Regarding Sellen, setting everything else aside, her dedication to 'research' was truly fierce.
Her spirit of scientific inquiry was admirable.
But it was precisely this spirit that would lead to many sacrifices.
Fortunately, the Sellen before him was not the Sellen from the game.
The storyline hadn't unfolded yet. Currently, she had just begun promoting primeval magic and wasn't yet at the stage of being 'obsessed' or 'insane'.
But there was one thing that truly needed to be said.
Some geniuses truly become mad.
Being too much of a genius makes the goal of being the strongest even more terrifying.
It's like one genius researching how to launch rockets, while another researches how to build a spaceship.
Do they go to the same school?
Do they attend the same classes?
"Sellen, I've heard that your magical mastery is extremely high, a true genius, a sorceress, second only to Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon?"
The term 'sorceress' isn't always a pejorative.
Calling someone a sorceress sometimes praises a female mage's exceptionally high mastery.
Like Rennala's daughter, Ranni, who also holds the title of sorceress.
"Yes, Lord Kaito."
This was public knowledge, so it was normal for Kaito to know. Besides, Kaito had already been staying here for two or three days.
If Kaito wanted to know the major and minor events and secrets of the Raya Lucaria Academy, he could simply ask a few mages and more or less get some of the information he wanted.
"In that case, I have magic from other worlds. Are you interested in it?"
"M-Magic from other worlds?"
Sellen was stunned.
She had absolutely no idea what Kaito meant.
But as for whether she was interested, of course she was!
She definitely wanted to learn about unknown magic, magic from other worlds.
To see what differences there were between the magic of two different worlds, etc.
Which was stronger, which was more convenient, which was easier to use, etc.
Take the essence and discard the dross, then fuse them into new magic!
Even though she was more interested in primeval magic, she couldn't help but become extremely curious about the magic from other worlds that Kaito mentioned.
But the question was, how did Kaito know about it?
Could Tarnished travel to other worlds before being expelled from the Lands Between?
Was that possible?
Didn't they all stay within this vast world?
"Sellen, I know you are very interested in primeval magic, but from my perspective, this magic is very dangerous for you, and there's even no need to research it."
"Lord Kaito...!"
"Don't be angry first. I have reasons for saying this."
Thus, Kaito told her what would happen in the game.
For example, what she would do in the future, and what she would become.
The current Sellen was not yet at the point of being so obsessed with primeval magic as in the future.
After hearing this, she frowned.
This was essentially like researching 'forbidden magic' or 'sacrificial magic', ultimately making herself into something grotesque, something the Raya Lucaria Academy forbade!
Undoubtedly, she would later be expelled from the academy, transforming from a genius sorceress into an evil sorceress reviled and feared by everyone.
Not capturing and executing her was the greatest mercy shown to her.
"What I'm telling you are things that will happen in your future."
"Do you want to become such an existence?"
"Perhaps, from your perspective, becoming like that is for better exploration and pursuit, but by then, you would undoubtedly have become a 'monster'. And for me, you cannot be allowed to remain, especially after I become the Elden Lord."
"You know, I must eliminate all unstable factors. I cannot allow any disasters to appear."
"The deaths of a large number of lives caused by your pursuit and exploration are also things I cannot tolerate."
"Even though they are not my subjects yet, they will be in the future!"
Kaito was earnestly trying to persuade her.
Her spirit of exploration was admirable.
But her willingness to use any means necessary was despicable.
After he finished speaking, Sellen lowered her head in shame, not daring to show any dissatisfaction or objection.
Even the deputy headmaster had been defeated by him; she was certainly no match for Kaito now!
If she really did that, Kaito...
might actually kill her.
Because the series of disasters she would cause during her exploration were things he would not allow. Even if no disasters appeared, unstable factors would still be suppressed!
She could understand, and precisely because she understood, she felt so ashamed.
Everything had been too idealistic in her mind.
Her genius had also brought her arrogance.
And it was this arrogance that made her overlook that ordinary humans were also living, priceless, precious lives.
It could be said that many mages had this common flaw: arrogant, self-righteous.
They were born 'nobles', and ordinary people were like slaves to them.
Why?
Because they possessed great power, the ability to do things ordinary people could never achieve in their lifetime, etc.
Just like nobles who are very wealthy, have territory, can raise troops, and treat all ordinary people within their territory as slaves, as tools to make money for them.
"I understand. Thank you, Lord Kaito!"
"..."
"I will give up on researching primeval magic."
Sellen's expression was bitter and reluctant.
She didn't want to give up, but she had to.
Even if she would rather die than give up exploring primeval magic, what good would it do?
Kaito would still kill her, wouldn't spare her!
So, she had no choice but to give up.
She wasn't afraid of losing her life, even if it was on the path of magic exploration.
But if she had to die before even starting, would it be worth it?
"Hehe, very well!"
"But don't be sad. I have a lot of other magic here worthy of your lifelong pursuit and exploration."
"Some magic can even reach the level of 'godslaying'. Whether you can succeed depends on you."
"Personally, regardless of which world the magic comes from, I can master and use it. But under current conditions, I can't use it. I'll only be able to use it after becoming the Elden Lord."
"You can also understand it as me being too powerful before. So powerful that even the gods were wary of me."
"Therefore, among all the Tarnished trying to become the Elden Lord, I was forced to have nearly all my strength sealed, to compete relatively fairly with the other Tarnished."