Bai Shi was now situated behind the academy’s south gate. He hadn’t been teleported directly to his destination, but that hardly mattered. The remaining distance was nothing to him. In fact, now that Bai Shi was inside the Academy of Raya Lucaria, nothing else was a problem. With his strength, he could handle this gaggle of sorcerers with ease. Bai Shi sensed a hidden gaze and looked up, spotting a figure concealed atop the gate. It was a Bloodhound Knight. It couldn’t see the invisible Bai Shi, but it could smell his scent. The Bloodhound Knight leaped down from the gate, landing beside Bai Shi. Bai Shi paid it no mind and continued upward. However, the Bloodhound Knight began to follow him, climbing up the path as well. When Bai Shi stopped, it stopped. When Bai Shi moved forward, it moved forward. The Bloodhound Knight consistently maintained a specific distance from him. Bai Shi stopped once more. He turned to the knight behind him and asked: Unfortunately, the Bloodhound Knight did not respond, only staring at Bai Shi’s position from behind its iron helm. “You have a master, don’t you?” To his surprise, the Bloodhound Knight actually nodded. Bai Shi was a little taken aback, suddenly realizing that he had been misled by his own stereotypes about Bloodhound Knights. He was right, of course. Although Bloodhound Knights communicated with each other in a special way, they could certainly understand human speech and commands. After all, they were just humans who had undergone training. If they couldn't even understand words, they would be useless even as hounds. If it had a master, then that master was most likely Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon. The Bloodhound Knights were likely trained at Volcano Manor. Considering that there were Bloodhound Knights in the territory of each of Radagon’s family members, it was possible Rykard had trained them as guards and gifted them to his siblings and mother. But now, the Academy of Raya Lucaria was occupied by the sorcerers. Even the wolf packs that had formed an alliance with the Carian Royal Family had all been driven out. Did this Bloodhound Knight want him to take it into the academy to save Rennala? If so, then it wasn't an enemy. Since it wasn't going to attack, he might as well let it do as it pleased. Bai Shi took a closer look at the Bloodhound Knight trailing behind him. Its calves were bent backward, just like a real canine’s. The length of its arms was also different from an ordinary person’s, much longer, allowing it to run with coordination on all fours. He had no idea what drastic modifications it had undergone to end up with its current physical structure. Bai Shi shrugged and continued onward. He walked up the dilapidated and overgrown path. Sorceress Sellen’s words surfaced in his mind: “This road was once a bustling thoroughfare, filled with an endless stream of people.” “Countless individuals yearning for knowledge passed through here on their way to the academy.” “But in the end, only a few were ever truly permitted to set foot inside.” Now, however, the place was overgrown with weeds, the great path all but swallowed by the grass. There were even strange trees growing along the roadside, and it was impossible to tell how many years they had stood there. After walking for a while, a flicker of fire appeared from a cluster of bushes ahead. Bai Shi approached and found a nomadic merchant. The merchant did not see Bai Shi, but he did see the Bloodhound Knight. Following the knight’s gaze, the merchant also looked toward Bai Shi’s position. “Hey? Is someone there?” “You people never learn. You should know by now that the academy can see through invisibility.” Read full story at 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚·𝔫𝔢𝔱 Bai Shi was a little surprised. Logically, the invisibility spell created by the sorcerers of Sellia to assassinate their rivals shouldn’t be so easily detected. Even he hadn't been able to pinpoint the Sellian sorcerers' locations based on their magical energy back then. “Oh? How does the academy manage that?” The nomadic merchant stroked his long beard, sensing something was amiss. “You... you came from outside the academy, didn’t you? What a rarity.” “Well, since you don’t know, I’ll tell you all about it. It’s been a long time since I’ve had someone to talk to.” Having not seen an outsider for a long time, the merchant was quite excited. He pointed at the slope where they were standing. “This place is now where the academy exiles people.” “Back when they discovered the Queen of the Full Moon had lost her senses, the academy split into two factions.” “One faction immediately launched a rebellion, attempting to imprison the queen.” “The other faction believed the academy shouldn't be tainted by politics, but they didn’t really do anything.” “They probably thought they’d be fine as long as they didn't get involved. But once the first faction succeeded, the second was expelled.” “After that, the academy was suddenly sealed off, and no one could get in or out. Some unlucky folks were kicked out but didn't manage to leave in time.” “They had nowhere else to go, so they could only stay here...” Bai Shi interrupted the merchant’s story. “While I am interested in this tale... what does it have to do with the academy being able to see through invisibility?” The merchant chuckled. “Of course it’s related.” “Those expelled sorcerers couldn’t leave and couldn’t go back in, so they were quite displeased.” “Later, a sorcerer who knew invisibility magic spread the technique, and a large group of them charged back in.” “They never came back after that, and the academy has had the technology to counter invisibility ever since.” Sellen became interested as well. She had never heard of such a technique during her time at the academy. She could detect an invisible sorcerer by subtle fluctuations in magical energy, but it seemed the academy had developed an entirely new counter-spell. Bai Shi nodded. Since the academy had magic to counter invisibility, there was no longer a need to hide. He simply dispelled his invisibility. “By the way, what are you doing here?” When Bai Shi asked this, the nomadic merchant’s expression became complicated. “Sigh. Because I was one of those unlucky sods who didn’t get out in time.” “I was doing business inside the academy back then.” “I was hoping to sell some maps and things to the sorcerers who were being chased out, to make one last score of runes. But I ended up getting trapped in here with them.” “I was desperate at the time. But then I thought, since there are people like me trapped inside unable to get out, there must be others trapped outside unable to get in.” “When I thought of that, I felt much better...” At that moment, far away in Stormveil Castle, Sorcerer Thops, who was deeply engrossed in his theories, sneezed. He rubbed his bald head, puzzled. After confirming he wasn’t sick, he buried his head back in his research. Afterward, Bai Shi changed into a sorcerer’s robe and a Karolos Glintstone Crown. The set was provided free of charge by the nomadic merchant. He was originally a man who loved money; after all, he was a daredevil willing to risk his life to make a profit even after a factional struggle. But after being trapped here for so long, he had gradually become someone who just loved a good show. Now that a mysterious fellow like Bai Shi had arrived from the outside, he couldn't wait for him to stir up some trouble in the academy. The merchant looked at the disguised Bai Shi and nodded in satisfaction. “Hehe, now you look just like a sorcerer.” “Don’t you worry. The sorcerers are a lax bunch. As long as you can blend in, no one will notice you.” “After all, sorcerers prefer to research magic on their own rather than communicate with their peers.” “As for how to blend in... well, that’s up to you.” “But as long as you can take care of the sorcerer guarding the lift, getting up there shouldn’t be a problem.” Truth be told, he didn’t need the disguise, but experiencing a bit of infiltration sounded like fun. Bai Shi suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu, like he had rediscovered the feeling of making up rules for himself during childhood games. Like insisting on walking only on the curb, where falling off meant losing; or having to step on every other tile... It was still quite amusing to think about now. With that, Bai Shi made his decision. For this trip, he would try to use only magic and attempt a stealthy infiltration of the academy. Bai Shi walked toward the lift, now followed by the nomadic merchant in addition to the Bloodhound Knight. They soon passed through the wolf pack and arrived near the academy’s main gate plaza. There were usually two sorcerers on guard here to prevent anyone from tampering with the lift. But at this moment, seven or eight sorcerers stood in the plaza—reinforcements sent down from the academy on short notice. Not only that, but they had also raised the lift. Seeing this, the nomadic merchant looked troubled. He felt that Bai Shi could no longer reach the academy via the lift. “Looks like your movements have been discovered.” “This could be trouble.” While Bai Shi was still thinking about how to get past them, the Bloodhound Knight had already charged out on its own. The sorcerers quickly spotted it and began firing spells at it. Using its Bloodhound’s Step, it nimbly dodged the sorcerers’ attacks and landed a close-range slash on one of them. Then, the Bloodhound Knight ran toward the broken bridge leading to the north gate. It seemed it wanted to draw their attention so that Bai Shi could use the lift. However, with so many sorcerers below, it couldn’t draw all of them away. Bai Shi stepped out from the side and hurled a spectacular Haima Cannonball at the sorcerers. What was the essence of stealth? Wasn’t it simply to remain unseen? If you killed all the enemies, then that was undoubtedly a form of stealth. The sorcerers managed to dodge in time. Although they were knocked off-balance by the blast, none of them fell. They all drew their staffs and retaliated against Bai Shi. Bai Shi stood his ground in the plaza and exchanged fire with the sorcerers. The nomadic merchant hid behind a tree, completely unfazed by the glintstone pebbles flying past him. “Hee hee! How exciting!” “This time, it would be worth the price of admission even if I died!”