Stella swore she had genuinely meant to hesitate—to be cautious, to deliberate before deciding whether to enter the painting world. After all, she had heard it was dangerous.
But then someone kicked the tree.
The trunk shuddered, and her palm pressed flat against the painting.
Who's trying to kill me?!
In the final second before she was pulled inside, she caught a glimpse of Luluwo—the idiot had lost once and come over here just to take it out on the tree.
"Luluwo!"
"Who called me?"
Luluwo looked up into the canopy, but there was no one there. She shook her head and muttered to herself, "Must be the wind."
Entering the painting world felt just like stepping through a portal into a dungeon—sometimes, you'd feel a little dizzy.
She had heard that everyone who entered a painting world would experience a story from a first-person perspective, fully immersed. Only after the story concluded would they be able to act freely—exploring the map, fighting monsters, and defeating the boss to escape.
There was no question this was a dangerous choice. Stella had heard that the guild's Darrick had entered the Wolf Knight's painting world three days ago and still hadn't come out.
So she really had been hesitating just now. She really hadn't wanted to come in!
All Luluwo's fault!
After a bout of dizziness, she successfully entered the painting world.
Whose perspective is this?
What appeared before her was a dilapidated church—the very same one from the painting. Pushing aside the weeds growing wildly at the entrance, she saw a bald man sitting alone in a corner, sunken in melancholy.
"Are you a Tarnished?"
"If you wouldn't mind—could you spare me some runes? I once studied glintstone sorcery at Raya Lucaria. If you share some runes with me, I can teach you magic."
Pay to learn. Perfectly normal.
Having seen Thops's portrait and various traces of him back at the academy, she had half-expected him to be the sort of saintly figure who taught anyone without discrimination.
That notion was quickly shattered.
Stella couldn't control this body. She could only watch as it handed over… ten runes?
How much?
That's nothing!
She had once found an Erdleaf Flower in the lake region and exchanged it at Thops's portrait for her first fragment—and that small golden rune had been appraised at three hundred runes.
So you could learn magic from Thops for the trivial cost of ten runes? How could it be so cheap?
Soon enough, she understood why. Thops could teach very few spells, and none of them were particularly powerful—they were the most rudimentary basics.
No wonder it's so cheap. These really are just standard-issue sorcerer spells.
Stella felt no contempt, only the sense that these things wouldn't be particularly useful.
But the person whose eyes she was looking through was learning with genuine enthusiasm—you could tell he truly had no foundation in magic whatsoever.
Could it be that he was still quite weak at this point?
"I'm terribly sorry—you were kind enough to share your runes with me, and all I can offer in return are these embarrassing little spells."
"You've come to learn again? You're always welcome, as long as you're willing to study these humble spells of mine."
"Thank you. Thank you for being willing to learn my magic."
"To think that even someone like me—a worthless stone—would have the chance to teach someone else sorcery."
Time flowed on and on, and it felt like a very long while had passed. Stella watched quietly as the man and Thops continued their exchanges—there was nothing else she could do.
Thops was happy. He taught with care and dedication, doing his best to play the role of a good mentor, even if his instruction was somewhat clumsy—he couldn't even decipher spell scrolls, limited to teaching only the most fundamental sorceries.
The mysterious man, for his part, fulfilled every duty of an apprentice, mastering all the spells with astonishing talent, time and again leaving Thops humbled by comparison.
Before long, the two had become something between teacher and friend. Watching it all, Stella found herself growing genuinely attached to the figures in the scene.
Every night, Thops would sit alone in thought, murmuring words she couldn't quite make out—something about a "force field."
Occasionally, a shooting star would streak across the night sky.
Stella watched everything unfold, and at last learned the story of Thops's past.
He was a sorcerer with little natural talent—hence the name "bluntstone." After leaving Raya Lucaria by chance, he returned to find the gates sealed shut. He couldn't go back.
How terribly sad. Stella began to feel for him. If only I could hand him a key.
And soon enough, the man did find a key. He intended to give it to Thops.
Stella had expected him to accept it with delight and return to his beloved halls of magic—but things unfolded differently.
"You found the Glintstone Key? But that belongs to you. I can't accept it. That's right—I want you to go to that academy. I won't stand in your way for my own sake."
"…I suppose that's exactly why I'll always be a 'bluntstone.'"
There was only one person who could use that key.
Stella was moved. She hadn't expected Thops to refuse a gift placed right in his hands. Her image of this sorcerer rose another level—on top of being something like a mentor and a friend, she now saw him as morally admirable. Thops like this, aside from his genuinely unremarkable magical aptitude, was already quite wonderful.
The man learned everything Thops had to teach, and the time came to part. With his mentor's blessing, he set out on the road to the Academy of Raya Lucaria.
Is that it?
Stella felt puzzled. Was this all there was to Thops?
Of course not.
She watched as the man defeated Rennala, the Lunar Queen, and later found a second key somewhere within the academy—and made a special trip back to find Thops.
This time, Thops did not refuse.
He was overjoyed, pouring out his gratitude in a stream of words that wouldn't stop. To return to Raya Lucaria—this was the greatest happiness imaginable to him.
"When you have time later, will you come to the academy again?"
"By then, your old teacher might be a little stronger—ha ha ha!"
With laughter in the air, Thops set off on the road home, and even the air itself seemed filled with joy.
Stella watched him go, a smile forming on her face. She had truly lived through the story of the man and Thops, and she felt deep respect for this humble, upright teacher.
To return to the academy—that was the best possible ending for him.
It was rare to witness a happy ending in dungeons. Something to be cherished.
The scene shifted. Flashes of images swept past her—a lake, a volcano, a plateau—landscapes she had never seen flickering before her eyes, signaling that the White Wolf had waged war for a long, long time.
She didn't know how much time had passed before he suddenly returned to the magic academy—had he finally remembered to visit his old teacher?
Stella perked up and followed the man's perspective as he wandered the halls, searching. But no matter where they looked, there was no sign of Thops.
Without knowing why, a creeping sense of dread began to rise in her chest.
In the end, they found Thops in a corner of one of the corridors. Stella couldn't help covering her mouth, her eyes filling with tears.
He sat in a chair with a serene expression, a look of contentment on his face, quiet as if asleep, cradling a small glowing orb in his hands.
But Stella and the man clenched their fists at the same time—
Because he was already… gone.
He had returned to the magical academy he had longed for with all his heart, and yet he hadn't been granted a single classroom, not even a room to call his own. Bullied and pushed aside by the other sorcerers, he had been forced to set up a table and chair in the corridor—yet he hadn't despaired for even a moment, studying magic day and night without rest.
And at the moment he finally discovered his spell—the moment the worthless stone shed its shell and bloomed—his life came to an end.
The man received the relic Thops had left behind: a new sorcery.
[Thops Barrier]
The lifelong pursuit of Thops the Bluntstone. Creates a magic forcefield that deflects sorceries and incantations. Hold to continuously create barriers. Future generations will learn. They will know the foolishness of the sneering sorcerers who ridiculed this theory, little realizing that it was in fact a discovery worthy of a new conspectus of the academy.
Deflects magic?
Still not fully recovered from grief, Stella watched as the man took his revenge upon the academy.
The sorcerers' bullying and exclusion of Thops was undeniable. As his student, how could he not be furious?
He wielded Thops Barrier, and all sorcery was kept from him—as though even in death, his teacher still stood guard. This academy, which the man had once cut through before, was cut through once more—and this time, it shattered the sorcerers' will to resist entirely.
Stella's jaw hung open as the scenes flashed one after another.
Along the man's path of conquest, he wielded the field again and again—broom stars born from constellations, comets born from the night, flames haunted by the wrongfully dead, meteorites from beyond the sky—no magic of any kind could reach him. All of it was deflected!
The more she watched, the more complex her feelings toward Thops became.
A "bluntstone." A man with so little talent he could only learn the most basic sorceries, who couldn't even decipher spell scrolls—and yet he had devised a field that flatly denied every offensive spell in existence.
This truly was a discovery worthy of founding a new school.
No—
A new school? That's nothing compared to my teacher!
Just as Stella's indignation on Thops's behalf reached its peak, she suddenly noticed that the scene before her had changed.
In a chamber filled with water—
The man stood face to face with a god.
It was a magnificent being of strange and wondrous form, like the will of the stars given shape—without question, the vessel of a deity.
[Elden Beast]
Stella could not make out its face clearly. In her eyes, it was only a large, indistinct mass of light and shadow—a mercy for her sanity.
But she could feel its majesty. That authority, something only a being of the highest order could possess, made her very soul tremble, and she felt an instinctive urge to kneel.
What she didn't know was that this majesty was only a simulation—far weaker than the true Elden Beast's presence. If the real thing were here, she would likely have already fainted.
Wait—wait—wait… he's going to fight something like this?! How could anyone possibly win?!
Stella was nearly terrified out of her mind, yet the owner of this body remained utterly resolute. He raised his Greatsword toward the divine presence before him.
He raised his sword against a god!
Stella couldn't describe the battle that followed—it was beyond her comprehension. Forces of immense scale clashed, and she could only summarize it in a single phrase:
A clash of the divine!
And then she realized—
The great being couldn't defeat him?!
The moment she understood, a surge of courage rose within her, and she dared to look directly at that blurred, radiant form. The owner of this body was the strongest existence present!
The great being leapt into the sky, stretching its vast form and releasing a torrent of golden radiant meteors—the legendary power, the Elden Stars, judgment upon all who dared to transgress. Even a single meteor was enough to make all living things tremble in fear. Could anyone truly withstand a sky filled with them?
And then he raised his staff.
Stella's eyes widened. In that instant, she understood what he was about to do—a brilliant blue magical field bloomed into existence.
The golden meteors—
Were deflected!
"Ahh!"
In that moment, Stella was so overwhelmed she couldn't stop herself from crying out.
Thops Barrier—it could even defy the majesty of a god!
To witness a moment like this—this journey was absolutely worth it!
But then she thought she heard her own cry echoing back at her. Strange—hadn't she been experiencing this in first person—
She realized in horror that at some point, she had taken control of the body herself. And the great presence before her was rising into the sky once more, about to unleash Elden Stars again.
"W-w-wait… it's MY turn now?!"
Stella's heart nearly exploded. She had been terrified even while observing from within the man's body—and now she stood face to face with the Elden Beast herself. Her heart was about to give out.
Her limbs stiffened, heavy as lead, cold sweat pouring down her back.
Run. She had to run. Overwhelming terror flooded her mind.
But at the moment the countless meteors began to form, Stella stopped.
She thought of the man's courage. She thought of the nights spent discussing magic with Thops. She thought of her teacher sitting there with that serene expression, holding his final creation.
And she thought of the force field that had deflected the meteors.
In that moment, she finally understood why the painting world had chosen this exact point to give her control.
"Only those who dare to raise their hand against a god have the right to use the teacher's field."
Her expression steadied. Gathering her courage, she raised her staff toward the descending meteors.
"Hmm—"
When you truly commit to action, things are often simpler than you imagine.
The magical force field appeared. The Elden Stars, just as expected, were deflected. Countless meteors carrying the scent of annihilation swept past her—just a single graze would have reduced her to dust.
But Stella, protected within Thops's field, was not afraid.
If, after witnessing everything Thops endured and everything the White Wolf fought for, you still couldn't raise the field against a god—
Then someone like that…
Might as well be dead.
A surge of full orchestral music rose, pushing the atmosphere to its peak, and the scene froze in that single instant.
Stella's heart pounded wildly. She knew this battle was the man's victory—and that the field could deflect even a god's attack. This, too, was Thops's victory.
Daring to resist a god—that was the condition for clearing this painting world.
For some, it would be an absolutely impossible condition.
Stella was lucky. She had met it.
And so, she could leave.
But before she did, she was shown one final scene.
"Silencing Silence, Ancient Dark, Carian Retaliation… if these were fused with the teacher's field, could that create a sorcery of an even higher order?"
At some unknown point in time, the man sat at a desk, deep in thought.
"Once you've created a new spell, what will you name it?" Two pale blue hands emerged from the darkness, draping a coat over the man's shoulders.
"Obviously… I'll still call it Thops Barrier."
A sharp ringing filled her ears—like being kicked off a cliff—and Stella's consciousness plummeted, her back slamming hard against something solid.
"My back!"
She groaned in pain. Laughter echoed around her.
"Huh… I'm back?"
Light stabbed into her eyes. To her surprise, she had already exited the painting world. All the painting fragments she had painstakingly collected were gone—replaced by a shield.
A completely unremarkable shield, reflecting her own face back at her. Her gaze was still slightly dazed.
This is the reward for clearing the painting world—could it really be…?!
Stella's breathing quickened.
In the final moments of the painting world, the man had fused together multiple obscure spells she had never even heard of, creating an even stronger version of Thops Barrier.
If this shield truly carried that enchantment—
Wouldn't I be able to single-handedly crush the entire magical world?
"Liznai, hit me with a magic missile!"
This was the first time Liznai had ever been asked something like this. She cheerfully fired a magic missile at Stella, who raised her shield with complete confidence.
Bang!
The missile struck the shield, and the recoil sent Stella tumbling backward, limbs flailing. The confidence on her face turned into pure confusion.
"W-why didn't it work?!"
"…Idiot." Liznai pursed her lips. "Did you sleepwalk through that? We already did the debrief—it's time for round two."
Stella rubbed her head. There had to be something she was missing—this couldn't possibly just be an ordinary shield. It had taken a direct magic missile without breaking, so it had to be at least somewhat decent.
"…"
"What a terrible reward!"
Even so, she obediently slung the shield onto her back and followed the group back into the academy, preparing for the second raid on the Lunar Queen.
She glanced at her elven companions several times, the words rising and falling in her throat. She just couldn't bring herself to tell anyone that she had spent all her painting fragments on this shield.
If I say it now, I'll definitely become the target of everyone's pent-up frustration. After losing, they're all sitting on a pile of anger.
Better wait. Wait for the right moment.
Stella now felt like a student who had lost her homework right before turning it in—restless and uneasy.
After some time, the adventurers reached the fourth floor once more and stood before the Queen's door.
"Remember—your targets are the giants. Your targets are the wolf pack. You're responsible for killing the dragon. Try to deal with the other summons before the werewolf gets called out."
Luluwo laid out the plan for everyone—a strategy they had already agreed upon.
"When the Queen takes to the air, any sorcerers with a free moment should cast bubble shields on others to guard against the flying crystals and magic projectiles. Stay sharp once the real fight starts."
"Make sure your crossbows are ready. Since magic attacks don't work well on the Queen, we'll rely on other methods. She tends to move around a lot, so arrows are the best option—but our job is just to pin her down. The heavy hitters will deal the killing blow."
Gapar nodded. In terms of raw power, he was still number one.
"Any final questions? Then let's move!"
The heavy door was pushed open once more. The adventurers steeled themselves. In the blink of an eye, they were back in that strange space where a bright moon rose over the sea—and the Queen opened her eyes as the full moon flared with light.
"Charge!"
Everything unfolded as expected. Dragon, troll, wolf pack, hunting hounds, half-wolves—one after another, the Queen's allies materialized.
Fully prepared for battle, yet the adventurers still found themselves struggling to immediately adapt to fighting so many summons at once. The groups handling the half-wolves and dragon managed reasonably well, but those facing the trolls and hunting hound knights soon began to show signs…