Chapter 77: Stein's Past (Part Two)

When Andy heard the news about the "Castellon Secret Realm," he couldn't help but recall the "Castellon Medal" that Stein had once given him. Now that he heard this secret realm could help one survive the Soul Mirage, he finally understood Stein's intentions in giving him that medal. This also explained why Viscount Collin and his son had been willing to slaughter the entire Phillips Manor just to obtain the medallion. The only thing Andy still couldn't figure out was how the father and son had come to know about the medallion's true purpose.

After some thought, Andy concluded that Viscount Collin had most likely consulted the Magic Mirror to learn of its use. Andy realized he himself had yet to fully discover all the Magic Mirror's functions—mainly because it was such a voracious consumer of magic stones.

He resolved that, once he had built a solid foundation in sorcery under Master Martin's tutelage, he would begin looking for ways to earn money. As for how to go about it, considering the Magic Mirror's abilities, he already had the beginnings of a plan forming in his mind.

As these thoughts flitted through Andy's mind, Master Martin began to recount what had happened next.

After Stein advanced to become a Bronze Sorcerer, both Martin and Brandon had been thrilled for him—they had even planned to celebrate together once he returned to the capital. But before they could do so, word came that Stein had met with disaster.

It turned out that among the students who entered the Castellon Secret Realm with Stein, there was one named Peter Clark. Stein’s ex-girlfriend, Flora Oriana, was at that time the lover of Peter’s father, Professor Healy Clark.

Grimm Academy had sent three teams into the "Castellon Secret Realm," but less than a third survived and successfully advanced to Bronze Sorcerer. By the time they returned, only one group remained.

It was then that Stein encountered Peter Clark. Peter, born to the illustrious Clark family, was proud and arrogant—even more so because he resented his father for taking a lover. Upon recognizing Stein on the journey back, Peter began to vent his anger on him, subjecting him to harsh ridicule and cruel mockery.

Still nursing his heartbreak, Stein could not bear the provocation, and his old hatred for Healy Clark, who had stolen his beloved, burned hotter than ever—now directed at both father and son.

Their animosity escalated until it came to a duel of sorcery. In the presence of the accompanying tutor and other newly minted Bronze Sorcerers, the two faced off. Though Stein’s mastery of sorcery far surpassed Peter’s, Peter’s superior family background meant he was armed with the finest runic equipment and had a seemingly endless supply of scrolls and magical treasures. He soon gained the upper hand in the duel.

Even after Stein admitted defeat, Peter struck mercilessly. Had the accompanying tutor not intervened, Stein would likely have died on the spot.

For Peter’s actions, the tutor merely dismissed him with a casual warning to "be more careful next time," and washed his hands of the matter. As for Stein, once the tutor had ensured he wouldn’t die immediately, he considered his responsibilities fulfilled and paid him no further heed.

Fortunately, Stein was quite skilled in alchemy and carried with him several rare healing potions. With these, he managed to save himself, but the injuries he suffered left him with permanent damage, making it almost impossible for him ever to become a Silver Sorcerer.

Upon returning to the capital, Stein sought every possible remedy with the help of Brandon and Martin, but to no avail. Gradually, he lost hope. He applied for graduation, left Grimm Academy, and returned to his hometown, Dallas.

Even after that, the three friends never gave up searching for a cure for Stein’s wounds, but their efforts were fruitless. Then, some years later, Stein’s messenger suddenly brought word to Brandon that he had found a possible solution, but he needed Brandon’s help.

At the time, Brandon was in the middle of a crucial experiment, yet upon receiving the message, he packed his things and prepared to leave, entrusting the final steps of his experiment to Martin. Since Martin had a profound grasp of fundamental sorcery, he was able to manage the work on the magical array to some extent.

Unfortunately, Martin was not as adept as Brandon in this field, and the experiment ultimately failed. Though regretful, Martin soon had no time for disappointment, for he received news of Brandon’s death.

According to Stein, Brandon had died helping him explore some ruins: in attempting to disarm a magical array, he failed and was consumed by a backlash, leaving not even a trace of his remains.

Reading Stein’s letter, Martin was devastated, but something else gnawed at him—a vague sense of unease, one he knew well. Whenever he took the wrong approach to a sorcery problem, this same frustration would arise. This was not some innate talent, but a reflex honed by a decade of solving magical puzzles.

Sensing something amiss, Martin took a leave of absence and quietly traveled to Dallas. He visited the ruins named in Stein’s letter, where Brandon had supposedly died, and there he indeed found evidence that something was off. The site was clearly an abandoned ruin, with only a few simple, leftover magical traps—nothing that could have stymied Brandon.

The art of tracking and deciphering traces was mentioned in hundreds of volumes in the Victoria’s Dream Library, all of which Martin had read. In the ruins, he found traces of two people. They had not entered together: the first had come, set something up, then clumsily tried to hide the evidence before leaving; afterward, a second person had arrived. Among the traces left by the latter, Martin sensed the presence of his old friend.

From the clues, Martin deduced that these people had been there for over two years. He found no evidence that Brandon had ever entered, nor any sign of a large-scale magical trap being triggered.

Reluctantly, Martin had to conclude that Stein had lied.

As his investigation progressed, a terrible suspicion began to take root in Martin’s mind. A week later, he was on the verge of obtaining conclusive proof and uncovering the truth behind Brandon’s death.

Martin fell silent.

Suddenly, he destroyed all the evidence and returned to the capital without a word, severing all ties with Stein forever.

After that, Martin became much more withdrawn, burying himself in study and research. Now and then, he would recall the days they had spent together—drinking, chatting, boasting, and sharing their dreams.

Stein had hoped one day to surpass the Golden Sorcerers and sweep across the world with beauty by his side. Brandon had dreamed that his mastery of magical arrays would allow him to stand against armies alone, or even to open a path to other planes and study more profound, mysterious magical arrays in those legendary realms. Martin had said he wanted to commit the entire Victoria’s Dream Library to memory.

In truth, he was now close to achieving that goal. As his studies progressed, he found that many disciplines, seemingly unrelated, were in fact deeply connected—bound by underlying principles and laws. The more he learned, the smoother his progress became, and the faster he advanced.

After the heartbreak, Martin’s solid foundation in sorcery sparked an explosion of learning and research. Though he still remained at the Bronze Sorcerer stage, he knew he could reach Silver at any time, and the path to Gold had already become clear in his mind.

Later, Healy Clark became the vice principal of Grimm Academy, and Peter Clark, with the support of his family and father, gained considerable influence at the academy as well.

Narrow-minded, Peter Clark, now full of his own importance, began to push Martin out of favor. After all, Martin and Stein had once been known as two of the "Three Stars of Grimm," and everyone knew the close bond the three had shared. Many other faculty members, eager to curry favor with Healy Clark, contributed to Martin’s marginalization.

Martin’s standing at the academy continued to decline until he was reduced to teaching free classes to a bunch of children in the outer college. But none of this mattered to him anymore; he was at a critical juncture in his research.

He was creating a new meditation technique—a synthesis of all his accumulated knowledge, designed to allow cultivation beyond the Golden Sorcerer level. He had spent years on this endeavor, since not a single volume in the Victoria’s Dream Library—even in all of recorded history—contained information about what lay beyond the Golden Sorcerer realm.

But Martin firmly believed that such a stage existed, and that it was merely the starting point of even greater heights.

Whenever he encountered problems, Martin had sought advice from other teachers or professors at the academy—even, on one occasion, from the president, Rosman, bearing gifts. He even consulted Professor Healy Clark, whom he disliked. But the results were disappointing: most spoke in empty platitudes, never getting to the heart of the matter. Even President Rosman was all power and little substance. Healy Clark himself had some skill, but was far from being able to guide Martin.

Having exhausted the knowledge of the Victoria’s Dream Library, Martin began to think of leaving Grimm Academy to seek new knowledge. He was no longer the youth who dreamed of reading the whole library; now, he sought a sanctuary of learning, where he could study in peace and, armed with endless knowledge, create a world-shaking meditation technique to reach the ultimate end of the sorcerer’s path.

He already had an idea of where to go next. From an ancient tome, he learned that in the Astral Plane lay countless worlds, among which was one called the Academy Plane—a realm composed entirely of sorcery academies, each many times the size of Grimm Academy.

That was the holy land of magical knowledge, where geniuses from myriad planes gathered to study and research.

Once he learned of the Academy Plane, Martin began to inquire about ways to reach it. Just two days ago, through the Midnight Circus, he managed to obtain passage on an astral ship.

He needed to travel to the Victoria Archipelago, west of the Dolan Continent, to board a ship named the "Zeriphis." The vessel was said to remain there for a year, and now less than six months remained before it set sail.

Martin was ready to depart. Perhaps it was fate that, just as he was preparing to leave, he ran into the disciple of an old friend, and also learned of Stein’s death, with whom he had long since lost contact. So, Martin decided to drop his guard and let himself be thoroughly drunk for once.

Whatever rights or wrongs lay in the past, now that his friends were gone, Martin no longer wished to pursue the matter. He only wished to drink himself into oblivion, and to bid farewell to his former life.

And so, Andy happened to become the witness to Martin’s farewell.