[Celestial Dew]
[Bathe in pure spring water to turn enemies into allies.]
[In ages past, the stars of the night sky governed fate. This is a replica of a relic passed down through history. It only functions within the radiance of sorcery.]
"Turn enemies… into allies?"
Roger's first thought went to those undead mages. If they used this item, would it stop them from attacking?
Probably not. They were already reduced to walking corpses—there was no reason left in them.
But… what if it worked?
He turned and handed the Celestial Dew to Tursey and the others, explaining his speculation.
"Hmm…"
Tursey fell into thought. Gapar pondered quietly. Hades' eyes shifted as he processed the idea.
After a moment, he nodded. At the same time, Tursey and Gapar spoke in unison:
"Shall we try it?"
The three exchanged glances, each brimming with curiosity toward the unknown.
Everyone knew—if there were a ranking for causing trouble, mages would easily claim first place. Adventurers wouldn't even come close.
When Hades was young, he had once assisted his mentor in an experiment attempting to determine whether forcing demons to go vegetarian would result in plant-based lifeforms.
Since the Celestial Dew could be obtained here without too much difficulty, using it on-site wouldn't feel like a waste.
Besides, it wouldn't work outside the dungeon anyway. That practically screamed: Use it here.
The only problem was—
Where were they supposed to find "pure spring water"?
Anyone who enjoys theater knows: if a spear appears in Act One, it will stab some unlucky soul before the curtain falls.
Likewise, everyone was convinced there had to be a spring somewhere in this place. Perhaps it was hidden in one of the remaining Spade Rooms.
After looting the spoils—Roger carrying everything, of course—they opened the second Spade door.
Just like before, there was a mural. Just like before, it was also a storage room.
This mural wasn't as shocking as the previous one. It simply depicted the development and rise of the mages and Raya Lucaria Academy.
The mages' attire gradually changed. They began wearing glintstone crowns. The academy split into multiple classrooms and factions, each studying different schools of magic.
And throughout the mural, one female figure was always present. She wore a crescent-shaped crown and wielded magic slightly different from starlight sorcery—something closer to lunar magic.
The Queen of the Full Moon?
Roger remembered seeing a similar figure before. Though the mural's style was abstract, he recognized her.
Under the leadership of the Full Moon Queen, Raya Lucaria Academy flourished. The mages delved ever deeper into sorcery, seeking something beyond the surface.
Everything appeared stable—prosperous, even.
Yet beneath that stability, it felt as though thunderclouds were gathering. An indescribable unease settled into everyone's hearts.
They couldn't pinpoint what felt wrong.
Until the next mural.
Glintstone crowns.
An entire wall covered in them.
Every stone face bore a hollow, gaping mouth—as if silently screaming. Empty eye sockets stared outward, pitch-black and unblinking.
They weren't arranged neatly. They were chaotic, crowded together, overlapping and merging as though devouring one another.
Pull back the perspective—
And the mass of crowns formed a massive circle.
A circle like the stars.
"…"
The mural returned to normal.
Everyone exchanged looks, utterly confused.
What did a circular formation of glintstone crowns represent?
They simply didn't have enough information to draw a reasonable conclusion. Any forced guess would be pure speculation.
But after seeing that mural, the academy district was no longer merely "somewhat dangerous."
It had gained a new label:
Uncanny.
Tursey used a recording stone to capture the mural before they resumed looting.
This room contained unfinished magic staves. Like the robes before, two usable ones were found.
At this rate, the next room might complete a full Raya Lucaria Academy mage set.
Would it be the glintstone crown?
With that hopeful thought, they entered the third room.
The moment Roger inserted the key, he sensed something was wrong.
The previous two doors had opened inward.
This one pulled outward.
Was it a construction mistake—
His thoughts were cut short.
A cold stone face slammed into his vision.
Carved features. Hollow eyes. A frigid aura.
Without question—it was a glintstone crown.
But what stood in the doorway wasn't a single crown.
It was a massive sphere formed from stacked crowns.
[School of Graven Mages]
"Wah!"
Roger yelped. Before he could retreat, his vision went black. A powerful suction force dragged at him.
From the outside, it looked as though the Sphere had swallowed half his body whole.
Gapar reacted instantly, yanking him free. At the same time, violent magical fluctuations erupted overhead as beams of energy rained down.
"Buzz—"
The magic barrier trembled violently. With Tursey present, those beams stood no chance of breaking through.
Seizing the moment, Gapar cleaved the Sphere in half. It disintegrated into ash.
From Roger being half-swallowed to the monster's death, less than three seconds had passed.
So fast that Roger only started screaming after it was already fading away.
"You bastard! You scared the hell out of me!"
Still shaken, he stomped on the dissolving remains twice.
Damn it. Even the Dungeon had learned how to do door ambushes!
After venting his anger, he looked into the room—and froze.
No mural.
The chamber was empty except for the Mage Sphere… and a fountain.
Ah—and a pile of unfinished glintstone crowns hung on the wall. As expected, only two had special effects.
"I can see the stars…" Roger murmured after putting one on.
[Karolos Glintstone Crown]
[A glintstone crown worn by apprentices whose pursuit of knowledge was acknowledged within Raya Lucaria Academy. Increases insight into sorcery but slightly weakens the body.]
[The oldest Karolos Conspectus reveres the sorcerer Azur as its foundation, exploring comet-type magic.]
In short: boosts intelligence, reduces stamina.
But what did a mage need stamina for? Just stand in the back and hurl spells.
They weren't heavily armored battlemages dual-wielding golden drumsticks.
In the blink of an eye, Roger and someone else were both wearing crowns and refusing to take them off. The sensation of enhanced magical insight was intoxicating.
"Hades," Tursey said dryly, "why are you wearing that too?"
It looked ridiculous.
"I'm not taking it off."
It was the first sentence Hades had spoken in nearly a month.
Tursey blinked.
Did this crown have some kind of magical charm?
It actually made the ultra-reclusive Hades speak?
She turned to Roger. He stiffened and obediently handed over his crown.
Moments later, she gasped.
The effect was indeed extraordinary. She felt capable of casting stronger spells. No wonder the mages outside kept wearing them even after turning undead.
She stroked the smooth surface, then noticed Roger's crestfallen expression.
"Hmm…"
After exchanging a look with Gapar—who declined—she tossed the crown back to Roger.
"Huh? You're giving it to me?"
"Take it. It doesn't suit my aesthetic. Ugly thing," she said casually. "If I want one, I'll come back for it."
She walked straight to the fountain.
"Well, there's your spring water. Let's try it."
Roger looked at her gratefully. He had already prepared to hand over all his gains from this expedition.
He took out the Celestial Dew—then realized something.
How exactly were they supposed to use it?
After some confusion, they decided to stand in the fountain together and pour the tear into the water.
Nothing happened.
Or rather—there may have been a brief flicker of starlight.
"That's it?"
Unable to tell whether it worked, they left to test it on a monster.
"Hello," Roger said cautiously as he approached a distracted mage.
The mage did not attack.
Could it be—
"Gurgle!"
A Warrior Jar crashed down from above, nearly flattening Roger. The moment it landed, the mage attacked.
It had been bait.
Dirty trick!
After multiple experiments, they reached a conclusion:
The Celestial Dew was useless.
Well—maybe they had used it wrong. Next time they found one, they would try a different method.
To summarize this exploration:
They obtained two mage sets, learned about the origins of star sorcery from the murals, and encountered the eerie Sphere.
Roger: "The inside of the Sphere was surprisingly warm."
Hades: "Glintstone crown. Good."
Tursey: "The origin of star sorcery is rather beautiful."
"Enough summarizing. Let's head to the research district," Gapar said impatiently. Since they couldn't find the Heart Key, they might as well fight the Carian Knight.
After hurrying along, they reached the courtyard entrance and quietly observed Carian Knight Moongrum.
"You can tell he's strong just from his stance," Tursey said, patting Roger's back. "Go kill him."
"Me?"
He felt like a minor demon being ordered to eliminate the final boss.
"You'll ambush him. One stab, then we jump in. Go."
Reluctantly, Roger prepared thoroughly—eliminating footsteps and scent. He crept close and cast a sound-luring spell.
Damn.
He had thrown the sound too close to Gapar and the others. They would be exposed.
He hurried forward. Just as he thrust his rapier—
"You shouldn't be here. This is a seal. Step away."
Moongrum spoke from beneath his helmet.
What?
Gapar was stunned. Why was he speaking this time? During their last encounter, he attacked immediately.
Wait—
Was this the Celestial Dew's effect?
Gapar stood up, sensing an opportunity to exchange information—
"Shhk—"
The blade pierced flesh.
Moongrum stared at the rapier sticking through his chest, then slowly turned to meet Roger's sweating gaze.
"Ah. Damn."
Moongrum exploded with rage.
"You despicable wretch!"
And so the battle began.
Refusing any further dialogue, he focused solely on killing the treacherous outsiders.
Magic effects exploded everywhere. Even outnumbered three to one, the Carian knight displayed astonishing prowess.
Why three?
Because Roger got parried—and was currently being executed.
As Moongrum's straight sword plunged into Roger's body with dramatic flair, Gapar and the others struck simultaneously.
This wasn't a game. There were no invincibility frames.
Moongrum sent Roger back to the bonfire—but suffered fatal wounds in return.
By the time Roger ran back to the courtyard, the fight was over.
"Any rewards?" he asked hopefully.
While healing everyone, Tursey tossed him something.
It was a medal.
[Carian Filigreed Crest]
[A talisman bearing the royal crest upon a shield. Slightly reduces the stamina cost of skills.]
[Once bestowed only upon knights who directly served the princess. This is a replica; Moongrum used them to inspire subordinate Carian knights.]
A good magical item for warriors—but only effective with skill-based weapons produced by the Sein Dungeon.
"Hey. Let's go."
Tursey's reminder snapped Roger from his thoughts. The others were already touching the seal.
Beyond lay the legendary research district, where many masters had conducted experiments.
What awaited inside?
Filled with anticipation, Roger poured his magic into the seal.
It glowed brilliantly.
His vision went black.
Completely black.
A classic teleportation effect—just like entering the dungeon. Normally it lasted a second or two.
But this time…
Wasn't it taking too long?
By his sense of time, half a minute had passed.
What was happening?
Roger hadn't considered another possibility—
This teleportation covered a far greater distance.
Their destination was no longer the Sein Dungeon.
A distant, ethereal voice echoed. The darkness remained, but white magical script appeared before them:
[Liurnia of the Lakes]