A Sorcerer's Journey 463 The Maze of the Sea Serpent XV

Grimm was facing problems with assimilating the Awakening Ray's powers from the sea serpent's pearls. However, the essential exotic raw ingredients, the Spring of Serpentine and the Blood of the Tainted Eye were laid out before him.
As for where the secrets to the Awakening Ray could be found, Grimm speculated that it should be on top of the mouth of the Spring of Serpentine altar, or the Eye of Destruction found within every cave.
Having spent such a long time trapped within this Spectral World, the countdown for Grimm's escape with his loot had finally started.
Such is the great power of The Truth and Arcane knowledge after which every sorcerer sought!
Although there were no changes in Grimm's physical capabilities, he had nurtured his relatively microbial powers into what was considered unthinkable by these foreign world creatures. All this was achieved through studying the Arcane and the Truth, arriving at an understanding of this world's nature and its laws.
Crack!
The lord of the sea serpent's pearls, once called the Eye of Destruction, had started closing up slowly. From what Grimm saw, the shutting of the Phagocytic Shell from the maze of the sea serpent provided solace for the lord of the sea serpent's pearls.
One after another, the never-ending sea serpent's pearls flew back into the embrace of the Phagocytic Shell, before falling into a state of dormancy.
As this was unfolding before Grimm's eyes, the red beam of light on his chest started fading out to the point where its shape had lost form. This was not the weakening of the perception evasion's power which was derived from Mount Serpentine. On the contrary, Grimm's perception evading powers were gradually being restored.
The distorted appearance of the whirlpool gate which disappeared and reappeared from time to time beneath Grimm's feet was replaced by the cold, hard ground.
In Grimm's perception, the endless world's Balanced Law had gradually become blurrier. What this meant was that Grimm was unable to use any forms of sorcery until the Balanced Law had completely disintegrated and until he could perceive it no more.
A new day of the arrival of the Eye of Destruction had started.
Then…
The first task would be collecting Blood of the Tainted Eye!
After the arrival of the lord of the sea serpent's pearls, Grimm could use one of his spells to enlarge them under its Awakening Ray for a short span of time, enough for him to store Blood of the Tainted Eye into the Dimensional Gap and still have time to spare afterwards.
"It's prime time to make good use of those young fledglings."
With this in mind, a cold glare shot through the Mask of Truth as Grimm slowly walked towards the Sorcerer's Cave on Mount Serpentine.
Having just experienced the descent of the Eye of Destruction, all the creatures living on Mount Serpentine were busy making their way towards the mouth of the Spring of Serpentine, which made Grimm's journey relatively peaceful and quiet.

"Sorcerer Grimm."
Just as he stepped foot into the cave, a young fledgling with its face contorted with sorrow called out to Grimm.
If it was Grimm from the past, he would have interpreted this as a form of mourning over the death of the Stigmata Sorcerer, Grandalph.
Grimm nodded towards this young one's greeting. Despite what his visual perception told him, Grimm chose to deceive himself that these fledglings were just like his fellow sorcerers. Raising both arms, he signalled for these "sorcerers" to quiet down.
"Sorcerers Grandalph and Johann are dead. However, I am still alive, and I plan on living a better life from now on, such that their deaths were not in vain!"
"Throw away your petty emotions, we are sorcerers!" Grimm's boomed.
It was unclear as to what had become of Grimm's words through the distortion and lies of this semi-Spectral World, but one thing was for sure –– they all would have had the same effect as intended.
"But, that creature was way too strong. Even the great sorcerer Grandalph was no match for it. How is it possible that we, sorcerers who have lost our perception on the Balanced Law, can somehow defeat that monster?"
A fledgling said in a defeated tone, evident of the despair that haunted him and his fellow comrades.
Yet another one of them in a fearful, trembling voice said, "After that creature's done licking its wounds, it would surely come back for the rest of us. Let's leave while we can."
"Hmph!"
Grimm grunted at this statement. His eyes stared down at these fledglings who seemed to have yet weaned off their mother's milk.
While he called them fledglings, they had already reached mature human ages of around fifteen to sixteen and all were shining with youthfulness. Considering that they all came from such a strong mother, it was undeniable that existing within this group was a potential for extreme powers. So why are they acting so powerless and weak right now?
"I will not allow any of you to tarnish the honor of the sorcerers so easily. I will strike down without mercy on whoever leaves this cave!"
Grimm added on, "On Mount Serpentine, there are countless other creatures who are much scarier than that one in question. The Spring of Serpentine altar in this cave is our source for the best Spring of Serpentines. The moment we lose this cave is the moment when we are all destined to die here!"
Grimm's words casted doubt on the fledglings' rationale.
Grimm must ensure the growth of these fledglings in order for them to "work" under him. Because Grimm had seen through the web of lies that this world's laws casted, he was able to place his cognition above said laws. Just like that time when he accidentally broke the crystal ball at the Black Isotta Sorcerer Academy, his intellect and wisdom were held beyond the laws.
"Still, we are no match for that giant monster. Should it choose to come back, no one here stands a chance in fending it off."
Confidence had been sparked among these fledglings. Although they had shifted the responsibility off their shoulders, they were still clinging to the hope that Grimm was able to come up with a plan.
Grimm raised his head, his voice brimming with unrivalled confidence.
"That monster will try to heal its wounds back to its best condition, and I am not sure how long that will take. However, what I am sure of is that it is sufficient time for us to draw up a comprehensive plan. I have an ability, one that would exact revenge for sorcerer Grandalph and one that would drive this monster running with its tail between its legs!"
Grimm's mention of revenge for Grandalph's sake had been subverted into revenge for their mother's sake when it reached the ears of these fledglings.
"Then why didn't you use that ability in the first place? If that was the case then Grandalph wouldn't have died!"
A sorcerer yelled out in frustration at Grimm.
The source of this sorcerer's anger, stemmed from a fledgling's frustration at himself for failing to save its mother's life, not from the unbreakable human trust that existed between sorcerers.
Having understood this, Grimm made a pained expression as he took out a large piece of condensed Spring of Serpentine which he had been slowly accumulating.
"This ability of mine requires an extremely large concentration of energy. Even through my continuous struggle in accumulating the Spring of Serpentine, all that I have is comparable to a single drop of water in an ocean."
Grimm gritted his teeth, hatred almost spilling out of his eyes as he continued on, "Once I have collected enough Spring of Serpentine, I have the utmost confidence that I can slaughter that bastard!"
Grimm's announcement was like the light at the end of the tunnel for these fledglings.
"We'll help you!"
A fledgling with newly-boiling blood said out loud.
Grimm's tightly-wounded heart loosened upon hearing this…
Finally such words were spoken!
There were sixty of these fledglings. Even if half of them were to lose their lives, there would still be a steady influx of thirty sea serpent's pearls everyday if everyone were to harvest one each. This was many times greater than the amount Grimm would have to collect while being exposed to extreme danger.
Such was the power of intelligence.
Just when Grimm thought the matter was solved, it was time for them to consider the plan for their return journey. A fledgling beside Grimm lowered his head as he posed the question, "Sorcerer Grimm, did you know of the large reservation of sea serpent's pearls that Grandalph had set aside as a reward for us from the Mana Pool?"
Grimm was taken aback by this unexpected discovery, his lips curled into a grin uncontrollably.
"I wasn't aware of that. Where is it?"
A short while later, thousands of sea serpent's pearls covered Grimm's field of vision, all of which had been frozen into massive blocks of ice.
***
On the second Day of Destruction, Grimm started directing these fledglings in gathering the sea serpent's pearls, pushing them forward in their growth process.
Of course, in Grimm's discourse, this was teaching them basic Anatomy Refinery techniques without the use of sorcery.
Even if Grimm were to not possess the perception of Truth, the sorcerers standing before him would still be the most trustworthy bunch in this Spectral World. Conversely, having experienced rounds of deception as to their perception, Grimm was the only one who they could rely on, someone who was "their people".
After ten or more Days of Destruction.
For every passing day, Grimm would receive messages about another fledgling's death from time to time. Looking at the sorrowful faces on many of these fledglings' faces, he could not help but turn the grief and anger into a fuel that propelled him forward with determination.
"This is the rite of passage for Anatomy Refinery Sorcerers. If you can survive through it, we'll all grow stronger so that we can exact revenge in the name of sorcerer Grandalph when that day comes!"
After living through the initial harrowing stage, these fledglings seemed to have uncaged the bloodthirsty beast within them that was asleep up until now. The rate of their growth process was alarming, even to Grimm.
Yet another two hundred Days of Destruction flew by.
Now, it was rare for Grimm to receive information on his "sorcerers'" deaths. Nor was it necessary for him to collect the sea serpent's pearls himself as these fledglings were bringing a steady supply of pearls to him everyday.
At this moment, it was time for Grimm to demonstrate the sorcerers' experimental nature. One by one, he dropped these sea serpent's pearls into the mouth of the Spring of Serpentine altar, carefully observing the glowing Awakening Ray as it slowly absorbed the pearls.
Mount Serpentine constantly directed the power of the Serpentine to stimulate the lord of the sea serpent's pearls, its final aim being to absorb the powers of the Awakening Ray from it.
By now, Grimm was certain that the secret to obtaining the powers of the Awakening Ray was contained in the Eye of Destruction, which was conveniently disguised as the Spring of Serpentine altar.
"Sorcerer Grimm, foreign world creatures have crossed boundaries and are nearing the sorcerer's cave."
A fledgling reported to Grimm with a sour expression. Outside, there was another fledgling who had sustained heavy injuries but he was stubbornly clinging on to his life.
Grimm's cold gaze lit up upon hearing the news. He nodded his head.
"Hmph!"
Alas, Grimm walked out of the Sorcerer's Cave.
The Grimm in the present, was like Grandalph in the past. He was now the strongest leader of this cave.
Although Grimm was no longer responsible for collecting large amounts of sea serpent's pearls, he was shouldering another equally heavy task. His task was to slaughter each and every one of the foreign world creatures that trespassed onto their territory.

Chapter end