
William was ready to refuse, to gently remind her that such sudden physical contact was inappropriate, but Asura's voice bood in his mind, laced with an uncharacteristic excitent.
"Accept! Accept her as your disciple! Do it, kid!" Asura urged, his voice echoing through William's thoughts.
"Why should I?" William countered ntally. "She would be a burden."
Asura's pleas alone wouldn't sway William. Ultimately, William was the master, and Asura was rely an artifact.
"She has a demonic bloodline!" Asura exclaid, his voice filled with urgency. "Hell, she might be one of the few descendants of the demons you can find in the present ti of Aethel!"
The lady already expected William to refuse after seeing how coldly he looked at her, but to her surprise, William said, "I accept you as my disciple."
Her eyes widened in disbelief, and a radiant smile lit up her face. "Really?" she gasped, her voice barely above a whisper. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
She bowed deeply, her gratitude overflowing. "I won't disappoint you, Master!" she declared, her voice filled with newfound determination. "I'll work hard and beco a mage worthy of your guidance!"
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