When people mention an "academy," what usually comes to mind?
An old-fashioned lecturer wearing thick glasses… a blackboard packed with knowledge… students either studying diligently or fooling around?
Gapar suddenly remembered his childhood days training in a swordsmanship classroom with his companions. There had been no blackboard there—only burly instructors and endless wooden training posts waiting to be cut down.
Back then, aside from practicing swordsmanship, what he liked most was sneaking glances at the only female student in the class, then quickly turning his head back to training before she noticed.
That was probably his first love. At the time, he had even thought that once he ranked first in their cohort, he would confess to her.
Unfortunately, that female student later slipped down the stairs in the middle of the night and died. His first love ended before it had even begun.
She had always been one of the best swordsmen among their cohort… so why had she fallen down the stairs?
From that day on, the staircase in the swordsmanship classroom was given a strange name:
The Supreme Staircase.
"…Why am I thinking about this now?"
Gapar waved his hand, dispelling the gloomy mood. They were just memories from the past—dragging them up again served no purpose.
Right now, he should be happy.
After all, he had entered Raya Lucaria Academy.
Magic and classroom—those two words together sounded like they were guaranteed to produce magic-type rewards!
Even if it was just a tiny fireball spell—no, even something a tier lower, like basic fire control—that would be fine.
As long as it looked cool!
The lift slowly opened, and bright light pierced the darkness before him. Normally, someone would squint at this moment, but Gapar was far too excited—he stared straight ahead with wide-open eyes.
The first thing he saw was a spotless, gleaming floor polished until it reflected the light.
Just seeing such a clean floor instantly raised his opinion of the magic classroom. After all, most buildings in the Sein Dungeon were gray and shabby, looking utterly dilapidated.
A warm-toned corridor stretched before him, so long that even with his sharp eyesight he couldn't see the end.
Just how big was this place?
Exquisitely crafted chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Looking closely, the light sources inside them were individual orbs of starlight magic.
On both sides of the corridor were doors—some tightly shut, others standing open. Behind each one lay a magic classroom.
Gapar didn't rush inside immediately.
Like someone saving the best piece of beef in their noodle soup for last, he understood the joy of delayed gratification. He planned to walk the entire corridor first, then slowly "enjoy" the classrooms afterward.
The longer the wait, the sweeter the reward.
Many oil paintings hung along the walls. Gapar examined them one by one:
A mage wearing a strange stone helm.
A gloomy man with long hair.
Someone in a large hat.
A child with a scar on their forehead.
Their names were written beneath them: Azur, Obeck, Logan, Harry Potter, Gandalf.
He didn't know who they were, but since their portraits were displayed here, they must have been outstanding mages.
Each painting had a completely different art style.
Gapar memorized their names and appearances in one pass.
Besides the portraits, there were other paintings too:
A pale blue lake.
An academy under the night sky.
Children riding brooms while competing for something.
Their titles were Liurnia of the Lakes, Raya Lucaria, and Quidditch Tournament.
None of the people or places in the paintings existed in this world. There wasn't even the faintest record of them.
Looking at the paintings felt like communicating with an ancient past.
He walked forward for a while, but when he noticed one classroom door behind him growing farther and farther away, he couldn't resist anymore. He changed his plan and decided to start exploring the classrooms first.
"Snap!"
A painting suddenly fell from the wall. The crystal casing protecting it shattered instantly.
Gapar scanned the surroundings. Neither his eyesight nor his qi perception detected any second living being.
So it wasn't a monster.
He picked up the fallen frame. When the painting slid out, he noticed writing on the back.
> [Azur, the noble Origin Mage, who once touched the stone wisdom of distant pioneers; the great mentor of the oldest Karolos Classroom in history. Your contributions to magic are beyond measure.]
It seemed to be an introduction to the person in the painting.
But Gapar frowned.
Because beneath that introduction, a line of red text had appeared.
> [Yet all of these contributions are meaningless before that thing.]
Meaningless.
The red text was clearly written by a different hand. What exactly was "that thing," to make later generations add such a sentence?
A sense of mystery rose in his heart.
Discovering an unknown, powerful existence always stirred confusion—and a trace of fear born from uncertainty.
Gapar wasn't someone who feared easily.
But he was curious.
If this painting had writing… what about the others?
He pried open Logan's frame. Sure enough, there was writing on the back.
> [Logan, known as the Big Hat, a master mage of the Academy of Pyromancy, a legendary figure who resonated with Seath The Scale less. Your research into souls and crystals is exceedingly rare.]
> [Yet all of these contributions are meaningless before that thing.]
There it was again.
Gapar suspected the Sein Dungeon was deliberately teasing him. Every painting had that same line, yet none explained what "that thing" actually was.
Being denied an answer for so long made his skin itch with frustration.
The quiet corridor felt eerie because of those red words, as if something monstrous lurked in the shadows.
Unfortunately for whatever might be hiding here, the one standing around was Gapar. As long as it wasn't some ancient cursed toad capable of instant death, he probably wouldn't be afraid.
It was obvious the Sein Dungeon had placed the red text to set the mood and plant a foreshadowing hook.
And it worked.
Gapar was getting annoyed by the riddles.
Every painting had a different introduction, but the same red sentence. No matter how much he searched, there were no more clues.
It seemed that discovering the truth about "that thing" required searching elsewhere.
"…Forget it. Let's check the classrooms first."
Standing before the room closest to the lift, Gapar's eyes shone with anticipation, like someone waiting for a New Year's gift. He pushed the tightly shut door.
> [Cannot be opened from this side.]
Gapar's face darkened.
He gathered strength and kicked the door hard. The maliciously designed door blasted open instantly.
If Sein ever added a "scene structures cannot be destroyed" setting, that would be nice. Even reinforced doors labeled Cannot be opened from this side couldn't withstand Gapar's full-power kick.
He straightened his clothes, planning to enter this hall of knowledge with elegance and dignity.
Unfortunately, the Sein Dungeon had forced him to resort to brute force.
Tragic. Truly tragic.
The interior matched his stereotype of a classroom: podium, blackboard, desks, piles of books.
It was empty—but one could easily imagine lecturers and students passing on knowledge.
Gapar blinked straight to the pile of books. He had heard rumors that the Sein Dungeon could produce miraculous pages capable of instantly teaching magic.
What if he found one?
But the moment he touched the books, he frowned.
Why were they so hard?
Looking closer, the surfaces were covered with crystal—no, they had turned into crystal.
These books had become mineral objects shaped like books. Long since unreadable.
"…Can't you just let me learn magic the easy way?" Gapar sighed.
He didn't smash the crystallized books, just wandered around.
There were crates filled with ore-like crystals rich in magic. Selling them outside would probably fetch a good price.
The only glowing white loot point was on the podium.
It turned out to be Manual for Crafting Magic Grease.
That was all.
The huge classroom had nothing else.
Gapar felt a bit disappointed, though he hadn't expected everything in one room anyway.
"Clack… clack…"
A faint metallic grinding sound echoed briefly.
He entered the second classroom.
Same layout.
Except this time—even the white glow was gone.
Looking at the remaining classrooms, a bad feeling rose.
Sure enough, after checking them one by one, they were all empty.
Five classrooms.
The most valuable things were magic grease and crates of ore.
What exactly do you teach here—civil engineering and mining?
Gapar took a deep breath. The corridor was long. More classrooms waited ahead. No way he'd leave empty-handed.
He kept walking.
The corridor seemed endless, with no branching paths.
Finally, he saw another classroom door—
But why was it collapsed, like it had been kicked open by a terrifying force?
Gapar fell silent.
He looked at his shoe.
Then at the shoe print on the door.
Then realized—
He had kicked it open himself.
Inside, the room was identical. Copy-paste was the best description.
He turned back. The lift was nearly out of sight, but still there.
All remaining classrooms were the same.
Asset reuse. Copy-paste.
He smashed the podium in the broken-door classroom, then sprinted back and entered another identical room.
Sure enough—the podium there was smashed too.
"…A loop?"
Experienced and calm, Gapar didn't panic.
This could only be magic.
Spatial magic, perhaps.
The key to breaking it might be inside those five classrooms.
He looked at the door labeled Cannot be opened from this side.
If it couldn't open from the front, it must open from the back.
Meaning one thing—
The other classrooms had hidden entrances.
Hidden doors?
Given the Sein Dungeon's style, it was either hidden doors or teleportation chests.
How to find hidden doors fast?
Usually, contact revealed them.
So Gapar decided to become a "desk-clearing master."
He gripped the sword at his waist. Ever since getting it, he had cherished it deeply. The flashy combat skills suited him perfectly.
"Clack… clack…"
The grinding sound came again.
This time, it didn't stop.
"Bang! Bang!"
The ceiling collapsed.
Iron cages fell.
Gapar dashed away instantly, barely avoiding being trapped.
But more fell with the cages.
Things that looked like humans.
No—humans didn't have that many arms.
With mechanical clattering, broken-puppet-like creatures appeared.
Their bodies resembled iron cages. Each arm held a different weapon. The most terrifying puppet had four arms, all holding rapid-fire crossbows.
Retainers created by mages.
Soldiers built to fight enemies.
[Puppet Soldiers]