Greem could tell that the elderly adept was well-intentioned. He smiled as he nodded in acknowledgement, before walking over to the nearest bookshelf.
He randomly picked up a hardcover book with a blue front cover…
Gulliver's Travels.
It seemed to be a record of an adept's travels. Even though it did not involve any profound or complex magical knowledge and theories, there was still reference in learning about the unique magical creatures and plants described and recorded within the book.
The price of this book was ten magic crystals.
Greem put it aside.
Such a book wasn't very valuable, but it was still good to increase the available data within the chip's data library!
Greem picked up an ancient parchment. It seemed as though a certain potion recipe had been drawn on the parchment. It was a potion of the poison series. However the brewing, ratio of the involved materials, as well as the precautions, had all been censored by a pale magical light.
It cost four hundred magic crystals!
Greem hesitated for a moment before putting it back on the shelf.
He had no intention to become a potions master in the short term. Moreover, a physical poison attribute recipe like this one wasn't too useful to an adept. Spending four hundred magic crystals on this was unnecessary.
Greem picked up a couple of other books. Most of them contained extremely ordinary and fundamental theories. Occasionally, he would discover books with better and improved magical models. However, these books would be extremely and unbelievably expensive. Greem couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment as he made his way through the books. He had flipped through almost half of all the documents here, but he had only managed to pick out three books of some limited value.
In truth, this was unavoidable!
After all, this library was only a public library that the Motta adepts' tower opened to the public. Only wandering adepts or those with limited finances would visit this place.
The truly valuable knowledge was clearly stored in another place, and was only available to the actual members of the adepts' tower. Only groups of adepts with no roots to speak of, such as the Black Glove Association, would be willing to use this place as a headquarters. If they took on some of the daily duties of the tower, they could be recognized as an official member of the tower. They would then be one of the protectors of the public territory!
"Hey. Sarubo brat. There's a little girl looking for you outside… " The elderly adept called to Greem.
"Understood!" Greem took the three books to the entrance and forked over the magic crystals to the elderly adept. The elderly adept quickly started to removed the protective enchantments that had been placed on the books.
When Greem walked through the door of light, he saw Alice.
Thor didn't seem to be present. It seemed he had been sent away by Alice.
"I have already reserved the tickets for the ship that leaves tomorrow afternoon. We will be staying at Brucelan Inn tonight!"
Alice appeared to have accepted her fate as a servant after this period of time. She was no longer as upset and temperamental as she used to be. Once she had calmed down, she was an extremely smart and helpful servant. Her intellect as a pseudo-adept saved Greem from plenty of unnecessary trouble!
Greem followed Alice to the inn and ordered the waiter to send the food to their room. He, on the other hand, quickly recorded the contents of the three books into the chip's data library before continuing his research on the strange otherworld runes.
Having received the warning and reminder from the elderly adept, Greem dismissed his original plan to stroll through Motta City. He decided to stay in the inn for the remaining time instead.
It was only when Alice and Snorlax came to remind him that it was time to board the ship that he stopped his research!
…………
When Greem brought Alice and Snorlax to Motta City's flying stop, he could see a flying ship slowly landing on the green fields on top of a hill.
There were no hot-air balloons or propellers attached to the transport. The bottom of the flying ship was glowing with brilliant golden light. A faint pulsating magic array was generating air currents beneath the ship, allowing it to land steadily on the ground.
The flying ship that Greem had flown in last time seemed to have an edged bottom. It was clearly less capable of bearing a load when compared to the flat-bottom flying ship before him.
A crowd buzzed about the landing platform.
Several carts filled to the brim with cargo were already waiting here. Muscular and strong workers were shouting chants as they carried cargo out of the ship and moved a new load of cargo back onto the ship.
Some individuals wearing adept robes were casually conversing on the fields around the platform. They also appeared to be waiting to board.
In just a single hour, all of the cargo had been loaded onto the ship.
Thus the passengers, adepts, and the nobles started to board the ship. They stood by the railing of the ship and waved at the people below it.
Shouts and sounds of crying rang out from the field below the ship as relatives said their farewells.
Soon, the energy flux emanating from the array at the bottom of the ship intensified. The ship trembled as it was wrapped in a thick layer of wind particles before slowly taking off from the ground.
Far away in a wooden hut, two adepts gazed at the ship as it gradually rose into the clouds. Their eyes were filled with hatred and anger, as well as an intense frustration and resentment.
"Sir, are we letting him leave just like that?" A middle-aged adept with sharp features spat resentfully.
"What else can we do but let him leave?" The other adept was the head of the Black Glove Association– Green Dwarf Pyro, "This is Motta City. It is not a place where we can do whatever we like! That old fogey has already warned me. If I dare to kill any visiting adepts within Motta City, they will deny shelter to all of us! Then the toxic loaches of the Sarubos would probably be waiting to swallow us whole!”
"This Flame Demon fellow is pretty alert as well. He hid within the inn for the entire time he was here. All of the plans we had made for him ended up useless. Was he tipped off by someone?" The thin adept with sharp facial features was still resentful over the entire incident.
"I already know who! It's probably the fault of those old fogeys again. They secretly warned the brat!" A vicious light gleamed within Pyro's eyes.
"Sir, you should be more cautious within the Association as well!" The thin adept hesitated for a moment, "I heard… "
"What?"
"I heard some organizations have already made contact with Fernand and Valier!"
Pyro was shocked for a moment.
He had spent over two hundred years to gather this group of six First Grade adepts. It was already heartbreaking to have lost the most powerful, McThran. If the remaining adepts were drawn away during this time of turmoil for the Association, how was he to accomplish his dream of a Pyro Clan?
"What have you heard? Tell me all about it. Quick… "
The two adepts started to converse quietly within the shelter of the wooden hut.
Greem, ignorant to all of this happening, was standing by the edge of the ship. He silently looked down upon the scenery below him.
The higher the flying ship flew, the smaller everything on the ground appeared to be.
Even the lofty adepts' tower seemed to be slimmer and smaller, like a thick cigar placed on the top of a huge cake.
Looking from above, the territory of Motta City looked like a mix of gray-white ground and structures of every color. The surroundings of the city was filled with vast stretches of golden wheat fields and rectangular human towns. If one were to look even further into the distance, one could see the mountainous forest and the gray paths winding through the trees.
The roads that the humans had paved through the forest twisted and turned. Some slimmer and more narrow paths o
ccasionally branched off the main road. From a distance, the gray-white paths looked like blood vessels spreading across the green forest.
The surrounding temperature had clearly dropped as the flying ship continued to rise in altitude. The chilly winds blew across the deck, causing everyone to shiver in cold.
This tiny problem was clearly not of an issue to a certain adept. A layer of pale red light surfaced on his body, and Greem was warm once again.
Ever since he picked fire mastery, all of the other elementium particles had basically started to distance themselves from Greem. This meant that it was much harder for Greem to cast spells of other elements with his own strength. He was committed to the path of fire manipulation!
Thankfully, there was still such a thing as a magical wand in this world. A magical wand enchanted with the Spell of Watercraft could prevent Greem from dying of thirst in a desert. A magical wand enchanted with Fly could prevent him from falling to his death.
If these options were unavailable, he still had golems of various elements and forms stored within his storage belts. All of these could be used for various purposes.
Greem was never concerned about his safety, even if he was high above in the skies a thousand meters above the ground.
He quickly got used to the scenery below the ship. It was no longer worthy of his attention. Thus, he shifted his gaze to the ship's deck.
The few nobles on the ship had clearly been unable to endure the chill at this altitude. Most of them had retreated into the comfort of the cabin, leaving only adepts on the deck. Pale magical glows enveloped their bodies. Clearly, all of them had some form of magic and means to drive away the cold.
Chapter 269
The ticket price of the flying ship was calculated on a per person basis.
It wasn't really expensive, but neither was it cheap. Two hundred magic crystals for every passenger.
This basically made it impossible for ordinary peasants and low-level apprentices to ever take a ride on the flying ship!
Greem would never receive more than ten magic crystals per month back when he was an apprentice adept. If one deducted the basic cost of borrowing books, renting the lab, and purchasing magical materials from his income, he would barely have any crystals left at the end of each month.
And if he wanted to increase his income? The only way would be to take on the apprentice missions put out by the Adept's Association.
However, such missions often required travelling to faraway places. Moreover, there would occasionally be a need to take the risk of venturing into hazardous areas. It didn't matter whether it was the wild plains, the ancient woods, or some hidden ruins. All of these would contain hidden threats that were lethal to apprentice adepts!
Two hundred magic crystals was an unimaginable sum of money for most low-level apprentices. Only pseudo-adepts would be able to bear such a cost. Thus, almost all of the people on the deck, with the exception of Snorlax and Alice, were adepts.
Most of the adepts had already obscured their faces using elementium particles. One look and Greem could tell that these were lone wolves that didn't like being involved with others. Those adepts that didn't hide their faces were mostly wearing cloth robes. Their expressions were peaceful and calming, as if they didn't want to initiate any form of conflict with others.
Greem contemplated for a moment.
He had heard of such adepts in books that discussed these types of adepts.
These adepts disliked conflict. They preferred to do research in silence, slowly accumulating knowledge and spending most of their lives in their labs.
This was why they were known as scholar adepts.
Now that Greem had already chosen fire mastery, it would be difficult for him to walk down the path of the scholar adept. That said, his personality was not suited to being a scholar in the first place. Greem had always been enhancing his own combat prowess ever since the chip activated. The magical research he conducted was only for the sake of modifying and strengthening his abilities.
Even though he was extremely interested in the creation of golems, he knew very well his own place in the world. Being a combat adept was his true profession. Golem creation was only a secondary profession that acted as an auxiliary source of power for him!
Scholar adepts, on the other hand, were the exact opposite.
They rarely experimented with combat techniques or the art of killing. Instead, they took on secondary and auxiliary professions as their main specialty. Thus, countless non-combat professions continued to develop. These were the potions masters, enchanters, golem masters, summoners, alchemists, and array masters.
These people formed a massive branch within the adepts. These were the esoteric adepts.
These people, whose motto was 'Knowledge is power!', had to do something to distance themselves from the maniacs that liked to engage in battle and murder. Thus they put on silver robes and formed a completely distinct adept organization in the west of the continent– the Silver Union.
They might not have much individual prowess in combat, but their strange powers and sheer numbers allowed them to force their way into the ranks of the top three most powerful adept organizations on the Continent of Adepts.
And Greem's destination this time was the heart city of the Silver Union– the Castle in the Sky.
It was rumored that all of the silver-robed adepts had rallied together, put together all of their wisdom, and merged a tremendous amount of otherworldly knowledge to forge a mighty city over the course of a thousand years. An adepts' city that floated in the skies!
It was precisely because of this miraculous Castle in the Sky that the Silver Union was able to remain influential and powerful, even after ten thousand years. It was because of this magnificent feat of knowledge that the city had become the holy city for all esoteric adepts on the Continent of Adepts.
Every year, all newly advanced adepts that wanted a future as an esoteric adept would treat the Castle in the Sky as their ultimate destination for pilgrimage. They would personally visit the city, regardless of what difficulties they might face. Moreover many newly advanced adepts, having experienced and fallen in love with the learning atmosphere and amount of resources available in the city, would simply choose to stay there.
This undoubtedly strengthened the talent and power within the Silver Union!
There were countless talents and geniuses within the Silver Union's territory as well. Along with the various potions, magic items, magic equipment, and golems available there, the place was also a hotspot for trade. If other adept organizations and forces wanted to get their hands on these top-grade resources, they would have to traverse thousands of kilometers to visit the Castle in the Sky and deal with the Silver Union.
All of these advantages added together caused the Castle in the Sky to become the most prosperous and lively trade city on the Continent of Adepts. It was where talent, knowledge, and resources congregated!
However the journey to the Castle in the Sky was not an easy one.
Currently, several major areas within the Continent of Adepts had been developed. The Zhentarim Association's territory was located in the central area of the continent, while the Silver Union reigned over the territories to the west. These two major forces were the closest to each other.
Sadly, a true connection of transport between these two places had yet to come to fruition.
The Wendu territory in the westernmost land of the Zhentarim Association was still 185,000 kilometers away from the Silver Union's territory. Most of the primal forest that connected the two territories were Third Grade areas that had yet to be explored. There was absolutely no way to pass through these areas.
Third Grade areas referred to terrifying locations where even Third Grade adepts would have to worry for their lives.
The Great Adepts that chose to leave the continent had worked together to exterminate all creatures above Fifth Grade. This was to ensure the preservation of the Continent's ecosystem, as
well as to encourage the other adepts to continue working hard. This caused an extremely delicate balance to exist between the adepts and the ferocious magical creatures.
However, the settlements the humans had carved out took up only twelve percent of the total landmass on the entire Continent of Adepts. Consequently the magical creatures had a far larger space to live in as compared to the humans. Their numbers and variety were far superior to the humans.
The primal areas surrounding the human settlements had been completely explored by the adepts. These places were fairly safe. Still, not even First Grade adepts would remain safe if they walked over five thousand kilometers into primal territory. And if it were about a whole fifty thousand kilometers deep into primal territory, all adepts below Second Grade would most certainly die!
Therefore, since ancient times, countless adepts had died for the cause of connecting the human settlements, their bodies left behind and buried in the depths of the wild forests. It was thanks to their relentless attempts and arduous exploration that the adepts were finally able to find a path through the vast stretches of forest. A narrow corridor in the air.
The numerous flying ships crafted by the Silver Union travelled along this occasionally dangerous aerial corridor, ceaselessly transporting resources from all over the continent to the Castle in the Sky. They would then ship the top-grade products manufactured in the city to every corner of the continent.
As the flying ship that Greem was flying on was still within the Zhentarim Association’s airspace, it was still relatively safe. However the moment they reached the Wendu territory they would have to face the 185,000 kilometer-wide forest. They would have no choice but to take on certain risks then!
Greem took a couple more looks at the amazing scenery below the ship before getting sick of it. He turned and entered through the narrow cabin entrance.
The cabin was the same as any ordinary cabin. Greem walked down ten steps and appeared before a narrow and dimly lit corridor. Five doors stood on each side of the corridor. A bronze plaque had been fixed to each of the doors with a single fundamental rune carved upon each door.
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