Chapter 138: Melina’s Golden Pearl
It had been three days since Melina left the academy on a leave of absence to work on the research of the black pearl.
During that time, the alchemists discovered that the pearls had been created with a mineral called "starstone," which could only be found in the region of Kalusia.
Dr. Lane, who had been working at the tree house ever since their encounter with Ichiro and Reinar at the capital, was familiar with the story and recounted it to the team of alchemists.
Hundreds of years ago, a star crashed down from the sky in a field in the Kalusia Kingdom. Thankfully, the meteor landed in an area far away from any town or settlement, but its impact could be felt all throughout the world.
When the citizens of Kalusia visited the location, they found a massive crater that extended hundreds of meters in diameter, showing entrances to natural caves and a resplendent mineral that covered the burnt surface.
This mineral they nicknamed "starstone," as it was created from a star that came down from the sky and had different magical properties.
Similar to common gemstones like sapphire and rubies, starstones were able to hold spells inside of them. However, their magic capacity was increased, allowing them to hold more potent spells that would have shattered other ordinary gems.
The people of Kalusia used the starstones for different tasks that improved their quality of life over the centuries.
Their military used it to upgrade their weapons and give them magical abilities that they could cast quickly without chanting a word. In contrast, the common people used it to illuminate their homes or as a power source for ovens and stoves.
Kalusia exported a part of their starstone supply for a long time to other countries, but after Zagor took control, those deals were canceled.
Melina mentioned that she had been receiving messages from Ichiro and that he never said anything about the beastkins using magic in battle, which led the alchemists to believe that they were focusing all of their starstone supply on the creation of black pearls.