Gandalf?
Gapar vaguely remembered seeing a portrait of him on a corridor wall earlier.
He recalled an old man in gray robes, kind and gentle in appearance, yet with deep eyes that seemed to hide countless secrets—so deep one couldn't help but be drawn in.
Long robes. A large beard. A slightly worn staff.
All those elements together perfectly matched people's imagination of a reclusive wizard.
He had the air of a hidden master—the kind of key figure who would suddenly appear to save the protagonist in a crisis, or offer guidance when the hero was lost.
He's going to be my mentor? Sounds great.
But… how exactly would he teach me?
The moment that question appeared, the Sorting Hat muttered to itself:
[Didn't expect it to be Gandalf… the things he teaches are really…]
"No matter how difficult it is, I can overcome it," Gapar said seriously, assuming the unfinished sentence meant Gandalf's magic was extremely hard to learn.
[I think you'll soon regret saying that. Fine. I'll call Gandalf over to pick up his student.]
[Doo–roo–roo–roo—]
The Sorting Hat suddenly made a strange sound effect.
Gapar was baffled—he didn't know that on Earth this was called a phone ringtone. To him, it just sounded bizarre.
But what the hat said made him excited. What did it mean by calling Gandalf to pick him up? Could he really meet the wizard himself?
If other adventurers were assigned different mentors, would they also get to meet the mages whose portraits hung on the walls?
The value of this new area—Raya Lucaria Academy—shot up instantly in his mind.
If things were really as he imagined, then the entire Yanor Kingdom—no, the entire continent—might usher in a revival of magic.
Those old men in the Magic Association would have headaches. After monopolizing magic for so many years, problems were bound to arise.
[Doo–roo… why isn't he picking up? What's that old Gandalf doing?]
The hat tried calling several more times, but no one answered. Instead, the strange ringtone almost brainwashed Gapar.
Did the transmission magic fail? If that was the case—
After thinking for a moment, Gapar said politely, "I'll go meet my mentor myself. It would be rude to make him come pick me up."
[You're quite polite. Are you from Royal Capital Leyndell?]
"What?" he asked, confused.
[Too bad—you can't meet him on your own. The mentors are all in the research district, another independent space. Without a mentor's guidance, no one can enter.]
Then what should I do?
[Maybe the transmission hub ran out of energy, so Gandalf didn't get my message. Take the Philosopher's Stone under the podium and recharge the hub. After you fix it, come back and tell me.]
A classic errand quest. Now this felt like a proper dungeon event.
But when Gapar asked what the transmission hub looked like or where it was, the hat froze up. It simply told him to search on his own—or ask the mages outside for help.
The mages outside… those guys wearing stone helmets? So they could talk?
He left the room with the Sorting Hat and saw the two mages still standing at the end of the corridor. He walked over.
"Good morning. Do you know—"
His answer was a magic staff lighting up, followed immediately by glintstone shards flying at him.
"They attack people?!"
While dodging, Gapar tried to explain patiently, "Wait! I'm a new student! My mentor is Gandalf—you can go ask him if there's any problem!"
Sadly, they didn't listen at all. When he got close, they even tried hitting him with their books.
"Guh… urgh…"
Muffled growls came from under their helmets. They didn't sound rational at all. Anyone nearby could tell their mental state was abnormal.
Frowning, Gapar knocked them both unconscious with a punch each. Removing their helmets, he saw shriveled faces—like living corpses.
Clearly, for some unknown reason, these mages had become mindless husks that attacked anything they saw.
"What happened here?"
Didn't the Sorting Hat know about this? Why had it told him to ask them for help?
Just then, he heard something heavy rolling behind him. Turning around, he saw a yellow Warrior Jar spinning toward him in a charging attack.
A simple backstep dodged it easily. The jar smashed into the wall and shattered.
"…This is bad," Gapar said awkwardly, looking at the bloodstains.
The jar's suicide attack had taken the unconscious mages with it. He'd wanted to bring them back to show the hat.
How was he supposed to figure out what happened here now?
He chose the left fork—the direction the jar came from—and walked on. Suddenly, he remembered something.
Right. I have the Hunting Manual.
After flipping through it, he found information about the two mages.
Turns out they were classified as monsters.
[Hunting Manual – Monsters]
[Raya Lucaria Mage – Karolos Conspectus]
Students from the oldest classroom, Karolos. Because of their achievements in magical research, they were allowed to wear glintstone helmets.
They revered Mage Azur as their foundation, exploring comet-type magic.
Because of long-term self-isolation, they lost their humanity and became beasts. Yet a shadow deep in their minds makes them fear those with certain traits.
"Enemies indeed," Gapar said, about to close the book—then suddenly wondered if there was an entry for the Sorting Mentor Hat.
There was.
[Hunting Manual – Items]
[Sorting Hat]
In the golden age of magic, seekers from different eras—and even different worlds—gathered at Raya Lucaria. As the Academy reached its peak number of students, Sorting Hats were created to assign each one the most suitable mentor.
In the era of isolation, with no new students, the hats lost their purpose. Only this one remains, its mind in chaos.
Living in the past, it refuses to accept the academy's decline. It treats all strangers as students and offers help. As long as you don't shatter its illusion, it will continue guiding you.
Gapar fell silent.
When he first arrived, he'd imagined seeing mages studying happily together. But now he realized this was just another post-decline ruin.
The Sein Dungeon loved doing this—showing only the aftermath of glory.
It was sad… yet strangely captivating.
But still…
Gapar gritted his teeth, his face twitching. He really wanted to see the glorious era described in the book.
Wait.
He suddenly noticed something.
If the hat lived in the past and denied reality… didn't that mean his assigned mentor might not even exist anymore?
Who knew if those mentors had also become mindless corpses?
Unease filled him. After hesitating, he decided to keep searching for the transmission hub.
As long as he didn't break the hat's illusion, he could continue receiving guidance.
The corridor wasn't long, but it branched into many halls. Some classrooms were open to explore, with puzzle items to collect. He found a green-flower key that opened doors carved with green flowers.
There were heart doors, spade doors—probably requiring matching keys.
But Gapar wasn't in the mood to search carefully. He only peeked into rooms, checking if the transmission hub was inside.
Enemies were mostly mages and Warrior Jars. He noticed that mages with different helmets used different spells.
Checking the Hunting Manual confirmed they belonged to different classrooms.
The halls were magnificent and fantastical, guarded by elite enemies.
When he reached the second hall, he saw a strange pillar.
It looked like a golem-machine structure, glowing faintly—but flickering as if malfunctioning.
In its center was a crystal identical to the Philosopher's Stone in his hand.
"Finally found it."
He sighed in relief.
Beside the hub stood an elite enemy—a tall mage wearing a pointed hat.
Unlike the others, he was huge and held a thick club. He looked more like a warrior than a mage.
If not for the staff in his other hand, no one would believe he was a mage.
His name:
[Haima Mage]
At that moment, the Haima Mage spotted him and raised his staff, blue magic gathering.
From his posture, it looked like he was about to throw something heavy—completely different from elegant magic.
Gapar charged forward. Halfway there, the spell finished.
A massive shell of raging magic was hurled at him.
This was Cannon of Haima.
Gapar dodged sideways, but underestimated its power. The explosion still hit him.
His arm was scorched—not serious, but enough to prove its strength.
Such a simple spell… yet terrifying power.
When he got close, the huge arm swung the club.
"Bang!"
The clean floor cracked apart. His strength far exceeded the other mages.
Gapar swore it was his first time seeing such a brute-force mage.
Did he switch from warrior to mage halfway?
He circled him, testing. Sometimes he jumped back to bait spells.
The Haima Mage was clearly being toyed with.
"Looks like that's all you've got."
Gapar deflected the club and prepared to finish him—
At that moment, the mage gathered magic again.
Casting Cannon of Haima this close? Wouldn't it hit himself?
Gapar wasn't worried—he could interrupt—
A giant hammer of magic smashed down.
"BOOM—!"
Magic exploded across the hall.
Gavel of Haima—a spell that formed a giant hammer to crush enemies flat.
It didn't hurt him much because his body instinctively released battle aura—but even so, the aura was partly shattered.
Its power might exceed high-level attack magic.
Such destructive magic would tempt any mage—but…
"A magic hammer?"
After Carian Greatsword, this was another masterpiece that left Gapar speechless.
"Do all mages here like melee?!"
Even if this magic were free, I wouldn't take it!
One hit, two hits—the Haima Mage kept chasing him.
Gapar didn't tank it. He leapt onto the mage like a wolf and executed a ninja-style kill.
"Boom—"
The Haima Mage collapsed, turning into ashes along with his gear.
Sein Dungeon monster rules were strange. Some left corpses, others turned to ash.
Gapar replaced the Philosopher's Stone in the hub. Light burst from the pillar.
"Should be fine now."
As he turned to leave, he saw a glowing drop.
He sucked in a breath, uneasy.
When he picked it up, it turned into a magic page and merged into him.
He instantly learned a new spell:
[Gavel of Haima]
A glintstone spell that forms a giant magic hammer.
Taught by the Haima Classroom, judges of good and evil within the academy, existing to settle disputes.
"You created this to settle disputes?!"
Gapar shouted,
"Why can't I escape melee magic?!"