A Sorcerer’s Journey

“Hmm?”

Staring at the crack that separates the real and alternate dimensions, Glenn was confused by what he saw. Was accessing the Dimensional Gap his gift?

Time began to crawl at a slower pace, freezing Glenn’s mind bit by bit.

The parrot that gasped for help from that dimension looked like a distorted sketch drawn by a child. It seemed familiar, yet Glenn ignored it. After all, it was just a scrappy delusion, a side-effect of his first attempt at testing his mental power.

Glenn glanced at the cottage and saw that it had almost completely melted. Droplets of the furniture were now floating in the air as the surrounding walls stopped twisting.

He was no longer able to ignore the dizziness in his head, yet Glenn still could not find any unusual phenomenon in his first mental power test. Filled with doubts, Glenn once again looked deep into the crack of reality and illusion. If he was able to identify any phenomenon that he had seen before, he could possibly identify the constructive functions his gift could bring about.

Glenn’s sight searched beyond the restraints of the alternate dimension, deep into the crack.

BOOM!

An unusual pattern morphed within the depths of that ever-changing crack. A giant pocket tore open, creeping out from it was a humongous Bone Serpent the size of a mountain. Judging purely based on its appearance, it was definitely far greater than Overlord Eubalaena in both length and size.

What a gigantic creature!

Out of a sudden, the Bone Serpent opened its mouth and swarms of beetles surged out. The Bone Serpent’s frame then collapsed and scattered into countless waves of beetles.

Perhaps the Bone Serpent was formed by countless beetles, or perhaps these beetles consumed the Bone Serpent. It was hard for Glenn to know which was indeed the fact.

Glenn’s mind seemed to stop working at times. It was difficult for him to simply make a conclusion and decide what action to take next.

Every beetle started to cry like a newborn baby. The sound they made was crystal clear, it was almost as if they feared Glenn as they dispersed frantically deeper into the alternate dimension.

Little did Glenn know…

Something peculiar happened then right before the eyes of all the creatures living in the alternate dimension, the sky suddenly cracked open, and a gigantic eye peeked through it as if looking into a bottle from its small opening.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Out of nowhere, a gigantic parrot that looked like a child’s drawing covered the sky. With just a few stomps, that parrot vaporized the seemingly limitless number of beetles and sucked them into its mouth. It turned its head and hollered at Glenn, “Young sorcerer, give me your Soul-fire. Do not presume that I, Lord Ba, am of the same status as these lowly insects!”

Soul-fire Prime eh?

Glenn stalled for a moment. Could this parrot truly be so powerful in the world between the Dimensional Gap?

Nevertheless, Soul-fire Prime was the fire born from the soul of a sorcerer. By nurturing and cultivating it, it can strengthen the soul of the sorcerer, thus becoming its source of power. It can be used to bond other souls as Soul Slaves, just like Master Peranos and Black Ga, or Apollo with that red-eyed frog.

However, once a sorcerer has bonded with a Soul Slave, that sorcerer’s soul would never grow if the Soul Slave is dead.

For that reason, most sorcerers would never unseal their Soul-fire Prime.

Needless to say, there were benefits of unsealing one’s Soul-fire Prime. A sorcerer would gain certain powers from their Soul Slaves which would be embedded inside their body! Literally speaking, both sorcerer and Soul Slave would then share the same body, until death does them apart.

Based on Glenn’s presumption, Sam obtained his Immortal Body by living in symbiosis with a Fantastic Beast that has that ability.

The odds were high. An extraordinary beast with that ability might be a rare creature within the Dimensional Gap or one of its kinds in mysticism. It might even require unique circumstances or special relations with Sam to have such an ability fit perfectly onto him.

There was no point in pondering upon these sort of things right now.

Glenn stood still as his mind paused for a moment. He then sneered at the parrot.

It was just a creature from the void which could never interact with any physical world. How dare it demanded his Soul-fire Prime?

Once, Glenn borrowed an ancient book from Robin. It was written that a sorcerer from the ancient times discovered the existence of the Dimensional Gap. Despite the fact that they had little knowledge of this realm, it was assured that nothing flows through each plane. Unless one from the other plane took the initiative to cross over, there was zero interaction between both planes.

As for what the Dimensional Gap was, none of the ancient sorcerers could solve its mystery.

Hence, Glenn could not understand his gifted talent. The only thing he was sure of, was that the creatures in that Dimensional Gap could not harm him in any way. The creatures were not intelligent enough to communicate, and the logic and knowledge they possess could not be applied in the endless world.

Why would someone want to learn fighting skills from a cricket?

This put an even bigger sneer on Glenn’s face. “You, a parrot…”

“Curse you! Your Lord Ba is not one of those filthy, simple-minded, lowborn lifeforms called a parrot in the sorcery world. In the sorcery world, your Lord Ba is a pure blood of majestic Steel Emblem Myna!” the parrot that looked like it came from a child’s sketch on a handkerchief squawked as if a cat was stepping on its tail.

Steel Emblem Myna of the sorcery world eh?

This was not a Dimensional Gap being. What happened?

Glenn doubted whether what the parrot was saying was true. After churning his mind for answers despite his current state, Glenn realized his logic and judgment were bent and twisted in the Dimensional Gap. By forgetting the things he learned in the real world, it was easier for him to accept the logic in this plane.

This phenomenon was known to him since the first mental power test.

When someone uses his gifted ability, his reactions would slow down. With that said, it was easier for him to embrace unusual logic that diverged from conventional theories.

At that very moment, Glenn remembered something.

Did the Ice Age Milly gift him a handkerchief? He always thought about it in reality, yet this memory was only triggered after this ‘parrot’ presented itself for such a long period of time.

Why did this happen?

Glenn was not the only one who was frustrated. The Steel Emblem Myna yelled from the other side of the Dimensional Gap, “You brat, what you are waiting for! Your experiences as a formal sorcerer just started moments ago, how much memory power do you think you possess to be able to keep this dimensional gap open? Give me your Soul-fire Prime now, and I will transfer to you all the information about the Dimensional Gap that the old bastard collected!”

What the parrot said sent a shiver down his spine, Glenn threw back a few imprudent questions, “Memory power keeps this dimensional gap open? What is a dimensional gap?”

“Space of imagination!”

Just as the Steel Emblem Myna finished his sentence, a gush of Soul-Fire emerged in the air.

Glenn had no experience in bonding with a Soul Slave. His Soul-Fire was weak and scattered, far from enough to contain any creature with high Constitution, Soul, Wisdom, Spiritual Force, and energy levels.

That is to say, if and only if that intelligent lifeform surrendered itself as Glenn’s Soul Slave, things could work out his way.

“Wahaha! I, Lord Ba, am finally free, no longer loitering within the disgusting imaginary world. Finally, I can… I can… I… Woo…” a twenty-centimeter long beautiful creature, blended harmoniously in red and green, materialized on Glenn’s shoulder.

This creature finally possessed a physical body in the endless worlds. It screeched excitedly and cried tears of joy.

A standard display of humanity and emotions.

Glenn’s face was white as a sheet. With a gesture, the Dimensional Gap started to close.

Gulp… Gulp…

Everything inside ‘Glenn’s Cottage’ was almost entirely melted. Glenn sealed the Dimensional Gap, clutched his woozy head and tried to catch his breath. Looking at the Steel Emblem Myna on his shoulder, he asked, “You mentioned that the Dimensional Gap is an imaginary space. What is that all about?”

“Woo… Because your Lord Ba, I, spent countless days inside the Dimensional Gap, found Venus the Goddess of Love and proved that the old bastard’s speculation was right.” The Steel Emblem Myna babbled on.

Venus the Goddess of Love?

At that very moment, it did not occur to Glenn that the goddess of love that the Steel Emblem Myna referred to was actually the perfume he invented.

It was a legendary novel that spread across the sorcerer continent. A tale of a beautiful knight who grew stronger just to resurrect the one she loved.

The story ended with Venus becoming the Goddess of Love, leaving the world bound by the rules of Paladins and reaching a higher spiritual space.

But now, the Steel Emblem Myna claimed that he found Venus in the Dimensional Gap!

This…

It was hard to tell…

Was the so-called low latitude space actually a low dimension novel world made out of the imagination of all lifeforms in endless worlds?

When strong creatures outgrow the low dimension novel world, they move into some kind of space and wait for the entry of a greater dimension world. That space was the Dimensional Gap?

These strong creatures were not satisfied with staying in their low dimension novel world and wanted to get closer to their gods. Therefore, they strove hard, broke through the strongest level their world can sustain, and left the novel world.

When ‘they’ break through the barrier, the author of the novel would not write about ‘them’ which would bind them to the rules of the novel. Therefore, ‘they’ stayed in a space that only certain readers could access, readers like Glenn?

This space that only Glenn and certain readers could access… was known as the Dimensional Gap?

The Steel Emblem Myna’s excitement gradually simmered down. It turned to Glenn and spoke softly, “You are the young bastard sorcerer that pulled me, Lord Ba, out of the Dimensional Gap. The Old bastard sorcerer wants me to tell you something.”

Glenn’s eye twitched under his pale mask. He fought back the urge to slice open the myna’s belly and strangle it with its intestines and instead asked, “What is it?”

“Endless world will never have a Rank Nine Great Necromancer!” The Steel Emblem Myna stated it as if it was already history set in stone.

Glenn’s complexion grew sickly, he asked hastily, “Why is that so?”

The Rank Nine Great Necromancer was the highest status all sorcerers believed in.

They believed that it was a state where a sorcerer experiences certain significant changes, greater than the sum of the changes they experienced from a sorcerer apprentice to a great necromancer.

Rumors were that when a Rank Eight Great Necromancer broke through and achieved the level of a Rank Nine Great Necromancer, it can only stay in the endless world for two hours before it transcends. After that, it will have no strings attached with any lifeform in the endless world.

The hourglass was invented as a proof that there were people who have succeeded in becoming a Rank Nine Great Necromancer.

It took two hours for all the sand in an hourglass to reach the bottom bulb. It took a complete cycle of a sun and a moon to call it a day. A day consists of twenty-four hours and it took an hour for a mechanical clock to complete a sixty-minute cycle.

These were parts of the unique fundamental laws in the sorcery world.

Glenn could never understand why and how these unique fundamental laws were founded.

The Steel Emblem Myna murmured softly, “It is because that old bastard told me right before he pulled the destiny lever. If I, Lord Ba, could find his favorite Venus in the Dimensional Gap, he will fulfil Lord Ba’s destiny.”

“Pulled the Destiny Lever?”

On his pale mask, Glenn’s eyes widened and he repeated the words with a gasp.

The Steel Emblem Myna did not pay heed to Glenn’s reaction, “And Lord Ba, I. wished to become that old bastard’s master. Now… Lord Ba, I, can feel the presence of that old bastard. He has become the medium of communication to all sorcerers in mysticism. It is exactly the same as Venus the Goddess of Love in the endless world!”

***

Important Note:

Written as biographies in the sorcerer’s world, after Venus became a goddess and resurrected her lover, she ascended to a higher level of spiritual space. Venus no longer appeared in that story.

The story continued with her resurrected lover building her a Goddess of Love church and sacrificing himself for the church so that other sacrifices could gain the Goddess’s blessings, thus becoming the messenger that fights for the cause.

Such were the rules of that novel…

With the intelligence of a sorcerer, perhaps it was not appropriate to describe her as Venus the Goddess of Love who ascended as a godly being. She became a new high-level ruler, an alibi for the sacrifices and messengers, or maybe a magical ingredient that can be used for spells.