Chương 35: Island Restored

"M-my o-own island?" LANCE stuttered.

"You can't be serious. How would I pay for it? Wouldn't I, like, have to pay taxes or something?" His dad laughed.

"Taxes?! Out here?! You're a riot, son!"

"Well... how am I to monitor the island? What if more bandits come to take up residence? How will I know? How will I clean them out and—" he started to prattle but his father held up his hand for him to stop.

"Son," his father said to him.

"Don't worry about it. You cleared this island of bandits in what, a week, not even? And that was after they had their dirty claws in it for decades. If any others arrive — which I highly doubt, by the way, not after what you've done here spreads — you'll just show them the door like you did with the king. As for how you will know, well, I guess that will depend on you coming back here every now and again.

I could cast a spell for you, informing you of when a person with ill-will takes up residence, but I think you taking a proactive hand in this would be better." Father made sense. He still had questions, but his father would explain such questions away shortly.

"That makes sense, dad. Okay, I'll check in on the island from time-to-time, I guess. I'll need some help from you in getting here, though." Warhol chuckled.

"Sorry, son. I can't keep acting as your training wheels on these matters. I might take pity on you and transport you once in a while, but for the most part, you'll need to find your own way. Learn [Teleport] or [Super Speed] from a professor or buy it from the Holy Shop. Consider it part of your training." He sighed. Why did his father do this? Dangle a carrot in front of him, get him all excited for it, and then pull the support rug out from under him? It was SO frustrating! Did he say anything, though?

No, he kept his mouth shut, like always.

"Okay. How do I claim this island, then? Do I put up a flag?" Another fatherly chuckle.

"You could do that, but the easier way would be to just declare your intention within the leyline chamber. Speak your name and how you've claimed the island for yourself and bingo, you'll be all set." Waiting for him to do so, his dad didn't say another word until he performed the action.

"Uh, hi," he told the leyline station dumbly.

"My name is Lance Chaucer. I wish to — no, I claim this island as my own, as part of my Patron God's grand earthly empire. I vow to protect it from those who wish to do it harm and wish to inflict harm on others to the best of my abilities and knowledge. Um, thanks?" He was about to ask his dad if that was good when the System took care of that for him: [Territory Claimed: Murder Island] [Accomplishment Unlocked: Territory Reclaimed (Murder Island): I have seen your vow, Lance Chaucer. I look forward to seeing how you use this island to further my righteous agenda!] If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. And then, another notification: [Murder Island Accomplishment Suite Complete: Reward: 2 Mana Grenades, 1 Fairy Dust, 1 Stamina Potion, XP] Lance felt the experience flow into him like an intoxicating beverage. It made his hairs stand up on edge and took the edge off from his dad's visit.

[You Have Reached Level 43] [You Have Earned Boon Points: 8] [You Have Reached Level 44] [You have Earned Boon Points: 4] [Unallocated Boon Points: 86]"Alrighty, I have claimed my very own island, and I have made a vow to protect it, so what's next? I should mention I have a bunch of former slaves I need to figure out what to do with... any ideas there, pops?" he wasn't expecting his dad to help him but hey, he never knew. His father sighed.

"See, son, these are the types of things you need to think about as you get older. When you're out in the field and encounter problematic elements, you need to think about how your response will further problematize things after the conflict. I will say this: you either get to the mainland and charter some boats to take everyone off the island OR you tell them to stay put and ask them to convert to praising Cannabus.

I am sure the folk at your academy would be delighted in helping you set up a private island-sized monastery..." Warhol made good points, about, everything, frankly. It was true, he hadn't given much thought to how he would get the people off the island post-conflict. Just that a boat would be involved, let alone the other stuff, about 'claiming' the island. Of course, then, he was concerned with doing the right thing by the people's side. He couldn't think too much about that right now.

He had people to talk to, ex-slaves, and the ex-bandits. With some final charity from his dad, Lance managed to get everything done in record time. First, he talked to the ex-bandits, now, technically, Cannabus Initiates, and asked if they wanted to travel to an existing monetary or set up shop here, on the island.

Many said they would stay on the island as it was all they ever knew; of the minority who choose to leave, many said they could no longer bear bearing on the place where they striped so many people of their lives — Warhol opened portals for them to monasteries of their pick; next, he talked, in the forested part of the island, with the ex-slaves he had freed from the harbor warehouses.

Most of those people pined to return home and though his father had scolded him to charter a boat to take them home, he knew his dad was a softie when it mattered, so his father took pity and opened a series of portals to coastal towns for the ex-slaves to live in, even going as far to give them some petty cash to help them on their way. Of those who elected to stay, they all converted to Cannabus's service. And just like that, the issue of what to do with the people was solved.

the ex-bandit initiates began work on cutting down some trees to build lodgings for everyone as the ex-slaves, on their own part of the island, began to do the same. Lance appointed one person from each group, ex-bandit and ex-slave, to act as liaison for him and for the other Initiate group.

"All right," he told the two leads.

"I need to return to my academy life. I will be back as frequent as possible to check in on progress, but the island has an abundance of wildlife and resources for hunting and foraging. It's also a mild time of year, so you should be fine on shelter. Once I am back, I will start leading us on the spiritual matters. Until then, look out for each other and be humble. You both are starting new lives in service of the divine, so don't pretend that earthly divisions matter anymore, got it?"

After both of the Leads nodded, he stepped through the final portal his dad had made for him and was back in his academy's dorm room.