Islander Sam

While Elias supervised the slow agonizing merging process with content, someone was barely standing on his Island after battling an undead!

Sam stood there with his broken sword panting. And he looked at the Sword with a smile. It is Special and bound to him.

"Damn, this Sword is good!" He mumbled.

He then fished out his Wand from his elbow band and pinpointed all the useful resources on the conquered Island. And then glared at the Black Iron Chest, wondering if he can carry it.

Sam jumped back into his Island and opened one of his seven Chests and fished out a Flask of water. Then he opened another Chest that contained First Aid Equipment and gave himself First Aid Treatments.

30 minutes later he was good as new. Then he moved to another Chest and fished out a Vial and drank its contents. In just three seconds, his eyes dilated and his muscles bulged.

He went back to the conquered Island and pulled the large Black Iron Chest to his Island. After that, he grabbed some rocks and transferred them.

With only a single Tree remaining on the conquered Island, Sam was tempted to use the Wand, but he knew there might be a problem when merging. And time was running down.

Calling his status, he sighed, this Island was the last Island he needed for his Island to Grade Up and finish the Trial.

He either uses an axe to cut away the Tree and reduce the lord of the Island before merging or he transfers it using the Wand. Cutting the Tree will make it useless to him but using a Wand will consume his Mental Fortitude. 

And he needs that for the merging.

With a sigh, he pointed his Wand and the Tree appeared on his Island. He quickly used the last remaining point he has and bought Mental Recovery and then cued his Island to start merging.

Sam was in a sitting position and his eyes were closed as sweat was forming on his forehead before the Island was even halfway merged. His body later began to tremble and a drop of blood slid from his nose.

He couldn't hold it anymore as he opened his blood-red eyes while his teeth were biting a tree branch. Unable to sit, Sam began groaning and flailing his hand.

Zing

[79%.....]

[You will lose yourself and the Island if you stop! Keep going]

This notification kept flashing in his eyes and also encouraged him to continue. At 100%, Sam collapsed and fainted.

The truth of the matter was, Elias had it easy. The most terrifying thing among Islanders wasn't battling the beasts, but merging Islands.

It was extremely difficult for those with low Mental Fortitude but the higher the Mental Fortitude the more painful but easier to merge.

Those Islanders with a Very Good Mental Fortitude rating and above are the ones that can merge with normal Islands. 

Those that are below can't, they can only drive the Island.

The good side of it was the more someone merge Islands, the higher his Mental Fortitude improved.

So even if someone has a Poor Mental Fortitude, it can still improve with time and effort.

Even though those with Poor will have difficulties driving the Island but the more they drive the more they improve. And by the time they reach Very Good, they can have their first merging.

The number of Items, Plants and Animals on the Island also affects the difficulty of merging. The more items there are, the more difficult it will be.

Through experience, Sam has found that he needs to clean the Island off any notable materials to make it easier to merge.

But, another thing was, those who bought Luck at the beginning of their adventure - merge with a Semi-conscious Island. Though the merging process killed most of them because their Mental Fortitude, Body Fortitude and Soul Fortitude are not up to the task.

However, those that survived were graced with an Island that can bear the brunt of the subsequent merging process without the suffering of the Islander. Nevertheless, there was a catch!

The Island will constantly feed on Islanders' Mental Fortitude to improve itself. That alone, any Islander that survived the merging process will gradually find their body weakening, their brain beginning to forget things, and in a long time situation, one will have permanent amnesia...and death is possible!

Elias was one of the anomalies as he started with Outstanding Mental Fortitude. After he merged with the Semi-conscious Island his Mental Fortitude was reduced to Excellent due to sharing of the Mind Power!

And after surviving the Chest of Infinity Ordeal, Elias' Mental Fortitude broke the fourth wall and his mind went beyond the realm of mortals…

...becoming an Ascendant Mind!

Sam woke up after some hours and observed his now large Island. Then he followed all the procedures of finishing the First Trial and his Island shot forward entering the tunnel toward the Second Trial.

"Fuck me!" Sam said horrified beyond comparison as he slumped on his ass. 

He had arrived after a 15 days journey and what greeted him were endless categories of Islands, each ready to be merged.

But, to him, that was the worst possible mission he would ever wish for. He wasn't alone in this. For all Islanders, as long as they did not have a Growing Isle, the Second Trial was their worst nightmare.

Sam navigated around many tantalizing Islands but he knew he had to pay the price if he want them. 

He casually chose an Island and jumped on it to see its description. Sadly, the moment he landed, he felt a wave of dizziness and extreme headache. In hurry, he jumped back to his. 

[If you can't stand on an Island, you can't merge with it] 

Sam stared at what seemed to be an Island that have black and white rocks and yet was hard to merge. It didn't even have any redeemable quality in his eyes. 

Then when he looked at other Islands that have a plethora of things, and those that had some fantastical phenomenon happening in them, he began to wonder how the fuck will he pass this Trial.

Amidst his shock, he saw a Black Pyramid Island. And close to it was another Island with a man. He navigates his Island to meet the first human he met ever since he came to this cursed place!

"Stop. I found it first!" The man in black clothing said.

"Calm down, I come to greet you!" Sam said with a happy smile but he quickly changed his mindset when he saw the man was eying his 8 Chests.