From the moment Bashi stirred up trouble to transporting ingredients, preparing for the competition, and finally reaching its conclusion, a little over a week had passed.
During this time, the exploration of the Lake of Liurnia by adventurers never ceased. On the contrary, the pace only continued to accelerate.
Part of the reason was the growing number of participants, but more importantly, people were becoming increasingly familiar with the area—even beginning to customize certain aspects themselves.
One notable example was how the town before the academy gates was gradually being transformed into a livable settlement.
Under the leadership of the Skyrim Group, a construction team composed of mages and beastmen cleared collapsed buildings and erected new houses. While not particularly attractive, they were extremely sturdy—at the very least, they could withstand a charging Jyuratodus without collapsing.
The vast gatefront town of the academy could now accommodate even more adventurers.
Merchant caravans from outside quickly noticed this dungeon that could remain open long-term. Sensing opportunity, they organized supply lines to continuously transport goods to the Lake of Liurnia, selling all kinds of provisions to adventurers—including essential food.
Water was not an issue either. The lake provided an abundant supply—one could drink freely, at worst swallowing some crab eggs or octopus eggs as impurities. As long as you didn't accidentally swallow a larval creature, that was already considered fortunate. For those unwilling to drink the lake water, mages could even summon water elementals.
At present, the region's logistics were effectively solved. Frontline explorers could now venture into the unknown without restraint.
Raya Lucaria Academy was the central focus of all adventurers in the lake region.
First Floor
The final boss was the Crystalian, who wielded crystal magic and controlled laser insects.
He was a nightmare for solo adventurers—but easy prey in group combat.
Both the left and right paths led to the boss room:
The left path emphasized intense combat, filled with large groups of monsters, though each individual enemy was weaker.
The right path emphasized cooperative puzzle-solving, with mechanisms that required teamwork to unlock. Fewer monsters appeared here, but they were mostly elite units.
During exploration, adventurers could obtain weapons, equipment, Ashes of War, smithing stones, or even gold and silver treasures.
Second Floor
The final boss was Professor Miriam.
She appeared throughout the exploration process, occasionally sniping adventurers with "Loretta's Greatbow." She seemed capable of creating clones, though most of the time only one instance appeared. As more adventurers entered the second floor, she became too busy to harass everyone.
Ironically, the more adventurers present, the lower the chance of being sniped by Miriam.
If she wasn't defeated during exploration, she would appear in the final chamber for a decisive battle—and would not respawn to harass explorers until after being defeated.
Thus, adventurers developed a strategy:
Exploration can wait—Miriam must die first!
Anyone who had ever been toyed with by Miriam held a grudge against her. When she respawned, hordes of adventurers would camp outside the boss room and rush in to hack her to pieces—only then enjoying a peaceful exploration experience.
Depending on dice rolls, defeating her could reward:
Professor Set
Loretta's Greatbow
Loretta's Greatbow (Student License)
Mage Sphere Talisman
EXP Candy M
Golden Painting Fragment (Part 3)
Notably, defeating Miriam outside the boss room had a chance to grant her elusive skill, "Miriam's Vanishing," though doing so was extremely difficult.
The second floor was filled with various classrooms—Defense Against Dark Magic, Transfiguration, and more. Each classroom tested specific conditions. Passing trials would unlock corresponding magic learning permissions on a student ID.
For adventurers, this made Raya Lucaria finally feel like a real academy. After all, an academy should teach knowledge—not force you to run marathons with professors.
Third Floor
The final boss was the Red Wolf of Radagon.
Agile and deadly, it thrived in an open battlefield, forcing adventurers to constantly chase it. However, after enduring the Crystalian and Miriam, adventurers found the wolf almost… comforting.
At least it ran on four legs instead of teleporting—and its movements could be predicted.
Despite its abilities—casting magic glintblades, summoning wolf packs, and summoning a second wolf at half health—it was still far more enjoyable to fight than laser insects or crystal terrain hazards.
Its sleek, majestic appearance also earned it immense popularity, second only to Carian Knight Moongrum.
…Except for one sword saint who quietly broke down inside.
When Gapar saw that even a wolf could cast ranged magic while he could only swing a hammer, his frustration reached its peak.
Why can a wolf use such flashy magic?!
Defeating the Red Wolf could reward:
Magic Glintblade
Triple Glintblade (or learning rights)
Memory Stone
EXP Candy L
Lone Wolf Ashes and Spirit Calling Bell
The third floor featured classrooms divided into two major schools: Crystal and Glintstone. Compared to the diverse classrooms of the second floor, this level felt more unified—and more ancient.
These classrooms blended seamlessly with the academy, as if they had existed since its founding, unlike the newer ones below.
And indeed, that seemed to be the case.
Adventurers discovered fragmented journals from a glintstone mage, describing daily life and complaining:
"Those newcomers and their strange magic have stolen my job!"
From this, along with information about faction-specific mage hats, adventurers deduced that after Raya Lucaria sealed itself in a separate dimension, it somehow connected with mages from other eras—or other "blank" worlds.
These outsiders entered the academy, exchanging and developing magic, ushering in a "golden age" of magic during isolation.
However, tensions between native and outsider mages were evident—something that fascinated adventurers immensely.
After all, nothing draws attention more than cracks in something that once seemed perfect.
Fourth Floor
"What… happened here?"
All paths to the fourth floor had been sealed. Only with an Entry Permit obtained from an invisible dung beetle on the third floor could adventurers break through.
The atmosphere here was completely different—oppressive, strange, and solemn.
And what they saw shocked them:
Corpses. Corpses everywhere.
Mages, puppet soldiers, troll knights… and unfamiliar knights wearing armor adorned with cuckoo emblems.
"This looks like a small-scale war…" Stella shivered.
"A small-scale war?" Melga pointed at the massive traces of destructive magic. "Are you sure?"
Why had the academy sealed such a battlefield at its top level?
The decay here suggested a much older era—completely different from the lower floors.
Enemies wandering the ruins had become undead.
After defeating knights bearing cuckoo crests, adventurers found the following entry:
[Cuckoo Knights]
Knights who served the academy, yet the cuckoo crest on their armor conveys this message—
"We will never fully pledge loyalty to the academy."
This is a reflection of the conflict between the academy and the royal family.
Not fully loyal to the academy? Then what was this "royal family"?
Some recalled titles like the Lunar Princess and the Lunar Queen.
Initially believed to be leaders of the academy, it now seemed far more complicated.
Further clues from Carian Knight equipment revealed the existence of the Carian royal family.
Thus, adventurers formed a theory:
Raya Lucaria was once ruled by the Carian royals. Later, internal factions rose within the academy, forming the Cuckoo Knights to oppose the royal family—leading to war.
Piecing together history was thrilling. Even if it had no practical benefit, adventurers couldn't resist uncovering the truth.
The question remained:
Did this war occur before or after the academy sealed itself?
No one knew.
But that wasn't their goal today.
"Is everyone ready?"
Standing before a massive gate engraved with stars and a full moon were fifty of Bedford City's finest adventurers:
Lean teams, Skyrim Group, elite guards, elves, mages…
All had contributed to reaching this point.
Ahead lay the final stage.
"Then… move out!"
Led by Leon, they pushed open the heavy doors.
Brilliant light flooded their vision—
Moonlight.
A full moon rose before them.
And with it came a cold, distant female voice:
"Do not disturb my mother's slumber."