Maybe, just maybe, when his ability has improved a bit allowing him full control of his own life, he might consider exchanging something that he’s interested in with the powerful beings that existed in other magical and mysterious planes.
As for the Pseudo-Adept level Earth Element Crystal Core he got unexpectedly, Greem did not dare to deal with it carelessly. He ordered the Chip to give it a full scan then have it draft a plan for a custom golem modification.
After Greem was done with all these, he took out a magic book and began his daily routine of studying while working with the Chip to run simulated experiments within his spiritual domain. When his Spirit was at the brink of depletion, he lied down on his bed and started to go in a state of deep meditation.
Now, with the help of the Chip, he could enter into a deep meditative state whenever he wanted. Every meditation would give him an increase of 0.08 Spirit and four experience points. This was very important for any Adept since it could increase their maximum level of Spirit. While there are many Adepts who would consume magic medicines or special potions to increase their Spirit, this isn’t an option for those ordinary apprentices without the support of a wealthy family who would offset the astronomical cost of the said special consumables.
For example, the ‘Mind Concentrating Potion’ which was very effective in increasing the Spirit of any apprentices below the level of advanced apprentice. The list price for it in the Potion Hall of the Adept Tower was five merit points plus five magic crystals for every bottle. A bottle of Mind Concentrating Potion could bring an increase of 0.5 to 0.7 Spirit to a beginner and intermediate apprentice. Despite the fact that the number wasn’t that remarkable, it was still a precious item for those ordinary apprentice Adepts.
After all, before Greem had the help from the Chip, he could hardly enter into a deep state of meditation. Besides, normal meditation could only bring an additional increase of 0.01 to 0.02 to Greem which was vastly inferior to his current rate of growth from his deep meditations.
Strictly speaking, merely a bottle of Mind Concentrating Potion could save two full months of strenuous meditation for an apprentice Adept. By looking at its wondrous effects, even if the price of Mind Concentrating Potion was rather expensive, it was still sought after by countless apprentices.
Merit points is used to purchase most of the resources in this place. It was completely different from the knowledge points Greem gained back in the Swamp Tower. The knowledge points he knew of were merely a currency implemented by Adept Anderson solely for use inside the Swamp Tower. On the other hand, merit points implemented by the Zhentarim Association could be used in any area that was under them.
As for the other three major Adept associations, they also have their very own independent currency system. There is clear dissimilarity between them and they also couldn’t be exchanged with one another.
After risking his life through the completion of his very first underground inspection mission, aside from the rewards he got, Greem also received five merit points which was just enough for him to buy one bottle of Mind Concentrating Potion.
It was already midnight when he was done meditating. After verifying the results from his meditation, his body was wracked with exhaustion. Greem shook away all other thoughts and went to a deep slumber.
Chapter 59
Built by the Zhentarim Association, the Adept Tower garrisoned in the Underground Cave was considered a small one. It had seven floors aboveground and two floors below, making it a building that consisted of nine floors.
It’s worth noting that the structure of the building was also similar to the Swamp Tower which Greem had stayed before.
The first to third floors above the ground was a public area. They were open to all apprentice Adepts, functioning as the main area of activity for them. The public facilities available for them covered nearly every field of study an apprentice could ever be involved in. On the other hand, the fourth to seventh floors were only available to official Adepts, serving as their living quarters and a site for experimentations. If any apprentice intruded in these places without special permission, they would be mercilessly attacked by the defensive mechanisms of the Adept Tower.
Currently, Greem was out on a stroll around the public hall located on the first floor of the tower.
Unlike Swamp Tower, the Underground Cave was an open territory, allowing apprentice Adepts to form their own items to visit different areas in search of materials and harvest resources. That’s why the materials and resources available in this place was many times more abundant compared to the Swamp Tower.
In addition to the gloomy and dark underground world, there’s also the resource-rich Kerala Mountain Range in the surface. Within the confines of these steep mountains, countless exotic flowers and rare herbs can be found growing healthily. While numerous powerful magic creatures were hiding in their respective nests deep within mountains.
Actually, the surrounding area of the Underground Cave was perfectly suitable in nurturing apprentice Adepts.
For beginner apprentices, they could team up together and venture into the wild forest around the Adept Tower to harvest the resources they need. They could even practice their magic spells while they were at it at the animals that can be commonly found in the woods. Intermediate apprentices could venture deeper, able to set foot into the depths of the mountain range and go for solitary training. As for advanced apprentices, they could journey to the upper regions of the underground world, fighting Ratmen, Hooked Horrors and many more undead creatures.
An apprentice Adept who honed his skills through these methods would be far more brutal and strong-willed than an apprentice from the Swamp Tower who only know how to grow with time through long-term meditation. In other words, Greem gave off the impression of a typical apprentice that came from a low-tier Adept academy, while the others seemed to be battle hardened apprentices who learned from real combat. There was too much of a difference between them that they cannot be compared at all.
Early in the morning, the public hall had already been packed to the brim with apprentice Adepts who are seeking for new additions to their teams. Most of them were beginner and intermediate apprentices with a small number of advanced apprentices can be found among them. Even more apprentices were on the corners of the hall with black cloth spread out on the floor, with a couple of strange looking items on top of it, all the while holding a book in their hands. When an apprentice came up to them, only then would they lazily answer a few words. They would just read their books quietly most of the time.
This lifestyle was completely different from the Swamp Tower making Greem feel envy but helpless before it.
After all, before they entered Swamp Tower to learn, all apprentice Adepts were required to sign a magic contract with Adept Anderson, making them lifetime apprentices of the tower. In order to break free of this contract, there were only two methods: Either obtain Adept Anderson’s permission or become an official Adept.
If any apprentice bound by the contract secretly escapes from the Adept Tower he belonged to, he would lose his status as an apprentice, becoming a traitor that will be sought after by hunters. Truth was, among those Fallen Adepts living in the depths of the Underground Cave, majority of them were traitors before they became Adepts. However, with their status as an Adept not being approved by the Zhentarim Association, they could only conceal their identities and become stray Adepts.
Although Greem envied the lifestyles of apprentices in this place, he could only shake his head and sigh as he felt sad for his fate.
Taking cover within the crowd of apprentices, Greem browsed through the stalls located on the sides of the road while secretly examining these apprentice Adepts of the Underground Cave.
From the apprentices who were recruiting members in the center of the main hall, Greem found out something about them. He noticed that even a beginner apprentice here would be fully equipped with decent magic equipments and magical items. The magic wand that can ha
sten casting speed, a waist pouch full of magic scrolls and potions, a dazzling display of tiny decorations… each and every one of them here was considered a mini arsenal. Although their individual battle power wasn’t strong, but with the help of so many items to supplement them, they would be able to bombard the enemy with a plethora of magic spells.
In Greem’s eyes, these apprentices were walking human gold coins. From top to bottom, inside and out, every single inch of their body was giving off the strong smell of money. Comparing himself to them, Greem can’t help but feel ashamed of his own unbecoming, quickly erasing the proud feeling he had after the small victory he accomplished.
Possibly only the beginner apprentices who ran stalls while reading books would be the only people as poor as Greem. Anyone can easily tell they just became beginner apprentices, the rookies who are still unqualified to venture into the wild.
Greem circled around the public hall and when he had stored enough information, he stopped and came to a rather lively stall and interacted with the owner.
The owner of the stall was a young man. He looked quite heavy, donning a poorly fitted short apprentice robe provided by the Adept Tower. This gave him a funny appearance. Together with his facial features that kept changing while he was talking, all of these had made his stall the liveliest place in this area.
“Hello, my name is Greem!” Greem walked up to the owner and introduced himself.
“That… hello to you too, my name is Sam.” The fatty responded with humorous atmosphere. He continued, “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Hello, Sam. I would like to inquire, is there any special procedure that I have to go through to become a vendor here?”
“Ugh…
Sam stared at Greem from top to bottom and asked curiously, “You’re a new beginner apprentice here, aren’t you?”
“That’s right! I just came here two days ago.” Greem replied vaguely. He didn’t want to waste any energy in explaining why he, a mere beginner apprentice, would come to this place and carried out a deadly mission here in the Underground Cave.
“You poor thing! You must be a newcomer who was ditched by your mentor. I knew it at first sight! But don’t worry, just follow your big brother Sam and sooner or later, you’ll be like them, armored to the teeth with all kinds of magical equipment..” Unexpectedly, Sam was actually a warm-hearted person, as he quickly activated his enthusiastic brother mode.
But when Greem had glanced on this guy’s face, he was left speechless after seeing the data detected from Sam in his mind.
This person who proclaimed himself as big brother was actually a super rookie, a beginner apprentice who only has six Spirit points. This had nearly driven Greem insane.
“Ugh…Sam, I just wanted to ask you… Can I also put up a stall here to sell a few items?”
“No problem, it’s not a problem at all! I, Sam, is known for taking good care for all newcomers. Come here… I still have some extra spare space here, you can just place your things here!”
After he obtained Sam’s permission, Greem quickly paced a tray-sized black cloth on the ground then took out five items from his waist pouch, placing them on top. There was the Plant element self-healing earrings, the crystal green wooden stick used as the body of a magic staff, leather boots that has the ability of “Jungle Walk” that enables the user to walk unhindered in jungles or woods, the Croaking Frog and lastly, the notebook of magic spells he got from the enemy.
The leather boots were here too, and the reason why made Greem angry. The reason was simple, Mary didn’t like it as the magical pattern on top of the boots wasn’t exquisite enough for her taste. So, early in the morning, she simply threw them back to Greem asking him to get rid of it himself.
Greem totally could not understand this reason at all. And thus, he labeled Mary as one of the most incomprehensible creatures of this world.
Watching how Greem had made a fuss while setting up his stall, Sam, who sat beside him wasn’t able to hold his laughter. He gave Greem’s shoulder a pat and warmly said, “Yo brother. Don’t blame your big brother for not reminding you. You’re going to have a hard time selling your item by doing that.”
“Take a look at me! My stall is so big while yours is very small. With what are you going to attract people’s attention? Look, my stall even has a superb collection of beautiful things, but you only have… wait, what’s that?”
No matter how weak Sam’s Spirit was, he was still able to quickly sense the distinct magical ripples from the items that Greem took out. Good heavens! He had a total of five items, and four of them were obviously magical items! From the design of those items and the magic runes carved on them, they clearly looked like items from the underground world.
Puzzled, Sam stretched out his arm and picked up the pair of magic earrings and carefully gave it a look. In an instant, he let out a cry full of shock, “Recovery Earrings! This is a pair of Recovery Earrings!”
Although his voice wasn’t that loud, it still alerted a few apprentice Adepts who happened to pass by. One after another, they stopped by the stall and turned their eyes to the earrings held in fatty’s palm.
“Fatty, what are you shouting at? Can you really get yourself a pair of Recovery Earrings? Don’t try to bluff with us!”
“That’s right! Sam, you must have gone mad from wanting a pair of Recovery Earrings! Can a poor vendor like you really find yourself a pair of Recovery Earrings? Hahaha…”
Ridiculed by the surrounding crowd, Sam’s face flushed with embarrassment but he never loosened his tight grip on the pair of earrings.
Among the crowd, a girl with delicate features and a sweet smile suddenly walked towards the stall.
“Sam, can you let me have a look at those earrings?”
“This… the muscles on the fatty’ face twitched as he showed a look of wanting to give himself two slaps on his face.
In the end, he had no choice but to helplessly open his palm revealing the beautifully crafted earrings in front of this female apprentice.
Curious, this female intermediate apprentice picked up the pair of magical earrings and examined it. After that, a pleasantly surprised expression was portrayed on her face. Under her skillful control, a bright green glow quickly and flashily emitted from this seemingly unimportant looking magical item. A faint fragrance of vegetation spread out and filled the surrounding air.
A series of gasping sounds could be heard.
“There really was a pair of Recovery Earrings!”
“Heavens! Someone is selling a tier-3 magical item in the main hall…”
“No way! I have to inform Lina quickly! She had always wanted a pair of Recovery Earrings!”
“You’re right! I have to inform my boss too…”
“…”
Within the crowd, many people hastily took out strange looking communication devices. In an instant, sounds of frogs croaking, birds chirping, insects calling, wolf howling… all kinds of weird animal noises reverberated in the entirety of the main hall.
Chapter 60
Greem rubbed his nose, clearly taken aback by the massive uproar. On the other hand, the fatty Sam couldn’t help but keep whispering to himself.
“This is bad… this is really bad… if I knew beforehand that it was truly a pair of Recovery Earrings, I wouldn’t have shouted out loud with my big fat mouth! If boss Kern knows about this, he’ll surely give me a good scolding…” after he finished saying that, he also took out a round crystal ball and used it to call someone.
The messy situation made Greem’s brows furrow. He had no idea what had caused this commotion. It was just some ordinary self-healing earrings, how was it able to cause such a commotion? However, through the help of his sensitive senses, he soon heard a keyword from the conversations between the surrounding apprentices.
Tier-3 magical item!
Greem had only read a few books of Alchemy before and had never comprehensively learned or researched much about the classif
ication of magical items. That’s why he was totally unfamiliar with the term of Tier-3 magical item.
Right when he was hesitating while thinking, the delicate looking female apprentice finally asked her question.
“Pardon me, between the two of you, who is the owner of these Recovery Earrings?”
Meanwhile, fatty Sam had gloomily set aside his communication crystal and with a discouraged look, he pointed his finger at Greem.
Left without any choice, Greem nodded his head and rubbed his nose saying, “I own this item!”
“How much are you selling it for? How many magic crystals?” The female apprentice asked, full of anticipation.
“I’m not selling it!”
“Not selling? Then why did you display it?”
“Instead of selling, this item can only be traded. Items of the plant element doesn’t suit me, so that’s why I planned to exchange it with…:”
Before Greem was able to finish his words, an uproar suddenly broke out from the crowd. Soon, a few men covered in sweat pushed through the crowd and arrived in front of him.
These men were shocked to see each other in front of the stall and glared at each other furiously.
“Boy from the Patton family, it’s you again? One of my man saw this item first today, don’t you go on thinking you can seize it from us!” A burly man said in an imposing manner. He was also carrying a broadsword strapped on his back, wearing a finely made leather armor.
On the other hand, while showing a sinister expression and unwilling to be outdone, an apprentice in a gray robe who had rushed here responded disdainfully, “Your man saw it first? Hmph. Just with that childish thinking alone makes you unworthy of my time. Whoever bids the highest price will get the item, this is the rule of this place. If you’re so great as you say, why don’t you buy everything you see here?”
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