What exactly was a "Vlog"? It was a term Stella had never heard before.
She frowned slightly, puzzled. It sounded like some kind of abbreviation for "real-time recording"… did Luluwo and her team just make it up?
"It's fine if you don't understand what 'live recording' means. This is just footage of our adventure anyway—mainly for those who can't get in, so they can watch for fun."
Using a chain, Luluwo lifted the recording crystal high into the air, letting it capture the entire scene.
What a familiar place—wasn't this Academy Gate Town?
Aside from the members of the team, there were also a few unfamiliar faces in the footage. They seemed to be adventurers as well, wandering around the town.
Back in the old Sein Dungeon, encounters like this—running into other teams—were rare. But in Liurnia of the Lakes, it had become completely normal.
"This place is called Academy Gate Town. It's protected by the bonfire—I think we can call it a safe zone." Luluwo strolled through the town as the camera followed her.
"It's pretty spacious, and there are lots of empty houses. They look livable, but we were worried the roofs might collapse, so we set up a tent near the bonfire instead."
She pushed open the door to one of the houses. Although the structure leaned slightly, it hadn't collapsed and could still block the wind and rain.
The walls were covered in shells and moss. Because of the bonfire, the lake water had receded, leaving those small organisms behind—now lifeless, but forming a strange kind of decoration.
The interior was dim. These houses had no clear layout—no separate rooms like a living room or bedroom. Just a single open space, probably enough to fit three or four tents. Not very large.
There should have been bigger houses once, but most had already collapsed and were beyond repair.
"If these damaged houses were fixed up, people could probably live here again and have warm homes. We don't have the energy for that, though. If the Count happens to be watching this… maybe consider it?"
She picked up a bronze plate from the ground and began describing how she imagined people had once lived here.
Luluwo wasn't exactly a great storyteller. Stella watched the entire thing with a blank expression, completely unmoved.
This recording was clearly aimed at people who didn't have the time or energy to explore but were still curious about the dungeon. So it only gave a brief introduction to Academy Gate Town and its surroundings, focusing more on unusual or eye-catching details.
The video lasted about ten minutes. For Stella—who had already been there twice—it wasn't interesting at all.
But for newcomers, it would probably be a hit.
The other recording crystals contained similar content, all labeled with a rather strange title:
"What It Looks Like When the Skyrim Team Challenges Liurnia of the Lakes."
…Who even came up with that name?
Each crystal represented a different location: Academy Gate Town, the Glintstone Dragon's Nest, the checkpoint at the foot of the academy…
And—inside the academy!?
Stella's eyes lit up immediately.
That last one was clearly the most valuable.
"I remember… we took the left path."
Back then, she and Leon had entered the academy together. Faced with five routes—front, left, right, up, and down—they chose the left.
That decision turned out to be a mistake.
The combat intensity there far exceeded anything outside. Monsters with various resistances appeared—individually not that strong, but certain attacks barely affected them. Combined with environmental interference, they became extremely troublesome.
And it wasn't just physical damage.
There were plenty of mental attacks as well—waves of confusing magic constantly bombarded them.
One encounter remained especially vivid in her memory.
As they walked, a sorrowful flute suddenly echoed in their ears.
In an instant, dense fog swallowed them.
Within it, numerous spirit-like monsters appeared—most resembling emaciated, frenzied humans, mixed with dual-blade white apes.
They suspected it was an illusion.
Normally, killing the caster would dispel it—but in that thick fog, they couldn't find the source.
The enemies weren't particularly strong, but there were too many.
Exhausted, they ultimately chose to retreat.
It was their first retreat in the lake region.
And it left a bitter taste.
That flute-playing monster had to be incredibly powerful.
But that wasn't the only thing that broke her mentally.
There was also the boss fight.
At the end of the left path, they encountered the boss: Crystalian.
After struggling through countless obstacles, they finally reached the boss room.
It was enormous—so large that the Crystalian looked like a tiny ant in the distance.
Then they understood why.
That damn thing could teleport.
They chased it with everything they had, finally getting close—only for it to instantly blink to the other end of the room.
Again and again.
They were being toyed with like dogs.
At certain intervals, the Crystalian would unleash a massive, room-wide magic attack.
You'd think it used crystal magic, right?
After all, "crystal" was in the name.
Wrong.
It activated countless stone insects clinging to the ceiling—each firing lasers.
The entire room was covered.
No blind spots.
Just like those cursed laser bugs from that infamous DLC.
Even if you survived the barrage, they would switch to sniper mode—bombarding you with rapid, high-damage shots.
Add in the teleporting Crystalian, plus some unknown but extremely intense orchestral music in the background—
The whole fight felt like being roasted alive.
Disgusting. Infuriating.
Stella's team challenged the Crystalian three times.
Three times.
And they failed every single attempt.
Why not try again?
Because they spent too long on the boss.
All the monsters they had cleared along the way respawned.
At that point… what was even the point?
They packed up and left.
Before leaving, they tried to level up at the bonfire—
Only to find that all their souls were gone.
In short, it was an absolutely miserable experience.
Truly awful.
Stella had often wondered—had they missed something? Why was it so difficult?
But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't figure it out.
Five people challenging what was essentially a hundred-player dungeon—
Of course it would be hard.
That was why she was now extremely interested in Luluwo's exploration.
She wanted to see how they managed to keep recording under such intense combat conditions.
As if guided by fate, Luluwo's team chose the right path.
Which meant Stella could finally observe an unexplored route.
"Hurry up… let me see how badly you suffer."
A slightly bloodthirsty smile appeared on her face.
She couldn't wait to watch Luluwo and her team struggle.
It was like someone who had stepped into a river and gotten their shoes soaked—now wanting everyone else to drown too.
However…
After watching for a while—
Stella's face turned red.
Not from embarrassment.
From anger.
"Why is it so easy for them!?"
Her furious shout echoed through the small house.
The next day, Wienma suddenly received a message from Stella.
They would depart today.
"Why so sudden?"
Though puzzled, Wienma quickly prepared and led the elves to the dungeon portal.
People pointed and whispered as they passed—these elves had already gained a reputation for causing trouble.
Before long, Stella arrived.
Fully equipped.
Expressionless.
Normally, she would have been sensitive to the gazes around her—but today, she ignored them and greeted the group.
"Why are there only nine of you?" she asked.
"There's a limit to how many people can teleport at once," Melga replied with a smile. "So we sent the others to Val City ahead of time. The ones here are the elites."
Liznai wanted to say something, but after seeing Stella's mood, she quietly held back.
Stella nodded, scanned the group, then said to Wienma:
"Let's go."
"Don't push yourself too hard," Wienma said gently.
She could sense something off.
…Resentment?
Their goal was clear: get assigned mentors first, then head to the lake region.
As for when they'd return—that was uncertain.
But just after entering the Firelink Shrine and stepping onto the elevator to the Endless Corridor—
Something unexpected happened.
"Where's Kuripa?" Stella suddenly asked.
Everyone froze.
They hadn't even noticed someone was missing.
Kuripa—the elves' famous gourmet and chef.
The same one who had been sneaking into people's homes to eat their potted plants.
"I think I know where he went," Stella sighed. "Forget him. Let's move on."
The journey ahead proved one thing:
Numbers mattered in dungeon exploration.
With more companions, the sense of security increased dramatically.
Finding teleport permits was easy.
Soon, everyone had one.
They even developed a new tactic against puppet soldiers—Use hardened vines to lock their joints.
If the joints couldn't move, the puppet was useless.
One by one, everyone activated their permits and vanished in flashes of light.
Except Wienma.
From beneath her long skirt, a vine extended, wrapping around a puppet's remains and pulling it back.
Crunch.
Crunch.
After a series of unpleasant sounds, she frowned slightly—then activated her permit.
"What happened just now?" Stella asked after arriving.
Wienma only smiled, offering no explanation.
"My heavens… by the glow of magic—so many students!?"
The sub-mentor hat was startled by the sudden influx of elves, but quickly became delighted and began assigning mentors.
Since Stella had already been assigned before, she received Orbeck again, gaining the spell Spook, which negated fall damage—though falling from extreme heights still meant death.
Despite their numbers, many elves ended up with the same mentors.
"Sellen…"
Wienma murmured the name, casting a Glintstone Pebble with a thoughtful expression.
Magic from the stars…
Stars were part of nature too.
Nothing embodied "nature" more than the cosmos.
It aligned perfectly with her philosophy.
Originally, they had planned to head straight to the lake after receiving their mentors.
But Wienma changed her mind.
"I want to see the room marked with spades."
No one objected.
After finding the key, they explored each room one by one.
The murals—from the origins of star magic to the academy's rise—remained as awe-inspiring as ever.
"Be careful. There are monsters behind this door," Stella warned before opening the final one.
She still remembered her embarrassing encounter with the mage sphere.
As the door creaked open—
Wienma tapped her staff lightly.
In an instant, strange plants bloomed across the ground.
The mage sphere inhaled the spores—
And fell asleep.
Everyone stared, confused.
Why spare it?
Wienma gazed at the creature, deep in thought.
Silence filled the room.
Then she spoke.
"It was once a mage."
"…What?"
Stella froze.
How could she possibly deduce that?
Even Professor Hades and the others hadn't reached such a conclusion.
But Wienma didn't explain.
Instead, she said:
"Find the Heart Key."
The Heart door was the only one they hadn't opened.
Because they had never found the key.
"There."
Wienma pointed.
Faint glowing footprints flickered across the carpet.
The moment they noticed the group's gaze—
They sped up.
"Chase it!"