Arthur, holding the source stone he had obtained from Rellana, swiftly returned from Ensis Castle to Stormveil Castle and went to the room where Sellen was.
"Teacher Sellen, I've got a new source stone!"
Arthur excitedly pushed open the door, making Sellen lift her gaze from the book she was holding.
She asked with interest, "Oh? That quickly. Where did you get the source stone from? Carian Manor, or Raya Lucaria Academy? If it's the latter, I still have some personal belongings I didn't manage to take out at the time."
Arthur shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and then told Sellen about Ensis Castle: "Neither, Teacher Sellen, have you heard of Ensis Castle?"
Sellen asked back with a puzzled tone, "Ensis Castle? Is that a city in this world?"
Seeing that Sellen was unaware, Arthur briefly explained the situation of the Shadowland and Ensis Castle to her.
Sellen spoke again with an interested tone, "Interesting. Although I'm not familiar with Ensis Castle, I am very familiar with the once-famous Caria Princess Rellana. So she suddenly disappeared because she abandoned her status in The Lands Between to follow her beloved. At that time, the Academy was in an uproar over this matter, as everyone thought Rellana had been secretly assassinated by those hidden assassins serving the Erdtree."
How much resentment Caria held against the Erdtree...
Arthur sighed, feeling that the Erdtree was inexplicably taking the blame again, and was filled with emotion.
Sellen noticed the expression on Arthur's face and chuckled, saying, "This is not taking the blame. You should know that when Caria and the Erdtree clashed, both sides used every means possible, which naturally included those Black Knife Assassins. At that time, many excellent knights or extremely talented but not yet grown Glintstone Magic users from the Caria Royal Family were silently assassinated by those assassins. Of course, later, Caria's Glintstone Magic users also found a way to counter those assassins and retaliated, which made the Erdtree stop the assassinations."
There was also this?
As soon as Arthur heard about the past he didn't know, his curiosity was instantly piqued by Sellen.
However, Sellen lazily refused, "If you want to hear stories, it's better to come alone next time. The matters of Caria cannot be explained in a few words, and if I let you stay here to listen to my stories, I'm afraid the young lady behind you wouldn't be pleased. Let's get to business; give me the source stone."
Arthur subconsciously turned to look at Melina, who still had a calm expression: "It's alright, I can wait here for you to finish."
Arthur immediately shivered and smiled, "It'll take too long; it'll delay our dinner."
"Heh..." Sellen chuckled, seeing Arthur's demeanor in front of Melina.
Arthur carefully took the source stone from his 懷 and handed it to Teacher Sellen, asking, "Teacher, how long will it take to make the new soul collector? A few days, or?"
Sellen raised her hand, took the two source stones, and casually placed them on the table.
After hearing Arthur's question, she hummed in a very nasal voice, "It won't take that long; it'll be ready in a few minutes."
Arthur's eyes widened in surprise, "That fast?"
Sellen cast a dissatisfied glance at Arthur, and while inscribing runes on the source stone, explained, "Do you take me for some mediocre Glintstone Magic user, my dear apprentice? I have already created a functional soul collector, solving the most difficult problem of going from zero to one. Afterwards, it's just a matter of combining the Glintstone Magic circle I researched with the properties of the source stone itself to quickly create the soul collector you need... Alright, this one is ready to use."
As she spoke, she gently tossed one of the source stones, which had Glintstone Magic runes drawn on it, towards Arthur, making him awkwardly catch it with both hands, fearing it would fall and break.
"Don't be afraid, the stability and sturdiness of the source stone are very strong; it won't even leave a mark if you drop it hard on the ground. Otherwise, why do you think we Glintstone Magic users choose it as a container for our souls? If it breaks with a slight force, then the risk of transferring souls would be too great," Sellen added, noticing Arthur's caution.
However, Arthur still carefully put it away close to his body and replied, "Better safe than sorry; this is one of the truths I learned in The Lands Between. Moreover, the soul collector is related to the speed at which I can summon people and objects from The Lands Between, so it's only right to be cautious."
Sellen hummed in response, picked up the remaining modified source stone, and handed it to Arthur: "Your way of doing things in this regard is completely opposite to your fighting style, but I think what you said is right, just as we Glintstone Magic users must be careful and cautious on the path of researching Glintstone Magic."
After Arthur thanked Teacher Sellen again, he quickly brought Melina out of her room, which was filled with books and Glintstone, before she could dismiss him, returning the quiet to Teacher Sellen.
Melina looked at Arthur, who couldn't help but smile, having obtained two brand-new soul collectors, and asked, "Arthur, what are you planning to do next?"
Arthur didn't even think, and immediately said, "Of course, I'm going to kill orcs and collect their souls."
Then he showed a regretful expression and muttered to himself, "I just don't know if the souls of those orcs who died in the Battle of Lonely Mountain are still on the battlefield, but after so many days, the souls have long since dissipated. It would be great if they were still there."
After Arthur finished speaking, he rubbed his chin again, still thinking to himself and saying, "But are there still many orc gathering places now? Bilbo... he has always lived in a peaceful environment, so he definitely wouldn't know. Or should I ask Thorin, or Gandalf? Ah, Elrond definitely knows; I remember he would occasionally lead the Rivendell's Elven cavalry to patrol and eliminate nearby orcs. Okay, then I'll go to Lonely Mountain to find Thorin first, and after returning, I'll go to Rivendell to find Elrond. It's also a good time for Bilbo to return to Hobbiton, and I can visit his house along the way. It's just a pity I don't know where that old fellow Gandalf is now..."
"Arthur, wake up."
Melina helplessly looked at Arthur, who had inexplicably fallen into self-talk, and gently patted his shoulder, making Arthur's body suddenly jolt.
He looked at Melina apologetically and said, "Sorry, Melina, I accidentally fell into my usual habit of talking to myself again."
Melina gently shook her head, indicating that she was already used to it, and then her eyes, bright like amber, gazed at Arthur and said, "Although I told you your story after you arrived here last night, I still don't quite understand your current situation. Please tell me what you need to do now; I also want to offer you some help."