Elden Ring: The Shattering!

The eastern shore of Lake Liurnia, late at night.

There is no moon tonight, only the dim light of the Erdtree casting a faint glow. A small boat quietly drifts along the waves, quickly entering the lush grass and reeds along the shore.

A shadowy figure swiftly leaps onto the shore, scanning the surroundings before finally emerging from the thick grass.

"We've arrived." The towering Werewolf gestures toward the side with a snort, where a vast and straight road runs, surrounded by the large lake that forms the shape of the north and south.

The two of them climb down the rocky cliff at dusk, board the small boat that has been prepared in advance, pass through several blockade lines, and finally enter the eastern part of Lake Liurnia. Not a single person or wild beast is disturbed.

Kaelith also follows, jumping onto the nearby shore, an area unfamiliar to him.

To the northwest lies Raya Lucaria Academy, while to the southeast, the land suddenly tightens, revealing a massive, fortified stronghold at a high point—the crucial traffic hub of The Lands Between: Stormveil Castle.

This city, occupied by another vassal force, is the gateway to the fertile Limgrave, the starting point of the Tarnished dream.

"Are you nervous?" Blaidd asks with a hint of teasing upon seeing Kaelith's odd expression.

"No, it's just that Liurnia feels so small. The vastness of The Lands Between should be explored more; maybe by chance, I could become the Elden Lord."

"Bragging!" Blaidd snorts in disdain, not bothering to say more, and instead lays down the bag he was carrying and opens it.

Inside is a Sorcerer's robe, a Glintstone hood, and some letters, with the eyes of the person on the other side covered by a red cloth. This is the specialized travel attire of the Academy's Sorcerer, Hierodas Glintstone.

He hands the items to Kaelith and instructs: "This is for when I was handling a Sorcerer. His name is Roland Heinberg. I've investigated his introverted personality and low strength. Many years ago, he voluntarily left the Academy. He's ideal for you to impersonate. These are his identification documents—don't mess it up."

Kaelith glances at the items, realizing the Werewolf seizes every opportunity for retaliation...

But, to stay on track, he still asks: "He doesn't have any friends?"

"Two. I dealt with them."

"Then his teacher, always?"

The Werewolf smirks, revealing a cruel smile: "I killed them too."

Quite strong.

Kaelith is left speechless. The small, inconspicuous nature of this disguise fits him perfectly. More importantly, there aren't many people who could impersonate a Sorcerer, and who would suspect this? Let alone the low level of espionage activities in The Lands Between—such things would be nearly impossible to trace.

He takes off his Ronin Set, changes into the Sorcerer's robe, and dons the awkward hood. In the dimness, he can feel his intellect growing.

The Glintstone hood wasn't designed for a Sorcerer's peculiar aesthetic, it was essentially a magical artifact, only its vision was obstructed, the head heavy and the feet light, which didn't suit a swordsman at all.

"It doesn't look bad." Blaidd glanced over, nodding with a satisfied look. Kaelith snorted lightly in response. The guy stood at 1.7 meters tall and looked rather refined... If it were him, he would probably have to impersonate a sea monster from the classroom for strong men.

"Can you not undermine me?" Kaelith removed the large sword from his waist, the curved sword from his back, and a bunch of throwing knives, along with a crossbow, removing everything. "Help me take these back, and first, let me say, if you lose them, you'll have to compensate."

"Are you afraid I'll throw them into the lake?"

"Isn't that what you would do?"

The Werewolf twitched his lips, wishing he could punch this troublesome guy's clay head into pieces, but he didn't take the equipment. With unwilling reluctance, he took out a ring from his chest.

The ring gleamed in golden color, without any gemstones embellishing it, looking rather simple.

"What's this?"

"The spirit-imbued ring. Lady Ranni awarded it to you, it can store inorganic objects as spiritual entities, with a large capacity, roughly equivalent to a chest."

Kaelith froze for a moment, reaching out to take it, but Blaidd immediately pulled it back, returning it to him with the same words: "This is a personal item of Lady Ranni, if you lose it, you'll compensate!"

"Alright, alright, alright." Kaelith agreed readily, the trinket reminded him of a Spirit Horse, its appearance wasn't too bad either.

He slipped it onto his left index finger, tapped the ring lightly, and instantly the three-foot-long sword turned into tiny blue grains, vanishing mysteriously, causing him to widen his eyes in astonishment.

"How do I bring it out?"

Perhaps because Kaelith wore it on the exact finger, Blaidd immediately answered: "Stroke the ring, then draw it out."

Kaelith immediately followed, adjusting his finger to retract, and the sword appeared again, reassembling into the silver-white longsword.

A divine weapon, a true divine weapon. This trinket was more useful to him than a spirit relic; using a staff as a sword couldn't maintain the duration for long... As a spy, he certainly couldn't carry a longsword around at the Academy.

So, he spirit-imbued all those miscellaneous items, filling the ring to about half its capacity. Only then did he stand up, holding the staff and extending his right hand.

"Then I'll go."

"Go ahead."

The two men held hands tightly for a long while, then, letting go, Kaelith was straightforward. At parting, he didn't want to act dramatic. The moment his hand released, he turned and left.

"There's still something."

Kaelith, suspicious, turned his head back. In the darkness, all he could see were a few pale fangs.

"Ranni awaits good news from you, don't die, I'll wait for your return."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Werewolf, like a gust of wind, seemed to disappear into the grass. Kaelith stood frozen for a few seconds, the corner of his mouth curling slightly.

This master-servant pair, they were both so arrogantly proud.

...

The sun rose once more, and a weary, travel-worn figure carrying a travel bag, a magic scholar, walked under the sunlight. The vast Purified Ruins was filled with people coming and going. Merchants and common folk kept their distance from the Sorcerers.

Sorcerers were powerful and mysterious, and now they were the true lords of Liurnia. Common people were too afraid to provoke them.

"Quite lively."

Kaelith stood in the middle of the road, observing his surroundings. Wagons passed by, loaded with Limgrave grains, likely preparing to take them to the Royal City for trade... Meanwhile, villagers in coarse burlap clothing were hawking various local specialties by the roadside.

"Buy some spiced wild goat meat, just 100 Rune for a full meal!"

"Black bat wings, men never tire of eating them."

"Sir, want to buy a cloak? I made it myself."

...

Carian was still desolate, with such a large territory and only a thousand people remaining, and even fewer common folk. It was only upon arriving here that Kaelith realized what true vitality looked like, the bustling scene where everything around seemed to thrive.

This was a far cry from the desolate, shattered, and silent image of The Lands Between he had remembered. To be honest, the wars hadn't quite resulted in the catastrophic scene he had imagined. As long as there were people around, the ruins would be rebuilt, the villages would recover... Unless the people themselves were gone, only then would the apocalypse truly manifest.

"This kind of scene feels a lot more comfortable."

Kaelith followed the crowd up onto the large bridge. The bridge was vast enough for four wagons to travel side by side. Looking to his right, there was a small town, with stone buildings that seemed a bit prosperous. There were even some Cuckoo soldiers patrolling, as if guarding against something suddenly appearing within.

The royal allies — the Albinauric and Demi-Human occasionally returned to carry out raids and stir up trouble. But they were nothing more than a nuisance, not really achieving any victories. The bridge itself had a ramp leading straight to the small town, where the merchants and common folk diverted to the lower section.

The large bridge actually had a diversion within the lake, which led straight north... But this was Raya Lucaria Academy, and common folk didn't have the right to pass through.

To reach Altus Plateau, one had to take a ferry from the small town to the northern shores of Lake Liurnia. It was hard to avoid being stripped of a few layers of skin by the Cuckoo soldiers in the town, as this was an important source of financial income for the Cuckoo army.

The noble Sorcerers had no desire to get involved in these matters. As long as the Cuckoo army paid their share of benefits on time, they were content. This was also how they profited from the geographical advantages, making money through dubious means.

So Kaelith, after passing the slope, no longer saw any common folk... Only a few resting Sorcerers passed by, curiously eyeing him.

At the end of the bridge stood a massive gatehouse, guarded by a group of Sorcerers. A few of them were chatting, but as Kaelith approached, they all fell silent. A Sorcerer wearing a sharp, black hooded cloak stepped forward to greet him.

"Stop. Report your name, your direct supervisor, and your affiliation."

Recently, there had been dozens of summoned traveling Sorcerers, and he was already well-versed in this.

"Roland Heinberg, direct disciple of Olivinis' classroom, Joseph Slylin. I come from Weeping Peninsula, Castle Morne, and my family was granted the title of Baron by King Godfrey." Kaelith had already memorized his credentials.

The hooded Sorcerer glanced behind him, where a few companions were flipping through documents on a desk. They quickly found Roland's records and nodded to indicate no issues.

But it didn't end there. The Sorcerer pointed to several wooden plaques on the bridge: "Use at least two types of Magic to destroy them."

Kaelith complied, immediately using Glintstone Pebble and Glintstone Arc to shatter the plaques. As the magical glow dissipated, the atmosphere around relaxed a little.

While identity could be faked, Magic couldn't be replaced with special techniques. Kaelith thought to himself that this was nothing too difficult, and he lifted a chest to prepare to pass through. However, he was called back.

"Tell me what you know about the Academy."

Did they really need to be so cautious? These Sorcerers were all so suspicious.

Kaelith glanced over, thankfully the hood covered his face, so no one could see his expression. He pondered for a moment before speaking.

"I've been away from the Academy for many years, but if nothing has changed, the Academy should still have five main classrooms, in order: Kaloros, for studying comet-type Magic; Olivinis, for studying meteor-type Magic, both specializing in dual cultivation; Haima, specializing in creating and studying battle Magic; and Carian Magic, led by Radsley."

"Each intern Sorcerer will be assigned to a classroom, and once accepted, they'll receive the Glintstone hood. The instructors and associate professors wear them. Each classroom has only one headmaster, and the five headmasters, together with the dean, make decisions about the Academy's various affairs."

He spoke clearly, with detailed and accurate content. His understanding of Magic wasn't just limited to the Academy; other places didn't understand such a complex structure, still stuck in the traditional teacher-student model. Of course, there was an exception, such as Radsley, who secretly returned after two years. Some of those who betrayed and escaped were very familiar with it.

"Remove your hood."

"Alright." Kaelith complied, slightly adjusting his appearance, like dyeing his hair golden to make his face look more mature... On the other hand, The Lands Between had no photos, and recognizing Roland Heinberg was already outdated.

As for Kaelith Light, being an intern Sorcerer, he wasn't even worthy of being remembered.

In fact, no one cared about a normal traveling Sorcerer. The Morne classroom Sorcerer glanced at him, confirmed he wasn't a betrayer from Radsley's classroom, and quickly stepped forward to greet him.

"Sorry, but during this period of war, the Academy must be cautious." He extended his right hand in a friendly gesture and said in a deep voice, "Welcome back, Senior Roland."

Kaelith wiped his hair, slowly put on his hood, tightened it, and gazed at the grand structure ahead.

A gray-white architectural complex twisted up the mountain, with a bell tower at the top seeming to pierce the sky. It was truly a miraculous historical building.

"Hmm, it's hard to believe I'm back. I'm really looking forward to what happens next."