Thorne hadn't expected to gain more than his three objectives. He followed Sellen and a group of sorcerers from the waterwheel to the second floor, then to their room. Because the commotion was so great, the entire academy was stirred up, with chattering sorcerers everywhere, so the master and apprentice returned to their residence safely without arousing any suspicion. When the door closed, Sellen, who had been calm before, turned her head sharply, locked the door, and asked hurriedly, "How did you do it?"
This was completely beyond imagination; infiltrating the archives was impossible, not to mention killing Edward and returning completely unscathed. Thorne took off his hood, revealing his soot-blackened face, and smiled slightly. "Teacher, everyone has secrets."
"Forget it if you don't want to say." Sellen waved her hand impatiently without asking further, went to the kitchen, and grabbed a wet towel. "Hurry up and wipe your face clean; the academy will definitely investigate everyone."
"Aren't you going to ask if I succeeded?"
"Sigh, forget it if you didn't get it, as long as you're back..."
Sellen's words trailed off halfway, and she went completely silent. She saw him hold up a burnt notebook and wave it, her eyes widening as if she had seen a ghost. "Y-you got it?"
"Yeah, I rescued it from the fire. Sorry, it still got damaged." Thorne lied without blushing or skipping a beat, and then he saw Sellen rush over in a flash and snatch the notebook from his hands. She was so happy she almost spun around. Since they had known each other, Sellen had never displayed such intense emotion; one could see how great the surprise was.
Even without knowing the extent of the damage, it was better than nothing. She leaned forward, kissed the cover with her red lips, and turned to look at him, her azure eyes full of joy. "Apprentice, your teacher likes this gift very much."
"As long as you like it." Thorne squeezed out a smile, sat down on a chair, and took off his robe.
Sellen was feeling smug, but was stunned when she saw Thorne suddenly undress. She quickly noticed his ribs, which were bruised purple, and blood seeping from his bronze skin. "You're injured? Well, that guy Edward ranks quite high in the Haima Classroom."
She leaned in, observing carefully, her brows furrowing inadvertently: "Three broken ribs, muscle tears—it's a wonder you were able to walk back." Such injuries would have any other sorcerer rolling on the floor in pain, yet she hadn't noticed anything unusual on the way back; his willpower was simply on another dimension. Thorne didn't take the opportunity to show off, just hissed in pain and said, "Do you have medicine?"
"Wait a moment."
Sellen got up to rummage through boxes and cabinets, pulled out a medicine jar, and applied it directly to Thorne. "Perfumer's secret medicine, bear with it."
Her movements were not skilled, even a bit clumsy, but Thorne didn't refuse, letting her do it.
Smelling the scent of Roway leaves and Herpa grass from her hair, Thorne endured the pain and recalled the night's battle. Sellen's actions were enough to earn his trust. The process wasn't ambiguous, or perhaps the pain made it impossible to think of anything else.
For intelligent people, there was no need to question Sellen's choice; their master-apprentice relationship was not as weak as words suggested. They enjoyed the quiet moment, their minds already contemplating the future.
"The academy will definitely investigate everyone this morning. Is there any way around it?" Sellen wrapped bandages around Thorne's waist, her delicate fingers brushing against his skin, giving him a tingling sensation.
The academy wasn't stupid; they would begin the purge immediately. If he had to face those sorcerers directly, Thorne wasn't confident he could get past them.
Between the tingling and the pain, Thorne's mind became even clearer. If the academy reconstructed the traces of the battle, it wouldn't be hard to see it was a bitter fight, and even easier to see the collision of two types of magic. The entire plan had only one flaw: Caria wasn't so wealthy that it could treat a Knight-level powerhouse as a disposable consumable. Before they were sure there were no problems within the academy, they would definitely hold on tight.
Cannot have close contact with sorcerers, at least not until the injuries improve.
Just as Thorne was deep in thought, Sellen had finished bandaging, even tying an ugly bow. "Can you walk? I'll find a way to get you out."
"It's not time to run yet. Besides, if I escape, you won't be able to stay out of trouble." Thorne shook his head; since they trusted each other, he didn't need to hide anymore. "What does you being a spy have to do with me?"
Sellen chuckled and pointed to the staff on the table. "Besides, if I want to leave, they might not be able to stop me!" Oozing dominance, Thorne's teacher was also a ruthless character who wouldn't blink when killing.
"No need to take that risk now." Thorne shook his head again, looked around the room, his gaze fixed on the shelf, and suddenly revealed a meaningful smile. "I finally succeeded, shouldn't you give me a reward?"
"A reward? Now is not the time to talk about that." Sellen frowned slightly, but quickly caught Thorne's gaze and turned to look. Sellen chuckled and pointed to the staff on the table. "Besi..."
On the shelf were gifts from other sorcerers—golden wine produced in Leyndell. She had no interest in such things, just thinking the bottles were pretty, so she kept them as decorations. Her student had repeatedly coveted them, but she had always blocked him with the excuse of 'affecting intelligence'.
But with her intelligence, she immediately realized Thorne's idea. On the way back, he had been wearing the hood of the Olivinus Classroom... "You want to pretend to be drunk to create an alibi?"
"No, I want to be truly drunk."
Thorne propped himself up and stumbled over to get a few bottles of wine. He took the teacup Sellen handed him. The golden liquid gradually filled the cup, and the aroma of wine wafted through the room. Good wine!
Thorne swirled his wine glass and laughed heroically: "A bloody battle, killing, getting drunk—someone once said that these three things combined make for a beautiful affair!" Drink the strongest wine, kill the strongest people, heart beating strong and powerful. With powerful enemies surrounding outside, what did that matter?
Morning light shone in from the window, as if draping a layer of armor over Thorne's bronze skin. Sellen was dazed for a moment, then took a teacup and filled it with the golden wine. "Fine, then I'll try it too."
Clink. The glasses clinked, the strong liquor went down her throat, and Sellen wiped the corner of her mouth, her face slightly flushed.
"How is it?"
The witch blinked, her eyes curving, her shoulders shaking, and she actually laughed. "Not bad!"
Chapter 33: My Apprentice Is a Madman
Knock, knock, knock. Urgent knocking sounded.
Several people, led by a lecturer from the Haima Classroom, arrived in front of Room 211. They were on high alert, with several other sorcerers in different hoods behind them, filled with an emotion called 'panic'. These people had been unaccounted for last night and had to be gathered for questioning one by one. If they had problems, they definitely wouldn't be able to escape, and those few said nothing, only cursing in their hearts.
Some had just gotten up in the middle of the night to use the toilet, then heard the commotion outside and hid in the stalls, too afraid to come out, only to get implicated while doing nothing.
"Lecturer Sellen, please open the door!" The person knocked again, and just as they were getting impatient, the door was finally opened. Sellen was wearing her hood, leaning against the door frame, and asked unhappily: "Making noise in the middle of the night, now making noise again, can't people sleep?" The Battlemage of Haima was stunned; he smelled a distinct scent of wine.
"You've been drinking?"
Some had just gotten up in the middle of the night to use th...
"I have class this afternoon, can't I have some wine to help me sleep?"
"Of course."
The Battlemage of Haima didn't dare to provoke this eccentric genius witch. He took a list from his companion and asked directly, "Is your student Roland Heinberg here? We need to check his whereabouts last night."
"He can't come."
"Why?"
Sellen had no intention of covering for him, simply stepping aside. "Go see for yourself."
The suspicious sorcerer stepped into the room and immediately frowned. The room was filled with a heavy smell of wine, and sorcerers rarely drank, as they needed to keep a clear head.
They soon saw Thorne lying on a long chair, wrapped in a quilt. His face was flushed red, and he was snoring like thunder — at a glance, it was clear he was dead drunk.
If it were an academy sorcerer, there would definitely be suspicion, but Thorne was a wandering sorcerer who had been recalled; that group of oddballs could do anything.
The few looked at each other. Such a drunkard couldn't have gone out in the middle of the night to launch an attack. Not to mention, this person's reputation had always been good. He never caused trouble, his magic level was average, and he heard Professor Oritis was even preparing to use him as a model for the oddballs.
Just as they were thinking about whether to wake him up to go through the procedure, the leading lecturer suddenly noticed a detail. Although Sellen was wearing her hood, her clothes were slightly disheveled.
He also saw two hairy legs sticking out from the quilt and a sorcerer's robe thrown casually on the floor, and suddenly understood. Where there are people, there are desires. The academy was full of unspoken rules, and unspoken rules shouldn't be exposed. 'No wonder these two are always stuck together and often don't leave their room for days. But this Roland is really something, to be able to take down Sellen.'
The Haima lecturer had heard some rumors, turned around, and nodded at Sellen. "You should know, wandering sorcerers cannot stay for long."
"What are you trying to imply?"
Sellen asked coldly, looking like she was ready to explode a moment ago.
"Just a friendly reminder."
The lecturer saluted, gestured for his subordinates to leave, and very carefully closed the door. Click. The sound of the door lock closing came.
Thorne, who had just been fast asleep, immediately opened his eyes. He pulled back the quilt, holding star-frost in his hand. If the lecturer had lifted the quilt to check, this blade would have been plunged into the other's throat, and then Sellen would have killed everyone else.
"Finally gone." Thorne sat up and yawned.
"I thought you were really drunk."
Sellen handed him a cup of tea and pointed to the empty bottle on the table.
"My tolerance for alcohol is not something ordinary people can compare to."
Thorne took the tea and drank a sip, admiring sincerely: "But it's thanks to you that you could think of this, actually fooling them like that."
"It's nothing, I just understand this group of fallen people too well. Obsessed with the flesh, how could they ever explore the truth."
Sellen gave a disdainful snort, took off her hood, revealing her still slightly flushed face.
She sat on the chair, gently swinging her fair legs, and asked: "But apprentice, shouldn't you tell me the truth, like who you really are."
"Thorne Wright, a Carian Knight of Honor." Thorne replied immediately.
The two of them had a relationship forged in life-and-death, so there was nothing to hide.
"Carian?" Sellen widened her eyes slightly, then quickly returned to normal. "That's right, only the Royal Family would cause trouble for the academy. But when did a weirdo like you pop up in Caria? If you had been there earlier, the Royal Family wouldn't have left with their tails between their legs."
"I don't have such powerful strength."
"But you're ruthless enough." Sellen interrupted.
The more she looked at this apprentice, the more she liked him. She didn't shy away from anything and asked directly: "What did the Royal Family send you here for? If it's to rescue Rennala, go back early; she no longer has any judgment."
Thorne stood up, looking down at Sellen. She was disheveled, and one could see her delicate collarbone and a deep cleavage, but he only glanced at it and returned to normal.
"No, it's something even crazier."
Something even crazier? Sellen was stunned, seemingly thinking of something, and simply covered her head and laughed out loud: "Is that princess that crazy? Under the light of the Erdtree, even thinking about it is a sin, and she actually dares to put it into practice!"
Laughing aside, deep down she still felt a bit of admiration, like a madman cherishing another madman.
"Apprentice, I don't know exactly what to do, but sorcerers and the Carian Royal Family share the same origin, and their fates come from the stars. But after the Starscourge War, the stars were fixed, and our fates were all bound. If that princess wants to move forward, she must break the shackles."
"Then how do we make fate flow again?" Thorne focused intently.
"Kill General Radahn." Sellen spat out the words, then spread her hands. "But that's impossible. That's the strongest demigod; he could kill a hundred Edward Bells. By the way, do you know why I went to find this notebook?"
"Because it's impossible to kill Radahn, and after this path was blocked, you wanted to approach the primeval current from another direction."
"Smart. Even if you have to abandon everything, you must stay alive. Without a life, what is there to approach the primeval current with?" Sellen snapped her fingers, about to criticize Thorne for his whimsical thinking, when she saw the thoughtful expression on the man in front of her. She couldn't help but slowly open her mouth wide. "Hey, you don't actually want to kill Radahn, do you!"
Thorne came back to his senses, looked at his teacher, and revealed the same ferocious smile he'd worn before leaving last night. "If you don't try, how would you know?"
Sellen walked toward the classroom. As a probationary lecturer, she still had to teach a few classes every week. While walking, she muttered, "I seem to have taken a madman as an apprentice?" A sorcerer with average strength actually wants to go and kill Radahn — the difficulty of that was no less than a beggar saying he wanted to become the Elden Lord.
If it were really that easy, the two masters, Lusat and Azur, would have done it long ago; why would they have struggled in their pursuit? But she wouldn't mock Thorne. As his teacher, she would support whatever her apprentice did. Of course, she had no interest in going to Caelid to seek death together. Thinking as she went, she pinched her chin and returned to her own path. 'Damn it, the most critical part of that notebook happened to be burnt. Now the clue is broken, how am I supposed to pursue the primeval current?'
Sellen was very annoyed.
After preparing for so long, to get such a result — if you said it wasn't a success, Thorne had gone to great lengths to bring the notebook back for her; if you said it was a success, the thing obtained after so much hard work had no decisive effect. She was depressed, but couldn't blame anyone, so she walked to the classroom door feeling gloomy. But at this moment, she saw someone, and her eyebrows knitted together involuntarily. That person was standing at the door, wearing a magic professor's robe, and no one dared to approach within five meters. Hearing footsteps, he turned and walked over.
"Lecturer Sellen, I have been waiting for you for a long time."
"Seluvis, what are you here for?" Sellen acted as if she had encountered a bedbug and didn't really want to deal with him. "I heard some annoying rumors and always felt things were suspicious. A woman like you couldn't possibly be interested in an apprentice, right?" Seluvis spread his hands as if to embrace her, and seeing Sellen step back in disgust, he froze in place.