One hour passed as Korin calmly explained their goal during this expedition.

He took out the detailed architectural plan of the entire city and showed several main points where they would try to break through.

“As Mufa and Tami visited the city with me once, they should know how dangerous it is, so we need to be extremely careful. If our mission accidentally caused a disturbance and lured some of the trolls, the entire expedition would take a big loss.”

Korin’s severe tone made other members somber while Tami and Mufa shivered a little. They knew how dangerous those trolls were. They could easily tear apart a knight if he got caught.

“Thankfully, last time there was some breakthrough, so we will have a chance to get what we need...”

Korin used his cane to point at some of the points on the plan in front of them.

Illyan listened properly, but his mind veered off when he saw the cane. The cane was coated with gold, and its tip was in the shape of a roaring lion.

He had never noticed before since Korin’s hand covered the head, but now he could see that the mouth of the lion was hollow, and the hole led deeper into the cane.

‘Interesting. I should watch out for that.’

Illyan noted this as he once again turned his attention to Korin.

“This is the supposed place where the royal members stayed during the time of their visit in the city. It is the main reason for this expedition. I even prepared some of the records I brought from the Arkravav Empire that should help with figuring out the right method for entering.”

“Why can’t we just barge in? The knights should be able to break in, right?”

Suddenly, Arun raised his hand like a dutiful student and asked curiously but at the same time confidently as if believing knights should be able to do it with ease.

“Sigh… Child, unfortunately, that is not the case. Don’t forget that the city is deep inside of the trolls’ territory. Yet it still stands. The city is from a civilization that was technologically equal to Arkravav back then. No, in fact, it was better in some aspects.”

When Korin said this, Arun gasped while Vanda next to him covered her mouth as she giggled at him.

That made Arun wake up as he turned red and shirked.

It was at that moment when Illyan raised his hand.

“Hmm? You can ask right away, Kaoran.” Korin noticed him and prompted him.

“I am still in the dark with the main goal of all of this. And it is kind of hard and discouraging to work on something you don’t really understand. So, can you tell me more about this and for how long you’ve worked on this?”

Illyan stopped talking as he felt he expressed his thoughts just fine. Or rather, the thoughts he wanted to express.

He didn’t know what Korin was after, which gave him a disadvantage if Korin wanted to make a move against him.

Of course, he couldn’t believe him even if he said the reason, but he still wanted to try to find out.

He also wondered for how long he was working on this. After all, if he worked on it for a long time, it meant that Illyan would need to spend a lot of time on this too.

That made Illyan consider that once he finished the books in the library and learned everything from Korin, he would just kill him and then escape to Arkravav to seek more power instead of wasting time working for him.

But for now, he waited for Korin’s answer.

“Well… It wouldn’t hurt you to know. Actually, only Arun and you are the ones still held in the dark. I apologize for that.”

Korin said apologetically as he adjusted the monocle on his eye.

“The civilization I am researching was called Eternal Gondoris. It is estimated to have existed around 20,000 years ago before the catastrophe struck. The place full of vitality withered in a matter of days. Now, this place is one of the most barren places on the continent.”

Korin sighed. It was rudimentary knowledge that this place was very barren. But most people didn’t know the reason. They just thought it was always like that.

But that, of course, wasn’t the truth.

“This place was completely devastated. How? Well, that’s what we are trying to find out. But many academics think that it was a self-inflicted blow. Maybe civil war. Maybe something more sinister.”

Illyan widened his eyes, he could feel that Korin was telling the truth. But he never expected that this place had such a history.

“In fact, the academic institute was originally built to find out about this mysterious civilization and to excavate its knowledge and artifacts. And it managed to inherit many books from other such organizations in the past. That’s the only reason such a poor place could afford a library as big as we have.”

‘I see. So not every city has libraries? I didn’t think about it but it makes sense.’ Illyan didn’t doubt Korin since he heard his calm heartbeat.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

It also made perfect sense as he finally connected dots in some of his questions.

Korin suddenly coughed.

“But that’s me veering off the subject. As you can see, the institute lost interest as more time passed and the outside powers also weren’t interested. However, for me, this is my lifelong work. It’s been 30 years since I started working on this.”

When Korin confessed this, Illyan’s face fell.

Tami and Mufa also seemed to be gloomy while Neddard acted indifferent.

What was interesting was Vanda’s expression. She had cold eyes, and Illyan could see wisps of anger in her presence.

When she noticed his gaze, she smiled sweetly before turning her head away.

The one who was most expressive was the youngest in the room, Arun.

“What? So long? Then wouldn’t this expedition be just one of the many? How do we know we will be successful now?”

He asked loudly, but Illyan could tell he was a little agitated.

That made Illyan narrow his eyes. Arun acting like that showed that Korin wasn’t telling the truth. Korin said both of them didn’t know anything, yet Arun seemed very concerned.

Either he knew more than Illyan, which would make sense as others also showed similar reactions, or Korin made some promises to him.

Possibly, the promises had something to do with Arun’s contract.

‘Whatever…’ But Illyan just shrugged it off. He didn’t care if the guy died or not.

Rather, he was interested in the answer Korin would give him.

After all, he really didn’t want to spend too much time on this.

“Haah… I know. I worked on this for so long that I even started to doubt myself many times. But I persevered! In fact, during these 30 years, I managed to get more and more clues about the Gondoris. In fact, this cane is one of the items I found in the city that is in the Snowless Mountain Range.”

Korin lifted his hand holding the cane and showed it to the rest.

“I believe that I am getting closer to the truth each day. And now that we have Arun and Kaoran, who could even be called geniuses, it will be even easier for us to make progress!”

Korin turned passionate as his feeble voice turned into a loud cheer.

Arun turned red after being complimented like that, while Illyan just shook his head internally.

‘What genius? I just memorized everything…’

He was definitely more intelligent than other average peasants, but he wasn’t arrogant enough to think he was a genius. He knew that a big factor in his fast progress was his eidetic memory.

With that, he just needed to remember the formulas, and half of the work was already done.

“This expedition, I seek another breakthrough as we get full support from the mayor. That means that we can go all out and will stay in the city for a few months at the very least. Within that time span, I am confident that we will be able to enter one of the rooms. That room is one big milestone for us, as I hope to find a ‘key’ to the capital of Gondoris there! And once we find the key, we will have access to the legacy of Gondoris! A legacy wanted by many in the last 20,000 years, yet no one has managed to obtain it!”

Korin now showed complete infatuation as his eyes stared into nothing while he breathed heavily. Illyan could see the deep madness within him, and others could see it too.

But they didn’t react much. The only one uneasy was Arun once again. Illyan almost found it amusing that such a guy was the one who tried to argue with him back then.

However, what took his interest the most were Korin’s words.

‘Legacy? I guess that it would be a magical legacy.’ He couldn’t see how one civilization could match in technology the Arkravav Empire full of magisters without using magic, so he could immediately imagine the nature of the legacy.

That made Illyan wonder why Korin needed it.

Then he shook his head in disdain.

‘Here I am kidnapping people for the sake of dissecting them for a little power, yet I question others' need for legacies?’

Most people desired power. It was instinctual. Questioning that would lead him nowhere.

Instead, he started to ponder whether the magical legacy had some connection with the mana test Korin made him do.

‘Wanting to sacrifice people with high talent? It is definitely possible…’ Thinking so, he decided that he would be extra careful…

It was just at that moment when Korin came to his senses and showed an embarrassed expression as he coughed.

“I hope I have answered your question, Kaoran.”

“Yes. Thank you.” Illyan nodded as if he appreciated the man’s words.

“Let’s continue with the meeting then.” Korin nodded with a smile.

Without wasting time, he turned back to the architectural plan and started to talk about their mission.

He even showed the images of several of the buildings and the carvings on them as he explained their importance and the reason he brought them up.

Once he was done explaining all of that, he took a bunch of parchments and gave them to everyone.

“I already divided the tasks that need to be done for each of you. Don’t worry, I chose the most fitting tasks for you.”

Korin said as he gave everyone one or two parchments.

When Illyan got his, he opened his eyes wide. On one of these parchments was a very detailed geometrical diagram. Illyan almost felt dizzy from staring at it.

However, the diagram seemed to be incomplete.

Illyan then looked at another parchment where the explanation was.

This diagram was actually one of the mechanisms in the doors leading to the royal room of the citadel in the middle of the city.

It was explained that it had been destroyed long ago and that Korin managed to recover the mechanism to open the door. Subsequently, he figured out the puzzle.

But that was only one thing needed to open the doors, so Korin didn’t manage to open them.

What was interesting was that once Korin visited the place for the second time, the diagram was once again in disarray. Not only that, but the diagram had also changed.

After observing the mechanism for a long time, Korin realized that the mechanism changed as time passed, as if it had an inner clock installed inside!

Illyan was surprised.

‘What an ingenious mechanism.’

This caused Korin to solve it every time he visited. Now, he gave the opportunity to Illyan.

It could be said to be a test of his capabilities. The mechanism could and would be solved by Korin as he already knew how, but it would take time. Giving the task to Illyan meant he could focus on more difficult things, and Illyan could be useful despite working on the simple task.

In the end, his experience would soar during this trip.

“Kaoran.” Suddenly, Korin called out to him in a whisper as he sat next to him.

“Yes, Mr. Korin?” Illyan asked uneasily, as he felt uncomfortable with Korin being so close to him.

“This expedition… It is very important to me. I give you this task as I trust your capabilities. Your pace of learning is astonishing, but you are not proud. You are a steadfast kid. That’s why I hope you can finish this task before joining me in the main puzzle to open the damn door. If we do so, we will get something that even the fabled magisters couldn’t get. They can only watch from outside of the kingdom while sending out some weak people here once in a while to try their luck, but in the end, they are several steps behind me.”

Korin then stared into Illyan’s eyes with utmost seriousness.

“The power desired by magisters… Can you imagine that? I, for sure, can’t. And that’s why I want it all the more. There is something I need to do, no matter the price. And for that, I need this legacy. Of course, once we get to the end, there will be rewards that could change everyone’s lives.”

Korin whispered as he clutched tightly at the cane.

“I understand.” Illyan nodded seriously.

“Good.” With that, Korin smiled as he patted Illyan’s back before standing up and leaving in the direction of Arun.

Illyan just stared at him while contemplating his words.