Chapter 292

292

King of Wisdom Lissinas.

The leader of the Great Heroes.

The wise dragon who led the world to salvation with her keen insight.

The one who selected heroes and united them as one.

Lissinas, adorned with countless epithets, was the most celebrated Great Hero across all races.

Her existence was undeniably special.

However, above all else, there was one particularly unique aspect about her.

‘The beginning of everything.’

It was an era when everyone in the world had given up, accepting its impending doom.

A time when all that people could do was pray for the continuation of each day.

Even the gods had abandoned hope for the world.

Yet, she unwaveringly believed in the salvation of the world and sketched out a grand plan.

Even when mocked as foolish, she steadily took one step after another.

In this way, she united the Great Heroes to create a beacon of hope and offered it to the world.

This is why everyone held Lissinas in special regard among the Great Heroes.

She was, without a doubt, a symbol of salvation.

Leo reached out toward the door of Lissinas’ mansion.

_Click_ – _Creak_!

With the creak of rusty hinges, the door opened.

As Leo stepped inside, the familiar interior of Lissinas’ mansion appeared.

It was as if he had returned to the place where he started.

No one who hadn’t been invited could enter Lissinas’ mansion.

This rule applied even to the Great Heroes.

There was only one way to enter:

By dispelling the illusion magic Lissinas had created.

However, with the amount of mana Leo had now, dismantling the magic was impossible.

But Leo opened the door to Lissinas’ mansion again, determined to enter.

Leo knew the method to unravel this magic.

Lissinas had taught the spell to dismantle it to Kyle, and only Kyle.

“Why does she teach it to him and not even Luna, who was her closest friend?”

Thinking back to this long-standing question, Leo stopped in his tracks.

He remembered Lissinas’ mocking gaze and also the look of sincere disdain Lord Dwenno would often give him.

The Lissinas’ mansion, which no one could enter without her permission.

It was a place where, if he so wished, he could enter at will.

“No, that’s not true. She said she’d k*ll me if I entered recklessly.”

Recalling the fierce nature of his friend, Leo opened the mansion door once again.

As the magic activated, Leo immediately employed the dispelling technique.

_Woong_!

_Creak_, _Thud_!

The door closed behind him, revealing the interior of the mansion.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

With a calm atmosphere enveloping the interior of Lissinas’ house, Leo took a few steps in.

The destination was already decided.

“Lissinas’ study.”

A repository of knowledge belonging to the King of Wisdom.

5000 years later, the space that went through the hands of dragon lords, continuing all the way to Melina.

Of course, the scale of Lissinas’ study far exceeded the size of this small mansion.

The study itself was a space created by Lissinas.

Leo arrived at the archive with familiar strides as he walked through the mansion.

_Click_!

The door opened, unveiling the scope of the library.

_Thud_.

Leo closed the door.

There was more in this study than just the documents and materials collected by Lissinas.

“Lissinas kept one of the spirits’ precious gems here.”

The Precious Gem of Spirits.

It was a kind of emblem held by the Great Spirits, the kings of each elemental spirit.

Light and Darkness Gems no longer existed in this world.

The Gem of Darkness had vanished during the Era of Catastrophe.

The Gem of Light had faced extinction when the Great Spirit of Light, Lumina, was sealed away during the confrontation between Kyle and Lissinas against the Legion Commander and the King of Gluttony Jormungand.

Kyle later came to possess it.

However, the Gems of the remaining Great Spirits still continued to be passed down.

The Gems themselves possess no special power.

But their historical value and symbolism were immensely important.

And during the Era of Catastrophe,

The owner of these Gems was not the Great Spirits but Lissinas.

“More accurately, the Great Spirits handed them over to Lissinas as a symbol of their contract.”

During the Era of Catastrophe.

The Great Spirits transferred their Gems to Lissinas as a symbol of their pact.

And Lissinas housed the Great Spirits inside the Gems.

She did not imprison them but rather enshrined the Great Spirits within these Gems.

Sealing the Great Spirits into Gems carried substantial risk.

First, the operational range of the Great Spirits was severely limited.

The range of actions the Great Spirits could perform was at most within Guardstron.

Second, even Lissinas, as the contractor, could not use the power of the Great Spirits without the Gems.

Final risk: apart from Lissinas, no one else could contract with the Great Spirits.

Which, literally, meant that even the most talented spirit mage of this era could not form a contract with the Great Spirits.

The reason for taking on these risks to seal the Great Spirits was to protect Guardstron.

During the Era of Catastrophe.

Guardstron was the last bastion of the world, sheltering many.

The city known as the refugee haven of Leisar had a much smaller population compared to Guardstron.

Sustaining a city like Guardstron required light, water, fertile earth, and clear air.

“Kal and Ar, and Eiran being absent from the Spirit Lake. Lunia and Driana being away in the Domain of Flames. They are all the critical pillars maintaining Guardstron.”

And at the core of it all, the Spirits’ Precious Gems were safeguarded.

The Gems, usable only by Lissinas.

“And these Gems are the keys to conquering the Hero’s World.”

The Spirits’ Gems were the essence of Lissinas’ power and the might of the Great Spirits.

If usable, one could harness the power that once belonged to Lissinas.

Given that nobody apart from Lissinas could use them, these Gems could be considered her personal relics.

But…

“I inherited Lissinas’ power.”

Although that power faded long ago,

The emblem of the covenant Lissinas had made remained in Leo.

“If I can summon Katariu, it means I can use the Spirits’ Gems.”

Taking a step,

Leo stopped in the middle of the study.

In the center, carefully kept, was a small pearl-like silver gem, no bigger than a thumbnail.

“The Gem of Wind.”

The Gem containing the Great Spirit of Wind, Celesta.

Reaching the Gem, Leo extended his hand.

_Woong_!

The Gem reacted at Leo’s touch.

But the dormant Celesta did not awaken.

“Just three more to go.”

Leo cradled the Gem in his arms.

“A week before the Giant King’s invasion.”

Reflecting on the memories of the past and his current situation, Leo breathed deeply.

“Though acquiring the Gem of Wind was easy, the others won’t be as effortless.”

The Spirit Lake and the Domain of Flames,

And the Shrine of the Great Earth, were all heavily fortified.

Penetrating them to retrieve the Gems was not an easy task for the current Leo.

“Still, it has to be done.”

While leaving the archive, Leo paused.

Not far from the entrance was a desk he noticed.

Approaching the desk, Leo reached out for the familiar book.

“Lissinas’ Journal.”

Leo chuckled as they examined the diary for a moment.

*

Lunia, Driana, and Kal looked around the room with tense eyes.

The room was filled with various artifacts.

“So this is the workshop of the God’s Blacksmith, Lord Dwenno.”

“All these are divine grade relics?”

With such thoughts, they instinctively swallowed their saliva.

The three tried to calm their trembling bodies and observed Lord Dwenno drawing something on the table.

“Um… Lord Dwenno.”

Lunia cautiously spoke up.

Dwenno stopped his hand and looked at Lunia.

“Why do you call me?”

“I thought… You said you would teach us something…”

“Yes. There is something I intend to teach you.”

Dwenno ceased his movements.

And then Driana, curious, asked with a playful voice:

“What exactly are you drawing, Lord Dwenno?”

Lunia and Kal looked at Driana with a bemused gaze.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Driana furrowed her brow.

“Could you adjust your tone a bit? It’s hard to adjust when you suddenly switch to a cute tone after using a stiff one.”

Kal asked, with Driana crossing her arms.

“My use of this tone is also a sign of respect toward Lord Dwenno. Hence, I cannot change it!”

“Doesn’t really matter, does it? Just use your natural tone.”

“Alright, yes!”

“Seriously, you’re indecisive!”

“Exactly.”

Watching the now playful Driana, Lunia shook her head in disapproval, and Kal agreed.

Dwenno observed this and chuckled softly before speaking:

“What am I drawing? I’m designing an artifact.”

_Flip_.

Dwenno lifted a piece of paper and asked:

“Care to take a look?”

Excited, the three approached Dwenno’s desk with glowing eyes.

“Wow—so beautiful!”

“This is like a work of art!”

“Of course, only from Lord Dwenno!”

Dwenno grinned at their praise.

“Beauty, as you know, is akin to the truth of this world.”

“Yes! I firmly believe that art is the essence that sustains the world!”

“Ah, you seem to understand something, dwarf.”

Dwenno approvingly nodded his head.

“In a similar way,”

Dwenno glanced at Lunia briefly.

“Lunia, yes? I have a request for you.”

“Me? What could it be?”

Lunia looked a bit nervous.

“You are an exceptionally beautiful elf. As beautiful as Luna.”

“Me? How can someone like me ever be mentioned alongside Lady Luna? Oh my.”

Lunia blushed and seemed flustered.

Yet, being personally complimented by the Great Hero Dwenno, comparing her beauty to that of Luna herself, made her naturally smile.

“Though I suppose your temperament is a stark contrast to Lady Luna’s.”

“Could you repeat that?”

“There’s no need to become a bad student just because you quit being the top of the class! Why so extreme?”

Seeing Lunia gripping her collar with clenched fists, Kal exclaimed in surprise.

Dwenno laughed heartily at the sight.

“Your brightness makes me happy.”

Amidst his joyous laughter, Dwenno looked at Lunia and continued.

“Anyway, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

Lunia wore an anxious expression.

“Would you consider modeling for my work?”

“As a model for the work?”

Lunia timidly smiled.

“Honored to help, of course…”

“But as a n*de model, to pass on your beauty to the future.”

At these additional words, Lunia’s face turned scarlet.

“n*de… model?”

She nervously wrapped her arms around herself while Driana commented.

“Should we strip her?”

“Strip?! You pervert!”

With blazing eyes, Lunia struck Driana’s head.

Kal chuckled amusingly.

“I’m all for it.”

“What?”

“I didn’t mean it. I’m against it!”

Seeing the terrifying glares Lunia sent at him made Kal quickly retract.

“Well, I can’t force anyone to do something they dislike.”

Dwenno lightly licked his lips.

Relieved at this, Lunia let out a sigh.

“Then let’s get to the point.”

Dwenno adopted a serious expression.

“Kal, I will pass on my alchemy to you.”

“Me?”

Kal was visibly shocked.

“Driana, I will teach you the art of crafting relics.”

Driana looked surprised.

“And Lunia, you—”

_Bustling_!

“What’s this?! A perverted dwarf has appeared. If you dare to utter anything immodest again, like the n*de modeling talk earlier, I will burn you!”

A beautiful woman with a striking white hairstyle and lavish attire entered.

“Phoenix…?”

Through centuries of her family’s contract with the Phoenix, Lunia immediately recognized the visitor.

And she felt an undeniable awe.

“Royalty…!”

“Hmm? An elf wielding the flames of Phoenix. Intriguing.”

Katariu eyed Lunia with interest.

And then Dwenno said:

“I will teach you the essence of fire.”