A Sorcerer’s Journey

Glenn, Chris, Robin lay prone two kilometers off the tungsten ore range. Along with them was Lafite. Half-kneeling, she turned one of her eyes to Eagle Eye and looked across to Robinson, who had approached the site alone for a quick scout.

In terms of sorcery, Glenn’s team was only second to the squad teams sent to the resource points before them, but they still had no idea whether this tungsten ore range had been taken by students from the 19th and whether there would be an ambush. Thus, they had asked Robinson, who excelled in skills of spying, hiding and escaping, to sneak a quick look.

Moments later, Lafite became relieved; the leaves that were produced around her to serve as camouflage were dispelled, and the bow put aside. “The site is all green. It seems to have been taken by our squad team.”

Upon hearing this, Glenn and the others rose up and Robin said delightedly: “Brilliant, we’ve finally got some good teammate, and the mission will become a lot easier.”

The squad team, jointly composed of students from the Ivory Castle, the Hourglass, and the Black Isotta, would surely be an elite team.

Glenn’s group proceeded with a slow march to the site with Robinson as the guide. Soon a mine pit several meters deep came in view. It was a place where ravines and gullies criss-cross. At the bottom of the pit stood two teams of students around ten in number from different schools.

One team looked unfamiliar to Glenn’s team yet the sight of the other team’s leader made Lafite grimace.

It was Ardas, the Brightness Sword, ranked as the 5th in the top ten students in the Black Isotta.

Lafite made a step forward, and shouted to them: “We are from the Black Isotta. We don’t have any badges.” One half of her face was a beauty and the other was withered. As she spoke those words, her voice attracted much attention and nearly none of them showed any manner of disrespect.

“Hmm, if you had any, you would all be dead for sure.” A student in a cloak stood out. He then continued,

“I’m Yates from the Ivory Castle. This is Ardas, from the Black Isotta. I’ve heard some of the names you mentioned. But how would you identify yourself since we haven’t met before. So just stay out of this pit until you have a way to prove your identity.”

Lafite’s face fell, but she and the others had nothing to retort with.

At present, beneath Ardas’ well-aligned brows, his eyes were startled. Afterwards, he held out his hand; a gold bracelet around his wrist as well as several shiny rings on his fingers.

The ornaments seemed to be some fancy magical tools, containing some in-containable magical waves.

“No need to be outside now. I know this mask guy.” Ardas said lightly. “The Ashen Mask Glenn whose name is on the hunted list. Interesting…”

Lafite turned to look at Glenn, but Glenn, having stayed close behind Lafite, didn’t even look up and was focusing on the twigs in his hand, showing no intention of engaging in conversation.

Glenn would be immersed in doing his own stuff and when Lafite was around, he would always keep a low profile. The group members all knew this. It seemed his interest in some research never ended.

Maybe Glenn’s spirit was what was circulated in the sorcerer community — How hard you tried decided your achievement. This little saying was well-said, yet seldom could students really practice it. And this proverb showed the mentality of how the predecessors (the future self) regarded the successors (the past self) — with sarcasm and sighs.

Lafite began leading the team down the slope towards the bottom. They were stunned by the sudden appearance of a shrieking mouse. Seconds later, they realized that it was a safeguard.

Thump!

Glenn’s group dropped their bags on the ground. Lafite the walked to Yates and Ardas, and said lightly: “I’m Lafite from the Black Isotta. It’s my hope we work together in laying these interdictions we brought as quickly as possible.”

“Interdiction?” Yates shifted his gaze to the bags. He then smiled. “Good…Since you have the interdiction, you’ll be given some say in matters concerning this resource point.”

Ardas, however, was studying this mysterious, taciturn Glenn, eyes narrowed. He was lost as to why someone like Glenn would willing to be a footman under Lafite.

“To be on the hunted list, he must be as good as to be a threat to the heads of the top four leagues in the Black Isotta. He could stand out from his fellows and there were legends about him that…”

Ardas’ eyes turned more serious, thoughtful.

This woman was incredible to be able to harness such a powerful “footman”. Besides, sorcerer students still had some taste in partners, and Lafite was too ugly to be liked by him. She must then be treated with some respect.

Thinking about this, Ardas smiled, and whipped back his long golden hair. “No problem. We’ll try and be cooperative.”

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Laying the interjection in a wide scope was troublesome. The advantages were the help offered by 12 other students and that no enemies were in sight. Thus, the building was expected to be completed in three days.

As Glenn was busy with installing the magical stones, he caught a glimpse of something. It was a dreadful scene. Inside a ditch lay a heap of over 20 strewn student bodies.

After having measured a calculation formula of the repulsive and attractive forces, Glenn took off and flew to the bodies.

“The badges have been taken.” Glenn murmured, thinking it reasonable that the culprit did this. “Since I knew about the badges, there is no reason why Yates and Ardas don’t know them. And since these top students are collecting them, the other ordinary students are guessing their use…”

“It appears you have some knowledge about the badges. But these guys’ badges were taken by Ardas and me.” Yates said to Glenn in a husky voice.

Glenn didn’t show much care. And Yates could not catch any change in expression from Glenn beneath his Ashen Mask, except for his composed eyes.

“Are these students in the 19th well-versed in battles?” Glenn asked calmly.

Yates made a giggling sound, and then said slowly. “Clumsy.”

Glenn was struck dumb. “These more than 20 corpses were the squad team sent from the opponent schools. Then they must be among the best. And yet they were just “clumsy” in Yates’ words, were they? Were they really as weak as Quite Spring implied?”

Suddenly, a powerful thunder wave broke out from the sky above this tungsten ore range. Glenn and Yates, who were chatting casually, stopped their work with the interjection, and took to the skies where the wave occurred.

In the sky, about 30 meters above the ground, a student wearing a pointed hat showed himself. Several thunder snakes moved about around his body. In his hand was a magical stick made of some old tree branch, and on the top end of the stick was a sapphire. The thunder waves were turbulent, and Glenn estimated that this guy was at least at the same level with the top ten students in the Black Isotta.

And Glenn noticed the badge on his chest.

This student’s attire, his BBCAP in particular, was reminiscent of how Apollo in the Bi Seer city was dressed, which was very different from the cloaks in the 12th section.

“You’re the Black Sorcerers from the 12th section, are you? You’re filled with evil auras just as my tutor said.” The thunder snake student sneered at the crowd of students.

“What Bright Sorcerer, Dark Sorcerer? There are only Evil-Hunting Sorcerers and Ougi Sorcerers.” Yates jeered back, and his eyes were scanning around the student.

A proud and loud laugh followed. Afterwards, this 19th student whisked the stick in his hand and a purple electronic light moved as if it were a live snake.

“Such topnotch control…”

“Haha, my tutor said we had something to learn from you students from the 12th and asked us to participate such a boring tower master game. But rest assured, I’m not the fools you’ve destroyed. Come on, let me see the power of the 12th, who is gonna rise to my challenge?” The 19th student’s face was arrogant, crazy and ferocious.

All of the students below at the ores became stunned and exchanged scared looks with each other as if they had seen the most unbelievable thing in the world.

However, the next second, the students from Glenn’s side all made a move on the guy in the sky at the same time as if it had been planned.

Glenn produced the fire bat sorcery, Lafite the life arrow, Robin the ice arrow and Yates…

Over 20 sorceries that carried a different level of strength were fired to the guy and the elemental forces soon engulfed the surprised student from the 19th.

“You despicable lot…” His voice had become weak and stifled. Then an enfeebled thunder force scuttled.

Yates, Ardas and Lafite turned themselves into three lights and chased.

Moments later, the three guys had come back, Ardas sneered and dropped a body into the corpse ditch.

“Is this the stupidity Quite Spring referred to? He is just so rash and brainless. Back in the Sorcery Test for the First-Years, I did not take such suicidal actions even when I was still stronger than you.” Thought Glenn.