"I value you highly, and our previous collaboration was quite pleasant. I would hate to see some inexplicable wandering sorcerer ruin this relationship."
The sorcerers attending class gave him a wide berth. They not only feared the professor's authority but also felt an instinctive revulsion toward him. Seluvis was fond of witches. It wasn't desire, but something darker and more profound—as if he wanted to turn these witches into his own puppets. Given his vile personality, hearing the rumors about Sellen, whom he had his eye on, made him rush over to interrogate her.
This wasn't romantic affection, but rather the possessiveness one feels toward an object.
"Make no mistake, Seluvis," Sellen leaned in and whispered into his ear, "I am not one of your puppets. If you try to cross me, I will kill you first!"
With that, she walked into the classroom without looking back, leaving Seluvis standing at the doorway. As he watched her slender figure, his hand inside his wide sleeve slowly clenched into a fist. It was the displaced anger of an arrogant man, and he immediately thought of one person. Roland Heinberg, was it? It seems I need to look into him properly.
Chapter 34: You Think That's a Spaceship? The Raya Lucaria Academy's purge continued for several days. The real culprit was completely unscathed, while the sorcerers who had been in the bathroom too long that night and couldn't account for their whereabouts were the ones who suffered, all thrown into the crystal mines beneath the academy for penal labor. The higher-ups weren't fools; they knew these sorcerers were being scapegoated. But to shut the Cuckoo Knights up, they had to sacrifice a few apprentices.
They declared to the outside world that the fire was an accident, and that Raya Lucaria Academy had never been, was not, and never would be attacked by anyone—to question this was a blasphemy against knowledge. Privately, they conducted numerous investigations, but even after the professors scratched their heads bald, they couldn't figure out who was responsible. Eventually, the scope of the investigation expanded to the lecturer level, and Sellen and Thorne were called in for questioning together.
However, Sellen had been outside the archives that night, and at least a hundred sorcerers could testify to that. Thorne's injuries had already healed, and upon inspection, there was nothing amiss. It was maddening. They couldn't find a mole within Raya Lucaria Academy. The Carian Knight in the Grand Library was under constant surveillance by ten thousand people and couldn't possibly move. Could the royal family have wrapped a powerhouse in oil paper and hidden them in the academy ahead of time?
The Karolos Conspectus immediately began research into "Mechanisms of Organic Hibernation," while the people from the Haima Classroom ran around the academy like rabid dogs, punching every wall they saw as if trying to find a secret door left behind by the royal family.
Of course, none of this nonsense had anything to do with Thorne.
Aside from helping Sellen research Primeval Sorcery, he spent his time perfecting the theory of magic deflection fields with Thops, occasionally heading to the town for afternoon tea. His facade as a model student remained unchanged.
"Six kills in a row, and my intelligence has increased significantly. I can now use intermediate sorceries like 'Crystal Burst.' After familiarizing myself with magic channeling theory, I can execute Carian Slicer in under half a second. Now that's what I call a slicer."
Thorne sat in the lecture hall, flipping through a book, opening and clenching his palm. It wasn't just an increase in intelligence; Edward was truly a mini-boss. His strength had also improved to a certain degree, and in terms of raw physical ability, he was on par with a veteran Cuckoo Knight.
For instance, he could now take down the guy who had thrown the javelin back then using only swordsmanship.
This was an excellent place to grind levels. Those sorcerers weren't weak, but their combat experience was abysmal. Once ambushed at close range, they were as good as dead. With Sellen as his teacher, Thorne understood ordinary sorceries better than the average lecturer; he knew exactly what a normal sorcerer was planning the moment they twitched.
"It's a pity. You can't use the same trick twice, otherwise I could eventually turn Raya Lucaria Academy into a haunted house."
"Plus, the academy is on alert now. My identity is fake, after all, and as the investigation deepens, I'll be exposed sooner or later. It's time to run."
Over a month of study felt like many years. Thorne didn't intend to stay here forever; being busy with research every day, he was afraid he might get brainwashed by those bookworms.
"I'll take it one step at a time. Even if I have to run, I need to find a suitable opportunity to escape back to Caria."
He looked up and happened to see the bald, burly man peering into the classroom, waving enthusiastically.
Thorne closed his book and walked alongside him. Recently, Thops seemed to have found a new lease on life; his research into the barrier was deepening, and he had a 'powerful' sorcerer helping him with experiments.
"Senior, I'm researching the efficiency ratio in depth, aiming to push the magic efficiency to one to fifty!"
"Then you'll have to find someone else to practice with. My magic power isn't fifty times yours." Thorne smiled. It was a genius concept; the Thopss Barrier was like using a thousand pounds of force to deflect four ounces.
By utilizing the principle of energy repulsion, it could deflect ten times the energy using only a small amount of magic.
Thops scratched his head embarrassedly and asked tentatively, "Actually, your theoretical foundation is more solid than mine. You could continue researching in this direction on your own. Why do you still keep me company?"
"I have no shame in plundering, but the theory remains yours. However, remember: until you have the ability to protect yourself, do not speak of this sorcery to anyone else."
The bald man froze for a moment, then nodded solemnly. He wasn't a fool.
If this barrier continued to develop, it could become a sorcerer-killer.
If an apprentice could deflect a barrage from a lecturer, wouldn't the natural hierarchy be turned upside down?
The two chatted and laughed until someone walked toward them, at which point they both shut their mouths.
"Professor Seluvis." Thops bowed quickly, while Thorne gave an unwilling nod.
"Hmph." Seluvis let out a grunt from his nose, ignoring Thops, and swept his cold gaze over Thorne. "You are Roland Heinberg?"
"Yes."
There was a moment of silence. Just as Thorne was feeling puzzled, Seluvis nodded slightly.
"Lecturer Sellen is an outstanding talent of the academy. You, barbarian, should learn from her. Oh, actually, never mind. Being with a barbarian, she will always be a useless stone." As soon as he finished speaking, he walked away.
Thorne's mouth twitched; he finally understood why thousands of Tarnished wanted to kill him. His mouth was too foul, and what was up with that look? I deliberately avoided him; it shouldn't be possible to have enmity.
Thops was used to being scolded and treated it as background noise.
Seeing the stunned Thorne beside him, he comforted him, "Senior, Professor Seluvis is just like that. Relax, just relax."
"Damn it, it's as disgusting as eating a fly." Thorne cursed, but didn't take it to heart. He had absolutely no interaction with Seluvis.
"It's still early. Senior, are you planning to go back and find Lecturer Sellen?"
"No. If I go back, she'll definitely make some dark cuisine, and I'll have to eat it with a smile. Let's just go to the town for lunch." Thorne still had lingering fears—his sense of taste was normal, after all. "How about it? Want to come along?"
"I won't go. I still need to organize yesterday's experimental data." Thorne didn't try to persuade him further. He knew Thops had backbone and didn't want to mooch off his meals every time.
But as the other man was leaving, he quickly caught up to him.
"One thing to remind you: if something happens to me one day, be sharp. Wait for the heat to die down and then leave the academy. Remember to go to the church when that time comes." This nonsensical statement left Thops full of question marks, but he wasn't stupid; he immediately realized that Thorne wasn't joking.
"Why..."
"Don't ask, and don't be nervous. For a novice apprentice like you, the academy won't notice you immediately."
Thorne flashed a cryptic smile and left the dumbfounded Thops behind, heading upstairs.
The garden outside the corridor was filled with birdsong and flowers. Raya Lucaria Academy felt like a secluded paradise, as if no matter how cruel the world outside was, it had nothing to do with this place. As long as you closed the doors, you could ignore the affairs of the outside world and focus entirely on your experiments. Stay here too long, and even the sharpest blade will rust.
Thorne watched the students passing by with a cold gaze. Running away wouldn't be difficult, but how to explain it to Sellen? Of course, her personality wouldn't care about a departure without farewells, but after spending so much time together, there should at least be an explanation. Besides, a thief never leaves empty-handed. He had to leave something behind when he departed the academy; the fire he set earlier wasn't quite enough.
Carrying a mind full of concerns, he returned to the door, turned the handle, and immediately saw Sellen sitting behind the desk, her head tilted back and a book covering her face, snoring away.
Master Sellen had a peculiar biological clock; this was exactly when she usually slept.
'Tsk, don't you have a bed in your room?' Thorne, who was about to write a leave request, curled his lip. He picked up a blanket from a stool and gently draped it over Sellen's back. The woman didn't react when he set it down.
Just as Thorne finished writing the note and was tiptoeing away, he suddenly heard a rumbling sound. He paused and instinctively looked at Sellen. She was still snoring, but the book had fallen to the floor, revealing her elegant face. Her hands were clutching her stomach, her mouth was smacking, and a groan escaped her nose: "So hungry..."
Ah, this... she can even order people around in her sleep?
Thorne turned around helplessly, closed the door, and ran to the kitchen to light the stove. Sellen was having a beautiful dream. She had transformed into a sphere, drifting among the stars. The brilliant celestial bodies flickered with light as if greeting her warmly. The starry sky was infinite, with mysteries everywhere. "This is the starry sky; this is freedom." She felt as if she had returned to many years ago when she was still a little girl, running barefoot under the night sky, chasing meteors that streaked across the horizon. Knowledge was right before her eyes, and the primeval source was within reach. She controlled her round body to approach a star, and at the very moment of contact—
"Hey, wake up. Master Sellen, you're about to drool." Huh!?
Her azure eyes snapped open.
After a brief moment of confusion, she saw that the starry sky was gone, replaced by a man's face leaning in close.
If it were a young girl, she might have retreated bashfully, but Sellen had no such reaction; she simply pushed Thorne away with annoyance.
"You foolish apprentice, interrupting your master's beautiful dream again."
Thorne held a plate containing some sort of unidentifiable black object.
He raised an eyebrow and asked, "So, what was this beautiful dream of yours?"
"Transforming into a star seed, soaring freely among the stars, seeing incomprehensible mysteries everywhere."
Sellen pinched her chin with a longing expression.
She actually felt it was quite nice having Thorne around; in the past, she wouldn't have dared to share her dreams with anyone.
But thinking of this, she hummed with dissatisfaction again: "And then, just as I was about to touch the primeval source, you interrupted me. You're not allowed to disturb my sleep from now on."
Thorne was dumbfounded, thinking that he was being blamed for this too.
Wait, transforming into a sorcerer ball and soaring through the stars? Do you think that's a spaceship? Chapter 35: Actually, I'm a Devout Believer of the Erdtree
Sellen almost never left her room except for classes and didn't interact with other sorcerers.
Everyone thought she was a reclusive and eccentric person.
However, since Thorne was unexpectedly assigned as her apprentice, he understood one of her key traits.
A high emotional intelligence way to put it was that she didn't sweat the small stuff and didn't want to be distracted by trifles; a low emotional intelligence way was that she was lazy.
After having Thorne to order around, her condition had progressed rapidly. Previously, she would go to the cafeteria when hungry, but now she would rather lie down and dream than step out the door.
She would call out eighty times a day, 'Foolish apprentice, bring me XX.'
However, Thorne didn't mind this atmosphere.
In a place surrounded by enemies, what more could one ask for than someone you could trust with your back?
"And here I went through the trouble of making you lunch. Maybe I should just throw it out."
"Don't!"
Sellen finally saw the plate in Thorne's hand.
Seeing his teasing expression, she gave a light cough: "Don't be like those people outside and forget the Declaration of Austerity."
The so-called Declaration of Austerity was an oath taken before the glintstone amber the moment one became a sorcery apprentice: to never marry or have children, to not covet pleasure, and to dedicate one's life to exploring the path of glintstone.
Of course, no one cared about this declaration anymore.
Thorne placed the plate on the table.
Sellen raised her hand and somewhat elegantly put a piece in her mouth, closing her eyes as she chewed.
"What's for lunch today?"
"Let's call it fried eggs for now."
Thorne glanced at the thing that should have been named 'charcoal' and reminded her, "Also, Master, did you wash your hands?"
Sellen opened her eyes with some dissatisfaction and lectured, "Foolish apprentice, can't you just play dumb sometimes?"
"Can't help it, I was born this way."
Sellen felt momentarily stifled and resentfully ate the fried eggs. Fortunately, she didn't dwell on the unpleasantness; after a few bites, she began to praise it again: "Hmm, your cooking really is the best. Oh, aren't you eating?"
"Best? Best my foot! Don't I know what kind of crap I made?"
Thorne was speechless regarding Sellen's sense of taste. Seeing the plate pushed toward him, he gave a dry laugh and declined: "Uh, I have plans. I'll eat in town later."
"Going to that little shop again? Your master must remind you not to get involved with ordinary women. If you have physical needs..."
"Wait, I'll go pour you a cup of tea." Thorne turned and left immediately. It wasn't out of boyish shyness; Sellen simply didn't care about such things.
He feared her next step would be to have him fetch a puppet from the logistics department, then stand by with her hand on her chin, conducting academic research on him. Thorne was still a normal person and couldn't stand that extremely rational academic tone.
He grabbed a handful from each jar and quickly brought up the haphazardly brewed tea. Just as Thorne expected, Sellen immediately forgot those boring topics, eating the dark cuisine while her mind wandered elsewhere.
Thorne pulled up a stool and sat beside her, resting his head on his hand, watching Sellen take small bites of the dark cuisine.
Sunlight streamed in from the window, a few dust motes dancing in the light. Neither of them spoke; the silence held a touch of leisure. Though his master wasn't gentle and loved to lecture, at least life by her side felt safe.
"What are you looking at me for?" Unknowingly, Sellen had finished the dark cuisine and saw Thorne staring blankly at her face. Thorne snapped back to his senses and took the empty plate to the kitchen.
Halfway there, without looking back, he tossed a handkerchief. Sellen reached out to catch it and wiped the corners of her mouth with practiced ease. A gentle land is a hero's grave. Indeed, only masochists are willing to traverse between life and death. Anyone with a normal IQ would prefer a stable life. Unfortunately, he hadn't come at the right time. If it were during the Erdtree's prime, he might have been able to be a lazy bum for his whole life. "You're acting a bit strange today." Sellen walked up, leaning against the doorframe with her teacup.
"Ah, I've just been in the academy for too long and feel a bit drained. Like a famous blade hidden in its scabbard, it will rust if left for too long."
Thorne put on an apron and lowered his head to wash the plate. His housekeeping skills had improved leaps and bounds recently. He had realized the problem and didn't want to be like a youth who prattled on seeking comfort, so he simply changed the subject.
"Master, how is your research going?"
Sellen had been wondering how to answer, but she immediately perked up at those words. She pinched her chin and said, "It records some sorceries of the Primeval Sorcerers, but the principles of operation are even more ancient. Specific details are still open to debate, and they are quite difficult to use. However, the method for condensing primeval glintstone is very detailed; it has answered many of my riddles."
"That's great then," Thorne replied in a monotone voice, putting the plate back in the cupboard. "Then have you deduced the production method for the 'star seed'?"
"Using sorcerers as material, gathering them into a sphere to observe the primeval source."
Thorne's heart skipped a beat, and then he heard Sellen's tone turn irritable. "But I have no clue how to actually do it! Damn it, the production method just happened to be burned away. No matter how I deduce it, I can't figure it out. Should I find a dungeon and catch a few sorcerers for reverse research?" Sellen bit her nails and entered a berserk state. Sorcery research was a rigorous science, not some martial arts manual that could be deduced by talent alone. It required a vast number of experiments.
It was just like how everyone knows the principles of a nuclear bomb but cannot actually build one.