Illyan didn’t realize it, but all of this socializing with Aurelia alleviated his stress by a good amount.

  This amount of fun was something he lacked in his life. If he was serious all the time and had to focus only on getting stronger, sooner or later, he would be completely burned out.

  Now, with a clearer mind, Illyan felt that he could face his problems much better.

  He stopped thinking about Ezekiel’s schemes and Korin’s plan and chose to do something useful instead.

  The next day, he visited the gates of the citadel and worked on them the entire day.

  Hours of work showed progress as he finally realized what he needed to open the door.

  It was the alignment of stars. He needed to find a certain constellation to fit this puzzle and, with it, solve the puzzle.

  ‘If that’s the case, then working on this during the day is just a waste of time. Couldn’t he just tell me?’

  Illyan grumbled to himself as he thought about the hateful Korin, who didn’t tell him this important piece of information.

  ‘Wait… Maybe not only the puzzle, but also the way to complete it changes over time? After all, stars change their position in the sky during different time periods…’

  Illyan realized why this puzzle was so hard to finish, even if you managed to do so in the past. It was like doing something completely new.

  Thinking so, Illyan left the doors and went to visit other colleagues.

  He already got a clue as to what to do and knew that now, during the day, he didn’t have anything to do.

  So, he decided to mess up others' work a bit. It wasn’t because he wanted to get them into trouble, but because he needed to slow down Korin’s plan and figure everything out.

  Since he didn’t know Korin’s schemes, as he was mostly kept in the dark, he couldn’t make any countermeasures, which made him defenseless.

  But he wouldn’t leave this to fate and chose to do whatever he could to come out on top.

  “Hey Kaoran! What are you doing here?” Tami, together with her husband Mufa, was sitting near their carriage with several parchments on a small table in front of them.

  It seemed that they were studying something.

  When Illyan took a look, he saw certain symbols and drafts drawn on them. He could not understand them, so he could only sigh internally.

  If he didn’t understand, he couldn’t do anything to delay them.

  “I got a clue as to how to crack the puzzle, but it will take time. It’s the stars.”

  Illyan smiled bitterly as he explained to them the way he needed to open the doors.

  Tami and Mufa listened quietly. In the end, Mufa muttered slightly.

  “That sounds like a pain. But we need to do it… If you need help, just tell us.”

  It was rare to hear Mufa speak, so Illyan nodded to him with a slight smile.

  At the same time, he noted the slightly sorrowful tone in his voice.

  Tami held his hand tightly as she turned her head to him.

  After a while of silence, both of them nodded.

  “By the way, what do you think is behind these doors?” Seeing them like this, a seed of curiosity budded inside Illyan’s mind.

  These two worked for Korin much longer, so they should know some of the secrets.

  “Eh? You don’t know?” Tami asked, surprised.

  “No. Korin only said that we are going for some inheritance,” Illyan said calmly.

  “Oh…” Suddenly, Tami gave him a pitying look.

  Illyan looked at her with a perplexed expression.

  “Kaoran, how did you become part of our team?” Tami asked carefully.

  “Well… I bought a house from Korin?” Illyan shrugged his shoulders.

  On the other hand, Tami gasped while Mufa raised his brows.

  Illyan already guessed that others had different reasons to work for Korin and that some of them probably got a ‘better’ deal. He didn’t care, as he never trusted Korin, but he was interested in the information that came with Korin’s promises.

  “What did he promise you?” Illyan asked.

  Tami’s face turned dark for a second before she took a deep breath.

  “We lost something… Something priceless. Korin promised us that if we get the inheritance, there should be a way to get it back…” Tami turned silent after saying that.

  Illyan had never seen someone that sorrowful. Her eyes turned empty as her voice cracked at the end of her sentence.

  “The civilization of the ruins we are in was named Eternal Gondoris. However, its name wasn’t always like this. Only the last generation of kings renamed Gondoris as ‘Eternal’.”

  Mufa said quietly while Illyan perked up.

  Both of them were historians, so their information should be reliable.

  “It is pretty ironic, but he had every right to name the empire this way. Did Korin mention to you what that inheritance is?” Mufa asked Illyan.

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  When Illyan shook his head, Mufa sighed.

  “Alchemy. Boundless inheritance of alchemy. With it, it would be no problem to take over even the entire kingdom and chase out these despicable acolytes!”

  His face flashed with hatred as he gritted his teeth.

  Hearing the term alchemy, Illyan remembered the local name of the Blood Crow Forest.

  ‘Alchemy Doom… Before, I didn’t know what it was, and there were no books about it either…’

  “What is alchemy?” So, he asked Mufa since he seemed to know.

  “It is an ancient practice that allows you to transform materials. However, the more proficient alchemists can make miracles in this world. They can extend life or transfigure metals into other ones. The possibilities are endless. Some compare this practice to ancient magic, while others believe that it is just a branch of the magister profession. But nobody can deny its power.”

  When Mufa was saying that, his eyes shone with desire. But deep behind it, Illyan could feel despair.

  But he didn’t dwell on it for too long as his mind was focused on Mufa’s words.

  ‘It can do all of that? Isn’t it then as strong as the path of magisters? But then, it seems to be a profession practiced by other magisters, so it depends…’

  “Can you tell me more about this alchemy?”

  Mufa regained his bearings when Tami hugged him from behind as he sighed.

  After a moment of silence, he just sat down, beckoning Illyan to sit next to him as he started talking.

  This made Illyan more interested as he listened to Mufa’s words.

  From what Mufa and Tami knew, Korin managed to retrieve a certain basic diagram that showed the branches of basic alchemy.

  There were nine branches in total.

  Six of them were practical, while three of them were hypothetical.

  Transmutation was the most known to common people. It was the ability to transform one material into another. The complete change of structure from the inside out.

  The other best-known branches were Potioneering and Refinement.

  The ability to turn certain ingredients into elixirs with all kinds of effects and the ability to turn even scrap material into something useful.

  Potioneers created all kinds of potions from materials, which they then turned into consumable items. On the other hand, refiners enhanced other materials and created items and weapons through sophisticated purification.

  These three branches were the most known and the most used.

  The other three were used less as they were more difficult and were basically advanced versions of the first three.

  The branch of Elements, which could be said to be an advanced version of Transmutation, allowed a person to manipulate, divide, combine, and transform all kinds of elements in nature.

  They could use basic elements like fire or wind to do their bidding like mages would, but the more proficient alchemists could go much further. Scholars compared this branch to chemistry, which allowed the alchemist to control things at a much deeper level than mages ever could.

  The branch of Life was the advanced version of Potioneering, as most ingredients contained the power of life, and most elixirs were focused on it. Not always, but it was mostly like that.

  This branch allowed people to control organisms and manipulate them. Alchemists could combine creatures to create chimeras or strengthen someone like biomancers could. It was said they could even manipulate souls as they liked.

  The sixth branch was Engineering, which reused the refined materials and items to turn them into something even more sophisticated.

  It was the ability to make golems, machines, puppets, or other artifacts with mysterious powers.

  In the end, only the three hypothetical branches remained.

  They were the branches of Creation, Destruction, and Eternity.

  One strived for the creation of life, energy, and matter, while the other strove for the opposite.

  The last one, however, strove only for one thing: to keep one of the previously mentioned things eternal.

  It was the ultimate peak of alchemy: eternal life, eternal energy supply, eternal knowledge.

  Eternal Empire…

  All of these made countless alchemists across the eons salivate with greed.

  But in the end, how many people could even reach the tip of these three branches?

  With their powers, it would be too difficult.

  However, in the diagram that Korin owned, all of these branches surrounded one thing.

  One thing that was the beginning and end of alchemy. Its origin and result of alchemy at the same time.

  It was the Philosopher’s Stone.

  Nobody knew whether the concept of the Stone existed before alchemy or after, or how to create it.

  But there was an utmost desire to create this treasure.

  With it, you would reach the peak of alchemy. Or at least that’s how alchemists dreamed about it.

  It could turn everything into anything; it could create and destroy, and it was an infinite source of energy.

  With it, you would become a god.

  After listening to all of this, Illyan fell into a daze. Recently, he had heard a lot of stories that would sound extremely unrealistic to a regular person.

  Becoming a god by owning a stone? What a joke!

  But Illyan wasn’t surprised anymore. Heck, he even saw a dragon! Albeit probably just a dead one…

  His eyes gleamed with greed for a second before he reined himself in.

  He had too many things to learn already and shouldn’t spread himself too thin.

  But he still asked a few questions to know more.

  “Is alchemy still practiced nowadays?”

  “I don’t know personally since in Vanaras there are none, but in the Arkravav Empire, there should still be alchemists. However, alchemists should be rarer than normal magisters, so who knows how many of them really are in the world. Thanks to this, their status is much higher as they can make elixirs and artifacts.”

  After saying that, Illyan was once again surprised.

  He remembered Arwen’s ramblings in his diary. The diary itself was a good source of information, but the acolyte wouldn’t write every single thing inside. Especially something that should be common knowledge. That caused Illyan to be slightly confused sometimes.

  But now, he realized that Arwen actually mentioned alchemists in his diary several times!

  It was just that he called them Muck-meddlers as he didn’t like them at all. Calling them greedy pigs and so on.

  ‘So they definitely exist. And can make good money.’

  While money wasn't important to him in this kingdom, it should be different farther in the south. There, magical and supernatural phenomena were the norm, and not having money meant losing opportunities at every corner.

  That reminded him of Arwen’s effort to become an inscriptionist. A profession that created magic scrolls and charms.

  He knew what a magic scroll was but was still in the dark when it came to charms.

  Now, he realized that if he managed to finish what Arwen started, he could make a good first step when he stepped outside of this place.

  Of course, if he could get that alchemy inheritance, it would be even better.

  “How strong is that inheritance?” Because of that, he would like to know what benefit that inheritance could bring him.

  But unfortunately, Mufa shrugged his shoulders.

  “That I don’t know. I only know that it is strong enough for many people outside of the kingdom to yearn for it. But for some reason, they can’t get inside. I know that because Korin once mumbled something about it. They can only send some of their subordinates once in a while to try to find that inheritance. But after many years, most of them gave up. However, that gave a chance to people like us.”

  Illyan could feel the couple’s determination. They definitely seemed to desire this alchemy not just for the sake of it.

  But Illyan wasn’t a fool. During these few conversations, he could understand what they lost.

  Their daughter. This couple had a sweet child back in the years.

  At first, he thought they were just grieving. But now, after realizing alchemy could manipulate life, his thoughts drifted in different directions.

  ‘They are obsessed…’

  Seeing them like this, Illyan could understand. Letting go was hard.

  And if there was hope, then letting go was even harder.

  But Illyan felt that they would just fall deeper into the abyss of despair later on.

  Either by their own hands or by Korin himself.

  Illyan didn’t think that they could bring their daughter back that easily. Their explanation of how alchemy was difficult made it even harder for him to believe in their plan.

  They probably knew it too, but how could they stop now? They already made a contract and all…

  In the end, Illyan didn’t want to be immersed in their gloomy atmosphere.

  After talking for a little longer, he excused himself and went to see Neddard’s work.

  Nedd was usually a quiet person, but Illyan felt there was a certain perverse madness within him, just like in the couple but maybe even worse, which made him uneasy around him.

  Fortunately or unfortunately, he didn’t need to be around him by himself, as the moment he came closer to him, Vanda suddenly showed up like a ghost with a grin on her face.