"That is enough for today's experiment. You may leave."
Sellen bent over, staring at the glintstone inside the experimental vessel as it emitted a misty blue light. She nodded to herself and waved a hand at Mohg, who was standing to the side.
Mohg didn't object. After a brief acknowledgment, he turned and walked out.
Once Mohg had departed, Sellen straightened up and glanced toward the doorway.
"Sigh... The origin of sorcery or the future of sorcery? Truly a difficult choice... What if I want both?"
Sellen lay back on a nearby chair with a look of frustration, sliding down until she was slumped in the seat as she spoke in a muffled voice.
She had indeed been contemplating the words Mohg had said to her, weighing which path to pursue. That was where the problem lay.
To date, the most direct method of approaching the source of sorcery came from the Primevalists. And what did the Primevalist path require? The answer: to transform oneself into a seed of the stars and pursue the essence of the cosmos.
To the current Sellen, that behavior looked an awful lot like turning oneself into a Graven-Mass and essentially dropping dead...
This was the source of her internal conflict over which road to travel.
"Ugh, how annoying. I'll stop thinking about this rubbish for now... Besides, I can't even get my hands on the Primevalist notes yet. Thinking about it is pointless..."
Sellen scratched her hair in frustration and sat back up.
Ever since Master Azur and Master Lusat were expelled from the Academy, all Primevalist notes and sorceries had been sealed away. The sorcerers who originally belonged to that sect had either been forced out or had chosen to renounce their Primevalist identities.
Sellen had been spared from excessive scrutiny due to her peerless talent and the fact that she hadn't been part of the Primevalist faction for very long. However, that didn't mean the Academy fully trusted her.
She was blessed and cursed by her own genius. Her exceptional talent made the Academy professors uneasy—especially as her speed in mastering sorcery increased and her thirst for knowledge grew more voracious. Combined with her past ties to the Primevalists, the precautions taken against her had only intensified. Currently, she had zero access to anything related to the Primeval Current.
"I'd better just stick to my research for now..."
"Is this the Caelid that the Sovereign ordered us to scout...? It is an remarkably rich land, comparable even to the soil of the Altus Plateau..."
The leader of a squad of Blood Warriors knelt down, picking up a handful of earth to inspect it before letting out a sigh of admiration.
"Captain, you've been to the Altus Plateau?" one of the warriors behind him asked with a look of curiosity.
"In a manner of speaking. I used to live there, but the Golden Dynasty squeezed the living space of our clan. We were unwilling to bow to the Erdtree that destroyed our home, so we chose to migrate to the Lake region. That was where we encountered the Sovereign..."
"I see..." the warrior replied, his eyes reflecting a sense of shared sentiment.
"But if the land here is so fertile, there should be many powerful factions, shouldn't there? Why is there almost no information about this place circulating outside?"
"I don't know. News from Caelid has always been contained within its borders. Perhaps the Sovereign knows why. All I know is that flying dragons reside here; beyond that, it's a mystery."
"Flying dragons?! I've never seen such a creature..."
"You and me both. Their kind mostly lives within Caelid. Even when they venture out, they usually stick to the southern regions like Limgrave; they never appear in the north. I heard from the elders that it's due to some historical factors."
The squad leader rubbed his chin, frowning as he recalled the stories.
"Captain, where do we head next?"
"To Sellia, the Town of Sorcery. It's said to be a neutral zone that accepts all factions, provided no force is used within the town limits. The Sovereign wants us to investigate information regarding the underground world; Sellia is the most likely place to find the intelligence we need."
"Understood."
After issuing the orders, the squad leader waved his hand, signaling the group to move out.
Meanwhile, at Mohg's explicit command, the squad with the most urgent mission had arrived at the outskirts of the Mistwood.
However, they found their path blocked, making it difficult to take action.
Several towns under the jurisdiction of Stormveil were located here, and there was even a fortress nearby. The Mistwood itself saw a fair amount of human traffic, and the Mistwood Outskirts served as a trading hub for various groups and races.
Crucially, the Siofra River Well was guarded by a small army. From their posture, they didn't look like an expeditionary force meant to explore the depths; rather, they seemed positioned to prevent anything from the underground from coming up and attacking the nearby settlements.
"This is a problem..."
"Indeed. At this rate, it will be difficult to enter the underground to scout the situation..."
"But the Sovereign placed the highest priority on this magic well."
The leader of the squad furrowed his brow deeply. After a long silence, he let out a weary sigh.
"Forget it. Report the situation to the Sovereign first. Our strength isn't enough to solve the problem here. We will focus on gathering local intelligence for now."
"Understood..."
Back at the Academy, Mohg—who was gradually growing accustomed to his daily routine of being beaten by Rellana, studying Glintstone and Carian sorceries (along with Cold magic), and helping Sellen with her experiments—received the "bad news" from his subordinates.
Immediately, Mohg's face twisted into a "mask of pain." Was his luck really this bad? No, he didn't believe it. He was convinced he was being "rigged" by fate itself.
"Sigh... Why on earth are there still troops stationed there...? Wait, if I recall correctly, there actually were..."
Mohg rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He had chosen to stay behind at the Academy because he trusted his subordinates to handle the outside affairs. It seemed he had overestimated their current capabilities.
Given the situation, if he wanted to use that well to reach the underground... there was likely only one viable breakthrough point.
Nebra.
The Count of Limgrave under the Storm Lord. If Nebra joined his side, Mohg could use the excuse of "seeking medical treatment" to head into the underground for exploration. No one would likely refuse the Count that much courtesy. It was the most peaceful option available.
"But the blessing is the sticking point. It looks like I'll have to find an opportunity to slip out and grant Count Nebra his blessing personally..."
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Elden Ring: As the Consort, I Reject Miquella (415 Chapters – Ongoing)
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