So-called waste stone

The stars returned to their places, linking star to star. This was [Trajectory of the Stars], and these were the stars the Tarnished had longed for.

Stars had to be vast. Stars had to shine.

"Wow~ I'm really impressed with myself." After that single swing, the Tarnished felt utterly drained, and more than half the power brimming within the blade had been spent as well. It seemed there was still work to be done on controlling mana consumption.

"Oh... Looks like Stormveil Castle is going to need some serious renovations." Looking up at the enormous hole blasted through the ceiling, the Tarnished shrugged.

"But..." The Tarnished looked at the Curved Sword. The previous slash had reshaped its blade with a tremendous amount of glintstone energy. It had lost its former wildness, but none of its menace.

"...A crescent moon?" Indeed, the blade had now curved into the arc of a crescent moon. Samar's own cold gleam and the little golden grace that remained were etched across it like stardust.

"How interesting. A glintstone slash made a crescent-shaped blade. I guess stars and moons really are inseparable for me... Still, it feels like there's more to it. Oh well, no point dwelling on it." Now that the nurturing was complete and basic spellcasting was possible, it was time to head to the Academy of Raya Lucaria.

When the Tarnished returned to the cliff, a bald man in sorcerer's robes was sitting outside the nearby church, his gleaming head rivaling Patches's. Unlike Patches and his sleazy air, this man stared blankly at the starry sky, yearning and self-doubt in his eyes.

"What are you looking at?" The Tarnished approached and struck up a conversation.

"Simply... an extraordinary spell. So beautiful." The man gazed at the lingering stardust, unable to contain the excitement in his eyes. But a moment later, that light dimmed.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't notice you. Please forgive my rudeness." Coming back to his senses, the man apologized to the Tarnished.

"Don't worry about little things like that." The Tarnished smiled and shook their head.

"Oh... You're a Tarnished, aren't you? Have you come to Liurnia on your way to the Altus Plateau?"

"That's right."

"Um... Sorry for the trouble, but could you spare me some runes? Ah, of course I wouldn't ask for them for nothing... I may not look it, but I did spend some time at the Academy of Raya Lucaria. If you could spare me some runes, I could teach you sorcery... Though what I know isn't anything impressive." The man gave a somewhat bitter smile.

Oh...? Come to think of it, this man isn't wearing a crown... The Academy of Raya Lucaria gave glintstone crowns modeled after its great scholars of the past to those with potential. In other words, anyone without one had been judged worthless by the Academy... No, a [waste stone].

Give me a break. Those old fossils at the Academy don't even understand their own sorcery properly. What gives them the right to judge anyone else...? I already have Sellen, but everyone understands sorcery differently. I can't let this opportunity pass.

"All right." The Tarnished handed the man some runes.

"Thank you... You're truly kind. My name is Thops... If you're interested, I can teach you some sorcery. I don't know much, though, and none of it is anything impressive. Please don't turn your nose up at it."

"Of course I won't." The Tarnished was no saint who handed out aid to everyone they met. They simply refused to pass up any chance to learn. In their eyes, whether someone was a failure or a genius like Sellen, as long as that person had something new to offer, they were worthy of being their [teacher], however little that something might be...

After that, Thops patiently taught the Tarnished some of the spells he knew. Although Sellen had already taught most of them, one called [Starlight] was quite interesting. It was a spell that released a small light like a star, an excellent source of illumination for someone who was always poking around caves and tombs.

"This Starlight spell is pretty good. It really suits a Tarnished like me."

"As long as you don't mind it." Thops sighed in relief. "Thank you for sharing your runes with me... These spells alone aren't enough to repay you. How about this... I'll tell you everything I know about this land."

"I couldn't ask for more."

And so Thops began his account. During the Shattering, the Academy of Raya Lucaria had chosen to seal itself off to uphold its policy of nonintervention in the war. It had remained that way for a long time. The Academy had also sealed the road leading to Leyndell, shutting itself away completely throughout the Shattering.

To enter the Academy, one had to use a Glintstone Key to open the seal. As Thops reached this point, his eyes gradually dimmed.

"The sorcerers stranded outside can't return... For a low-ranking, worthless sorcerer like me, a Glintstone Key is nothing more than a distant dream..."

"You want a key?"

"I happened to be away from the Academy when the seal was put in place... I can no longer return to that hall of learning."

The Tarnished looked at Thops. "Let me ask you something."

"Please, ask whatever you like... I'll tell you anything I know." Thops nodded slowly.

"You know Sellen, right? How much do you know about the rumors surrounding her?"

"You know Lady Sellen...? She's a genius... I don't believe a woman as endearing as her would do anything to earn the name Witch of the Stone Cluster..."

"What do the rumors say she did?"

"They say she harmed many sorcerers in her pursuit of the primeval current... The people at the Academy have classified Lady Sellen as being just as dangerous as Smараg."

The primeval current... huh.

"But I believe... Lady Sellen may have clashed with the conservatives because she was a reformist," Thops offered his own view.

"The conservatives..."

"Lady Sellen has always pursued the origins of sorcery, just like those two legendary masters of the past. She never gave up on those dreams. But the Academy has now abandoned innovation in favor of stability..."

"I see... A simple conflict of interests." Still, that wasn't enough to establish the truth of the rumors about Sellen. Thops hadn't said a single bad word about either the Academy or Sellen from beginning to end. He was quite an innocent man.

"But I really don't believe Lady Sellen would do anything so cruel... Though she certainly can be rather forceful." The light of admiration shone in Thops's eyes. To him, Sellen was the finest glintstone, so radiant and so noble.

"I'll keep what you've said in mind. You said you wanted a Glintstone Key, right?"

"Y-yes. I know I'm a waste stone, with no talent for casting any sorcery. But I still want to return to that hall of sorcery."

"You're certainly eager to learn. All right, then. You can have this key." The Tarnished took the key out and held it before Thops.

"Th-this is a Glintstone Key! N-no, I can't accept this." Thops hastily refused.

"Why not? Just take it."

"No... I believe it would be more useful to you than to me, because there's something inside the Academy that you Tarnished need."

"What do you mean?"

"Within the Academy... there is a Great Rune. You Tarnished seek Great Runes, don't you?"

"What...? There's a Great Rune in the Academy?"

Things just got interesting. Why would a Great Rune be in Caria and the Academy of Raya Lucaria? Is there a Demigod inside the Academy... or could it be...

"I do need Great Runes, but two are enough. I already have one, and I've more or less settled on my next target. The one in the Academy isn't important."

"No, please hear me out. This isn't the only key. There must be others inside the Academy... They're needed to pass through the seals, after all. So please keep this key for yourself. If you find another inside the Academy, I'd be grateful if you gave that one to me."

"I see. All right, we'll do it your way."

"Thank you. You're truly kind."

After saying goodbye to Thops, the Tarnished returned to the front of the Academy. The key at their waist began to glow. Its light traced the Tarnished's silhouette, then surged toward the sealed gate.

"Pretty sophisticated." The Tarnished walked toward the gate opened specifically for them. Elegance and tranquility filled the air.

"I have to admit, these sorcerers have decent taste. Better than Leyndell..." The Tarnished looked around. This seemed to be a forecourt. "But it looks like I was teleported. This isn't where I was just now. Is this the main entrance?"

"Bloody Finger... Where do you think you're going?"

"Hmph, Yura. You really don't know when to stop... You're just as annoying as that Tarnished... If the higher-ups hadn't ordered us to leave them alone for now, I'd kill you and then go kill them." The man, who resembled a black crow, spoke with venom in his voice.

"You...? It's doubtful you can even get past this old man." Yura drew the long blade at his waist, its cold gleam sharp and menacing.

"Yura, you really are arrogant. What do you have left now? Even Eleonora abandoned you. What gives you the right to act so high and mighty? You're a failure."

"Still better than you lunatics." Yura raised his long blade, [Nagakiba], horizontally above his head, placed his left hand near its tip, then strode forward with a sharp thrust that tore ahead with unstoppable force.

"Everything you do is pointless, Yura. No matter how many of us you kill, the Bloody Fingers will never be wiped out. And as you hunt us, you'll gradually become just like us. Just like Eleonora!" The black-feathered Ravenmount fighter sprang into the air the moment the strike landed, black raptor wings sprouting from his back.

"Shut up!" Yura sheathed his long blade, then unleashed another draw slash, knocking the Ravenmount fighter out of the air.

"Oh...? Seems you're not quite so useless." The Ravenmount fighter wiped the blood from his chest with a finger, then extended his tongue to lick it. "Ah... Blood is so sweet... I wonder how yours tastes?" He became a black shadow, leaving only black feathers and shattered ground in his wake.

Black feathers... Or rather, Ravenmount. They were not a single individual, but an organization. They wore cursed gear modeled after the black birds of prey that had once brought death, and wielded vicious hooked claws that could easily tear their enemies apart.

"Aah!" After several exchanges with the Ravenmount fighter, Yura was sent flying, blood spraying through the air.

"Old man, you really can't take a beating... Your blood's just like you, not fresh at all..." The Ravenmount fighter spat in disgust.

"Damn you..." Yura staggered to his feet, Nagakiba still clenched tightly in his hand. "Even if I must become an asura... I'll slaughter every last one of you demons. For the people you've harmed... and for Eleonora... who fell because of my past weakness."

"An asura...? Oh... You mean that legend from your eastern Land of Reeds? The legendary god of slaughter... But an old fool like you? That's enough to make anyone laugh their teeth out..."

"If he can't do it, I wonder if I can?"