âAh, looks like you wouldnât know.â Berthold took a small book out of his pockets, an artifact that each of the artisans shared. It was the Book of Portals, something that Ian was familiar with as well.
âWe are always able to return to this island.â
âBut ClevenâŚâ
ââŚseems to have lost it.â
Cleven hadnât had the artifact with him. It was clear that he had lost it in the years of wandering.
Just then, a figure appeared from the portal.
âI just thought Iâd come by,â he said and nodded in their direction. It seemed that he was seeing what he had been expecting.
âItâs really you.â
Ian had guessed right. He was âSiramâ, the master of the âSiram Workshopâ, now one of the eight artisans known as a technician and inventor.
*Â * *
âNo wonder Iâve been hearing a rumor about a dragon recently,â Siram mumbled without even greeting the artisans. He had come simply to âcheck inâ because he had heard the rumors of the white dragon the artisans had just met. Even at that point, he hadnât been concerned about returning, as he no longer wished for his life to be in danger.
âNow itâs the dragon soldiers running rampant. Theyâve been quiet for centuries â whatâs with the chaos now?â
The problem was that his haven, Greenriverdium was affected by the dragon and the artisans were somewhat aware of this.
âMaster of the Ivory Tower, I guessed you would be the descendant of the great Fran. I just wasnât sure. With the surname âPageâ, although it is quite common, magical abilities that surpass any human being, and the hair â you resemble him perfectly. If you were a little less attractiveâŚâ
It was the reason Siram had not entered through the portal immediately. It was a simple yet interesting reason of his.
âNot that I would have cared. I wouldnât have returned to the island either. Iâve found something fun to do. It would be a waste for me to simply die. One thousand years is a little early for me. â
âDid you find something interesting in your life?â Berthold asked, looking curious.
âItâs a little funny to put it this way, but⌠hm⌠the fun of developing human civilization with my own hands? Little by little, just so I wouldnât blow my cover. Do you get what I mean?â
The âfunâ Siram had found with his life was developing the human civilization. Little by little, not all of a sudden.
âI just release things out into the world like itâs some new invention. If I go too ahead of myself, that just messes things up. I keep my head low when I release these new inventions, like the time I pretended to tremble in front of the Ivory Tower master here.â
âMy apologies about that.â
Ian remembered his encounter with Siram, how he had been shocked to find that Siram was actually a high class mage. Little did he know that had all been an act. It was already seven years ago. Time had gone by quickly.
âThat was all possible because itâs you. The rest of us are sewing, hammering, and sawing nonstop.â Berthold, the seamstress, muttered.
âYouâre wrong. Arenât you the greatest artisans of all time? Nothing would be impossible for you. Do not limit yourselves.â Siram comforted Berthold with sweet words.
âHeâs right,â Hilia agreed. âHow about I join an army. I could change all of their weapons and armory. I could fulfill the wishes of every king â uniting nations into continents. Wouldnât that be a breeze?â
âMaybe I could do something with my businessâŚ.â Zerbio murmured.
âAre you still going on about your business? Iâm not even surprised.â
âStop lecturing me â I already got scolded by Berthold about that.â
It seemed the carpenter Zerbio was the verbal punching bag among the artisans. He had already heard some stinging words from Berthold, and now Siram was on him. His large physical features didnât do him any good. What a waste.
âThey have a lot to say to each other.â Ian noted. He waited patiently, figuring they all wanted to catch up after all this time. After a while, they finally got to the bottom of the issue.
âSo⌠is this really the dragonâs heart?â
âWe think so.â
After the others had filled him in, Siram got closer to the dragonâs heart â the ball of black material. The way he examined the heart was different from the others.
âLetâs see here.â Siram muttered, taking out a strange object. It was a cylinder object with a ball on the end. Once mana was injected into the ball, it exploded with light, exploding in a straight direction.
âOhoâŚâ
Siram shone the light on the heart. They all exclaimed quietly.
âThis is.. somethingâŚâ Everyoneâs attention was on Siram.
âItâs like⌠the fruit of mage engineering.â
That was unexpected. Everyone looked at one another suspiciously and each stated:
âThe fruit of mage engineering?â
âWhat are you on about?â
âWhatâs that?â
âI donât get it. Explain it to us clearly.â
Ian was the only one who kept his silence. He had almost lost his cool and exploded with questions.
âThere are veins of mana flowing from the surface to the core of the heart. Itâs more of a technically structured object rather than an organ.
The dragonâs heart was a mage object?
Could it mean it was man-made?
âAre you sure?â Berthold the seamstress asked.
âPositive.â Siram answered confidently without the slightest hesitance.
âAlthoughâŚ.â He continued, âI canât say for sure whether itâs made by humans.â
âWhat does that mean?â
âI mean what I said. Even I canât create things like this. Doesnât this have infinite power? Iâm sure you all have your weaknesses as artisans. Infinite power is our ideal form of power we technicians long for.â
Infinite power was different from having an infinite amount of mana with the robe Berthold had made. Having an infinite amount of mana simply met it had the power to protect and change the heart of mana within Ian. It was the same with the other artifacts. But the dragonâs heart was different.
âItâs a product of recreation.â
It was an organ that was deep within the heart. The core of wonder that only a few are born with. Someone had copied the original âmana heartâ. It was a completely different object to the core.
âNo wonderâŚ.â The other artisans looked serious. They no longer talked of the density or aphotic state of the heart. They knew how recreation was a different matter from preserving and changing an object.
âWho is the owner of the heart? Is it you all? Or does it belong to the Master of the Ivory Tower, the descendant of Fran?â
Everyone looked at Ian.
The message was clear : the heart belonged to Ian/
âMaster of the Ivory Tower, I have a favor to ask of you.â
âSure.â
âLeave the heart to me.â
It was a request that Ian had been expecting, and he had an answer prepared.
âUnder three conditions.â
âI shall do as you ask.â
âFirst, I need the approval of the other artisans.â
Siram looked at the others. No one objected. Dennis the jeweler and Halia the blacksmith seemed to look disappointed, but didnât say anything.
âThe second conditions would be results. I wonât put any limitations on this. Whether itâs direct or indirect, I request that this needs to end in my benefit. Do you understand?â
âOf course.â
Ian didnât have the skills to control the heart. He had already been planning on leaving the heart in the hands of the artisans. He did, however, need to cross a line in this deal, and this was his second condition.
âAnd for the last requestâŚâ Ian turned his head to look inside the temple. All the masterpieces of the artisans were still being preserved. Ian looked at the three remaining statues.
âI want your masterpiece thatâs in the temple, Siram.â
The seamstress Bertholdâs robe.
The carpenter Zerbioâs cane
The jewler Dennisâ earrings.
The blacksmith Haliaâs sword.
The tools of Cleven.
And Siramâs next masterpiece.
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That was the final request.
âNot a difficult request at all. After all, I was going to present it to Fran â I might as well hand it to his descendant.â
Siram approached the dragon statue and injected mana into it.