"My core ball has absorbed it. It's not the whole stone - just a small shard," Rohan replied.
"So, you're planning to find the rest of the whole stone?" Vitak guessed straight away.
Rohan nodded. "I need all the information regarding the magical power stones in the universe. I want to collect them."
"You're not planning on destroying this solar system, are you? I don't want to die yet." Vitak said.
"Shame on you, old man. You should even have died centuries ago." Rohan hissed. "I don't plan on destroying anything. However, I would probably use it as a threat and would absolutely do so if anyone were to go against me."
"I don't see any differences there," Vitak muttered.
"Well, I don't care what your plans are or how you got your hands on that legend stone shard. However, apart from the Cug crystal, can you guarantee that my dwelling won't be destroyed?" The half-robot man continued.
"Sure. Now, can I get the information?" Rohan asked.
"There are three magical power stones in this universe. As the name implies, they can only be used by magic controllers -though now you are surprisingly controlling it-.
Three hundred years ago, my friends and I found the using traces of a power stone on the planets HZ-005 and XY-708. If the stone really exists and has ever landed on this universe's planets, the two planets must be one of them.
We named the power stone Whiteline. At that time, we estimated the age of the traces to be around a thousand years or eight hundred years at the very least. The traces palpably indicated how strong the stone was. It made the cores of both planets die, to their surfaces frozen white."
"That's why you guys named it Whiteline," Rohan concluded.
"Correct. It was the only evidence of the power stone's power that we'd found since decades of magical power stone quests and expeditions; yes, that's the only result we got. However, on the last planet, we found a book made of real paper containing information about power stones."
"Where is the book now? I want to see it, whatever you ask, I will pay." Rohan said directly.
"Unfortunately, the book has been destroyed."
Rohan frowned. "You destroyed it?"
"That information made various groups of villains chase us. There was only one book and there were twenty of us. The money offered by the villains was fantastic that we started thinking about killing each other to fight over it. Some of us who claimed to have the holiest hearts decided to burn the book." Vitak explained.
"The hypocrites who praise humanity and heaven are trash. What a pain in the ass," Rohan muttered.
"However, you're quite lucky, kid. I have recorded the contents of the book in my head." Vitak said.
"Look, Rohan. All my friends died hundreds of years ago. Information about the book belongs to me alone. The zero results of searching for the magical power stone made everyone dump it eventually."
Rohan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Are you trying to extort me?"
"If you realize how valuable that information is now, you'll understand that a hundred Cugs isn't worth it," Vitak said.
"I could crush your head; you know that?" Rohan said flatly with his temple resting on his fist.
"That way, you will also destroy my brain and all the information in it."
"Very clever, Vitak. No wonder you can live so long even when your body is already destroyed," Rohan said with a chuckle.
Vitak's greed no longer took Rohan by surprise. He himself had been living surrounded by people like Vitak and to be honest, Vitak was much better than them.
In the end, money was everything and your own self-interest should be your very first priority. You have to squeeze anyone to the max if it's going to keep you alive.
"In the book, it was written that there were three magical power stones in this universe. Each of them was owned by the strongest nation that still inherited a little trace of wizard blood. Those people learned special magic to control the stones and became sorcerers.
However, wars, greed, and technological advances on various planets made the kings dampen the power of the stones and hide them. The wizard kingdom was said to be the place where the power stones first appeared. But, during an ancient war, the wizarding kingdom and all of its people suddenly disappeared.
The book was written by a former sorcerer who ended up being a wanderer. Learning to control the power stone took decades with uncertain results. Even, for those who had the blood of wizards, the chances of them being able to control the enormous power of the power stone were only ten percent. If they failed, their bodies would be destroyed."
"I'm not a wizard descendant. I'm pretty sure that it isn't in my family tree. Then, why can I now control this stone?" Rohan muttered.
"Maybe it's because it's just a tiny shard," Vitak replied.
A green light appeared from the direction of the large computer behind Vitak. The light shone through the centre of them and created a 3D picture.
"From the description of the book, I calculated that the size of one power stone is this big," Vitak explained.
Rohan stared at the ball-shaped stone picture in front of him. It was a stone the size of a male adult Helomus' fist. If the minuscule shard could give such immense power, he couldn't imagine what a whole stone could do.
"Until now, the core ball of a Helomus has not been fully studied. The fact that a tiny shard of power stone can actually be absorbed by non-wizards is probably the reason the shard exists now. Someone might have done it on purpose." Vitak said.
"I want to control the whole galaxies," Rohan said suddenly.
"Huh?"
"Controlling the planet and its main star indeed sounds impossible. But I believe, with the power of the power stones, I can do it."
"Even if you manage to find them, your body will evaporate to pieces if you try to control it with your core ball," Vitak said.
"I know. But you also know that my name is Rohan. I once tried to burn water," He chuckled.
"Haha.. Damn it. It's your childish behaviour that I will never forget," Vitak replied.
"In fact, I still try it sometimes until now," Rohan said.
"Ha.. Even for a scientist like me, I'm not crazy enough to have as much faith as you,"
"That's why you're trapped in this place," Rohan replied.
"You are a highly interesting man, Rohan. I could feel it even when you were young. That's what makes me trust you enough. Unfortunately, we met when my condition was like this. Otherwise, you will become mutually beneficial partners."
"There's no point in regretting something that won't happen. But haven't I been of enough use to you now? You've extorted me completely."
Vitak laughed. "You are right,"
"Rohan, if you are really going to look for the stones, I might have died when you came back here." Vitak continued. There was sadness in his voice.
"I'm honestly starting to feel a little bit bored of living like this. But your spirit makes me excited and reminds me of my youth times. I will make a map and put all the possible locations of the power stones. I will also write down every piece of knowledge that I have about the stones for your journey. I believe they are worth the payment.
And I want to tell you this: My son was an inventor. He made all of this for me. I don't know whether or not this will work, but inventors in this era might be great enough to create devices on par with the abilities of a sorcerer."
Rohan was silent for a moment then nodded slightly. "Even a scientist like you would be a great start if you could help me on this mission,"
Vitak laughed. "My brain function has decreased, brat. If you really feel that scientists and inventors will be of use to your mission, you can look for the greatest ones out there,"