Several days later, the golden hatchling dragon lay atop the summit of Gem Peak, clutching a magic treasure chest in its claws, examining it intently.

“What treasures could be inside this magic chest that spurred the pirates into such a frenzy?” Saga wondered, curious and expectant.

At the same time, knowledge of psychic abilities transmitted by the Topaz Dragon surfaced in his mind.

Psychic Creation Ability—Psionic Key.

This ability envelops the target with psychic energy, discerning the magical patterns and hidden structures to create a psionic key specifically designed for unlocking. It works on ordinary locks, mechanical locks, magic locks, and magical seals, with the effectiveness varying depending on the Mind Warlock wielding the power.

Saga began to study this ability.

The principle behind the Psionic Key wasn’t complex, but the key to success lay in whether the Mind Warlock’s psychic energy was sufficiently strong and sensitive. Mastery of the ability didn’t guarantee unlocking success.

In just a few hours, Saga had mastered the Psionic Key.

As afternoon approached, the weather turned overcast without rain, casting a gloomy pall over the sea. The air looked heavy, and within the tiered leaden clouds, there was a distinct void that at first glance seemed like the eyes of a deity overseeing the world, creating an oppressive feeling.

The weather, however, couldn’t dampen Saga’s spirits.

The little dragon rubbed its claws together, then lifted the magic chest with both paws.

His gaze sharpened, his focus intensified, staring at the magic chest.

The chest’s reflection shimmered in Saga’s golden dragon pupils, and a glow belonging to psychic power sparked from his eyes, shining like two golden pearls against the darkened sky.

The structure of the chest.

The wooden grain on its surface, the steel inlay along the edges, the lifted corners.

And the magical patterns invisible to the naked eye, like a spider’s web enveloping the chest, with the luminescence of magical elements flickering along the pattern’s pathways.

They constantly shifted and changed as if following no discernible pattern.

Saga narrowed his eyes and suddenly lifted a claw, channeling psychic energy to form a key-shaped phantom, poking at a point on the upper left side of the chest.

Here was the core node where the chest’s ever-changing magical patterns converged.

In an instant, the probing phantom key touched the chest.

However, a repelling force was felt, along with a subtle sensation warning that any further forceful attempt to unlock it would trigger its self-destruction.

Looking at the chest again, its core node had moved elsewhere at the moment Saga’s claw touched down, never truly making contact.

Saga blinked, then dragged the chest with one claw while holding the Psionic Key in the other. His gaze locked onto the core node, and his claw struck down swiftly.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. The golden hatchling’s claws moved so fast they left afterimages, striking towards the magical core like a torrential downpour.

Yet, the magical core, as if alive, dodged each ‘raindrop’ with an almost instantaneous shift, avoiding every strike.

Moments later.

Saga’s eyes flashed with annoyance, and he took a deep breath.

The magical patterns on the chest continued to flicker and shift, as if taunting him.

“The Caster who set this magic lock is no simpleton.”

“It’s merely a third-tier magic lock, yet so difficult to open. The core shifts too quickly, one second on top, the next perhaps at the bottom, with no discernible pattern.”

Saga was right.

The lock was only third-tier, but the Caster was a high-level protective Caster, not so easily unlocked.

“Perhaps there is a pattern, but I have yet to discern it.”

“I’ve just mastered the Psionic Key. To skillfully use it to open such a complex magic lock will likely take some time.”

Saga collected his thoughts, falling into contemplation.

Seconds later, his eyes brightened, and he suddenly opened them.

“But why should I follow its logic, predicting the magic lock’s core movements?”

At that moment, the core of the magic lock appeared at the center of the chest’s top.

The golden hatchling extended a claw again, swiftly poking with the Psionic Key.

Based on previous failures, the magic lock’s core would shift instantly, rendering Saga’s Psionic Key useless.

But just as the magical patterns began to pulse and the core was about to move…

Hum—An invisible electromagnetic force burst forth from the claw holding the magic lock, radiating and enveloping the entire chest.

In an instant.

The magical pathways ceased their flickering, and the elusive core of the magic lock was fixed in place, motionless.

Hiss!

The next moment, the Psionic Key successfully touched the core of the magic lock.

Ding. The magical glow on the chest brightened, then visible cracks spread rapidly across its surface, and within a second, it shattered.

Through his psychic perception, Saga saw the magical glow on the chest completely dissipate.

It had become an ordinary chest, no longer protected by magical power.

The golden hatchling lifted its chin and swayed its tail, a look of satisfaction on its dragon face.

“Done.”

Saga used electromagnetic force to suppress the shifting magical patterns, then unlocked the chest with the Psionic Key.

Immediately after, Saga blinked, his eyes filled with anticipation as he stared at the now unprotected chest, ready to be opened in his claws.

He licked his lips and rubbed his claws together.

Full of expectation, Saga flipped open the lid of the chest.

A flash of gold was the first thing to catch his eye.

Wow. Gold.

What is this?

On closer inspection, Saga realized the gold was merely a layer of padding inside the chest. The real item on the pad was a piece of tattered cloth, its edges frayed and torn.

His gaze fluctuated.

Saga picked up the cloth, brought it close to his eyes, and examined it carefully.

On one side of the cloth, a maritime scene was crudely drawn with curved lines, incomplete due to the cloth’s tattered state.

“This is…”

Saga furrowed his brow in thought.

Pirate map—a spark of insight flashed through his mind.

Saga’s furrowed dragon brows relaxed.

“A fragment of a map. But if it’s so valuable that it incited the pirates to such lengths, it must be a treasure map.”

Saga recalled a secret from pirate lore.

Before the execution by the Skyrealm Empire, the first Pirate King claimed to have hidden all his riches, rivaling the wealth of nations, deep in the sea. This led countless greedy souls to the ocean, causing rampant piracy and endless misfortune.

Legend had it that the first Pirate King didn’t speak in vain, leaving people clueless and searching blindly.

He left behind a treasure map, and during the struggle for it among his former officers, the map was torn into five pieces. Three were seized by three famous pirate generals, once officers of the first Pirate King, and two were lost to the vast ocean, their whereabouts unknown to this day.

“Could this fragment be one of the lost treasure maps?”

Saga hoped for the best, his breathing growing heavy with excitement.

If it truly was a fragment of the first Pirate King’s treasure, even if Saga didn’t intend to collect the fragments or claim the treasure, merely selling it to those interested in the Pirate King’s riches could net an unimaginable fortune. Of course, this assumed he had the strength or status to ensure a fair trade rather than outright theft.

Seconds later.

Saga exhaled, calming his emotions and regaining his composure.

“Or it could just be a fragment of an ordinary treasure map.”

“But if it were just an uncertain ordinary treasure, would the pirates have made such a fuss? A mere fragment is no different from scrap paper unless it points to an immense fortune.”

Saga’s intuition told him.

This fragment was very likely a piece of the first Pirate King’s treasure map.

Even if not, it was surely related to a valuable treasure or collection.

In any case, this was undoubtedly a valuable fragment.

“Unfortunately, it’s of almost no use to me right now.”

Saga sighed with regret.

The monster-transformed gunner hadn’t lied to him; the contents of the magic chest were almost worthless to him now. But to trade for a treasure equivalent to a high-level magic artifact? That was underestimating dragons.

Besides, the fragment could be traded, and it still held value.

But who would trade amicably with a hatchling dragon? They’d probably try to swallow both the fragment and Saga whole.

“I need to become stronger to realize its value.”

Saga thought silently.

After looking at the fragment a while longer and discerning nothing further, Saga returned it to the spatial crystal and carefully placed it beneath the scales around his neck for safekeeping.

He looked up at the darkening sky.

Saga lay down, closed his eyes to feign sleep, and entered a meditative state.

Being targeted by an evil god, he felt an even stronger urgency to grow stronger.

Days passed.

After another night of meditation, Saga’s eyes opened, lively and spirited as usual. He trained his physique and adaptability within the force field environment, then studied his basic force with the Ideal Force Field to determine more viable applications.

Time passed smoothly like this.

Until dusk, when the sky was ablaze with a magnificent sunset, layers upon layers of color painted the blue backdrop.

Plip, plip, plip—five stones, like comets, circled around Saga and fell.

Saga paused his research on new uses for the basic force and looked up at the sky.

Among the fiery layers of the sunset, a blue figure caught his eye.

Just as one Topaz Dragon had departed, another dragon arrived at First Quarter Island. The Blue Dragon, Gulitia, who had visited Thorn Isle, was returning to First Quarter Island.