This time, Lince would be staying in the Karte World for a while. Once a nation was established on the Karte Continent, this phase would be considered temporarily concluded.
However, before that, there was one more thing Lince needed to do.
It was time to claim Dragon Island.
ââââââ
[Chief Administrator confirms claim on Dragon Island. Claiming...]
Outside the Karte Continentâs Star Realm, an intangible ripple of Power spread out.
A moment later.
On the outer edge of the Star Realm, upon the dimensional barrier that rippled like water in the blackness of Space.
An enormous, oval-shaped âlandmassâ with a flattened top suddenly began to slowly emerge from an unknown region of Space, appearing above the Star Realm.
This continent was incredibly vast.
Even in its so-called damaged state.
Its immense scale was evident just from the portion that had slowly emerged.
Such a massive disturbance naturally drew the immediate attention of the Giant Demon Demigods stationed at various points below the Star Realm.
However, the Giant Demons simply watched with curiosity, not daring to venture any closer.
After all, Linceâs terrifying Giant Dragon Body loomed right there.
They knew this powerful Ancient Life form was the being with whom they had signed a contractâthe current Dominator of this world.
As such, these Giant Demons remained utterly cautious and respectful.
Unless summoned by Lince, they would not dare speak out of turn, let alone rashly disturb him.
Still, as they watched the massive âlandmassâ continue to emerge from the unknown region of Space, these Giant Demon Demigods couldnât help but discuss it animatedly among themselves via telepathy.
"What on earth is this ancient being doing now?"
"Did he get a demiplane from somewhere?"
"A demiplane? There arenât many demiplanes this large. This must be a reward from the Main God Level ancient being backing him."
"But itâs strange. Why would an Ancient Life form want such a large demiplane? According to the Empireâs records, these Ancient Life forms donât need to follow the same path of Ascension to Divinity as we Lower-Rank Creatures, do they?"
"Thatâs right. Ancient Life forms ascend to divinity through natural growth, relying on their innately terrifying physical Power to overcome everything."
"..."
The Giant Demon Demigods murmured amongst themselves.
Meanwhile, Lince was completely focused on Dragon Islandâs manifestation.
Dragon Islandâs manifestation was smooth, without any major phenomena.
The only thing Lince found slightly unusual was that after he claimed the Dragon Island reward, his Spiritual essence seemed to rapidly connect with it.
Then, once the entire Dragon Island had materialized, Lince finally understood its current state.
[Ancient Magical Creation: Dragon Island.]
[Level: Law Level] (Damaged)
[Surface Area: Approx. 30,000,000 square kilometers]
(Diameter: Approx. 6,000 kilometers, circular surface.)
[Description: Dragon Island is both an island and a Law-Level spatial artifact. It contains its own internal Space, and its external appearance can change in size.]
(Note: Dragon Island forms its own realm, similar to a Divine Kingdom or a small world. Its core is the damaged Star Core of a living planet; therefore, its internal Space also possesses a sliver of Mana Will Authority.)
[Functions: 1. Dragon Nest; 2. Parasitism; 3. Growth]
(1. Dragon Nest: The Dragon Nest at the center of Dragon Island can accelerate the gestation period for the Dragon Race, guarantee the hatching rate of laid dragon eggs, and possesses the Power to strengthen the Dragon Raceâs Bloodline.)
(2. Parasitism: Although Dragon Island is its own realm, the Energy it converts from the Star Realm and draws from its Controller is insufficient to maintain its scale and Magic Environment. Therefore, Dragon Island can descend into the mortal realm of other worlds with magic, relying on its special properties to parasitize them and draw sustenance from their Magic Power.)
(3. Growth: As a Law-Level artifact, Dragon Island must rely on sustenance from other worlds to slowly increase its size and the strength of its Laws. Additionally, feeding it the Star Cores of other living worlds can accelerate its growth, eventually granting it the Ability to become a complete world in its own right.)
[Note: This Dragon Island is exclusive to the Chief Administrator. Its Laws have been imprinted with the Chief Administratorâs will. The Chief Administrator is requested to experience the details firsthand to understand them.]
Lince closed his eyes, his consciousness sweeping rapidly across the entire Dragon Island.
He had to admit, even in its damaged state, Dragon Island was certainly large enough.
âIf it wasnât damaged, I canât imagine how vast it would have been.â
No wonder Amos had said Dragon Island was no smaller than the Oakland Continent.
However, as he surveyed Dragon Island from above, Linceâs expression grew solemn at the sight of its devastated condition.
The entire surface of Dragon Island was riddled with craters and gouges.
Some areas were even covered in crystallized char.
Clearly, a terrifying war had once been fought on Dragon Island.
The islandâs entire topography had been completely destroyed.
And though a great deal of time may have passed, allowing grass, flowers, and trees to grow back in some areas, almost no trace of civilization remained.
âAs for the so-called central Dragon Nest?â
Nothing remained but a giant crater.
âIt was useless to hope that any dragon eggs might have been left behind.â
Clearly, in that incredibly brutal war, any member of the Dragon Race who could flee had done so.
They took everything they could with them.
In fact, Dragon Island itself had been abandoned.
âBut, in the end, it must have been âsalvagedâ just in time by the True Game.â
Lince could even picture the bizarre scene: just as the Black Flame Creatures were warring with and hunting down the Dragon Race, Dragon Island was suddenly âsnatched awayâ by the True Game.
âThose Black Flame Creatures must have gone berserk.â
âAfter all, this Dragon Island is quite a treasure.â
âIt can grow or shrink, it contains its own Space... it would even be great for just smashing people...â
âNot to mention, Dragon Island is its own realm and even has the potential to grow into a complete world.â
âBut to become a complete world, it would have to devour the Star Cores of so-called living planets.â
âDestroy a world? Seize its Star Core?â
The mere thought struck Lince as absurd.
After all, to seize a Star Core, oneâs individual Power would have to be sufficient to utterly crush a planetâs Mana Will.
The Mana Will was the Idealist Power of an entire planetâs ecosystem.
Planets themselves took hundreds of millions of years to form.
âWho knows how strong a Mana Will could become during that process?â
At the very least, Lince with his current strength was certainly incapable of crushing a Mana Will.
If one couldnât attack from the outside, the only other way was to obliterate the planetâs ecosystem from within.
In other words, one would have to rely on a Mortal War to destroy all life on the planetâs surface.
But a Mana Will wasnât just the sum of the Power of the current mortal ecosystem; it was the embodiment of the laws of Idealist Power, accumulated since the planetâs very birth.
âEven if a Mortal War destroyed a planetâs entire internal ecosystem, would the Mana Will truly just vanish?â
That was a good question.
But for now, at least, it was clear that even when the Giant Demon Empire conquered the entire Karte World, they had never dared to think of, much less attempt, such a thing.
For that matter, hadnât the Dragon Race itself tried something similar on the Oakland Continent?
Whether it was because they didnât want to or because they couldnât...
âIn any case, itâs best to avoid destroying a planet if at all possible.â
âItâs too extreme.â
As for the Dragon Island in its current, damaged state, the destroyed Dragon Nest could actually be restored using Dragon Islandâs own Authority.
However, before that, he had to let Dragon Island recover some of its Power.
After all, from what Lince could sense, the island was severely damaged; its internal Magic Environment was nearly non-existent.
As for Dragon Islandâs own sovereign will, it was now faint and ephemeral. The feeling it gave off, like an old man on his deathbed, was painfully obvious.
Therefore, what Lince had to do next was simple.
He needed to move Dragon Island into the mortal realm of the Karte Continent.
There, it could rely on its parasitic ability to slowly recover by borrowing the Magic Power of the Karte World.
With this course of action decided, Lince opened his eyes.
The next moment, with a single thought, the enormous Dragon Island before him shrank abruptly.
It transformed into an object resembling a crystal ball and fell right into Linceâs draconic claw.