"A map that was supposed to connect this entire world."
"All three forests, secret paths, old routes between civilizations, passages, and anywhere important with valuable things."
Lian thought of the World Memory Map.
The map he had obtained from the three tribes, the map that was later combined with the A-rank Artifact, World Memory.
That map was probably made by this human from the previous Cycle.
That’s why there were details on it that even the current Cindari were unaware of. He had always been curious about who had made such a map.
He had guessed it was the work of a Ruined Realm native who had entered this world, because of the writing used on the map.
And now he finally heard the story behind it.
"I never saw the complete map. He disappeared near the end of his work. I thought he was killed, but they never found his body." Aren said.
"What happened to the map?" Lian asked.
"I don’t know. I only heard it was almost complete."
Lian kept this truth to himself. There was no need for Aren to know the map was now in his possession, and besides, that wasn’t important right now.
But the new information created a more important question.
If the humans of the previous Cycle had looted several Cindari cities and killed many of their people, Vhalaris’s current behavior made no sense.
Why hadn’t they killed the new humans at first sight? Why had they brought them to the city? Why had they given them Ashfall Ward?
Why had they allowed them to keep their weapons, form hunting groups, and become stronger by killing monsters?
Maelor could have disarmed all the Outsiders who entered Vhalaris on the first day.
But he hadn’t done so. Their outward behavior was hospitable.
But this hospitality, after a bloody past, couldn’t be from simple forgiveness.
The Cindari had a purpose.
Perhaps they knew that only humans could find a way out of this world.
Perhaps they were gathering the new humans to fight the Corrupted Titan.
Ashfall Ward might not be a shelter, but a place for gathering, controlling, and monitoring the Outsiders.
The listening device in Rindo’s building reinforced this possibility. They were monitoring the humans’ behavior, growth, and the information they found.
They might intend to first use the Awakeners to prevent the world’s destruction, and then take the secret of the rift or escape from them.
But there were also more arguments.
The Cindari might not be able to use the rift directly, but they might have found another way over these twenty-five years.
Perhaps that’s why they had kept the new humans alive.
Perhaps the presence of Awakeners, the Guest Sigils, Ashfall Ward, and all the seemingly peaceful behavior was part of a larger experiment.
The scope of the arguments was too large, and he had to understand what these bastards’ main goal was in giving shelter to the humans and what their true purpose was.
And this made the framing of his three friends even more annoying. What was their goal in doing this?
"Did the Cindari know about the new Cycle?" Lian asked Aren.
"Before my capture, they were waiting for it. All their calculations showed the rift should open again. Maybe that’s why they didn’t kill you. To use you. Maybe the fools think you know the way out."
This answer aligned with Lian’s thoughts. He had now obtained the main information.
The Forgotten Tree was on the verge of death.
The Corrupted Titan was awakening.
The Black Silence could enter Earth.
The Cindari had spent years trying to find a way to another world.
And their peaceful behavior toward the new humans was probably part of a larger plan.
Staying longer in the cell would only give Tharos time to examine the entire conversation and waste his own precious time.
After understanding that time here flows ten times slower, he realized how precious time was, and he had no intention of wasting even a second from this moment on.
Lian had to move before the Cindari decided he had obtained too much information.
He placed his chained hands on the ground and stood up. The rings were pulled with a heavy sound.
The golden veins of the Suppression seal became brighter, and the pressure in his Mana channels increased.
"What are you doing?" Aren raised his head in surprise.
Lian looked at the five layers of locks on the door. Four guards were standing outside the cell.
The memory-recording Artifacts on the walls were active. Tharos was probably watching all their movements from somewhere else.
"It’s time to leave this place."
"From here? Are you joking?" His expression showed he wasn’t sure if Lian was joking or had lost his mind.
"This is the lowest part of the Rootspire prison."
"I know."
"There are five gates between us and the main prison."
"I saw them."
Aren looked at his own chains and then at Lian’s chains.
"I’ve been trying to find a way to escape for a long time."
"You said you were waiting for someone to come and save you. Sorry I’m a little late." Lian turned his head toward him and gave a faint smile.
Aren really didn’t know what to answer.
At that same moment, the System reacted again. This time it wasn’t a global notification, and the panel only appeared before Lian.
[Emergency Quest Issued.]
Lian let out a quiet sigh.
When the System issued an Emergency Quest for a decision he hadn’t even begun to execute yet, it usually didn’t mean anything good.
[Quest: Escape Vhalaris.]
[Objective: Leave Vhalaris alive.]
[Optional Objective: Rescue the Prisoners of Rootspire.]
No name of Aren, Marcus, Ethan, or Cassian was mentioned. The System had placed all prisoners under one optional objective.
Then the main reward appeared.
[Rewards:]
[+1 Level.]
[10 Fragments.]
[50 Free Stat Points.]
The reward for an escape Quest was very high.
Especially a full Level up. For Lian, this was very important because with one Level up, he would exactly reach Level 20.
And upon reaching Level 20, he would finally receive his evolution Quest.
’So just by escaping this city, I can reach Level 20?’ He felt like the System was being too generous.
Of course, reaching Level 20 alone did not mean he could start and complete the evolution.
After reaching this level, he would obtain an Evolution Quest, which would only unlock the evolution option for him after completing it. Unfortunately, these types of Quests are time-limited.
That means if he doesn’t complete the Quest within the given time, he will lose the right to evolve... although there are ways to retry it, they are so difficult that they are not worth it.
Then the last line appeared.
[Failure Penalty: Death.]
He stared at the last word for a few seconds. The failure penalty was too clear.
Death.
The System had assessed the chance of leaving Vhalaris alive as so low that simply surviving was considered an Emergency Quest.
He took his gaze off the panel.
Five layers of seals on the door, guards behind the wall, Suppression chains on his Mana.
Marcus, Ethan, and Cassian on another level.
Aren with a weakened body and chains directly attached to his spine.
And the entire Vhalaris army above them.
Apparently, leaving Vhalaris was not going to be as simple as entering it had been.