The Grand Duke's face turned green in an instant. He waved the exquisite ruby-adorned scepter about in anger as he shouted furiously: "Goth is the guiding mentor I hired for my daughter. He is no Sage! He is not the caster you lot are looking for! You have no right to search a Grand Duke's property……"
Unfortunately, the Grand Duke's protests were completely ignored by Ninther. He stared coldly at the Duke's eyes, spitting out one word at a time: "I am not here to search for evidence, and I have no intention to bother this Sage Goth. Perhaps……"Ninther paused for a moment as he said this:"Perhaps we may need the powers of this Sage Goth for certain matters! "
Even the Grand Duke Lington couldn't help but be surprised as he saw the hesitating look on Knight Ninther's face. Before he could reject Ninther again, a crisp and sweet female voice rang out from a corner of the hall.
"Follow me if you wish to see Teacher Goth. "
When he heard this familiar voice, the Grand Duke couldn't help but exclaim:"El, it's you? Quick, go back. Here……"
A beautiful girl of about sixteen years of age and wearing a light yellow dress walked in from a small door in the corner of the hall. It was the Grand Duke's daughter Elena.
"Father, don't stop Knight Ninther! This is also the will of my teacher. "
The Grand Duke frowned and spoke: "Since it's Goth's will as well, then bring Ninther to see him! But these witcher knights will have to stay here. "
Ninther nodded and turned to leave some orders with his companions before following Elena into the inside of the Duke's home.
The place where Sage Goth lived was a tall tower. The only path to the tower was a narrow spiraling stone staircase. Ninther had a huge build, and the armor on his body was exceptionally heavy, which caused occasional clattering as he walked up the steps and his armor clashed against the walls.
Ninther couldn't help but sneer as he watched the Duke's daughter in front of him.
That Goth knew it the moment I arrived. The title of "Sage" was well deserved!
But he was here to visit this "Sage" Goth, with orders from above to seek help. He had to tolerate this fellow and wait for another time to fulfill his oath even though this fellow had already revealed a trace of his true identity as a 'spawn of evil."
On the way, Ninther finally couldn't suppress the urge to ask: "Lady Elena, what do you learn from Sage Goth?" "
"Language, Script, and History! "Elena replied without even turning her head. Her tone was cold and distant like she didn't want to speak more.
"He probably teaches u astrology as well, doesn't he? " Ninther couldn't help but add.
Elena's petite body shook. Still not turning her head she spoke: "Not all knowledge is evil! Even the king recognises the use of astrology. What is it, Knight Ninther? Do you intend to kill everyone who has learned astrology? "
Ninther didn't reply.
The stone tower had five levels. Sage Goth was waiting for them on the fifth.
This was a wise old man wearing a long red robe with a monocle on his nose bridge. The long hair covering his shoulders were snow white, and his face was covered with wrinkles. His eyes were brown but the light had faded from the pupils, leaving only a sharp glint at the bottom of his eyes that gave him an air of refinement.
Ninther looked all around this narrow room. Although there were books and parchments laid everywhere, there was a sense of order amongst the mess. There were more books of every kind on a huge bookshelf that reached all the way to the roof in the corner of the room.
Books weren't all that valuable in the Continent of Witchers, but they were still something that was beyond the reach of peasants. Looking at the size of it, Ninther suspected that even the public library of Herdurand paled in size and value to the collection here!
"You must be Goth! I am Ninther. I am here under the orders of ....." Ninther stepped forward and loudly introduced himself, beating his chest once as he did so. Sadly, he was interrupted by the old man.
"Of course it was Wells that sent you! Otherwise, you would not have been able to see me! "An odd smile appeared on the elderly's face:"He must have sent you to ask me whether the nightmares of the past month were real. "
Ninther's face couldn't help but twitch.
The messenger pigeon from Ayran Castle, the headquarters of the witcher knights had arrived in his hands for less than an hour and this hermit already found out?
Ninther coldly asked:"This must be the special ability you awakened, isn't it? Is it precognition or divination? Or is it soul enslavement? "
His tone was full of disdain. It wasn't the first believer of evil of this sort that he had judged himself.
Precognition, it allowed the believers of evil to sense looming danger before it happened, and avoid the witcher knight's pursuit accordingly. The greatest weakness of this ability was its limitation to sense only things that had to do with oneself. It could not be used to help others.
Divination was slightly better. The user could tell the future fate of certain events through the use of ceremonial equipment such as animal bones, cards or crystal balls. Unfortunately, the results of divination were often vague and unclear, unlike the clear future images of precognition.
As for the last type, soul enslavement. This was an extremely cruel and terrifying evil spell. Casters that awakened to this ability could enslave the souls of the dead and bend them to their will. They could be used to gather information, uncover private secrets, or even drain the life of the living..... Whichever it was, they were all evil acts that Ninther hated with a passion.
Sage Goth laughed in the face of the young knight's provocation. He didn't mind at all. Instead, he took out a crystal ball the size of a duck's egg from his wide sleeves and passed it to the knight.
"What Wells wishes to know, I have already etched into this crystal ball. You only need to deliver this crystal ball to his hands. "
Elena, who had been silent by a side, opened her eyes wide in shock, looking at her teacher with worry in her eyes. With the Grand Duke's protection, the witcher knights would have no means to discover her teacher's identity as a medium as long as he insistently denied his possession of any special abilities.
But now that he had taken out the crystal ball with his own hands, he was practically admitting his identity to Ninther the Spellbreaker Knight.
This……
As expected, Ninther couldn't help but unsheath his sword and point it at the old man's heart when he saw the crystal ball, even with the special orders from headquarters.
"Hmph! As expected, you are a heretic. You had better follow me to see Sir Wells in person after all! "
"Don't……"Elena shouted as she charged forward to protect her teacher, but was stopped by the elderly man.
Even with a sword to his chest, there was no fear on his face. Instead, he asked calmly:"Truly the evil-loathing Ninther! But Sir Ninther, I have a question for you. How old do you think I am? "
The opponent's calm conduct confused Ninther.
Sage Ninther was someone specifically named to be seen by the only Fourth Grade Holy Knight that was revered by all witcher knights. If the old man truly had precognitive abilities, why did he not run but wait here when he found out that I was coming?
Hesitation appeared on Ninther's handsome face. Probingly, he asked:"Eighty?" "
This was a very high age for the Continent of Witchers, where the average life expectancy was 70.
Sage Goth smiled as he shook his head. Suddenly, his tone turned desolate and low.
"27! I'm only 27 this year! "
It wasn't just Knight Ninther, even Elena couldn't help but let out a gasp of surprise.
Although they had been together for 5 years, she didn't know of her teacher's secret.
"Ever since I awakened the powers of a medium at the age of 13, I have aged several times faster than everyone else. Every time I used my ability of precognition, my life force is what is drained from me! I have had the same nightmare every night for the
past 5 years in particular. A group of……A group of powerful demons appears in our world, taking away all that we have, turning everyone into slaves……"
"This is not my divination. This is what our world wishes to tell me! So I used certain means to pass my dream on to you Sir Wells. Perhaps, in this world, only a powerful person such as himself can lead the people and fight against the terrifying demons in the dream in unity……”
Sir Ninther's face became deathly pale.
The matter before his hands was clearly out of his control. He didn't even have any means to determine the truth of the words of this believer of evil. Even though his instincts forged by constant fighting against believers of evil told him not to trust any of them, but deep in his heart, Ninther had a feeling that this Sage Goth was trustworthy.
Sage Goth thrust the crystal ball into his arms as Ninther was hesitating. He then turned to the window, and with his arms spread out, shouted to the skies.
"Mother World, I have done what you asked me to. Ever since you drew me into that terrifying dream world, I have wanted to ask, does our world have a future? Mother World, if you hear me, please tell me……"
As he shouted, a holy milk-white light surfaced around his body. But Goth didn't seem to realise. He stumbled as he sunk into a terrifying dream world.
"No……no……no……this shouldn't be how it is! Our world shouldn't be like this……Mother World, please let me see the face of that terrifying demon……"
Sage Goth's body shook as he said that.
"So this is how you look! Demon……I've seen you……"Sage Goth turned around, his face flushed with excitement:"Quick, tell Wells, they are at the eas……aghhhhhhh……”
Ninther could see clearly. Just as Sage Goth was about to say something in his fervor, his eyes had been poked blind by someone. Two bloody holes were what was left.
A spooky voice rang out in the stone room.
"I couldn't have imagined that there were prophets in this world that could communicate with the plane consciousness. Hmph! Worthless worm, since you dared to spy on me, then you should die! "
Following his words, the blood and flesh all over Goth's body withered quickly, leaving him as a pile of bones in seconds. Then, under the horrified gaze of two people, they turned into a pile of grey powder……
Far away from the eyes of the two, in the forward base of the adepts, a human-shaped projection bound by heavy chains of laws opened his eyes, poked the air before him twice lightly and blew a breath of air.
But even such minor actions triggered the retaliation of the chains of laws.
The projection grunted. He expended huge amounts of energy to stabilise this body, ensuring it didn't break down.
Finally, after a long time, he shut his eyes again and went back to his eternal silence.
Chapter 168
Three days later.
Greem and the others who had been out to scout had returned to the base, bringing with them the information they had collected.
Although it had only been three days, the once grassy field where the adepts had arrived in was already looking like a small town.
A tall stone house stood from the ground, covering the projection and the space vortex within. There were no windows on the structure, only an arcane entrance in the front. Row after row of wooden and stone houses were built with the stone building in the center, spread around on the outside haphazardly.
The ones responsible for guarding the outer rim of the forward base was a bunch of voodoo beasts of all sorts. There were lions, tigers, jaguars and many more, but without exception, there was the special flux of magic organs from within their bodies. The voodoo beasts with the power of intermediate apprentices might not be much to an adept, but they were most suited to deal with any normal native or beasts that wandered into the base by accident.
On the other hand, the security system within the base were the numerous and plentiful magic arrays and troops of weird-looking robotic beasts. These robotic beasts were clearly exquisite products from the Castle in the Sky, as each of them had the power of an advanced apprentice. Considering their bodies that had high resistance to damage, with good cooperation, surrounding and killing a pseudo adept was an easy matter.
Besides all this, there were also a few winged dragon knights.
Judging from their appearance, these were created by using voodoo magic to modify some sort of humanoid being and sew them to the back of winged dragons, giving them the ability of both flight and long ranged attacks. The ingredients were probably taken locally and the product just finished, considering their bloody bodies.
The entire lower half of the humanoid beings had been amputated and forcibly merged onto the winged dragons back due to the rushed job. It was still bloody where the flesh of the two creatures met. The thick corpse-weaving thread could still be seen clearly.
A winged dragon knight beat its wings and stopped Greem's path as he returned.
The humanoid on the dragon's back was a male with a large physique and solid muscles, baring his chest. In his hand was a magic weapon shaped like a spear with light blue light flickering about it. He bent his body and sniffed. Perhaps because he sensed the thick adept's smell around Greem's body, he flew back into the woods after bowing and giving his respects.
Greem paid no attention and walked boldly forward. Twenty or so clay golems dragged a dozen large forest creatures behind them as they followed behind Greem. The pained howls and screams of the creatures filled the woods as they were dragged into the base.
Adept Keoghan, his robe still caked with blood, came out after hearing the calls of the creatures. An expression of wild surprise and delight filled his face as he saw one after another living sabertooth elephants, four-arm apes, swamp alligators, and gryphons.
"Hahaha……Just in time! I was missing ingredients! Quick, send them over……"
Only then did Greem realise that Keoghan also had such talent on the modification and creation of voodoo beasts. All the new voodoo beasts he saw earlier were probably his handiwork. It's important to note that those winged dragon knights each had the power of a pseudo-adept!
The temporary base leader rubbed his hands together in excitement as he ordered the clay golems to send the "ingredients" into the giant slaughterhouse. Looking at the nimble and agile golems, Keoghan couldn't help but exclaim: "I have long heard of your amazing talent in the creation of elemental golems. It seems you live up to your reputation." If this had been the case, you should have gone down the route of the Profound Adepts. Being a puppet master is not bad at all. "
Greem was standing beside Keoghan when he shook his head and spoke: "The roots of an adept, ultimately, lies within oneself. My talent in creating puppets might be enough for me to dominate for a while, but it's not beneficial for my own growth. Between a powerful First Grade Puppet Master or a weak Second Grade Elementium Adept, I would rather pick the latter! "
Keoghan stopped smiling and narrowed his eyes as he said, surprised: "To think you already have such an understanding so quick after your advancement! Very good……If that Anderson had understood this 300 years earlier, perhaps he wouldn't have landed such a tragic end……”
Greem remained silent.
Keoghan smiled awkwardly as he instructed Greem: "Go rest! We might still need to have a meeting tonight! "
Greem nodded. One after another, the clay golems walked to his side and dispelled the earth Elementium and dirt that formed their bodies, their summoning cores lightly landing in Greem's hand.
Greem kept the summoning cores and swiftly went to a row of the simple stone houses.
A dozen of stone houses of the same design stood in a row. Some of them were shut tight, the emblems of their occupants etched onto the door, glowing with magic. Other stone houses were wide open, with nothing inside them.
The houses with emblems on the door were clearly occupied, so Greem just picked one of the empty houses and went in. Following a red flash on the door, the imag
e of a burning iron fist raised towards the sky appeared on the stone door. This was the emblem Greem chose for himself, meant to express the path he had chosen for himself.
He had already checked earlier. There was no sign of Mary or Acteon's emblem. It seemed that they had yet to return. Greem crossed his legs on the stone bed and shut his eyes as he communicated with the chip.
"Chip, what's the progress on the plane law analysis? "
"Beep, current progress is 97.14%. Estimated time remaining: 3 hours 27 minutes 11 seconds....."
Greem nodded in satisfaction. He could finally relax.
Those who have never broken into another world would never understand the terror of plane suppression. Like a lion tossed into a sea, the change in environment would make every action in daily life so much more difficult and painful.
Adepts were, after all, a being that rooted their strength in the laws of the world. Once there was a change in laws, they would feel the deepest and most intense of its effects.
Ever since he entered this plane, Greem had felt like his nose and mouth were covered with a thick wet cloth. Even breathing had turned into a chore. His Spirits that had replaced his eyes had been suppressed within his body, with no means of extending outwards, barring him from detecting every single little change around him as he had before.
This limited his powers greatly.
A lion might not survive if it fell into a sea, but adepts were way smarter than that. As long as they could analyse the source of the change in plane laws, adepts could adjust the laws and allow themselves to become accustomed to the environment and regain their strength.
…………
The adepts' meeting happened in tandem with dinner.
A large campfire was burning in the middle of the camp. The seven adepts sat around it, enjoying golden ribs cooked to perfection as they listened to the information gathered by Greem, Mary, and Acteon.
Adepts were always a group of clear-headed and knowledgeable individuals.
Even though Keoghan hadn't set out any specific tasks for them, Greem and the others had already swept the forest, drew a map, investigate this plane's power structure and completed many other tasks.
Age of Adepts c1-1513 Page 113