Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

Inside the tent, Palebeard continued to talk.

“I served the Sand Castle Clan and lived in a desert oasis for decades. The desert lacks water and there are particularly dry seasons throughout the year. Most of the oasis will dry up or even disappear.

“And back at our place, there was a red frog. It buried itself deep in the ground and drank as much water as possible. Its body became several times larger, and stored as much water as possible.

“Later on, when the drought came, they were motionless, like a bear hibernating.

“They are extremely fragile during this time. They have no ability to move at all, because their bodies store so much water. As a result, their skin swells and becomes soft and thin.

“However, it is precisely because of such changes that this water bag red frog can survive the dry season. However, the beasts that are much stronger than them are buried in the sea of sand.

“This is the essence of nature. The water bag red frog has found a suitable position in nature. It has a strong ability to survive, but it is also very fragile at the same time.

“It has tried its best to survive in nature. It has no means to grow claws, wings, etc. The stronger the feature, the more nutrients are required for growth. The more sophisticated the muscle tissue, the longer it takes to evolve.

“The competition of nature is cruel and the pressure is high, so species like the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear and White Feather Elk don’t evolve naturally.

“If the environment is relaxed and there is no pressure to survive, creatures become lazy, obese, and sedate. There wouldn’t be powerful life forms such as the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear or White Feather Elk.

“Such species can only be man-made.”

Violette sighed and said, “I understand now, Palebeard, I sincerely admire your knowledge.”

Aupin nodded and agreed.

Blueteres, who had already heard this theory from Palebeard, said, “If Mr. Palebeard weren’t here, we would have died in that desert long ago.”

Palebeard continued, “Of course, all of this is just my hypothesis. I have no evidence to prove it. But I am almost certain that these weird monsters must not be natural creations. They are most likely man-made, but it may also be from a mutation caused by a certain mineral or spell.”

Blueteres couldn’t help but ask, “But who can create so many monsters? Which mogul in the Empire? Is it a deity? Only gods have the power to create things, right?”

Violette shook her head slightly. “This is also possible for a mage. As far as I know, a Legendary-rank mage can transform and control demiplanes. Isn’t this an imitation of a god’s creation?”

Palebeard sighed bitterly and said, “Perhaps it is a Legendary archmage, or a certain deity in the Emperor who opened their creation test site here. The island is not small, but it has never been discovered. Its location is actually close to the route of the Pig Peck. We boarded the island because of a shipwreck, which was completely accidental.”

Blueteres’s face turned pale. “This island is so scary. How powerful one must be to be able to hide this island and create so many monsters!? If they wanted to kill us, it would be easier than crushing ants. This is so strange, why don’t they just eliminate us? We have discovered their secret!”

Palebeard whispered, “Perhaps they are not on this island for the time being? Maybe they don’t care at all. Our every move is under their supervision. They watch us struggle as entertainment. When we are about to successfully escape from this island, they will perhaps take action.”

Blueteres couldn’t help but feel hopeless. “Then are we dead for certain!?”

Instantly, the atmosphere in the tent was gloomy.

Faced with such a higher existence, any escape plan from the young knight was a joke.

After a while, Aupin let out a sigh. “Palebeard’s hypothesis is horrifying and unthinkable. But I have to say that it is reasonable. Assuming this hypothesis is correct, we can continue to speculate that the landform changes here are also man-made. So, Mr. Palebeard, do you think this is a theurgical land moving technique, or a teleportation magic circle?”

Palebeard replied, “First of all, I personally feel that the landform changes are not aimed at us. If it is easy for this higher existence to target us and eliminate us, there is no need for such a big movement.

“Secondly, I am more inclined to believe in the teleportation magic circle than theurgy.

“We have all personally experienced these landform changes. The process was very quick. Instantly, we went from the forest to a desert. This is consistent with the description of teleportation magic in books.

“I think the landform changes here are because we were teleported, while the environment itself did not change. Otherwise, moving a large piece of land every once in a while would be too costly.

“Of course, all of this is still my speculation. Just like ants guessing the shape of clouds, it is ridiculous and unreliable.

“Finally, I think that the teleportation mechanism that seems to change landforms is probably one of the measures taken by the island owner to maintain the ecology of the island.”

Violette blinked and said, “Excuse me, why do you think so?”

Palebeard replied, “I have discovered that not only are we being teleported, but many beasts and monsters also teleport to new places.”

A thought flashed through Aupin’s mind, he thought of the group of Scaley Horned Black Panthers.

The panthers originally lived in the forest, yet came to the jungle with the young couple.

They needed to open up a new territory, so they fought with the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear, and lost the fight with the spider cluster.

Violette looked at Palebeard. “If these beasts also teleported, then perhaps the owner of this island wants them to fight and select the strongest beast. It’s like a puppet contest held by an alchemy guild. They want to cultivate the strongest beast like a weapon?”

Palebeard smiled and said, “Violette your analysis is reasonable, there is indeed such a possibility. But I still insist that the maintenance of ecology is more likely.

“Don’t you think that the natural balance of this island is actually in jeopardy?

“In spite of the vastness of nature, in fact, nature has a fragile side.

“The Sand Castle Clan hires bishops from the Temple of Life every year to help them increase the crop’s yield. I have talked with them, and had the honor to talk with wandering druids.

“There are various cycles of life in nature. Take the simplest example: plants grow in soil and are eaten by herbivores. The flesh of herbivores becomes the food of carnivores. The feces of these animals becomes nourishment for plant growth. The bones from their corpses are dissolved in the ground and fertilize the soil.

“Nature is full of life cycles. Even the most powerful predator can be destroyed in fights against one another. They are all subject to the constraints of life and the challenges of the harsh environment.

“The Sand Castle Clan has experienced locust plagues for several years. With the help of a druid master, the root cause was found. The reason why locusts grew in size was because fewer bread scorpions were eating the locust eggs.

“And why were there fewer bread scorpions? It’s because during those years, the Sand Castle Clan began to form a clan cavalry. They purchased a large number of chocobos, and when these chocobos were let go in the wild, they loved to eat bread scorpions.

“The cycle of life is like a chain, each link interlocks with one another. They affect each other, and once a link has a problem, it is likely to magnify and turn into a catastrophe.”

Palebeard changed the topic suddenly, “There are so many monsters on this island. They do not form naturally. It is a big burden for the ecology of this island to carry so many monsters. The cycle of life can easily be broken, causing irreparable disasters.”

“Makes sense.” Aupin nodded.

He thought of the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear.

This Silver-rank beast fed on ore, and so far, it was clear that it had no natural predators.

If the bears were allowed to survive, they would eat up all the ore sooner or later. The heat-emitting ores had a major influence on the landscape. Once eaten up, it could cause severe effects in many other factors, such as a sudden drop in temperature.

But because of the teleportation mechanism, the Monkey Tailed Brown Bear and the panthers fought together, and both eventually died by the hands of Aupin.

Just like that, the natural disaster on the island was avoided.

Violette began to think, So, the owner of this island deliberately created jungles, mountains, deserts, snow mountains and other landforms, to restrain these fierce beasts, stabilize the island’s ecology, and maintain the natural environment’s balance? But I feel like they want to select the strongest monster that can adapt to all environments!

The girl did not give up her hypothesis about a beast ‘weapon’.

Palebeard continued speaking, “I think teleportation is just one of the measures taken by the owner of the island to stabilize the ecology. Their efforts include other things.

“Like the Fire Venom Bees.

“Don’t you think that this bee colony was specially created by the owner to prevent the jungle and forest from a huge fire?

“There is also the forbidden environment. The environment here strictly forbids low-level magic and battle aura, which is more harsh than the Forbidden Ring at Sky City. This is not a defense mechanism, because it is unnecessary to defend against low-level enemies. Instead, it is like a shackle, preventing those beasts from exerting their own strength.

“That’s why I think that this forbidden environment is actually a measure to protect these magical beasts.”

“Please continue, sir.” Violette took the initiative to ask for more information.

Palebeard said, “The beasts on the island are not from nature. Although they have a stable body structure, they are not in harmony with the natural environment. Their magical powers conflict with each other and cannot smoothly absorb elements to form magicite.

“This may be the area the owner of the island wants to improve. They have achieved physical stability, which is an amazing achievement. But the beast’s bodies have the problem of element absorption. The owner cannot solve this problem for the time being.

“Mixing magical power is extremely chaotic. Sometimes it will form an explosion, and even if it is forcibly suppressed, it will still cause magic erosion to the carrier. Because the magical power is in chaos, it is difficult for beasts to survive even for a week.

“Therefore, they created a special environment in which low-level magic and battle aura are forbidden. These beasts become protected, maintain their stability, and it allows them to live longer.

“Sir Aupin and Madam Violette should know more about magical powers than me.”

Violette nodded slightly, sinking deep into thought.

Aupin looked solemn.

He analyzed the situation quietly, “On this island, we found Bronze, Black Iron, Silver, and even Gold-rank beasts.

“Gold-rank chaotic magical powers are also suppressed by the environment here.

“So, only a Sanctuary rank can freely use battle aura here?”

No matter how talented Aupin was, he could never reach the Sanctuary rank at his age.