Hell Realm - Saige and the Magic War

Author: (Japanese) Itō Hirokazu / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: On a sunny summer day, Saige went to his grandfather's house in Qian'an South, planning to spend the summer vacation there. His grandfather's house was located on the vast grasslands in the northern part of Qian'an South. It was an endless, expansive grassland. There stood a stone building converted from an old temple on a small hill, its tea-brown roof tiles and round turret visible from afar. It was about a thousand kilometers away from the city where Saige currently lived, and both were within the territory of the Diansen Republic. Saige's grandfather was once an outstanding magician known as the "Great Sage Luanti." Opening the history textbook, the teacher had praised his grandfather immensely when discussing the "Battle of Kifan," which had occurred thirty years ago. His grandfather's character, magical skills, and strategic tactics were admired by many people. Even among his classmates, he was an object of admiration. However, this made Saige feel somewhat uneasy. As the grandson of a historically renowned great magician, his own magical abilities were quite poor. Saige's grades in magic were always among the lowest in the class. Even at the age of twelve, he could only use simple spells. Some classmates who were not fond of him often mocked him as a "mediocre magician." However, Saige had a quick reaction time. Besides magic, he performed well in other subjects, and his athletic abilities were also developed. In any case, he was still considered an excellent student. In short, for Saige, even if he grew up, he didn't want to become a magician. Moreover, his father, mother, and grandfather had all told him that he could choose his own career. Since both his father and mother were also outstanding magicians, it was seen by others that if Saige could not become a magician, it would be a great pity. However, if Saige was truly not good at magic, there was nothing he could do. After all, there was no rule that required parents and children to pursue the same profession. Sons of painters no longer became painters, and sons of farmers became doctors—such things were common occurrences. In any case, Saige was not yet at the age where he had to worry about choosing his career. He thought he should leave it to himself to consider it later. Qian'an was located in the southern part of the Taifan Continent and was covered by a vast tropical rainforest. His grandfather's house was in the northern part of Qian'an, where some areas had a mild and stable grassland climate. This was because dry cold air from the north continuously flowed into this area through the valleys of the Xian'an Mountains, which ran through the continent from north to south. Standing in this boundless grassland, one's heart seemed to become incredibly open. Between heaven and earth, there were no buildings—such a scene was something Saige had never seen before. Saige's house was on the seventh floor of an apartment building. From his window, he could see distant landscapes clearly. However, what he saw from there were only dense houses, skyscrapers, schools, parks, concrete, rivers with reinforced embankments, and asphalt roads—these indeed brought convenience and comfort to the people living there. But they also left Saige with only a mechanical, artificial landscape visible from his window. On the grassland that stretched all the way to the horizon, an elderly woman in a small truck was driving Saige forward. From a distance, the small truck, kicking up dust, looked like a tiny bean. The wind gently swept across the grassland, a scene that gave no hint of artificiality. But Saige knew that everything before him was not naturally formed. The elderly woman driving the truck told him that about two hundred years ago, this area was a large pasture where many sheep were raised, and before that, it was a dense forest. Thinking this way, the few weak trees that occasionally appeared in the grassland seemed like survivors of the original forest. The once heavily damaged nature seemed to be gradually recovering to its original state. The resilience and tenacity of nature, something Saige had learned about in his textbooks, he was now experiencing firsthand here. Walking along the small path paved with small pebbles, Saige's feet occasionally made a creaking sound. A startled grasshopper suddenly leaped out from the grass beside his feet, emitting a terrified cry. Under the colored blue sky, the sun seemed as if it were about to "climb to the top of people's heads." The wind carried the heat of the grass, making it stuffy and hard to breathe. But this air made Saige feel very comfortable. "You're here so soon. How are the family doing?" Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind him. Startled, Saige turned around and saw his grandfather, dressed in a white shirt and jeans, standing there. The hair exposed under the blue denim hat and the half-blonde beard that nearly covered most of his face shone with dazzling silver streaks in the golden sunlight. The person standing before him—could anyone have imagined that he was once a renowned great magician? "Grandfather, how did you know I was coming? I didn't tell you." "The insects told me. It's my sixth sense." P2-3