Elden Lord of Cinders

What's with this guy?

Just look at Lloyd over there, holding a crab and asking if anyone wants some. Even Chaos looked like she was struggling to keep a straight face, let alone everyone else.

"My kin, you... Forget it, give me one."

Chaos had meant to say more, but suddenly remembered she'd done several jobs for Lloyd and hadn't gotten paid a single time.

So she changed the subject and snatched a salt-baked crab from Lloyd's hand—figuring that if she got swarmed and died later, at least she'd have gotten a crab out of it.

After Chaos started eating, the atmosphere got even weirder.

Frenzied Flame, out of nowhere, suddenly shows up... and starts gnawing on a crab.

"Hey, do you guys want some?"

Lloyd glanced around and asked again.

Looking at Lloyd's perfectly casual expression, and Chaos grabbing a second crab like it was the most natural thing in the world, the rest eventually put down their weapons with subtly confused expressions. They still stayed on guard, but at least the tension eased a little.

As for Lloyd...

To be honest, this time he could actually tell the atmosphere was weird.

After all, most of the people here had talked with him at some point, and even if he'd spent a long time half-asleep, he'd gained a decent understanding of the Lands Between.

The Academy Faction and Caria Manor, the Fell Omen and the Lunar Princess, and the despised Frenzied Flame...

But so what?

No matter how messy their grudges, they were still all here, ready to fight Seath together, weren't they?

And as for what came after—well, not only were those old feuds none of Lloyd's business, even if they were, they weren't the kind of thing a few words could fix. In fact, getting involved might just drag him down too.

So rather than jumping into their endless drama and emotional baggage, wasn't it better to just eat some shrimp?

Especially since the shrimp was genuinely delicious.

"So, when do we start?"

Finishing his shrimp and crab, Lloyd looked up at the silent crowd in front of him, the air still thick with awkward tension.

After a while, realizing that this so-called "Incarnation of the Frenzied Flame" really was here to help, they reluctantly accepted her—for now.

It wasn't that they trusted the Frenzied Flame, but they'd gotten used to Lloyd's bizarre antics.

And to be fair, as long as it didn't involve talking or thinking, he was about as reliable as he was unpredictable in conversation.

Given his track record of absurd yet strangely accurate actions, even as the Incarnation of the Frenzied Flame, they could tolerate him for the time being.

And so, in that lingering weirdness, the work of breaking the seal began.

Ranni and Sellen stood to the left and right of the seal, placing their hands on it. As magic surged, their bodies began to glow with the vivid blue of Glintstone.

Thanks to thorough preparation—and the fact that they were two of the finest mages of their age—there were no mishaps or sabotage. The seal, reinforced by both the Full Moon Queen and the Academy Faction, unraveled layer by layer, revealing the blocked entrance.

Beyond it lay a silent academy, coated in blue and white crystals. It was quiet, yet the whole place radiated unease.

Once the entrance opened, Lloyd cut off his Pyromancy, burned the leftover food scraps on his hands, stood up, scanned the group to confirm their readiness, then drew the Bloodhound's Fang from behind his back and stepped forward.

As soon as his foot crossed the threshold of the academy, a system notification rang out:

[Crystal Academy, Raya Lucaria]

[World Status: Time-Space Distortion]

[Special Domain: Terra Magica - Crystal Spread]

[Terra Magica: Spell Power Boosted]

[Crystal Spread: FP Cost Reduced, Homing Crystal Soulmass Power Boosted]

Almost simultaneously, a hateful roar echoed through the air.

"Lloyd!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."

Lloyd glanced at the moonlight rising in the distance, only to see it instantly suppressed again. He smacked his lips and muttered, "Why does this guy freak out every time he sees me?"

I just lent you a tail—was that really necessary?

Pulling his gaze back, Lloyd looked around. Surrounding the Grace site in front of him, golden signs began to shimmer—each one representing a different ally from the outside.

He had summoned quite a few people. In theory, they could all charge in and gang up on the enemy, but that would go against Lloyd's Law. Sure, they could fight if needed, but doing so might trigger unexpected complications.

Besides, in a place like this, where space and time were in disarray, even if everyone entered together, they might still end up in different locations or timelines.

So, following Lloyd's Law and using him as the anchor point for assistance was the best option for now. If they got scattered due to the spacetime distortion, then no matter how many people they had, they'd just be picked off one by one—and who knows what strange issues that could cause.

Looking at the pile of golden effigies in front of him, Lloyd thought for a moment before deciding to summon Old Margit and Nepheli.

It wasn't that he didn't want to summon Ranni or Sellen—locals who would've had the advantage—but before entering, Alice had warned him. Given how bizarre this place was, it was better to leave some people behind to guard areas that had already been "explored," just in case something tried to seep into reality during the aftermath of battle.

From Lloyd's experience, dungeons only get tougher the deeper you go. So, it was wise to save his stronger allies for later.

For now, Old Margit was just an incarnation that had been sent over—far weaker than his original self. And Nepheli, a warrior through and through, probably wouldn't fare too well in what was clearly a mage-dominated zone.

So for this initial stage, Lloyd decided to bring those two along. After finishing the fight, they could at least familiarize themselves with the place.

Once they were summoned and had a brief exchange, Lloyd set off, officially beginning his exploration of the academy.

...

He'd barely taken a few steps from the Grace when he spotted something very familiar.

A Soul Crystal Crayfish.

To be honest, although he'd run into one just like it among the rogues—and it had quickly become dinner—it had actually put up a decent fight before. Taking it down had cost him some effort.

But this time...

Even though Old Margit was just an incarnation, he still had a boss template. He leapt into the air and came down with a crushing slam.

Nepheli didn't hesitate—she lifted her axe and charged in, unleashing a Stormcaller right under the crystal crayfish.

Lloyd, seeing the situation, swapped his Bloodhound's Fang for the Sword of Night and Flame, stepped forward, and let loose a burst of flame with its Ash of War.

And just like that, they had a sizzling, freshly grilled crystal crayfish.

"...We're in a battle here. Try to be serious."

Watching Lloyd roast the giant lobster with the Sword of Night and Flame, Old Margit tried to keep a straight face, but eventually cracked.

But Lloyd just shook his head.

"This is serious. That's exactly why I'm grilling this thing."

With that, he handed the crayfish to the two of them.

"Eat it. It boosts magic resistance. Not by a lot, but the effect lasts for a while."

Old Margit and Nepheli hesitantly took a bite. Moments later, they realized their resistance to magic had indeed gone up a bit. They exchanged a look—both catching a trace of something subtle in the other's eyes.

This...

"Let's keep moving."

Stowing away the rest of the crystal shrimp meat, Lloyd got up and continued forward.

From here, there wasn't much worth mentioning.

Even though he'd never been to Raya Lucaria Academy before—and the monsters inside had been enhanced by all the crystal growth—the fact was, Lloyd's team was even more overpowered.

Old Margit, despite not having top-tier stats, still had a boss template. On top of his regular combat style, he could cast buffs and healing incantations.

He wasn't particularly skilled at any one thing, but he was versatile—capable in combat, healing, and defense.

Nepheli, though a brute who got no bonuses in this clearly Intelligence-boosted area, could still launch bricks like cannonballs and tank through the monsters' attacks.

And this was just the start. The monsters weren't particularly tough yet. The strongest was just that crystal shrimp guarding the entrance.

So, without much effort, Lloyd and his party reached the next area.

Once they arrived, Old Margit and Nepheli stayed behind to guard against anything that might leak into reality.

Moving on to the second zone, Lloyd summoned Chaos and Melina.

Even though he remembered their relationship as a bit rocky, one specialized in offense and the other in support. That made them an excellent team.

And as it turned out, Lloyd's estimate was spot on.

Chaos specialized in long-range firepower. She might usually seem quiet and harmless, but once the fighting started, those two blind eyes of hers were like twin sniper rifles.

Take the mages in the academy, for example—those infected by soul crystal clusters. They could cast spells from afar and gave the melee brawler Nepheli a lot of trouble. With more of them, even Lloyd had his hands full.

But Chaos handled them with ease.

Why?

Because her spell range was at least three times longer than those crystal mages'. The frenzied flames blasting from her eyes were even more outrageous than the Giant Crayfish's water cannons—longer range, faster speed, higher damage, and they built up Madness.

And maybe due to the conflicting natures, her frenzied flame even got a bonus against those crystal monsters.

Later, whenever they ran into a cluster of mages, Lloyd wouldn't even bother to summon fire. He'd just pat Chaos on the shoulder and send her off to snipe.

"Love to shoot, huh? Go get 'em, little lunatic!"

Bang!

So Chaos handled the long-range threats, while Lloyd charged in for close combat. With Melina's buffs and healing, the second stage went by smoothly.

Then, just as they reached the end of the second stage and were about to move into the third, a translucent figure blocked their path.

Twin Moon Knight Rellana.

A female knight clad in silver-white armor, wielding two magic longswords.

"No passage ahead."

The translucent incarnation spoke slowly, not to communicate, but simply repeating the words left behind by her original self.

"There has been an incident inside the academy. The situation is urgent. No one is allowed to approach."

So, they had no choice but to fight.

The battle itself wasn't anything too noteworthy. Rellana's projection wasn't weak—she had decent aggression, solid combos, and a good variety of moves.

But her attack range was a bit limited, and most of her moves only targeted one person at a time. That might've been tricky in a one-on-one, but against a full trio—a warrior, a mage, and a healer...

Moments later, as Rellana's projection slowly collapsed, Melina silently offered an apology in her heart. Then she and Chaos reluctantly stayed behind to guard the second stage.

...

After clearing the second stage, Lloyd stepped into the third and summoned Sellen and Renna to assist him.

Though the monsters were stronger and more varied now, the moment those two showed up, Lloyd felt the difficulty drop again.

Why?

Dada dada—

Now in a new body, Sellen's staff fired crystal shards like a machine gun. The sheer volume and intensity of firepower made Lloyd wonder who was actually doing the challenging.

Renna wasn't as aggressive, but she had her own strengths—she could reduce enemy magic resistance and cast frost spells.

Against magic-resistant enemies that gave Sellen trouble, Renna could knock off half their health with a single volley and debuff their resistance, making things easier for the rest of the team.

And since both of them had overwhelming long-range power, Lloyd barely had to lift a finger in this phase.

Being a melee fighter, he usually charged in—but more often than not, by the time he got close, the enemies were already wiped out.

The only real surprise came at the end of the third stage, when a pair of bosses with absurdly high magic resistance appeared.

Lusat and Azur.

These two mage bosses were also Incarnations, much like the Twin Moon Knight. They were stationed here to guard the area and prevent further entry.

Their attack patterns followed the player mage template, relying on Academy-style sorcery.

But each had one unique move.

One of them could unleash an ultra-long-lasting, wide-area Soulstream.

The other cast a spell known as "Comet Azur." In players' hands, it was just a toy, but when he used it, every shot was as devastating as a comet and had ridiculous tracking.

With the environmental buffs, even a graze took off half of Lloyd's HP bar.

Thankfully, their player-template builds lacked poise and were vulnerable to status effects. Lloyd's team of three initially got spooked by the spells, but once they adapted, they didn't have much trouble finishing them off.

After defeating Azur and Lusat, Renna and Sellen logged off to guard the third zone.

Lloyd, meanwhile, summoned his final teammate.

...

"Looks like Mother is just ahead."

Ranni lifted her head to gaze at the Grand Library not far away, something unreadable flashing in her eyes.

Then she turned back, puzzled, to see Lloyd fiddling with something on the ground.

"What's wrong? Not going in?"

"Nothing much. Just found another sign here. Give me a sec."

Lloyd had thought Ranni would be his only companion for this final stretch, having already summoned everyone else.

But after summoning her, he noticed another sign appearing nearby and went over to check it out.

Then...

[Assistance summoned: Trina]

With a burst of purple light, Trina's form appeared in the air, slowly opening her eyes.

"Mr. Lloyd, I..."

Her words faltered.

Because she saw the blue, four-armed monster standing before her.

And she saw her too.

Then, silence.