Elden Ring, building a legion of ashes

Chapter 69 First Meeting with Teacher Seren

The walls on both sides of the staircase were very damp and covered with moss, and the lower you went, the darker it became.

Fortunately, the flames of the wire torches were very bright, dispelling the darkness.

Ruthel led the way, with Xia Tong close behind.

Soon, they arrived at the lowest underground chamber.

The firelight flickered in the underground chamber, barely enough to make out what was in front of me.

In the corner of the room stood a very tall figure.

That was a crazed pumpkin-headed soldier.

However, this madman, who should have been smashing things indiscriminately, was unusually calm at this moment.

It was obvious that he had already noticed Xia Tong.

But it did not show any hostility, nor did it go berserk like the one in Moen City.

He simply raised his head slightly and glanced at Xia Tong with his enormous metal pumpkin helmet.

Then it continued to lower its head and even made snoring sounds like it was asleep.

"Hmm? This isn't how the plot unfolded as I imagined..."

Xia Tong originally thought there would be another battle.

"The Faded One? What are you doing here?"

Suddenly, a cool yet magnetic female voice rang out throughout the secret room.

At the same time, the scattered crystal gems embedded in the ceiling of the secret chamber seemed to sense something and lit up one by one.

Soon, the originally dark basement became bright and filled with magical light.

A heavy bronze door on the opposite side suddenly swung open.

A woman dressed in a deep blue mage's robe from the Academy of Reyallucalia walked out gracefully.

On her head was a huge, somewhat heavy-looking witch's glow stone dome.

The hood was carved from stone, depicting a beautiful and solemn female scholar.

Seeing Teacher Seren's iconic outfit, Xia Tong immediately put away her weapon.

He bowed slightly and said respectfully:

"Hello, I am a faded person named Xia Tong. I apologize for bothering you."

"...Oh, it's the Faded One."

"It's rare to have such an unusual guest come all the way here."

The woman stopped and scrutinized Xia Tong through the stone mask.

"My name is Seren, and as you can see, I am a magician."

"So, what brings you here?"

Xia Tong raised her head, her eyes resolute:

"I want to learn magic! Please teach me, teacher!"

"...Oh? You want to learn Radiant Stone Magic?"

Teacher Serian looked Xia Tong up and down, then walked around him, seemingly observing something.

"Hmm...it does seem to have the most basic qualifications, and even quite good ones."

"However, one must carefully choose a disciple—"

Seren's voice carried a hint of self-mockery and warning:

"I am a 'heretic witch' who was expelled from the Academy of Realucalia."

Then, in a casual tone, Professor Seren recounted how she was mistaken for a witch, accused of researching forbidden topics, and expelled from Kalia Academy.

She kept staring at Xia Tong as she recounted these events.

Try to find some fear, disgust, or withdrawal on the young man's face.

But she noticed that Xia Tong's expression remained as calm as before.

She didn't seem to be alarmed at all because she was a "heretic witch" who was despised by others.

"So, after hearing all this, are you still willing to become my apprentice?"

"Of course! I couldn't be happier!"

Xia Tong answered without hesitation.

"ha……"

Xia Tong heard a soft, pleasant laugh from beneath her pyroxene mask.

"You really are a weirdo."

Seren turned around and walked deeper into the room.

"But let me make this clear first, I'm very strict, and I don't use the gentle teaching method."

"no problem!"

Xia Tong nodded repeatedly.

"Okay, then, please follow me."

As Xia Tong stepped through the wide-open bronze gate, she was deeply shocked by the scene before her.

It's not very clear from the outside, but once you step inside, you're immediately struck by the strong scholarly atmosphere.

The ceiling was inlaid with countless luminous crystals, emitting a cold, eerie blue light.

The surrounding walls were made of rough, cold, damp gray stone.

There are also some old, thick, and gnarled tree roots that have sprouted out of the wall.

It is clear that this underground space has existed for a long time.

Besides the cold light emitted by the pyroxene above, there were two exquisite wrought iron candlesticks in the room, burning with orange flames, which looked very warm.

Some pyroxene crystals that emitted a faint glow were also scattered on the ground.

It seems that even though Professor Seren is imprisoned on the Sobbing Peninsula, and even though this is just a magical incarnation located beneath the ruins of the Post Station Street, he still doesn't forget to study the magic of the Radiant Stones anytime, anywhere.

"What an academic fanatic!" Xia Tong thought to herself.

"Since you're going to learn magic from me, let's call your friends down first. Learning magic isn't something that can be done in a short time."

As Ms. Selen organized the scrolls on the bookshelf, she spoke without turning her head.

Xia Tong was stunned for a moment, then realized that she was referring to Burke.

He turned around and was about to go up and call for help.

But then Teacher Seren called him back.

"Since it's a spirit horse, we can just whistle at it from a distance and let it bring the person down on its own, right?"

"But... there are Miranda Kerastase flowers up there!"

Xia Tong was a little worried.

"How do you think you got in here in the first place?"

Teacher Seren turned around, and a meaningful smile seemed to appear under the huge brilliance mask.

"Those flowers are very obedient now."

Xia Tong raised an eyebrow.

It seems that Professor Seol-ryeon knows everything.

The entire ruins of Yizhan Street and the surrounding area were under her surveillance.

Even the raging Miranda poison flowers were suppressed or tamed by her magic.

Is this the oppressive aura of a top-tier mage?

Xia Tong no longer hesitated, whistled, and called out to Toret.

While waiting, Xia Tong couldn't help but ask:

"Teacher, why were you willing to put me down before?"

"I don't think that pumpkin-headed soldier attacked me."

Seren chuckled softly:

"That big guy? He's my protector; he only attacks those who are hostile."

"As for those two giant mountain demons who were bound, why were you willing to let them go?"

Seren asked in return, his tone carrying a hint of scrutiny.

"They are just victims of the Golden Law too."

Xia Tong answered truthfully.

"Oh? It seems you don't like the Golden Law?"

A hint of interest appeared in Serian's voice.

"Hmph, that damned Golden Law! Look what they've done to my wife, Lani!!"

Xia Tong thought to himself, but of course he couldn't say it aloud; he could only express it tactfully:

"If the Golden Law were truly perfect, how could the borderlands have become such a fragmented place?"

"For example, 'Shattered Star' Rataen sealed away the stars, causing their movement to stop."

"Teacher, as someone who studies sapphire magic, you must be quite troubled by this as well, right?"

"Ugh."

A deep sigh came from inside the shimmering stone dome.

The core of the magic of scintillation is scintillation, which is actually a part of the life of stars and a crystallization of cosmic power.

The main focus of Pyrostone magic is the study of the energy flow and mysteries of stars.

Rataen's actions directly sealed off the flow of the stars.

This made it almost impossible for Seren to make any progress in his research on Origin Magic.

If Origin Magic is a rushing galaxy, then Ratahn froze it, turning it into stagnant water.

As the strongest advocate of the Golden Law, Rataen's initial intention to save the town of Seria from the disaster of the meteorite impact may have been good.

But why did he continue to seal away the stars in the days that followed?

Essentially, it was still to reduce the threat to the Golden Law and suppress the fate of the Kalia royal family.

"Sigh, let's not talk about this anymore."

Seren waved his hand, seemingly unwilling to discuss that troublesome demigod.

"Your friend has come down too."

In the distance, the demi-human Burke slowly and timidly entered the underground chamber.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Xia Tong, and quickly ran over to hide behind her.

He kept his distance from the giant pumpkin-headed soldier as much as possible, and didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

Xia Tong then let him rest in a corner of the underground secret room and have something to eat.

Meanwhile, he continued to follow Teacher Seolyeom.