After a night of absorbing mana within the Island Core, Simon finally opened his eyes.

As he peered out of a window, he could see that the sun was already beginning to rise, illuminating the vast skies of Island Ascension Online.

Meanwhile, on his island, workers were just starting to wake up and fulfill their duties. Groups of excavators, gatherers, and militia were sent into the blood forest wave after wave, while the other members of the island began their own jobs as well, such as building airships, feeding livestock and tending to the crops.

It was indeed a normal and peaceful day on his Island.

Seeing this, Simon nodded and turned from the window, before leaving the Island Core.

As he left the castle, he casted a series of enchantments on himself which concealed his entire figure from view. Now, it would be practically impossible for any typical resident to notice him.

Then, with his hands locked behind his back, he serenely strolled through the island.

Such an action was now part of his daily routine. He enjoyed watching the lives of his citizens, and by witnessing them all from a close perspective, he could better govern the island.

…

Meanwhile, outside of Simon’s island…

Airships would occasionally appear from the distance, and other airships would likewise take off from his island, soon disappearing into the endless skies. From travelling merchants, to refugees seeking shelter, his island was fairly popular within the region.

This was in part due to the fame of his Blood Forest Ruin deed, and in part due to his own renown - both of which were already spreading to the region under the control of the Flamelight Organization.

Meanwhile, on top of one of the airships arriving, a short, elderly man wearing simple linen clothes was feasting on meat and wine, enjoying himself immensely as he gazed at the island from afar.

On his airship, there was not another person or creature in sight. Instead, there were a series of neat piles of paper filling up his airship. These slips of paper were covered with calligraphy and inscriptions, and they each looked as if they contained profound mysteries within.

Suddenly, as he neared the island, the man’s gaze landed upon Simon’s verdant crop fields.

“Eh? These arrays…” He stroked his white beard thoughtfully as he gazed outwards.

“They seem pretty interesting...”

…

Soon enough, the elderly man’s ship finally docked on the island.

Upon landing, a member of the island’s militia quickly checked his ship for any suspicious items or activity. This sort of check up was standard procedure in Island Ascension Online.

Seeing that there was nothing out of order, the security member let the man in as a ‘Merchant’.

As the short old man serenely strolled about on the island, watching the bustling town, the vast fields, and the busy workers, he nodded to himself, muttering, “Not a bad environment. No wonder this island’s reputation is quite widespread”

Compared to other islands, which typically emphasized efficiency and profits, this island could indeed be considered to be spacious and comfortable.

Afterwards, the elder headed to the fields of crops with a hint of anticipation.

It has to be known that the arrays that Simon had put up were easily the most glamorous parts of the island. After all, every time that the farm was expanded, he personally came and painstakingly created arrays over every plot of farmland.

As a result, the massive and ethereal floating inscriptions, along with the ceaseless flow of mana made the farmland feel more like a divine paradise than a farm. The vast fields of verdant farmland were also quite eye-catching, and it would be hard to find crops that looked as healthy and bountiful anywhere else.

However, when he arrived at the fields, this old man was not fazed by the appearance of the farmland. Instead, he was enamored by the arrays themselves.

“Impossible! Who is this island owner? Th-these inscriptions are simply too profound and elegant!” he suddenly exclaimed in disbelief, his expression comical as he stared at the many arrays covering the plot of land.

Others may not have known exactly how impressive these arrays were, but as a mage, and a professional array drawer at that, he knew much more than the average fellow about these arrays.

Though these arrays were not all too powerful, it was simply due to the limitations of the materials used in them. As for the inscriptions themselves and the efficiency of these arrays, they were enough to render him speechless; he had never once seen such elegant arrays in his long life!

“Boy! You’re the disciple of the island owner, yeah?” the old man suddenly turned and tapped the empty air next to him, and a startled Simon was revealed.

-----

‘Eh? He noticed me?’

Simon was quite startled when he was suddenly revealed, but he wasn’t exactly stupefied. After all, he could sense that the old man was at least a grandmaster mage! Such figures were incredibly rare even within the low zone, let alone within the lowest zone.

Since that was the case, he naturally had to keep a close lookout over him, and so that was what he had done. Only, he didn’t expect that the man would notice him.

“Ahem” Simon coughed awkwardly. “Actually, I... am the island owner, esteemed visitor. I offer my apologies for sneaking around, I was only curious about your presence here.”

Simon was quite amused as he spoke. After all, he was the owner of the island, not the disciple… But to the old man’s credit, a young man in his twenties with such skill in the arrays was unheard of.

“Oh?” the old man raised his brow, somewhat startled. The Island owner was apparently a mage without a single star core in his early twenties?... He was naturally quite suspicious. However, he humored Simon.

“Well, if that is the case, island owner, then please demonstrate the drawing of this array to me,” he said solemnly, pointing to one of the temperature controlling arrays above a plot of land.

If Simon was the island owner and as skilled as it appeared, everything would be fine. But if Simon were a fake… suffice it to say that the old man would not be happy.

“As for payment....” He then waved a hand and a fist size green crystal appeared on his palm. “Would this suffice?” he asked with a chuckle.

Seeing this crystal, Simon was somewhat taken aback.

“A nature rune of the fourth tier?” he asked, clearly interested.

“Indeed, it is a nature rune of the fourth tier” replied the old man with a laugh. Such a crystal was worth at least 100 golds, and any island owner would be tempted by such a reward, let alone one that was a mage.

“Of course, I can swear an oath to the system that I will not divulge what you will show me. I am not even asking for instructions! Just a quick demonstration will suffice. So what do you say?” the old man asked with an amiable grin whilst stroking his beard.

Hearing this, Simon slowly shook his head.

Though a tier 4 rune was indeed tempting, what he had was a series of array building techniques from another world! The value of the two simply could not be compared.

Since that was the case, there was no way that he would lower his head to the old man. He had a few cards up his sleeves, after all.

“Sorry, but for that price, I am afraid that I will have to refuse.” he simply said.

At these words, the man immediately frowned, displeased.

A mere mage without any star cores was defying him, even when faced with a decent deal! This was practically unheard of.

However, he did not get mad. Instead, he merely sighed and nodded, feeling that it was a shame. “Very well. Then do you mind if I study these arrays?” he asked.

“That would be no problem.” Simon immediately replied. In any case, everyone who came to his island could see these arrays. Barring this man from even looking at them would be unreasonable.

At the same time, he was somewhat surprised by the fact that he had not been immediately threatened.

After all, mages with high amounts of magical accumulations were typically overbearing and unreasonable. Since they possessed the capabilities to act in such a way, why would they not do so?

Only, there were all sorts of people, and the same obviously applied for mages...

Some were fiends who would kill anyone who so much as looked at them in the wrong way, while others were considerably benign and averse to killing. And so, Simon realized that the old man must have been the latter type.

After Simon’s agreement, the man nodded and promptly began studying the floating inscriptions.

Seeing the elder who was deep in thought, Simon was suddenly struck by a spark of inspiration.

“Actually, it isn’t impossible for you to learn my array building techniques. How about you become my disciple?” he suddenly called out.