Chapter 403 - Poison
Chapter 403: “Poison”
“This is the inner part of the heart of the Seven Rings World?”
Just like the sorcerer-apprentices, it was also Grimm’s first time entering the Holy Tower of Seven Rings. Staring at the bright sunlight within the tower, watching sorcerers coming and going in the white-tiled plaza, Grimm was a little confused by his surroundings.
Both the inner parts and outer parts of the Holy Tower were made from two entirely different concepts. Hence, it gave the illusion that they had traveled from one world to another.
‘Wait, that’s not right…’
It was probably the same concept as the heart of the Sorcerers World. A conation that became a land of wonders, just like a legend. The only difference was that it was not controlled by any co-nation.
The heart of this wondrous land, on the other hand, was controlled by the Seven Rings Celestial Sorcerer.
“Senior…”
Vivian gasped for air. She was having trouble breathing with her face as white as a sheet and her magic in a complete mess.
Hmm?
Grimm briefly scanned his surroundings and noticed that all the sorcerer-apprentices that came along were also in such a state. That was when he remembered something from his distant past.
“The rules here don’t belong to the Sorcerers World. Sorcerer-apprentices are unable to adjust their magic under the rules of an unfamiliar foreign world. Don’t worry, this will no longer affect you when you become a proper sorcerer.”
The Holy Tower is the heart of the Seven Rings World. Even though most areas of the Seven Rings World were within the vicinity of the mighty rules of the Sorcerers World, but the Seven Rings Celestial Sorcerer maintained an absolute and independent conation in the heart with his will.
This means that, even though the rules of the circulation between day and night as well as the four seasons were applied, it was still a real foreign world that mimicked the rules of the Sorcerers World.
Vivian continued to gasp for air as she questioned weakly, “Unable to adjust magic? Does that mean I have to become a normal human being and advance into an official sorcerer in this state?”
“Caw, caw, caw, don’t worry too much about it. After all, there’s no such thing as a sorcerer-apprentice in the ancient times of the Sorcerer World. Only two types of people existed back then, normal humans and sorcerers who can directly control the nature force.”
Little Myna reassured Vivian.
Grimm too nodded at the statement and added, “That’s right. Hmm… the Golden Breedsnot still needs time to strengthen your physique, you should feel better when that happens. However, for now…”
Grimm took a few bottles of medicine out from the dimensional gap.
“These are some enhancement medications that I configured; it should make you feel better. However, remember that you came here to become a formal sorcerer. You must rid yourself of the rules of runes of the Sorcerers World, to feel the balance of the rules and find the equilibrium point for sorcerers. You should be fine the moment you become a formal sorcerer…”
Grimm finally understood why the rate of becoming a formal sorcerer was much higher here.
Firstly, the mere fact that sorcerer-apprentices were able to participate in the Holy Tower’s qualification battle had already proven that they were outstanding apprentices.
Secondly, if the sorcerer-apprentices here were not successful, they would end up rotting away in despair for the rest of their lives.
Thirdly, once a sorcerer-apprentice loses their ability to use magic, it was much easier for them to discard their dependence on runes, as well as to search and feel the balance of the rules.
Within the balance of the rules of the Endless World, to gain something, a sorcerer would inevitably have to pay for it through other ways.
As a sorcerer, the first balance point was between the spiritual power and the physical vitality of one’s self. After that was the balance point between the time required to study sorcery, energy, wisdom and prying the rules of sorcery multiplication. Even with Grimm’s gift on the dimensional gaps, the balance still existed between his memory and imagination.
Since the ancient times, prying the Sorcerer World from its original world coordinates had sacrificed Antonio and the accumulated pile of infinite wealth.
In the modern age, the Sorcerer World had been developing at an unbelievably fast pace. However, as its price, the heart of the world had been broken into pieces and the rules of the Endless World were not able to fix it.
***
The power of sorcerers came from turning the balance of the rules to the direction that was beneficial to themselves.
Using one’s own time, experiences and wisdom, the multiplication lever of the rules were extended. Then, one’s trivial energy would be turned into the power to pry open the infinite possibilities in the Endless World.
Vivian took the medicine and downed it in one go. With the nourishment much needed for her vitality, she felt better after a short while.
The other sorcerer-apprentices could only watch enviously.
Aside from the two sorcerer-apprentices who had studied a little on Anatomy Refinery, the rest of the sorcerer-apprentices were as pale as ghosts.
The two Anatomy Refinery sorcerer-apprentices still felt uncomfortable like the other apprentices, but they were obviously doing much better compared to them. Therefore, the two could not hide the proud look on their faces.
Grimm gave it a thought and ended up shaking his head.
These two had absolutely no idea that the uncomfortable feeling they were going through now was the biggest push for a sorcerer-apprentice to become a formal sorcerer…
With that thought in mind, Grimm turned towards Vivian and advised sternly, “I didn’t expect the Holy Tower of Seven Rings to use this as a method to assist apprentices to advance. It seems that the medicine I gave you has become detrimental to you. This medicine can only…”
Before Grimm could finish his sentence, he flinched at the sensation that he picked up.
Grimm turned around and stared at the sorcerer-apprentices who were still on the back of the Seven Rings Snail. Two of them were in some sort of comatose state and yet they had somehow sparked some changes in the force of nature…
All colors drained from Grimm’s face at the sudden realization.
“Vivian, give me back the medicine and don’t drink it again!”
Clear signs of guilt filled Grimm’s voice as he snatched the medicine back from Vivian’s hand.
Vivian stared at Grimm with wide eyes, she was extremely confused by his actions. However, Grimm had finally realized his mistake.
His inadvertent coddling behavior had ended up harming Vivian!
Why was it that the hopes of many sorcerer-apprentices who wanted to advance into official sorcerers became lower and lower within just a few decades after entering the Holy Tower of the Seven Rings?
It was because of the discomfort the sorcerer-apprentices felt due to the differences in the rules between the Sorcerers World and the inner parts of the Holy Tower of Seven Rings during the earliest stage upon arriving at the Holy Tower.
They had the same day and night intervals, the same circulation between the four seasons. Yet, why did the two worlds feel completely different? It was so different to the point where sorcery was not applicable in this world.
It was because of the discomfort they felt which made it easier for them to discern the rules of the world.
If it was not for that ability to do so, there was nothing they could do if they were to eventually end up in a messed-up foreign world.
There was no doubt about it. The moment when sorcerer-apprentices entered the Holy Tower, they could detect and feel the balance of the rules when their discomfort reached its peak. However, due to his inconsiderate and ignorant actions, he gave Vivian a bottle of temporary enhancement medications which had weakened this feeling of hers.
Grimm felt terrible for his actions.
Vivian had a dazed look as she stared at Grimm. With her basic-level wisdom as a sorcerer-apprentice, she could not understand what was happening.
Beneath his Mask of Truth, Grimm felt so guilty that he could hardly speak.
The Snail Emissary of the Seven Rings crawled at a high-speed on the plaza. One of Grimm’s original plans was to experience the intricacy of the Holy Tower of Seven Rings’ ultimate target on his own chimera, the Savage Flame Giant. However, he was not in the mood to do so anymore.
“Third Senior, is something wrong?” Vivian asked, still confused.
Grimm gritted his teeth, then he ordered Little Myna, “Quick, go to your friend, Angelis’ place and get me a bottle of curse poison that can decrease one’s physique to somewhere between twenty to thirty in number. You can use Sorcerer Essences to pay for it.”
Angelis had joined Dawn Sages, so he had moved into the Holy Tower of Seven Rings. Little Myna had already visited him a couple of times before this.
“Caw? Oh, okay.”
Little Myna too did not understand the meaning behind Grimm’s orders, yet it still obeyed his orders. Flapping its wings, Little Myna turned into a shadow and disappeared.
Vivian was scared by Grimm’s current behavior.
After a short while, the Snail Emissary stopped and said, “Kids, your mission here is to survive in the Holy Tower of Seven Rings and advance into an official sorcerer. The Demon-Hunters who are living on the grounds of the Holy Tower are elites, usually, their experiments lack help from assistants. As such, you can get decent wages from them to sustain your everyday life.”
Initially, Grimm planned to give Vivian some Sorcerer Essences so she could put all her attention on her advancement as a formal sorcerer.
Now, Grimm had second thoughts about the whole idea.
Only Level-3 Great Demon-Hunters resided within the Holy Tower of Seven Rings. The elite sorcerers were recruited by Dawn Sages, Demon Hunter Consociation, Mechanical Gears, and Dawn of the Abyss.
The Holy Tower of Seven Rings had the sorcerer-apprentices work for these sorcerers instead of spending their time on meaningless activities. It was how the Holy Tower took care of the apprentices.
Back then, many of the sorcerer-apprentices even fought for the task of cleaning Master Peranos’ room…
Once everything was clear, Grimm took a deep breath.
For a low-level sorcerer who did not have the necessary wisdom and experience, something bad was bound to happen if bestowed with great authority!
Looks like his biggest contribution when he was still a low-level sorcerer was to not even dream of changing a Demon-Hunting expedition’s plans!
This was not stupid behavior, it was just that a low-level sorcerer with limited knowledge and experience would not be able to comprehend the deep considerations of high-level sorcerers, let alone try to make a difference.
Soon, the sorcerer-apprentices, still weak and lost, dispersed across the plaza.
These sorcerer-apprentices approached the sorcerers who were walking in the plaza respectively, asking whether any of them were willing to take them in. There were also some who headed for the luxurious pavilion in a distance. Grimm, on the other hand, asked Vivian to stay behind.
Not too long afterward, the space above Grimm’s head flashed, then Little Myna holding a small bottle of purple medicine in its mouth appeared.
Grimm grabbed the bottle and proceeded to study a drop of the medicine.
According to Vivian’s current state, the curse poison should decrease her physique to somewhere between twenty-five to thirty, which would perfectly neutralize the bottle of temporary enhancement medicine earlier.
The only thing was that she had missed that feeling at that very moment…
Not too long after that, Grimm nodded, then with a stern expression, he said to Vivian, “Drink it right now!”
“Senior, seriously, what’s wrong?”
Vivian had absolutely no idea what was going on with Grimm, yet she still obeyed his instruction and drank the curse poison.
Subsequently, a huge amount of strength was drained from Vivian’s body and her face instantly became pale. Her body swayed as a response to it and the support she had on her magic staff became the only thing that was stopping her from collapsing.
Grimm nodded, then he apologized to Vivian in a pained voice.
“Fourth Junior, I’m so sorry! My stupid behavior has ended up harming you. Sometimes, poison is the antidote while coddling is the poison!”
After saying so, Grimm turned around and left without looking back.
Leaving the weakened Vivian on the plaza, alone and unsure of what to do next.