Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Three years later.
One after the other, Grimm had finally gathered a handful of species across the desolate world that possessed the potential to develop, but none of them met Elland Garden Stigmata Sorcerer’s requirements.
Some had incredibly low intelligence while some were frustratingly hard to control. One group he discovered, despite meeting all other requirements, had a reproduction rate that was way too low to keep up with the Sorcerers World’s demands. Another issue arose when none of them were suited for executing the Sorcerers World’s will in extracting resources from their world.
Crash!
The waves that were crashing and tumbling seemed never-ending.
Oceans covered more of the Sorcerers World’s surface than dry land, which meant that its land mass was dwarfed and surrounded by briny seawater.
As for the Magnetite World, the Rainbow law required a large body of mist to serve as its foundation, as such ever since ancient times, most of this world’s water was found in the air as water vapor. This provided the essential element that weaved the ancient world together through the Rainbow’s Light.
However, after the Magnetite cataclysm, the Rainbow law came crumbling down, and so too had the water law in the world. What was left were pockets of oceans here and there that were all surrounded by dry land.
Plonk!
The Starfall Reconnaissance Craft entered the water and made its way to the ocean’s depths in search of a target.
“Ah, Young Master, the law here seems to be a hybrid between the Rainbow’s Light and the Magnetite Ray!
As the Reconnaissance Craft inched closer to the bottom of the ocean, the underwater world was surprisingly different from the sky and the land above, which could be described as dark, abandoned and bitterly cold. On the contrary, the seabed was bright, and life was thriving there. Countless distinct underwater life forms could be seen swimming around, which far exceeded Grimm’s expectations.
“Indeed, this is pretty extraordinary. Perhaps what we were looking so hard for on land has been waiting for us right here all along.”
Grimm, who originally came here just for the casual joyride, now had a more serious composure. He activated the Sorcerer’s Barrier before opening the cabin door of the Starfall Reconnaissance Craft. With the barrier pushing against the seawater, Grimm remained dry as he stored the craft in the Dimensional Gap.
Standing on top of a reef rock, Grimm silently observed the seabed in search of the source where the Magnetite Ray and the Rainbow Light came from.
The Magnetite Ray, it seemed, came from microscopic mineral particles suspended in the seawater. Perhaps, this world’s laws had somehow changed to preserve it after the debris from a fallen Magnetite Star had settled in the seawater?
The Rainbow Light, which was also called the Sevenfold Light, could be found from the aquatic plants as a fragment of memory from the ancient world.
The seabed appeared to be relatively unaffected by the ancient Magnetite cataclysm. Considering that the Magnetite people never really came close to becoming a true dominator of this world, the plants here retained memories passed down from ancient times. Even the environment here was exposed and altered by such memories, where the Rainbow Light underwent refraction.
Though, even with such a refraction of the Rainbow Light, it was not enough to simulate the perfect environment in which the ancient times had provided.
“Young Master, Young Master, look over there!”
Grimm turned his head to see what looked like a pack of sea snakes attacking a single four to five meter long prawn-like aquatic creature.
This prawn-like creature had an extremely resilient exoskeleton and a razor sharp row of saw-teeth. And yet, under the relentless attacks of the three-meter-long sea snakes, it could only struggle in desperation.
The visual perception and the conventional sonic waves that the creatures of the seabed relied on passed through Grimm and Little Myna’s bodies with ease under the camouflage provided by the Robe of Representations. With full concealment, this group of aquatic creatures did not even pick up on the duo’s existence despite being in close proximity.
Slowly, Grimm made his way to a position barely a dozen meters away from the battlefield to observe the creatures in their natural environment.
Shriek…
With a painful wail, the giant prawn finally gave up on its struggle against these snakey predators. Soon after, the sea snakes suddenly started shape-shifting into individual balls that wrapped over the carcass of the prawn, before dragging it off into the distance.
“Woah? Intelligent creatures with a social structure!?”
Grimm’s interest was piqued. And so, he and Little Myna crept forward stealthily…
***
Two years later.
The artificially restored rock cave structure was like a labyrinth of sorts. Millions of mutated fishes floated in the structure’s chasms, welcoming their respected guest that had come from a faraway land.
Grimm made his way deeper into the rocky labyrinth at a steady pace. Surrounding him were thousands of Level-1, Level-2 fishes that served as a mass of bodyguards. Like sea snakes, they propelled themselves through the water vigorously.
These were the creatures Grimm had stumbled upon two years ago moments after he had arrived at the seabed.
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Half an hourglass later, Grimm sat on an underwater chair which he had specifically designed for this very purpose. Little Myna, on the other hand, picked up a skewer of juicy, delicious meat from some unknown aquatic creature. The skewer almost seemed like a pearl necklace which Little Myna was now devouring greedily.
In front of Grimm, was a coiled up super-mutated fish that was at least forty to fifty meters long. The signal from this Level-3 creature was out on display without hesitation.
“Your royal highness, if I may humbly ask, have you considered accepting the invitation from the Sorcerer Coalition? Your signature on this Fate Contract, and the Fish Mutants, will be recorded in the Sorcerer Coalition’s files as the ruler of this world. Consequently, protection will be guaranteed by the interiors of the Sorcerer Coalition.”
Underneath the Mask of Truth, elemental flames danced in Grimm’s eyes that were looking directly at the King of the Fish Mutants.
Although it was a Level-3 creature, the King of the Fish Mutants had always acted humbly, projecting an image that it was beneath Grimm, which implied the wisdom it possessed.
“Great Sorcerer, the favorable conditions written on the Fate Contract is something which my people cannot reject. To become the ruler of this world was an impossible dream of mine for so many years in the past. As for walking beyond the oceans, I have indeed attempted many eons ago, but unfortunately, in comparison to the Evil Blood Dreadlord or the Magnetite invaders, Fish Mutants are of little significance in this world. We have forsaken the struggle for the top place and retreated into our shells only to live as hermits. But now, the Sorcerer Coalition’s invitation to the Fish Mutants’ is like the Southern Wind blowing in our favour!”
The King of the Fish Mutants kept on singing praises to the Sorcerer Coalition.
Even though, in actuality, it had not a single clue as to the details of how the Sorcerer Coalition was faring.
“I have started circulating the Sorcerer Coins I have received earlier among the upper tiers of my people. Take it as a first step for us in adapting to this new law. As for searching and extracting Magnetite Stone ores, so long as I can rule the land, I will definitely fulfil each and every condition on my part of the contract, but…”
The King of the Fish Mutants eyed Grimm warily, and did not detect any sudden changes in his mood.
“But, the Sorcerers World already has full control over the World Core. The Fate Contract states that the Sorcerers World will dispatch a Sorcerer to trigger the World’s Will in the coming century. You need to know that my race will only be able to trigger the World’s Principal Will one millenium later for me to ascend as a World Lord. This will slow down our adaptation by a significant amount of time. Is it possible that we hold back the consecration of Sorcerer Coins by three hundred years?”
Grimm paused for a moment, and the two parties resumed discussions on a series of terms in the contract…
Two months later.
The Starfall Reconnaissance Craft was headed back to the Magnetite World’s Void Fortress at top speed. At the moment, the fortress was much emptier than before when the Demon-Hunting Expedition was still ongoing. There would be an occasional Demon-Hunter Sorcerer or a few Voidships, but that was it. These Voidships mostly belonged to the Holy Tower’s families who used it for private purposes which, in most cases, was to scour every corner of this world in search of more resources for extraction.
There were some minor amendments to the contract’s terms, and Grimm was holding the Fate Contract as he arrived at a secret room deep within the fortress.
In the room sat a Level-3 Anatomy Refinery Sorcerer who wielded a purple battle-axe. This Level-3 Great Sorcerer would soon advance into a Stigmata Sorcerer under the Tristar Abyssal Holy Tower. His powerful body exuded an air of uncontrollable violence like that of a berserking wild animal.
Tristar Celestial Sorcerer had bought a World Lord-less realm, and a chance to trigger its Principal Will, in an extremely lucrative deal with Elland Garden Stigmata Sorcerer.
Some World Lords described this behaviour by foreign creatures who invaded other world’s Principal Wills as “demonic intrusions”.
As far as the Sorcerers were concerned, only the purest Anatomy Refinery Sorcerer from the Underground Abyss or a Level-3 Great Legendary Knight would choose to use a Foreign World’s Principal Will as a means to ascend into a World Lord’s status.
They, in comparison to the Endless World’s many fleshly creatures who were constantly forced by their environment to adapt and evolve, faced much less adverse side-effects than if they were to opt to advance into a Stigmata Sorcerer.
Purist Anatomy Refinery Sorcerers did not need Mana Pools from the Sorcerer Towers!
The Sorcerer Tower’s Mana Pool was just a vessel to carry energy in place of the Sorcerers World’s Principal Will for the Elemental Sorcerers.
Even for Anatomy Refinery Sorcerers, a powerful surge of Elemental Energy from a Holy Tower could substitute the World Force in order to ascend as a Stigmata Sorcerer. Another approach was the incredibly difficult method of becoming a World Lord as a foreign demonic entity. Through this approach, even if one were to barely succeed, there were still countless numbers of adverse side-effects to take into account.
“Great Master.”
Grimm bowed to the respected Sorcerer, which was a customary practice, before he left the room.
Twenty years ago, Grimm had learned quite a number of useful techniques about Anatomy Refinery Sorcery from this Level-3 Great Sorcerer.
As such, Grimm naturally developed an interest in the Underground Abyss.
From the Light of Wilderness shining from the Anatomy Refinery Sorcerer’s eyes, Grimm could vaguely feel that he was a Sorcerer who had already unlocked level three of his Wild Instinct ability, which was one level higher than his own. Not only that, but even the fundamental composition of his cells was built in a way that was much more resilient than Grimm’s.
“Sorcerer Grimm, have you completed your mission of finding a suitable native ruler?”
Grimm nodded and replied, “Underneath the surface of one of the handful of seas in this world, there is an intelligent species that meets all the criteria as set forth. While they did not demand any absurd conditions on the Fate Contract, the only hassle is that they wanted to change the name of their world, from the Magnetite World to the Neo-Oceanic World. This is related to the Holy Tower of Seven Rings’ naming system for the World Teleportation Array so I have accepted their request.”
“Oh ho, what a tiny group of creatures.”
Upon glancing through the Fate Contract, the Sorcerer handed it back to Grimm and closed his eyes, perhaps thinking about the preparations that had to be done before triggering this world’s Principal Will someday in the future.
Even though this chance was a one-in-a-million opportunity, as a foreign being, there still existed the possibility of failure.
Failure in this sense meant the total rejection of the entire world’s laws. This would inevitably lead to one’s death as he was merely a Level-3 creature and not a “demonic God” in the slightest; he lacked the ability to intrude into the World’s Principal Will forcibly.
“Hohoho, best of luck then.”
In comparison to the responsibilities an Elemental Sorcerer had to shoulder, as well as the intellectual hurdles when he were to advance as a Stigmata Sorcerer, an Anatomy Refinery Sorcerer would have to go through a selective process of sorts, one that dictated life or death.