A Sorcerer's Journey 304 Destructive Force

One year later.
After several months of recovery and resting, Grimm proceeded to the Tomb Segja Sorcerer Academy to report his findings in the mission—"Observation of the Eternal Destructive Energy" assigned to him a hundred years ago. After reviewing the formation of the Destructive Energy's thirty-six foundations, he was reclaimed.
Returning to his Demon-Hunter Castle, Grimm couldn't wait to gather and assemble his experimental equipment.
The Eternal Destructive Energy Meter was finally completed after three painstaking days of careful assembly by Grimm.
This piece of equipment in front of Grimm was the largest, most intricate machine he had ever assembled in his life.
There were many other experimental equipment and instruments in the Demon-Hunter Castle but this particular one seemed much more mysterious and gave off a feeling like it belonged to an ancient laboratory.
The instrument was fifteen meters high.
There were eight bases on both the upper and lower parts of the instrument, each spanning five meters. In the middle of these bases was a crystal glass, its interiors filled halfway through with a highly-dense, translucent plastic block.
Such pieces of equipment were essential support devices for official sorcerers like Grimm. Apart from their life-level, these machines are the distinction between a sorcerer and a sorcerer's apprentice.
To say the least, such a piece of machinery with exact precision was impossible for a single sorcerer-apprentice, given their measly level of experience. This caliber of workmanship requires hundreds of years to complete. The narrow slice of knowledge a sorcerer-apprentice possesses was practically impossible to suffice the amount needed to construct this device.
Perhaps, one could even go so far as to say that the sorcerer-apprentice wouldn't even recognize the true use of this experimental equipment.
That's because the vision sorcerer-apprentices possess was too minuscule. So small that their plans only stretch a few years, up to decades into the future, which all pass by in the blink of an eye.
Even for the minority of sorcerer-apprentices that have forward-looking wisdom who had plans that reached over a hundred years, creating such an intricate machine wouldn't even cross their minds at the slightest.
Grimm walked in circles around his own creation a few times.
Like an artist admiring his own work of art, Grimm wore a big, bright smile on his face. Myna on the other hand, stood on the top of the Eternal Destructive Energy Meter while laughing wickedly. "Caw caw caw caw! Young Master, how about we take this toy out for a spin, see how it works in real life?"
Grimm inhaled deeply before replying solemnly, "Although this recording device is named the "Eternal Destructive Energy Meter", within it is a perfect cycle of Destructive Energy running at a rate of eighteen rounds per second, achieving perfect mass. In reality, this device can only support experiments for three seconds at a time."

The reason for this was simple.
Although the device itself could create Destructive Energy forever, no system of knowledge by the sorcerers nor any form of material could alter the energy's destructive nature.
In simple terms, once the high-density energy gel block was completely annihilated by the Destructive Energy within the crystal vessel, the continued usage of the device would inevitably cause the destruction of the device itself.
The time it takes before the high-density gel block gets wiped out by Destructive Energy according to Grimm's calculations was roughly three seconds.
"Caw caw! Big deal. We'll do further research to create a more durable gel block."
Myna, by contrast was much more optimistic than his counterpart.
Grimm shook his head and laughed quietly. A more advanced experimental gel block?
If there were indeed anything related to the Destructive Energy that was so easy to research and develop, then why would they even come up with the gel block? It would be much more logical to research the carrier of Destructive Energy instead in that case.
Experiments by ancient sorcerers had already provided a fairly complete analysis on the nature of Destructive Energy, perhaps one could even say that they had long reached the limits of understanding it.
The only thing left was to perfectly control the carrier of the Destructive Energy.
Without the carrier for the Destructive Energy, the sorcerer who incites the Destructive Energy would always have to face annihilation by the energy itself first.
Instead, if one were to incite the Destructive Energy from the outside, one could only use its inferior second class techniques like the Fire Blast and Steam Blast spells.
Now that Grimm possessed the Eternal Destructive Energy Meter, he was pretty confident that he could raise his knowledge level on Destructive Energy to the level of the ancient sorcerers, where they have reached the limits of understanding before the start of the upcoming Demon-Hunting Expedition.
As for the time afterward, Grimm's experimental plan was to find a suitable carrier for Destructive Energy.
This would require him to do a series of trial and error experiments and observe the reaction between the Destructive Energy and other forms of energy, in hopes that one day, he would reach that "Eureka!" moment.
This process was similar to that of ancient sorcerers who developed new branches of sorcery purely out of coincidental accidents.
In other words, the next step for Grimm after completing his observation on the Destructive Energy was to toss pieces of experimental material into the recording meter and observe its reaction with Destructive Energy.
The thought of doing such a task was already boring enough to make one cry.
What's more was that there is no sure time process, no solid returns for these "lottery-style" of experiments. He could only fumble around in the dark, running towards an unknown target.
Of course, it's a given that if Grimm is able to create a few more of these machines, the chances of him reaching a conclusion quickly would increase. However, to do this would pile on his Sorcerer Essence expenditure exponentially.
Half an hourglass later.
As Grimm started up the Eternal Destructive Energy Meter, the deafening hum of the clashing energies in the device startled Myna greatly. He flew over to Grimm's shoulder and squinted intensely at this device, fearing that he would miss out on any peculiar occurrence.
The ground rumbled and quaked. In Grimm's shaky gaze, the lighting inside the Demon-Hunter Castle had started contorting and was getting sucked into the crystal vessel.
An indescribable, heavy sense of pressure was coming from the crystal vessel
At a rate of eighteen rounds a second, in a short period of time, a total of fifty-four revolutions of clashing energy had occurred inside the device. And in the midst of all the clashing energies, a pitch-black flame had appeared.
This flickering darkness was ominously oppressive even though the flames only burnt for a mere three seconds, after which the high-density gel blocks within the device was completely consumed by it.
With a loud "poof", the black flames dissipated.
"Is… is this Destructive Energy?" Grimm muttered shakily to himself, as his face flashed a look of horror.
Hum…
The ground stopped shaking and the lights within the Demon-Hunter Castle returned to normal. It was as if what just happened was all just a brief illusion.
Grimm's heart was beating furiously against his chest.
If one were to grab hold of this horrifying energy, God knows how many laws would be tipped off balance.
Apart from a World Lord, no other creature would be able to resist against such energy with this magnitude of destructive abilities. This was something that was on a whole other level.
This was horrifying, even outright mad.
Grimm started questioning himself. Had he fallen into a spiral of madness just like that Dwarf Tinlady for researching something of this degree?
The Destructive Energy, even from the perspective of a World Lord was something incomprehensibly powerful. And yet for a low-level creature to blindly seek control of such powers that seemed almost untouchable, even for a World Lord…
This was simply whimsical madness.
According to the research guidelines for the average Elemental Sorcerers, one must attain a certain level of Elemental Energy by oneself before venturing past one's own limits to perform alteration experiments on the energy,
Unlike Grimm, who had leaped past all the conventional steps for such experiments. He pried two leverage laws at once while performing a high-level energy alteration experiment.
"Rational! Rational! I must remain rational!"
Grimm gripped his head as he ran to the library. He quickly sat down on a chair and gulped down a cold glass of water.
On one hand, was the alluring powers that tempted Grimm. If he were to obtain it, Grimm would come to possess unimaginable strength.
On the other hand, his sorcerer's reasoning was discouraging him from acting on impulse.
The Dwarf Tinlady mentor from the Narrow World was a living example of just how catastrophic it would be for a sorcerer to fall into madness.
The line between rationality and madness was a very fine line.
Gradually, Grimm's state returned to the time when he was cleansing his mind a hundred years ago at the Seven Rings prison.
Thinking back to the time when he was still an apprentice at Black Isotta Sorcerer Academy, during his second year there, everyone happily referred to sorcery books to learn a trick or two in Elemental Sorcery. It was from this that they were able to master unparalleled power afterward.
Grimm on the other hand, was like a fool. He only studied the theoretical principles of Canine Olfactory Sorcery, the compositions of smell…
Two years had passed by in a flash.
The sorcerer-apprentices from the same batch as Grimm's had all grown much stronger and yet he himself was still as helpless as a kitten, fearful of the bloody millstone newcomer trials in the next year.
However, a miracle occurred.
Due to his obsession with the mysterious principles of the Canine Olfactory Sorcery, he had accidentally discovered the Love Vials. And from the magic stone profits he accrued from selling his creation, he bought the pale mask and asked many other sorcerers for a fraction of their knowledge in sorcery.
After the newcomer trials, like the Canine Olfactory Sorcery, Grimm had once again stumbled into knowledge about his own Life Code, and hence branched off into his own unique line of sorcery.
Grimm's Triplex Esoteric Sorcery, Grimm's Eucharist Alienation Sorcery.
He used this as his foundation to continuously accumulate and develop his skills, until he was able to wipe out all other sorcerer-apprentices at the Holy Tower Qualification Battle, after which no one else stood a chance against Grimm.
The loneliness of being the best…
Who would have thought that he was the fool that wasted his days researching into some trivial sorcery knowledge that gave little returns when all the other apprentices were in a desperate struggle to gain strength.
As these memories floated into his mind, the lost look in Grimm's eyes gradually faded away as his will became as firm as steel.
Without the sense of inferiority to others, without the wisdom of foresight, without the despair-inducing madness, there would not be the Grimm that wiped out all the talented competitors. He would only be lost in the crowd as just another apprentice.
Grimm remembered when he first arrived at the Holy Tower of the Seven Rings, he would much rather endure hundreds of years of obscurity than live a life of mediocrity.
"Yes! Exactly!"
The pair of calm, wise and deep eyes underneath the Mask of Truth burned with madness. This was what Grimm took pride in and this pride was a large part of Grimm's legendary experience as a sorcerer's apprentice.
In the face of their own pride, all sorcerers would rather conquer their own rationality and descend into utter madness.
"Caw!"
As Myna called out in boredom, Grimm slammed the table with a loud bang before excitedly rushing back to the side of the Eternal Destructive Energy Meter where he once again began his observation of the Destructive Energy experiments.

Chapter end