Right at this moment, Greem carefully poked his upper body out from the ground. Once he determined that he had won, he squeezed out from the ground.
After spending so long underground, all the outer wounds of the Demon Alligator had fully recovered and it looked exactly like it did before the fight began. The crowd felt wonder at the sight, but when they recalled the bets they had placed before the fight, no one could maintain a happy face.
Looking at the young guy striding towards him, Hulk had no choice but to bite the bullet. With a loud voice, he asked, “Mensa, give me the number! I want to know how much we need to pay this guy?”
Mensa wore black clothes and had a noble appearance. Without hesitation, he loudly read out.
“Mister Greem pledged nine magic crystals, two tier-3 magical items, one tier-4 magical item, one tier-1 magical item, and the magic notebooks of the Demon Vine Lady. Estimated total is 417 Magic Crystals. According to ten to one odds, we need to pay him 4170 Magic Crystals. However, combined, we all only bet 3270 Magic Crystals, so…”
“So we still owe this guy 900 Magic Crystals!”
“Yes!”
The crowd stared speechlessly at each other, before they couldn’t help it and moved their gazes to Kevin, who had brought this bastard here.
In that instant, the generally calm Kevin had a forehead bathed in sweat.
Greem, who stood beside him, was grinning from ear to ear as he quickly stepped out to ease the situation.
“It’s good to have the love of all my Senior Apprentices. As you have given me the chance to prove myself, how dare I collect this debt from you! This amount is more than enough. I, Greem am not a greedy man!”
Upon hearing Greem’s rather flattering speech, all the Advanced Apprentices and Pseudo-Adepts shook their head and sighed. In fact, Dark Wood wasn’t weak. He could be considered as having middle tier strength within all the Advanced Apprentices in this training camp. But due to lack of preparation, he was defeated by this foxy kid, and fainted on the spot. Everybody really was frustrated.
“Hey, you crafty kid, don’t get carried away. The reason you had such an easy win is because your ability naturally oppressed Dark Wood. We’ll pay those Magic Crystals we owe you, but do you have the guts to fight again with us? A fight between you and me, what do you say?” The man who said this was the violent burly man who Greem had seen carrying a thunderous axe when he had arrived. Obviously, this man had taken the path of a Body-Refining Adept, and used Thunder Element magic spells as his supplement ability.
Greem grinned, saying, “Why not?! But my golem is damaged from today’s battle. I need time to readjust and fix it. Why don’t we fight tomorrow?”
Hearing this, the violent burly man became extremely happy. The eyes of the surrounding men also brightened. Clearly, they were tempted as well.
With the time of one night, they believed they could help Mark find a way to defeat this guy. This hateful kid only had a special ability in summoning his golem, which allowed him to hide underground and attack his enemy. As long as they could find a way to stop this ability, how could a rubbish made from dirt be the match of Mark, the man known for a mighty strength? It was simply a silly dream!
Perhaps imagining some scenes that could vent their anger, all of the apprentices couldn’t hold themselves back and grinned coldly.
In that moment, a shivering breeze blew through the scene, making one’s hair stand on end.
Chapter 65
Finally, as the sky darkened, Greem safely returned to his residence in the Adept Tower.
Upon entering the room, he immediately locked the door. Then, he carefully took out all of the good items in the pouch at his waist and lined them up on the wooden table in his room. Looking at his trophies, he excitedly rubbed his hands together and licked his lips. He felt excited and restless. He was beyond words.
The ten small bottles on the left were Mind Concentrating Potions, which he had always dreamed of having. They were even the high quality products that were only internally available to the elites of the training camp. They provided 20% better results than the potions found on the outside. Each bottle was sold for 200 magic crystals, so just these ten bottles would have cost Greem two thousand magic crystals. Thanks to today’s unexpected windfall, Greem didn’t have to spend a single crystal of his own to buy them.
These Mind Concentrating Potions were more than enough to allow Greem to break through the barrier of Beginner Apprentice, and would immediately bring his Spirit to the level of peak Intermediate Apprentice. Whether he could easily enter the realm of Advanced Apprentice depended on Greem’s personal potential.
His eyes lingered on the Mind Concentrating Potions for a long time before Greem reluctantly moved on to the next item.
It was an azure magic crystal core. After Greem took it out from his waist pouch, he was finally able to see the tiny electric arcs lingering on its surface. It looked like the magical crystal possessed its own unique life force, as it was able to absorb the lightning energy hovering in the air. It produced a mystical realm that perfectly suited for Lightning Elementium.
Judging from this, this was definitely a magical core taken from a Pseudo-Adept level Storm Giant.
Based on their characteristics, Storm Giants should be categorized as Elemental beings. However, the only Storm Giant population that existed in the Adept World had a rather strange bloodline. It was said that in the ancient era, a Great Adept once conducted some extremely risky bloodline experiments. He used some kind of magical method to merge his bloodline with a group of Wind Elementium. He intended to increase the size of his heir, who had the same bloodline.
In the Adept Continent, those called Great Adepts were all Adepts of the third grade and above.
It was worth mentioning that his experiment was a huge success. He managed to create a species new to the World of Adepts: the Storm Giants. They were powerful magical creatures who had the bloodline of an Adept and the body of an Elementium.
Sadly, these Storm Giants experienced an identity crisis. Apparently, they preferred to be friends with their own kind, the Wind Elementium, who were rather simple and biddable. Therefore, a huge number of Storm Giants escaped the control of the Great Adept and gathered together with Wind Elementium found in the natural environment. In the end, they established a small Storm Giant Kingdom in the Emerald Hills at the center of the Adept Continent.
Due to their special identity, and the fact that they possessed the double characteristics of both Adepts and Wind Elementium, they were eventually able to summon countless Wind element creatures from the Element Plane after constructing a huge Storm Altar. As a result, they became a powerful middle-sized clan located at the center of the Adept Continent.
It was likely that the Lightning crystal in Greem’s hand was a product from the Storm Kingdom.
The Storm Kingdom and the Zhentarim Association had signed a magical contract.According to the magical contract no clans within the central region of the Adept Continent were free to hunt Storm Giants with intention of obtaining their Elementium core. However, such magical contracts could never prevent the existence of the black market and hunters. Privately, similar rare resources were still secretly traded by many parties.
The Pseudo-Adept level Earth element core Greem obtained last time might only cost 500 Magic Crystals to buy, however, this Lightning element core would cost Greem 1200 Magic Crystals. The reason was simple: it was rare.
Perhaps in terms of pure combat strength, an Earth element core would bring Greem more direct and powerful improvement. But since Greem wanted more diversified combat tactics, he felt it was better for him to have a Lightning element core. Since the Clay Golem brought Greem the ability to travel underground, how about a Lightning Golem? Maybe it would allow Greem to fly in the sky!
To be honest, after he had taken a ride on Socrates Condor and soared freely through the sky, Greem had fallen in love with the feeling.
But, in order to maximize the
yield of this Lightning element core, Greem would need the Chip to perform tedious calculations and adjustments and, through the use of magical formations, uncover the true potential of this crystal. So he had no choice but to temporarily hoard it on the shelf and wait until the Chip had finished its calculation. Only then could he consider how he was going to craft a new Lightning Golem for himself.
As for the third item lying on the table, it had been traded for the Demon Vine Lady’s magic notebook. It was a powerful Fire element treasure produced from an underground magma volcano: a Fire Diamond. Sadly, a Fire Diamond was a magical item and not the magical core of a Fire Element creature. It was very difficult to use it to craft a Fire Element Golem.
Although it couldn’t be used to craft a golem, a Fire Diamond was also a magical item Greem had been eagerly looking for. With this item now in his possession, he was one step closer to the staff of his dreams.
By using a Fire Diamond as the focus gem for his magic staff, not only would it hasten the gathering speed of Fire Elementium, it could also bolster the strength of any Fire element spells Greem cast. Therefore, the benefits it brought were not any less than those a golem would have.
Currently, Greem had found the focus gem and the mithril used to create the runes on the body of his future staff. The only thing left was to find a magic staff that suited Greem the most. In order to craft the magic staff of his dreams, Fire Dragon Wood was the most inferior option, Fire Coral was the second best, while the backbone of a Fire element demon beast was the perfect choice.
But the problem was, such rare resources could only be found accidentally and not by searching for them. How was Greem going to find a backbone of Fire Element demon beast? Greem had been worrying and hesitating recently. He didn’t know if he should wait until he found the perfect material, or try to find some Fire Corals to meet his urgent need.
Pondering on such a question would never lead to any real answer.
Left with no choice and with a wry smile on his face, Greem placed all the items back into his storage waistband.
Although he was eager to try out the effect of those Mind Concentrating Potions, he couldn’t do it now. He had an important mission to accomplish tonight. The mission was directly related to the other bet he faced tomorrow.
So, after briefly admiring his war trophies, Greem rushed to the third floor of the Adept Tower. He plunged into the Alchemy Experiment Room, only returning to his residence the next morning with a completely burned out body and mind.
Sadly, before he could get even two hours of sleep, someone came knocking on the wooden door of his residence.
It was Kevin.
It seemed like he wanted to keep a close eye on Greem, as if he thought that Greem was afraid and was in danger of running away from the fight.
But when he saw Greem’s relaxed face, he couldn’t stop himself and asked, “What were you doing yesterday night? Don’t tell me you totally forgot you have a very important battle today?”
“Ugh… I was overexcited because of the sudden windfall yesterday, and was having a hard time sleeping.” Greem simply made up a reason to explain the dark bags under his eyes.
Kevin’s face showed that he obviously didn’t believe Greem. But out of curiosity, he asked the following question: “Are you confident about today’s battle? Let me tell you, in order to stop you, a kid who suddenly appeared and suppressed the head of those veterans, they spent the entire night working busily. Possibly, they’ve come up with all kinds of solutions to deal with your Earth elemental golem. You… are you really confident about fighting Mark today?”
“Do you want me to win or lose?”
“That… Kid, to be honest, I see a good future ahead of you. I’ve never seen any apprentices with abilities similar to yours. If you put them to good use, you’ll be do really well in the Underground Cave. And that’s why I’m so eager to get you into the elite group! But… your debut yesterday was offensive and conspicuous. Boss Hulk only intended to let you put on a show of your ability and introduce you to the members of the elite group, but… you went straight in and defeated Dark Wood, a veteran member.”
“Was it a big deal?”
“More than big! I’ve never seen the members of the elite group bound by a common hatred for the enemy. Because of you, they’ve all contributed their strategies and their weapons, and have brought out all of their methods of dealing with an enemy who can travel underground. So, you better be extra careful today. I’ve reminded Mark; as long as you admit defeat, he’ll stop attacking at once. He won’t leave you with any permanent damage!”
“Master Kevin, do you trust me?”
“What?”
“No matter how much they’ve prepared for this battle, I’m still confident about today’s battle. So… if you do trust me, why don’t you place your bet on me? What do you say?”
Kevin was instantly silent. He stared at Greem, who was looking back at him seriously, and felt puzzled.
Greem’s opponent was a unique, strong guy in the training camp: the Thunderous Axe Mark. Unlike Dark Wood, the guy didn’t have any significant weakness. After all, Dark Wood was a dark spell caster who spent his days with corpses. Once his curse spells and the army of monster corpses failed, he would have no more arrows left in his quiver. After all, Dark Wood himself was like a skeleton – so weak that couldn’t even stand a gust of wind.
But Thunderous Axe Mark was a totally different opponent. His mighty strength was more than enough to fight equally with Greem’s Demon Alligator, while his excellent Physique had brought him magic and a physical resistance that caused his opponents to despair. As long as he had ways to force Greem out from the ground, or had the ability to attack him underground, Greem’s Clay Golem wouldn’t even be able to last for three to five minutes.
Under such circumstances, why was Greem still so confident?
This huge mystery bugged Kevin for the entire journey. He was still pondering the answer even as both men stepped down from the condor and once again entered the training camp.
Staring at the ocean of people, who were waiting at the side of the battlefield, Greem smiled and leaned over to speak into Kevin’s ears. He whispered, “Master, why are you so confused? You’re the one who brought me to this training camp yesterday, and that means you’ve also offended every single man in this place. Why don’t you place your bet on me today? Once you win, what can they do to you? Who will have all their money? Why are you still hesitating?”
The distressed expression on Kevin’s face grew stronger.
He really had boarded a sinking ship! Now, it would be difficult for him to disembark from this situation!
Chapter 66
When Greem stood once more in the middle of the battlefield, he was immediately overwhelmed by Mark’s imposing aura.
Back when he was still on Earth in his previous life, being overwhelmed by a person’s imposing aura might just only be a metaphor. But in this world of highly advanced magic where even spirit and faith could become some kind of force, one can actually feel the intense spiritual pressure and the aura emanating from another person.
Through the Chip’s feedback, Greem realized that his opponent had at least seventeen points in both Strength and Physique with a tiny bit lower amount of Spirit which was at least sixteen points.
It was a powerful aura forged from an intrepid physique and powerful spirit. It made Greem have difficulties in movement making him feel as if he was standing right in the heart of a powerful storm from Mother Nature. He even felt a slight burning sensation of pain on his skin.
Greem knitted his brows in a tight frown.
Looks like he has to improve his Spirit as soon as possible, or else he would have to endure the intense suffocating pressure given off by advanced apprentice whenever he had to face one.
This was all due to Greem’s rank being too low. If he had at least the overall strength of an intermediate apprentice, he would be capable of integrating his elemental energy and
spirit to form a protective shield similar to that of an energy field. In that case, if he was to face an enemy stronger than him, he would not be like the way he is now who was similar to a man standing naked without any cloth.
Thunder Axe Mark was a burly man who stood at 2.5 meters tall. He had broad shoulders and a muscular body. Although his axe was still strapped on his back and not in his hand, it still didn’t reduce the violent aura he was giving off.
At the moment he saw Greem who seemed to have a poor physique, he wasn’t able to hold himself back and bursted out in a fit of laughter.
“Kid, you’ve got guts! You already know you’re going to be tortured today but you still come out here and face me, hahaha… I like this!”
Greem narrowed his eyes. While he was enduring the uncomfortable feeling brought by the gap between their ranks, he refuted vaguely.
“It’s still too early to tell who will be the winner. I hope master Mark will be nice to me later!”
“Haha… I wish I could. Despite the fact that these guys asked me to break both of your arms and legs and crush half of your bones, I, Mark, am rather fond of you. Good kid, I really didn’t expect you to be able to make Dark Wood, that living corpse, faint because of anger. Honestly, it was pretty enjoyable to watch that. Hehe, since I’m really happy today, I’ll just break both of your legs then. Take this suffering as the welcoming gift from our training camp!”
“Ugh…” Although having both arms and legs being broken wasn’t an injury that couldn’t be healed in the first place, one would still have to go through a painful healing process. So, upon listening to how Mark talk about this “painful” topic with a rather ‘charitable’ tone, Greem simply rolled his eyes taking all of this as a fart.
“Hey, are you guys ready? Once you’re done with calculating the bets, I’ll start the fight! How long do you want me to wait?” Mark shouted at the side of the battlefield as he rubbed his palms together. Obviously, Mark was a hot-tempered man.
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