A Sorcerer's Journey - Chapter 155

Chapter 155: Benefits of A Demon-Hunter

One month later, in the center of the Tree of Life covered by a Seven Rings defensive barrier…

It was only logical that Grimm chose to be a Secondary Demon-Hunter Sorcerer [1]. It was the common choice for most Demon-Hunter Sorcerers.

Though a sorcerer world guardian might enjoy benefits and privileges he could not have, Grimm could not bear the thought of being stuck forever in the sorcerer world, even if it meant forgoing more chances of being promoted.

Before advancing to a Guardian, these Virtuous Demon-Hunter Sorcerers dedicated most of their time to the sorcerer world, fighting for better privileges in certain qualifications.

Once a Virtuous Demon-Hunter Sorcerer becomes a Guardian, his minimum potential would automatically increase to be on par with the top three ranks of all Demon-Hunter Sorcerers due to certain links of the Sorcerer Law. It was like taking a lift within the system of the sorcerer world.

As for the higher ranking sorcerer world’s guardian under the Black Sea vortex, it was estimated to be at least at the Stigmata level.

Plus, the closer the Guardians to the World-Core, the stronger the amplification of their powers.

Grimm speculated that the black-robe Sorcerer with a curved snowflake on her back who stayed at the World-Core’s crack beside the Destiny Lever should be at the level of no less than a Celestial Sorcerer, as long as she stayed near the World-Core.

Lifeforms with such power could cause devastating damage with just a snap of their fingers!

Lucky for Grimm’s party of sorcerer apprentices, they were protected by The Peak’s Halo and the World-Core as they originated from that world. Otherwise, they would be accidentally erased by that sorceress.

However, the halo that once protected them vanished as they advanced to official sorcerers.

Being the sorcerer apprentice from the Peak, Grimm was given privileges that ordinary apprentices did not have. He could be promoted to an official sorcerer faster than others, was protected by the sorcerer world’s Original Will and benefited from trading resources.

Other than that, Grimm’s promotion to an official sorcerer was no different from an ordinary Level 1 Demon-Hunter Sorcerer.

At that very same moment, inside a tall and huge skull-shaped building, Nairo, Yupao, and Grimm, joined the rest of other Dark Demon-Hunters who were just officially promoted in a simple ceremony.

Unlike the ceremony of Light Demon-Hunters who focused on communication and socializing, Dark Demon-Hunter Sorcerers’ ceremony was short. For them, the sole purpose of this ritual was to obtain the basic benefits of a Demon-Hunter which were access to the Seven Rings castle’s laboratory under the Tree of Life and ten Sorcerer Essences every one hundred years.

Level 1 Demon-Hunters only received ten Sorcerer Essences once every century. It was not important to Grimm since he already had sixty-three Sorcerer Essences. Still, it meant a lot to all the new Demon-Hunters.

Magic Stones and Sorcerer Essences were the currencies in the sorcerer world. Under the Seven Ring Holy Tower’s defensive barrier, Sorcerer Essences could be traded for Magic Stone items, but Magic Stones cannot be used to trade for Sorcerer Essence items.

Therefore, ten Sorcerer Essences meant the world to new demon-hunters. They no longer depended on the Crystal Ball prize after every Foundation Class provided by the sorcerer academy.

Even, the low-grade Demon-Hunter Equipment, Mina, Son of the Sun cost merely ten Sorcerer Essences. The Holy Tower rewarded an Arcane Sorcerer with thirty Sorcerer Essences if their apprentices advanced to official sorcerers. Virtuous and secondary sorcerers, on the other hand, received less than that.

If one wanted to use the Destiny Lever in the Holy Tower to travel across the Foreign Worlds conquered by the sorcerer world, the very same Sorcerer Essences were needed.

It would be highly offensive to assume that the laboratory under the Holy Tower was merely a place for experiments or simply a residential area.

The Seven Rings Holy Tower’s defensive barrier provided an environment highly concentrated with elements and sped up the ability for basic learning. Not only that, magical tools could function with perfect efficiency, and every house was linked with small pieces of World Fragments as if they were stored in it. Every nook and cranny of the area was of inestimable value!

Even the academy headmaster, a Rank 3 great sorcerer like Peranos did not possess an actual space-bending magical artifact.

Needless to say, there was a fundamental difference between the small piece of World Fragment these houses were stored in, and the space-bending magical artifact.

First and foremost, after obtaining the rights to use these castle laboratories, as long as the Demon-Hunter Sorcerer’s Soul mark did not dissipate, the World Fragment connected to the castle would always belong to a Demon-Hunter Sorcerer as a personal belonging, and once the Demon-Hunter Sorcerer died, the World Fragment ownership would be returned to the sorcerer world’s Holy Tower.

As for the items within the World Fragment, Demon-Hunter Sorcerers would have to name their primary and secondary successors before they signed the contract for ownership of the World Fragment at the castle’s laboratory. If all the successors were dead as well, it would be passed on to the primary and secondary society inheritors.

As for the space-bending artifact, it was merely a large one-off space packet.

Secondly, World Fragments from the castle’s laboratory were real-world spaces in an endless world, therefore the owners could enter and leave physically. As for space-bending artifacts, various types of Seal Spells were used to create spaces in the Dimension-Gap. They were not spaces habitable by any lifeform, hence there was no way for sorcerers to enter the space.

Last but not least, a Demon-Hunter Sorcerer needed to channel the Original Will from the sorcerer world based on the law of the Destiny Lever to access the World Fragment’s space. That would take a long time for magic power to stabilize the input.

As for the Space Artifact, it could be carried by the Sorcerer everywhere. He could open it instantly and it did not require the sorcerer world’s Original Will.

In short, a World Fragment and space-bending artifact both had their pros and cons. For a Demon-Hunter Sorcerer, the benefits of a World Fragment far outweigh the disadvantages.

It did not bring actual advantages in a war. If Demon-Hunters were losing in a war, the Original Will would crumble as well. There was no point in trying to open a personal World Fragment.

Of course, demon-hunters should never rely on a Dimensional-Gap crack to run from a war. That would be out of the question.

A Demon-Hunter Sorcerer’s sacred duty was to defend the Original Will in that space. As long as the Original Will still existed, no Demon-Hunter Sorcerer could ever run from war. Otherwise, they would be the same as Black Sorcerers that harmed others for their own interests. Although escaping from war would not mark them as Black Sorcerers, what they would face instead was the death penalty.

However, if the Original Will in that space was destroyed, it would mean defeat in war. All Demon-Hunters should then escape at all costs.

Without the Original Will in that space, there would be no way to open a World Fragment. How then could a demon-hunter use that World Fragment?

***

There were about sixty people gathered in the crowded hall. They were all Demon-Hunter Sorcerers who advanced from sorcerer apprentices to official sorcerers in the past month.

Among these people, there was a sorcerer from the regional academy, some members of the Arcane Sorcerers’ families and candidates cultivated by the Seven Rings Holy Tower.

Nairo, Yupao, and Grimm split up and headed towards different directions right after they stepped into the hall.

With a black chain around her body, Nairo attracted the attention of a lot of sorcerers in the hall, yet they did not look astonished. There were a few other weird Dark Sorcerers who drew an equal amount of attention as well.

Grimm stood upright with his armor, while his eyes flitted left and right scanning the hall under his Ashen Mask. His eyes stopped at the sight of a familiar sorcerer. Did he advance to official sorcerer as well?

Grimm hung back for awhile, his head filled with thoughts, then started to walk over to him.

The sorcerer was Machine Heart, Victor. Grimm met him several times during his apprenticeship.

If he was an ordinary Demon-Hunter Sorcerer, Grimm would not have taken the initiative to greet him. However, Victor was no ordinary sorcerer. During his apprenticeship, Grimm watched him play with a Mechanical Armor’s core. Back then, Grimm thought that it was just another metal sphere.

Now, Grimm wanted to find out the value of the Mechanical Armor’s core. If Victor could offer a higher price, Grimm might reconsider Julni’s offer. It would bring no harm if he were to pass the Mechanical Armor’s core to Victor.

Machine Heart Victor watched as Grimm, donning his Ashen Mask, strode across the hall towards him.

Victor’s pupils shrank. Grimm became a terrifying legend after the qualification battle in the Holy Tower. Victor could not believe that the events that unfolded right before his eyes back then were even real!

Although Victor did not witness Grimm’s true power during the battle, the rumors made Victor and other sorcerer apprentices scared stiff. Grimm had ensured that no one found out about his true powers before the final battle.

Grimm was like a living nightmare.

Victor could not bring himself to believe that the newcomer who laughed at his weakness during apprenticeship became someone that everyone feared in just a short period of ten years.

What exactly did he master from the dreadful sorcery left by an ancient sorcerer? What kind of ability did his master teach him? Did he possess great potential nobody knows of?

All these…

It was unbelievable!

Even the legends who were idolized by other apprentices feared the very name of Grimm. Victor was still clueless as to the reason why.

Victor quietly stared at Grimm who was strolling towards him. With all the rumors running amok in his head, he tried to calm himself down. His mechanical tail slowly released itself from a defensive stance. “Ashen Mask Nightmare, Grimm.”

Shaking his head, Grimm uttered softly, “Speak no more of that boring sorcerer apprentice title, people will mock me for it. It’s just Grimm.”

Victor glanced at him and nodded. He held Grimm’s eyes and wondered out loud, “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Grimm shifted his gaze to the line of Dark Sorcerers queueing up to sign their contract with the Seven Rings. The queue was moving fast as Grimm replied, “I have an ancient Mechanical Armor’s core. You might be interested in it. Give me your Crystal Ball’s mark, I will contact you.”

“A Mechanical Armor’s core!” Victor’s eyes shone hopefully.

***

Moments later…

Grimm perused the terms of the Seven Rings contract and was soon lost in thought.

After a while, Grimm added the names of Lafite and Peranos as his primary and secondary successors respectively. As for the primary and secondary society inheritors, he filled in the names of the Death Sail League and the sorcerer academy of Black Isotta Tower.

A strong magic power pulsed through the contract as an unknown hidden contact flowed into Grimm’s soul.

Grimm put away his ten Sorcerer Essences and left the hall alone.