The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)

Editors: Ana_Banana, Sei

What most people didn’t know was that Death Island hadn’t always been in such a desolate state.

In the past, it was just like the other islands, with lush forests, towering mountains, and beautiful lakes that combined to create a beautiful landscape.

The natural environment on Death Island had been comparable to Untamed Island.

Resources were abundant. Food and drink overflowed everywhere. And one didn’t have to specially adapt or wear protective clothing to survive.

Of course, this didn’t mean that Death Island was any less dangerous than it was now. The population density of living beings on fertile land was naturally much higher than in a desolate area. And no matter how abundant resources were, disputes over rights and territory were bound to happen.

Beasts were no exception to this rule. In fact, territorial disputes between beasts were usually much more cruel and brutal than between sapient beings.

However, none of the Dragonmen living in the current era could remember that beautiful sight.

Except for one person.

In the current era, Dragonlings have deep maternal affection for their offspring, but that wasn’t the case in the old era. Perhaps because they were among the island’s top predators, most Dragonlings didn’t have many children. And if they did, they often left them unattended.

They didn’t break the eggs they laid, but they also didn’t keep them safe until they hatched. Therefore, most Dragonlings died before they were even born.

For those predators who sat around the middle of the food chain, Dragonling eggs were an easy and nutritious meal.

Among these creatures were some who looked similar to saber-toothed tigers. Their fangs were longer and much sharper than their counterpart, and they were many times larger, but their appearances were still vaguely similar.

For these creatures, Ancient Dragon eggs were their favorite meal. And with their sharp fangs, the shells of the eggs were of no concern.

But one day,

An unexpected change occurred that would affect the ecosystem of the island for tens of thousands of years.

A saber-toothed tiger found a Dragonling egg. But this Dragonling egg was different from the others. It was green.

Since ancient times, green has always been a color that was considered unappetising. The same was true for the saber-toothed tiger, which ate meat. The color of the egg reminded it of grass, something that it couldn’t even think of eating.

Or at least that would have been the case if it wasn’t a Dragonling egg.

The saber-toothed tiger didn’t care that the color was different. Without any more hesitation, the saber-toothed tiger opened its mouth and bit down.

Crack-

There was a satisfying cracking sound. Followed by the taste of savory liquid flowing down its throat, but… the saber-toothed tiger realised that something was wrong. This egg tasted different from usual. It was salty and had a bit of a fishy flavor.

This was something the saber-toothed tiger had tasted before, and could even be called something it liked, but it was not a flavor it expected to taste in an egg.

It was at that moment, while it was wondering what was going on, that it felt a great deal of pain.

“Rooaar!”

It let out a loud roar.

It was only then that it realised that one of its fangs had broken.

What the saber-toothed tiger had been drinking weren’t the contents of the egg, but the blood from its broken tooth. There wasn’t even a scratch on the egg.

Furious, the saber-toothed tiger rushed forwards and fiercely attacked the egg. However, neither its fangs nor its claws were able to damage the egg.

It even used its head to push the egg off of a cliff, but the egg was still fine.

Eventually, the saber-toothed tiger gave up on eating the egg.

But it wasn’t the only challenger. Many ferocious, large, and powerful beasts approached the egg. After all, Dragonling eggs were a popular delicacy for all the predators on the island.

However, without fail, they all had the same result as the first saber-toothed tiger. They were all forced to return to their dens with broken claws and fangs, without leaving a single scratch on the egg.

The egg didn’t hatch for a strangely long time. Usually, at the latest, Dragonling eggs would show signs of hatching around three months. But even after 6 months, the egg didn’t so much as budge.

Then, two years after all the predators had lost interest in it and shoved it into a quiet corner, the egg hatched.

It was the birth of Dragon King Kaz.

When he was younger, Kaz was innately ferocious, almost to an extreme. He trampled upon any creature that entered his sight. Even when he wasn’t hungry, he killed the animals around him for fun. Less than half a year after his birth, Kaz had already learned the joys of the hunt and slaughter.

After a year, the area that he’d hatched in had already become Kaz’s territory. By that time, Kaz was confident that he was a special being who was the only one of his kind in this world.

For example, when compared to Dragonlings, he was so small that he could be considered deformed, but even the lord of the area wasn’t Kaz’ opponent.

Secondly, his scales were invincible.

The teeth or claws of most beings couldn’t hurt his scales. In his life, it was only possible for him to win.

Kaz didn’t know the meaning of defeat.

Nevertheless, there had been many times when his life had been in danger. After all, Death Island is incredibly large and the lords of each area were by no pushovers.

However, even when he was on the brink of death and was forced to escape, Kaz always believed that he would win if he ever met his opponent again.

This was because the more he fought, the more injuries he suffered. And after a few days, when his scales healed, they would be much stronger than before. (TL: So he’s a Saiyanling)

In the end, Kaz survived.

No, he thrived.

As his experience increased, he gradually became a horrifying being that brought terror to the hearts of all that encountered him.

The river of time slowly flowed.

The seasons constantly changed.

And over time, as the rivers and mountains constantly changed, the mutated Dragonling with the naturally hard scales became known as the Dragon King.

The first ones to follow him were the intelligent beings who lived on Death Island, the Dragonmen.

Then came the beasts such as the saber-toothed tigers and the Dragonlings who were driven by their instincts.

Hundreds of years passed after that.

It had also been many years since he’d completely conquered the island.

At that time, Kaz felt nothing but boredom.

He didn’t have a rival.

He’d already grown tired of killing Dragonmen or finding some new innovative way to kill Dragonlings.

So Kaz prepared to leave the island.

He spread his wings, hoping that he’d find an opponent that could give him a challenge somewhere else.

But before he could even head out to sea, Kaz encountered the worst person he could ever meet.