Chapter 0065: A Sleepless Night

Only after night had fallen did Grimm return safely to his quarters in the wizard’s tower. The moment he entered, he secured the door tightly, then eagerly emptied his belt pouch of all its treasures, lining them up across the wooden table. Rubbing his hands together and licking his lips, he gazed from left to right, then back again, his entire being thrumming with an excitement that defied words.

On the left, a row of ten small vials of sulfurous liquid held the very thing he had long dreamed of—Concentration Potions, and not just any sort, but the superior grade reserved for elite apprentices within the camp, their potency some twenty percent higher than those sold outside. Each bottle fetched a staggering two hundred magic crystals, consuming a full two thousand of Grimm’s windfall. Had this unexpected bounty not come so suddenly, he doubted he could have afforded them even by selling every last piece of himself.

Such a quantity of Concentration Potions would be more than enough for Grimm to break through the threshold of a novice apprentice, elevating his spiritual strength to the very peak of the intermediate rank. Whether he might cross into the realm of the advanced, however, would depend on his own potential and talent.

His gaze lingered lovingly on the potions for quite some time before he reluctantly shifted his attention to the next prize.

This was a radiant blue magical gem, and from the moment Grimm produced it, tiny arcs of electricity flickered across its surface. It seemed almost alive, a magical gemstone that continually absorbed stray lightning energy from the void, creating around itself an environment perfectly suited for the existence of the lightning element.

Judging by its hue, this was certainly a magical core taken from a quasi-wizard-level Storm Giant. By nature, Storm Giants should be classified as elemental beings, yet the bloodline of those currently dwelling within the wizarding lands was unusual. Legend spoke of a great archwizard who, in antiquity, undertook a perilous bloodline experiment, attempting through sorcery to infuse his own blood into a host of wind elementals, thus expanding his lineage.

On the wizard continent, the title “archwizard” was reserved for those whose rank exceeded the third tier.

It must be said, the experiment had succeeded. He had given the wizard world a new species: the Storm Giants, formidable sorcerous beings with the blood of wizards and the bodies of elementals.

Sadly, these Storm Giants developed a crisis of identity. They clearly preferred the company of their simpler, more easily influenced wind elemental kin. Thus, when a number of Storm Giants escaped their wizard overlords, they mingled with the wind elementals of the wild and founded a small Storm Giant kingdom in the central Emerald Hills.

Because of their unique nature—bearing both wizard and elemental traits—they constructed a great Storm Altar and summoned countless wind elementals from the elemental plane, forming a considerable force in the heart of the continent.

The lightning gem in Grimm’s hand almost certainly originated from that kingdom.

According to the arcane contract between the Storm Kingdom and the scattered towers of Talin, no power in the central lands was permitted to hunt Storm Giants for their elemental cores. Yet such contracts could not quell the black market or deter poachers; thus, rare resources like this continued to circulate in secret.

A quasi-wizard-level earth elemental core like the one Grimm had previously acquired might fetch only five hundred magic crystals, but this lightning gem had cost him twelve hundred, for no other reason than its rarity.

In terms of sheer combat power, the earth elemental core might offer a more direct boost. But for the sake of tactical versatility, Grimm preferred to possess a lightning gem. The earth golem allowed him to traverse through soil—might not a lightning golem one day grant him the power to soar through the sky?

Truth be told, ever since he’d ridden the Socratic Giant Eagle through the heavens, Grimm had become enamored of the feeling of unfettered flight.

But as for how best to harness the potential of the lightning gem, he would need the aid of his chip for long and thorough calculations, and to employ arcane arrays to fully unlock its powers. For now, he could only set it aside, awaiting the chip’s analysis before forging a new generation of lightning golems.

The third item on the table was something Grimm had traded for using the witchvine woman’s sorcerous notes: a powerful fire-element treasure from the depths of a subterranean lava volcano—the Fire Diamond. Regrettably, the Fire Diamond was merely a magical artifact, not the magical core of a fire elemental creature, making it ill-suited for crafting a fire golem.

Yet even if it could not be used for golem-making, the Fire Diamond remained a coveted magical treasure. With it, Grimm was one step closer to his envisioned wand. Inlaying the Fire Diamond would vastly increase the convergence of fire particles and augment the potency of his fire spells, making it scarcely less valuable than a golem core.

Now he had the gem for the wand’s tip, and the secret-silver for inscribing the runic array into the wand’s body. All that remained was the wand itself. To craft a fire wand, fire-dragon wood was the most basic choice, fire coral somewhat better, but the ideal was the spine of a fire-elemental beast.

The problem was, such rare resources were elusive; where was Grimm to find a fire-elemental beast’s spine perfectly suited to his needs? Thus, he remained hesitant and uncertain, unsure whether to wait for the right material to appear, or to gather fire coral as an interim solution.

Such questions are never easily answered.

So Grimm could only smile wryly and store his treasures away in his belt pouch. Though he longed to test those Concentration Potions at once, he could not—he had an important task yet to complete tonight, one that would directly determine the outcome of tomorrow’s duel.

Having briefly admired his spoils, Grimm hurried to the alchemy lab on the third floor of the wizard’s tower, where he busied himself until just before dawn, finally returning to his quarters utterly exhausted.

He had slept less than two hours before the wooden door was thunderously rapped.

To his surprise, it was Kevin the Black Hand.

From the way he hovered, it was as if he feared Grimm might suddenly take fright and flee.

But seeing Grimm’s bleary, sleep-deprived face, he couldn’t help but ask, “What did you get up to last night? Have you forgotten there’s a crucial duel today?”

“Uh... got such a windfall yesterday, I was too excited to sleep,” Grimm replied, sporting a pair of dark circles.

Kevin gave him a look that plainly said, “As if I’d ever believe that.” But his curiosity got the better of him.

“So, are you confident about today? You know, those old-timers have spent the whole night scheming, all to keep some upstart from overshadowing them. They’ve probably devised every trick to counter your earth golem. Do you really think you can beat Mark?”

“Do you want me to win, or to lose?”

“Well... to be honest, I’m rooting for you. Among all the apprentices I’ve seen, none have your unique talent. If you use it well, you’ll thrive in these dark caverns. That’s why I’m so eager to bring you into the elite party! But... your debut was a bit too dazzling. The bald boss only wanted you to show your skills, get to know the others, but instead, you went and flattened old hands like Blackwood.”

“Has it caused a stir?”

“A stir? I’ve never seen the elite party so united—they’re racking their brains, loaning arcane tools, throwing every counter to earth-magic they can muster at you. So be careful today. I’ve already warned Mark: if you yield, he’s to stop immediately, no need to leave you with any lasting memories!”

“Lord Kevin, do you trust me?”

“Hmm?”

“No matter what they’ve planned, I’m still confident for today’s fight. So... if you believe in me, why not bet on me? What do you think?”

Kevin fell silent, staring at Grimm’s earnest expression, clearly bewildered.

Today’s opponent was Mark the Thunder Axe, one of the camp’s hardest fighters—not like Blackwood, whose weaknesses were all too obvious. Blackwood was a dark caster, forever meddling with corpses and flesh. Once his curses and corpse minions were rendered useless, he was helpless, a frail, skeletal figure.

But Mark the Thunder Axe was different. His raw strength could match Grimm’s crocodile golem, and his superb constitution gave him daunting resistance to both magic and physical blows. If he forced Grimm out of the earth, or found a way to attack underground, even the earth golem would not last three to five minutes against him.

Under such circumstances, where did Grimm’s confidence come from?

This puzzle gnawed at Kevin, even as they mounted the giant eagle and strode into the camp together.

Seeing the crowd already gathered at the edge of the field, Grimm leaned in with a cheerful grin. “My lord, is it really so troubling? You brought me here yesterday and made enemies of everyone already. Why not bet on me today—if I win, what can my debtors do to you? There’s nothing left to hesitate about!”

Kevin’s expression grew ever more pained.

Truly, he’d boarded a pirate ship now, and getting off would be no easy thing!