CH.2

A team of experts arrived after a few hours of the departure of the black hooded man. Their expression turned ugly when they saw the decimated Ishan city. They quickly got down to work in order to look for survivors. The raging fires that were still burning half of the city that were caused by the suicidal attack of the Anthos was first quelled.

“It seems that a very powerful tamer had attack Ishan city.” A middle-aged man in armor said with a pissed expression as he studied the crater that was caused by the explosion of the red colored orb and the area surrounding it. He was able to find energy traces of two mana beasts and a mage which made him deduce that Ishan city was attacked by a tamer. His name was Sean and he belonged to a noble family of the Konark Empire. His entire body was releasing powerful red colored aura which made the temperature of the surrounding increase by tens of degrees. It was clear that he was an aura master that cultivated fire elemental laws. The people around him were not at all affected by it which made it clear that they were more or less as strong as the aura master that was releasing red aura.

“That little kid Anthos had recently become an archmage so he held no chance from the start against such an enemy.” Another aura master lamented but he had better control over his emotions, unlike Sean. The death of Anthos was a very big loss to the Konark empire.

“Which kingdom could have launched such a deadly attack against normal people?” A middle woman who had a gentle and kind bearing couldn’t help but ask. Her name was Sabrina and she was one of the many wives of the current emperor of Konark Empire but she had a very high standing due to her extraordinary strength.

“Your highness, none that we can think of during the current times as all of our neighbors are busy with their own problems. It has to be one of the mages from some Independent mage and aura master school.” Someone suggested to which Sabrina couldn’t help but sigh.

Independent mage and aura master school was the term meant for mage and aura master schools that were not under the control of any power of Koislar. The sole moto of these schools was to spread the knowledge of magic and aura arts to general masses without any preconditions. The mages and aura masters that these schools produced were free to do as they wished with the knowledge that they gained from them. Independent mage schools are least bothered even if their students were to wipe out an entire country. So, Sabrina knew that there was no point in taking up the issue with any Independent mage and aura master schools. The Konark Empire didn’t have any Independent mage and aura master schools but the surrounding empires and kingdoms had quite a few of them. The Konark Empire made sure that not a single one existed within their borders.

Independent mage and aura master schools were something the royals and nobles detested and wished to get ridded of them but that was easier said than done as each possessed strength equivalent to that of an empire and in many case far stronger than them.

“Move all the survivors to Redwood city. I will first go and brief the Emperor about the situation here.” Sabrina said as she took off into the sky and headed straight towards the Empire capital, Starlight city. Her speed was extremely high due to which she disappeared into the horizon within a few minutes. Everyone nodded their heads as they got down to get her fulfill command.

Martha and James were currently digging through rubble of the book store. The book store had turned into a pile of rubble just like any other building. Martha had a horrified expression as she made the rubble levitate and moved them to the side with the help of her magic powers while James was using his sheer strength to pick up the rubble piece as he threw them to the side. Both of them had injuries but neither had any intention to slow down as they searched for Simon. It didn’t take long for them to find Simon. The basement of the shop was intact for which Martha was thankful as a lot of people had died due to the collapse of their basements. She was elated when they found him completely fine though he was unconscious and had some superficial injures. Martha had always treated Simon as her own child so her reaction could be understood. She once used to have a family but not anymore. Her family had been visiting a grade B city and went missing on the way. The authorities didn’t give her satisfying answer due to which she had no idea what had happened to them. She was heartbroken and in deep sorrow when Simon had approached her asking for work. She saw her only grandson in him due to which she gave him a generous salary of two gold coins in which she could have easily hired five people. She also only made him do light work and never made him work a lot.

Martha quickly took Simon into her arms and ran towards the refugee camp. James had bid her goodbye as he went to the excavation site to pick up his stuff as they had just received information that all the survivors would be moved to Redwood city.

A refugee camp was set up by the forces of the empire by clearing of rubble in a southern part of the Ishan city. The refugee camp had all the basic facilities like tents, a warm bedding for every survivor and so on. The Empire had sent a bunch of medics for treating the survivors and they were operating at the refugee camp.

Martha was first allocated a bed right after she arrived to the refugee camp and was told that a medic would come to her tent within a few minutes by a soldier who was an aura master. Martha followed the soldier’s instructions. She made Simon comfortable on one of the two bedding in the tent. After a few minutes a woman in white robes appeared at the entrance of her tent. She had a poker face which made it difficult for anyone to read her mind. Martha could tell that she was actually a powerful mage.

“Please madam, help this child.” Martha pleaded. The white robbed woman entered the tent and checked Simon’s condition.

“There is no need to worry. He just unconscious. He will wake up after a few hours of rest. I will give him a recovery pill that will allow him to recover quickly.” The white robbed woman said as she placed a pill in Simon’s mouth. The pill melted in his mouth and was quickly absorbed by his body. The injuries on Simon’s body quickly disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eyes which made a smile appear on Martha’s face.

“Thank you, madam, thanks a lot.” Martha thanked the woman in white robe in an excited manner. A smile appeared on the face of white robed woman seeing the actions of Martha.

“Your grandchild has a strong body so you shouldn’t worry about him so much.” The white robbed woman said. The smile was still there on her face. Martha nodded her head as regained her bearing. She didn’t correct the white robed as she was not far from reality. Simon had been working in her book store for the past two years after he was evicted from the orphanage where he grew up after he got into a tussle with its owner. She had made sure that he lived comfortably and no problem. She even helped him find a suitable place to live. She even took care of his meals. Simon also responded in any equally caring manner to the affection and generosity of the old woman. He tried to help her as much he could. He wanted to give her comfortable life but knew that he would be unable to do so if he didn’t become a mage or aura master. This was one of the main reasons why he practiced mana meditation every night for hours.

“You also take a recovery pill. Your injuries are far more serious than him.” The white robbed woman gave Martha a recovery pill then she exited the tent. Martha then covered Simon with a blanket and took the pill. Her injuries also healed quickly. She then sat in a meditative position and started practicing mage meditation in order to recover the magic power utilized by her in the past few hours.

Humans possess extremely weak bodies to directly use mana to attack or defend unlike mana beings so they have to transform it into another source of energy which is magic power in case mages and aura power in case of aura master.

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In order for mage apprentice to become a mage, he or she first has to create a core within his or her soul. This core is called magic core. Mage apprentice was the title given to the people that were in the process of creating their soul cores. The mage apprentice become a Rank 1 the moment he or she creates his or her magic core.

The process of creating magic core is quite tedious and long one. It takes a few years for a mage apprentice to create one. The first step of creating a magic core requires mage apprentice to slowly and steadily absorb mana from his or her surroundings and collect it within their souls. The speed at which they absorb mana from their surroundings is extremely slow during this stage. Once the required amount of mana accumulates then mage apprentices have to eat a herb called Creation herb which transforms the mana accumulated within their souls into magic cores. The creation herb was easily available herb and was quite cheap which made it impossible for any power of Koislar monopolize it.

The magic core generates magic power by transforming mana into magic power. It also acts like reservoir. Martha was absorbing the mana in her surroundings. The absorbed mana ends up in her magic core where it was transformed into magic power.

Trainee Aura masters, on the other hand, transform their hearts into aura hearts by rigorously training in an area with a lot of mana and regularly taking an herb called aura herb. Trainee Aura master was the title given to the people that were in the process of transforming their hearts into aura hearts.

Aura herb helped in slowly and steadily transforming the hearts of Trainee Aura masters into aura hearts. The moment a trainee aura master is successful in transforming its heart into aura heart, he or she become Rank 1 aura master. The aura heart generates aura power by converting the mana absorbed by the aura master from its surroundings. The aura heart also acted as a reservoir of aura power.

In the meantime, Simon soul and body were undergoing tremendous changes while within a dark endless space, he was face to face with the black leather-bound book. Simon’s figure looked ethereal in comparison to the black leather-bound book in this dark space if one were to compare them. The cold eyes of the book were scanning Simon while Simon was looking at it with a horrified expression. He was cursing himself for asking for that book from James at this moment.

“How long do you intend to continue to behave in this manner? I have no intention to hurt you. We will be partners from now onwards.” The black leather-bound book finally spoke as it looked at Simon with its piercing gaze eyes. Its voice was like that of a middle-aged man.

“What… are….. you?” Simon asked as he stammered. He finally manned himself.

“I am a grimoire. To be precise, a cursed grimoire and I was named Devourer by my creator.” The black leather-bound book said in a nonchalant manner as he introduced himself but his words shocked Simon but his fear of the black leather-bound book reduced drastically. He knew what grimoires were. Grimoires were books that were actually living magic artifacts whose only motive was to help its host in any possible manner it could though Simon had no idea what exactly was a cursed Grimoire and for some reason he could tell that it was not something good.

“I am ….” Simon decided to introduced himself but was cut off by Devourer.

“Bryan.” Devourer said with a mischievous look in his eyes which made Simon’s eyes go wide with shock.

“How do you know?” Simon asked in an uneasy manner as his deepest secret was known to Devourer.

“Since I am your grimoire now, I can read your memories including the ones from your past life.” Devourer said as if it was a matter of fact.

“When did I form a contract with you?” Simon asked in a cautious manner as this fact baffled him. He had no idea of him forming a contract with Devourer.

“When you had dropped your blood on me, it was equivalent of you initiating a contract between us.” Devourer explained.

“Then why did you agree to form a contract with me. I lack talent to become a mage or an aura master.” Simon asked in a gloomy manner. This fact baffled him as Grimoires only form contract with mages and not normal humans.

“Due to your soul being a little different from normal people. To be precise, it’s immunity towards Lightning attribute which your soul must have gained when you died by a lightning strike in your previous life. I can’t think of any other reason. As for your talent, you no longer have to worry about it since I am now your grimoire.” Devourer explained. Simon was elated hearing Devourer that he could finally become a mage but a question popped in his mind.

“What does my soul being immune to lightning attribute have anything to do with you agreeing to form a contract with me?” Simon asked with a confused expression.

“As I told you earlier that I am cursed grimoire which means that my host won’t be allowed to gain too much strength by the heavens. The heavens would try to obstruct its path every time it gains a considerable amount of strength and powers. The obstruction from the heavens is in the form of lightning tribulation. If it survives the lightning tribulation then it can continue accumulating strength until the next lightning tribulation which will far stronger than the previous one.” Devourer explained in calm manner as he knew that he would have to make a few things clear to Simon right from the beginning. The expression of Simon changed drastically as he finally understood the meaning behind the term ‘Cursed Grimoire’.

“You don’t have to worry about anything since you have a soul that has immune to lightning attribute. My previous host and I were able to find a way to increase the resistance of a human body towards lightning attribute to a very high degree due to which she was able to overcome three lightning tribulation but during the fourth lightning tribulation her soul was unable to withstand the might of lightning tribulation, unlike her body. Her soul was destroyed. If she had a soul like you then she could have easily become a celestial.” Devourer said in a solemn manner. Simon could tell that Devourer had a very deep relationship with its previous host. The words of Devourer also made Simon a little easy as he knew that he wouldn’t end up like Devourer’s previous host if he followed the instructions of Devourer to perfection. Simon had no idea what exactly was a celestial but he could tell that it was most likely a title given to a powerful mage.

“Where is this place?” Simon couldn’t help but ask.

“This is your mage world.” Devourer replied.

“What??” Simon looked at Devourer with disbelief. Mage world was a something that would come into existence within a mage’s soul the moment he or she creates his or her magic core. This was the place where they would make their spell structure. In order for a mage to use a particular spell, he or she would have to create the spell structure of it in his or her soul world first.

“Your body is currently undergoing numerous changes since I have become your grimoire. The creation of your magic core is just the start. You will come to know to about them once you wake up.” Devourer replied as if it is a matter of fact. Simon nodded his head.

“By the way, why are you a cursed grimoire?” Simon could help but ask.

“The manner in which my host could increase its strength is not accepted by the heavens.” Devourer replied but Simon was unable to understand what Devourer meant and the latter had no intention to do any more explaining.

“You should leave your mage world first. Your employer is quite worried about you. We can still talk to each other mentally even after you exit your mage world.” Devourer said as the figure of Simon ethereal disappeared from his mage world.

Simon slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the worried face of Martha which caused a sharp pain in his heart. Her expression of lit up when she saw Simon regain consciousness.

“Sorry grandma for making you worried.” Simon said in a sorrowful tone. He didn’t like to cause trouble for Martha.

“It’s not your fault. So, there is no need to apologize.” Martha said in a loving and caring manner as she patted Simon’s head.

“Everyone get ready to leave for Redwood city. Assemble in the area fifty meters to the north from the refugee camp once you are ready to leave. We will leave for Redwood city within an hour.” A thundering voice suddenly interrupted Simon and Martha’s conversation. The refugee camp which had graveyard like silence suddenly turned chaotic like a market place. All the surviving inhabitants of Ishan city immediately got into action and started to pack their stuff and tents that were allotted to them by the empire.

“We should also get going. Can you move around without trouble?” Martha asked in a concerned manner.

“I am ok grandma.” Simon said as he got of the bedding. Martha could tell that Simon was telling the truth from his body movement. A smile appeared on her face. She couldn’t help but thank Aracai.

Martha and Simon only had the beddings and the tent to pack as most of their personal belongings were more or less turned useless after the disaster struck Ishan city. They then went and joined the crowd that had assembled at a little distance from the site of the refugee camp. Simon had an excited expression as he felt tremendous amount of power within his body. He had a feeling that his heart had transformed into aura heart. He tried asking devourer about it but got no response. Simon decided to ask him once he settles down in his mage world. He could tell that Devourer was a little down due to the death of his former host.