Lucian turned to Sellen and asked.
"Teacher, where do you plan to go next?"
Sellen shook her head.
"There's nowhere in particular I need to visit. As for the Academy as it is now, there's nothing here that I absolutely must retrieve."
She looked back at Lucian.
"What about you, disciple? Is there anywhere you want to go? I can guide you."
Lucian thought for a moment.
There were countless books within the Academy—surely among them were records, documents, or archived materials.
Raya Lucaria was ancient. It should have preserved written accounts of many historical events.
If he could find textual records like that, they would be immensely helpful for his investigation into the history of the Lands Between.
"Teacher, where are the Academy's archives stored?"
"There are some things I want to look into, about the central region of the Lands Between."
"If you know anything related, you could also just tell me directly."
Sellen frowned slightly at the question.
Within the Academy, magic tomes were everywhere—finding spellbooks was effortless.
There were even vast grand libraries, filled with priceless knowledge.
But when it came to historical records, documents resembling proper chronicles…
She really couldn't recall much.
And as for the central region of the Lands Between—
In her memory, wasn't that just the sea?
Had there once been something there?
"This, I can't answer for you," Sellen said slowly.
"All I know is that it's a stretch of ocean. I've never investigated it."
"But if there's one thing the Academy has more of than anywhere else in the Lands Between, it's books."
"If we're going to search properly, the Grand Library would be the place."
"Most of the Academy's books are kept in the Grand Library where Queen Rennala is confined. Still, there are plenty of reading rooms scattered throughout the Academy."
"I'll take you to one nearby first. If we don't find anything, we can decide what to do next."
Then Sellen suddenly remembered something and looked at Lucian again.
"Oh, right—disciple. Earlier, I only heard you say you were coming to the Academy, so I followed you straight away."
"Now that I think about it, I never actually asked why you came here."
Lucian scratched his head.
Hadn't he said it already?
…No, actually, he really hadn't.
Sellen had been in such a hurry—more eager than even he was, that she never asked.
"This time, I came to the Academy for several reasons," Lucian said.
"First, to purge certain sorcerers and reclaim the Academy."
"I intend to have you take leadership of Raya Lucaria afterward."
"Then, to lift the seal and reopen the Academy to the world."
"I need my collaborator, Ranni, to enter the Academy—to rescue Queen Rennala."
"And finally, through Queen Rennala, to accomplish the most important thing of all."
"I need to use her secret art, Rebirth."
"But don't worry, Teacher. After that, she won't interfere with the Academy in any way."
Sellen hadn't expected that Lucian's goal was to free Queen Rennala.
The Carian Royal Family regarded the Primeval Current as a taboo.
The current fate of the Primeval sorcerers could be said to be largely the result of Carian suppression.
Sellen knew herself well, she repaid grudges without fail.
When she came to the Academy this time, she hadn't ruled out completely destroying the Carian royal line.
…But forget it.
The Queen of the Full Moon had already lost her mind.
There would be no satisfaction in exacting revenge on someone who had already gone mad.
And besides—if her disciple wanted to do this, she would let him.
She wouldn't lay a hand on Queen Rennala.
After all, she was indulgent toward her disciple—perhaps far too indulgent.
Still…
That Lunar Princess Ranni—after vanishing without a trace, had now reappeared?
This foolish disciple of hers hadn't been tricked or manipulated by Ranni, had he?
She'd have to keep a closer eye on things. Better to be cautious than let the boy get led around without realizing it.
Sellen nodded and spoke gently,
"I see. Then go and do what you wish. Your teacher will always support you."
"For now, I'll take you to a nearby reading room. Let's see if we can find the materials you're looking for."
"Are you planning to continue sneaking around? If so, the rest of the route won't be easy."
Lucian glanced at the door sealed by Sellen's glintstone and replied,
"No need. We've already come this far, and had our fun."
"Even with soundproofing, after this much noise, there should be plenty of people outside by now."
"Next, we'll go straight out and deal with them all in one sweep."
From outside the door, the sound of sorceries striking it had been ringing out for some time.
The heavy door was already battered and broken-looking—if not for Sellen's glintstone seal, it would've been pierced through long ago.
Sellen walked over and placed her hand on the glintstone.
With a single motion, the seal dissolved.
Lucian stepped forward and pushed open the classroom door.
The moment it opened, countless sorcerers were waiting outside.
As soon as Lucian appeared, all kinds of sorceries shot toward him.
Multiple Twin Sage sorcerers cast in unison, glintstones filling the air in a chaotic storm.
Lucian merely summoned a windstorm—
And every glintstone was deflected.
The sorcerers outside were momentarily confused.
The Academy's leaders never shared information with the lower-ranking sorcerers, so they knew nothing of the outside world.
They didn't know that the man before them was the rapidly rising "Storm King" Lucian—only that he was likely the intruder.
But when Sellen stepped out from behind Lucian and stood beside him—
Everything became clear.
The sorcerers suddenly understood.
Wasn't this… the Graven Witch, Sellen?!
Sellen looked calmly at the gathered sorcerers and spoke evenly:
"Lay down your staffs and surrender now, and I'll spare your lives."
"Otherwise, your fate won't be as simple as death."
At her words, many sorcerers immediately dropped their staffs and surrendered.
Sellen tilted her head toward Lucian, speaking with a hint of pride:
"Fufu~ Disciple, it seems I still have more influence than you in the Academy."
Lucian smiled.
"Yes, yes. You're certainly famous here."
Infamous also counted as fame.
Sellen caught the implication and shot him a fierce glare.
Daring to undermine his teacher in public, she'd deal with him properly once they were alone.
But for now, the sorcerers in front of them came first.
Though many had surrendered, several continued casting spells during Lucian and Sellen's exchange.
Unfortunately for them, it was pointless.
All their sorceries were firmly blocked by Lucian's windstorm, unable to harm the master and disciple in the slightest.
Sellen looked at the remaining sorcerers and smiled at Lucian.
"Disciple, you once wondered whether glintstone sorcery could be used for anything other than firing glintstones, didn't you?"
"It can. In fact, there are many uses—just not ones ordinary sorcerers ever get to see."
"Today, I'll show you something no spellbook will ever teach."
Lucian's anticipation rose.
Sellen had already demonstrated glintstone used for defense and sealing.
Judging by this setup, she was about to attack.
"The essence of glintstone sorcery is simply transforming magic into something close to the stars."
"What I'm about to do isn't really a spell, it's just the application of magic."
"For example, Glintstone Pebble can generate glintstone directly at a distant location, correct?"
Sellen raised Azur's Glintstone Staff and pointed it at one of the sorcerers still resisting.
That sorcerer sensed danger immediately and began to flee at full speed.
But Sellen's magic had already locked onto him.
A vast, terrifying surge of magical power crushed down on him in an instant.
Under that pressure, the magic within his body spiraled out of control.
Inside his body, Sellen's magic formed a tiny glintstone.
And under her control—
All of his runaway magic was drawn into that single point.
Just as this sorcerer had done countless times before—using magic to form glintstone, this time was no exception.
His sorcery was easily converted into glintstone.
Only this time, the glintstone forming inside his body seemed to have no limit at all.
It greedily devoured magic, swelling and growing without restraint.
Amid agonized screams, dense clusters of blood-soaked glintstone crystals burst out from within his flesh, piercing through skin and bone, riddling his body with holes.
In the end, his entire form resembled an irregular glintstone crystal hedgehog—one that had somehow grown legs and a head.
The dead sorcerer collapsed to the ground, and the glintstone crystals covering him shattered, scattering fragments everywhere.
The sorcerers who had attacked earlier all hastily dropped their staffs, but it was already too late.
Sellen locked onto them all at once and repeated the same technique.
Before long, the corridor was carpeted in broken glintstone shards.
"Disciple," Sellen said calmly,"magic is a remarkably convenient thing."
"But the prerequisite for using it this way is an overwhelming difference in magical power."
"Not a gap of one or two times, but dozens of times greater."
The remaining sorcerers couldn't help but feel a deep, bone-chilling fear.
A witch…
A real witch.
They had only ever heard of Sellen's reputation, never experienced it firsthand.
What unfolded before their eyes now was nothing short of hell.
"Witch…"
One of the surrendered sorcerers let the word slip out unconsciously, voicing the terror in his heart.
When he realized what he'd said, everyone around him recoiled in horror, scrambling away from him as if afraid they might be splattered with blood next.
He dropped to his knees in panic, apologizing over and over.
Sellen didn't spare him a glance.
She simply walked forward with Lucian, passing him by.
Fear was natural.
Calling her a witch was natural too.
Because she truly was the Academy's witch, and she had never denied it.
She had killed many sorcerers in pursuit of the Primeval Current, and she had never believed herself wrong for doing so.
As they walked, Lucian spoke openly, not bothering to avoid the remaining sorcerers.
"Teacher, there's really no need to leave them alive."
"We're about to fully retake the Academy. Once its gates are reopened, countless sorcerers will flock here."
"And even if that fails, restarting magical instruction would quickly produce new sorcerers."
At his words, the remaining sorcerers all shuddered violently.
Sellen shot Lucian a strange look.
"Disciple… don't you think that's a bit extreme?"
"What's there to expect from the sorcerers outside? Most of them were expelled because they lost factional struggles."
"At least the ones still here are somewhat competent."
"You don't think the Academy can function with only a handful of sorcerers, do you?"
"And besides, there's no need to kill purely for the sake of killing."
"Remember this: the ultimate purpose of a sorcerer is the pursuit of magic itself."
Lucian laughed awkwardly and abandoned the idea of a complete purge.
There was no helping it, this was just how Tarnished were.
After all, in the game, you cut down everything in your path. Even dogs didn't escape a kick.
The sorcerers left behind exchanged glances.
Judging by the master and disciple's words, their goal was to take control of the Academy.
Since they'd already surrendered, hiding somewhere afterward should be enough… right?
—
Under Sellen's guidance, Lucian fought his way to a reading room that stored a large collection of books.
Though it couldn't compare to the Grand Library, the sheer number of volumes here still far surpassed Stormveil Castle's library.
And according to Sellen, there were several more reading rooms like this throughout the Academy.
Lucian clicked his tongue.
Raya Lucaria truly lived up to its name as the holy land of sorcery, a temple of knowledge.
No wonder sorcerers everywhere longed to return here.
He searched for a long while, yet still found nothing relevant.
Sellen searched alongside him, far more efficiently—but she too came up empty-handed.
She rested a finger against her chin and shook her head.
"Disciple, it seems we'll have to wait until we reach the Grand Library to find what you're looking for."
"These other reading rooms have plenty of books, but if none are here, the others likely won't have them either."
"There must be something deliberately hidden… otherwise it wouldn't be this difficult to find."
Lucian set down a book he didn't understand why it existed here—Glintstone Crab Breeding and Cooking Guide, and looked back at the shelves.
"Seems that's our only option."
"Let's hope the answers are there."
Sellen was about to reply when she suddenly raised Azur's Glintstone Staff and conjured a glintstone barrier toward one side of the wall.
The next instant, several spells tore straight through the wall, obliterating bookshelves—but all of them were stopped cold by her barrier.
The reading room's wall collapsed along with the shelves, exposing the large force of sorcerers waiting outside.
This time, their numbers were overwhelming.
Not only were the top sorcerers from the other lecture halls present, they had also brought along the most outstanding students from each hall.
Lucian and Sellen had stopped hiding their movements earlier, so their true identities were already known.
Since it was these two, there was no point expecting mercy.
Ordinary sorcerers might survive, but the leaders knew their own lives were forfeit.
If death was inevitable, then all that remained was a desperate counterattack.
"Storm King! To think you're the disciple of that witch!"
"You are strong, but you shouldn't be so arrogant as to face all of us!"
"There are only two of them. The advantage is ours!"
Lucian ignored them completely.
He drew the Sword of Night and Flame and pointed it toward them.
His aura surged forth without restraint, so oppressive that many ordinary sorcerers found it hard to breathe, panic flooding their hearts.
"Those who surrender will not be killed."
"You few... are the exception."
The other sorcerers immediately dropped their staffs and retreated, leaving the leaders standing alone at the front.
In the end, only a dozen or so sorcerers remained.
The leaders had expected this outcome.
At the end of the day, they were all cut from the same cloth—bound together by benefits.
Now, abandoning them to save one's own life was the most natural thing in the world.
They raised their staffs, and the glow of sorcery illuminated the lecture hall.
Dense waves of Spiral Glintstone Shards screamed through the air, drilling power concentrated for armor-piercing devastation.
Comets were unleashed one after another.
From the ceiling rained down vast torrents of crystal fragments, a meteor shower flooding the corridors.
Sorcerers from every hall gave everything they had, unleashing their full arsenals against the lone master and disciple.
Faced with such overwhelming firepower, Lucian didn't dare rely on sorcery alone.
He unleashed every technique at his disposal without restraint.
He himself would survive, but relying only on magic meant he couldn't guarantee Sellen would remain unharmed.
—
Moments later, the sorcerers were torn apart in countless different ways, limbs scattered everywhere.
Several had vanished entirely, burned by searing light into nothing more than shadows scorched onto the walls.
Lucian drank a Crimson Flask, restoring his injuries.
More than half his chest was laid bare, internal organs clearly visible.
These sorcerers were undeniably powerful, especially the top leaders.
And they'd been holding back on each other all this time.
Once they truly fought, each one proved terrifyingly strong—even to the point of shocking their own allies.
That Twin Sage sorcerer earlier—even after stitching his twin onto himself, wasn't considered top-tier among these hall leaders.
The Karolos and Olivinus Conspectuses were the oldest, and their head sorcerers were the strongest.
Their level was comparable to Sellen's, perhaps even surpassing her.
Those two could cast Comet Azur as casually as ordinary attacks, with defenses that left almost no openings.
They were already at the level of top-tier heroes, capable of threatening even demigods who bore Great Runes.
No wonder they'd dared to send puppet soldiers to harass Stormveil Castle.
If Godrick had been here, he'd probably have been riddled with holes in no time.
Even the other demigods wouldn't have fared well taking these sorceries head-on.
Only Queen Rennala—overwhelmingly powerful herself, and wielding Full Moon sorcery that directly countered glintstone, had been able to suppress them so completely.
That was why they'd only dared to move after the Queen lost her mind.
But now, none of that mattered anymore.
They all lay dead at Lucian's feet.
At this point, the entire upper leadership of Raya Lucaria Academy had been completely wiped out by Lucian.