After walking a little bit more, Dragon and Asbestos arrived at the entrance of the mansion. The treasure hunters already set up camp and started to plan what they were going to do. Asbestos and Dragon decide to set their camp further away from the hunters, keeping to themselves. After setting up the campsite, they sat down in front of the fire and stared at it.

Asbestos: So, do you think something will happen tonight now that we're here, Dragon? Because it looks pretty calm to me right now. 

Dragon: It may be quiet now but as the expression goes, expect the unexpected. For all, we know something might happen to any of us when we least expect it. You seem pretty eager to see something happen, you know.

Asbestos: I won't lie, I'm somewhat expecting something now that we're here. Some cuts on our arms, burns marks on the body, gouges, anything to see if the rumors are true or not. But, I guess I had my hopes up for nothing. 

The moment Asbestos finished her sentence, a scream came from the hunters' campsite. They looked over to see that one of the treasure hunters had a large burn mark on his leg. The thing was that he was nowhere near the fire at the site. Asbestos looked over to face Dragon and saw a smug smile on his face.

Asbestos: Okay, there is something wrong with this island. But, if what you said about all these incidents could be due to someone's arts, who's the cause of it? Moreover, why just on this island?

Dragon: It's most likely they can't leave the island. The ferry comes to the island only at night, so there's a possibility they don't stay up late at night. Either way, I would like to solve this before tomorrow night. I have another matter to attend to elsewhere.

Asbestos: What could be more important than finding secrets to a weird-ass island?

Dragon: I need to get back to my job as a guardian to a little girl. 

Asbestos: Your job is a babysitter? I was expecting something more badass and dangerous for someone like you, Dragon. I feel a bit disappointed right now. Well, I'm going to hit the hay for the night. See you in the morning.

While Asbestos went to her tent to get some sleep, Dragon continued to sit in front of the fire. The only things keeping Dragon from going to sleep were his thoughts and the fact the treasure hunters were too loud for him to sleep through.

Dragon: 'I wonder how Ifrit is doing right now. Hopefully, she hasn't cause Silence or Saria too much trouble while I'm gone.'

Once the treasure hunters drank themselves to unconsciousness, the only person who was still awake in the night was Dragon. All while keeping to his thoughts and sitting quietly for the rest of the night.

By the time the sun started to rise, everyone was waking up. Asbestos crawled out of her tent and started to stretch her body. Once she fully woke up, she noticed that not only did the fire die in the night, Dragon was sitting in the same place since last night.

Asbestos: Have you been up the whole night, Dragon? God, what were you doing the entire night?

Dragon: I was thinking to myself, Asbestos. So, what's the plan for today anyway?

Asbestos: Good question.

Asbestos and Dragon started to stroke their chins in thought about what to do for the day. After a few minutes passed, they were still thinking about it. After another few minutes passed, Dragon raised his head and looked to Asbestos.

Dragon: I got it, Asbestos. Let's go to the mansions farms. It's the best place to start. Let's go now.

As the two friends began to make their way further into the mansion's property, Asbestos decides to ask why they were going to see the farms.

Asbestos: Why do you want to see the farms? I'm pretty sure we still have enough food for the both of us to last until we leave tonight.

Dragon: Remember when we first came to the island, and the ferry had containers filled with food and water. Why would a self-sustained island need that much food and water? Don't you think that's a bit weird, Asbestos?

By the time the pair reached the farms around the mansion, Asbestos was in deep thought from what Dragon told her. 

Asbestos: 'Hmm. From looking at the farms right now, I can see signs of fruits and vegetables being grown. The soil feels maintained and isn't soggy at all. I don't see or smell anything wrong around here at all. Why do these people need to get food and water from the main island if it's already here?'

Asbestos's train of thought was interrupted when she looked over and noticed that Dragon was staring intensely at a tomato. She walked over to see why he was looking at a tomato closely.

Asbestos: Is there something wrong with the tomato, Dragon? Cause to me, it looks pretty good to eat right now. If you're not going to eat it, pass it over.

Dragon: Pass me a knife if you got one, Asbestos. I think I figured out why they don't eat what they grow. 

Asbestos raised an eyebrow from his request but thought nothing about it. She gave Dragon a small pocket knife, and he started to cut into it. Before long, Dragon stopped cutting into the tomato and showed it to Asbestos.

Dragon: I think I know why they don't eat the food they grow. Take a look at this, Asbestos.

Asbestos looked over Dragon's shoulder and was shocked by what was inside the tomato. There were small originium crystals inside the tomato. 

Asbestos: Holy shit. Let's see if the other fruits and vegetables are like this too. Dragon, look in the soil and see if originium is growing on the roots. If they are growing, we can assume the same problem could apply to the water as well.

Asbestos began to cut open different fruits and vegetables, but all were like the tomato filled with small originium crystals. For Dragon, he looked under the soil and found that the roots have medium size crystals growing. After working for an hour, they both went back to their campsite and started to talk about what they found.  

Dragon: Well, now we know why the people here can't eat the food. The same can apply to the water supply they have. The only thing left to figure out is the hauntings that have been happening here. We've already seen one of the hunters' get a burn mark out of nowhere. When we were working on the farm, I felt a knife was cutting into my neck.

Asbestos: You have a point, Dragon. I started to get some cuts on my shoulders and my legs for a while now. Do you have any thoughts about what could be happening here, Dragon?

Dragon: Remember on the boat when I theorized that the haunting could be caused by someone's arts? There's a chance that it could be true after all. To prove it, we need to get inside the mansion and see if someone is doing this. 

Asbestos: How the hell are we going to get in there? The gates are closed at night and the guards won't let anyone in.

Dragon: Don't worry, Asbestos. We don't have to do anything to get in. 

Asbestos had a look of confusion on her face from what Dragon told her. She looked over to see one of the treasure hunters acting very strange. He had a terrified look on his face and seemed weak on his legs. She thought nothing about it for now and decided to learn more about her new friend.

Asbestos: Well, since we have several hours until your "plan" begins, what do you want to do until then?

Dragon: Why do we get to know each other better? A friend of mine told me the best way to learn more about a new friend is to ask them questions. So, let's do that until the moon rises. What do you think, Asbestos?

Asbestos: I'll take you up on that, Dragon. How did you get that cross scar on your face, Dragon? 

Dragon started to stroke the scar on his face in response to her question. After a minute of thinking, he responded to the question.

Dragon: I got the scar from a sparring session with a student of mine. She lost control of her swords and almost sliced my head in half. I was lucky enough to dodge it, but it leads to the scar you see now.

Asbestos: Ouch! That must have been painful for you, Dragon. Alright, then your turn.

Dragon: Hmm. I got it. What made you want to become an explorer in the first place?

Asbestos seemed reluctant to answer his question since it involved talking about her past. She never opens up to most people she meets, even when she came across a fellow explorer back in the northern tundras. Dragon picked up on her reluctance to answer the question.

Dragon: If you don't want to answer it, that's fine. I'll ask you something different in that case. What was the most dangerous place you've ever explored?

Asbestos made a small smile when Dragon changed the question. This time, she happily answered the question. 

Asbestos: That's a bit tricky for me to answer, but I guess it would have to be the time I got lost in the middle of a snowstorm far in the northern tundras. Long story short, I failed to make it back to town in the north in time, but I lived thanks to an acquaintance I met at the same time. My turn then, let's see.  

As time went on, the two friends continued to ask each other one odd question after another. Some were tamed, while others were too strange to talk about again sober. By the time they finished their questions for one another, the moon had finally appeared. After waiting for a few more minutes, they both started to hear many people shouting near the entrance of the mansion. 

Asbestos: Is this what you meant by not having to do anything to get in?

Dragon: Correct, Asbestos. I had a feeling that the hunters would try to break into the mansion to find anything of value the moment they found nothing around the island. This also helps us get close to the one causing all the pain and curses.

Asbestos had a look of surprise on her face from everything Dragon told her. She snapped out of her stupor and followed after Dragon as they made their way towards the destroyed gate.

Asbestos: So how did you figure out that everything was caused by someone's arts? 

Dragon: I'll tell you as we get closer to the person we want to see.

Nodding her head, Asbestos continued to follow Dragon as they made their way past the gate and towards the chaos happening at the front of the mansion. The more they got closer to the mansion, the more curious she was as to who was the one behind everything and why they were doing it in the first place. 

Hello everybody, it's me the Paledking. Hopefully, you enjoyed part 2 of The Haunted Island. I'm sorry for the long wait for it, but many know the pain of college so, I had to deal with that first. The next chapter will be the final part of The Haunted Island and will establish other operators and individual's connections to Dragon. 

Also, my plan for the next few chapters was going to involve not only Ifrit but also Saria, Silence, and Ptilopsis. I will involve Dragon with the Flame Demon Incident that many players may have heard of. However, those will not be the next few chapters to be released since I need to try and do some research on the subject at hand, which may take some time. But it will happen, I'm sure I can pull it off.

Until then, please chose any operator to have an interaction with Dragon for me to work on for the next chapter. Remember, the EN server only, please. Comment here the name of the operator you want me to work on for the chapter after part 3 is done.

As usual, if you liked what you read, please leave a vote if you want. If you have any questions about the story, just ask me in the comments. With all that out of the way, have a good day, afternoon, or night wherever you are. Please stay safe and healthy, everyone.

This is the Paledking running faster than the wind. See you later, reader.