A Sorcerer's Journey 261 Once Upon A Time

After a long flight that took a whole day, Grimm rushed and exited the protection barriers of the Holy Towers of Seven Rings.
Aboard the airship.
Grimm wore a loose sorcerer's robe and put on The Mask of Truth while standing on the front deck of the airship covered by Elemental Fog. A cold breeze blew onto his body while layers of cloudy fog swirled past him.
Grimm recalled that the last time he had ridden on an airship was 200 years ago. During that time, he was still an ignorant and dull person. It was Master Peranos who had brought him along when they headed toward the Holy Towers of Seven Rings.
The reminiscences were like dreams.
Time had passed, and it had already been 200 years. For normal human, three generations of a family would have lapsed; while for most of the sorcerer-apprentice, it would have been a lifetime. However, it was merely a short period of a small Mission Cycle for a Demon-Hunter, similar to a Compulsory Mission that a sorcerer-apprentice would have to go through every two years.
Within the Holy Towers of Seven Rings, it was common to see sorcerers all around. However, the presence of sorcerers out in the wide Sorcerer Continent would be undoubtedly regarded as mysterious and noble.
In the eyes of a normal human, the world was ruled by the sorcerers, and these sorcerers secretly controlled everything in the world.
"My Lord, here are your butter cakes and honey milk tea."
A cute little boy hopped and bounced toward Grimm while he held onto a serving plate. Standing at a tad taller than a meter and sporting a pair of bright eyes that sparkled, he looked at Grimm with anticipation.
As for the civilians that lived around the hinterland of the holy towers, they had less fear toward the sorcerers when compared to the civilians in the sorcerer academy although they regarded sorcerers as great and mighty.
For these civilians, even an impromptu reward from the sorcerers would be equivalent to a great encounter. Thus, many of them would try their luck in contacting the sorcerers who seemed to be approachable.
The little boy in question interrupted Grimm's thought. He let out a loud sigh and turned his body over while extending his hands to receive the serving plate from the little boy.
"Ahh!"
Suddenly, the little boy was shocked and screamed. Both of his legs were shaking while he stared intently at Grimm's hands; his teeth chattering loudly.
There were stripes of ribbonlike bruises on the skin of both Grimm's hands, along with oddly shaped paw prints that entangled with each other. It was vivid and versatile as it moved around, and it seemed like it would pierce out from Grimm's body at any time.
Such a horrific scene would definitely shake the little boy in shock; very much similar to Grimm's first encounter with Master Peranos, where the master's face had been sewn together.
In the eyes of a normal human being, sorcerers would always be mysteriously unknown and would bring fear to others' hearts.

Grimm frowned as his mood became bad. He casually threw half a magic stone to the little boy and then lifted the teacup to taste its contents.
The little boy was so terrified he quickly ran away.
In a nutshell, the little boy's attempt to get close to a sorcerer had failed miserably.
"Haha, you scared that little kid, and he almost peed in his pants. I am sure that he would not forget your hands in his entire lifetime." Lord Myna was delighted to see that the little boy had run away screaming.
His entire lifetime? Hyperbole!
It would only last for a few decades, and deserves no attention…
Grimm ignored Lord Myna and continued to stand at the front deck of the airship, while he tasted the tea and snacked on a soft butter cake.
Lord Myna realized Grimm did not entertain his teasing. Hence, he stopped saying anything more on the topic, before taking a small piece of cake from Grimm's plate and replied while he ate, "That guy, Angelis, he has not advanced to a level 2 sorcerer, and yet, he was recruited by the Dawn Sages from the headquarters of the Holy Towers of Seven Rings. What a lucky guy."
Grimm was also greatly inspired by Dawn Sages. Unfortunately, it did not recruit low-level Dark Sorcerers.
"There was not any luck involved at all; heavily relying on his own wisdom and hard work to get the recognition of Dawn Sages." Grimm took a sip of the hot tea and replied calmly.
Lord Myna gleefully swallowed the butter cake that he had in mouth and shamelessly took another piece before stuffing it into his mouth again. He murmured: "Let's not talk about that guy. Let's talk about us… haha… what else is happening, apart from heading to the Black Isotta Sorcerer Academy to look for Master Peranos and asking him to meet and request the Stigmata Sorcerer of the Back Isotta Tower to seal the Shadow Spectre?"
Grimm gathered his thoughts.
"Pay a visit to the Tomb Segja Sorcerers Academy, and spend all the rewards gathered from your sorcerer work for the past 100 years. Also, add on some Sorcerer Essence to hire a lot of Arcane Sorcerers to complete the large number of base components for the 'Observation Tool of Destructive Energy'. This would save up a lot of time on the study of Destructive Energy. In addition to that, I would like to meet some of my… former friends."
Grimm's voice grew deeper becoming incomprehensible as his despair grew and he started to feel restless.
"Friends? Haha! I remember… didn't you mention that you had a spouse, the sorceress-apprentice named Lefay?" Lord Myna was very excited and all his fur stood up while he stood on Grimm's shoulder. He stared hard at him, as if a new discovery was about to be made.
Grimm knocked once on Lord Myna's head and replied fiercely, "She was my loved one!"
"Haha! Your loved one indeed." Lord Myna replied while he covered his head with his wings and observed Grimm in excitement.
Grimm seemed to be unbothered by it. As an officially recognized sorcerer, he tried to put on a calm demeanor, as if he had already accepted the changes that ageing would bring to life. However, deep inside his heart, he still could not forget the moment he "escaped" from the Black Isotta Sorcerer Academy on his own; its images still vivid in his thoughts.
Grimm's fear right now was similar to the fear he had when he saw himself turning into an officially recognized sorcerer, whereby the degeneration of life could alter none of the subjective developments of the world. Close friends and even the love of his life would perish "quickly" before him, led by the natural order of their aging process.
An officially recognized sorcerer that aimed to achieve mental maturity would have to go through such pain and honing.
Nothing else could change it, and it was inevitable.
In that moment, Grimm started to pray in his heart for his fate. He saw the weaknesses and foolishness of a sorcerer with no restraint; it was all because of love.
The emotions of normal human beings being ignorant were clearly seen; constantly relying on hope and fate that were uncontrollable.
It was in Grimm's heart that such weakness had won against the logical thinking of a sorcerer. He only hoped to gain leverage of all his capabilities to avoid unwanted tragedy.
Master Peranos once mentioned about such weakness, whereby a sorcerer that had not been through these predicaments would only remain as a sorcerer-apprentice that possessed minimal sorcery capabilities.
Grimm had set his sights far.
"My dear Lefay, did you make it to become an officially recognized sorcerer? My best mate Robinson, have you fulfilled the promise of love between you and your moon, Robin? Nina York, you must have learned to be tough all on your own during all these years without Chris around…"
Grimm paused, and glimpses of past memories from his sorcerer-apprenticeship started to appear before his eyes.
It was unforgettable, the fatso that had provided him with Fragrant Magic Stone every month. With his big and rounded belly and squinted eyes, he enjoyed on the rocking chair in the first floor lobby of the Black Isotta Sorcerer Academy.
The second elder brother, Valor, who part-timed at the seventh floor of Black Isotta Sorcerer Academy as a caretaker of the renting of precious experimental tools was an enthusiast on rare and bizarre item collections, and a knowledgeable person on academic-related knowledge. However, his battle skills using sorcery were totally the opposite.
And then, there was Garnigel, the soul partner of Master Peranos. That hateful black cat must have been feeding on its food cravings again with the master.
Also, Brianna, the girl who had a cheerful smile like the summer sun… short black colored hair, wheat colored skin, and a pair of long legs. She had always teased Grimm by hugging his neck, and she had been very keen on learning sorcery knowledge from the Master's Library.
Alastair, the one who founded The Death Sail League and had always dressed like an aristocrat also had a complicated relationship with the famous Bell, his paramour.
Did the Death Sail League continue?
Also, the sorcerers that Grimm had encountered before…
Elaine, the beautiful sorceress who ate a raw centipede during the first class who later approached the fatty to buy Venas Fragrance from Grimm. She then unlocked the partnership between Grimm and the Family of Purple Tulip.
Sinlu, the old sorcerer who grew a pair of mustache that looked like gold. He was the one who sold the Ashen Mask and the Kiss of the Blood Bat to Grimm, while most of the time he would make fun of his mustache that had been a useful advertising tool for him.
Fake Faceless Nilmar, the mysterious sorcerer who changed his fate when he hijacked the cruise toward the Lilith Sorcerer Academy; and then recruited Solumn as his disciple.
Over 200 years had passed. How are you all doing?

Chapter end