In the cellar beneath the Waypoint Ruins, he descended the uneven stone steps, moving slowly into the damp darkness below.
Today, he wore a set of Astrologer's robes.
He had deliberately purchased them from a nomadic merchant before coming here.
After all, he was visiting his magic teacher.
He had to at least look the part.
At the deepest end of the cellar was a hidden chamber. There were no lamps, but the faint glow of glintstone crystals embedded in the walls—along with a few dim candles—served as the room's only source of light.
Two massive bookshelves stood against the walls, overflowing with tomes. Loose pages and scattered manuscripts littered the floor. Every book here concerned magical research.
At a wooden desk sat a woman wearing a strange helmet shaped like a stone mask.
She wrote furiously, as if possessed by an endless stream of ideas.
"Sorceress Sellen?"
"Ah, it's you, my apprentice. Give me a moment. I'll be done shortly."
This woman was his magic teacher—Sorceress Sellen.
Yet even after hearing his voice, Sellen did not lift her head. Her attention remained fixed on the parchment before her, as though she had just glimpsed the secrets of magic itself.
He didn't interrupt her.
Instead, he found a place to sit and quietly waited.
This was far from the first time.
Every time he came here, Sellen was either researching magic… or on her way to research magic.
Incidentally, although she always wore that peculiar helmet, judging from her voice, she was still quite young.
And among everyone in the Lands Between, she was the one who had treated him the best—expecting nothing in return.
Sadly…
Her ending was tragic.
"My apprentice, sorry to keep you waiting."
After some time, a pair of delicate, pale feet entered his field of view.
He slowly raised his head.
Sorceress Sellen stood before him.
"Ah, it's fine. Are you finished with your work, Sorceress Sellen?"
There was something he had always wondered.
Didn't it hurt her feet to stand barefoot on this floor?
There were glintstone fragments scattered everywhere.
Even if this was only a projection of her, her real body didn't wear shoes either…
Still, out of courtesy, he had never asked.
"Hmm… my research has reached a small bottleneck for the moment…"
Sellen fell silent briefly before abruptly changing the subject.
"The Glintstone Pebble I taught you earlier—how is your practice coming along? Cast it. Let me see."
"Oh."
At his teacher's request, he immediately stood up.
Drawing Lusat's Glintstone Staff, he swung it lightly.
A sigil of the Academy of Raya Lucaria appeared before him, and three azure magic projectiles formed instantly, each trailing long arcs of light as they shot forward.
Boom!
The far wall collapsed under the impact. Even the structural pillars inside the ruin were partially shaved away by the blast.
"…"
Was that really Glintstone Pebble?
Sellen suddenly felt her worldview wobble.
"Sorceress Sellen, how was it?"
Yes.
That expression again.
"…Ahem… yes…"
Sellen snapped back to reality at his voice, clearing her throat before continuing.
"As I suspected, your talent is extraordinary. Among everyone I have seen, your aptitude is easily the best."
Ever since their first meeting, Sellen had always said this.
Yet even during those earliest days, when he truly was clumsy with magic, she never abandoned him.
Even when he struggled to learn the most basic spells, she patiently guided him step by step.
Her words could be stern, but her heart was soft.
And she would often encourage him.
He still remembered it clearly.
Back then, learning just a single glintstone spell had taken him over half a month.
Those days were probably the happiest he had experienced in the Lands Between.
"But remember this, my apprentice," Sellen continued, "even with such talent, do not grow arrogant. In the field of magic, you are still an infant—immature, barely learning to walk. Only by recognizing your own immaturity can you become a proper sorcerer."
He didn't argue.
In fact, he agreed completely.
To him, magic was currently nothing more than a tool.
A tool for killing enemies.
But magic itself was far more than that.
At its core, magic was knowledge.
Its practical application was merely the most superficial layer.
And sorcerers themselves were a group of obsessive seekers—madmen driven to uncover truth and hidden knowledge.
Those who studied deeply enough could even create entirely new spells.
For example, Azur's Comet, created by the legendary Primeval Sorcerer Azur.
But those who glimpsed the origins of magic…
Rarely met good endings.
"By the way, my apprentice," Sellen said suddenly, "let me see that staff you're holding."
"Of course."
He handed Lusat's Glintstone Staff to her.
"Oh… this is Professor Lusat's staff…"
Sellen examined it carefully, her gaze filled with nostalgia.
Then she looked back at him.
"If you have obtained this staff, then you must have visited Sellia—the town of sorcery consumed by scarlet rot. And you must have found Professor Lusat imprisoned there, correct?"
"Yes, I saw him," he replied calmly. "But he was sealed by magic. I couldn't free him."
His tone carried a trace of sadness.
In truth, he had told a small lie.
In this cycle, he had deliberately avoided meeting Lusat—even though he knew exactly where the sorcerer was imprisoned.
It felt somewhat unfair to Lusat.
But at least it would delay the day when Sorceress Sellen turned into that grotesque sphere.
"Is that so… I see…"
Sellen glanced up at the ceiling for a moment before returning the staff to him.
"My teacher, I have a question."
"Good. A desire for knowledge is the first step toward becoming a true sorcerer. Go on."
"My teacher… what exactly is the essence of glintstone sorcery?"
If he couldn't understand this…
There was no way he could change her fate.
That form… that grotesque transformation…
After reading the Necronomicon, he had noticed something disturbingly similar to the concept of assimilation described there.
"…Sigh."
Hearing his question, Sellen sighed deeply, sounding almost frustrated.
"My apprentice… I explained the origins of glintstone sorcery during our previous lesson. Did you truly forget?"
"Well, I will explain it again."
Though she sounded slightly annoyed, she patiently began once more.
"Glintstone is the amber of the stars. And glintstone sorcery is the study of the stars—and the life that dwells among them."
"That's not what I mean, my teacher."
He shook his head.
"What I want to know is… is the essence—or the origin—of glintstone sorcery really that simple?"
He was not a professional sorcerer.
Even if he wanted to explore these mysteries, he lacked the foundation to do so.
Even during the Age of Stars he had spent with Ranni across countless cycles, he had never fully deciphered the truth.
If glintstone sorcery were truly as simple as Sellen described…
Then why did she ultimately transform into that indescribable spherical creature?
What exactly was the origin of glintstone sorcery?
Why did it resemble the aftermath of encountering an Outer God—like one's sanity had collapsed and the body had been assimilated into something incomprehensible?
Even the Golden Order fundamentalist incantation—Law of Regression—could only restore a tiny fragment of Sellen's consciousness.
Why?
Why did this happen?
Unlock 100+ advance chapters on Patreon — every follow inspires me to keep going!
patreon.com/legacyverse1