Chapter 20 "A Light of Hope"

"What's wrong?" I replied defiantly, pretending not to understand.

"You just asked a secret thing only few people know." Prince Keylan's forehead frowned.

Looking at his sharp eyes, I felt a little uneasy. "I… had something to do with it."

"What could that be?"

A curious expression was evident on his face, like a child waiting for the birthday present from his father. Although I wanted to keep this information carefully at first, I couldn't stop telling him all. Starting from how I was dragged into this world and the strange pin that caused it, until I went to Glafelden library where I found Indemnius Spirit Crystal information.

But of course, the fact that I was originally a man remained a secret. Because I was ashamed if it was known by many people. Only my friends and Almira knew about this. Even my hunting comrades didn't know about it.

As has happened to Almira, Prince Keylan was dumbfounded and gaping at my story. He must think I was crazy or something.

I didn't care about anything he would say! The story that he thought was impossible actually happened to me. But something I didn't expect was that man immediately smiled broadly while looking at me.

"Wow! That's the greatest boast I've ever heard," teased Prince Keylan while laughing crisply. "I've heard lies many times, but yours really is the best."

"You asked why I had anything to do with Spirit Crystals earlier, didn't you? That's my answer. I'm not asking you to believe it, Prince! I just wanna know more information about it."

Prince Keylan stopped the laughter that started echoing in this library. Now it was my turn to look him straight in the eye. At times like this, I was sick of people making fun of my stories. What I wanted was Spirit Crystal information and a way for me to return to the original world.

"Well. If you're serious like that, I'll believe it," he said in a calm voice. He turned his head from side to side before bringing his body closer to mine. Maybe so that no one else overheard our talk. "Then what do you want to ask, Anggi?"

"I wanna know about Spirit Crystals."

Before speaking, the Ponytail Elvian made sure again that no one else was around us. "Actually, information about Spirit Crystals is very confidential and shouldn't be leaked to the public. Only a few people know this secret. I don't know how that information got in the human library. But ... the information you got is not wrong. The Spirit Crystals aren't mere myths. They are real.

"Each gods have one Spirit Crystal that has a unique power. For example, God Lillio who has the Zjarr Spirit Crystal, he can command and control fire. Also Goddess Lunaris' Licht Spirit Crystal, which can control light and use it as a healer. There are still many gods and their unique spirit crystals. But of all, the most astonishing was the Hope Spirit Crystal. With it, any wish can be granted. From your story, it seemed like that thing brought you to this world. Because only Hope Spirit Crystal can do that. Then, how come that thing is in your world?"

I shook my head. "I don't have any idea either. I picked up a hexagon star-shaped pin and suddenly was dragged here."

Prince Keylan supported his chin with both hands. His eyes showed interest. "So the shape of the Hope Spirit Crystal is a star-shaped pin, huh? Is that what spirit crystals look like? Just like normal things?"

"I thought you already know," I replied with a small nod.

"This secret was passed down from generation to generation from my family. I've never seen spirit crystals in person. Do you know why information about spirit crystals shouldn't be made public?"

"No, why?"

"You remember what I said earlier, right? Spirit crystals are magical items that have unique and extraordinary powers. It is the source of the power of the gods and goddesses. Without Spirit Crystals they are nothing! Can you imagine, if people who worship and glorify Gods know their God is just an ordinary human being who has magical items?"

I was stunned for a moment. Imagining Prince Keylan's words came true made my fear even bigger. The public trust would be destroyed. Most of the people's lives are governed by a religion that glorifies the gods. If this information was spread widely, many criminal cases would arise. People might start robbing and looting, murder happening everywhere, and people becoming more and more selfish and self-absorbed. Then the jungle law where the strong oppress the weak applied. That was the worst scenario.

"The chaos would happen," I answered simply.

"That's right. After all, the power of Spirit Crystals are very strong and astounding, it can make you a god. I'm afraid there will be a lot of people who want those Spirit Crystals for evil. Nobles and rulers of countries around the world would compete to get it. If that happens, then bloodshed will not be avoided anymore. That's why the ancestors kept it a secret from the public."

The atmosphere was quiet for a moment. The sun was setting further and left streaks of orange light on the horizon. Dark skies began to appear far in the sky. The lights in the library started to turn on and illuminate two people in the corner room. One of them was Prince Keylan, who was worried about the risks and consequences if the information spread widely. While the other one was me, who blamed the damned fate for bringing me into the difficult scenario.

Not satisfied dragging me into this world, the fate also wanted to confront me with a million problems and dangers?

Though all I wanted was to return to my peaceful world. I was trapped here as a magical beast hunter, then carried away and caught by Elvian. Now, destiny was still toying with my life by bringing up the possibility of an impending war?

"Prince Keylan, may I ask you one thing?" I asked quietly, interrupting the man's thoughts.

"What's that?"

"Isn't this information a royal member's secret? Why did you tell me about this? To me who is just a stranger and only met a few days?"

A faint smile grew on his face. "That's because you're an interesting person. If only you hadn't told me such a great boast, I wouldn't have told you either," he explained. Then he stood up and stepped closer to the window. "It's dark already. Let's go back to the mansion! Dinner looks like it's almost ready."

"Okay," I said, nodding. I also stood up and was about to return the books I was reading back to their place.

"Arnest City," he said suddenly, leaving me confused and wondering.

"Hah? What do you mean?"

"You said you wanted to return to your original world, right?" asked Prince Keylan. I gave a small nod. "One more little secret I want to share with you. If you put together all eleven Spirit Crystals, the Wish Spirit Crystals will come and you can make any wish."

"I-Is that true?" I replied enthusiastically.

"Yes, right. That means you have to start collecting the eleven Indemnius Spirit Crystals. I don't know where the others are. However, the Wind Spirit Crystal, Vitruj, is located underground in Arnest City. Walk north from this town, you will find the Telnier Mountains. Behind it was the city of Arnest, where the spirit crystal was.

"But you need to remember, this journey will definitely be very dangerous. You will bet your life every second. Death will follows you every time. Even so, do you still want to continue?"