The wizard's journey

Chapter 11: Shipwreck

The stormy night was pitch-black, with the roaring sound of the surging waves.

His eyes were constantly emitting astonishing hatred due to the vicissitudes of fate. This hatred had even become a chilling cold that could affect others; anyone who got slightly closer would feel a bone-chilling coldness.

Therefore, he had to disguise himself at all times, and only the darkness of night allowed him to shed that layer of pretense.

Gilrom sat at the very top of the mast, letting the violent sea breeze blow wildly against him, yet he remained unmoved, perhaps his heart was already more fierce and colder than this storm...

Compared to Grim, an orphan from the secluded Biser City on an island, Gilrom had a far more twisted and bizarre fate.

Fifteen years ago, on a peaceful night in a common village on the wizard continent, a terrifying dark wizard descended upon the village, wantonly slaughtering all who dared resist his will.

The true purpose of this dark wizard was to collect his experimental materials... living humans.

No one could understand the psychological activities of a dark wizard. They had strayed on the path of pursuing wizarding knowledge, willing to do anything for greater power.

Little did they know, the most original purpose of wizards and witchcraft was to protect humans from the predation and enslavement by powerful beings from other worlds!

In the dark prison, Gilrom spent more than ten years in darkness, from initially witnessing his relatives being taken away by the dark wizard with irresistible force for cruel human experiments, to later, batch after batch of new "experimental materials" being locked up.

Gilrom witnessed too many deaths, some of which were overly brutal and bizarre.

Until one day, his fate took a turn!

Except for himself, no one knew why he could miraculously survive time after time on the experimental table with only a one in ten thousand chance of survival, even the dark wizard himself could hardly believe this miracle, but Gilrom did indeed make it happen.

And after facing the fear of death over and over again, his eyes gradually calmed down, becoming as cold as the black ice under the Howling Abyss.

It was not until a few years ago, when a demon-hunting wizard from the Black Chain Tower Wizard Academy killed the evil dark wizard and rescued all the civilians locked in the cage, that Gilrom truly regained his freedom after more than ten years.

For this, Gilrom considered the Black Chain Tower Wizard Academy his home.

Meanwhile, with the concerted efforts of many wizards at the Black Chain Tower Wizard Academy, the reason why Gilrom could survive time and again on the experimental table was found out, and to the amazement of many wizards, they knew that the Black Chain Tower Wizard Academy had welcomed a true genius, a genius who had several great opportunities to win in the Sancta Qualification Battle.

Soon, the Black Chain Tower received intelligence that two rare innate talents had appeared in the distant Eastern Coral Islands, which, however, belonged to another wizard academy, Lilith Cottage.

Driven by certain ambitions, the Black Chain Tower Wizard Academy, adhering to the principles of competition, survival of the fittest, and natural selection, launched a meticulously detailed mission...

In the darkness of the night, an owl quietly landed on Gilrom's shoulder, and Gilrom, seemingly prepared, showed no surprise at all, his black eyes looking towards the owl.

"Traveling at your speed, you will arrive at the target sea area around seven o'clock tomorrow morning. Then, sprinkling that thing in the cabin will complete the mission." the owl said in human language.

Gilrom responded in a deep voice, "Understood."

As a gust of violent sea wind came, the owl flew away unsteadily, and Gilrom remained sitting calmly, his cold eyes gazing into the endless darkness afar.

...

These days, Grim's life seemed to revolve around only two themes: studying magic books and the fresh fish mushroom soup.

Inside the cabin, it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night outside, with only the continuously burning candles maintaining what seemed like eternal light.

Rubbing his eyes, which had begun to show some bloodshot, Grim closed the "Hunting Nose Transformation and Scent Atlas" he had been reading for who knows how long.

Stretching lazily, Grim muttered. "Binhamson hasn't been here for a long time. Ah, let's go out for a walk."

Perhaps because he hadn't moved in too long, Grim's bones made a "creak and c***k" sound after he secured the magic stone and the magic book close to him and left the cabin.

"Is it morning already?"

Grim muttered in surprise, having thought it was still deep in the night.

Boom!

Suddenly, a deafening sound came, and Grim, who was about to head to the deck from the fifth-floor cabin, stumbled and fell, feeling as if the vast ship was flipping over, swaying violently.

Grim's first thought was that they had hit a reef!

Before he could gather his senses, the cabin was filled with panic and chaos.

"What's happening, did we hit a reef?"

"Help! The sea monster..."

Many wizard apprentices panicked and left their cabins, wanting to get to the deck to understand the situation. However, at that moment, a giant creature about two and a half meters tall entered the deck exit.

This giant creature had a human upper body and a serpentine lower body, covered in green scales, holding a shiny metal trident, greedily looking at the stunned wizard apprentices.

Everyone gasped, knowing without a doubt that this monster was not something they could deal with!

"What's going on? What's happening..."

Next to the deck exit, a door opened, and a confused wizard apprentice peeked out, wanting to understand the situation outside, only to see the giant monster at the door.

"Oh my... Am I dreaming?"

This wizard apprentice only had time to swear before the sea monster's large metal trident impaled him, bringing out some intestines, and a thick smell of blood immediately filled the cabin.

"Run! It's a sea monster! The sea monster is killing people!"

The fifth floor of the cabin instantly erupted into chaos, with the wizard apprentices frantically fleeing and pushing each other, the death of that apprentice indeed shocking many.

The apprentices on the fourth floor were in a state of confusion, wanting to go up and see what was happening, resulting in total chaos in the cabin.

"Grim, over here!"

Yorkris called out to Grim, with Yorklianna standing by his side. Grim felt a surge of happiness and hurried over.

"Wait!"

For some reason, Lafi from the next room also ran over, seemingly feeling unsafe alone in the room and thinking there was safety in numbers.

In the meantime, two other panicked wizard apprentices also temporarily hid in Yorkris's room, with everyone pressing hard against the wooden door.

Everyone was terrified, Grim could clearly hear the wails and screams from the corridor, as if the monsters were not just one, slaughtering those who couldn't escape.

Yorkris moved tables, wooden beds, and everything that could block the door to the entrance, and the room instantly quieted down, leaving only the sound of heavy breathing and rapid heartbeats.

It was unclear how many wizard apprentices had been killed in the cabin, but judging from the screams, it was no less than twenty.

Meanwhile, the sounds of human combat and the sea monsters' distinctive raspy roars came gradually, bringing joy to everyone in the room, guessing that the strong sailors had come to rescue.

For the first time, everyone felt that those dirty, rude sailors were so likable.

Even though the sailors had come to the rescue, the cabin still echoed with the screams of many wizard

Suddenly, after a door-breaking sound from the neighboring cabin, desperate screams and cries of despair erupted. Everyone felt a cold chill in their hearts, knowing all too well that it must have been the horrific sea monsters breaking in and initiating a bloody m******e.

In Yorkris's cabin, no one dared to make a sound, with despair in their eyes.

"It's okay, we still have hope. If Dilah the wizard takes action, he can definitely kill these sea monsters!" a male wizard apprentice who had fled to Yorkris's room whispered.

Everyone's eyes lit up, indeed!

Everyone still held confidence in the mysterious and powerful wizards.

Boom!

Suddenly, the ship shook again, and the severe shaking caused everyone in Yorkris's room to turn pale. Following a crisp sound of wooden structures breaking behind them, a fierce storm of wooden splinters hit, like a vicious sandstorm.

Everyone curled up instantly and closed their eyes. Moments later, bright sunlight streamed into the room from behind.

Shocked, they turned around to see a scene that seemed to belong only in nightmares.

The ship's hull, thick about twenty to thirty centimeters, had been torn open by a large hole about seven to eight meters wide, with Yorkris's cabin right at the center of this gaping breach.

On this hole, a "sea serpent"-like dark creature was slowly climbing up, its diameter easily over two meters, hinting at the monstrous size of this "sea serpent."

"Ahh..."

A female wizard apprentice screamed heartbreakingly. Looking down, she was one of the two strangers who had sought refuge in Yorkris's room. A wooden stake had pierced through her abdomen, even protruding halfway out, with blood pooling around her.

The female apprentice looked at everyone with a desperate expression, but all returned helpless gazes.

Grim felt something wrong at his feet; looking down, he saw his leg soaked in blood, a wooden board had cut his foot during the splinter storm.

Though not a severe injury, it hampered Grim's mobility.

"No!"

Yorkris, in utter despair, covered Yorklianna's eyes, his expression wild.

A branch not only had slashed across most of Yorklianna's cheek but also pierced her eye. While not fatal, such a wound was cruel for a girl.

Lafi also inhaled sharply, her face pale, as her left shoulder was soaked in blood, somewhat mangled.

Almost instantly, only Yorkris and the male wizard apprentice remained relatively unscathed in the cabin.

However, sensing the commotion inside, a metal trident "boom" pierced through the door, with blood-streaked crimson eyes peering through the gap at everyone.

All faces showed utter despair...