After listening to Ozdis's explanation, Lucian fell into thought. Gradually, understanding dawned on him.
Glintstone sorcery was intricate, exacting to the extreme.
The shape a glintstone construct took, the force behind it, the speed at which it was fired—these were all determined at the moment of its formation.
One could say that the act of shaping glintstone was the true core of every glintstone sorcery.
Once formed, the rest was merely a matter of releasing it.
Gravity magic, in a sense, was similar.
What mattered was the step where ordinary gravity-aligned magic was transformed into different properties.
Once that transformation was complete, the subsequent usage could be as free as one pleased.
With that understanding, Lucian began trying again.
However, theory was theory. This was only his first proper day studying gravity magic. He still failed to succeed.
No matter how many times he attempted it, he couldn't convert gravity magic into pure attraction.
But this wasn't due to any lack on Lucian's part.
His Intelligence was far from low, and he had even received an additional enhancement from the white dwarf-like Outer God among the stars.
Aside from the star-born races themselves, he was already one of the most gifted individuals when it came to learning gravity magic.
Even General Radahn, who had once studied gravity magic under an Alabaster Lord, had spent considerable time before mastering advanced techniques like attraction and repulsion.
Seeing Lucian struggle for so long without success, Ozdis abandoned the idea of having him grasp attraction in a single leap.
He slowly withdrew the gravity from his hand.
"It seems we must proceed step by step… Attraction is best left for later."
"For now, we will begin with the simplest and most fundamental applications of gravity."
"This is what truly constitutes gravity magic."
Though Lucian felt a trace of unwillingness, he had to admit that directly converting gravity magic into attraction was extraordinarily difficult.
If this was considered an advanced technique, then starting from the basics was the wiser path.
Still, he wanted to understand attraction and repulsion more clearly.
"Teacher, could you explain attraction and repulsion in more detail?"
Ozdis considered for a moment before answering.
"Attraction and repulsion are the two poles of gravity magic. They are gravity's very essence."
"If you master these two forces, then all gravity magic becomes accessible."
"Once you master attraction, you will naturally grasp a measure of repulsion as well, and the reverse is also true."
"Though the portion gained incidentally will not be particularly strong."
Lucian nodded.
So Radahn must have mastered attraction to its utmost limits, and in doing so, gained control over repulsion as well.
He then asked,
"So what are we learning next?"
Ozdis extended his palm toward the ground.
"We will begin with controlling gravity to gather stone."
Violet gravity magic shimmered in his hand, and fragments of rock began to peel away from the ground, gradually covering his palm.
Then, with a subtle motion, the stone fragments separated and condensed in his hand, forming a floating sphere of rock.
Ozdis casually hurled the stone sphere toward a nearby cliff. It struck with a thunderous crash, sending cracks spiderwebbing across the rock face.
"There is no need to use attraction or repulsion," he explained.
"Simply using gravity-aligned magic to draw stone to you is the most basic application."
"First, attempt to coat your own body with stone. Only when you can do it reliably each time will your practice be considered complete."
"After that, separate it, form a floating stone sphere."
"Once you have mastered this, techniques like the Blades of Stone or Rock Sling will pose no problem."
This time, Lucian progressed smoothly.
After all, he had previously used the Ruins Greatsword to unleash Blades of Stone-like attacks several times.
The only difficulty lay in projecting gravity outward and maintaining cohesion to suspend a stone sphere in midair.
Fortunately, after some repeated attempts, he succeeded.
Ozdis nodded in satisfaction and praised him.
"Good. You truly have talent."
"In that case, we shall proceed to the true lesson."
Ozdis planted his meteoric ore blade into the ground.
At once, a gravity wave surged outward, dragging everything in the vicinity toward its center.
Lucian stood firm, counteracting the pull with his own gravity magic, preventing himself from being drawn in.
After demonstrating once, Ozdis turned to him.
"This is a gravity wave. It pulls enemies toward you. In a sense, it is the technique closest to pure attraction."
"From this, feel your way toward attraction."
"Once you have mastered it, I will teach you a more advanced technique, the signature art of the Alabaster Lords: the Alabaster Lords' Pull."
—
After a period of repeated practice, Lucian finally succeeded in mastering the gravity wave.
By his own sense, he now stood only a single step away from grasping attraction itself.
With the assistance of his Flask of Crimson and Cerulean Tears, stamina and magic were no issue—he could continue for much longer.
But mentally, he was already growing fatigued.
Deciding to rest for a while, Lucian took the opportunity to converse with Ozdis.
He was deeply curious about the Alabaster Lords and Onyx Lords.
Despite their importance in the lore of gravity magic, there was surprisingly little text about them, what little existed was sparse and repetitive.
Lucian asked,
"Teacher Ozdis… were you General Radahn's teacher?"
"I heard that General Radahn once studied gravity sorcery under an Alabaster Lord in Sellia."
Ozdis shook his head.
"I don't know where that rumor came from."
"I've heard of that kinsman of mine and his dealings with Radahn. But as for me, I merely sought a place to settle."
Lucian glanced around at the desolate stretch of land where they stood.
To be honest, he couldn't quite understand why Ozdis had chosen this place. Just beyond lay a graveyard.
"So… you chose here?"
"There's nothing here. Places like this are everywhere in the Lands Between."
Ozdis nodded.
"In the past, the Carian royal family attempted to win us over, leveraging Radahn's teacher-student relationship with my kinsman."
"But few responded. I was among the only ones who came. Later, for certain reasons, nothing came of it."
"I hadn't planned to remain here permanently. But in time… I simply didn't bother to move."
"I have no particular desires. Nothing I must accomplish."
Lucian shrugged. That was certainly carefree.
Come to think of it, both the Alabaster Lords and Onyx Lords were strangely low-maintenance. They fell from the heavens and simply wandered about.
But the Carian royal family trying to recruit an Alabaster Lord?
They likely wanted to form a pact, make the Alabaster Lords allies. The Carian royals had always been willing to ally with powerful beings, whether wolves, trolls, or even dragons.
The formidable Alabaster Lords would certainly have been fitting candidates.
Suddenly, Lucian recalled that behind Caria Manor, there seemed to be an imprisoned Onyx Lord sealed away in an evergaol.
"By the way, Teacher Ozdis."
"Is there bad blood between the Onyx Lords and Alabaster Lords? It seems you don't get along."
Ozdis tilted his head upward, as though gazing into the distant cosmos. After a moment, he spoke.
"The Onyx Lords?"
"It's not some deep-seated hatred. Merely friction. A mutual distaste."
"In essence, we may be considered the same species."
"But just as gravity contains both repulsion and attraction—two opposing poles, we are similar."
He spoke a few sentences, but did not elaborate further.
It seemed to be an innate racial tension, perhaps even he could not fully explain it.
Suddenly, Ozdis added:
"If you encounter other Onyx or Alabaster Lords beyond this place, conflict is likely."
"Those like me—no, those who can even speak are rare."
"Many have dwelled in the Lands Between since their descent and still do not understand its language. And their tempers are poor. If they feel slighted, they kill."
"When that happens, do not hesitate. Strike them down."
Lucian was somewhat surprised.
From Ozdis's demeanor and Radahn's apprenticeship, he had assumed most Alabaster Lords were communicative.
Apparently, illiteracy was the norm among the Onyx and Alabaster Lords.
—
With that, Lucian concluded his day's lesson and prepared to continue tomorrow.
Though inside the Academy of Raya Lucaria he could not see the sky, it was likely already deep into the night.
He planned to study Dragon Cult Incantations under Selinsax during the day, and return at night to continue gravity sorcery training with Ozdis.
At this rate, he would soon master both.
The coming days would be relatively free. Once he had fully grasped these arts, he could travel elsewhere to test them in battle.
And once gravity sorcery was mastered…
It would be time to pilot a "mecha."
Dragon lightning plus gravity manipulation, who would dare say he couldn't manifest something like the Susanoo?
Shinra Tensei. [Almighty Push]
Banshō Ten'in. [Universal Pull]
Tengai Shinsei. [Shattered Heaven]
Chibaku Tensei. [Planetary Devastation]
All of it had to be on the table.
With his Flask of Crimson Tears and Flask of Cerulean Tears, and the ability to rest at Sites of Grace—this level of expenditure was manageable.
But as he looked down at the glintstone crystals below, he suddenly remembered—
There was still an Abductor Virgin down there.
This particular Abductor Virgin was special. Within it was a hidden teleportation mechanism leading to Mt. Gelmir.
Since that was the case, he might as well go check on it.
Lucian leapt from the platform, descending steadily with controlled momentum before landing smoothly below.
He surveyed the bleak scene and shook his head.
The valley floor was in poor condition. When the Academy had destroyed the waterwheel earlier, its wreckage had fallen directly downward.
Now the entire basin was nearly buried beneath shattered wood and twisted debris.
Lucian began searching for the Abductor Virgin's remains.
Fortunately, the machine's size and design made it unmistakable. He quickly located its wreckage amid the ruins.
"Wreckage" might have been too generous a term.
It had been flattened, crushed into something resembling a slab of iron. The fleshy components within had burst outward under the pressure, splattered and pulped.
Lucian picked up a blood-smeared metal fragment and examined it.
"Could this still work while it's… warm? No—at this point, the teleportation mechanism is definitely ruined."
He tossed the scrap aside.
They could clear it out later.
After some thought, he decided it wasn't much of an issue.
Even without the teleportation trap, he could simply have Selinsax carry him by flight up to the Altus Plateau.
It merely meant losing a convenient shortcut to assassinate Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy.
If Lucian truly wanted Rykard dead now—
He wouldn't live to see tomorrow.