Lucian led Sellen to the edge of the rooftop.
Only then did Sellen realize she had hugged him a little too early, and couldn't help silently grumbling at her own carelessness.
After carefully judging the position and confirming that the structure beneath his feet was sturdy enough, Lucian jumped down without hesitation. With one hand, he caught the edge of the roof and ended up hanging outside the window of the room.
This room stood apart from the Church of the Cuckoo—a solitary structure jutting outward on its own.
It was connected to the church by nothing more than a single narrow corridor.
Through the rain-slicked window, blurred by falling droplets, Lucian could see the interior clearly enough.
The floor was littered with pale violet glintstone crystals.
At the very center of the room stood a grotesque mass—a School of Graven Mages, formed from countless swollen Glintstone Crowns fused together.
Each of those glintstone crowns had once belonged to a living sorcerer.
The Primeval Current scholars had used forbidden secret rites, severing the heads of fellow sorcerers while preserving their intellect.
Those minds, brimming with knowledge, were ultimately reduced to something like organic computation devices—used to probe the mysteries of primeval sorcery.
This particular School of Graven Mages, however, was already dead.
It no longer possessed any trace of vitality.
Thus, even though the countless embedded eyes had clearly seen Lucian and Sellen, there was no reaction at all.
Lucian didn't rush in. Instead, he continued to observe the situation inside.
Within the corridor stood a retainer, armed with a crossbow and sword.
That retainer was facing toward the interior of the Church of the Cuckoo, his back turned completely to Lucian and Sellen.
Clearly, he had never imagined that someone would infiltrate the church from outside, through the windows.
This room had likely never been a classroom, nor was it originally meant to house a School of Graven Mages.
It was far too remote, separated by a considerable distance from the main body of the Academy.
Most likely, after this Primeval scholar's research was discovered by other sorcerers, he had been confined here.
Feeling the lingering magical aura in the room, Sellen nodded.
"There's no mistake, apprentice. That sorcerer was one of the Primeval scholars."
"And around him… I can sense my mentor's magic, Master Azur."
"He transformed himself into that state precisely to comprehend the primeval power contained within."
Lucian turned to look at Sellen.
"Teacher… does researching primeval sorcery always end up like that?"
Sellen pondered for a moment, then smiled and answered him.
"Of course not."
"Studying School of Graven Mages—or turning oneself into one, is merely one possible method."
"A true master doesn't need such means to discover their own unique origin."
Watching her smile, Lucian could tell—it was a comforting smile, not a genuine one.
Sellen still harbored thoughts of walking that path herself.
Which made sense. If she were to truly find the bodies of Master Azur and Master Lusat, and merge with them, she might reach an unprecedented realm.
Sellen quickly changed the subject, not giving Lucian the chance to probe further.
Her gaze shifted to the retainer with his back turned, and she spoke quietly.
"That retainer inside needs to be dealt with. Otherwise, our infiltration will be exposed."
Lucian looked at her.
"Teacher, while I do want to infiltrate… it's really just for fun."
"If something truly needs to be done, there's no need to insist on stealth the whole time."
Sellen smiled at him.
"Your teacher isn't one to spoil the mood."
"Since my apprentice wants to play, then let's keep playing."
"I'm quite happy to indulge you."
Lucian felt a quiet warmth in his chest.
Sellen truly was someone who doted on her apprentice.
Having a teacher like her really was a kind of happiness.
Lucian shifted his gaze back to the retainer, thought for a moment, then asked,
"Teacher… when it rains at the Academy, does it ever thunder?"
The question caught Sellen off guard. She frowned slightly and began to think.
After a short while, she answered,
"I don't know. I've never paid attention to that."
"Most people in the Academy probably don't notice such things either."
"I do know that the weather here is controlled by magic, and I've tried studying it before."
"But the spell arrays that govern the weather are entirely under the control of the Carian Royal Family. No one else knows how the weather is altered."
"Even if it had never thundered before… if thunder suddenly struck now, no one would find it strange."
Lucian nodded, a plan already forming in his mind.
Sellen looked at him and asked,
"What is it, apprentice? Have you thought of something?"
Lucian fixed his eyes on the retainer in the corridor and spoke calmly.
"Teacher, when the time comes, I'll leave dealing with him to your sorcery. Just coordinate with my movements."
He paused briefly, then added,
"…Teacher, I might need to cast with one hand. When you're holding onto me, will that be a problem?"
Although Sellen had no idea what Lucian intended to do, destroying enemies with sorcery was her specialty.
"Then you can rest easy," she said lightly.
"My body may be frail, but I won't fall just because I'm holding on with one hand."
"Besides, aren't you supporting me?"
"My sorcery won't disappoint you."
With a surge of strength in his left hand, Lucian pulled both himself and Sellen back up onto the rooftop.
He then retrieved a Smithing Stone [1] from his spatial disc.
The Ancient Dragon Communion Seal in his hand flared with brilliant lightning, imbuing the stone with crackling electricity.
Lucian aimed toward the opposite side of the Church of the Cuckoo and hurled the stone with force.
The smithing stone slid across the rooftop and, just as he had anticipated, dropped precisely into the graveyard filled with magic-infused revenants beyond.
From afar, Lucian sensed the lightning mark still clinging to the stone. Its position was perfect, and the imprint remained active.
That was enough.
He wrapped an arm around Sellen once more and returned to the window.
"Teacher, are you ready?"
"Hmph. Let's get on with it."
The Ancient Dragon Seal in Lucian's hand shone again.
Within the rain-heavy clouds blanketing the sky, streaks of orange-gold lightning suddenly flashed.
Several terrifying bolts tore down from the heavens, ripping through the sky above the academy.
When the thunder finally roared—drawing the attention of every sorcerer within the church, Lucian kicked out and shattered the window in front of him.
He shielded Sellen with his body as they leapt inside, preventing any shards of glass from cutting her fragile flesh.
The retainer in the corridor heard the faint sound of breaking glass, masked by the thunder and distorted by distance.
But when he turned to investigate—
Two spiraling, interwoven projectiles of magic were already upon him.
They were Glintstone Shard Spiral, a sorcery taught in the Karolos Conspectus.
The twin spells struck simultaneously—one pulverizing his skull, the other piercing straight through his chest.
His body was torn apart before he could make a sound.
Lucian and Sellen landed smoothly, stepping into the small chamber carpeted in crystal.
Sellen released her hold on Lucian, then returned the staff she had been holding to him, before walking toward the School of Graven Mages.
Amid the glintstone crystals before it stood a staff of dazzling emerald hue, planted upright.
Sellen drew it from the crystal pile and immediately cradled it in her hands, examining it with care.
After a long moment, she spoke, her voice tinged with nostalgia.
"There's no mistake. This is Master Azur's Glintstone Staff."
"Heh… the fools in the academy probably can't even find a single person capable of wielding it. That's why they left it here."
She then turned to Lucian with a playful smile.
"See, apprentice? I told you we wouldn't need to bring a staff. One could be found within the academy~"
"This one has quite the pedigree."
"It belonged to your teacher's teacher—the greatest sorcerer the academy ever produced, Master Azur."
"Ah… I never had the chance to wield this staff before. To think I'd finally use it now…"
Back when she studied at the academy, Sellen had been praised as a prodigy, yet she had been far from qualified to wield the masters' glintstone staves.
Only after Master Azur was imprisoned—and she resolved to walk the path of the Primeval Current, did she truly gain the right to use it.
And yet, gazing upon the staff she had once coveted so deeply, Sellen found she could not truly feel happy.
After disposing of the guard's remains, Lucian came over to take a look as well.
He had already obtained Master Lusat's Glintstone Staff.
Comparing the two made their differences immediately apparent.
Lusat's staff was austere—little more than a stone rod topped with dense clusters of deep-blue glintstone for casting.
Azur's staff, by contrast, was strikingly radiant.
The entire staff was formed from a single, brilliant emerald glintstone crystal.
Its lines were smooth and slender, with only a few protruding crystal facets near the top.
The narrow midsection was wrapped in cloth to serve as a grip.
Compared to Lusat's, Azur's staff was undeniably more beautiful.
Perhaps this, too, reflected how Master Azur remained closer to being "human" than Master Lusat.
Both had been equally obsessed with the Primeval Current, both imprisoned by the academy.
Yet Azur clearly understood politics better—and retained more humanity.
Lusat had been sealed away in a lightless cavern, bound by heavy enchantments.
Azur's confinement, by contrast, was lax—an open-air prison where one could even gaze upon the stars.
And the fact that Azur's staff had been left behind in the academy itself spoke volumes.
Sellen gently swung the staff a few times, her smile bright and genuine.
"Perfect. Within this academy, the most suitable—and the finest staff for me is now in hand."
"My apprentice… next comes the time to deal with those detestable sorcerers."