A Sorcerer's Journey - Chapter 104

Chapter 104: Power and Goal

Students gathered on the academy’s huge square, their faces glimmering with hope. But there were students who embraced no hope in the upcoming Tryout and looked sad.

Grimm stood in the crowd with the Hydra Greatsword on his back. Wrapped around his waist was the Void Pouch. His eyes underneath his Ashen Mask revealed weariness and yet he continued calculating formulas.

After his dance with Lefay last night, Grimm didn’t choose to go out with her. Instead, he returned to his dorm and worked on the Fire Blast sorcery. Now he was doing his best in figuring out the third bond that could produce the destructive force. He reduced himself to the mysterious and low-key state as if last night was a dream.

Several sorcerers flew off from a high-rising dais. They started distributing weird-looking metal badges to the students. The badges were covered with special magical waves moving around.

The instant the students took over the badge, on their forehead appeared the figure of “12” and a black-colored chain. The chain bore semblance to the chains in the First-year Trial.

Grimm looked up at the chain mark on Robinson’s forehead.

Grimm belonged to section 12 of the Holy Tower and there were five sections of students in total to be in the competition. In section 12, there were six academies with 40,000-50,000 students. By rough estimation, the total number would be at 200,000-250,000.

Among them, only 200 students would manage to become Demon-Hunters. It was not difficult in figuring out how fierce the competition was. By that, it could be easily conceived how powerful the Demon-Hunters were, the force that was responsible for wars with foreign worlds.

Grimm lowered his head and continued with his calculations.

On the dais, a female president of the Black Issota who lived under the floor of Peranos addressed the crowd. “The Tryout will take place in a Mysterious Realm. The badge in your hand is your safeguard because once you break it, you’ll be transferred back to the 99th floor of the Black Isotta immediately. This rule applies to the students of other academies as well.” Her speaking was as if somebody was whispering in the students’ ears.

As the students realized the importance of the badge, they started putting it where it could be touched by their skin or just grasped it in their hand tighter.

If one lost it and encountered a stronger enemy, he or she would be dead for sure.

The female president continued. “The Tryout will last ten days. If you’re forced by a student to break the badge for survival, your chain marks will be halved and the half marks you lost will be transferred to the ‘forcer’. Unlike in the First-years Trial, you can obtain as many marks as you want and you’ll not be constrained by the Natural Force. I’ll have to remind you that you can break the badge the second you’re moved to the mirror, or you might lose the chance to…”

The president didn’t finish that sentence but the students all gulped at the implication.

Grimm was still calculating the crucial parts to ensure the final success of the Fire Blast with his head lowered. Thus, as he took over the badge, he threw it into the Void Pouch with little consideration.

“I guess the badge is similar to the magical tools had by the slaves of the Black Tower’s master who compelled me to leave.” Grimm thought.

The female president surveyed around and continued. “We’ll step onto the scale in the order of academies. The transfer will be done in ten batches. Remember, there is no threshold of marks that guarantee you to be a Demon-Hunter, only the top 200 will get the qualification.”

Following, Peranos on the dais said. “That means you’ll have to get as many as chain marks as possible. Even if you break your badge and are then transferred back, the marks you’ve obtained will still count. But if you want to be number one, then smash all of the contestants.”

Peranos laughed evilly as he finished.

“Now, it’s about time.” The male sorcerer who lived above the floor of Peranos’ cut in. He carried his green, cross-shaped, stone sword on his back as usual. The cloak he wore rustled in the wind.

The three presidents stepped together and discussed for a moment. After that, the students began to climbed onto the scale and Grimm and his classmates were the first to enter.

Generally, the students who arrived at the sorcerer world in the same year were cannon fodder for the students who were enrolled before them. Twenty years’ practice could not bring their power anywhere near the peak. Some of them only had 20 or a little more than 20 points of mental strength. Few of them could reach 30.

The exceptional cases such as Alastair, Solumn, Kyrie, Brianna and other students had had their own mentors and clearer goals, so their mental strength had reached 40.

“Grimm, you can do this.” Robinson turned to him suddenly and said.

Grimm looked up at him and caught sight of the tears in his eyes. His body shook. “Did he foresee what would come to him in the Tryout?”

Grimm nodded and replied lightly. “Sure.”

The students were all waiting anxiously for their turn onto the scale. As Grimm’s study was interrupted by Robinson, he fished out his crystal ball and read the data that appeared.

Mental strength: 40

Magical strength: 388~423

Constitution: 111

Strength: 67-202

Stamina: 85~98

Activity: 77~91

Grimm had achieved the maximum value as far as mental strength and magical strength is concerned as an element sorcerer student. Unless he advanced and became a sorcerer, his mental strength wouldn’t get any higher.

111 points of constitution was extraordinarily fantastic for an element sorcerer student or even for constitution-building sorcerers underground. If he had been cultivating in there, with the help of dragons and his skills, he would stand a chance to become a sorcerer already.

However, he lacked a systematic physical training and thus didn’t bring out the best of his constitution. Therefore his way of attack was more of an element sorcerer than an underground constitution-building sorcerer.

All in all, Grimm would be a nightmare to most of the students considering his various magical tools and sorceries as well as his physique.

It was no exaggeration to say that he could even take on a weaker sorcerer if encountered, because he wouldn’t be restrained by Natural Force if he opted to take advantage of his constitution.

His strength stood at 67~202 and it could produce a 202 points of attack, which, in this regard, was the basic requirement to become a Demon-Hunter.

Grimm once used ten magical wands to attack himself in an effort to increase his cell’s defense through the cells’ passive adaptivity. His 77~91 degrees of activity, combined with the defense ability of his Ashen Mask, his shield and his over-ten-point of basic element defense power would also be mighty.

Other bonuses included his FireBat, Repulsive and Attraction forces, auxiliary sorceries, BloodLust Puppet, Greed Flame giant, Grimm’s Tri-sorcery, Dissimilation and the Friendship Key of the Black Isotta. With the insurance, Grimm was confident that he could win the first place among the students from section 11 to 15.

However, Grimm still didn’t have a trump card to dominate over others. This made the competition full of uncertainties. This Sunday Punch needed to be powerful enough to smash ordinary students and could be used indefinitely unlike the one-off Friendship Key. The weapon was the Fire Blast sorcery.

When that sorcery was pulled off, Grimm could produce the Destructive Force, which could enhance his basic assault power by 30 times. That would result in a 240 degree of attack, a feat that couldn’t be achieved by students.

What was more awe-inspiring was the fact that the fire blast was triggered by the incomplete use of the Destructive Force, Grimm’s Body of Flame could elevate his mental strength by ten times. That meant an extra 80 points of attack power. Then his assault power would add up to 320 degrees.

How powerful was 320?

Underground students had to be able to pull off 250 degrees of attack consistently before they became a sorcerer. The academies’ guardians’ attack usually stood at 230~270 in the section war.

In other words, Grimm could smash all of the students unless the opponent was one of the very few legendary students whose attack power was at around 320.

All of a sudden, Grimm was transferred as the air around him twisted.

Grimm opened his eyes and found numerous, high-rising, man-made stone columns under the gray sky.

The air was filled with pulsatile elements which slightly restrained him from casting sorceries. The Natural Force didn’t feel exactly the same with that of the sorcerer world.

“Is this where the Tryout takes place?”