A Great Glintstone Pebble spell directly blasted the roof apart. Shabriri stepped to the side, shaking his head helplessly. "Very well. Then listen to the cries from the depths of the despairing souls."
He hadn't expected this mage to be so aggressive. Many potential believers, even if they didn't convert, would at least hesitate; who just starts attacking immediately? The Lands Between was getting worse and worse, and the dementia-like illness was a reality. Everyone was looking for a way out. A miscalculation, but that was fine too.
Let the flames of chaos ignite here and return to the stage. The victories of the demigods were meaningless; sacrifices should be used to urge the one who could truly become Elden Lord to return sooner.
Bang, bang, bang... The dilapidated wooden doors were pushed open. A dozen figures rushed out of the foul-smelling house, men and women alike, clutching their heads and screaming in agony.
Thorne, who had rushed onto the street, was not the least bit surprised by this scene. Just as expected.
Even if these Frenzied Flame followers hadn't come out, he would have brought Sellen to investigate anyway. Besides, this wasn't as simple as a mere miscalculation. "Countering scheme with scheme, to completely make the Two Fingers lose their patience?" This was equivalent to kicking the Erdtree in the rear, forcing it to take every possible measure to quickly repair the elden ring to suppress these monsters and demons, thereby stirring up this stagnant pool. As it happened, it was easier to fish in muddy waters! But that wasn't his business right now!
The archenemy of the Erdtree had stepped onto the stage of The Lands Between, and there was nothing Thorne could do about it. Seeing some of them let go of their hands to reveal burning eye sockets, he quickly rolled to the side. A golden flame fell from across the street, igniting the wooden house behind him.
Thorne leaped up, blasting a person into shreds with a few Glintstone Pebbles, picked up a pot lid to shield his head, quickly cast 'Magic Shield', and ran toward the south. His reflexes were far more agile than the average mage.
Having left the dozen or so Frenzied Flame attacks behind him, Thorne suddenly stopped when he saw a bald head poking out from a corner nearby. "What are you looking at!" Thorne grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away.
Several balls of golden flame struck the pot lid; fortunately, Thorne had reinforced it with magic beforehand, so it only left a few shallow dents. A chaotic aura surged up his arm, then suddenly vanished. No effect? Oh right, I'm not a Tarnished.
Thorne snapped back to reality, dragged the bald man along, and pondered a layer deeper.
Could it be that their lord must be a Tarnished? Were they working in the shadows, hoping to make the Greater Will summon the Tarnished back?
In plain sight, it wasn't convenient for Thorne to draw his blade. Fortunately, the stumbling Frenzied Flame followers weren't fast and were soon left behind, though that special flame had ignited quite a few houses. The sound of clashing armor came from ahead; the Cuckoo Soldiers were no fools, and their reaction speed was extremely fast. Thorne looked back to see the Frenzied Flame followers still in pursuit, with no intention of hiding.
"Damn it, are they that desperate to be exposed? If you have the guts, go cause trouble in Leyndell!" Thorne cursed under his breath. This was a wild card, because the Frenzied Flame stood against all the lords; heaven only knew what the aftermath would be. Since I've run into it, don't think you'll get your way! He threw the bald man he was carrying forward and asked, "What is your name?"
"Thops, senior," the bald man replied instinctively. He hadn't fully recovered his senses yet; he only knew that his life had been saved.
Before he could ask anything, a round object was tossed in front of him. He caught it reflexively, only to find it was a tattered pot lid. "Cover me!" Thorne didn't waste any words, simply raising his staff. The emblem appeared, held in check but not released, as he continuously poured magic into it according to Sellen's teachings.
A glob of golden flame streaked through the air. Thops hurriedly blocked in front, but the Magic Shield had already failed. Just as he was about to be hit, he gritted his teeth, raised the staff in his left hand, and released a faint blue ripple.
The two Frenzied Flame attacks touched it and were deflected directly to the side. Seeing this miraculous scene, Thorne didn't ask questions and immediately swung his staff. Glintstone Arc! A crescent several times larger than the previous one flew out. It didn't sweep toward the enemies in front, but instead grazed the houses on the left side of the alley.
With a series of creaking sounds, the already dilapidated wooden houses collapsed directly.
Crash— The building rubble filled the narrow alley, burying those figures under a thick pile of debris. In an instant, nothing could be seen.
The sound of clashing armor drew closer, and a squad of Cuckoo Soldiers finally appeared. They were stunned to see the mage standing before the ruins, completely unaware of what had happened. Hoo... Thorne exhaled a breath of stale air and looked up slightly. The priest was still standing in the distance, but this time his gaze was no longer calm. It was a twisted, frenzied anger, as if a long-planned entrance had been ruined by someone. But when he saw the Cuckoo Knight pushing past the soldiers to approach, his forward step faltered, his knees bent, and he vanished in an instant.
"Scumbag, unwilling to take any risks yourself?" Thorne sneered.
No matter how strong this guy was, he wouldn't dare to cause trouble at the foot of Raya Lucaria Academy.
But recalling that gaze, his smile turned bitter. Great, I've made an enemy of another faction!
The setting sun shone on the ruins. The Cuckoo Soldiers were doing the difficult work of clearing it, digging out charred, twisted corpses and laying them aside. But those burning eyes had long since turned to charcoal, and from the outside, one couldn't tell what was wrong with them at all.
Thops had already been called aside for questioning. Since Thorne had given him a heads-up beforehand, the bald man naturally blamed everything on the dementia-like illness. As for why over a dozen lunatics had suddenly appeared—would a great mage lie to you!?
Regardless of whether they were lunatics or if the mage had committed a massacre on a whim, the Cuckoo Knights had no right to interfere. They only dared to gather information from Thops, a trainee apprentice, while Thorne sat by the ruins, cup of tea in hand, quietly lost in thought.
He wouldn't say he was lucky, but he could certainly be called unlucky to the extreme. He had just fled Caria after making an enemy of the Black Knives, and hadn't even been at Raya Lucaria Academy for a few days before making another enemy of a hidden faction.
Thinking back to an hour ago, he had been happily eating charcoal-grilled crab in the dining hall, and now he had to contemplate life beside the ruins.
"But I had to do it. These Frenzied Flame followers were clearly meant to be sacrifices, and the subsequent impact is impossible to estimate." The town was too prosperous.
Once it became a big deal, even if Raya Lucaria Academy wanted to cover it up, the news of the Frenzied Flame's appearance would spread throughout The Lands Between and eventually reach the ears of the Two Fingers.
The war between the demigods had dragged on without result, instead smashing the foundations of the Golden Order to pieces. That was one thing, but now that the Frenzied Flame had jumped out, would the demons and monsters conquered in the past begin to revive one after another? No one dared to gamble. In such desperation, the demigods could be discarded.
Whoever could repair the elden ring, ascend the throne, and restore order would do, even if it were one of those suspicious Tarnished! "Anyway, I've already helped. Whether the Tarnished return or not has nothing to do with me."
Thorne knew Shabriri would still cause trouble; no one could stop him.
"Sir, you may leave."
The sound of iron boots stomping on the ground came, and a tall knight stood by his side.
Thorne set down his teacup, stood up, and brushed the dust off his clothes: "Has everything been investigated?"
"It is confirmed to be patients with the dementia-like illness."
"I have reported the relevant situation to the Academy, but there is something I would like to ask of you." The knight rubbed his hands together, a gesture that spoke volumes. "Please do not let today's events leak out."
Afraid of affecting tax revenue? Thorne understood immediately. If people died in the town every day, who would risk doing business there? He and the knight were in perfect agreement. "No problem." With the arrogance typical of a mage, Thorne turned and left.
With a greed for money, Shabriri's debut performance was destined to be silent and unnoticed. The minor farce did not affect the town's prosperity. Thorne and Thops walked on the road back to the Academy. The bald man peeked at him from time to time; clearly, that life-and-death sprint had left a deep impression. Reflexes, physical fitness, magic control—they were all so strong. Is this what a traveling mage is like?
Thops looked to the side with some yearning, fantasizing about one day being just as powerful. Thorne turned his head directly. "Do you have a question?"
Thops swallowed. He looked burly, but he was actually introverted. He hesitated and asked, "Senior, why couldn't we tell the truth just now?"
"I don't know, just a feeling. Didn't you see that those knights didn't want to make a big deal out of it either?" Thorne immediately shifted the blame.
"W-why?"
"If it gets blown out of proportion, the town's economy will be affected, and the Academy's income will plummet. If there isn't enough funding, how do you think the Academy will cut expenses?"
Thops immediately stopped talking. Naturally, by expelling useless waste like him.
Seeing him like this, Thorne knew there was no problem. Cheap arguments only rely on lies, but true persuasion should consider the other party's perspective. This way, Thops wouldn't dare to speak the truth, either. The two walked into the Academy gate in silence. At this moment, Thorne suddenly asked, "What was that magic you used earlier?" He was sure he hadn't misread it; that blue magic ripple had pushed the Frenzied Flame to the side like a wave.
After confirming the bald man's identity, he actually already knew what it was. "A—a little trick, please don't tell anyone else about it."
Thops' eyes were very nervous. "Is it top secret? If you need to protect your intellectual property, you don't have to tell me."
"No, I just feel it's not presentable. I usually just mess around with it, and it hasn't formed into a system yet." The man scratched his head, even though there wasn't a single hair on it. This apprentice clearly had superb aptitude, yet he was overly insecure. Thorne patted him heavily on the shoulder and laughed, "Cheer up. I think you have great potential; you might even become a great mage!"
"R—really?"
Thops turned around in shock. He watched Thorne remove his hood, his face solemn.
"Absolutely true. I have met many people since leaving the Academy, and I have never heard of anyone who could develop a new magic system."
"But that's just a little trick. It might not even be able to block a Glintstone Pebble."
"Everything is difficult at the beginning. How about this: I will help you complete your work. In a sense, you could become my teacher."
Thops waved his hands repeatedly. How could he dare?
This person was his senior, a student of that genius sorceress, and a ruthless character who could slaughter a dozen people without blinking.
And he, himself, was nothing but a piece of waste.
"Don't take me for a joker; the learned one is the master." Thorne gripped his hand and said word by word: "Starting tomorrow, I will teach you magic theories you haven't been exposed to, and together we will complete that Thops Barrier."
Thops was stunned. With Thorne's status, how could he refuse? Not to mention he had never felt his little trick was anything special.
Besides, if he did it himself, he didn't know how many years of service he would have to perform to perfect the theory.
Thops Barrier... He repeated the words over and over. Mages could be considered scientists; no matter how much effort Thorne contributed, the intellectual property belonged to him. This was practically a pie falling from the sky. Oh, Erdtree, the good deeds I've done for so many years have finally been rewarded.
The burly man's eyes grew moist. He gripped Thorne's hand tightly, as if grasping a lifeline, and nodded heavily.
"Everything is as you say, senior!" Done.
Thorne walked with a light step along the third-floor corridor, his mood instantly improving. No one understood Thops' value better than him; his theory was enough to pioneer a sixth magic classroom. By a stroke of luck, this uncut gem was now in his hands.
"The final product will be able to deflect all magic and incantations. But I must be careful; if it leaks out, there's no guarantee the Academy won't play dirty. I'll be able to run away, but Thops will be doomed." He knew the cruelty of the world deeply.
Some great inventions touched upon the fundamental interests of others and would be erased while still in their infancy. No matter how many ideas Thops had, he was just a low-level magic apprentice himself. "At the very least, I have the strength and knowledge of a formal mage, which can greatly accelerate the development speed. By then, I'll have gained another trump card." Thorne stopped. He saw the door ahead was already open. The sorceress was leaning against the doorframe, holding the chin of her glintstone mask with her hand, clearly having been waiting for a long time.
"Apprentice, I only gave you half a day off, so why did you run out and cause trouble?" Sellen's tone carried a chilling sense of amusement.
"I'd like to know why, too." Thorne spread his hands, deliberately pretending to be exhausted. "I'm very tired today. Can I go and rest?"
"Obviously not. You still have seventeen magic control exercises to do, five papers on advanced glintstone theory to read, and you have to help me complete the 4-6 classifications for that shitty project."
"Stop, stop, stop." Thorne's head throbbed.
He thought he could forget about sleeping tonight, but he couldn't win against Sellen, so he had to rub his hair. "What else is there? Just say it all at once."
Sellen stood up straight, patted her stomach lightly, and turned to walk into the room. "And your teacher is hungry. Go make dinner."
The glintstone lamp illuminated the dark night. The small room was piled with various books and experimental apparatus.
Facts proved that the speed at which Thorne cleaned could not keep up with the speed at which Sellen made a mess; in just a mere half-day, she could fill every corner with all sorts of chaotic things.
The sorceress took off her mask. Her azure eyes darted quickly, flipping a page every few seconds, absorbing knowledge with immense focus. Indeed, bearing the name of a genius required personal effort as well.
Thorne poked his head out from the kitchen and happened to see the focused Sellen.
One had to admit that this woman was unconstrained and loved to boss people around, but she was extremely obsessed with researching magic, often forgetting to eat.
A few times, he woke up on the wooden chair to see Sellen slumped over the table, looking like a corpse.
I really don't know how she's survived until now.
Thorne shook his head and walked over to set down the plate. On the plate was a mass of ominous black substance, with a few hideous fish heads garnished on top.
Can't be helped. Thorne was an expert at hacking people, but he was truly not good at cooking.
"What is this?"
Sellen put down her book and leaned over to sniff it. "It smells quite appetizing."
Thorne was already accustomed to this teacher's unique taste and said with a straight face: "Stir-fried fish head with eggs. I've named it 'Stargazer Pie'."
"Good name." Sellen tossed the magic book aside, picked up a spoon, and ate a bite of the black substance called 'egg'. While eating, she nodded: "Hmm, you, as an apprentice, are a bit stupid, but your cooking skills are not bad. Later, when you've learned enough, you can go help in the Academy kitchen."
I'm afraid I'd be hunted down by the entirety of Raya Lucaria... Thorne had ten thousand complaints bottled up in his heart that he couldn't say out loud. He sat back down on his chair, gloomy, to read the paper.
Just after reading a few pages, he heard Sellen nagging nearby again.
"You killed some people today, didn't you."