……
Muscle activity 46%. Can be improved…
Energy storage capacity 1155 points. Can be improved…
Energy output threshold 135 points. Can be improved…
Life energies conversion efficiency 41%. Can be improved…
Abyssal aura retention rate 18%. Can be reduced…
……
Greem opened his eyes and straightened his body. He looked intently at the heart, unable to suppress his excitement and intense desire.
With the slow increase of Spirit, this Flame Fiend's Heart might be his last hope at maintaining his absolutely dominant strength!
Ever since the first day he received this heart, Greem had been thinking about how to utilize the powerful strength within it. According to the massive number of calculations and filtering done by the chip, the only time Greem could use the Flame Fiend's Heart was during his Flame Fiend Transformation.
It was only during the Transformation, when his Physique and Spirit were amplified several times, that Greem could completely master and use the power of the Heart. Otherwise this energy heart taken from a Second Grade Abyssal Flame Fiend would turn out to be an unstable incinerator, instantly reducing Greem’s human form to ashes.
Having run through hundreds and thousands of methods of utilizing the energy heart, the chip presented Greem with a single feasible solution.
The Flame Fiend's Heart would be sealed within his body on normal occasions, and Greem would use his powers and aura to slowly modify the heart. Then, when it came to a battle, Greem would unseal the Heart after completing his Flame Fiend Transformation, allowing the Heart to become the energy-supplying core of the Flame Fiend's body.
Just like that, Greem would be able to reinforce his battle strength!
However there were a couple of problems to be solved before this could be done.
First, Greem had to do away with the thick abyssal aura that was shrouding the heart. Or at least, he would have to suppress the abyssal aura to an acceptable thickness. Otherwise, if he used the heart for extended periods of time and assimilated with the heart, the chances of him being contaminated and turned into an abyssal creature would also increase.
Even though abyssal creatures were well-known for their prowess, and Greem was not averse to possessing any sort of power, the chaos and violence in their nature was not something Greem wanted in his blood. From Greem's understanding, abyssal creatures were basically brainless magical creatures with +10 Physique, Strength, and Spirit, but also with -100 Intelligence.
Was power without control still power?
Thus, before he was able to eliminate this factor from the Heart, Greem had to be very careful with his use of it. He would not become overly reliant on the Heart.
Secondly, according to the chip’s scans, there were still many areas in the Flame Fiend's Heart that could be improved. If Greem wanted to maximize the benefit he got out of this, he would have to use up a massive amount of resources.
The data the chip provided was plentiful, but the most important info was what he had filtered out.
The muscle activity of the heart determined the working efficiency of the heart. A mere 46% meant it could only operate at half of its peak strength.
The energy storage capacity and energy output threshold, on the other hand, determined the current power level of the Flame Fiend's Heart. As the magic organ of the Abyssal Flame Fiend, the energy heart could store a certain amount of flame energy within itself. This meant that it could store 1155 points of flame energy while in a non-combat mode.
And all of this was energy Greem could draw upon during a fight!
However, regardless of the amount of storage capacity, the output threshold still limited the strength of the flame energies that Greem could use.
135 points meant that every single one of Greem's fire attacks could not exceed 135 points.
Of course, this was still far beyond Greem's current powers.
It was important to note that most of the spells of an actual First Grade adept were around 60-80 points. It was only because Greem had chose fire mastery, and in doing so gave up the spells of all other elements, that he was able to push the might of his fire spells all the way up to 115 points.
This energy level was already Greem's limit.
However, even at half capacity, the Flame Fiend's Heart still had a shocking energy output threshold of 135 points. It was clear how powerful Second Grade Flame Fiend's were!
Moreover, an energy storage of 1155 points would be enough for Greem to fire eight attacks at 135 points with more than enough to spare. This……this was why the heart was so significant to the enhancement of his powers!
On the other hand, the life energies conversion rate of 41% also meant that Greem would be able to convert his own life energy into flame energy, even if he was in combat. This kind of ceaseless supply of power would turn Greem into a terrifying instrument of war.
As long as he lived he would have an endless supply of power to tap into!
Sadly, there was still much to be done before he could use this powerful heart. All of this would take time.
Greem nodded in satisfaction and put the black cloth back over the heart.
Even though the black cloth looked very ordinary, the moment it was draped over the heart the thick abyssal aura that filled the room instantly disappeared.
This evidently meant that this ordinary-looking black cloth was also a magical tool! A magic tool that was used specifically for covering all kinds of energy auras!
Apart from the Flame Fiend's Heart, other things were also stored within this hidden room. Namely: two spacestones, four adept-level elementium cores, the mysterious Golden Apple, the Orb of Deception, the Black Qiraji Resonating Crystal, the Emblem of Fire, and Shandera's Sheepstick.
However, most of these treasures were still far out of reach for Greem's current abilities. If he wanted to see through all of the arcane knowledge contained within these items, he would likely have to wait until he was several Grades higher!
Chapter 259
Feidnan City, Adepts' Tower.
Greem sat silently by the desk. A parchment had been spread open before him. He was slowly writing out a strange and odd rune based on his memories.
After the chip's careful organization and filtering, twenty-three variations of existing runes and twenty-eight all new runes were found. The rune variations referred to otherworld runes that were extremely similar to the runes in the system of the World of Adepts. The only difference came about due to the different power systems of the two planes.
However, apart from the rune-variants, there were still twenty-eight all new runes that had never existed within the runic system of the World of Adepts. If Greem wanted to modify them into runes that were usable for adepts, he would have to explore and create the runes himself.
After three days of non-stop calculations, the chip had finally managed to decipher one of the new runes and was trying its best to convert it into a form that was functional within the World of Adepts.
For example, the rune written on the parchment right now meant 'restoration' back in the knights' plane. If this rune was carved in an array back in the knights' plane, it would be able to double restoration and regenerative power. However, when written in the World of Adepts, this was not the case. As the rune was finally finished, a light purple glow started to gather about the parchment.
Then, an odd hand-monster-thing crawled out of the paper, slowly looking about.
There was a really strange eye at the middle of the hand-monster's palm.
It's eye was about the size of a human’s, but its color was truly frightening. What was more horrifying was how it kept blinking and darting about the room as if it was monitoring the place.
Greem sat there unmoving, but already the fire energies within his body were slowly gathering together. He asked in a sombre voice, "Are you a magical creature, or are you some sort of otherworldly creature? Can you understand
my words?"
A notification rang out within his mind.
"Detecting abnormal field activity invading host's sensory organs. Initial estimates suggest illusion activity. Requesting instructions from host. Interrupt?"
The hand-monster finally gave up on its pointless wandering and turned to face Greem. Its strange eye suddenly shut tight. When it finally opened once more, the eye had turned a blood red color and a tide of red mist blasted towards Greem's face.
Greem was no longer able to tolerate the thing. He let out an angered shout and a violent Magma Fireball exploded right in front of him.
Lava Shield appeared at the same time, successfully stopping the magma fragments and boiling lava from splashing everywhere. The odd hand-monster had also vanished completely. Even the desk had been completely ravaged by the spell, leaving only a mess in its place.
Greem let out a sigh in annoyance. He waved away part of the magical defenses around his dwelling and mentally communicated with the tower's spirit.
"Help me restore the room!"
"Scans discover severe magical damage. Estimated repairs require 35 magic crystals. The cost has been deducted from your tab."
After the mechanical voice of the tower's spirit disappeared, visible changes started to occur to the room, which was badly corroded by the explosion and the lava.
The floor that had lots of craters melted out of it started to swell, and soon returned to its previously undamaged state. Even the smoking and boiling lava vanished entirely, as if it had been removed by an invisible eraser.
Just a short moment later, Greem's dwelling had been restored!
He once again put up the magical defenses around his room before sitting down at the desk once more to communicate with the chip.
"Chip, did you record the occurrence earlier? Were there any abnormalities to be noted?"
"Beep. Host had been subjected to an illusion attack. Source of attack is the unknown mystery rune!"
"Illusion attack?"
Greem couldn't help but start brooding.
How did the Rune of Restoration turn into a rune-variant of the illusion series? The difference between the two was way too large! Was there an error in the chip's calculations? Or were there just parts of the otherworld runes that he didn't understand?
Honestly, thinking back, the experience earlier was far too realistic. Even now, in his mind when he closed his eyes, he was still able to see the strange hand and its excessively lively eyeball. All of that was just an illusion?
At the last moment, the eyeball had launched an attack at him. If he hadn't resisted, would he have walked away unscathed?
Greem quickly shook his head and dispelled this dangerous thought even though he still had questions on his mind.
No. He was going to try something so dangerous! Illusions were a powerful force in this world, and anything that was powerful must be dangerous in its own right. Thus, even if he was sure it was illusion, he would still have to set up the necessary defenses and preparations.
After thinking about it, Greem still felt like it had been far too little time since he became an adept. The various resources he had in reserves were far too lacking. For example, he had almost no means of defending against illusory and mental spells. He was relying entirely on his greatly increased Spirit to endure their effects. This was unlike his nature as resourceful adept.
All of the items he had used for such purposes, while he was an apprentice, were completely insufficient now that he had advanced to an adept. If Greem wanted to get some magic items and magic equipment that adepts could use, he would probably have to wait until his trip to the Castle in the Sky.
After all, the Castle in the Sky was the home of the esoteric adepts, and most definitely the go-to place for magic items of expert quality and quantity. Even some of the more powerful magic items that had appeared in the Zhentarim area had mostly come from the Castle in the Sky.
It seemed the research on otherworld runes would have to be put on hold until he managed to collect some magic equipment that bolstered his mental resistance.
Just as Greem was silently considering his future research paths, a familiar mental flux radiated from the magical defenses.
Greem connected Keoghan's mental link without hesitation.
"Come to the twelfth floor, Lady Sanazar is back!"
Greem's heart shook for a second. Lady Sanazar was an actual Third Grade Bloodline Adept. Her true form was an extremely terrifying Flying Venom Dragon. Greem had personally witnessed her might back on the planar battlefield. She had forcefully driven the green dragons back.
If a powerful adept like herself was sent back to this world, that meant that the occupation of the knights' plane was going very smoothly. The clan finally deemed it ok to send her back to stabilize the clan's situation.
Greem didn't dare delay. He quickly came out of his dwelling on the seventh floor and hurried to the twelfth floor to meet this current manager of the clan.
Sanazar was a Third Grade female adept. However, her face was always clouded by strange green mist, obscuring it from outside gazes. When she stood high on the stone seat and gazed down coldly upon everyone, all of the adepts couldn't help but lower their heads. None of them dared to look at her directly.
The adepts would feel slight stinging pain all over their bodies if they even stood slightly closer to Sanazar.
This was the energy radiation from Lady Sanazar's body, due to the excessively powerful concentration of magical energies around her. As long as she didn't actively hold her power back, this group of puny First Grade adepts could only silently endure the pain. Again, no one dared to voice any dissatisfaction or complaints.
If one were to compare a Sixth Grade Great Adept to a small nuclear reactor, the Third Grade Sanazar would be nuclear material with powerful radiation. Greem and the other First Grade adepts would at best be nuclear waste.
Thus the adepts, who were as powerful as deities compared to ordinary mortals, once again felt fear and uncertainty when put before the high-tier adepts.
Right now, only three adepts, including Greem, had been stationed in the adepts' tower. Even if one were to include the three adepts stationed outside the tower, there were only six adepts being stationed in the Sarubo headquarters. This number was genuinely pitiful for a mid-tier adept clan.
Thus it was clear that the death of eight clan adepts in the knight's plane had greatly reduced the strength of the Sarubo Clan.
This was possibly the reason that Great Adept Sarubo was so quick in sending Sanazar back to guard the base.
The World of Adepts was the roots of all adept clans after all. Only if the roots were thick and strong could qualified adepts be continuously pumped out and sent towards all sorts of planes to ensure the continued prosperity of the clan.
Adept Sanazar rested comfortably and lazily on the stone seat, silently listening to Adept Keoghan's report on the clan's situations and the activity of neighboring clans. It was only when she heard Greem had fought two adepts by himself, and even killed an adept from the Black Glove Association seven days ago in a border war, that her gaze landed on Greem.
Suddenly, for no reason whatsoever, Greem felt his body tense up. That stinging pain started to intensify.
Greem endured the pain in silence before finally hearing Lady Sanazar speak.
"I had heard from Lord Sarubo about you before I returned. He said you are the smartest and most ambitious of the clan's First Grade adepts this time round. Very good! An adept without ambition wouldn't have the spirit to explore and adventure. However, ambition without intelligence to back it up will only cause adventure to turn into misadventure, sending you to an early grave in a situation where your power was lacking."
Having said that, Sanazar turned to Keoghan and instructed.
"Send a message for me to that old fogey at the Black Glove Association. Just tell him that I, Sanazar, am back. And if he tries anything against our Sarubo Clan, I'll personally visit them and devou
r them whole!"
The brutality and violence in her words was frightening.
Moreover, Greem had a feeling that her promises of 'devouring whole' wasn't so much a threat as something she really wanted to do.
"Moreover, the clan is sorely lacking in fresh blood, so you lot can't be slacking off either. From today onwards, every clan adept has to take a few apprentice adepts under their wing and be responsible for their guidance and learning. The clan will provide you guys with double the clan contribution points for this!"
Everyone had, in fact, expected this.
Thus, they nodded in agreement without saying anything.
"Very well. Since no one has anything to say, then we are done here! In the future, go look for Keoghan if you have anything you need. Do not interrupt my sleep, or else… "
Chapter 260
Feidnan City, Adepts' Tower.
Greem met the five apprentices assigned to him in his room.
Two pseudo-adepts and three advanced apprentices. All of them were very young.
In general, anyone that could make it to a pseudo-adept or apprentice adept by fifty years old had the potential to become an adept. And these individuals were the ones the clan were willing to expend resources in order to cultivate! On the other hand, all of those apprentices that had made their way to advanced apprentices through grinding and time were well aware of their own situation. They knew it was virtually impossible for them to become adepts. All of them had already given up on that path and went on to the worldly realm to enjoy the offerings of local nobles.
There was one female each among the pseudo-adepts and advanced apprentices assigned to Greem. They were fairly pretty and beautiful. However, using his elementium sight, Greem could still see the light residue left on their faces from magical facial reconstruction.
The apprentice adepts bowed respectfully as they waited on Greem. They didn’t even dare to breathe too loud. It was clear that even they had heard of Greem's terrifying name as the Flame Demon. However, one could tell from the excited gleam in their eyes that they were still extremely satisfied that they were able to become the disciples of the famed Flame Demon. Their excitement and joy was hard to hide.
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