Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  This was the personal review Alice had for these element golems.

  By right, for golems such as these, if they were controlled using the method of Elemental Summoning, not only it would require a special magical ceremony, the summoners himself also had to bear a tremendous burden on his Spirit. It would never be like Greem’s case, where he had handled them with such composure and ease.

  Alice also noticed, every time when Greem summoned his element golems, he would need an element core as the magical material, and the surface of the crystal core was always fully engraved with runes, portraying the look of going through a thorough modification. With this finding, she drew a conclusion that the deepest secret of Greem’s mightiness must be hiding inside of these crystal cores.

  Because of this, she had the intention of getting closer to Greem, so she could find out more answers from him to uncover his secret. But too bad that Greem was a nerd who rarely left his room, this had made her, the nominal servant-girl of his, became totally unused.

  As a result, after holding herself patiently for seven days, Alice snatched over the meal plate from Snorlax, took its place and stood in front of the door to Greem’s residence. That hateful Mary was the only person who could freely enter Greem’s residence, even Snorlax had to obtain Greem’s permission every time before delivering the meal to him.

  Not long after that, Greem sensed Alice’s spiritual ripple, and he finally disarmed the defense mechanism on the door.

  Alice stretched her arm and pushed open the door and strode into the residence, carrying the meal plate.

  The room was still as simple and crude as before.

  Yet, compared to the last time, it had become even messier!

  Though it was daytime, the illuminating crystal placed on top of the wooden table still shone with a bright and soft light. This made Alice puzzled, could this guy have been working since last night, without resting during the course?

  The floor was fully filled with scrapped goat-skin scrolls, some were curled up, some were spread out, and some were crumbled into small balls… each of them had extremely complicated runes and mysterious magical arrays drawn on them. As Alice didn’t have any knowledge of magical arrays, hence, she felt a headache upon looking at this mysterious knowledge which required a professional to understand it.

  Walking on her tiptoes, Alice carefully skipped over the mess on the floor and came in front of the wooden table.

  The wooden table was also messy like the floor, books were opened and placed all over the tabletop, stacking on top of each other and nearly flooding the entire table. Greem was now leaning against the table silently, using a pen brush to draw something on a goat-skin paper.

  But obviously, his progress wasn’t smooth.

  Half-way through the drawing, he brought the goat-skin paper in front of his face and gave it a careful examination. Soon, he shook his head, cursing under his breath and crumbled the paper into a small ball, and tossed it over his shoulder.

  Alice tilted her head so she could dodge the paper ball that had came to her face. Angrily, she placed the meal tray on top of the table with a rather strong force. Due to her ‘carelessness’, the tall stack of books had finally collapsed with a loud noise.

  Ugh… What was going on?

  Greem raised his head, confusingly, and ran his eyes around. His sulky eyes were immediately met with the vision of Alice, who was looking at him in a provoking manner.

  “Eh? When did you come here?” Greem rubbed his forehead, as he felt a prickle in his brain.

  Since his overall strength skyrocketed, Greem had discovered many benefits brought by a high Physique.

  He had been awake for three days and three nights. If it was in the past, perhaps he would have been extremely exhausted by now. However, besides feeling a slight tiredness from consuming too much of his Spirit, his body was as healthy and vigorous as it was three days ago.

  “The purpose I came here today is to ask you a question: what are you going to do with me? Are you going to let me live like I am now, spending all my days boringly strolling around in this filthy and broken place? The magical facilities here are just too obsolete and behind on times, compared to other places, this place is simply a desolate desert of the Adept World!” Alice stood with arms akimbo, complaining angrily at Greem.

  One could tell that she had had enough of staying in this Swampy Tower.

  She couldn’t find any higher grade magical potions, she couldn’t enjoy a slightly normal delicacy, she couldn’t obtain any of the advanced magical materials required for her magical experiments, and her residence was simply like a sheep pen… In this backward and dilapidated place, Alice just couldn’t imagine how Greem and the others managed to survive!

  If not because of those merchants or associations who recently came into this place, bringing some changes to the Swampy Tower, Alice felt like she was going to rot in this dark and wet Magical Swamp.

  Faced with a hard working ‘subordinate’ who took the initiative and to come to him for work, a gratifying smile emerged on Greem’s face. He casually took a white bread from the meal tray and placed it into Alice’s hand, and said with a smile on his face, “If you want to find something to do, why don’t you show me your abilities first? Can you toss this thing over at Snorlax’s head?”

  Right after he finished his words, the white bread in Alice’s hands had disappeared.

  She clapped her palms and rubbed off the bread crumbs, throwing a disdainful gaze over at Greem and portrayed a look of ‘just try me’.

  Greem opened his mouth slightly out of surprise.

  He quickly readjusted his mentality, picked up another piece of bread and placed into Alice’s hand. This time, he snapped his fingers and activated all the defense mechanisms of this magical residence.

  Alice curled up her lips in disdain, grabbing the bread with both hands and gave it a rub. A strange spatial ripple was sensed in the air, before the bread disappeared once again.

  Greem’s expression became even more dignified.

  After he gave the last piece of bread over to Alice, not only had Greem activated every single defense mechanisms of his magical residence, he also focused his mind and unleashed a light red force field that covered the entire room.

  Right now, Alice was residing within four layers of element defense or magical force fields, if she could still…

  But too bad, before the thought could fully form in Greem’s mind, he saw Alice waved one of her hands, as a small spatial black hole emerged in front of her. After that, she quickly stretched the other hand with the bread into the black hole. When she finally pulled her hand out, there was nothing left in her palm.

  Meanwhile, the spatial black hole had disappeared instantly!

  Chapter 146

  A few moments later, three pieces of intact white bread were delivered back by Snorlax.

  But Snorlax had a pretty unsightly expression!

  To be honest, no matter who was hiding in a secret room and happily admiring and counting his treasures, to be suddenly hit on his head by two pieces of white bread, he would have the same unsightly expression. And besides, the last time a tiny female hand had suddenly appeared in midair and tossed a piece of white bread over to its face.

  No body, no arms, it was just the fair, tender, little hand of a female… Snorlax was frightened out of its wits because of such terrifying scene. If it had not received the Spiritual Whisper from its master on time, it would definitely think that it was haunted by some evil female ghost!

  Greem picked up all three pieces of white bread one after another. Using the exact scanning and see-through vision of the Chip, he once again confirmed their integrity. The teleportation just now hadn’t altered their material property, nor did it destroy any of their material structure.

  Greem again placed the bread into Alice’s hand. With a smile, he said, “This time, send them into my hand!”

  After he finished saying that, a leaping flame burst out from Greem’
s body. The high-temperature force field instantly covered his entire body. After going through a period of hard training and closely working with it, Greem could now easily manipulate his own fire element.

  Even when he had the flame spread all over his body, he never caused any harm to the wooden chair underneath him or the books laying around. But if the clothes on his body hadn’t been protected by magical power, they would have been burned off by the fierce flame.

  A slightly disdainful expression emerged on Alice’s cute face, which still had a little bit of baby-fat. Displeased, she asked, “Do you really think my Spatial Teleportation can do anything you ask? If it could penetrate your Elementium Protection, do you think you could have still defeated me?”

  “Give it your best shot. I want to see what kind of results it can achieve!” Greem encouraged the little girl while stretching out his right arm, enshrouded in steaming hot flame.

  Looking from afar, it was as if the flame was burning directly on Greem’s skin. Yet, when looked at a close distance, there was actually a thin layer of crimson Elementium film attached tightly on the surface of his skin, which separated his skin from the element fire.

  This was actually a product produced from merging Flame Body and Inferno Force Field!

  Some day in the future, when Greem eventually became an official Adept, and when he totally transformed his Spirit into Elementium, this thin layer of film would disappear, and eventually make him into a type of elemental life form. When the time came, even though his vitality would not be endless like genuine elemental life forms, it would still sufficient for him to slowly explore the boundless multi-verse!

  Under Greem’s attentive gaze, a ripple starting to appear in the space near his flaming right hand. Obviously, the bread sent through the space by Alice couldn’t penetrate the dense and tough Inferno Force Field and was forced out from the inter-layer of space by its force.

  When it lost the protection from the force of space, the white bread was instantly turned into ashes upon contact with the defensive flame.

  Later, Greem retracted the defensive flame and Inferno Force Field, but it was too bad that Alice still couldn’t teleport anything into his hand. Though he felt that it was a pity, it was in fact, a reasonable situation. If Alice’s Spatial Teleportation could freely travel through the target’s element defense, then under the heaven, what kind of opponent that had the same rank as her could stand up against her?

  She could totally transfer a bottle of explosive potion into her opponent’s heart or plunge an explosive fireball into the enemy’s stomach… Just thinking of such scene made one tremble with fear!

  After several failed attempts, finally Alice ran out of patience. “What exactly do you want me to do? Are you just going to ask me to teleport this thing over and over again?”

  “What I need from you is very simple: during a special occasion, I want you to teleport something I need into my hand!” Greem once again unleashed his Inferno Force Field, covering both him and Alice; only then did he seriously tell her his motive.

  Alice glanced around, looking at this layer of force field which was obviously used to prevent any outsiders from peeking or overhearing their conversation. Not saying any words, she nodded her head as if she understood something. But right after that, she rested her arms on her hips, and said in a disdainful manner, “Why should I listen to you and do something that is totally impossible to achieve? This brings me no benefits at all. Don’t think that I’ll help you!”

  Greem smiled. With a flick of his wrist, an element core emanating a powerful element wave appeared in the palm of his hand. When Alice saw its dazzling appearance, looked at the crystal clear material, and sensed the rhythmic element wave that felt like a tidal wave… she couldn’t contain herself and swallowed a lump in her throat.

  It was an Adept level crystal core! This was the true form of that frightening lava monster who defeated her! However, when she looked at it, not only did it not bring her the slightest feeling of fear, it actually carried a vague magnificence and perfection!

  “Are you going to give it to me?” Right at this very moment, Alice nearly stopped breathing completely; her eyes went wide as she held her breath, waiting for Greem’s answer.

  “I can’t give it to you right now, of course!” Greem answered grumpily. “But, within a month, if you can teleport anything into my hand, I’ll let you own it temporarily!”

  Alice was dejected for a brief moment when she heard Greem’s answer, but soon, her face was beaming with high spirits again.

  “Will you keep your promise? Rest assured, as long as I double my effort and keep practicing, I can definitely do it. But, I’ll need to examine this treasure of yours first, give it to me now and let me play for one night!”

  Greem hesitated, but eventually he nodded his head and agreed. But before he placed the summoning core of Fire Lord golem into Alice’s spread palm, he earnestly warned her and said, “You can have some fun with it, but you can’t damage the summoning core. Also, when you summon it, remember to protect yourself properly!”

  As he said that, Greem purposely pointed at the ceiling with his finger. Alice nodded her head, expressing her understanding.

  This place was the Swampy Tower, and they were inside of Greem’s personal residence. Yet, even when he was talking, he had to cover himself with his own element defense and didn’t take the magical defense mechanism of the residence into consideration. Just this point alone was enough to tell her something!

  Judging from this, it seemed like the relationship between Greem and the stationed Adept of the Swampy Tower wasn’t that harmonious. It might even be at the stage of diametrical opposition. Considering that her life was now tied to Greem’s, Alice had no alternative but to start thinking for this small team.

  Although Greem didn’t mention it explicitly, Alice could still guess. The request he had expressed was very important for him and it might even reach to the level that could affect his life and future!

  Hmph, I’ll just help him for once! Or else, if he died, I’ll die as well. Also, his request sounds pretty fun. If I can include it in my offensive approach, perhaps it will be quite a breakthrough.

  Filling her mind with fanciful thoughts, Alice casually shoved the summoning core into an opened spatial hole before she turned around and left Greem’s residence.

  Compared to Greem, Alice had never needed any magical equipment like a waist pouch or storage waist belt. She only needed to find herself a safe layer of space and open up an isolated space which bore her conscious’s seal; she could store all of her personal belongings in it. However, with her Pseudo-Adept Spirit, this isolated space only had a maximum size of five meters square.

  After Alice left, Greem appeared to be the sole person in the room. But, he still didn’t retract his Inferno Force Field.

  Right at this moment, a hoarse, deep voice suddenly came out from his body. “So, this is your plan? I don’t think it is a good idea! Are you sure you can keep that Anderson from finding out?”

  A creeping movement was seen on the cloth near Greem’s chest; a thumb-sized black bug crawled out from underneath it and stopped on his shoulder. The voice came from this black bug.

  “Hmph, Acteon, what’s the point of you saying such sarcastic remarks now? If you had not come to a dead end, you’d never come begging for my help!” Greem refuted with a cold voice.

  “Hehe, we’re just using each other for our own benefits!” The beetle that Greem referred to as Acteon vibrated its wings, producing some noise that sounded like the chirping of insects. “Can’t you tell that from the information I gave you? Not only does Anderson have his eyes on me and Mary, recently, he has started to cast his evil gaze on you and this little girl. If we don’t do something, perhaps all of us will be thrown into a pot by that Anderson and our blood and flesh will become the foundation of his advancement!”

  Greem became as silent as a stone!

  With regards to this point, Acteon had ac
curate judgment. From all of the intelligence they had gathered so far, this Anderson was indeed an insane Adept who would devour someone to the point of not even spitting the bones out. In order to improve his overall strength, he was preparing a horrible sacrifice of blood and flesh.

  Once the preparation came to its conclusion, most probably, this Swampy Tower would immediately turn into a massive graveyard as every single one Apprentice Adepts who lived here would be unable to escape from becoming part of the offering for his ritual. The lower grade apprentices might just become the fuel used to heat the cauldron, and they, the Pseudo-Adepts and Advanced Apprentices, would be the main ingredients for this sacrificial ritual of blood and flesh.

  Thus, during this critical moment, any selfish behavior of paying attention to oneself without thinking of others would be stupid!

  Perhaps it was because he had realized this reality that Acteon finally gathered up his courage and transferred his remaining consciousness into this beetle, coming to Greem to discuss working together towards a common goal.

  As for escaping from the Swampy Tower and never returning, Greem never even considered it at all.

  He lived in the Adept Continent; nearly all of the territory occupied by the human race was under the tight control and surveillance of Adepts. If Greem wished to escape without putting up a fight, Adept Anderson would just need to use a sly approach and labeled them as apprentices who turned renegade and escaped; with that, no matter how high the sky and how vast the land, there would be no way of survival for them!

  As a matter of fact, he could easily tell this from the Fallen Adepts and Fallen Apprentices he had met at the Underground Cave.

  Therefore, when faced with this Evil Bugs Acteon who had solely come for help, Greem could only suppress the disgusted feeling he had in his mind and tentatively reach a strategic cooperation with him!

  They would unite to fight against that frightful Anderson!

  Chapter 147