Chapter 239: The Academy

Tops ran behind Torrent, but in just a short while, he was out of breath. He leaned against a rock by the roadside, gasping for air, his face covered in cold sweat and as pale as if it had been powdered.

"For a sorcerer, you're far too weak."

Chen Nuo said, gently shaking his head.

True, if his constitution had been even slightly better, he wouldn't have died from exhaustion in the end.

It was clear he lacked effective exercise in his daily life.

"Isn't it normal for sorcerers to be a bit frail? I usually only do academic research..."

Tops looked dazed and confused.

Shouldn't the question be why this spectral steed of yours is so fast?

Crossing mountains and ridges as if they were level ground.

Traveling a thousand miles a day was nothing to it.

After all, Torrent was a mount meant for traversing continents; if it really stretched its legs to run, there were truly few creatures in The Lands Between that could keep up.

The fact that Tops could keep up for a stretch already proved his physique wasn't bad; those were muscles built from being ordered around.

It was just that in Chen Nuo's eyes, it was still far from enough.

"Nuo, I think we could share the steed..."

Tops suggested in a small voice.

(Stare—!)

Torrent tilted its head, glaring unkindly at Tops, as if to say: 'You dare try to touch me?'

It wasn't some good-tempered horse; it was only docile and obedient in front of Chen Nuo.

Those two rows of large buck teeth were fierce when biting people.

Did he really think just anyone could ride Torrent?

It had to be a strong individual it acknowledged.

In any case, Tops's little round face didn't look nearly qualified enough to Torrent.

Besides, there was no room.

There was already someone clinging to Chen Nuo's back.

"Sorry, I didn't say anything just now."

Seeing Torrent's intimidating buck teeth, Tops very submissively changed his mind.

The center of Liurnia was a vast shallow lake, surrounded by a ring of hills and plateaus.

Hence, it was known as Liurnia of the Lakes.

With the burden of Tops, Chen Nuo only barely saw the spires of Raya Lucaria Academy in the distance before dark, so they had to wait until tomorrow to continue.

The two of them stopped to rest in some ruins.

The scenery ahead was superb, though a bit annoying was the fact that many lobsters roamed this shallow lake.

"Help! Save me, Nuo!"

Tops cried out in terror; he had been caught by a lobster's pincer and lifted into mid-air.

Presumably, the water quality of Lake Liurnia was excellent, or perhaps this was a specialty breed of The Lands Between, or maybe it was influenced by the radiation of glintstone.

In any case, the lobsters inhabiting this place could grow as large as a truck.

And their movements and attacks were extremely swift.

They could be called the Lords of Cinder among shrimp.

They would normally hide in the shallow lake, almost blending in with the environment, but once you entered their attack range, these lobsters would suddenly erupt and give you a nasty blow.

Unfortunately, Tops fell for it today.

Chen Nuo didn't even look up; he casually picked up a pebble from the ground and flicked it out with a "shook."

Following that, the lobster's eyeball exploded, its thick skull caved in, and its massive body tilted to the side under the momentum of the force.

Only then was Tops able to break free. He hurriedly cast a glintstone sorcery to deliver the final blow to the heavily injured lobster, ending its magnificent crustacean life.

"Luckily you were here, otherwise I really would have met my end in this ditch."

Tops looked relieved.

As he spoke, he stole a glance at Chen Nuo, his heart secretly pounding.

Wasn't this Tarnished's strength a bit inhuman?

Speaking of which, even a local like himself had fallen for it; these lobsters were truly as sneaky as ever.

"Is this lobster edible?"

Chen Nuo looked at the enormous lobster before him, a hundred cooking methods unconsciously popping into his head.

But as soon as he thought about what these lobsters grew up eating, he immediately lost his appetite.

After years of war, Lake Liurnia could still look so clear without a single corpse in sight, all thanks to the hard work of these lobsters.

Tops shook his head quickly upon hearing this; in any case, he didn't dare eat these giant lobsters.

Besides the river food, there were other rich herbs in this shallow lake, some of which were edible when cooked. Tops helped find quite a few to serve as dinner.

After a night of rest, Chen Nuo led Tops to continue their journey. After traveling all the way, they arrived at the Academy Gate Town.

This place had become a ruin, with traces of war visible everywhere.

Once at the Academy Gate Town, one could see the gates of the Academy of Sorcery.

One only needed to cross a broken bridge.

Tops looked both excited and somewhat apprehensive.

He had lingered before the Academy gates more than once, each time carrying hope, only to leave in dejection in the end.

A massive magic circle appeared on the Academy gates, shimmering with bright light.

Even a sorcery apprentice could clearly feel the nearly unshakable surge of magical power emanating from the gate.

"Maybe we should go look for a Glintstone Key instead."

Tops said in a low voice.

He really couldn't imagine anyone breaking through this magical barrier unless they were a god.

"Step back."

Chen Nuo waved him away dismissively. Tops sighed and took a few steps back as told.

Then he saw a fireball ignite in Chen Nuo's hand.

Eh?!

Tops was shocked to his core; he had always thought Chen Nuo was a savage warrior with an Intelligence of less than nine.

The Academy of Sorcery had its own set of enrollment evaluation standards.

According to the Academy's internal saying, someone with an Intelligence below 9 was equivalent to a chimpanzee that couldn't count.

Sorcerers were full of various forms of discrimination and suppression against each other; treating non-sorcerer humans as primates was already considered very respectful.

In fact, Chen Nuo's performance along the way had been quite consistent with the stereotype of the Tarnished in The Lands Between.

After all, the vast majority of exiled Tarnished, like Godfrey, were once barbarian warriors.

The most notable traits of this race were great strength and a sturdy constitution.

However, after observing carefully, Tops realized this wasn't sorcery, but another, even more vast power.

Before he could think further, he saw Chen Nuo press the flames against the barrier.

In an instant, ripples erupted.

Magic is a very precise thing.

Especially a barrier spell with such a massive range of influence.

Trying to crush such a whole would indeed be a bit taxing for Chen Nuo, but if it was just to dissolve a corner of it, it was much easier.

The originally azure magic circle, like a candle meeting fire, deformed and disintegrated at a visible speed, breaking open a hole.

This was a gap in the very nature of their power.

Just like a knife through tofu.

"Still staring?"

Chen Nuo turned back and spoke to the dazed Tops.

"Wait! I'm coming!!"

Tops couldn't care less about the principles behind it now. He dashed forward, passed through the barrier, and stepped into his beloved Academy of Sorcery once again.

Just as tears of emotion welled up in his eyes, an alarm sounded from the Academy steps.

"This is a Level One Alert! An intruder has broken into the Academy?!"

Tops sniffled hard, his expression turning serious as he looked around, looking ready to sacrifice himself for the Academy.

However, looking around, he only saw Chen Nuo.

Suddenly, Tops realized. He froze as if turned to stone.

Wait!

Could the intruder be me?!

Tops finally realized that his way of returning wasn't exactly formal.

Only a Glintstone Key was the permit for entry into the Academy.

Of course, that permit was only for sorcerers.

"Oh no, we have to leave here quickly!"

Tops said hurriedly.

If it were just him, maybe he could survive by relying on his student status, but for an outsider like Chen Nuo, there wasn't even a sliver of hope.

As his words fell, glintstone light flared.

Over a dozen sorcerers wearing Glintstone Crowns teleported in, surrounding Chen Nuo and Tops.

There were many teleportation magic channels within the Academy, and these channels were integrated with the external barrier.

If they had taken the normal path, it naturally wouldn't have provoked such a large reaction from the Academy.

But Chen Nuo's act of "burning" the barrier stepped right on the most sensitive nerve of the Academy sorcerers.

This barrier was their greatest pride and their most important foundation.

Otherwise, how could the Academy stay out of trouble?

It would have been dragged into the years of war long ago.

"Wait a moment, masters, seniors..."

Tops hurriedly stood in front of Chen Nuo, raising his hand.

However, what answered him was the azure light of glintstone sorcery.

Magic Glintblade and glintstone Pebble shone together, as if to drown Chen Nuo and Tops on the spot.

No one cared about the life of a "blunt stone"; right now, the most urgent thing was to eliminate any factor that might threaten the safety of the Great Academy.

Just as Tops felt despair and closed his eyes to wait for death, a heat wave hit from behind him.

"Magic is forbidden here."

Chen Nuo snapped his fingers.

Using himself as the axis, he released solar power, disrupting the originally orderly magic around him and forcibly terminating the sorcerers' casting.

Each of them suddenly looked like ducks being choked by the neck, even finding it difficult to breathe.

The magic within this Academy, which they could normally control at will, was suddenly polluted in nature.

It was like a bowl of plain porridge with chili added, a familiar taste being cruelly defiled.

This completely broke the sorcerers' casting logic and habits, leaving them at a total loss for a moment.

It was an interference technique similar to "Magic Disruption."

Sorcery has a strong dependence on the environment or other external objects; clearly, the group of sorcerers before them wasn't strong enough to break free from that dependence.

In the turbulent magic, let alone successfully casting spells, these magic addicts felt like they were about to suffocate.

The crowns and staves they wore were all meant to make them more in tune with natural magic to enhance the power of their spells, but against Chen Nuo, this equipment had the opposite effect.

Coupled with the backlash from the failed casting, the already "frail" sorcerers fell one by one.

"This is quite useful."

Chen Nuo smiled with satisfaction.

Don't be fooled by them all being called magic; in fact, there were significant differences between the magic of different worlds.

Simply put, they were just somewhat similar supernatural systems.

But at Chen Nuo's current level, he had already grasped some of the commonalities.

He wouldn't say that mastering one meant mastering all.

But at least he could understand others by analogy.

If Chen Nuo really chose to follow the path of sorcery in The Lands Between, it wouldn't be long before he reached the forefront.

But with the power of the sun, pursuing sorcery would be putting the cart before the horse.

Moreover, on the path of the sorcery system in The Lands Between, the stars and the three moons were blocking the way.

"Hello there."

Chen Nuo walked into the middle of the sorcerers and greeted them as they lay scattered about.

No one responded; from under the Glintstone Crowns came only painful, low gasps.

"Excuse me, which room is Full Moon Queen, in?"

Chen Nuo raised his hand and tapped on one of the crowns; from the shape and size of the crown, he could tell this one was the leader.

"Who... who are you?"

A somewhat hoarse and aged voice sounded from within.

It sounded like an elderly person.

"As you can see, a Tarnished."

"Heh, an ordinary Tarnished wouldn't have your abilities. Why have you come to break the Academy's peace? All the conflicts of the outside world have nothing to do with us."

The old sorcerer said in a deep voice.

"Closing the doors to play the shrinking turtle?"

Chen Nuo bluntly pointed out the Academy's behavior.

"You—!"

The old sorcerer was a bit exasperated and coughed hard several times.

"You should know what the Tarnished have come back for. I want your support. May I ask if you are willing to serve me as your lord?"

Chen Nuo spoke without hesitation.

"In your dreams!!"

As the words fell, two loud thumps followed.

The old sorcerer's Glintstone Crown was sent flying, revealing a pained old face crumpled into a ball.

"Nuo..."

Tops called out instinctively.

He still respected the Academy's masters, but the surrounding sorcerers didn't appreciate it, glaring at this "traitor."

"Old man, I gave you a chance,"

Chen Nuo said, delivering two more thumps.

"Wait a minute, let's talk this out."

The old sorcerer pleaded in a panic.

Even though Chen Nuo had held back significantly, he had still nearly knocked the old man's brains out, almost killing him on the spot.

If these old fellows weren't truly afraid of death, they wouldn't have shut themselves away in the Academy.

And don't think of them as some pure-hearted scholars; if they were, they wouldn't have stripped Queen Rennala of her power.

In this glamorous Academy, there was no shortage of hidden filth and nastiness; it was just all covered up by the brilliance of sorcery.

Chaos, death, and strife weren't kept out by the sealed barrier either; they still grew and spread within the Academy.

Of course, compared to the mess in the rest of The Lands Between, the Academy could indeed be considered a paradise.

After all, this place was illuminated by the moon.

It already had a master, so to speak.

The collapse of the golden order had the least impact here.

Even during the wars of unification, when the Golden Dynasty's military power was at its peak, it still failed to truly conquer this place, even having to use another "gentle" method to make it bow its head.

"Wait for what? These?"

Chen Nuo grabbed the old sorcerer, lifting him from the ground to face a group of approaching golems.