Lucian rode Torrent, galloping across the vast expanse of Liurnia of the Lakes.
At this very moment, Lucian was sitting atop Torrent's back—peeling prawn shells.
After bidding farewell to Sellen, he had used a Site of Grace to teleport directly to Liurnia.
However, he had not activated many Sites of Grace in this region beforehand. The nearest one he had access to was still the shack of that prawn-selling fellow.
The moment Lucian appeared, he startled the prawn man—who had yet to depart for Stormveil Castle.
After the initial shock, the man became extremely enthusiastic, stuffing Lucian's hands full with a large pile of freshly boiled prawn and crabs.
Unable to refuse such hospitality, Lucian ended up taking nearly half a pot of prawn and crab with him.
Since he had to ride for quite some distance anyway, he figured he might as well eat along the way—
Even over the shallow waters of Liurnia, Torrent still ran at remarkable speed.
Along the way, aside from the occasional Giant Crayfish spitting high-pressure jets of water, there were no real obstacles.
Before long, Lucian and Torrent headed northeast and arrived at the Temple Quarter Site of Grace.
This was the closest Site of Grace to the lair of the Glintstone Dragon—Smarag.
Looking straight north from the Site of Grace, one could see large numbers of cerulean Teardrop Scarabs floating in midair, their claws clutching condensed droplets of magical blue dew.
Lucian looked at the blue scarabs dancing through the sky and couldn't help but feel a sense of novelty.
So many cerulean scarabs gathering here—was this their habitat, or were they simply drawn here to collect dew?
This time, Lucian did not plan to kill Smarag outright.
Thus, instead of approaching the lair head-on, he made a wide detour, intending to approach from the rocky nest behind the dragon.
If he went in from the front, even with Unseen Form, the disturbed water surface would still reveal both him and Torrent.
More importantly, even if he killed Smarag, it would largely be a waste of resources—the dragon's flesh and materials couldn't be transported easily.
That would require a massive amount of manpower.
Since the Glintstone Dragon's lair wasn't going anywhere, there was no need to rush.
Lucian cast Unseen Form, then used a dagger he had previously picked up from the Academy cuckoos—one imbued with the Assassin's Approach skill, to further suppress his presence.
With the combination of spell and skill, Lucian easily climbed onto the rocky ledge behind the lair.
The nest was littered with dense piles of bones and shattered glintstone crowns.
These were all mages who had once perished in Smarag's maw.
Lucian lightly leapt down from the edge of the nest, landing without a sound.
Inside, he found several sorcerer corpses that were still intact.
They had not been eaten, but instead placed together—likely stored as future food.
What was strange, however, was that despite the high humidity of Liurnia of the Lakes, these corpses showed no signs of decay.
It was rather abnormal.
Lucian began searching the bodies.
Very quickly, from the corpse of a mage wearing a Karolos Glintstone Crown, he found a beautifully crafted Academy Glintstone Key.
He put the key away and turned to leave—
Only to find himself staring straight into Smarag's enormous eye.
It seemed the dragon had noticed something. Lucian immediately prepared to strike.
Though the dragon's flesh would go to waste, at least obtaining a dragon heart would still be acceptable.
But to Lucian's surprise, Smarag's glance appeared to be nothing more than a casual look backward.
Its gaze wandered around, as if searching aimlessly for something.
Then, as though nothing had happened, it lay back down.
Lucian raised an eyebrow.
It seemed the dragon had merely sensed something and looked back.
Since it hadn't discovered him, it was best to leave—he already had what he came for.
—
Long after Lucian had departed, Smarag—who had been lying still with closed eyes, finally opened them.
It let out a long breath, the gust rippling the previously calm lake surface.
As a Glintstone Dragon that had devoured countless sorcerers and lived symbiotically with glintstone, Smarag's perception of magic was extraordinarily sharp.
The instant Lucian entered the nest under magical concealment, Smarag had sensed the magical layers covering him.
To Smarag's perception, Lucian was like a blindingly bright lantern—impossible to ignore.
Had he not been cloaked in magic, he might have been harder to detect.
At first, Smarag assumed it was merely another reckless sorcerer coming to his death.
But upon closer sensing, it discovered something terrifying—
A dense ancient dragon aura, so intense that even a dragon felt fear.
That realization made Smarag grateful it hadn't attacked immediately.
It didn't dare imagine what that human had done with Ancient Dragons to carry such a powerful aura.
In the end, Smarag identified the presence of an Ancient Dragon Pact on that human.
Although it considered itself among the elite of flying dragons, it still didn't dare challenge ancient dragons head-on.
Ancient dragons weaker than flying dragons were extremely rare.
And the aura it sensed earlier didn't seem weak even among ancient dragons.
Worse still, the more it sensed, the more it realized that the human himself might be stronger than an ancient dragon.
Fortunately, it had reacted in time—pretending to sleep and avoiding catastrophe.
Now, Smarag was seriously considering whether it should relocate its nest.
After all, the nearby sorcerers hadn't been venturing out for quite some time now…
—
After leaving, Lucian recalled the massive glintstone horn atop Smarag's head.
Seeing that enormous horn suddenly reignited his desire to forge another Dragonslayer Swordspear.
He was quite comfortable using swordspears, but his previous Dragonslayer Swordspear had been damaged beyond repair.
This time, however, he didn't plan to use Smarag's horn.
Instead, he intended to visit that mysterious cavern in the Consecrated Snowfield later on, to make use of the colossal corpse of a flying dragon that had been dead for untold ages.
Using that horn to forge a greatlance would surely be excellent.
Its size might even allow the creation of a massive sword-lance capable of aerial combat while riding Selinsax.
And there were also dragon scales and dragon hide.
The hide might no longer be usable, having been pierced through by glintstone growths, but the scales should still be fine.
Who knew what other usable materials might remain?
Lucian teleported back to the underground cellar where Sellen resided, then handed over the Academy Glintstone Key.
"Teacher, I've obtained the key."
Sellen looked at the key in her hand with astonishment.
"Oh my… that was fast."
"Why, it hasn't even been half a day, and you've already retrieved it."
Sellen couldn't help but feel a little complicated inside.
She herself had searched for so long back then, yet never managed to find it…
Of course, once the exact location was known, retrieving it was merely a matter of time.
Sellen returned the key to Lucian, then stood up from behind the desk.
After that, she raised her hands and slowly began to undo the clasps of her sorceress robe.
Lucian's mind was struck with immense shock. He swallowed hard and hurriedly shut his eyes, turning his head away.
Immediately after, the sound of clothing being loosened and falling to the floor rang out one piece after another.
"Teacher! What are you doing?!"
Sellen let out a soft chuckle.
"In a moment, things might get… rather bloody."
"I don't really want these clothes to get stained as well."
"…Alright, you can turn back now. I still have clothes on underneath."
"You know, you're already a shard-bearing lord ruling over a domain, yet you're still so inexperienced with the world. That's actually kind of cute~"
Although Sellen had long immersed herself in the study of magic and never truly experienced romantic feelings between men and women, in order to pursue the origin of sorcery, she had thoroughly studied countless sorcerers—male and female alike, inside and out.
Scenes like this were nothing more than child's play to her.
Lucian cautiously opened his eyes.
Only then did he realize that Sellen had merely removed her outer robe. She was still wearing a thick, dark-blue long skirt on her lower half, and a thin, close-fitting white inner garment on her upper body.
However, that white inner layer did little to conceal Sellen's figure—and in the Lands Between, garments resembling modern underclothes were exceedingly rare to begin with…
Lucian didn't dare look for long, afraid he might see something he shouldn't. He quickly shifted his gaze to Sellen's face instead.
At this moment, Sellen had also removed the glintstone witch's crown she always wore.
Her features were refined and beautiful, carrying an intellectual sharpness.
Yet the black braid falling behind her head gave her an unexpectedly gentle air.
It was the first time Lucian had ever seen Sellen's true appearance, and he couldn't help but ask,
"Teacher… is this what you originally looked like?"
Sellen casually picked up a piece of glintstone from beside the desk and used it like a mirror.
"No, not exactly. After all, I've changed bodies many times."
"Still, this appearance is quite similar to my original body."
"Let this be a lesson for you as well, the soul and the body influence one another."
"After my soul entered this body, the body itself gradually began to change into the form my soul was meant to have."
"Of course, if one were to force a soul into a body of a different race… the result would be quite horrifying."
As she spoke, Sellen picked up a sharp, dark-blue glintstone knife from the table.
She gently caressed the blade, her expression tinged with nostalgia.
This knife was called the Primal Glintstone Blade.
Ancient sorcerers once used it to cut open their hearts, welcoming death, and in doing so gave birth to the primal glintstone that would house their souls.
After understanding her own fragility, Sellen had ultimately restored this long-lost secret art.
Back then, it was through this very process that she had become the nearly undying witch she was today.
Sellen plunged the sharp blade straight into the center of her chest, then dragged it downward with force.
The primal glintstone blade instantly tore open her chest, ripping through flesh and clothing alike, creating a massive, bloody gash.
Enduring the pain, Sellen turned to face Lucian.
Like someone asking for an embrace, she opened her arms toward him, letting the bloodstained blade fall from her hand onto the floor.
"Come, my apprentice."
"Take out my primal glintstone."
Lucian swallowed hard and extended his right hand, but hesitated.
It wasn't fear, nor was it revulsion.
It was simply that the wound was located between Sellen's breasts, making it extremely difficult for him to bring himself to act.
Seeing Lucian's embarrassment, the smile on Sellen's face grew even brighter.
She took the initiative, reaching out to grasp Lucian's right hand and guiding it toward her chest.
As warm, sticky blood flowed over his hand, Lucian's fingertips finally touched the primal glintstone embedded within her chest.
He clenched his grip and pulled hard.
The moment the glintstone was extracted, Sellen's body instantly lost all vitality and collapsed.
Lucian reacted quickly, catching her body with his other arm before it hit the ground.
From the primal glintstone in his hand, Lucian sensed Sellen's soul transmitting words to him:
"Alright, my apprentice. Put the clothes on that body."
"Then take the body with you—to the Academy of Raya Lucaria."
"Once you're inside the Academy, just insert the primal glintstone back in."
Lucian looked down at the primal glintstone in his hand, which now housed Sellen's soul.
It was an irregular chunk of glintstone crystal, jagged and uneven, covered in sharp protrusions.
Yet half of it had already transformed into something resembling a living organism—faintly taking on the shape of an embryo, with vein-like structures spreading around it.
Sellen sensed Lucian's curiosity.
"My apprentice… do you think it distasteful?"
"…You know, when the stars began to move, my fate began to turn as well."
"If you wished to kill the Graven Witch Sellen, now would be the best opportunity."
Lucian shook his head.
"I don't think this is frightening."
"A wish that can never be fulfilled… that must be unbearably painful."
"As for killing you?"
Lucian smiled.
"You already knew I wouldn't do that, the moment you asked me to take out the primal glintstone."
"You are my most respected teacher. How could I ever do such a thing?"
From the primal glintstone, Lucian could clearly feel Sellen's joy.
Within that emotion, there seemed to be something even deeper—a sense of comfort and reassurance.
"My beloved apprentice…"
—
[T/N: Sellen's Primal Glintstone ]
Glintstone from within the sorceress Sellen's body.
Seemingly half-alive, blood vessels are visible within.
In essence, a primal glintstone is a sorcerer's soul.
If transplanted into a compatible new body after their original body dies, the sorcerer will rise again.