Chapter 359:

Growth is a broad and profound concept—sometimes slow, sometimes swift. It is tied to time, like a small boat on an endless river, spinning gently as it passes through recurring turbulent whirlpools. Initially, one might feel flustered, drenched by the surging currents of time. But once emotions settle, those whirlpools become familiar, even manageable. At that point, growth has quietly taken place, so subtly that even the individual may not realize their own development.

“Sylvia, is there anything else you need to address? This departure is a final farewell; there will be no chance to return here.”

“No, Master Sorcerer.”

As they left the hill and returned to the Tower of Salvation, Sylvia shook her head gently. She had visited the manor, mourned her parents, and etched the scenery of the Crowfield territory into her heart. There was nothing more to attend to. However, at that moment, the Master Sorcerer said something unexpected.

“But I recall you have another friend.”

“Eh…?”

Friend? Sylvia was taken aback. The wind lifted her light platinum hair, revealing emerald eyes that first showed surprise and confusion, then widened in disbelief.

“Y-you still remember?!”

Suddenly, Sylvia felt that having her body restored wasn’t entirely a blessing. She covered her cheeks with both hands, attempting to hide the deep blush of embarrassment.

Ahhh…

Sylvia Crowfield felt mortified.

Socially mortified.

The scene was almost comical, dispelling any lingering melancholy or regret. Such profound sadness didn’t suit the brave warrior.

“Let’s go, Sylvia.” The Master Sorcerer led the bashful Sylvia away. Midway, he glanced back at the two tombstones atop the hill. The inscriptions were heavily worn, blurred, and indistinct. As Sylvia departed, fragments crumbled from the edges, as if weathered away in an instant, turning to fine powder carried by the wind to unknown destinations.

[You accompanied Sylvia to her hometown for a final farewell.]

[Countless days and nights…]

[Important memories that the brave warrior cherished.]

[Departed family, childhood recollections, familiar lands… With your company, Sylvia bid them all goodbye, leaving the past behind to embrace the future.]

[She is so strong.]

[Even without your comfort, she could silently endure everything.]

[But you chose to speak, easing the silent sorrow.]

[Upon returning to the Tower of Salvation…]

[Feeling the urgency of time, you accelerated your hunt for the undead.]

[Everyone could see your eagerness.]

[You cast the Fourth Ring Sorcery: Thunderfire Storm.]

[You cast the Fourth Ring Sorcery: Earth Swamp Envelopment.]

[You cast the Fourth Ring Sorcery: Comet Summoning.]

[Your power is unrivaled.]

[In the current Sorcerer World, you are undoubtedly the strongest. With the assistance of the Tower of Salvation and Sylvia, the number of soul fires you’ve collected is astonishing.]

[They form the foundation of your progress.]

[Nourishing your soul at every moment.]

[Fate’s favor shines upon you once more; you’ve successfully glimpsed the path to advancing as a Fifth Ring Sorcerer.]

Facing death is not an insurmountable ordeal. The waiting process is often more tormenting than death itself. To ensure Sylvia’s safe departure and the safety of those in the tower, the Master Sorcerer became an unceasing machine, striving to increase even the slightest chance of escape. The pressure was suffocating, gripping the throat of fate. Fortunately, in the fifty-second year of the simulation, at age 69, his strength reached new heights. This good news somewhat alleviated the pressing sense of crisis.

“The advancement to a Fifth Ring Sorcerer requires consolidating one’s own path of sorcery.”

“All knowledge.”

“All experiences.”

“Detaching from the original world’s constraints to create one’s own worldview.”

“Simply put, it’s about forging one’s own path.”

“This concept exists, to varying degrees, across major extraordinary systems, though not as directly addressing the esoteric fundamentals as in the sorcerer system.”

At the top level of the Tower of Salvation, in the Master Sorcerer’s private training chamber, he flicked his robe. Gentle, silent soul power ignited the void, blossoming into gray, dim misty flowers. Then, the flowers dissipated into blue smoke, reforming into other entities. These represented the various sorcerer domains he had mastered over the years: potions, magical instruments, elements, transformation, curses, bloodlines, summoning…

At a glance, the tides of the soul surged, creating layers of phenomena. His task was to select the domain that resonated most with him as the foundation for his Fifth Ring sorcery worldview.

“Indeed, none of these truly align with my intentions.” Holding his staff, he shook his head, dispersing all the soul projections. In the magical world, he had achieved near-omniscience as an elemental sorcerer, a feat even deities found hard to match. But in this simulation, lacking the “Elemental Mastery” trait, choosing the elemental path wouldn’t yield remarkable achievements.

“In fact, my Fifth Ring path was determined at the start of this simulation.”

“The intersection of life and death, along with the Soul Collector.”

“Combining the three major domains of life, death, and soul.”

The soul tides surged again. The murmuring waves embodied his knowledge and understanding of the world. These intangible concepts took form around him, constantly shifting—sometimes illustrating the profound cycle of life and death, other times revealing the enigmatic nature of the soul. Each surge and clash birthed new waves, solidifying into a path beneath his feet.

“In a way, I should be grateful for the death of the Sorcerer World…”

“For someone like me, who embodies the intersection of life and death, confronting the world’s demise is a shortcut to rapid accumulation and transformation.”

“My life has been a tightrope walk…”

“Advancement to the Fifth Ring, achieved in an instant!”

Condensing, compressing, expanding. Extending into the infinite depths of the soul. His path of sorcery was born, carrying his truths and knowledge, existing independently from the world.

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

An indescribable pressure shattered objects within the training chamber. The space itself fractured like a broken mirror, cracking into numerous fine lines.

“Indeed, compared to the Fourth Ring stage, a Fifth Ring Sorcerer has a significantly greater influence over space.”

“This advancement greatly enhances the success rate of our plan to leave the Sorcerer World.”

With a gentle press of his palm, the Master Sorcerer restored the restless space to its original state—calm and silent. After the successful advancement, the training chamber returned to its usual tranquility. He opened the door, not intending to rest, aiming to continue enhancing the Tower of Salvation’s capabilities within the limited time.

“Master Sorcerer?”

The half-open door seemed to bump into something.

In the deep darkness, a figure sitting at the threshold quickly stood up.

The night was heavy—dim and silent—like a vast curtain draped over the world, drowning everything in gloom.

Only when the figure stood did the Master Sorcerer see her.

Joy.

Relief.

When she saw him emerge, Sylvia’s face lit up with an expression that was easy to read.

“Sylvia, why are you here?” the Master Sorcerer reached out to steady her and asked in confusion.

For this breakthrough, he hadn’t asked the girl to keep watch.

Instead, he had used the Flesh Regeneration spell to give her a break, hoping she could enjoy some final peace and quiet before leaving the world.

But Sylvia didn’t seem to think the same.

Her sun-like platinum hair was hidden in the overwhelming darkness.

Only her emerald eyes, illuminated by the light at the door, shone clearly.

“Master Sorcerer, I was protecting your safety,” Sylvia replied.

She hadn’t taken off her armor or changed into a dress to rest elsewhere in the tower.

Instead, she wore her armor and carried her sword in her living form, sitting at the door of the training chamber to guard against any possible disturbance.

“…I thought I told you to do something you truly wanted to,” the Master Sorcerer said, walking toward the Tower Core.

Sylvia followed beside him, never leaving his side.

She was quiet.

Even her steps carried a silent grace.

And she was focused, her eyes constantly scanning the surroundings, always ready to draw her sword and protect him.

“Master Sorcerer, I did follow your orders,” she said softly.

“To me, protecting your safety is the most important thing.”

“Because…”

“I am your knight.”

Her gentle voice echoed through the quiet corridor.

The Master Sorcerer had heard that answer once before.

That was eighteen years ago, when he had first mastered Flesh Regeneration.

Back then, he had wanted the restored Sylvia to do something more meaningful.

But she had spent that precious hour at his side.

Just like now.

It had never changed.

He stopped and looked toward the simulated moonlight on the right side of the corridor.

The light was faint but pure, casting a half-lit, half-dark contrast along the corridor due to the angled illumination.

He walked on the shadowed side.

Sylvia walked in the light.

Her flowing golden hair seemed to be bathed in moonlight, radiant and pale.

“Sylvia,” he said quietly, “you know, besides protecting me, there are so many other things you could do.”

“But I’m your knight alone.”

A knight’s kindness can be shared with many.

But a knight’s loyalty belongs to only one.

That was a privilege.

A privilege that belonged solely to the Master Sorcerer.

In a silent and lonely world, he was the only one who ever extended a hand to her, the only one who spoke to her, the only one who brought warmth to her pale, skeletal form.

Sylvia didn’t know how to express what she felt.

She only knew—

She wanted to help him.

She wanted to protect him.

She wanted to share more time with him.

“Master Sorcerer, I…”

Under the moonlight, her expression was slightly uneasy.

“Am I… troubling you?”

He was, indeed, a little troubled.

He had hoped she would have a brighter and more independent future.

But when he looked at that worried face,

he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“No,” he said instead.

“Having a knight as beautiful as you protecting me—I feel very lucky.”

“B-beautiful?!”

The night swallowed almost all color—

but it couldn’t hide the flush of red on the girl’s cheeks.

Watching Sylvia panic and fluster, the Master Sorcerer fell into thought.

Was this brave warrior… too innocent?

From now on, he’d need to be careful with his words around her.

No—

There would be no “from now on.”

He summoned the simulation panel and stared at the glowing “Soul Collector” trait, slipping into plans that only he knew.

[You have successfully advanced to a Fifth Ring Sorcerer.]

[You’ve gathered your past, formed your path, and built a unique worldview.]

[Even in the Sorcerer World a thousand years ago, you would have been a Grand Sorcerer recorded in magical books—your name written into the annals of sorcerer civilization across ages.]

[But in this age of near-destruction, only the people within the Tower of Salvation know this good news.]

[You set the time for the interdimensional departure.]

[And informed everyone in the tower.]

[This is a grand escape, a desperate struggle for life.]

[They are afraid, but also grateful. Without you, they wouldn’t even have a chance to save themselves.]

[You stood atop the tower, gazing at its ever-growing structure, built over decades.]

[Looking at the mutated death mushrooms and the modified Sha Se fruits you cultivated, you realized how quickly time had flown.]

[Once, you awoke in a mass grave, devoted to studying death.]

[And now, you are the one they call the Savior—the one leading them toward a future.]

[You smiled.]

[You felt that title, “that esteemed one,” sounded a little strange.]

“You should rest,” Sylvia said.

One week before interdimensional travel.

She brought him a cup of hot tea and looked at him with concern.

To ensure a smooth crossing,

the Master Sorcerer had been inspecting the Tower every day—

a task vast beyond imagination,

even for a Fifth Ring Sorcerer.

“I’m fine, Sylvia. I’m in good shape,” he said with a gentle smile.

But the weariness in his eyes couldn’t be hidden.

[The appointed day arrived. You are ready to leave the Sorcerer World.]

The Sorcerer World remained silent and lifeless.

The Black Sun and Blood Moon.

The undead and wandering souls.

Aside from drawing ever closer to the Endless Netherworld, nothing had changed.

But the Master Sorcerer knew this peace was false.

If they waited for real change, it would be too late.

“Sylvia, is everyone ready?”

“Yes!”

With that final confirmation, the Master Sorcerer no longer hesitated.

He fully activated the Tower of Salvation.

Soulfire reactor: activated.

Levitation spells: activated.

Propulsion systems: activated.

Interdimensional anchor: activated.

Arcane combat platform: activated.

Centered around the Fifth Ring Sorcerer himself, immense soul power surged into the void, stirring space with undulating ripples.

Crack—

Crack—

An unbelievable scene unfolded.

The towering floating Tower of Salvation, massive like a mountain, glowed with radiant blue soulfire.

The energy was so intense it scorched the spatial fabric, ripping open barrier after barrier.

“That esteemed one is making their move!”

“That esteemed one truly is the greatest divine being!”

Inside the tower, people watched the miraculous sight in awe and reverence.

The Tower of Salvation had begun to break away from the Sorcerer World.