A Sorcerer's Journey 354 Rank One Honor Badge Mission!

"Heehee, come on in, Grimm."
The space around Black Isotta was collapsing ceaselessly. He was cackling sinisterly at Grimm. The cackling echoed throughout the great hall.
Grimm gulped.
"Yes, great Black Isotta."
Clutching his Sabbatic Goat Staff, Grimm was trying his best to slow his pace so that he would appear relaxed. Beneath his Mask of Truth, however, strains of sweat emerged on his forehead.
The collective pressure that came from being under the scrutiny of the six higher life forms made Grimm feel like he was a white mouse on an experimental theatre waiting to be handled. He couldn't put up any resistance.
"Black Isotta, this Level-1 Demon-hunting Sorcerer is your idea of a better solution?"
A question suddenly erupted from a Stigmata Sorcerer that was blurred out in a cloud of sand. She sounded like a sorceress.
Black Isotta who was surrounded by collapsing spaces gently nodded.
"Heehee, you're right, it's him."
At this moment, a Stigmata Sorcerer that gave off an ancient mammoth-like pressure suddenly opened up. The intense pressure came from Grimm's instinct as an Anatomy Refinery Sorcerer.
If he were to stand there and let Grimm hit him as he liked, it would still feel like scratching his leg with his boot still in between.
"So weak? Black Isotta, it's alright if we take a little risk, but there's no need to let a puny thing die needlessly."
The Stigmata Sorcerer had a bald head. His ears were unusually big and there was a golden crown on top of his head. His lips were exceptionally thick and his flabby cheeks were bumpy. He had a pair of blue and green colored ember eyes.
His loose sorcerer's robe couldn't cover his almost monstrous muscular body.
Die needlessly?
After hearing that, Grimm took a more violent gulp.
"Black Isotta, tell us about your plans. From our short encounter with the will of the World Lord of the Infernal God's world, the Infernal Spirit World now is now a medium-sized world. Even if all six of us were to invade them right now, it would still be quite a risk without the support of the sorcerer's will."
The same female sorceress opened up once again.
There appeared to be some mirrors that were refracting light in the dark. Grimm tried to peek at the Stigmata Sorceress secretly underneath his Mask of Truth. But what he saw was his own fire and ice elemental eyes. It terrified Grimm to a point where he bowed his head down and dared not to look at the sorceress directly again.
"Heehee, even though it's a medium-sized world, it is but an ignorant world situated in some desolate place of the world clusters. How dare they say that they want to invade the sorcerers' world, heehee ...the more ignorant they are, the more foolish they sound."
A voice came through that sounded as sinister as Black Isotta himself, but lacking in his trademark coldness and cruelty. The voice had a sharper ring to it, like the sharp tip of a dagger that was traversing in darkness.

Grimm turned his head over. The person appeared to be very skinny. His loose sorcerer's robe seemed like it was hung over a rack.
Bo, bones?!
The Stigmata Sorcerer's face was just a pale white skull, the same kind that you would find in a skeleton from the laboratories.
Curiously, the pair of green flames within the Stigmata Sorcerer's eye sockets pulsed for a moment. Grimm felt that his soul was about to be seen through completely, he was completely shocked underneath his Mask of Truth.
A Stigmata Sorcerer that had the mastery of the souls?
The last Stigmata Sorcerer wore a huge black and white patterned sorcerer's robe. The lines looked like a zebra's. He did not speak a word and was unusually mysterious.
There was a faint slushing sound continuously humming underneath his robes.
"My plan?"
Black Isotta once again chuckled in his "heehee" manner.
Suddenly, Black Isotta reached out his frail old palm. There was some ripple in the collapsing space around him. A pure black energy ball expanded, and from there a normal-looking glass fragment screen emerged.
The glass fragments were spiraling endlessly on the frail palm of Black Isotta.
It was the glass that Grimm had shattered after he had deceived the Infernal God from the foreign world into an Infernal Pact during his apprenticeship. He brought one of the fragments back to Master Peranos.
"The two symbols of the civilized world: an Eternal Dominator by those above Level 7 as well as a system that makes the civilization stronger each time it wins a war. Compared to the huge worlds that had total dominion over the sorcerer's alliance, the worlds that had a pattern of emerging stronger every time they won a war had been all destroyed by the sorcerer's world. Therefore, we must completely crush this Infernal Spirit World that could control soul slaves like us!"
Finally, Black Isotta said in a dark and cruel manner," This is a mission and the will of the Great Seven Ring Celestial Sorcerer himself, if it becomes necessary, the great Seven Ring Celestial Sorcerer will descend upon the world himself!"
"What!?"
"The Seven Rings Celestial Sorcerer is going to descend upon the world himself?"
The sight of shocked Stigmata Sorcerers made Grimm felt like he was listening to the stuff of fairy tales.
From the words of the Stigmata Sorcerers, Grimm was able to get a few messages.
One, he had preferential treatment from the Black Isotta thanks to the fragmented glass, and he is now going to give him an almost impossible mission.
Two, the sorcerer's world named the Infernal God's world as the Infernal Spirit World, and that they've had short contact there.
Three, the Infernal Spirit World has a civilized battle system, and that they share the same ability with the sorcerer's world after the first civilizational war, the ability to control Soul Slaves!
Four, a Level-4 and above being was known as the World Lord while a Level-7 being or above was known as an Eternal Dominator.
Five, this Infernal Spirit World was going to be completely obliterated by the sorcerer's world and if needed, the great Seven Rings Celestial Sorcerer would descend upon the Infernal Spirit World himself.
And Grimm would be the opening gunshot that starts the war to obliterate this Infernal Spirit World!
Suddenly, the mysterious Stigmata Sorcerer, the sorcerer who wore a zebrpatterned robe, suddenly broke his silence.
"It seems like those great entities had started to wake up in the holy tower due to the Metal Destroyer civilization."
The atmosphere was a bit down.
The civilizational war is the beginning of greatness for one civilization but an ending point for another civilization.
Nobody could be certain if the Sorcerer World would emerge triumphant from the battle.
It was like the ancient times when the weak Sorcerer World defeated the great Bizzare Nightmare civilization. But at a much recent past, the zenith of the sorcerer's world was almost wiped out by the Abyss civilization. They could only organize a messy escape, abandoning all the glories of their old world cluster.
As Black Isotta who had been around since the second civil war of ancient times, he knew more about the terror of a civil war than any other people.
"Right, we still have time to deal with the Metal Destroyer civilization, and the recon sorcerers of the alliance hasn't returned. No point thinking about them."
The glass fragments was spiraling faster and faster in the palm of Black Isotta. It faintly emitted a dimensional coordinate that matched the Burrow World.
Black Isotta's voice was utterly deep and dark.
"Now I could forget everything about the Infernal Spirit World, but I must get the ability to communicate with souls across the world as well as the ability to open up the passageways for the Soul Slaves between foreign worlds!"
After a pause.
"If Grimm doesn't succeed in luring a World Lord from the Infernal Spirit World over and instead made them aware of our attempts and seal off the world gates, causing them to abandon this world that they use to breed their Soul Slaves and gather their resources, we will breach forcefully!"
As he talked, Black Isotta looked at Grimm.
"Grimm, the mission I'm giving you is this: in three months, the World Lord of the Infernal Spirit World will open up a world gate that connects both their world and the Burrow World using the soul of the world. You are to get into the Infernal Spirit World ahead of that and lure the Infernal God, who has a grudge on you, into this Burrow World!"
The ability to open up a wormhole between two worlds using the soul of a foreign world?
No wonder…
No wonder the Infernal God was trying hard to gather human souls from the sorcerer's world.
So, its original purpose was to open up the wormhole between the sorcerer's world and its own to invade the sorcerer's world.
Black Isotta glared at Grimm.
"We could only determine the world accurately from a World Lord. We could then enter into the Infernal Spirit World from the more stable void fortress through the dimensional gap. Remember, you must stop them from sending in low-level creatures into the Burrow World and be aware of what's happened in the Burrow World. This...this is a Rank-1 honor badge demon-hunting mission that I'm giving you!"
'A Rank-1 honor badge demon-hunting mission?!'
While Grimm was astounded, he could only feel bitterness. Looking at Black Isotta from his Mask of Truth, he falteringly said," But...but I'm too weak, I'm afraid…"
Not even the World Lord.
Any Level-3 creature would be enough to stop Grimm from fleeing back to the Burrow World the moment he enters the Infernal Spirit World. There' was no chance that he could hold off the low-level creatures from entering the Burrow World one step ahead and lure the Infernal God at the same time.
No wonder the muscular Anatomy Refinery Stigmata Sorcerer would say that he was being sent to die needlessly.
Black Isotta, however, grinned mysteriously. He said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, I've made some arrangements."

Chapter end