A Sorcerer’s Journey

Fake Faceless Nilmar’s laboratory on the 56th floor of the Black Isotta tower.

A type of creature known as a Singing Polyphony Bat was immersed within a container of solution as a specimen before Glenn. Spread open on top of the experiment table was a huge leather scroll on which Glenn was writing down the auditory system of Singing Polyphony Bats.

“In the world of sound, it really isn’t as monotonous as the average human is aware of. The shallow layer is divided into infrasound, general sound, and ultrasound. The middle layer is changed to pitch, sound frequency, tone, sound shape, sound quality, and tuning. On a deep level, there are even soul sounds, earth sounds, world sounds, mystic sounds, spirit sounds, resonance, sound of misfortune, sound of might, sound of instinct, paralytic sound, illusory sound…” Nilmar explained the auditory science’s most basic knowledge in a dry and dull voice.

(Pseudoscience. Don’t bring in real science to it.)

Nilmar once again pointed at an analytic chart of the human auditory nervous system. He droned on, “The common human can perceive sound frequencies between 29 to 20090. Sorcerers call sounds of this frequency as general sound. For sounds lower than this frequency, sorcerers call it infrasound. The standard name for sounds with greater frequencies than this is ultrasound.”

Glenn had merely touched upon a few of the simplest underlying concepts for sound waves. Now, as he listened to Nilmar explain these concepts in a neither cold nor warm way, his hands rapidly recorded the relevant knowledge.

Picking up the scroll, Nilmar pointed at the ear of the Singing Polyphony Bat. “Do you see this part’s auditory nervous system? During my early years under a teacher’s guidance, I studied sound spells. During the time I had an obsession toward echolocation spells and infrasonic wave resonance destruction, it was this echolocation spell which I refined into a mask under the guidance of my teacher.”

Glenn pondered on this for a bit. Not minding Nilmar’s unfriendly attitude in the slightest, he asked for guidance. “Sir, for what reason did you not conduct a transformation on the body but chose to refine a mask?”

Nilmar looked at Glenn with ridicule and sneered. “Humph! Don’t use your understanding and bring it into my line of thought. You might be an expert in human biology. Perhaps your instinctual perception is self-transformation evolution. But after I researched alchemy and sound wave spells regardless of the time of day or night, my first reaction was to make a secondary cognitive magic-channeling sorcery tool. I have basically never considered any type of body transformation.”

Glenn had a sudden realization.

Indeed, just a split second ago, Glenn had made an error in his line of thought. It was only natural to believe other people ought to have the same way of thinking as himself, that they must have implemented body transformations on themselves and reached some degree of partial organ active evolution.

However, what might seem to be “evolution” to an ordinary person on one hand, on the other, was that not a kind of regression?

Able to hear ultrasonic sounds but unable to hear general sounds. Although it could sometimes be convenient to a sorcerer, it was still more all kinds of inconvenient in daily life.

After all, in the sorcerer world, sorcerers nevertheless used speech to communicate rather than through a spiritual exchange.

This being the case, a mask that had the option of turning off a special function at any time was indeed a sensible choice.

Nilmar pointed at the sharp horn protruding from the mask. He unenthusiastically said, “This thing precisely makes use of the extraordinary hearing of singing polyphony bats that can receive ultrasound frequencies. Then, through my seven years of delving into runic orientation technique, a kind of spiritual awareness of the auditory world’s form and structure took shape. So from now for half a month, you just need to learn this runic orientation technique. It’s exactly the core concept of my echolocation spell.”

Glenn roughly and hastily drew a Singing Polyphony Bat auditory diagram very fast, after which he put away his notes and followed Nilmar to another laboratory.

He could not help but think that Nilmar passing on knowledge this way was purely to teach Glenn how to refine an Ashen Mask and nothing more.

His cold and indifferent manner and disdainful rejection of Glenn’s thoughts made him understand. To want to obtain knowledge from other sorcerers was a very difficult matter. When all was said and done, one could indeed use other forms of currency to purchase knowledge. But when it came to sorcerers, the value of knowledge was forever greater than wealth, so there could be a natural feeling of rejection.

The reason for this feeling of rejection was the same as if some incompetent guy that relied on his wealth to forcefully exchange for one’s most valuable treasure.

As for Glenn, it was fundamentally impossible to get a deep level of knowledge on sound waves with this kind of explanation!

Of course, Glenn wouldn’t excessively and thoroughly research the knowledge of sound waves. Glenn’s method of making progress was a combined path of traditional elemental knowledge and self-evolution of the body, to start using his gift to seek those easier-to-study advanced elemental knowledge. As a result, he had no thoughts of reaching a deep level in sound wave spells.

Wishing to become an omniscient and omnipotent sorcerer?

Sorcerers had limited energy and comprehension ability. Studying everything, a sorcerer that did all-around research would only be able to develop into a stupid sorcerer that didn’t know anything.

Just like how it was impossible for a sorcerer with ten types of elements completely leveraging the power tenfold to ever be a match for a sorcerer who could leverage the power of one type of element a hundred times. (The analogy is somewhat of a hyperbole but the idea was more or less exactly like this.)

When it came to the knowledge of sound wave science, Glenn could only record verbatim the knowledge Nilmar taught him just like how he had treated the mysticism of the Bloodlust Doll.

Like this, there was no difference between him and the weak students in their approach to learning spells.

As far as those weak students were concerned, what the spell books contained was what they did. They basically did not care or take into consideration any shallow foundational knowledge inferred nor made any associative connections to deeper knowledge. They simply did not have any understandings of their own.

They didn’t have anything, merely obtaining the spell’s power before going on to learn the next spell.

This was because, in their eyes, this was none other than power that was formidable.

…

After half a month.

Glenn already tentatively understood the premise of runic orientation technology. This was also the first magical array Glenn learned in the sorcerer world that did not use the six-pointed star but rather spiral-shaped veined patterns.

Appearing like a traveler harried for time, Nilmar immediately started to introduce the self-maintaining sorcerer cover technology. This kind of overloaded studying couldn’t help but make Glenn’s head feel swollen, leading him to once again realize how exhausting it was to seek knowledge.

Apart from academic advisors[1], nobody would altruistically teach other people any spell knowledge. Because all sorcerers knew the hardships of obtaining knowledge, they acted selfish as a result.

As well as when sorcerers selfishly conceal knowledge, then knowledge will be even more difficult to obtain…

Sorcerer covers and curses were required courses for all demon-hunting sorcerers.

Different from the internal fights between sorcerers, the omnidirectional defense of sorcerer covers were the most basic, perfect defense for demon-hunting sorcerers battling against Otherworld lifeforms during campaigns due to the existence of the original space fortress. This wondrous spell was a defensive measure completely made by the original space fortress. It was a huge spell that made things even by having foreign world creatures receive their local world’s protection after the sorcerer’s space fortress invaded said alien world.

As for curses, there wasn’t much significance to curses within the sorcerer world. After gaining a symbiotic insect, sorcerers would immediately possess a strong resistance to being cursed, except for those large-scale curses that required a long time to prepare or curses from sorcerers that specifically studied it could a curse kill a target.

In alien worlds, the average living organism could only rely on the world’s protection, substitute characteristics, and physical power. So a complete nightmare would start for those Otherworld lifeforms if demon-hunters managed to obtain some of their body information.

As a result, practically every experienced demon-hunting sorcerer studied sorcerer covers and curses very thoroughly.

The so-called “sorcerer cover” on the Ashen mask was, in the strictest sense, not a true sorcerer cover spell at all. This was because it was unable to grant increased power to the caster so that the cover could be upgraded.

This “sorcerer cover” was only an imitation sorcerer cover refined into a constant repelling energy system. It was a specialized resistance refined from common elemental resistance.

(Similar to Glenn’s passive evolution to be capable of resisting common elements. It seems to be all-around reinforcement but would entirely lose effectiveness if it met an uncommon element.)

Another half a month later.

Glenn had finished studying this so-called constantly maintained sorcerer cover concept and unexpectedly felt deeply cheated.

It was not a sorcerer cover but only a comprehensive class type resistance spell. The only acceptable point about it was that constant maintenance system which Glenn was not sure might be useful later.

His high expectations ultimately turned into disappointment; Glenn could only sigh.

Wishing to get knowledge by means of cheap tricks?

Too difficult…

The best knowledge obtained is acquired by oneself as expected. It was forever impossible for other people to genuinely and selflessly impart their own knowledge to you. From this point, it reflected the underlying significant purpose of academic advisors and school-district wars.

In order for ougi sorcerers to obtain sorcery essence or other benefits had no choice but to impart their knowledge to disciples to increase their strength and fight over certain interests. It imperceptibly had the benefit of adding fresh blood to the sorcerer world and hope for the future. Even to the extent that sorcerers would fight over imparting their knowledge to a few extremely fine students with relatively good aptitudes.

If there wasn’t a benefit to motivate them, how many sorcerers would bother with such boring matters?

The inheritance of the sorcerer world? The future of the sorcerer world? The hope of the sorcerer world?

Not every sorcerer would consider these things. When it came to the general, common, low-level sorcerer, they fundamentally strove to reach a higher level of strength.

…

Three days later, by the window of Peranos’s laboratory on the Black Isotta 79th floor.

Looking down at the whole Black Isotta school, Glenn was somewhat absent-minded and distressed.

Peranos watched Glenn and said softly, “You truly won’t go see your friends? Especially your young sweetheart Lafite. I had to deal with her dragging her teacher over and especially inquiring about your situation.”

Underneath the Ashen Mask, there was sorrow that was hard to mask in the depths of his eyes but also a trace of resoluteness. He shook his head and dryly said, “Just let us all be preserved within the beautiful memory of that one night.”

Peranos spoke in a deep voice, “You must properly think it over. When you leave, after completing a promotion to formal sorcerer there will also be a long period required to upgrade your mental strength. Also, the otherworld campaign for reserve demon-hunters to advance and become a formal demon-hunting sorcerer will take at least two to three hundred years before you can possibly return. At that time, your friends will genuinely become an eternal memory of yours except for the few that are promoted to formal sorcerers.”

Glenn gritted his teeth, putting in great effort to not display any weakness.

Looking at Peranos, Glenn firmly said, “Master need not say more. If they have not advanced to formal sorcerers, just let me forever stay within that past beautiful memory. What use is there to see them any further?”

Peranos shook his head and sighed. “Let’s just go. Every formal sorcerer has gone through this and nobody can avoid it. Wait for these two to three centuries to pass before you become a formal sorcerer in the true sense. In the meantime you will only be a student that possesses the strength of a sorcerer, that’s all.”

“Understood.”

Glenn followed Peranos into the sky and they became two black dots. They left the Black Isotta school.