Chapter 285: I Thought You Would Understand Once You Touched It
Nora Nash put the box into his Storage Ring and said, "To become an Island Master, you need to have permanent residents on the island. Do you need me to arrange a group of people for you?"
"No, that’s okay. Our country has a large population, so it should be pretty easy to recruit a few people willing to stay on the island."
"You still have a country?"
Nora Nash looked a little confused.
Faye Yardley chuckled. "Of course we have a country. It’s just in a state where it’s hard to unify and there’s no ruling government at the moment."
"It’s quite something that you still acknowledge your country’s existence." Nora Nash looked down at Faye Yardley and said, "Show me the perimeter of your island?"
"Sure."
Both of them were capable of walking on the surface of the sea as if on solid ground, so after getting off the raft, they began a leisurely, side-by-side stroll around the island’s perimeter.
At most, Faye Yardley could cover two to three meters in a single step, so Nora Nash had to deliberately slow his pace to accompany her.
"Have you thought about a name for this island?"
"Huh? Do I get to name it? Doesn’t it already have one?"
"Mhm."
Faye Yardley figured that since Nora Nash was also an Island Master, he was the perfect person to ask for advice. "Are there any important things to know about being an Island Master?" she asked.
Nora Nash tilted his head slightly, his gaze meeting her eyes, which were bursting with curiosity. The corner of his mouth lifted into a slight smile. "No. As long as you, the Island Master, are strong enough."
This was indeed advice born from his own experience. He simply killed anyone who came looking for trouble.
Faye Yardley blinked. ’He has a point, but surely it can’t be that simple.’
When they reached one side of the island, Nora Nash stopped at the spot previously designated as Defense Zone 5. A ball of light appeared in his hand, and he tossed it in that direction.
As Faye Yardley watched in confusion, the ball of light suddenly erupted in a brilliant flash, enveloping the area.
[Congratulations on discovering a resource point on the island—Blue Gold Gemstone Mine. Resource Points +1]
"Not a bad mine. The reserves look decent as well."
Faye Yardley was overjoyed. "If even you think it’s a decent resource, then it must be excellent! By the way, what was that thing you just threw? It reveals resource points with just a toss. That’s so useful!"
Nora Nash reached out and made a grasping motion toward the island, and the ball of light returned to his hand. "It’s just a little trick. It only works if the resource is already here to begin with."
He then held the ball of light out to Faye Yardley. Seeing her hesitate, he said, "Didn’t you want to know what this is? You’ll know once you take it."
Faye Yardley reached out and grasped the ball of light, which then gradually disappeared in her hand.
’Didn’t he say I’d know once I took it?’
’Why did it disappear when I grabbed it instead?’
He chuckled softly.
Hearing Nora Nash’s soft laugh, Faye Yardley looked up and glared at him in annoyance. "You’re just messing with me."
"Alright, I didn’t realize you truly didn’t know. That was just a manifestation of one of my abilities. I thought you would understand as soon as you touched it," Nora Nash said, looking slightly innocent.
"A manifestation of an ability... You’re so strong."
"Mm, I’m decent."
"So, you brought me over here because you sensed there was a mine?"
Nora Nash nodded. He had indeed brought her here after vaguely sensing something. He figured that once she became the Island Master, she would definitely want to develop the island. It was better for her to know what resources she had sooner rather than later so she could plan accordingly; otherwise, who knew how long it would take for her to find it on her own.
Faye Yardley thanked him sincerely again. "Thank you so much, really. But what are the Blue Gold Gemstones used for? Would it be difficult for me to start mining them?"
"As for whether it would be difficult for you to mine it, that question has me stumped. However, Blue Gold Gemstones are particularly popular in certain places, especially among the noble ladies of Lumina. Other than being sold as jewelry, I’m not sure what else they’re used for at the moment."
Faye Yardley immediately became more invested in the island before her. ’Jewelry equals money,’ she thought. ’I understand that simple equation.’
Having found this one resource point, the two of them started walking back. The sky was brilliant with stars, looking so close it seemed about to press down on them. A gentle sea breeze stirred their hair, and on the calm, waveless surface of the sea, not even a single foolish sea creature emerged to bother them.
"You can find me anytime if you need something. I’ll come over if I’m free."
Faye Yardley looked up at him and smiled. "Okay. We’re friends now, after all, so I won’t hesitate to ask when I really need help. If I were going to stand on ceremony, I wouldn’t have asked for your help this time around. Also, Kingston helped me a lot, so I really must thank you for that."
"You’re being so polite, always saying thank you. So, how exactly do you plan on thanking me?"
’How should I thank him?’ Faye felt this was an impossible question. ’Money? I’m practically broke. And I don’t have anything else that’s particularly...’
’Wait a minute... I actually *do* have something good.’
Faye Yardley grabbed Nora Nash’s left hand with her right and said, "Quick, take me back to the raft. I know how to thank you now."
Nora Nash stared at his left hand in her grasp. Hearing her words, he gripped her hand back and strode forward.
Faye Yardley felt like she was practically flying as he led her along.
It wasn’t that she was being dragged or pulled; an invisible Energy was enveloping her. The feeling was marvelous.
’Compared to him, I have such a long way to go.’
Back on the raft, Faye Yardley took a translucent Illusion Flower from her personal storage with her left hand and presented it to Nora Nash. "For you."
Nora Nash took the flower and was about to say something when Faye Yardley felt her right hand go empty, and the man before her vanished.
Huh?
Willow Yardley walked over. "Faye, as you instructed, I’ve sent thank-you gifts to the others who came to help."
"Oh, good job. Are the two who were seriously injured okay now?" Faye Yardley quickly snapped back to reality and turned her concern to the two heavily injured allies who had come to help.
"Their lives are no longer in danger," Willow Yardley said. "Mr. Sterling treated them, and with the help of some potions, they should make a full recovery after a few days of rest."
"That’s good, as long as they’re okay. I’ll thank Mr. Zephyr Sterling separately for his help."
Faye Yardley said this as she headed back into the house.
She flopped directly onto the large sofa in the living room, her gaze falling on the national channel on the TV screen. Many people were still complaining about the strange weather, the huge waves at sea, and other similar things.
’Well, compared to the general public, I guess I’m doing pretty well for myself.’
As for Island Master Quest 3, Faye Yardley wanted to ask for her brother’s and Zachary Pierce’s opinions.
She considered the friends from her small group chat. ’They aren’t really suitable to become my residents,’ she thought. ’After all, their lives would essentially be in my hands.’
’My relationship with them has always been one of friendship. I don’t know if they could adapt to such a sudden change in our dynamic, but I know it would weigh on me.’
’If they got into a conflict with other people on the island, I’d probably take their side subconsciously, and that wouldn’t be a good thing for me as the Island Master.’