Raya Lucaria Academy was blocked by an extremely powerful magic barrier, and Ian spent some time studying it. After completing the study, he hunted a giant dragon that held the key to the academy. After slaying the dragon, he also removed its scales because he planned to use them to build a dragon scale armor. Then, he finally entered the academy.
The whole place is like a war zone. Years ago, Queen Rennala took over here and made her Carian Family the ruler of the academy. Unfortunately, a love tragedy caused all her efforts to be in vain.
Queen Marika did not immediately start to rule the world after being chosen by Greater Will and becoming a god. No, she had to conquer them first, which is why she married the extremely powerful Godfrey.
Among those who resisted her rule and fought endless battles against her conquests, Carian Family and the Academy were one of the most powerful forces. During that war, Radagon, the hero of Golden Order, led an army to attack Rennala and the Academy, but failed.
Ultimately, the war ended with Radagon going to Church of Vows to cleanse himself with Celestial Dew and declare his love to Rennala. The strategy worked, Rennala married Radagon, and peace was established.
However, after Marika deposed her first husband, Radagon suddenly abandoned his wife and became Marika's second husband, and the second generation Elden Lord. Interestingly, Radagon is Marika. Although the genders are opposite, they are the same person.
The gods in this world have the power to strip away certain characteristics of themselves. For example, Demigod Miquella will one day strip away his love, and that love will be transformed into an existence called St. Trina. Queen Marika also seems to strip away her loyalty to Golden Order, thus becoming Radagon.
Ian didn't know why Marika wanted to marry him. In this world, anything could happen, maybe it was just a crazy move. But his guess was that it was probably a direct order from Two Fingers who conveyed Greater Will's wishes.
According to his inference, Queen Marika had long been dissatisfied with Greater Will and Golden Order. When she banished Godfrey, his descendants, and everyone related to him or loyal to him, it was not just to eliminate those who could challenge her power. No, that is to make Tarnished become powerful without Erdtree Grace, thus getting rid of the influence of Greater Will.
Her stripping away her loyalty was another proof. Ian believed that Greater Will had begun to doubt the hero it had chosen, so it forced her to marry Radagon, who was unswervingly loyal to Golden Order, as a means to control her. With these things in mind, Ian headed towards the queen's location.
There is a Civil War going on in the academy. The two warring parties are Carian Family, who has lost the overwhelming power of the queen and is losing ground, and other magicians who hate Carian Family's power and prohibit the study of Primeval Current. What's worse is that both sides are extremely repulsive to outsiders, so they attack Ian as soon as they see it, forcing him to kill all the way to his destination.
The Queen was under house arrest in the Library. She was surrounded by a group of creepy children who threw books and flames at Ian, while Rennala sat on the floor with a Amber Egg in her arms, which was the last gift Radagon gave her before leaving. Ian turned the ground into quicksand and buried these children artificially created by Rennala Great Rune's power of rebirth. Then, he broke the shield around Rennala, preparing to deliver a fatal blow.
However, the projection left by her daughter, the witch Ranni, appeared and protected the queen. Ranni transformed into her mother, weaving a powerful illusion and even teleporting them to another world. Ian cheated without hesitation, and he started a fight with her wearing Elden Armor. But to be fair, Ranni also cheated because she summoned the dragon's soul phantom during the battle.
In the end, Ian won. However, he did not kill Rennala, but took away Great Rune in Amber Egg.
Ian's next destination was Roundtable Hold. But before that, he decided to solve the problem about Sellen. He fulfilled her request, hunted down some of the most powerful Glintstone Sorcery masters, found the magic Founders, and finally rescued her. He also helped her deal with her enemy - Witch-Hunter Jerren. However, he did not take her to the academy; instead, he locked her in a dungeon he built.
"Apprentice, what do you mean?" Sellen asked.
"I can't just watch you die, but I'm too busy to help you," Ian said.
"You!"
"Listen to me first," Ian continued. "The stars in Primeval Current are inorganic life forms composed of Crystal. Anyone who studies or uses their power will slowly be affected and become Crystal life. I know you think you have found a solution, but I can tell you clearly that that is wrong."
"You don't know."
"But I just know," Ian said. "In this room, I left behind books about a science from a faraway land called Alchemy. I also left behind a blueprint for the possibility of creating organic Crystal. If you can succeed, you only need to replace your heart and a small part of your brain, and you can use Primeval Current without worrying too much about its power."
Sellen stared at him, not hiding her disappointment.
"I'll come and see you after I hunt a few more Great Rune," Ian said and locked her inside.
"It's really cruel, isn't it?" Morgana said.
"Maybe, but she's a bit stubborn, so I had to do this," Ian said. Sellen is extremely talented, which also means she is overconfident. That's why she was unwilling to heed Ian's warning. He had no choice but to use this tactic.
Ian found a Site of Grace and teleported directly to Roundtable Hold. He walked straight to the central hall, where stood an ugly creature with only two fingers.
"Are you the new Tarnished? You are doing a good job. I am Finger Reader Enia. I am responsible for interpreting the words of Two Fingers. They are the messengers of Greater Will."
Ian looked at this decrepit woman, whose appearance and temperament were like a scary old witch, and talked with her for a few minutes. She encouraged him that if he wanted to repair Elden Ring+ and continue Golden Order's rule, he must hunt down at least 4 Great Rune. Ian nodded and walked out.
'How is it?' Ian asked in his mind.
'There is a causal line connecting Two Fingers and Greater Will, but it seems to have been severely weakened and is almost on the verge of breaking.'
This news did not surprise Ian. According to the original timeline of this world, a Tarnished would fight all the way to the royal city Leyndell, Royal Capital and arrive at the entrance of Erdtree. However, they found that the entrance was blocked by the indestructible Thorns of Denial.
Tarnished wants to burn Erdtree in order to enter and control Elden Ring+, but Enia says it is a sin. She suggested taking orders from Greater Will on this matter, but she also said that it would take a thousand years to get a reply, so Tarnished did it without waiting, which also led to a battle between them and Radagon and Elden Beast.
Ian came here to verify whether Greater Will's influence on the world has indeed weakened by observing the status of Two Fingers. Now, he got the answer.
'Maybe we should find a way to kill Two Fingers and completely cut off Greater Will's influence,' Morgana suggested.
'That's exactly what I meant,' Ian replied.