A Sorcerer's Journey 532 Tagging Along

In most cases, the moment a Sorcerer-Apprentice stepped foot onto the Holy Tower of Seven Rings, one could never leave unless he advanced as an official Sorcerer. Should one fail to do so, not even death could permit exit from the Holy Tower's boundaries. The path one had taken toward becoming a Sorcerer was one that did not allow one step backward.

"Senior, where are we going?"

With Little Myna perched on her shoulder, Vivian asked with excitement that never seemed to die out despite her old age.

For Vivian who had spent half her lifetime confined to the Holy Tower of Seven Rings, going back to the Sorcerers World was of extraordinary significance. It was like returning to one's birthplace, back to the real world.

The real world would never be like the interiors of the Holy Tower where one could only find elite Sorcerers and Level-3 Great Sorcerers. As a Sorceress-Apprentice living in such a place, the pressure Vivian had to put up with was almost suffocating.

"Wait until I contact mentor Peranos, we'll go to the Holy Tower of Six Rings to meet Grandmaster Netherheart together!"

With a wave of his hand, Grimm summoned a mechanical flying device over. Its two large wings fluttered in the sky, like that of a butterfly's but in between its wings was a platform which held a few seats for riding passengers.

Grimm helped Vivian up onto her seat before directing the device toward his own Demon-Hunter Castle.

"I humbly apologize, respected Demon-Hunter Sorcerer but I only accept Sorcerer Coins."

Grimm, who had taken out a handful of magic stones, paused before coming to his senses. Nodding, he tucked away these stones and produced two Sorcerer Coins instead. Upon placing these coins into the mouth of the device, its wings started beating again as it lifted off the ground and headed toward their destination.

Looking down from their position high up in the sky, the Sorcerers World was approaching dusk and the entire place was a deep shade of yellow from the setting sun. The Tree of Life which stretched into the heavens casted a great big shadow on the Demon-Hunter Castles, as if night had arrived earlier for them compared to other places. Its occupants nevertheless, lit up magic lanterns just like any other person would do at night.

A small stream and a tree-lined brick pathway criss-crossed the landscape through the Demon-Hunter Castles.

A breeze, soothing and refreshing, blew as they travelled through the sky. This, coupled with the captivating view made Vivian take in a large breath of air that belonged to the Sorcerers World.

Woo…

Suddenly, a desolate sounding siren blared out which snapped Vivian out of her reverie. She looked around in every direction, to see Demon-Hunter Sorcerers rising from the ground, just like the Acraepoids from Grimm's previous expedition before they hurriedly flew back to their own respective Demon-Hunter Castles.

"Respected Demon-Hunter Sorcerer, would you like me to accelerate to maximum speed?"

The mechanical bird turned around and asked.

Grimm shook his head and replied, "No, there is no need for that, maintain your current speed."

A visible look of discomfort was present on Vivian's face as she asked Grimm, "Senior, what's up with these Demon-Hunter Sorcerers?"

Before Grimm even had the chance to provide an explanation, Little Myna who stood on Vivian's shoulder replied hastily, "Caw caw, It's the Demon-Hunting Expedition of the Void Fortress. These Demon-Hunter Sorcerers would provide magic power support to activate the Destiny Lever back in their Demon-Hunter Castles and in return, they'll be rewarded with Sorcerer Essences by the Holy Tower of Seven Rings."

"Ah? Senior, aren't you going?"

Vivian questioned Grimm with a puzzled look.

"That won't be necessary. From this distance, you should be close enough to see the Void Fortress operating in detail. You know, the Void Fortress represents our Sorcerers World's Principal Will in the foreign worlds we are expediting in. In the times that I have participated in such expeditions, we would always rely on the Fortress to open up a Spacetime Gate for us to reach the foreign world, regardless of whether our purpose was to deliver aid for their development or to conquer their forces."

A short while later, a leviathan metallic structure almost ten thousand meters tall, descended from the sky under the cloud ceiling. Large swathes of clouds were pushed out of the crimson-colored structure's way as it made its epic descent. At the sight of this, Vivian was left speechless. For a moment, her wrinkly face seemed to have faded away, and in front of Grimm was instead, that young girl with her mouth agape at the impressive display.

For Vivian, who was still a Sorceress-Apprentice, the visual impact of the Void Fortress's sudden appearance in the sky was too incredible.

Just how many Demon-Hunter Sorcerers was it ferrying into some unknown foreign world?

Grimm too, was looking up at the majestic Void Fortress. It was, however, another scene in his eyes.

Just how strong could that Purgatory Giant King Abbadon, who defeated both Black Isotta and Dark Realms Stigmata Sorcerers consecutively, and almost brought down a Void Fortress like the one in the sky, be?

Although the enemy of the Sorcerers World was an immortal being who did not rest, the imagination of such a fear-inducing opponent alone was enough to intrigue Grimm's interests.

The Endless World truly had no bounds. One world could fall but another would soon rise again. Even the great Sorcerers World could be said to have only limited access to the near infinite number of foreign worlds, all of which were unique and different from each other. It may be hard for one to admit but the Sorcerers World would never know where the edge of the actual universe lied.

***

Two days later.

In Grimm's Demon-Hunter Castle.

Using the Null World Stone, Grimm finally made contact with Peranos via the long range Crystal Ball communications system and his mentor had come to understand Vivian's current state.

"Mentor, I am terribly sorry. I have not lived up to your expectations."

Vivian lowered her aged face, her eyes unable to meet Peranos's. She was visibly suffering from a terrible concoction of self-loathing and guilt. Despite her looks, she was too small in comparison to the true age of any other Sorcerer.

Peranos, whose face looked like a stitched up leather ball, did not reveal much emotion in seeing Vivian's condition.

"It's alright Vivian. Everybody takes a different path in their journey through life. Even if you do not become an official Sorcerer, it doesn't mean that you do not deserve to live a wonderful life. Take the chance of these few remaining years. Like what your senior has said, follow us to the Holy Tower of Seven Rings and expose yourself more to the Sorcerers World. Take in the beauty of the Sorcerers World one last time, alright?"

Vivian struggled as if something was stuck in her throat in an attempt to come up with a reply.

"R-right."

"Ugh…"

Peranos heaved a deep sigh.

"I should have left the Black Isotta Sorcerer Academy a few years earlier, but due to some hiccups over here, I may need a few more years before going over to your side. Hold on for a few more years with your senior. The next time we meet, we'll go alongside Alice, your senior Valor, as well as Garnigel."

Grimm understood that whatever hiccups Peranos was facing at the academy was due to the fall of Black Isotta Stigmata Sorcerer.

If they were able to retain the Sorcerer Academy, it would most likely have its name changed to something else. The Black Isotta's academy would then fade into history, and its Sorcerer Tower would probably become Seven Rings Celestial Sorcerer's additional source of magic power.

Also, if the Sorcerer Academy could not be preserved, it would ultimately lead to the academy falling apart as its cohesion dwindled. It would inevitably lose to competition with other Sorcerer Academies, only to be divided and assimilated in the end. Without magic power, the academy's buildings would fall into ruins, its value worth nothing more than a pile of rubble.

The most precious element to a Sorcerer Academy was its population… and its population depended on the human population's growth!

"Understood."

Vivian nodded her head.

Hearing her reply, Peranos then spoke to Grimm.

"You've been doing a good job so far. Just wait until I finish up my job here at the academy and I will meet you soon enough."

Seconds later, the transmission fell apart as the Null World Stone had been completely exhausted of its powers.

Grimm tucked away the crystal ball and ordered a nearby low-intelligence Mechanical Marionette that he had procured at a price of two hundred Sorcerer Essences, "Rob, have you tidied up my laboratory and Vivian's bedroom?"

Hearing Grimm's question, Little Myna flew down from the second floor onto the head of the Mechanical Marionette before announcing excitedly, "Caw caw caw, rest assure young master, for I am the one who supervised Rob as he cleaned the room as well as your laboratory."

"Yes, I have followed Lord Myna's commands. I have cleaned Vivian's room."

Rob nodded and replied with its stiff robotic voice.

"Hmm."

Grimm nodded in acknowledgement toward Little Myna and Rob before turning over to face Vivian.

"Come, you will conduct experiments together with me for the time being. Take a look at this, it's a precious biological specimen I stumbled upon in the most recent Demon-Hunting Expedition."

***

Three years later.

Grimm's World Laboratory descended into pure anarchy as Little Myna was busy chasing a large group of Raindew Flower Spirits.

Grimm once again harvested a fresh batch of newly ripened fruits from the main Golden Breedsnot Tree. However, the number he had collected was still insufficient for activating his fourth esoteric spell.

Grimm led Vivian into the depths of a cavern, whose walls were constructed of the fleshy Camphoragate material.

The more dangerous Abyssal Demon specimens were kept in this intricately designed large-scale underground laboratory. Amongst these specimens, there were two that Grimm had paid specific attention to. One of them was the Abyssal Moss and the other, the Tree of Soul Fusion which had been abyssalized. It went without saying that the Abyssal Moss was the source of life for all Abyssal Demons. On the other hand, the Abyssalized Tree of Soul Fusion was something Grimm was very lucky to have in possession.

Back in the Arctic Tundra of the Infernal Spirit World, this Tree of Soul Fusion had only gone through the early phase of abyssalization, meaning its one-of-kind ability still remained. As for what would happen if it were allowed to continue its abyssalization process, only God knows what it would mutate into.

The extra large magical array on the floor took Grimm and Vivian almost half a year to complete.

The high concentration Pyrodust Grimm had collected in the Shadow Enigmatic World and Ice Crystals decorated the highly complex magical array. The two distinct energy flows intertwined in many parts of the intricate structure but due to the Ice Crystals being rather inefficient, Grimm decided to add a precious piece of Ice Top to top off any deficiencies.

And so, Grimm was finally able to subject the magical array to his will. Its temperature fluctuated constantly on the freezing point. This could potentially last one millenia and should be able to further aid the Tree of Soul Fusion's fusion process.

"Senior, what's that used for?"

Vivian asked curiously as she eyed a few of the Abyssal Trees of Fusion specimens which Grimm was carefully cultivating in his laboratory.

"They're called Abyssal Trees of Fusion. In the unknown years to come, they will help me unlock a higher level of understanding of the secrets of chimera research."

Chapter end