A Sorcerer's Journey 467 The Whirlpool Gate

While the beam of light, logically speaking, should not have any weight, it felt to Grimm like he was carrying a thousand-pound boulder.
Perhaps for the Stigmata Sorcerers or the infamous World Lords, they would not even break a drop of sweat over this, but for Grimm who had lost his sorcery abilities, having the Eternal Dominator's powers in his possession was too big a burden, let alone bending it to his will.
After Grimm had fled from Mount Serpentine and landed safely on the ground, there were no specific directions he had in mind in regards to his escape route. Any direction in opposition to Mount Serpentine was as good as any other.
At the moment, he was like a naughty kid who had just successfully pick-pocketed an adult. His face was tense and had hints of fear, as if his plans would come crashing down any moment now.
As for the adult who had just lost his money, it would perhaps take a long time before he would realize his loss. Maybe, he would even go on with his life, not noticing the trivial loss which, to Grimm, was oh so precious.
It was all because of the difference in foresight both parties of different levels possessed.
One after another, the Phagocytic Shells rose and fell. Grimm continued fleeing with all his might.
Back then, Grimm had been led to the direction of Mount Serpentine. At that time, he believed it to be some kind of a paradise that existed in a faraway unknown land. The Grimm now however, realized the horrors that lurked on Mount Serpentine and he was desperately escaping the place that was the source of all nightmares.
Of course, there were no visible changes to Mount Serpentine in or of itself, nor did Grimm face any surprise attacks.
Everything functioned as per usual. For the buffer zone between reality and illusion, yet another Eye of Destruction's day of arrival had passed.
The eternal Phagocytic Shell was once again pried open by the two thick beams of light. From afar, Grimm turned back to look at it one last time. Even from his blurry vision due to the faraway distance, he could make out the silhouette of two gigantic crab pincers.
This...
Grimm was lost in thought, a thousand-yard gaze projected from his eyes.
Could it be? That he himself was that creature which confused the inescapable Thousand-Eye Carnicus, the enhanced version of the "Chaotic Killer" which it attempted to, but could not, bring under control?
And that Mount Serpentine itself was an infinitely buffed up Thousand-Eye Carnicus?
While its motive remained unknown, it was clear to Grimm that it would secretly stow away some of the lord of the sea serpent's pearls' Awakening Ray's powers.
***
Again, the Awakening Ray by the lord of the sea serpent's pearls shone down on the land which existed sandwiched between reality and illusion.
Gradually, the Phagocytic Shell which encompassed the entire sky opened up. Tens of thousands of sea serpent's pearls swarmed the sky, engaged in a cheerful dance of sorts.

Through the Awakening Ray, Grimm noticed the increasingly faint beam of light on his chest being tethered to the distant Mount Serpentine. Apart from that, he observed Whirlpool Gates, all of varying sizes dotting the ground surface. Some would appear and disappear in a flash, some would not appear at all, and the rest maintained their spin the whole time.
If Grimm were still living under the web of lies which Mount Serpentine had weaved, he would not even stand the chance to witness the mystical scene before him. Instead, he would have retreated into the Phagocytic Shell, back to the self-centered Spectral World.
As for the reason why the red beam of light on Grimm's chest was growing fainter and fainter, part of it was because his physical state was gradually weakening over time. Also, as he moved further away from Mount Serpentine, its blindfold on Grimm's perception was growing ever weaker.
"Well, isn't that convenient? There's a Whirlpool Gate right there."
Grimm had taken notice of a Whirlpool Gate a dozen meters in diameter in the distant horizon. This Whirlpool Gate was relatively larger than the others around it and was continuously rotating at a constant speed around the eye of the whirlpool.
As soon as Grimm arrived at the Whirlpool Gate, he jumped down excitedly, only to be taken aback by shock.
The signal pervading from this Whirlpool Gate was wicked!
There was an indescribable sense of pressure and fear-inducing chaos coming from beyond this gate. This feeling was like… that Grudge Pearl that Eldest Apprentice-Sister Quiet Spring had gifted him. Nothing was more befitting to the atmosphere than the word "ominous".
Exploring and navigating an unknown world's laws required Grimm to undertake quite the risk and after a brief moment of hesitation, he gave up on this particular Whirlpool Gate. Immediately, he moved on to the other Whirlpool Gate far away from his current position.
Grimm's situation was much direr than what others would think.
Although there existed the Spacetime Access ability between Grimm and Little Myna, a problem arose whenever the former leapt into a different dimension and wished to perform an ultrlong distance transmission. While this was very much possible for Little Myna, who could easily get to Grimm's side through the Dimensional Gap, the same could not be said for Grimm. Without the Dimensional Gap to act as a medium which connected the Endless World and the mystical Spectral World, he would be required to complete a series of complicated steps before achieving what Little Myna could do in mere seconds.
Among the steps, the most important one was locating the correct World Node.
The World Node was a key part of any world. Often times, it was in the location where either the precious elements of a world were stored, or an extremely large group of creatures inhabited. There was also a possibility that the area would be under a World Guardian's protection.
Generally speaking, whenever a new world was discovered by a reconnaissance sorcerer who would scour the Endless Void, he would engage in secret operations and establish the spatial coordinates of the target world's World Nodes, providing essential information to the Void Fortress right before their descent on said world.
In contrast to the reconnaissance sorcerers, Grimm was not required to map out in detail the target world's World Nodes. Instead, he just needed to borrow the weaker spots near the World Nodes where he would set up a simple magic array and go on with his day.
Yet another Whirlpool Gate.
This Whirlpool Gate had a diameter stretching upwards to a hundred meters. The signal coming from this gate was explosive and violent. Judging from this, it would most likely lead to another large world.
Grimm pondered for a while before deciding to continue his search for a suitable Whirlpool Gate.
For some reason, Grimm felt that this World Gate was extremely exclusive to the outside world. Perhaps this was due to the resistance against alien forces from this strong, self-deterministic world?
What Grimm was afraid of was that if the level of the creature travelling through the Whirlpool Gate were below the world's basic standing, it would risk being crushed to pieces while being "smuggled" through the wormhole.
As for what would happen if a World Lord were to sneak into a large world where an Eternal Dominator existed?
It would be an unimaginable disaster.
As they say, third time's a charm. Grimm had finally found something of value in the third Whirlpool Gate.
This Whirlpool Gate had a diameter of merely two meters.
From beyond the World Gate, the signal of the world's laws was distinct from the worlds Grimm had ever been in. And yet, Grimm could tell that the laws were reasonable in nature. This meant that it was not too evil and was not the type that would threaten the lives of lower level lifeforms.
Without further hesitation, Grimm held onto his weakened body and activated Level 2 of his WIld Instinct ability. The beast, which he transformed into then jumped right into this Whirlpool Gate.
The familiar feeling of spatial distortion.
This was the pressure which followed the weakened hollow shadow. Cracking sounds came from Grimm's bone armor cracking apart. Even after Grimm's Wild Instinct transformation, he could still feel the immense pressure exerted on his body from every direction.
"I hope this gamble pays off…"
While in theory, Grimm would not be sent tumbling into a world too far off from the semi-Spectral World in which Mount Serpentine stood, it should be kept in mind that the judgement of what was "near" and what was "far" by an Eternal Dominator was incomprehensible by a low-level lifeform like Grimm.
If it were a world which was further away than what most foreign worlds were to the Sorcerers World, then without the cocoon's protection, low-level sorcerers' bodies run the risk of being turned into pulp.
However, Grimm's luck paid off and the silver lining had arrived.
The Endless World's dense Elemental Signal and its Balanced Law hit Grimm the moment he entered into this world, where the temperature soared high and there seemed to be sand everywhere.
However, the optimism ended there and then. Due to Grimm forcibly activating the Level-2 Wild Instinct Transformation, every inch of his body was burnt out from over-exertion. His mind was blurred from sheer exhaustion. The only thing he could do was to breathe shallowly as he laid there under the scorching desert sun, slowly being cooked alive.
The first task he must do, was to warn Little Myna from coming over to his position!
Otherwise, Grimm would not be able to use the shared Spacetime Access between him and Little Myna as a transmission platform. Without it, Grimm's hopes of returning to the Sorcerers World would take decades to say the least. Low-level creatures traversing an unknown foreign world untouched by the Sorcerers' Will was extremely risky and frankly, a foolish decision.
For the second thing, Grimm exhausted the last of his magic powers and stored the Awakening Ray, which had caused its surroundings to distort, into the Dimensional Gap. Upon doing so, he fainted into oblivion.
A long time passed by.
Grimm finally recovered some physical strength, to the point where he was regaining consciousness. He had to thank his lucky stars that he was still alive and was not in the belly of some bloodthirsty creature.
It did not take a genius to deduce that falling into a coma in an unknown world the moment you enter into it was a potentially fatal situation.
Struggling, Grimm conjured up all his strength to sit upright on the desert sand. His grip on the Sabbatic Goat Staff tightened as he tried to stand up.
The Dark Sorcerer's instinct was dedicated to survival and nothing else.
Since his apprenticeship days, this very instinct had been drilled mercilessly into him and it was now his only way of living. Using his own strength and intelligence, he was expected to survive extreme environments like the one around him and to pass on the Sorcerer's Will as his predecessors did before him.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Grimm's legs went limp.
Grimm was sure that he had already recovered enough energy to stand straight. Just as this thought crossed his mind, a large mouth opened up from the ground beneath him.
Grimm yelled out in shock but he was too late. He was engulfed whole into what seemed like a gigantic jelly.
It all felt wet and squishy. There seemed to be no chewing or grinding involved in the monster's eating process. Apart from the slime, Grimm was covered in a layer of cold sweat as he realized he was now in the body of some unknown creature.

Chapter end