Chapter 292
Lysinas, the Wise King.
Leader of the Great Heroes.
The dragon of wisdom who guided the world onto the path of salvation with her foresight.
The one who selected heroes and united them as one.
With countless epithets, Lysinas was the most revered of all Great Heroes, transcending race.
Her very existence was extraordinary.
But beyond everything else, one thing about her stood out above all.
‘The beginning of it all.’
When everyone had surrendered to despair, accepting the end of the world.
When all people could do was pray that each day might last a little longer.
Even the gods had abandoned the world.
Yet she alone never doubted salvation. She drew the grand design of hope.
Even when mocked as a fool, she pressed forward one step at a time.
She gathered the Great Heroes into one and gifted the world with hope.
That was why all considered Lysinas the most special among them—
Truly, the symbol of salvation.
Leo reached out to the door of Lysinas’s mansion.
Thunk– squeak–!
With the groan of old hinges, the door opened.
But the moment he stepped inside, the mansion reset itself, returning him to the entrance.
Uninvited, none could enter Lysinas’s mansion.
Not even other Great Heroes.
There was only one way in—
To dismantle the illusion spell Lysinas had set.
But with Leo’s current magic power, dispelling it was impossible.
Even so, he reached for the door again.
He knew the method.
Lysinas had once taught the dismantling rite to Kyle alone.
‘Why me? Not Luna, who was as close as a sister, but me?’
Pausing, Leo recalled it with renewed puzzlement.
The sharp, mocking gaze Lysinas sometimes gave him flashed in his mind.
So too the way Dweno looked at him with genuine exasperation.
No one else could enter without permission.
Yet he had been given the means to walk in whenever he pleased.
‘No… she said if I barged in uninvited, she’d kill me.’
Remembering his terrifyingly violent friend, Leo opened the door again.
As the spell activated, he invoked the dismantling rite.
Vwoom–!
Squeak– click–!
The door shut, and the mansion’s interior spread before him.
‘Been a long time.’
Leo gazed briefly at the tranquil air inside before moving forward.
His destination was fixed.
‘Lysinas’s study.’
A treasury of wisdom.
In the distant future, five thousand years later, it would pass through the hands of Dragon Lords until it reached Melina.
Of course, the true study was vast beyond this modest house.
But the library itself was a space Lysinas had created.
With practiced steps, Leo made his way through the halls until he arrived at the study.
Click–!
The door opened to reveal the room.
Tap–
He closed it behind him.
This was not merely a collection of documents and records.
‘Lysinas kept one of the Spirit Jewels here.’
Spirit Jewels.
Tokens once held by the Great Spirits—the kings of the elemental spirits.
Among them, the Jewel of Light and Jewel of Darkness no longer existed.
The Jewel of Darkness had perished in the Era of Calamity.
The Jewel of Light—its bearer, the Great Spirit of Light, Luminous—had faced annihilation when Kyle and Lysinas defeated the Legion Commander, Yormungandr, the Gluttonous King.
It was sealed with Luminous and later entrusted to Kyle.
But the other Spirit Jewels endured to this day.
They held no direct power.
Yet their historical and symbolic weight was immeasurable.
And in that age, their owner was not the Great Spirits—but Lysinas.
‘More accurately, the Great Spirits entrusted them to her.’
During the Era of Calamity, the Great Spirits gave her their jewels as proof of contract.
And Lysinas bound the Great Spirits within them.
Not imprisoned, but enshrined inside.
Sealing them carried enormous risks.
First— the Great Spirits’ range of action shrank drastically, limited to Guardslone.
Second— even Lysinas herself could not use their power without the jewels.
Last— no one but Lysinas could contract them.
No matter how gifted in Spirit Arts, no one else could forge a contract.
She accepted those risks for one reason—
To protect Guardslone.
In the Era of Calamity, Guardslone was the final bastion, sheltering countless souls.
Reisar might have been called a refugee city, but Guardslone dwarfed it in numbers.
To sustain such a fortress required light, water, fertile land, and clean air.
‘The Spirit’s Lake where Carr, Ar, and Eiran went. The Realm of Fire where Lunia and Driana went. They’re all vital to maintaining Guardslone.’
At the center of it all were the Spirit Jewels.
Only Lysinas could wield them.
‘And these jewels are the key to this Hero’s World raid.’
The Spirit Jewels embodied both Lysinas’s spirit power and the essence of the Great Spirits.
If one could use them, they could wield her might.
To others, they were inaccessible—like her personal weapons.
But—
‘I inherited Lysinas’s power.’
Though the strength itself had long since faded,
The proof of her oath remained with Leo.
‘If I can summon Katariu… then I can use the Spirit Jewels.’
Step–
He stopped.
In the center of the study, carefully kept, was a round silvery gem the size of a thumbnail.
‘The Jewel of Wind.’
It held Sillesta, the Great Spirit of Wind.
He approached and reached out.
Vwoom–!
The jewel responded to his touch.
But the slumbering Sillesta did not stir.
‘Three more to go.’
Leo tucked the jewel away.
‘The Giant King invades in one week.’
Checking the time against his memories, Leo breathed deeply.
‘The Jewel of Wind was easy. The others won’t be.’
The Spirit’s Lake, the Realm of Fire, and the Temple of Earth—heavily guarded.
Breaking through to claim them would not be simple.
‘But I have to.’
As he left the study, he paused.
Not far from the entrance, a desk caught his eye.
Approaching, he laid his hand on a familiar book.
‘Lysinas’s journal.’
Smiling faintly, Leo chuckled as he looked at it.
—
Lunia, Driana, and Carr looked around nervously.
The room was filled with weapons.
‘This is the workshop of the Divine Blacksmith… Master Dweno.’
‘Are all these holy relics?’
The thought alone made their throats dry.
Trying to calm their trembling, they glanced at Dweno, who was sketching at a table.
“Um… Master Dweno.”
Lunia spoke carefully.
He stopped and looked at her.
“What is it?”
“You said you would teach us something…”
“Yes. There is much you must learn.”
Dweno set aside his pen.
Curious, Driana asked,
“What are you drawing?”
Lunia and Carr shot her incredulous looks.
“What’s with those stares?”
She frowned.
“Could you pick a tone and stick with it? Switching from pompous elder to cute little girl is… hard to handle.”
Carr folded his arms.
“My speech is a mark of respect to Master Dweno. I’ll never change it!”
“No need to copy the stuffy tone of some old dwarf. Just talk normally.”
“Yes! Fine!”
“You’ve got no backbone.”
“Exactly.”
As she instantly switched to her normal speech, Lunia shook her head and Carr agreed.
Dweno chuckled at the sight.
“What I’m drawing is the design for a weapon.”
Flip–
He lifted the paper.
“Want a look?”
Their eyes lit up as they crowded forward.
“Wow—it’s beautiful.”
“A true work of art.”
“As expected of you, Master Dweno!”
He laughed heartily at their admiration.
“Beauty is the truth of this world.”
“Yes! Art is what keeps the world alive.”
“Oh, a dwarf of insight.”
He nodded in satisfaction.
“In that case…”
His eyes fell on Lunia.
“Your name was Lunia, right? I have a request.”
“M-me?”
She stiffened.
“You are a beautiful elf. As much as Luna herself.”
“Wh-what? Compared to Lady Luna? I-I couldn’t possibly…”
Flustered, she turned red, though secretly delighted.
“Her temper is nothing like yours though.”
“Say that again?”
“I just meant—dropping the honors student act doesn’t mean you have to become a delinquent! Why so extreme?!”
As she grabbed his collar with a raised fist, Carr shrieked.
Dweno roared with laughter.
“Lively. I like it.”
Then his expression turned serious.
“My request is this.”
Lunia’s face tensed again.
“I want you to model for my art.”
“A… model?”
She smiled shyly.
“It would be an honor if you painted me…”
“A nude model, to preserve your beauty for posterity.”
Her face flared crimson.
“N-nude?!”
She crossed her arms protectively.
“I’ll undress her if you want.”
“What the hell, pervert?!”
Lunia smacked Driana’s head.
Carr grinned mischievously.
“I support this.”
“What?”
“I mean—I object!”
Wilting under her murderous glare, he corrected himself instantly.
“Well, if you don’t want to, I won’t force it.”
Dweno smacked his lips in regret.
Lunia exhaled in relief.
“Now, to the real matter.”
His face grew firm.
“Carr. I will pass down my alchemy to you.”
“Wh-what?”
Carr froze.
“Driana. I’ll teach you the craft of weapon forging.”
Her eyes widened.
“And Lunia, you—”
Bang–!
The door burst open.
“What is it now, perverted dwarf? If you utter more nonsense about nude models, I’ll burn this place down.”
A woman with white hair in splendid robes strode in.
‘Phoenix…?’
As someone from a family bound to the Phoenix for generations, Lunia recognized her instantly.
And she trembled.
‘The royal bloodline…!’
“Oh? An elf wielding Phoenix flames. How amusing.”
Katariu looked her over with interest.
Dweno smiled.
“As for you, Lunia—you will learn the essence of fire.”
(T/N: The upgrades are going to be insane!!)