Chapter 119: San Caerola Key
After visualizing the image of the private island in his mind and filling his thoughts with the intent of teleporting there, Liam felt the familiar shift of space and he found himself here.
A gust of cool salt-kissed air rushed against his skin. He turned slowly, taking in the sight before him, and he could only marvel at nature’s undeniable beauty.
He was standing at the beach. And the sand beneath his shoes was pristine, fine, and white as powdered sugar, stretching endlessly on both sides.
Before him, the ocean spread like a living jewel, its crystalline turquoise waves lapping gently against the shore. Each crest sparkled in the sunlight, throwing shards of silver-blue light into the air. Coconut palms leaned toward the beach, their green crowns swaying lazily in rhythm with the breeze.
Liam inhaled deeply. The smell of the ocean, rich and briny, was nothing short of intoxicating. This was clean, pure, raw. The air carried hints of tropical flowers, the earthy undertone of greenery, and the faint resinous scent of palms baking under the sun.
He has heard about the Carribeans and beautiful it is, and he has also seen a couple of pictures, and videos of it online. But none of them captured this.
No image could replicate the way the breeze cooled his skin. No screen could carry the sound of distant gulls blending with the steady rhythm of the sea. And no video could replace the sight of the horizon glowing under a dome of the cloudless blue sky.
Liam couldn’t help but smile, as a deeps sense of satisfaction welled up inside him and he thanked himself for making the decision to come here.
Standing on the beach, he wanted nothing more desperately than to take off his shoes and sink his bare feet into the sand, to feel the grains between his toes and let the ocean wash over them.
The temptation was strong, but he held back.
He knew himself. If he indulged now, leaving would be difficult. And he wasn’t here for leisure. He was here to inspect the prize, to see for himself what the system had placed into his hands.
With a final glance at the waves, Liam turned and walked inland.
The trails stretched ahead, surprisingly neat. Leaves crunched softly beneath his steps, but the path itself looked as if it had been taken care of recently. Moss trimmed, undergrowth cut back, even the stones along the sides seemed placed with intention. It puzzled him for a moment.
Had someone been here? He couldn’t help but ask himself internally, but he doubted it as the documents claimed the island was abandoned.
The system probably had people work on the island.
As he walked deeper, the island unfolded around him.
According to the files, San Caerola Key sits in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of the Bahamas and north of the Dominican Republic. Roughly twelve square miles, compact enough to feel private yet large enough to support villages, forests, and beaches.
From above, it was shaped like a fat crescent moon, its arms cradling two natural bays like open hands.
The first side of the crescent offered calm, postcard-perfect beaches, like the one he had arrived at. But the opposite side faced the open sea. There, the waters slammed against jagged black volcanic cliffs, sending spray dozens of feet into the air.
In the center of the island, a rugged spine of hills rose nearly five hundred feet above sea level, their slopes dressed in thick greenery. The ridge stretched the length of the island like a backbone, commanding a view of both bays.
As Liam followed the trail upward, he glimpsed the first of many limestone caves dotting the island. He knew from the documents that many opened into underwater caverns—hauntingly beautiful formations sculpted by time, some large enough for boats to slip into.
He pressed on, reaching a vantage point where the forest thinned. From here, the view struck him silent.
The southern curve of the crescent held a lagoon, brackish and serene, ringed by mangroves that tangled together like a fortress wall of roots, and whhite birds wheeled above it.
At the lagoon’s edge, he noticed clusters of banana trees, their broad leaves fanning out, heavy with fruit.
Liam paused and considered what he could do with that part of the island. The lagoon could support aquaculture, fish farms, shrimp beds, or even a protected water reservoir.
The island was not only beautiful, it was alive with potential.
The climate was tropical, warm year-round, yet comfortable thanks to the steady trade winds. Rain would come from May to October, drenching the land, but the winds would keep the air fresh.
The island has freshwater with excellent water quality, thanks to the natural spring that flows from the central ridge, feeding into the lagoon.
The island’s fauna is extremely rich as it has fruit-bearing plants growing wild, medicinal herbs that clings to shaded slopes, Iguanas basking on sun-warmed rocks and exotic birds flitted through the canopy. The sea promised fish, lobsters, and coral reefs. At night, the documents said, fruit bats swooped across the skies in black waves.
But the island was not without dangers.
The cliffs were home to territorial seabirds. The caves sometimes harbored colonies of venomous snakes and scorpions. Enough to keep careless visitors away.
For Liam, however, these posed no threat. It wasn’t that the animals were loyal but his current strength placed him above such dangers.
He continued onward, deeper into the island’s heart. The island has a bit of history as Spain had once laid claim to San Caerola, though storms and distance forced them to abandon it. Centuries passed and later, in the 1970s, a wealthy Cuban exile purchased it, but political trouble dragged him away, and the island fell silent again.
Since then, it had languished in bureaucratic shadows, forgotten, unclaimed, until the system had delivered it into Liam’s hands.
Liam crested a hill and stopped, and he saw a five-kilometer airstrip stretched across a plateau, fully paved and high quality. It also looks like it was newly built. And behind it was the luxurious villa, and staff quarters.
The villa stood tall, a luxurious estate of white stone and red tiles. Wide balconies overlooked the sea. Floor-to-ceiling windows caught the sunlight. Paths wound down to staff quarters tucked discreetly into the hillside.
As Liam finished his tour, he couldn’t help but feel that there was a lot more to the island than meets the eye.
He was also already thinking of setting it up as a cultivation heaven on earth, but the idea quickly died just as fast as it popped up.
He decided to shift his thoughts by thinking of where next to go or what go do, as he doesn’t want to stay inside today.
Still having no idea what to do or where to go, he looked around one more time, before he vanished from the island and returned fo the space.