Chapter 538: The Domain’s Starting Island, Servants Already?

With that settled, Leon began walking along the beach, followed by Emilia, Celeste, and Violet.

They kept an eye on their surroundings as they moved, but none of the monsters they encountered seemed interested in approaching them, probably because they could sense the enormous difference in strength.

The group continued along the coastline for around ten minutes before a notification suddenly appeared before Leon’s eyes.

Ding!

[You have found "Beach Village #2."]

"Huh."

Leon looked ahead, where a settlement had appeared beyond a stretch of sandy ground.

The village consisted of hundreds of wooden houses, with narrow paths connecting them to a central gathering area.

Players moved between the buildings alongside silver-skinned humanoids with long ears, who appeared to be the native inhabitants of the island.

Some residents carried supplies, while others worked near the houses or gathered in small groups to talk.

Despite the peaceful appearance of the settlement, the number of people living there made it clear that the island was far larger than Leon had initially expected.

As the four approached, a few players noticed them and began walking in their direction.

One of them, a man who looked rather tired, glanced at the group and let out an annoyed sigh.

"Newcomers?"

He attempted to use appraisal on Leon, hoping to check their levels and determine whether they were worth approaching.

However, before he could obtain any information, a notification appeared before his eyes.

Beep!

[You are now allowed to do that.]

"What the? I can’t see these guys’ panels."

The man tried again, but the result remained the same.

He could not obtain any information about the four newcomers, leaving him confused as he looked at his companions.

"That’s weird, but who cares? We need to do our job, so let’s go!"

The players eventually lost interest and returned to what they had been doing.

Leon, however, had already used [Eye of Truth] to examine the people around him.

Most of the players in the village were between Level 60 and Level 70, which immediately caught his attention.

’That’s such a huge gap,’ he thought. ’Some of them are already Level 70 on the starting island? Just how long have they been here?’

It was clear that the village contained players who had spent a long time trying to progress through [Higher Domain #2].

Considering the difficulties associated with crossing the sea, it was not surprising that some of them had remained stuck here, but Leon wondered how many years they had wasted trying to find a way forward.

Before he could investigate further, one of the native inhabitants approached them.

"Welcome!"

The elder was a silver-skinned humanoid with long ears, deep wrinkles, and a neatly trimmed white beard.

"It’s not often we see new arrivals here," he continued with a friendly smile. "For some reason, the gods don’t favor our domain, and the majority of those who come here head to another island and never return."

He sighed as though he were genuinely saddened by the situation, but Leon noticed something strange about the way he spoke: there was a hint of amusement behind his expression..

"Hm..." Leon scratched his chin. "How do we move forward, though?"

The elder’s eyes immediately lit up, and his smile widened as he prepared to explain.

"That’s quite simple! This island has twelve other villages like ours, and the players who arrive here must work until they acquire 3 million Eternal Coins. Once they have enough, they can buy a boat and travel to another island!"

"...Are you serious?" Leon asked, staring at him.

The elder nodded enthusiastically, apparently believing that he had offered a perfectly reasonable explanation.

"So you’re telling me that players are stuck here until they pay you three million Eternal Coins?" Leon continued. "What happens if they decide to build their own boats instead?"

"Many have tried that," the elder replied with a laugh. "Unfortunately, they always fail and get swallowed by the sea. You see, the boats we make are blessed with an enchantment that prevents sea creatures from approaching them, so ordinary boats simply won’t work. Of course, you’re free to try building your own if you wish!"

His laughter grew more unpleasant as he watched Leon’s reaction, seemingly giving up the "nice" act.

"Thanks to people like you, we’re able to continue making offerings to the gods, and those who try to fight us always perish. After all, all our warriors are Level 75!"

The elder seemed rather proud of that final statement, as though reaching Level 75 made him and his warriors invincible.

Eye of Truth!

The elder was indeed Level 75, but his combat power was only around 700,000. He was incredibly weak.

Against Leon and the girls, the elder would not even qualify as an opponent.

However, considering that most of the players in the village were between Level 60 and Level 70, it was easy to understand why the inhabitants could get away with this scheme.

To those who had spent years struggling to progress, a group of Level 75 warriors might appear overwhelmingly powerful.

The elder had probably taken advantage of that difference to force countless newcomers into working for him.

Leon glanced at the girls, who returned his gaze with similarly neutral expressions.

They did not need to say anything to understand what the others were thinking.

’Of course something is wrong here too.’

"Anyway," the elder continued, clearing his throat. "You should get started as soon as possible. If you work hard, perhaps you’ll manage to earn those three million Eternal Coins in a few years. Many others have already accepted their circumstances, and you should do the same."

Leon ignored his advice and instead focused on the part of the elder’s explanation that had caught his attention.

"You mentioned something about the gods."

His expression turned cold, and the elder’s smile faltered as he sensed the sudden change in the atmosphere.

"W-What about them?"

"Do you worship them?"

For a brief moment, the elder hesitated, but he soon recovered and forced his smile back onto his face.

"H-Haha! Like many others in this place, we worship the God of Light, the God of the Sea, and the God of Magic. You should do the same if you know what’s good for you, unless you—"

SLASH!

Before the elder could finish his sentence, Leon drew his sword and swung it once.

The blade passed through the elder’s neck, and his head fell to the ground before he could even react.

His body remained standing for a brief moment before collapsing beside it, leaving the surrounding players and natives staring at the scene in disbelief.

Leon calmly returned his sword to its position, showing no hesitation or regret over what he had done.

"Looks like there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get rid of in this Higher Domain too," he said with a smile. "We’ll deal with them while making our way to the Heretic King."

The girls were not surprised by his decision.

They had little patience for people who exploited others, especially when those people openly admitted to serving the gods Leon intended to hunt down.

If Leon had not acted first, Celeste, Emilia, or Violet would have undoubtedly killed the elder themselves.

The surrounding inhabitants remained frozen, unsure how to react to the sudden death of the person who had been giving them orders.

Some stared at the elder’s body in shock, while others instinctively stepped backward.

Leon took a step forward, looking toward the dozen silver-skinned warriors who were already rushing toward them with their weapons drawn.

"Alright," he said, his expression remaining calm as the warriors approached. "We’ll deal with whatever is happening here before moving forward."

The first group of warriors charged at them, apparently believing that their numbers and Level 75 status would be enough to overwhelm the intruders.

They were about to discover just how mistaken that assumption was.