Indeed, it wasn't the primary intention of this Dark Sorcerer to conquer an entire Full-Plane realm. Rather, his strategy seemed to involve slipping through a Spatial Rift and launching a grand raid on the other side.
Beings of the first order and beyond, irrespective of their plane of existence, invariably stand atop the common masses.
The prodigious powers they wield can easily lay waste to cities and nations. Dark Sorcerers represent a sect of mages, whose destructive capacities outstrip the conventional magicians.
They might not muster armies and formations like the mages from the Holy Towers, nor conjure magics potent enough to annihilate entire continents. However, their individual combat prowess is undeniably awe-inspiring.
The words of this particular Dark Sorcerer, though tinged with avarice and recklessness, sent a glimmer of longing and temptation into the eyes of both his fellow Dark Sorcerer and the mage from Andis.
Yet, these were merely their flights of fancy. After all, how could the Full-Plane realm be so easily accessible to their whims?
In the world of wizards, countless Holy Towers and Knight's Halls tirelessly explore the cosmos annually. Regrettably, these Full-Plane realms are either already annexed by wizarding civilizations or promptly assimilated into the Wizards' Alliance.
To discover an untouched, pristine plane remains an arduous quest. And speaking of realms, even stumbling upon a resource-rich Semi-Plane was a stroke of immense fortune for the Dark Sorcerers of Mosobra City.Here's a polished translation tailored for Western readers, with some embellishments for clarity and detail:
"The sole concern lingering in the air was the potential void behind the temporal rift. If it merely led to a Fractured-Plane of insignificant value, then the excitement would have been for naught. In reality, the odds favored such an outcome, as the cosmos was rife with these very types of dimensions.
As the three Dark Sorcerers whispered amongst themselves, the academy's annual evaluation on the training grounds was nearing its conclusion. The battles involving Junior and Novice Apprentices had wrapped up quickly, leaving only a handful of Intermediate and Senior Apprentices still vying for dominance.
It was in the arena designated for the Senior Apprentices where the spectacle truly unfolded. Given that the training grounds served as the academy's testbed for students of dark arts, its durability was beyond question. Yet, despite its resilience, vast craters appeared in the wake of the clashes among the Senior Apprentices.
Flashes of Elemental Ripples occasionally danced across the sky above the grounds. These were magical emanations from the Senior Apprentices, reacting upon colliding with the protective Mana barrier overhead.
Owing to the three officiating Dark Sorcerers being engrossed in their idle chatter rather than overseeing the trials, measures were taken to ensure that the intense duels did not inadvertently harm bystanders or wreak excessive havoc on the training grounds."In a perimeter around the training ground, seven owl sentinels from the prestigious Owl Academy soared, vigilant against any unforeseen incidents that might arise.
Up until this point, the toll had been severe. Over twenty Novice Apprentices had been either injured or killed, seven Junior Apprentices met their demise, and even two Intermediate Apprentices had fallen. Curiously, despite the Senior Apprentices wielding more potent magic and manifesting greater power, not a single one of them had died. This curious phenomenon was largely credited to the watchful eyes of these owl sentinels.
"I believe Lady Joanie has been far too lenient in her upbringing of these young ones," one voice murmured.
"If we were to follow the elimination traditions of the Western Isles' Dark Domain, they should have been thrust into the Beast Forest or the Underground Tomb for their trials," another countered. "Only those who survive, collecting the skulls of ten fellow apprentices or obtaining a Beastcore Crystal, should be deemed worthy of any reward. Not this voluntary challenge system they have now."
"Is this some sort of child's play?" interjected the mage known as Andis, emanating an aura of icy detachment. He paid no heed to the sotto voce exchange between the two Dark Sorcerers beside him.
His cold remarks added a palpable chill to the already tense atmosphere. The two Dark Sorcerers, once sought by the Holy Tower for their transgressions and now branded as such, looked taken aback. Unlike Andis, who was rumored to have been a Dark Sorcerer from his apprentice days and was believed to hail from the Western Isles, they had been forced into their dark roles by circumstance.After becoming a Dark Sorcerer, many had grown indifferent to the sanctity of life. Over the years, countless fledgling apprentices had been crushed beneath their merciless hands like mere playthings.
However, even for them, Andis's demeanor was chilling. His words dripped with a cold, ruthless cruelty, intertwined with the shadows of dark laws they weren't entirely accustomed to.
One of the Dark Sorcerers, slightly taken aback, chuckled awkwardly, "If we were to truly implement the apprentice elimination system from the Dark Territories, I wonder, would even one in ten of these youngsters survive?"
Andis retorted with a cold sneer, "What's the point of letting the worthless live?"
This response made the Dark Sorcerer uneasy. As a fully-fledged member of their kind, he was well-versed in the intricacies of the sorcery world and the dynamics of the Dark Territories.
He shook his head, explaining, "The Dark Territories can afford such a brutal selection process because the Western Archipelago has a vast number of islands and continents, providing an endless stream of apprentice candidates."
"Even the smaller landmasses in the archipelago have multiple human kingdoms, ensuring a vast population base."
"Contrast that with our Dark Realms. While legends suggest a golden era in ancient times, it's situated in the heartland of the sorcery world."
"Let's not even mention the mighty Belen Empire on our doorstep, a pinnacle of sorcerous power. Nearby, the formidable Holy Towers and the Knight's Hall are forces we dare not provoke," the Dark Sorcerer remarked.
Surviving amidst such a myriad of powerful entities was no simple task.
Let alone the fact that Dark Sorcerers also had to contend with the major Holy Towers and knights of the sorcery world.In Hallowed Halls Forbidden:
Venturing to the surface world to plunder wealth and people was indeed lucrative. Yet, with such rewards came inherent perils. The three headmasters had toiled tirelessly, ensuring the fundamental operations of the magic academy were maintained by a few hundred apprentices. To blindly adopt the stringent rules of the Dark Realm would, regrettably, lead to the swift demise of all but a scant few of these students. Such a loss was contrary to the headmasters' vision; every apprentice was deemed invaluable.
The retort from a particular Dark Sorcerer caught Andis off guard. A frigid glint shimmered in his eyes, causing an involuntary shiver to run down the spines of the two opposing Dark Sorcerers. If any lingering doubts existed about Andis's prowess, they were now firmly dispelled. He was undoubtedly a peak first-tier mage on the cusp of the second tier. Such a chilling aura could only emanate from an elemental embodiment—a unique trait of second-tier magicians.
Speaking of Master Andis, there existed some ties between him, Elandril, and Lina. Merely two months prior, a confrontation erupted in the dark alleys between Scar-faced Joke and Elandril. One crucial trigger was Joke's ambitious attempt to enter Master Andis's esteemed radar during the annual examinations, hoping to be apprenticed under him. Among all Intermediate Apprentices at the Black Magic Academy, only the immensely talented Lina—sans a mentor at that time—posed a substantial challenge to him.