Bai Shi moved with ease, weaving through the storm of glintstone sorceries unleashed by the mages. A slight turn of his body was all it took to evade nearly every incoming spell. Grazing past projectiles while casting counter-spells felt like something straight out of a bullet hell game. However, even he found it difficult to dodge the most densely packed barrages. So Bai Shi simply let go of his staff. He infused the staff with his sorcery, and it began to spin rapidly before him, propelled by a will of its own. This was none other than a signature Carian royal sorcery: Spinning Weapon. It was one of the many Carian sorceries Ranni had given him. Coated in magic, the staff was surprisingly resilient, deflecting a torrent of spells without a scratch. “My apprentice, how do you expect to counterattack if you’re only focused on defense?” “You may have mastered many spells, but you’re still far too green when it comes to actual combat.” “Yield control of your sorcery to me.” Bai Shi did as he was told, relinquishing control over the flow of his own sorcery. Sellen immediately drew upon his power, guiding it through his body along a specific arcane path. A moment later, a pitch-black void materialized in the space between Bai Shi and the other mages. It was Eternal Darkness, a sorcery of the Nox. Instantly, every glintstone shard flying toward Bai Shi was captured by a powerful gravitational pull, forced to orbit the dark void. The brilliant motes of magic orbiting the dark sphere created a strangely beautiful scene, like a miniature galaxy. At that moment, Bai Shi suddenly remembered that he hadn't asked Sorcerer Thops about the results of his research. He should have checked in with him earlier; it would have been perfect for this situation. ...Oh well. He decided he would sneak into the academy first and worry about teleporting out later. With Eternal Darkness active, Bai Shi no longer needed to maintain his Spinning Weapon. But another question quickly arose: Sorceress Sellen was using his body to cast a spell, so why hadn't it disrupted his own Spinning Weapon, which also required a constant flow of sorcery? With Eternal Darkness blocking the path ahead, Bai Shi immediately thought to attack the mages with Swift Glintstone Shard. But when he tried to cast it, he found the spell wouldn't form. Unable to attack, Bai Shi quickly turned to Sellen for an explanation. Sellen's voice echoed in his mind: “My apprentice, limited to one spell at a time? Sorcery is not so inconvenient a tool.” “If your control is fine-tuned enough, you can channel your sorcery just as I did, casting one spell while simultaneously maintaining another.” “This is one of the advanced techniques of sorcery: dual casting.” “Your Swift Glintstone Shard failed just now because a portion of its arcane trajectory overlapped with the other spell’s.” “Those streams of sorcery interfered with each other, causing the unformed spell to collapse.” Bai Shi began to understand. He had indeed been using Spinning Weapon and Eternal Darkness at the same time. “My apprentice, I will maintain Eternal Darkness for you. The offensive part is up to you.” “As you cast, remember to feel the flow of sorcery. See if it collides with the power fueling Eternal Darkness.” “This will be your first lesson in dual casting, and the homework I am assigning you.” Bai Shi nodded and began to try casting different spells. The other sorcerers, realizing they were powerless against Eternal Darkness, were now watching Bai Shi with caution. They had never seen this sorcery before and had no way to counter it. This gave Bai Shi ample time to complete the practical assignment from Sorceress Sellen. Bai Shi switched to another spell, trying Star Shower, one of the academy's glintstone sorceries. This time, he successfully cast the spell. Six glintstone stars grazed the edge of the Eternal Darkness, tracing several arcs before striking one of the mages. This was, of course, the result of Sellen adjusting the position of Eternal Darkness. Otherwise, Eternal Darkness would have swallowed the spell Bai Shi had just fired. The remaining sorcerers began to think about retreating. This unfamiliar sorcery had completely nullified their attacks. And the man before them was too strange. He wore a Karolos Glintstone Crown, yet had just used Star Shower—one of the most difficult spells taught by the Olivinus Conspectus. Furthermore, the way he dodged spells was nothing like a sorcerer. Just who is this guy?!— Bai Shi switched to another spell, this time choosing to cast Great Glintstone Shard. However, there were two points where Great Glintstone Shard's trajectory overlapped slightly with Eternal Darkness. In the end, the Great Glintstone Shard was successfully cast, but its shape was crooked and warped. It was much smaller than normal, yet traveled with exceptional speed. These were the unpredictable results of a flawed sorcerous flow. Sellen's voice came once more: “You should have felt it, my apprentice.” “Spells from the same origin are more likely to have overlapping arcane trajectories and interfere with one another.” “But even spells from completely unrelated schools of sorcery will share some common, universal paths.” “Dual casting is not an exceptionally difficult technique to grasp.” “When you can clearly remember the individual trajectories of all these spells, and know which can be used simultaneously, only then will you be a qualified sorcerer by my standards.” “After you've fully mastered dual casting, I will teach you other, more profound techniques.” Bai Shi nodded and glanced over at the distant Bloodhound Knight. The knight was surrounded and didn't seem to be doing well. He needed to end this fight quickly. Bai Shi cast Comet. This time, it materialized smoothly, no different from usual, and shot swiftly toward one of the mages. The sorcerer erected a shield of pure sorcery before him, but the Comet shattered it with ease. Like tearing through paper, the Comet effortlessly ripped through blood vessels, muscle, sternum, and lungs, turning them all to pulp. A shower of blood erupted in all directions, leaving only half a corpse behind. Bai Shi picked them off one by one with Comet, and soon, all the sorcerers were dealt with. While these mages weren't exactly fodder, their skill was only about average for the academy. After clearing out the sorcerers in his area, Bai Shi didn't forget to check on the Bloodhound Knight who had been drawing their fire. The mages surrounding the knight had also realized things were going badly. They decided to focus their fire and take out the knight first, then figure out how to deal with the clearly more powerful Bai Shi. Unfortunately for them, Bloodhound's Step was simply too nimble. Even while surrounded, the knight had avoided any serious injury. Meanwhile, Bai Shi dispelled Eternal Darkness and began experimenting with other combinations for dual casting. During this, a few more sorcerers deployed that special defensive magic, conjuring shields of pure sorcery before them. These magic shields had decent defensive properties and were highly effective against other sorceries. They were likely defensive spells developed specifically for infighting during previous confrontations with the other sect of sorcerers. Bai Shi cleaned up the remaining mages, then went over and sprinkled a handful of healing aromatics on the battered Bloodhound Knight to help him recover. The nomadic merchant walked over, clapping his hands in admiration. “Whoa, I've never seen that spell before! That was amazing!” “I gotta say, you're way stronger than any of those other sorcerers.” “You might actually be able to break into the academy.” Bai Shi just smiled without saying a word and turned toward the massive tower behind the plaza. This tower was the only way into the academy proper; he would need to use the lift inside to get up. Right now, the lift was at the top, leaving nothing but a bottomless-looking pit before them. He would have to pull a lever to bring it down. Bai Shi pulled the lever, and with a great rumbling of machinery, the lift began its slow descent. Bai Shi stepped onto the lift. The Bloodhound Knight followed him onto the platform without a word. The nomadic merchant, however, looked conflicted. To be honest, he really wanted to go up and have a look. But he figured with his skill level, a random stray spell could probably kill him. Then again, he had been around the academy for so long but had never actually seen what it truly looked like inside. Now that he had a powerhouse to lead the way, why not tag along and satisfy his curiosity? And so, chuckling to himself, the nomadic merchant walked onto the lift as well. Bai Shi didn't stop him and activated the lift. The mechanism engaged, and the lift began its slow ascent within the exquisite tower. But when they were halfway up, the sounds of multiple spells being cast echoed from above. With the crisp sound of glintstone shattering iron, the two chains on one side of the lift suddenly broke. The platform immediately tilted violently, dangling precariously from the last two chains. Bai Shi grabbed onto an engraving on the lift’s surface, catching the nomadic merchant just as he was about to fall. The Bloodhound Knight’s claws screeched across the stone floor, digging long gashes before finally sinking in and securing his footing. The rıghtful source is 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵 Bai Shi looked up. Four or five sorcerers were up there, attacking the chains. He hadn't expected another welcoming party waiting for them. Within seconds, the remaining two chains were also shattered by the sorcerers. Bai Shi and the others plunged downward with the broken lift platform. Hearing the merchant's screams, the sorcerers above put away their staves. “We destroyed the lift. There’s no way they’re getting up now.” “Hopefully the fall killed that sorcerer outright.” “Tsk, tsk. Looked like he didn’t even have a scratch on him. Good thing we didn’t go down to help.” They were the reinforcements who had come after receiving the call for help. But they knew their strength was on par with the sorcerers below. If their comrades couldn’t handle the intruder, they probably couldn’t either. So, instead of going down to support them, they had simply waited up here. The academy was completely sealed anyway; it didn't matter if the lift was destroyed. Rather than letting that man come up and fighting a difficult battle to surround him, it was better to just make sure he couldn't get up at all. Only when the sound of the heavy lift platform crashing and shattering into pieces at the very bottom reached their ears did the sorcerers turn and leave.