Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  The witches, on the other hand, kept their legacies to themselves. Each and every one of them had secrets of their own that they never shared among themselves. The magical materials that they used were so weird and odd that it was unbelievable. Most of the time they knew very well what materials were needed for a curse, thanks to their personal legacies. However, very few witches would be able to figure out why they needed those materials.

  The witches had always refused to share the magical knowledge within their system. They also disliked dealings with the outside world. This was why the Northern Witches had a legacy of knowledge that was completely distinct from the mainstream adepts on the continent.

  In the eyes of other adepts, the Northern Witches were all insane women with bizarre abilities. Even though they weren't that much more powerful, they were a pain to deal with. A real pain!

  The curses they were so skilled at often involved planar laws of extreme complexity and profundity. It was very difficult to dispel these curses. Even if an adept was of a superior grade, they wouldn't dare to offend a Northern Witch in possession of a proper legacy.

  Alice hugged her arms together as she sulked and soaked within the green brew. Only a small part of her head stayed above the liquid. The rest of her body was completely immersed in the sticky green soup. She put on an upset expression and tried to tolerate the weird energies that continuously seeped into her body through her nostrils and skin.

  Every time she couldn't stomach the uncomfortable feeling, and wanted to distance her nose and mouth from the stinking brew, she would be stopped. The black serpent hanging from the ceiling would hiss as it extended its body downwards.

  Alice had no choice but to soak herself in the green brew and let the liquid cover her mouth. Only her nose hadn't been submerged under the brew.

  You stupid master! You are way too cruel! To leave this cute Alice with this old hag to do as she wills! You wait for me. Once I get out of this old witch's claws, I'll try my very best to land my most carefully crafted curses on you!

  Alice already understood what had transpired by now.

  Greem's action of protecting her the last time had to be an act he put up. Alice's affinity for fate might have been very important to him, but it wasn't important enough for him to throw his life away for it. So… he must have had an ulterior motive for trying to cover her the last time.

  Mm! That must be the case!

  He must have seen through the purpose behind the old witch's actions and came up with the perfect facade. Hmph! This old witch thought she had perfect control of the situation and never expected to be tricked by an insignificant newly advanced adept. She really has gone senile.

  Then, should I reveal master's little trick to the old witch?

  Nope. Definitely not.

  The old witch promised to let her go after ten days. Now that she already endured seven days, there were only three days left until she regained her freedom. If something happened now, Alice would likely be dragged into the trouble as well.

  She could envision a future where she was trapped in this dark and lightless place for eternity, enduring the bizarre experiments of a crazy old hag. Just thinking about it was enough to make Alice go mad!

  I curse you… no. Oh my beloved master, as long as you save Alice from this hell, Alice won't ever stir up any trouble for you again.

  For the first time in her life, Alice threw away her pride and recklessness, praying religiously to fate.

  Perhaps a Witch of Fate could only receive the blessings and protection of fate if they religiously believed in the laws of fate!

  Chapter 291

  The Outer Circle. Byron Clan's outpost.

  Snorlax the Goblin passionately worked away at something in a small room away from the banquet.

  A basic magical machine had put up a white screen in front of him. Duke Gazlowe, the one who hailed himself as the greatest inventor, engineer, and trans-planar merchant of the Goblin Empire, appeared on the screen. He wore a thick monocle lens and sprayed saliva all over the display as he shouted at Snorlax.

  "No! Never… " Gazlowe waved his thick and hairy green arms about, "We won't talk unless the price is lower than seventeen magic crystals… I'll never let a vampire like you take advantage of me again. Not to mention, you haven't gotten me anything of value despite us knowing us each other for such a long time. You… You are not qualified to be a trans-planar merchant. The best you can hope for is to be a shitty goblin that goes around picking up trash… "

  The opponent's insults had clearly provoked Snorlax as well. Anyone who attacked his dream of being a trans-planar merchant was inviting his utmost anger.

  "You freaking coward that can do nothing but hide behind that screen of yours. This Transportation Tool you gave me is a shitty second-rate product and you have the guts to scold me? It can't transport anything more than five hundred grams worth of stuff, and an error happens every three or four transportations. Who knows which corner of the universe your shitty machine has sent all my treasures to? Am I supposed to be the one to bear the losses incurred by your machine?"

  "Bastard. You uncultured swine of a goblin. You don't even understand what a terrifying amount of energy is required to pierce through plane barriers and send items across. You have no energy furnace, no reactor, and no energy source. You are a filthy excuse of a goblin with absolutely nothing. Do you want a large and stable passage with a few low-quality energy crystals? Not even the adept you are serving would have technology like that, much less the Goblin Empire!"

  "What should we do then? We are always having this argument. Who will bear the losses incurred by using an unreliable machine such as this one?"

  "If you can get me some useful adept tools or unique energy treasures, I will willingly bear the losses caused by space turbulence."

  "Hmph! Don't think me a fool just because I'm a little ignorant. Your machine is way too unreliable. It is unsuitable for large-scale trans-planar trade. Moreover, all of the trade we have been doing so far only needs to be done once. You no longer need any more of the same material once you get the sample and analyze it. In comparison, I am only getting meager returns after spending so much effort searching for resources. I won't ever commit myself to such a fool's errand again!"

  "Er… " Gazlowe adjusted the glasses on his faces, and for once, reassessed the goblin before him with a serious expression.

  Who knew? Indeed, who knew? A little goblin living under the enslavement and trampling of the terrifying adepts could understand such a complex idea, despite having absolutely no technological knowledge. He couldn't help but look at Snorlax in a completely different light.

  "Very well, little Snorlax! Since we both have something in our possession that the other needs, I suggest we show some sincerity to each other. I can raise the prices appropriately, and as for you… it's about time you start showing me some of the actually useful items!" An expression of true sincerity appeared on Gazlowe's wrinkled green face.

  "My existence has value to you and the goblins?" Snorlax asked doubtfully.

  "Of course!" Gazlowe pushed his glasses upwards again, "You should know that the World of Adepts you are in right now is an infamous, large-sized plane within the multiverse. It is a great deal larger than the Goblin Empire on my plane. I decided to throw the Transportation Tools into the space turbulence so that they might land in any corner of the multiverse as they followed the drifting currents of space. We in the Goblin Empire have no ability to make a new passage to the World of Adepts, even if you wanted me to do so. Not to mention the fact that we would never ever attempt to do so. After all, the adepts are said to be very horrifying and invasive lifeforms!"

  "So, what you are saying is that we have to rely on this shitty machine to trade?"

  "Indeed!"

  "Fine. What do I need to make note of when I use this Transportation Tool?"

  "Firstly, you need to find a powerful energy source if you wish for the Transportation Tool to function stably
."

  "For instance?"

  "An energy pool for example… "

  "You think a small goblin such as myself can access the energy pool within the adept tower? Next… "

  "Natural gathering spots for elementium. Such as the heart of a massive storm, or the bottom of a volcano."

  "Are you actually being sincere about this? Wouldn't I just be killing myself if I went to those places you mentioned?"

  "Or some high-grade energy crystals. They would have to be at least ten times stronger than the stuff you are using right now to ensure a stable connection."

  "High-grade energy crystals? What's that? Can't you be a little more specific." Snorlax grumbled as he searched about his pouch in frustration. In the end, he got sick of the trouble and just poured everything out of the pouch, allowing it to spill all over the table.

  "Hang on… hang on… " The frantic voice of Gazlowe rang out from the screen, "What's that silvery-white metal?"

  "Mm?" Snorlax followed Gazlowe's descriptions and took out a heavy metal ball from within the pile of items.

  This looked like a round metal ball carved from platinum, but it didn't have the smooth feeling of platinum. The surface of the ball was uneven and filled with countless tiny patterns and carvings. Snorlax couldn't feel any energy radiating from the thing, but it was, in truth, a true mechanical heart.

  A mechanical heart. A living alchemical heart that the Golem Masters used to forge high-grade puppets and statues. It was a crucial component in the creation of a magical golem. The strength of the Golem Knight wasn't just due to its tough shell made of precious metals. The mechanical heart was what turned the cold metallic creature into a living lifeform.

  This mechanical heart's abilities had even improved significantly after Rouneau inserted the Second Grade knight's soul into it. As long as there was a complete metallic body for it to be installed into, another powerful metallic golem would easily come to life.

  Such a powerful object shouldn't possibly be Snorlax's possession. It was the spoils of war his master Greem had obtained from the golem duel.

  Greem had also thought of keeping the mechanical heart for himself when he uncovered its secret. With the heart, he could forge an indestructible soldier of steel. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to find out anything more about the golem talisman.

  Without the golem talisman, Greem would have to drag the heavy metal item along with him as he traveled around the world. Magical puppets were indeed fairly strong, but the fact that they couldn't be carried around easily was enough to render them useless.

  It might have been useful for Greem to have several of these to guard his base or adept tower in the future. However, right now… it was much better to have a few high-grade elementium golems with him!

  Thus, Greem tossed it over to Snorlax and had him exchange the heart for several high-grade elementium cores. Snorlax wanted to become a goblin merchant anyway. He was the best person to send on these errands.

  Right now, Snorlax held the mechanical heart in his hand as he looked curiously at the screen.

  "This mechanical heart is useful for you?"

  "Of course it's useful. If I'm not mistaken, it's a sort of magical mechanical core that the adepts created using magic. It's even one of those cores with high intelligence. We of the Goblin Empire developed a civilization revolving around magic-powered machines. Though we can create magical mechanical cores of our own, we never developed a means of inserting a living being's soul into the thing."

  "So, it's worth a lot, isn't it?" Snorlax let out a wicked grin as he tossed the metal ball in his palm.

  "Er… " Gazlowe went silent.

  "Alright, say it. Tell it to me straight, how much are you willing to exchange for this mechanical heart. Don't try and use those low-quality things like rocket boots and parachutes to cheat me again. Also, this mechanical heart is way over the weight limit. You sure your Transportation Tool can send it over?"

  "……"

  Gazlowe seemed to have understood something important after a long period of silence. A fawning smile appeared on his green and oily face once more.

  "My beloved Snorlax, I present to you the greatest war machine in the Goblin Empire– the Magic Mecha. You will no longer need to fear your enemies with this thing. It will become your greatest and most loyal soldier, obliterating every enemy in its sights! "

  "Oh? Are you talking about those terrifying metallic things the size of a hill? I don't intend to start a construction company any time soon. What am I going to use this thing modified from your tree-cutting Goblin Shredders for? Just the metals and spare parts I would need to gather to construct it would take up a hundred years of my time. How is this thing useful to me?" Snorlax's intelligence had clearly gone through the roof today. He shouted angrily at the screen, no longer the naive and foolish goblin he used to be.

  "Don't get angry, my beloved Snorlax. I'll introduce you to another ultra-scary weapon– the Magic Cannon. With this cannon, you can become undefeatable. No enemy would be able to defend a single blast from it!"

  "Nope. Nope… I'm a pacifist goblin merchant. You can sell those violent weapons to some other guy! I only need high-grade elementium cores. These are things my master has ordered me to gather. The more the better… "

  "Very well. Very well. Elementium cores it shall be. At what price do you intend to sell the heart for?"

  "The blueprints for that Magic Mecha and a completed Magic Cannon, along with a hundred elementium cores above Second Grade!"

  "Bullshit!" Gazlowe leaped three feet into the sky, "Why don't you just go and rob someone at that price? Your mechanical heart isn't even worth this much!"

  "Then how much can you give in return?"

  Gazlowe extended three fingers, but then hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth and extended a fourth finger.

  "Four Second Grade elementium cores. That's all you can get!"

  “Liar… “ Now, it was Snorlax's turn to jump three feet into the sky, "This is daylight robbery… this is bankrupting my entire establishment. You are the greediest, most shameless, and stingiest goblin I have ever met. This price is complete highway robbery!”

  The two goblins clearly had an unbelievable amount of stinginess and perversion carved into their very bones. Yet, at the same time, both of them were so greedy and shameless. The two goblins continued to point at each other, flinging every single insult they knew across the brilliant screen of light. After a few bouts of exchanged insults, the two would get together and start a round of actual negotiations.

  And just like that, a bizarre interplanar trade was completed in the dead of night!

  Chapter 292

  Castle in the Sky. The Inner Circle's Main Hall.

  This was a massive hall constructed inside the mountain. It took up a land of nearly three hundred thousand square meters.

  Still, a description like this wasn't entirely accurate.

  More specifically, this mysterious and magnificent hall was the first to be constructed. The Silver Union had only constructed the mountain as a shell around it to hide the hall’s existence. Most of the architecture in the inner circle had been constructed after the mountain and the hall. Their purpose was to serve as research facilities and cover for the mysterious hall within the mountain.

  It was only when you had the opportunity to become a Silver Union adept, and rise to become a member of the Senate, that you would have the qualification to step foot into this mysterious hall. It was here where you learned and researched the ultimate secrets of the esoteric adepts.

  You would be shocked to find this place to be a sea of runes and machinery.

  The hall interior was a vast and endless space that stretched as far as the eye could see. Hundreds of billions of gears, axles, springs, levers… and an innumerable amount of metallic parts and components floated within this space.

  They came in all sizes and shapes. The only similarity was their color. Each and every one of these parts was platinum in c
olor, and a single mysterious golden rune had been inscribed upon each.

  Some of these metallic components were as large as an entire island, while the smallest ones needed the use of a microscope to be seen by the naked eye.

  They appeared to be floating in the space in a disorderly fashion, but if someone was able to look from a high enough vantage point and see everything within the mysterious space, they would be stunned to find a reason and rhythm to their movements.

  The hundreds of billions of runic machines were moving about the space according to a certain powerful law.

  The mechanical parts and metallic components of various sizes drifted around. Whenever two different components ran into each other, they would come together and form a new component. Once numerous components merged in this fashion, a mysterious and new runic mechanical construct would be born in the mysterious space.

  No one knew what purpose or function this construct served.

  It could have been part of a mechanical clock, or part of the body of a powerful runic golem, or a meaningless congregation of gears. Of course, it could also have been the prototype of a mysterious, never-before-seen machine.

  Unfortunately, these compound mechanical constructs never lasted for too long.

  The newly formed runic mechanical constructs would soon disassemble into their base components when they crashed into another construct. Bizarrely enough, these disassembled components would be completely different from how they were before they had merged into a new construct!

  Thus, hundreds of billions of silver parts drifted in the hall’s space, ceaselessly repeating the process of combining and disassembling. It didn't matter how much they merged and split. They were contained within that massive empty space and would never spill out of the hall.

  It was as if… as if there was an invisible barrier in the hall!