Chapter 999 The connection between Sorcerer (stage) and Real Sorcerers (profession)
Chapter 999 The connection between Sorcerer (stage) and Real Sorcerers (profession)
Sorcerer, a title designated for those who reach the 9th stage of cultivation, is often confused with the profession of Real Sorcerer, practiced by Vicente and Collins.
However, Vicente was well aware of the distinction between the two terms and would not mistake one for the other. Early in his tutelage under Collins, he delved into the history of the profession, learning about its name's resemblance to the 9th stage of magical cultivation.
The profession of a Real Sorcerer was nonexistent in the ancient history of Anicane. At that time, the possibility of creating rituals for specific practices was unknown. The profession only came into being with the emergence of the first beings who achieved the 9th stage of magical prowess.
These Sorcerers, as they were known, possessed inherent abilities to conduct rituals of various kinds. They could command and manifest their intentions without auxiliary artifacts or the need for mana. For example, if Collins were a 9th stage magician, he would only need to think about banishing specters, channel his mana, and the effects of a ritual, like the one he demonstrated to Vicente, would manifest.
Inspired by these Sorcerers, lower-level magicians devised methods to harness such magical capabilities, thus establishing the profession of Real Sorcerers.
Why were they given this name? According to legend, Real Sorcerers were deemed worthy of the title because they used their skills and knowledge to purify the world. Those who did not, regardless of whether they were 9th stage beings, were not deserving of the title Real.
In essence, this was an age-old intrigue between the professional practitioners of sorcery and the ordinary 9th stage magicians. Despite the confusion, the distinction between the stage and the profession has persisted, which explains their closely related names.
"Become a Sorcerer, eh?" Vicente chuckled, confident that he would one day reach that level. He certainly had the aptitude and talent. Given the opportunity, he was determined to achieve such heights.
"That's good to know for now. I don't have any immediate prospects of reaching that level, but it's interesting to hear about Argardus."
"But would you like to go to Argardus, master?" Prisiche inquired.
"Why not? If it's such a fantastic place, shouldn't it be the ultimate goal of every magician?" he responded with a question.
"That would be a challenging journey. But I don't doubt you." Prisiche smiled at him, her confidence in the man bolstered by what she had witnessed.
As they continued their journey, their conversation gradually dwindled until they traveled in complete silence.
…
Eventually, they ventured deeper into Fallsor Bluff, traversing areas Rex had once passed through before his escape, until they neared a majestic waterfall.
In this area they were now passing through, they could feel the presence of high-level creatures of the 7th stage, and were probably not far from beings like the Elder of the Flaming Lions tribe.
Even though he was quite brave, Vicente slowed down his pace and as more and more strong creatures were around, he saw it would be complicated to go deeper into this magical region.
Unfortunately, none of the 7th stage beings they spotted had what he was looking for, indigo pentagrams compatible with him. Either they were compatible with him, but had cyan pentagrams, or they had indigo pentagrams and weren't compatible.
Vicente wanted to walk around this forest strip and led his group of fearful members through this extensive area. But after a while with no luck, he himself was beginning to think that it was better to put aside the hunt for his pentagrams for when he was stronger.
In a few months' time, he could have a higher cultivation and could better prepare with his faction for a well-organized hunt.
Although he didn't have companions as strong as Bert and Garin in his faction at the moment, his group mates were young and talented. They could certainly grow in power along with him before his eventual hunt.
Thinking of giving up a few days after entering this area, Vicente was already leading his group away from Fallsor Bluff, having found nothing of Dark Hands, when he suddenly came across something curious at the end of a night's travel.
While his companions were feeling better about the possibility of heading away from the area and then having a chance to go to a human city to catch a plane to Ravengarde, something caught Vicente's eye.
Looking at a rock that neither reflected nor absorbed light, Vicente felt it was unnatural, the only part of their surroundings that was so unique in the area. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
At first, he hadn't noticed. There were many stones and strange sentient plant beings in this forest.
Over the days of travel, Vicente had grown accustomed to them.
But upon second analysis, it made little sense. Either it was related to some wild creature in the area, or to a magician, which was more likely, given the presence of magical items, even in areas dominated by beasts.
Approaching the rock, Vicente caught the attention of his companions when he suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"That symbol..."
His eyes opened wide when he recognized the Dark Hands crest, a design in the shape of two human hands on top of each other, with white inner boundaries and black outer boundaries.
Remembering the conversation he had had at the Manifold Family estate in Ponddown, Vicente brought his two hands closer to the symbol while circulating his mana through them. As he touched the black stone, he felt an unusual electric current run through his body, just before he felt something appear in his soul space.
'That...'
But this item didn't try to corrupt him. It merely provided him with a screen of information, almost like the system of machines available in various parts of Stonewall.
He saw blue screens appearing in his vision along with the options to view {Available Missions}, {Contract Service} and {Negotiation}.
His eyes lit up as he didn't want to waste any time and immediately chose one of them to see if he could complete his objective.