Primordial Sage: Plight of Immortality

This time, it didn’t take even three hours for him to finish the book. It was because the book was much thinner than those herbology books, but also because Illyan had gotten used to reading this language.

Not only that, but he also felt that thanks to his [Eyes of Truth], he could absorb more information from one glance, making it easier and quicker to read literally anything.

After that, he continued to wander around history books as he became more interested in the land where he was born.

Many things were something that he already knew, but he didn’t mind, as this way he engraved it in his mind forever.

What he found intriguing was why the eastern mountains were named as the Iron Troll Mountain Range. It was said that those mountains were infested by mountain trolls, a type of malevolent monster also known as demons that ate humans.

What Illyan was surprised about was that this monster was humanoid. Illyan never saw such a being, as the only supernatural creatures he saw were the winter beasts that were just bigger animals. Maybe only the wendigos were distantly humanoid-looking.

They were also the reason why nobody wanted to travel the mountains. Not even the maniacs from the Blood Crow Alliance nor the barbarians of the north.

While Kaoran didn’t know why it was so dangerous, he knew from the attempts of their ancestors that nobody who traveled through those mountains survived for too long.

However, Vanaras soldiers would once in a while raid the mountains with the excuse of culling their numbers under the commands of creating some mines there as it was known there were iron veins throughout the entire mountain range. That was why the word ‘iron’ was included in its name.

The western mountains, on the other hand, seemed to be less intriguing because of their name Snowless, but the opposite was the truth. The reason why there was no snow was simple.

Several slumbering volcanoes were amongst them. While there was no threat of exploding, it still gave off heat that made any snow melt.

It was also rumored that it was a nest of wyverns, a sub-species of powerful dragons. That interested Illyan as he was pretty sure he saw a true dragon back in the north, and so he wanted to know more about its weaker descendants.

And so, he went to find some books about those creatures. Unfortunately, the only books about them seemed to be just speculations and legends instead of facts. While the Vanaras Kingdom was aware of how big the world was, it didn’t dare to show its head too high in fear of being decimated. That’s why most of the information about the world beyond the peninsula was distorted.

Still, what he found was shocking. The weak ones were nothing much. Just lizards as big as normal-sized bears with crippled wings instead of front legs. They also didn’t have any racial abilities like dragons did.

But the strongest wyverns were as big as small dragons while being able to fly. They could hunt elephants easily or destroy the entire city.

‘And that is only wyvern. Of course, I need to take this information with a bit of salt, but still… Wasn’t the ‘dragon’ that I saw too weak? Wasn’t it such a wyvern as this?’

Then he shook his head. That wasn’t possible. It could speak human language, while wyvern’s intelligence was at most that of other animals. It also had an undeniable aura that made Illyan recognize the difference of existences between them.

There was no way that was wyvern.

He already deduced that it was the dragon's spirit that was dead for thousands of years and knew that if it was at full strength then he would be dead, but he never thought too deeply about it. But now he realized how lucky he was to survive the confrontation.

If it had even a fraction of its original strength, then he would probably die instantly. The dragon said that it went toe to toe with that eyeball thing which he called the God of Truth, and it seemed to be true.

The desire to get stronger grew the more information he absorbed as his horizons broadened. And so, he spent the entire day reading books. Nothing else.

In the evening, he went to visit the cafeteria for the first time and ate the soup they gave him before going back to his room.

There, he greeted Nord who was already inside.

They didn’t talk too much as both of them felt spent after the entire day and went to sleep immediately.

The next day Illyan planned his reading until he would get notice of the lecture.

However, as he opened a new book he noticed from the corner of his eye that someone came to him. When he turned around he realized it was Ollie.

“Hello, Kaoran. I have good news for you.”

After saying that, he invited him into his own office where they sat down.

“We already checked their content. The books are original and there are no other copies in the library. It was quite difficult to find out as I had to ask someone who read all medicinal books here. And that guy is hard to find… But it paid off. Each of these books’ value is no less than fifty silver ones. That makes it one gold coin. I assume that this sum will be alright?”

Illyan readily agreed. As he took the pouch with money, he noticed that Ollie had a little sly grin on the corner of his mouth and realized that he probably took advantage of it because of his ignorance.

But he already accepted the money, and it was too late.

He sighed internally but didn’t care that much actually. Money was secondary to him. Right now, he had enough money to live for a few months or even a year. During that time, he would probably find a different source of income. Not to mention, he could use the library for free. Thinking about it, he still felt that he was still on top when it came to profit.

“Thank you very much for the patronage. The books will be stored here so you can reread them if you want in the future. Well, not immediately as the physician VaeI told you about already confiscated them after I showed them. Thankfully, you accepted the offer or it would be quite an awkward situation.”

Seeing Ollie’s awkward expression, Illyan felt the corners of his mouth twitching.

So his books were already gone before they were sold!

When Ollie noticed Illyan’s weird expression, he averted the attention towards different topics.

“So, what do you plan to buy, Kaoran? While this much money isn’t too much for those of an upper-class family, it is quite a high sum. You should be careful with handling such money as there are still some small gangs who would love to beat you to death to take the money.”

When he mentioned this, Illyan remembered the scene of the man screaming in the middle of the street.

‘Are those the gangs Ollie talks about? I want to see them try.’

Realizing they were just weaklings, he put his worries away as he pondered whether he needed something.

He wanted to save this money until he could get a stable income.

“I need a new bag and some of the tools for herbalism and medicinal tools…”

“Oh? I thought that the bag you used seemed to be weird. So it was of low quality, huh.”

“It was made by me after I lost most of my things. My group met a big pack of wolves one day, and I managed to escape only with luck, leaving most things behind."

The made-up story he thought of before was brought up again as he had to explain his poor state. Ollie opened his eyes wide.

“I see! You were lucky! Those beasts are horrendous. They are greedy and devious. There were already several campaigns where soldiers had to hunt some large packs in recent years.”

Ollie nodded in understanding as he knew that wolves could be like devils in animal skin.

“Then, I know one place that you can visit. There are some containers and other tools that could be used by physicians. Also, I advise you to buy something to tie your hair with. It gets in the way during reading, right?”

When he mentioned it, Illyan realized he was right. When he leaned over the book, his long hair started to fall on it, and he had problems seeing through them. However, as he was used to them, he didn’t bother with them.

It was not like he could just cut them off permanently. He still didn’t have that much control over his ability.

“Hmm.. I guess you are right.” Illyan agreed with him and noted in his mind to buy something for his hair.

They then talked about other unimportant topics, especially about how Illyan was satisfied with his accommodation. They talked for around half an hour before finally deciding to end the conversation.

“Haah… I really enjoyed this conversation. Unfortunately, I still have some things to do so we need to cut it off.” Ollie said as he stood up.

Illyan also stood up prepared to leave.

“Also, before you leave, two days later go to room number 302 in the left wing. There will be a three-hour lecture that day about Arithmetic which is quite important for academics.”

Then he took a list on his table and gave it to Illyan.

“This is the list of books whose contents you need to know to safely pass the test of medicine academic. There are over 50 medicinal books and another 10 miscellaneous books that are obligatory for every academic. If you are confident then tell us and within a few months, we should be able to gather three certified physicians to test you.”

“Thank you.”

After saying that, Illyan left the room.

But instead of going back to read the books he had prepared, he went out of the institute prepared for his first shopping spree ever.

He went around the town and first bought a big high-quality bag that he then started to fill with new things. He bought several box containers for herbs to store in, then he visited the store Ollie told him about and bought a new mortar, pestle, cauldron, glass bottles, and other things needed.

Then he went to a blacksmith to buy a knife. The blacksmith was a little reluctant to sell Illyan the knife as selling weapons to random people was quite taboo. Fortunately, Illyan had a good excuse. He needed a knife for foraging.

After finally getting it, Illyan left satisfied. While he already had a knife for foraging that he got from Thearas clan, it was too small and unsuitable for fighting. On the other hand, while the new steel knife was not made for fighting either, it was much more useful.

The blacksmith would probably grit his teeth in indignation if he knew that Illyan had the knife for the same reason that the blacksmith didn’t want to sell it.

Of course, Illyan didn’t plan to kill randomly. He bought it because of those gangsters and that robed man.

He also bought from the blacksmith a small whetstone for the knife. However, he also planned to use it to grind his own nails since they got too resilient and needed to be trimmed this way.

After this, he looked around the stores looking for anything useful. He didn’t find much, but he felt his horizons broaden once again.

Finally, after a long time of looking around, he noticed one small stall that was selling all kinds of accessories. And between them, there were long ornamented wooden sticks. The lady that was selling them had them pierced through her tied-up hairstyle on top of her head, giving her a unique look.

Once he got closer, she turned her head and widened her eyes.

“Ah! I see that sir is in dire need of my accessories! Would you like to buy one set or maybe two? They come in pairs!”

She started to show several pieces, each with different ornaments, trying to tempt him.

After seeing how it looked, he was pretty sure that if he wanted, he would be able to carve it, although without the ornaments. But since he was already here, he could buy one set.

“How much for one?”

“Five bronzes!”

‘Isn’t that too expensive? This much can allow me to live one day in the town comfortably. This is a rip-off…’ This time he realized that this wasn't a good trade-off before he lost his money. However, he didn’t want to waste his time by carving new ones at this moment as he wanted to spend most of his time in the library.

“How about this? You give me these ones and then show me how to tie my hair with it for those five coins.

“Deal!”

He tossed her the coins while grabbing the hair sticks, and she untied her hair.

“Look closely, sir!”

Then she started to methodically tie her hair while explaining the origin of this hairstyle.

“It is said that it comes from southern coastline countries where the jungles are prominent and high temperatures are the norm. I would love to see it once but the journey must be dangerous…”

After finishing, she asked if he needed her to show once again, but he just shook his head as he tied his hair himself. He had little problem with his left hand, but after a little struggle, he tied his hair perfectly.

Same as with the books, after seeing it with his eyes, he had it engraved in his mind as clear as when she was showing it to him.

Now, with his hair tied, he looked one step closer to a civilized person and left with a satisfied expression.

Then he just wandered around, looking just like the Terren’s group the first day. He didn’t know for how long he would stay here, but he guessed it would be a long time, so knowing the town was advantageous.

However, just as he had a peaceful moment, he heard whips and screams.

When he turned around, he noticed that on the square there was a crowd of people looking at guards who were leading some people in chains into wagons.

There were minimally 20 of those. But one of them seemed to be familiar.

When Illyan got closer, a gust of wind blew towards him, and he felt a comfortable smell similar to some herbs. Or at least that would be the thing that most people would smell. This smell, albeit strong, couldn’t deceive Illyan’s good senses.

He smelled rotten meat in some of those wagons. When the realization hit him, he narrowed his eyes.

‘Is this that merchant’s wagon?’

And when he looked around as if to prove his theory, he saw several robed men going across the street while the guards looked to be submissive, and the passersby also stopped gawking.

Soon, the robed men got on the wagons and traveled out of the town’s southern gate. As Illyan observed, a sense of unease settled in his stomach. Something about the situation didn't sit right with him. He remembered the merchant he had encountered earlier, and a nagging suspicion grew within him.

Ignoring the impulse to simply turn away, Illyan approached one of the guards, his curiosity piqued.

"What's happening here?" he asked, trying to keep his tone casual.

The guard eyed him warily before responding, "Just rounding up some troublemakers. They've been causing a ruckus in town, disrupting the peace."

Illyan's gaze shifted to the prisoners, and he noticed the varying degrees of fear etched on their faces. Among them, one figure stood out to him – a man whose eyes held a flicker of defiance amidst the fear. It was the merchant he had spoken to earlier.

"Why are they being taken away?" Illyan pressed, his voice steady despite the rising apprehension within him.

The guard shrugged. "Not my place to say. They're being dealt with according to the law."

Unsatisfied with the vague response, Illyan continued to observe as the wagons disappeared into the distance. There was something off about the whole situation, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. The sight of the robed men accompanying the guards only added to his sense of foreboding.

As the commotion died down and the crowd dispersed, Illyan lingered for a moment, his mind racing with questions. What was the true reason behind the merchant's arrest? And who were those robed figures, and what role did they play in all of this?

With a determined set to his jaw, Illyan made a silent vow to uncover the truth. Whatever secrets lay hidden beneath the surface of the town, he was determined to unearth them, even if it meant delving into danger's depths.

This is how MC looks like in Winterfrost Town arc. He has the black robe that he got from Thearas Shaman's hut and use the wooden hairsticks to maintain the new hairstyle. The robes are baggy and are effectively hiding his packed muscles giving him a 'scholar vibe' without looking weird.