Chapter 120: Memories
Raven appeared in the Throne Room and soon saw that the Owl was still in its amulet form.
As he was about to ask Solis more about the Throne Hall, new information appeared in his head.
'Information about the Twelve Fragments, huh? Fragment of Seer, Fragment of Ignis, Fragment of Light, Fragment of Ice, Fragment of Darkness, Fragment of Wind, Fragment of Death, Fragment of Dream, Fragment of Hunter, Fragment of Lightning, Fragment of Wisdom, and Fragment of Travel. These fragments are created based on the spells of four paragons that ruled the Agith Era…'
'Hmm, each fragment has around four types of spells, but not all spells are Rank-8 ones. True, Solis's abilities vary greatly, too.' Raven nodded in understanding and then asked Solis about the Ruler's Throne.
As he had expected, the Owl knew nothing much about the Throne Room besides the Ruler's Throne being a superior artifact to them and having a connection.
But what surprised him was that his control over the Throne Hall had significantly strengthened.
'Now I have around 20% of control.' Thanks to his strengthened control over this throne room, he could even sense the connections between the twelve chairs and the fragments.
Raven tried to focus on the first chair and felt a strange sensation in his left eye.
A moment later, Raven felt his left eye was looking at the throne hall from his chest region.
No! Raven saw what Solis was seeing!
'I can watch others too?' Raven focused his attention on the chair with the electrical serpent symbol.
A second later, Raven noticed the young boy Noah was running desperately in the gloomy dark woods while carrying a strange leather bag. What surprised him was that most trees and surrounding plants appeared blackish blue.
'And the sky looks almost like dusk.' Raven clearly remembered that the time in Giaris was only around 4.30 P.M.
'There is only a two-to-three hours' time difference? And this new continent seems to be in the east.' What made him frown was that almost half of the Ivory Island continent's eastern side was unexplored.
'I vaguely feel this new continent or the island might be much closer to Ivory Island.' While thinking, Raven shifted his attention towards Noah.
After running for over 20 minutes, Noah exited the gloomy woods and reached an area encircled by tall walls made of iron pillars and spikes.
He quietly sneaked inside through a small hole and passed through alleys filled with wooden huts and old houses. But what startled Raven was that most humans appeared deformed. Some of their skins were in dark, thick warts, some had eyes on their foreheads, many had swollen limbs, and some even had three hands or two heads in one body.
'Compared to them, Noah at least looks human.' Raven felt this whole place was creepy.
His gaze moved to the stone walls that appeared in the innermost part of the city.
'Another wall inside the city? Now that I think about it, this area looks more like a slum.'
As he thought deeply, Noel walked past many houses and soon entered a small wooden hut.
He said something as he opened the wooden door and walked in.
Meanwhile, an old lady with grey hair and pale blue eyes sat up from the cot and responded in a different language.
'She also has tumors in her hands and face. Moreover, why does she have only three fingers?'
As Raven observed her, Noel locked the door tightly, made a fire using a strange metal, and started putting dry wood into the clay cooking stove. Then, he took out three leather water pouches, a few bones, the corpse of a mutant three-headed rat, and a few purple mushrooms.
After placing them on a wooden table, he took a leather pouch and gave it to the old lady. Meanwhile, the old lady opened the water pouch and started drinking an eerie black liquid.
'Wait… This is the water? Why does it look so black?'
Raven quietly observed how the young boy cooked food and realized it was completely inedible.
After some thought, he quietly retracted his consciousness from the link and shifted his attention towards the other chair.
He soon saw that Elizabeth was in the middle of traveling and decided to wait.
'The only problem is how to hide identities.'
He thought of testing something and left the Ruler's Throne.
A few seconds later, he reappeared in the Throne Hall and remained seated on the iron throne like an emperor.
But unlike before, a strange red mask covered his face, making him look mysterious.
"As long as I wear the mask before entering the throne room, I'll appear with the same appearance, huh? This place is truly a mysterious one. I need to learn about the origin of the Ruler's Throne." But Raven didn't think much about it.
First, he focused on the two chairs shining in golden light and waved his hand.
A few seconds passed, and soon, two more figures appeared in the Throne Hall.
"Greetings, Shadow and Whisperer." Raven greeted them with a smile.
"Raven?" Elizabeth greeted him with a nod and soon realized he was wearing a mask.
"So, this will be our meeting place? Then, I should call you 'Prince' from now on." She said with a smile.
"I'm still unsure if this place can become a meeting place for Golden Wheel. Everything is perfect, but the only problem is that we can't exchange physical objects here." Raven responded.
"Who said we can't take in physical objects? As long as your spirit power becomes stronger, it's much easier to carry objects within your consciousness." Whis said as a matter of fact.
"Oh? I never knew this. But how strong my spirit power should be?" Raven asked curiously.
The mouse blinked its eyes and spoke after a short deliberation.
"Strong enough to lift objects using spirit power in the real world. Around Rank-3 or Rank-4? It varies from person to person."
'Oh? Then, I have a long way to go.' Raven nodded and shifted his attention towards Noah.
His gaze was zeroed on the electric serpent that coiled around his neck.
"Can you tell me more about Ancaria, Levinthar? Who rules them and how strong they are?"
The snake nodded while hissing and answered.
"Ancaria is one of the three strongholds of the Nyaxra Domain. It has been there for ages, and dangers always lurk outside the city wall. As for who rules them, the city is ruled by immortals."
"Immortals? They won't age?" Raven asked.
"No. They age slower than normal humans. And people call the leader of these immortal beings a Warlord." Levinthar answered.
"How strong are they?" Elizabeth asked this time.
"Most are strong enough to battle low-rank, mid-rank, and high-rank nightmare creatures in the domain. But only a select few and the leader are strong enough to battle the Lord Rank creatures."
'Low rank, mid-rank, high rank, and lord rank? It seems like Rank-1, rank-2, rank-3, and rank-4.'
"Can the Leader of Ancaria fly in the sky using spirit power?" Elizabeth asked.
The snake tilted its head and continued.
"I never seen anyone flying in the sky, but I see them taking back their weapons using invisible power during fights."
"Their leader is a Rank-4 Powerhouse for sure. As far as I know, only Pseudo Legendary Powerhouses can fly in the air." Elizabeth muttered.
"Are they capable of casting magic spells? Are they using any techniques?" Raven asked.
"Magic spells? Like mine?" Levinthar nodded before continuing.
"The immortals can use spells, but they have a strict hierarchy. Only people from the Upper Land are eligible to use magic spells. When I woke up a millennium ago, I ended up teaching a few lightning spells to Noah's ancestors. But that resulted in the annihilation of the whole family. Only two kids escaped the Evernight Citadel and started living in Ancaria's Lower Land as refugees. After that incident, I stopped teaching them magic and only help them if they end up in a very difficult situation."
"That's a bit harsh," Elizabeth said in shock.
"True." Raven also nodded in agreement and then added.
"For now, please teach him our language. Once he turns 15, we will decide whether to keep him lowkey or help him become stronger."
"What about weapon skills and other unique skills? Like sword aura or stealth-like skills?" Elizabeth asked.
"I've seen many gang leaders and even some members using skills like those. Teaching such skills won't get him killed, but I don't know any skills." Levinthar answered.
Meanwhile, Raven pondered for a moment and spoke.
"Let's take things slowly from now onwards. Also, buy a good mask and wear it when attending the next meeting."
'That works?' Elizabeth nodded in understanding and then asked.
"Can you inform us a few minutes before the meeting? It would be awkward to be summoned while bathing or changing clothes."
"I'll inform you beforehand next time through your artifacts," Raven responded and then added.
"Let's end the meeting then."
A moment later, a suction force pulled Elizabeth and others away from the Throne Room, leaving Raven alone on the Iron Throne.
After that, Raven exited the Ruler's Throne Room and sat in bed.
"Emanuel." He shouted, enough to hear everyone in the mansion.
Within two minutes, running footsteps came outside the room, followed by a knock.
"Did you call me, My Lord?" Emanuel asked.
"Come in; the door is open," Raven nodded.
Meanwhile, Emanuel opened the door slowly and walked in.
"Take a seat," Raven ordered, pointing his finger at the wooden chair near the bed.
"My Lord?" Emanuel froze.
"Don't make me repeat twice," Raven said with a hint of annoyance.
Emanuel nodded stiffly and quietly took the seat on the wooden chair.
"Good. Imagine if a famine occurs in a few years and lasts around 20 to 30 years. What food ingredients are suitable to store in large quantities for a long time?"
Raven's sudden question startled him.
Although confused, Emanuel didn't think deeply and answered his questions.
"White Rice can last up to 30 years if stored in airtight containers with oxygen absorbers. Wheat grains, dried corn kernels, and dried oats also last over 25 years." He paused for a moment and then added.
"Dried Legumes and beans, too, last longer, My Lord. Dried meat, dried fish, and even dried vegetables last 20+ years."
"Oh? Is it possible to store food for one billion people? It has to last up to 15 years. How much will it cost?" Raven's words made Emanuel freeze.
"M-My Lord? What do you mean by that?" Emanuel asked in a stutter.
"Just tell me the answer."
"It's realistically impossible to store food for one billion people, My Lord. Let me break it down for you. Storing enough food for one million people for a day is around 1000 tons of grains and cereals. And if we have a large famine, the main problem won't be the food but water. Even our Giaris city needs a minimum of 3 million liters per day. If we want to store food for one billion people for 15 years, we need around 5.5 billion tons. Grains alone needed around 3.3 billion tons. Even if we manage to get that much food, how will we store it? Even 100,000 hectares aren't enough." Emanuel answered honestly.
"True. So, is there no other way?" Raven furrowed.
Although he never cared about the lives of others much, he still felt he had to do something.
[Why not look for the root cause of the problem?] Zera asked.
'Isn't famine a natural disaster?' Raven couldn't help but ask.
[No. Didn't the newspaper mention that even the snow in mountain ranges melted and caused almost 90% of the rivers to dry? But there was no mention of volcanic eruption or massive urbanization. Either this famine relates to the war, or someone used a Rank-7 or above rank magic to absorb the ice elemental energies in the air.]
'Oh? Then, I need to stop the upcoming war, huh?' Unfortunately, it was easier said than done.
'Haa, I should do my best to prepare for my survival. I'm not a saint to save all the people I see.'
"Forget it then. Also, buy a few war horses for our personal use and tell Jacob and others to teach horsemanship to all the kids." Raven paused for a moment and then added.
"Also, go to the Red Apple Inn on Albert Street and tell Franco to gather all the information about the Agith Ruins in Thornevale Territory."
"Yes, My Lord," Emanuel responded with a nod.
"You can go back now." Raven quickly sent Emanuel away and thought of what to do next.
'I need to focus on absorbing Runeth's memories. How long will it take, Zera?'
[Do you want to review all his memory books on the first and second floors? Or only Runology-related ones?]
'All. After seeing Jovie, I realized how terrifying and powerful a reincarnated person could be. Although I may not be as strong as a real Reincarnated Person after absorbing his memories, I'm sure many changes will be within me.'
[Humph, do you know how long did my owner live?] Zera asked.
'Maybe 1000 years?' Raven guessed.
[His age was more than 30,000 when he met Charles. Even though most of his memories were lost during rebirth, there are still a few thousand years of his memories in the library. The first and the second floor only have memories of his first three hundred years. Going through those memories and completely absorbing them will take a few months to a year. Are you sure you want to do it?]
'Of course. To become strong, I will do anything.' He said with a firm nod.
[Then, let's do it like this. During the night, you'll be focusing on increasing your spirit power. And during the day, you will absorb Runeth's memories.]
'What about my rest?' Raven couldn't help but ask.
[Four hours per day should be more than enough for you. We can even reduce it to three hours once your spirit power reaches 100 points.]
'What?!' Raven's face turned pale.
[Didn't you say you will do anything to become strong? Now, sacrifice your sleep.] Zera said coldly in his mind.
Raven could only grit his teeth and proceed to follow her words.
After informing Emanuel and others that he would train in isolation for a year or two, he secluded himself in the bedroom.
Unlike before, he started reviewing and absorbing Runeth's memories.
'Runeth Axius Rit'zyk… Was he also a Prince? Easica Plane, huh? Moreover, there were Gods and Goddesses in that plane, huh? Mother Goddess, Goddess of Trickery, God of Light, God of Elements…' Raven also learned much about Elves, Dwarves, Faries, Dark Elves, and many other races. He also learned how Runeth got admitted into a Magic Tower and became an Official Mage.
'Even though his talent was average, his understanding and memory power exceeded the norms.' Raven also learned the basics of the Runology and Magic spells through the memories.
Day by day, Raven spent time in his bedroom absorbing the memories of Runeth's teenage years, Academic days, and mission days.
What surprised him was that Runeth never prioritized his family or the people around him.
Raven also didn't neglect his meditation in the astral realm and increased his spirit power during the night.
Days passed.
At the end of the year 1423, Raven managed to absorb Runeth's first 300 years of memories. Unfortunately, Runeth didn't know much about Alchemy, so Raven's progress in Alchemy remained the same.
'But I've learned much about creating Common and Uncommon artifacts.' Of course, it wasn't easier to create artifacts just because he absorbed Runeth's memories.
'I need to spend at least a year to reach the pinnacle of Adept Rune Mage. Unfortunately, I don't have time to focus on Runology. For the next few years, I'll solely focus on alchemy and meditation.' He shook his head and decided to increase his spirit power.
As he focused on increasing his spirit power, minor conflicts started to occur at the borders of the Zenith Empire and the Viser Kingdom.
Also, the southern army and Meadows family faced constant attacks from hordes of Giants, Cyclops, Orcs, and Goblins, resulting in the death of ten thousand in less than two years.
Although the citizens of the Zenith Empire lived their daily lives in peace, many nobles and wizards sensed an approaching storm.
…