The sound of someone running echoed throughout the cave, and Arthur and Sully did not move an inch. Hiding was not needed when you had the strength to back up. Now with Sully by his side, there was no chance Arthur would be in danger, at least not on that island.

“What could it be, Arthur? Should we prepare for a fight?”

“Don’t worry. There’s no need to go seriously against such weak people.”

Sully did not get why Arthur had such confidence. Of course, Arthur was a dragon, but he was not at his peak power. But what Sully did not know was that Arthur could see the level of others.

It was a man running towards them. He wore simple clothing, just like everyone else on the island.

There was a number above his head, 8. It was above-average in comparison to the rest of the island.

“Huh? Is someone there? Please, help me!”

The mysterious man saw the campfire as he got closer to where Arthur was. He screamed for help. Arthur looked behind him and saw four masked people chasing him.

It was the demonic cult who planned to murder everyone. Just by looking at that, Arthur knew who the enemy was. All of them had low levels. That is how Arthur knew it should not pose a threat to them.

“Please, help me. These lunatics are chasing me. I’ll be dead, dead!!!”

Arthur gazed at the mysterious man and found nothing suspicious about him.

.

“Stay behind me. I’ll not lose,” said Arthur as he calmly stared at the upcoming enemies. Sully turned into his smaller version and entered Arthur’s pockets. It was not a fight that needed his help, and Arthur wanted to take care of them alone.

The four masked people saw the campfire but continued further without caring. In their minds, this island couldn’t have someone strong enough to fight them, at least not in this random cave.

“You can’t run or hide from us,” one of the masked people screamed wildly.

They soon got closer to the campfire and saw another man standing there. It was Arthur. He crossed both arms and gazed at the four mysterious people with visible disdain.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Arthur was not in the mood to waste time. He finally found a place to rest, and these people came ruining his plans.

“I’m the one who should say that. You’re in my cave, so I suggest you all leave quietly before heads roll.”

They exchanged glances after hearing that and couldn’t hold their laughter.

“Hahaha! Did you hear that? Did you lose your mind, piece of shit?”

“Piece of shit? I’m sorry. You’re confusing me with your father. The lights in this place are non-existent, so it’s okay.”

“Were you trying to insult me? My father was a piece of shit too.”

“Yeah, I can see the resemblance.”

“Bastard!”

The man was red in anger and could not hear another word from Arthur. He took out his magical book and started to move his fingers to draw the symbols.

“Why are you attacking alone? We don’t know if this man is strong!”

Arthur was close to the campfire, but in an instant, he vanished and appeared in front of the man. The man had his eyes open, but before he could do anything else, he was dead. All it took was one slap for his head to fly toward the cave’s wall.

The cave was red as the blood spurted from the man’s corpse. No one expected Arthur to be so ruthless. The man who ran away from the demonic cult started to think if he sought shelter in the right place.

Arthur was not looking to stop after killing one of them. The three remaining cult members seemed to realize that, and each one of them started to cast their spells.

It was a futile attempt. One of the cult members managed to cast a spell before Arthur could reach them, creating vines that locked both of Arthur’s feet.

“Hahaha! There is no escape now!” the man rejoiced after seeing his spell succeed, but what came next shocked him more than the death of his friend.

The vines he was so proud of vanished after Arthur devoured them. None of them had ever seen something like that before. Who would be crazy and capable enough to eat a spell? Arthur was one of his kind, that’s for sure.

“How d-!” before the man could finish, another head was rolling on the ground. Just like that, two of them died. It took Arthur less than fifteen seconds to kill two of them. And he was still in his weakened state.

The remaining two hesitated after seeing how strong their enemy was. If they tried to fight against it, their fates would be the same as the other two. But they also knew Arthur would kill them anyway, so there wasn’t a good option.

With that in mind, they continued to cast their spells. A fireball came flying in Arthur’s direction. It was faster than he expected it. It hit his chest, burning his skin.

“It hit, hahaha, we can win.” They were happy the spell hit, but when they gazed at Arthur, it was evident the spell did not do as much damage as they thought it would.

“Now, you only made me angrier. Good job trashes!”

Arthur wasn’t in a hurry to end those idiots’ lives. He walked toward them, which increased the terror they felt in their souls. Nothing was scarier than a predator stalking its prey slowly.

“Please don’t kill us. We know we’re not good people, but please-!” before they could even finish, Arthur tucked his arms inside their chests, ripping out their hearts.

All those deaths were cruel, and the young man, who was running away from the demonic cult members, was wondering if he would be next.

Arthur noticed the young man’s scared look and said softly, “Don’t worry. They died because they’re evil people. You’re not, right? So there’s nothing to worry about.”

The young man seemed to calm down slightly after noticing that Arthur returned to sit around the fire without worrying about his presence.

“Well, thank you, sir. I’m Ka. Nice to meet you!” Kai said, bending his body slightly.

“You can call me Arthur.” Arthur crossed his arms and said, “So Kai, what brings you to my humble cave? Why were those people chasing you?”

Kai sat around the campfire and scratched his head embarrassingly, “To be honest, I don’t even know. I was hunting through the woods when they showed up and started following me like psychopaths. I couldn’t fight them alone, so I ended up running away and found this cave,”

“I honestly didn’t expect to have anyone here, and I had already accepted my death. But then you showed up and saved my life. Thank you so much for that!” Kai bowed once again.

Arthur liked the way Kai behaved. He was not arrogant and was sincere when saying he was grateful for being saved.

“Hm, I see,” Arthur pondered for a while before asking more things.

“You look young. Where are your parents?”

“Oh,” Kai looked down. The sadness was evident on his face, and he said in a low tone, “They died a few years ago. Everything on this island makes me remember them. It is hard. I’m trying to get stronger. That’s why I hunt. It is the only training one can do in this place,”

“I was also hoping to buy a ship someday to leave this island, but it is impossible. It’s just a pipe dream…”

Kai loved both of his parents deeply. Their death was not something easy for him to overcome, especially when it happened when he was so young. Arthur listened to everything silently. He was not that good with others, so he tried to help in the ways he could.

“Here, take this.” Arthur handed Kai a branch with a slice of meat on it.

“Thank you.”

Tears streamed from Kai’s face. It was the first time someone had helped him. No one back in the village gave a damn about him. Not that it was their fault anyway. Everyone had their lives to take care of, and it was tough for all of them.

Sully returned to his original form, and Kai screamed when it happened.

“Don’t worry. He is Sully, my beastly companion.”

“How did you manage to tame him? I mean, he’s huge, and it surely looks strong.”

“He is strong, but the thing is, I’m stronger.”

“Yeah, I saw. I wish I had one-tenth of your strength…”

Arthur did not trust him completely, but slowly he was getting his trust. Maybe Kai could be a new member of his crew? Arthur was already thinking of opening an academy for him in the future, so teaching a few things to this young man wouldn’t hurt.

“Hey, Kai. Would you like to be my disciple?”

“What? Are you serious?”

Kai jumped in joy and accepted Arthur’s offer. Arthur, on the other hand, realized he hadn’t much he could teach. All of his power came from his system.

“It shouldn’t be hard to stall him while I learn something to pass on to him, right?” thought Arthur.