Bai Shi followed the path Yura had pointed out and arrived at the top of the ruined structure. Just as expected, a single leap from there was all it took to land on the broken bridge. There were hardly any defenders on the bridge; it was completely empty. Only where the broken bridge connected to the academy gate town were there a few scattered soldiers. At the far end of this great bridge was the south gate, one of the two main entrances to the Academy of Raya Lucaria. After stepping onto the broken bridge, Bai Shi was about to head straight for the academy’s gate when a weak, listless voice suddenly stopped him. “Come to this old crone.” “Please, let me read your finger...” Moreover, he was still in his intangible, invisible state. Bai Shi looked toward the source of the voice and saw a wooden chair on one side of the bridge. A hunched old woman with a peculiar figure sat perched on the wooden chair, a massive staff in her hand. The crone's face was ancient, her eye sockets deeply sunken. It was a mystery how she could see at all. She was one of the Finger Reader Crones of the Lands Between. Bai Shi narrowed his eyes slightly. He was certain that this Finger Reader Crone had not been here a moment ago. She had appeared out of thin air. After a moment’s thought, Bai Shi approached without dispelling his invisibility. The Finger Reader Crone cackled. “I can see those with the makings of a king even if they lack a physical form. What's a little invisibility to me?” “Now, please, let me read your finger...” The crone’s words were filled with an eagerness that Bai Shi couldn’t quite understand. Why was the act of reading a finger so exciting to her? Bai Shi considered it for a moment and decided not to refuse. He dispelled the magic on his hand, allowing only his right hand to materialize. “Then please, read my finger.” The Finger Reader Crone let out a strange laugh, lifting Bai Shi’s palm to examine it. “...Thank the heavens.” “...You have a connection to the great Miquella!” The source of this content ɪs 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽 Bai Shi’s brow furrowed at her words. Was this Finger Reader Crone cursing him? If she had said this back when he knew nothing, it might have been fine. But now, Bai Shi knew that Miquella, that little femboy, was gay and had already gone after Radahn. For the crone to say now that he shared a connection with Miquella didn’t sit right with him at all. Besides, did he really have any kind of bond with Miquella? Bai Shi didn’t think so. The Finger Reader Crone continued, muttering to herself: “Hee hee, heeheehee...” “Serves him right, it does, that little All-Hearing...” “Slaughter, slaughter, and more slaughter... but his efforts were in vain.” “The thing he schemed so tirelessly to obtain is now beyond his reach...” “And you... you no longer have need of it.” Bai Shi watched the Finger Reader Crone, a feeling of unease settling over him. What she was saying was different from the game, wasn’t it? The "little All-Hearing" definitely referred to Sir Gideon Ofnir, and "that thing" had to be the secret Haligtree medallion. It seemed she knew he had already visited the Consecrated Snowfield, which was why she said he no longer needed it. But how could she have known? The Finger Reader Crones were a mystery; the game provided little information about them. They were scattered all across the Lands Between, each with a different temperament and the ability to perceive different things. Still, they were useful. Although they spoke in riddles, their words served as relatively clear hints within the game. Especially after learning about key plot points and items, a look back at the crones' dialogue revealed that everything they said was, in fact, understandable. Bai Shi thought for a moment and asked the crone, “Can you see anything else?” But the Finger Reader Crone said nothing, only stared at Bai Shi with her deeply sunken sockets and cackled. Bai Shi met her "gaze" for a moment longer before realizing he probably wouldn't get any more information from her. He finally shook his head and turned to leave. “Thank you for the reading. Take care.” After he had taken several steps, the Finger Reader Crone behind him began to mutter something indistinctly. “To the south... a ritual of death is underway.” “Those stubborn folk, still praying and praying... hee hee...” “A pity, though. Their prayers will not be answered...” But when Bai Shi turned to look back, the Finger Reader Crone had vanished. Bai Shi frowned. The crone waiting until he was walking away to speak—truly, she was the master of riddles. If you have something to say, just say it. Why play all these games? If it weren't for his exceptional hearing, he would have missed her words entirely. But... to the south, a ritual of death, prayers? It sounded like it might be related to Godwyn. The white phantom in Castle Sol had mentioned prayers, but Castle Sol was in the north, wasn't it? He couldn't get any useful information out of it now. All he could do was commit it to memory and investigate later. Bai Shi set off from the broken bridge, heading through the academy gate town toward the academy’s south gate. Along the way, he also observed the deployment of the Cuckoo soldiers in the area. The Cuckoos appeared to take their duties from the academy very seriously, having stationed a large number of troops in the desolate gate town. Almost every path and roadway was patrolled by Cuckoo Knights and their soldiers. The typical formation consisted of one or two knights leading several dozen soldiers, plus a contingent of common grunts to serve as cannon fodder. These soldiers looked exceptionally diligent, maintaining their watch at all times. A closer look, however, revealed that they were almost all mindless, living corpses, which was why they could stand guard here indefinitely. In addition to the standard soldiers and knights, there were also several Flame Chariots with terrifying faces. These Flame Chariots were top-tier weapons of war. The front of each was sculpted with the bronze face of a Fire Giant, several tongues dangling from its open mouth. The thick metal plating provided it with terrifying defense, while the flamethrower tongues extending from its maw could reduce anything to scorched earth. Those all-consuming flames were enough to remind the world just how terrifying giants and fire truly were. Without a doubt, these were superweapons on the battlefields of the Lands Between. Bai Shi approached one of the Flame Chariots, getting close to its grimacing giant face to examine it carefully. This thing was basically a medieval tank. It was a fantastical war machine that could only exist in a fantasy world one. Could you imagine that, besides a driver, two other men had to lie down near the wheels, hand-cranking them to provide power? That's right, this thing had no engine; it was manually operated. When Bai Shi discovered this, his expression was incredibly complicated. It was unexpected, but it also felt like something the people of the Lands Between would come up with. Suddenly, Bai Shi noticed something surprising on the Flame Chariot. He looked at the chassis on the front of the war machine. Hanging there was the heavily damaged and faded eagle crest of Stormveil Castle. This thing was connected to Stormveil? Bai Shi had never noticed this in the game. After all, he was always too busy running from these things to either circle around and backstab the driver or use the terrain to perform a jumping execution. It was hard to notice a small detail on the front. Furthermore, all the lore suggested they were tools of the Fire Monks; Stormveil was never mentioned. It seemed Stormveil's past was deeper than he had imagined. He would have to ask the old king about it when he got back. Afterward, taking advantage of his invisibility, Bai Shi strolled openly to the gate of the Academy of Raya Lucaria. There, he took out the Academy Glintstone Key. He touched the key to the azure magical seal. With a flash of blue light, his body was no longer obstructed by the barrier. Bai Shi passed through the seal smoothly, and the glintstone on his key immediately lost its color. Now that he was granted passage, the key was useless. Bai Shi looked up and saw that he was on an upward-sloping path. Unlike in the game, he hadn't been directly teleported into the academy's courtyard. Meanwhile, within the Academy of Raya Lucaria. The heads of the various schools had gathered once again, engaged in a tense and heated discussion. The topic of their debate was the mysterious person who had just walked openly through the main gate. With the academy sealed, the stir caused by someone using an Academy Glintstone Key was more than enough to attract their attention. As they thought and argued, the glintstones on their hoods flashed with extreme frequency, blinking even more frantically than an Ultra-timer about to run out. “Who could have gotten a key? One of the academy’s exiled sorcerers?” “Who knows? I’ve been saying we needed to install magical surveillance at the gate.” “Shut up, you idiot, we already did! He’s using an invisibility spell. We can only detect his magical presence, but we can't tell who it is.” “We know absolutely nothing about him right now, not whether he’s friend or foe. We only know he entered through the south gate...” “Do you think... it could be the Stormhawk King?” At this, the other sorcerers fell silent and turned to look at the Lazuli sorcerer who had spoken. Without a doubt, this was one of the worst-case scenarios. The frantic blinking of the glintstones on their heads proved they were all thinking at top speed. An Olivinus sorcerer spoke up to refute the idea: “Impossible, absolutely impossible!” “Finding a key would require a large number of people searching everywhere, and Liurnia is not his Limgrave.” “We’ve had Stormveil under constant surveillance. No large force has come this way.” “And most importantly, the Stormhawk King has absolutely no reason to enter unseen.” The other sorcerers exchanged glances. Although he had a point, they decided to abandon this inconclusive topic. In any case, no matter who entered, their course of action remained the same. “Raise the grand lift! Or he’ll be up here before we know it!” “And send more men down!”