"Phew... now that was a thrill..."
Back in his dormitory after a high-speed flight, Mohg let out a long, slow breath. He arched an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips.
He had to admit, that was a significant gamble. One wrong move and he might have been cornered right then and there. But the harvest was more than worth it.
A legendary catalyst—Azur's Glintstone Staff—now belonged to him!
For anyone else, hiding such a conspicuous object would be a nightmare. For Mohg, it was trivial. He simply conjured a small pool of blood and slid the staff inside.
Done. Not a single trace remained.
The only remaining issue was the timing. He was a new arrival at the Academy, and such a major theft had occurred on his very first day. It was almost impossible not to look suspicious.
Well, it looks like it's time to put my acting skills to the test.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before a knock echoed against his dormitory door. Mohg took a moment to adjust his breathing and expression, settling into a mask of mild confusion before opening the door.
"Kuzun?"
The moment the door swung open, a sorcerer wearing a Twinsage Glintstone Crown looked him over, his tone cold and indifferent.
"That is me. Is something the matter?" Mohg asked, his face a perfect picture of curiosity mixed with a hint of concern.
"The Academy requires your cooperation for an investigation. I trust you won't do anything... unnecessary."
"I understand," Mohg replied with a nod. He lifted a stack of books. "But may I put these back first?"
The Twinsage sorcerer glanced at the books, then nodded slowly. "Very well. But stay within my sight."
Once Mohg had placed the items back on their shelves, the sorcerer signaled for him to follow. As they stepped out, another figure emerged from the shadows on the other side of the door—a sorcerer from the Karolos Conspectus. He fell into step behind Mohg.
It seems the Academy is indeed quite suspicious of me...
The Twinsage sorcerer, for his part, felt a private wave of relief at Mohg's cooperation.
And why wouldn't he? He was secretly grateful he didn't have to go toe-to-toe with a potentially dangerous individual. He himself didn't have the skill to bypass every magical ward in the Academy and silently reach the chamber holding Azur's staff—much less kill the Page on guard without a sound. If it weren't for the sudden eruption of mana, who knows how long it would have taken for the theft to be discovered.
A feat like that would usually require a top-tier assassin or thief from the Lands Between.
As a mage, the last thing he wanted was to be in close quarters with a master of that caliber. He hadn't mastered a Glintstone Repulsion Field yet; if Mohg really was the culprit and decided to resist, the sorcerer would likely end up scattered in pieces across the floor.
They moved through several buildings and boarded a lift Mohg hadn't seen before. Eventually, they arrived at a structure heavily fortified with magical wards.
Two Carian soldiers stood guard at the entrance. They only stepped aside after the Twinsage sorcerer produced a specific token of authority.
Inside, Mohg took in the architecture. A long gallery lined with various statues led to an exceptionally spacious hall. He recognized some of the figures—the portraits of the founders of the various conspectuses. Others were unfamiliar.
Two portraits in particular caught his eye: one of Rennala and another of a black-haired woman. Beside them were the likenesses of Lusat and Azur.
This must be a very important site within the Academy.
He felt a flicker of confusion. He had expected to be taken to a dungeon or an interrogation cell, not a place that looked like the Academy's private collection or a memorial hall. To be honest, this place looked more like a proper library than the Grand Library he remembered.
After winding through the labyrinthine building for a while, Mohg was led into a room and left alone. Judging by the layout, he knew it wouldn't be long before someone arrived to question him.
Playing the part, Mohg shifted in his seat with practiced unease, allowing a look of trepidation to settle on his face.
"What do you think?" Ward asked, turning to his friend Migule, a professor of the Karolos Conspectus.
"About what? Whether he's the culprit?" Migule glanced at Ward. "The timing is certainly suspicious, occurring right as he entered the Academy. But I doubt anyone would be that stupid. Besides, didn't you already send men to search his room and verify his movements since he arrived?"
Migule accurately summarized all of Ward's recent actions.
"I know what's on your mind. You're thinking about those fanatics of the Primeval Current, aren't you?"
"Who else?" Ward sat heavily in a chair, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Those people are the greatest threat to our Academy. As for Caria or the Erdtree... they are tolerable entities. They don't interfere with our true interests."
It was as Ward said. After so many years, the Academy was no longer the institution Azur had founded. It had transformed into an arena of status, wealth, and political maneuvering.
While the pursuit of glintstone power remained a focus, most professors had no intention of abandoning their worldly comforts. The Academy provided the resources for their research, but it also provided them with wealth and high social standing.
They could accept rule by any royal house because those rulers needed them; at worst, it just meant their profit margins were slightly slimmer for a time.
But the Primeval Current was different. They were the Academy's original radical faction, obsessed with the true mysteries of magic and the secrets of the stars. Their fanaticism could draw away those who truly sought the depths of glintstone sorcery. Furthermore, the Primeval path required certain... sacrifices. The "Star Seeds" used to create Graven-Masses were, after all, made of sorcerers.
If left unchecked, the Academy's strength would be gutted, and chaos would reign. That was what the leadership could not tolerate.
The Carian Royal Family didn't actually care about the philosophical side of the Primeval Current. Their only concern was the slaughter of sorcerers for research; everything else was irrelevant. In fact, they even wanted to get their hands on the high-powered spells developed by the Primeval faction.
As the motto of the Current went: Pursue the mysteries of magic. They had indeed discovered spells of immense power, but the risks involved were equally catastrophic.
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Elden Ring: As the Consort, I Reject Miquella (369 Chapters – Ongoing)
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