A Sorcerer’s Journey

After an hourglass of time.

The black, wet dirt of the ground didn’t have any traces of life. Two silhouettes crossed the sky at high speeds, flying towards the obelisk forest ahead of them, expansive as far as the eyes could see.

*Bang!*

Glenn steadily dropped to the top of a stone pillar at the fringe of the obelisk forest. The stone pillar could be relatively classified as the shorter kind, appearing only seven-to-eight meters tall with a diameter of two meters.

There was a burst of a woman’s fragrance, but it didn’t originate from a dose of Love Vial. Rather, the feminine fragrance was automatically exuded from Claytia’s body as she followed beside Glenn.

Underneath the Ashen Mask, his bloodshot eyes had gradually disappeared. With Glenn’s tranquility newly recovered, he looked behind him with eyes containing wisdom and indifferently said to Claytia, “There are still 700 points to go for your contract to be completed. Let’s search for the students’ chain mark wave traces in this unfamiliar area and verify what district this is, and what legendary-rankers there are in advance.”

“Yes.” Claytia excitedly nodded her head, closing her eyes and employing some kind of unknown interaction method.

Previously, when they had searched through the 12th District and found seven of the Top Ten Expert level students, Claytia could hardly believe it as she saw with her own eyes how Glenn made a clean sweep[1] of them. In the face of that almighty,[2] terrifying strength, one had died while the other six fled the Secret Mirror.

Only after she had sensed her own chain mark frantically rise in value, did Claytia truly arrive at a genuine realization: Maybe… she had been correct in placing her stake on this.

The Black Isotta student before her eyes…

He would absolutely turn out to be this time’s Holy Tower Tryouts most powerful individual. He would find and sweep away all the students capable of fighting over the top reward in an unparalleled way. He would become the nightmare of the entire Secret Mirror. Only those legendary-ranked students would be capable of making this nightmare-level Black Isotta Sorcerer-Apprentice to falter a little.

At this very moment, Glenn really had this kind of appearance!

Opening both eyes, Claytia pointed toward two directions. “Over there, there was a reaction of a single student with a chain mark value of around 300, two-thousand kilometers away. Over there, three-thousand kilometers away, there was a reaction of a chain mark valued around 400.”

Glenn flew up with a “whoosh” and deeply stated, “Let’s go to the mark that’s worth more.”

After a short period of time, as he soared amidst the dusky sky, Glenn looked as his shadow cast itself at the center of the top of a stone pillar. Having flown at high-speeds, he finally arrived nearby the other student who stood atop another obelisk a hundred meters away. Glenn looked toward the forehead of this other Sorcerer-Apprentice.

“This is actually the 15th District?” Glenn muttered in astonishment.

“12th District students?! You 12th District students actually dared to come to the 15th of your own accord?” Unexpectedly, this 15th District student gapingly pointed at Claytia and Glenn, looking at the two with a gaze containing both pity and alarm.

Glenn’s brows furrowed as he unenthusiastically inquired, “Who’s the second strongest in your 15th?”

*Pfft…*

The 15th District student unexpectedly laughed and sneeringly said, “What second strongest? The 15th only has the one, the strongest Bell-Sound Dictator Hill Woods. If we’re talking about several decades ago there actually was another person. Nowadays other people are only able to run away from the Bell-Sound Dictator—even those genuine experts! You two ignorant students from the 12th, who fundamentally do not understand how formidable Hill Woods is, actually dared to come to the 15th on your own accord to throw away your life…”

Claytia, who didn’t understand the current situation, listened to the student’s description. Her confidence towards Glenn from just a moment ago immediately fell. She said quietly, “Hearing his words, this Bell-Sound Dictator ought to be stronger than some legendary students. How about we first go to another district…”

Glenn shook his head. Indifferently, he stated, “There is no need. Hill Woods was indeed very powerful but he already fell[3] in the 12th District.”

Having finished explaining, Glenn took a step and flew toward the sky. Incredibly hot flames burst out loudly, and the student, who only had a split-second to respond to Glenn’s strength, turned deathly pale.

Originally, the student had intended to use some kind of blood vessels sorcery. However, seemingly on account of Hill Wood’s pressure, every student of the 15th always firmly held a survival badge in hand. After this student sensed he was not a match for Glenn, he went as far as to break the badge without the slightest hesitation.

Space warped and the student disappeared from the Mirror.

Glenn stopped in midair and turned his head toward Claytia. Unperturbed, he said, “Next target.”

…

After three hourglasses of time passed.

“Attractive Force!” Glenn gave a deep and low roar in the middle of the sky. A three-meters tall lava giant was pulled into the sky by Glenn. Without the Hydra Greatsword, and fire element sorcery being mostly useless against this lava giant, Glenn was forced to use brute force. He repeatedly made use of Repulsive and Gravitational Forces to smash this lava giant into pieces.

The lava giant’s whole body was made from stone which emitted scarlet-red flames. After being pulled into the sky by Glenn, a large hand of the giant swung forth in the midst of its alarmed, furious roar, and a lump of flaming rock hurled past.

“Repulsive Force!”

Glenn simply did not care about the other’s counterattack. He already experienced all of his opponent’s attacks, the strongest of which only had a measure of 170 degrees, despite that they were already at the level of second place in the list of Top Ten Experts in the 12th District which was second only to legendary level Sorcerer-Apprentices. But as far as Glenn was concerned—as someone who could thoroughly suppress Hill Woods—it was nothing much.

*Boom!*

The lava giant, along with the flaming rock that it had thrown, dropped onto the ground for the seventh time, and with an anguished wail, the flames on its body began to dim.

The masked Glenn stopped his motions.

If the lava giant had still not been destroyed with that, he could not say as to whether he would have simply summoned the Greed Flame Giant and Bloodlust Doll. As for using Fire Blast Spell, that would have been a waste of Glenn’s magical force, mental strength and constitution to use such a great and formidable spell on a student of this level.

*BANG!*

Both of Glenn’s feet settled on the somewhat damp soil of the ground, the moisture of which the lava giant’s destroyed body was evaporating, causing steam to spread widely. Sensing his chain mark suddenly increasing by a small chunk of points, Glenn swept a glance at the destroyed body of the lava giant and indifferently stated, “Let’s leave.”

Doing as he pleased, he faced the body of the lava giant and kicked it with a foot, and its hollow shell collapsed inwards.

The student who had already left the Secret Mirror was precisely one of the few Sorcerer-Apprentices in the 15th District who was capable of running away from Hill Woods—contrary to what one might expect, their strength was not inferior. The collocation-style sorcery where their body blended into the lava giant made Glenn momentarily recall that Ghost Burglar Desperator from the time of the First-Year Trial.

Speaking of the Ghost Burglar, apparently owing to the cause of his gift, that type of fusion nature was far superior to what this student had been capable of.

It was only natural—as a matter of fact, just with the Ghost Burglar’s strength, he was also better than this student.

Indifferently shaking his head, Glenn turned around and faced an excited Claytia in the distance. “Next location.”

‘Yes, that’s right. I have to keep an eye out for any magic-channeling tools that can channel my strength next time,’ Glenn internally thought.

Claytia had long been well-prepared. She pointed in one direction and informed, “Around three kilometers over there, there is a student with a chain mark valued over 300.”

…

After a period of two hourglasses.

No less than thirty-plus students were divided into two groups and waging war. This was practically an improbable situation to catch sight of as far as the common Dark Sorcerer was concerned in the Holy Tower Tryouts. However, because of Hill Woods’s absolute suppression of the 15th District, this circumstance—nevertheless—truly arose.

One group only appeared to have around ten people who all seemed to be of similar rank to the 12th District’s list of students with potential. The other group had as many as over twenty people, with the three students taking the lead already at the level of the Top Ten Experts; the remaining students were those Sorcerer-Apprentices with their highest attacks all being 70~80 degrees, because they were those who had studied sorcery according to books, imitating each step-by-step, contrary to top students.

These students were all Sorcerer-Apprentices who had studied sorcery in pursuit of power and not those who studied for the purpose of knowledge.

At the same time, because their studies had comprised entirely of public element knowledge, the students’ sorcery mostly resembled each other and there was nothing special about their use of sorcery in of itself.

The genuinely top-notch legendary students had their own unique understandings and knowledge. They would create unique sorcery that fits themselves which could only be achieved under certain circumstances. (With guidance from a high-level Sorcerer.)

It would be no different down the road as formal Sorcerers!

The most powerful Sorcerer knowledge could only be discovered through self-study and then creating a characteristic personal sorcery that completely suited themselves. This would precisely be their strongest knowledge as far as Sorcerers were concerned.

There were losses on both sides of the students and the battle was at a stalemate. It was temporarily hard to figure out the outcome of the battle. The area was full of surging elements. Furthermore, now and then, the distinctive ability of blood vessel sorcery broke out.

*Shu! Shu!*

Two figures stopped atop a stone pillar. Underneath the Ashen Mask, Glenn swept his eyes over these students. After having more or less evaluated their strengths, he faced Claytia. “There aren’t any genuinely strong individuals and the remaining magical force is also very little. But the amount is a lot so you also hurry to help.”

Saying this, Glenn silently mouthed an incantation. A pitch-black flame, together with a single drop of blood, appeared out of nowhere. Then, the black flame and strange blood subsequently pulsated crazily. A four-meter tall Greed Flame Giant appeared together with an infant-sized Bloodlust Doll.

*BOOM! BOOM!*

Glenn and the Greed Flame Giant dropped to the fringes of the battlefield. Regardless of the indignant shouts or disbelieving cries from either side of the battling students, they wildly charged the students in front of them. There were basically no so-called worthy foes in front of Glenn right now—only those three Top Ten Expert level students could make Glenn move his hands and feet a bit more.

The Bloodlust Doll was flying incomparably fast in the sky while carrying a radioactive stone. It was occasionally struck by spells, but it would show up in good condition again with a flash of sanguine light. The radioactive stone was emitting intangible light waves…

Claytia watched Glenn sweep everything before him on the ground, like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, no one capable of obstructing his overwhelming tyranny. After she stopped gaping, she could only cast her gaze toward the students who were scattering in all directions to escape. A single pink scorpion from inside her clothes crawled out…

After a quarter of an hourglass.

Scattered and smashed, the ground was marked by craters all over the place. With a single wave of his hand, Glenn caught his breath as he made the Greed Flame Giant and Bloodlust Doll dissipate in succession. His other hand held a magic stone to replenish magical force. Unhurriedly, he looked toward Claytia. “Next location.”

…

After one and a half days, at last Glenn and Claytia flew out to the edge of the obelisk forest, where they had swept across the 15th with no one able to resist. They departed this bleak and deteriorating region that already had all kinds of frightful legends spread in all directions about Glenn.