Chapter 188: The First Night on Dark Horse Island

Sailing was incredibly boring.

Liszt had to maintain his noble demeanor and could not mingle with the sailors or the squires, so after lunch, he took a nap and continued practicing his Aura in the afternoon.

This practice lasted the entire afternoon.

The Flower Town arrived at the location marked on the nautical chart around 1:30 PM, but there was no sign of Black Horse Island, so they had to continue searching at sea.

It took nearly three more hours to find the exact location of Black Horse Island.

"This nautical chart is off by ten kilometers! Those rats must have learned their navigation skills from dogs!" Kosto gritted his teeth and roared angrily.

If it weren't for good luck, they might not have found Black Horse Island until nightfall.

"Don't complain. It's lucky that we found Black Horse Island," Liszt said, somewhat wistfully. He was increasingly fond of the feeling of practicing Aura while taking potions, "Are we now looking for a place to dock?"

"Yes, sir. After all, Black Horse Island is an unexplored wilderness, and we need to find a suitable landing spot. The island is much larger than I expected, possibly as big as Beer Island, and this area is mostly sandy, making it difficult to dock," he pointed to the island's horizon outside the window.

"Is it as big as Beer Island?"

"Just my estimate, but it shouldn't be too far off."

This conclusion pleased Liszt greatly. The size of Beer Island was perfect for a viscount's fief. If it were too large, it would be divided among other nobles; if too small, it would be a disadvantage. Not too big, not too small—just right.

They circled half the island.

As the sun began to set, they finally found a suitable landing spot. The Flower Town approached slowly, dropped anchor, and lowered a wooden boat. A few sailors stayed to guard the Flower Town, while the rest boarded the boat and landed. The shore was rocky, similar to the pier in Flower Town.

Looking around, the vegetation on the island was sparse, with only a few scattered trees in the distance.

There were more weeds.

Some deer and roe cautiously watched Liszt and his group from afar, especially the tall and mighty Hiddleston.

From a distance,

they couldn't sense Hiddleston's intermediate-level magical beast aura, but just by appearance, they knew he was not someone to mess with.

"Teacher Marcus, let's explore along the coastline first. We have about an hour before dark, and we'll return to the Flower Town tonight," Liszt instructed.

"Yes!"

Without horses, everyone walked except for Liszt, who rode Hiddleston.

Hiddleston's massive frame made riding him more comfortable than a horse.

Many knights, especially powerful ones, no longer limited themselves to horses but instead chose various strong dragon breeds and magical beasts. For example, Stefan Vulture, the holder of the Aura Secret Technique 'Eye of Magic,' rode a dragon breed vulture, soaring through the skies.

Sky knights' individual combat power surpassed the charge of knights, so their mounts emphasized individual strength.

Ordinary knights relied on charging together to form a powerful Aura current, so their mounts emphasized standardization, making horses the best choice.

Riding a dog might sound odd, but riding Hiddleston, Liszt did not appear out of place. Instead, having an intermediate-level magical beast as a mount envied everyone, further enhancing his image.

Gripping Hiddleston's black fur, Liszt steadied himself.

Taking a momentary pause, he summoned the smoke task.

Smoke condensed into snake script: "Complete the task, reward: a Black Dragon herd." Without a doubt, docking the Flower Town meant the voyage was complete, without needing to return.

In a moment,

the smoke transformed.

A new task was issued.

"Task: You have stepped onto new land. As a lord dedicated to pioneering, how can you let Black Horse Island remain uncultivated? Establish a temporary base on Black Horse Island and settle one hundred serfs. Reward: a few rotten bones."

"A temporary base?"

"A few rotten bones?"

Liszt quickly recalled a previous smoke task involving a ghost, which rewarded a broken bone fragment.

That bone was later identified as a high-level dragon breed magical beast bone used for stabilizing dragons.

"So, what are these few rotten bones?" It was hard to guess, so he didn't dwell on it. Sometimes, Liszt became lazy regarding smoke tasks because the rewards always coincidentally came his way as long as he completed them, "Establishing a temporary base is already part of the plan—a guaranteed point."

After walking a few miles,

they discovered the rocky coast had disappeared, replaced by sandy beaches.

"The docking spot is probably near the boundary between east and west. The eastern part of Black Horse Island is mostly sandy, while the western part has more cliffs," Kosto, who often sailed and visited many islands, deduced from the island's details, "Looking at the center of the island, there are no towering mountains, mostly gentle slopes."

He squinted and carefully examined the distant horizon, adding, "Sir, I noticed that Black Horse Island is very round."

"Very round?"

"Yes, the terrain is continuous, at least on this side. We don't know about the opposite side. Perhaps tomorrow we can sail around the island to observe its shape thoroughly."

Liszt looked at the setting sun, now hidden behind the horizon, and said, "Let's wait until tomorrow. Since the situation is unclear, let's return to the Flower Town."

...

That night passed quietly without incident.

Liszt wasn't quite accustomed to sleeping on a ship. The sound of waves crashing against the hull mixed with the snoring of sailors and squires in the cabin, making it hard for him to sleep.

Hiddleston stood guard outside his door.

Even dogs snore, so it's no surprise that Hiddleston's snores sound like bubbles popping.

Liszt himself never snores and prefers a very quiet environment when he sleeps. Unable to fall asleep, he sat up, took out a crystal table lamp, and placed it on the table.

The crystal table lamp was purchased from Glanny and is very portable, essentially functioning like a flashlight.

With the light, he continued to take things out from the gemstone space to play with—a red blood sword that he wore at his waist during the day and stored in the gemstone space at night; a set of fine steel knight's equipment, including a bow, arrows, and three long spears for emergencies; mithril ore, crystals, and jade, all neatly stacked.

There were also black pearls, dragon bones, a telescope, a message bottle, and smoked herbs.

And a large amount of food, including milk, eggs, roasted meat, vegetables, fruits, bread, and various seasonings. The gemstone space keeps items in a state of suspended animation, so the food will not spoil and can be stored indefinitely.

With these supplies, he could live comfortably on a deserted island for several months—so much so that he even put a few bars of flower soap inside.

Also in the gemstone space were thirty vials of fire mushroom magic potions made by Elkson.

"It wasn't easy, but I've gradually accumulated quite a fortune." Satisfied, he reorganized the supplies, kept the gemstone close to his body, lay down on the bed, and started counting sheep.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally succumbed to fatigue and fell asleep.