All Chapters of 《The Arcanum Algorithm》 : Chapter 161
- Chapter 170
175 chapters
Chapter 161 : Shattered Ice and Rising Fury
A sharp, crystalline chime rang out, like the world itself strumming a hidden chord. A supersonic vibration raced through the air, invisible yet tangible, rippling across the battlefield with a force that seemed to warp reality. Behind the apprentice from District Fifteen, the low stone pillar—one that no apprentice could damage—quaked violently. Cracks spiderwebbed outward, inching across the surface with a relentless creep. Mirra, perched atop the Ice Phoenix, felt her heart skip; the delicate handkerchief embroidered with a lifelike parrot at her chest fluttered away. Crack, crack. The Ice Phoenix shrieked, a pained wail tearing through the blizzard as tiny fissures snaked across its massive form—from the tip of its beak down the neck, across the wings, and finally over the entire body. Its brilliant blue eyes dimmed as inertia carried its wounded frame downward. A spatial wave radiated from the parrot-emblazoned handkerchief, weakening t
Chapter 162 : Shattered Ice and Rising Shadows
Grimm slowly turned his gaze back, the eerie eyes behind his pale mask fixed on the icebound monolith that had cracked open a narrow fissure. “This sensation… could it be a seal?” he murmured to himself, suspicion curling in his chest. Logically, an apprentice sorcerer should not be able to wield a sealing spell. The energy balance required was far too precise. Yet, if combined with certain innate manifestation talents and a concentrated mentorship from a master sorcerer, perhaps there was a faint chance. Crack… snap… snap… While Grimm pondered, two more fissures tore across the giant ice formation, as if a lurking monster within were stirring awake. The fragile ice could no longer contain the terrifying creature within. “What a coincidence… the battle is unfolding right above the Hidden Rift I inhabit. Could it be… that I inadvertently broke the seal when I emerged? No wonder ev
Chapter 163 : Shattering the Sky
Yatz froze in place as if he had run headfirst into an invisible wall. This… can’t be real. Soranm, against all expectation, had forgotten to flap the twin wings on his back and plummeted violently to the ground. Even the dark mist that had lingered around him seemed to lose cohesion, dissipating outward as if released from an invisible leash. Yunli and the little white rat on his shoulder hovered motionless in midair, frozen as if in a paused frame of reality. Bibilyanna’s body slammed into a stone pillar, pain flaring sharply, confirming in her mind that this was no illusion. This was real. Yorkiana, still pressed against her stone support, had her mouth open in silent scream, unable to voice even a whisper. Mina, the Solar Child, stood rigidly in front of her sister, arms outstretched as if she had forgotten how to lower them, staring dumbly at the figure
Chapter 164 : Shattering Convergence
Grimm forced himself to remain completely still, every ounce of his focus trained on the unstable forces gathering in his hands. It was as though he were trying to merge two fundamentally repelling elements into a single coherent form. His body trembled—not from fear, but from the raw strain of casting the Undying Flame Sorcery for the first time in reality after years of simulation in his mind. A single miscalculation in the mental projection of the Inferno Convergence could have ended him outright. Gradually, as the repelling elements coalesced, a small, stable orb of deep crimson energy formed between his palms. Relief surged through Grimm. The fusion had held—at least for the moment. No catastrophic misfire had occurred, and even the minor instabilities that remained were within his capacity to control. He allowed himself a confident smile, pressing his hands together with deliberate force as the crimson sphere expanded rapidly, soon reaching the size of an
Chapter 165 : Hand That Shadows the Sky
A violent roar tore through the air above Hillwood, reverberating from a jagged black rift that had appeared overhead. A guttural, primal bellow. Two massive, sinewy arms pressed against either side of the shadowed tear. Slowly, a colossal serpent with red-spotted teal scales and a skull-like crown of pure white crystal emerged from the inky void. Its eyes were cold, piercing, and they swept across every living being present. For a moment, everyone assumed it was just a strange, four-limbed serpent—but then, from the other side of the rift, a massive rhinoceros head with golden, pointed horns crept into view, reaching into the Sacred Trial Secret Realm. The four eyes of the rhino head and the serpent head briefly met Grimm’s gaze before both sets of eyes fixed on the black rift above him. Under his pale mask, Grimm’s confident expression froze. Two creatures? How could that be po
Chapter 166 : Dominion Across the Five Realms
The crimson-crowned, one-eyed creature of BlackstoneSpire vanished into the Secret Realm with Hillwood’s death, carried away by a towering pillar of pure Arcane Energy that shot from the sky. In that fleeting instant, Grimm felt the surge within him as the mark upon his brow erupted with a torrent of points, flooding his consciousness. Four thousand seventy-seven digits flashed before him. “So much?” Grimm’s mind trembled at the sheer number. His thoughts raced. The way points accumulated during the Tower Qualification meant that the strongest apprentices would naturally gather them faster over time. Hillwood had amassed four thousand seventy-five points in only two days. That meant, if Grimm’s understanding was correct, such accumulation in the span of a single day was extraordinary—bordering on inconceivable. And yet, a theory solidified within him: should a wizard apprentice die during the Tower Qualification, all the
Chapter 167 : The Primal Curse Awakens
Moments later, a hulking figure emerged from beneath voluminous robes. Its skin was marred with grotesque nodules, eyes murky and unsettling. It fixed its gaze upon Grimm in the air, a hoarse voice trembling with surprise: “It’s… you? Where is Mirra?” Me? Grimm’s brow furrowed beneath his pale mask. Balanced on a stone pillar felled by creatures summoned through the Saintmark of Friendship Key, one hand clutching a high-grade magical stone, the other bracing the Hydra Greatsword, he regarded the figure with curiosity. “You… know me?” A crystalline orb shot from the apprentice’s hand, bursting into a colossal luminous screen before Grimm. Within it, a stunning female sorcerer sat upon a chair formed by a coiled crimson serpent. Her raven-black hair cascaded down her shoulders. With a flick of her hand, an image of Grimm appeared. The witch’s voice was cold, pointed, and unwavering. “In the Tower Qualification, remove this
Chapter 168 : The Crimson Mark of Strategy
A day had passed. The sky blazed with a sinking crimson sun. A young sorcerer apprentice, panic etched across his features, crushed the badge in his hand with a despairing scream. As the firelight gradually receded, Grimm remained perched beneath his pale mask, feeling the surge of points from the badge imprint on his forehead. Yet there was no glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. Instead, a bloodshot fury burned within them, exhaustion mingling with a faint, terrifying malice. The Crying Branch had lost its effect, and at last Grimm understood the nature of the curse he now endured. Every time he closed his eyes, an invisible presence assaulted him—phantoms of attacks from behind, or hallucinations of Lafey, Binson, and others desperately calling for help. Yet the moment he opened his eyes, everything returned to normal, leaving no trace of the earlier disturbances. Perhaps Grim
Chapter 169 : Crimson Reckoning in the Stone Spires
One hourglass turn later, the ground beneath them was nothing but dark, damp soil, lifeless and foreboding. Two figures tore across the sky, racing toward the endless expanse of stone pillars rising from the forest floor like jagged teeth. With a soft thud, Pale-Masked Grimm landed firmly atop a modest pillar at the forest’s edge. It stood only seven or eight meters tall, a stout two meters in diameter, yet high enough to survey the strange, spire-studded landscape. The air carried a heady scent of femininity—not the artificial perfume of Venus, but the raw, intoxicating essence exuded naturally by Kretia as she followed silently behind him. Grimm’s bloodshot eyes had begun to clear, leaving behind a calculating, composed gaze beneath his pale mask. “We’re seven hundred Badge Imprints shy of completing your contract,” he said coolly. “Scan this unfamiliar region for sorcerer trainees’ imprint waves. Identify which district this is and locate
Chapter 170 : Dominion Over Thirteen
Whistling through the blackened earth, two figures streaked toward yet another unfamiliar spire forest. They landed upon a stone platform at the forest’s periphery, the ground beneath them damp and lifeless. Kretia closed her eyes, tuning her senses to the ambient magic. Moments later, she opened them and turned to Grimm. “No trainees here possess over three hundred Badge Imprints. We’ll need to push deeper into the forest to find them.” Grimm’s eyes, sharp beneath the Blood-Eyed Pale Mask, flickered with agreement. “Understood.” With a nod, he led Kretia toward the forest’s heart. A massive battle axe now rested across his back—a top-tier Arcane Artifact suitable for a sorcerer apprentice. Though not perfectly wielded, Grimm made do, the instrument a silent testament to his adaptability. Scanning the sparse movement of sorcerers in the distance, Grimm’s brow furrowed. “We’ve flown this far and still no high-imprint trai