Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Will, who had been standing by the door, turned an unbelievable shade of white under the gem's glow. Even his skin seemed to be translucent. It was a sinister, ghastly thing to see.

  "I have already opened the door. Quick, enter!" Will turned around and smiled as he encouraged the party to walk in.

  His face was so white it was almost as if it had been smeared with ashes. Two lines of bloody tears could be seen streaking down his face. When he let out a sinister smile, his muscles distorted tremendously, as if he was a demon from another world.

  Dammit! When was Will replaced with this thing!

  The next second, three spells of various colors crash onto 'Will' without any hesitation.

  Shadow Arrow!

  Frost Dagger!

  Lightning Claw!

  The energy levels of these attacks were only between 12 to 15 points. They didn't do much damage, but they were spells that the apprentices could cast quickly. The fake Will immediately realized something was off. However, he wasn't able to dodge in time, and all three of the instant-cast spells hit his body.

  The white bone shield levitating around Will didn't seem to exist at all. All the spells went right through it and hit their target. The fake Will screeched in pain from the damage. His voice was hoarse and cold, completely different from a human's voice. Moreover, even though his body had been shredded to pieces by the spells, not a single scrap of flesh or drop of blood spilled. Instead, he slowly dispersed into the air as if he was a substance made of energy.

  The fake Will knew that he had been exposed. Its body quickly transformed and started turning into a translucent energy substance. It silently melded into the wall beside it.

  The three apprentice adepts missed their second wave of attacks. They only managed to make a massive hole in the wooden wall, revealing a dark space behind it.

  A cold and sinister wind blew from inside the hole. The party couldn't help but shiver at the occurrence.

  "Damn It! It's a spirit! " The advanced apprentice Warren cursed angrily, "Our attacks earlier weren't enough. We didn't do enough to damage it. Everyone must be caref…"

  He didn't finish his sentence. A light flashed near the wall, and a transparent form came out of the wall and slashed Warren's left arm with its sharp claws.

  "Aaaaaah!"

  Warren screamed in agony.

  Two spells immediately fired at the spirit, but they only managed to damage the wall further. Once again, it had hidden in the shadows.

  Warren endured the pain and tore the damaged cloth off his shoulder. He could see several deep claw marks on his arm. The wounds had extended all the way to his bone. Moreover, the injury was turning blue and black. A layer of crystalline frost had already frozen the flesh around the wound and was slowly creeping towards the rest of the arm.

  "Damn! It's a pseudo-adept level spirit. Everyone be careful!" Warren shouted at the top of his lungs.

  Chapter 310

  Spirits and the like are one of the most troublesome guards to deal with.

  If it had been ordinary voodoo beasts, four apprentice adepts would still have been able to kill them, even if they had to suffer some losses in the process. However, it was challenging to get rid of spirits.

  Firstly, these spirits didn't possess actual physical bodies.

  In low-magic worlds, death was inevitable once you stopped breathing. The death of the body meant that the spiritual consciousness had dispersed and vanished. The soul could not exist independently of its host.

  However, this was not the case in high-magic worlds. Individuals who had possessed powerful wills in life, be it adepts or magical creatures, would still be able to exist in the material plane through their powerful mental will. They would be able to preserve their spiritual consciousness.

  They would use their powerful hatred and regrets for their core and gather elementium substances as their bodies. Once they became powerful enough, they could even materialize in the material world.

  Their bodies were both intangible and tangible, which allowed them to switch between the two states freely.

  When they transformed into intangible objects, their bodies would not be affected by physical substances. They could pass through any unprotected materials, such as stone, wood, and metal. Only elementium energies under the control of adepts or magical forcefields could prevent them from entering.

  Spirits did not receive physical damage while in their intangible form. However, the lack of a strong body made them susceptible to elementium attacks. They were easily wounded.

  When they transformed into their tangible form, their rich elementium bodies would possess both physical and elementium damage. The effect of this was the ability to absorb the life force of any living being. They could also cause severe negative-energy damage. For example, the spirit before them dealt frost damage when using a physical attack.

  The spirits still had extremely high resistance and immunity to physical damage in this form. Their damaged bodies naturally recovered through the absorption of wandering elementium. Thus, the most effective method to kill spirits was to use elementium attacks.

  For the next seven minutes, the spirit stalked them like an assassin. It continuously appeared from the walls, the floor, and even the ceiling, striking the apprentices once before disappearing once more.

  The spirit was fast and stealthy. Most of the apprentices' retaliations didn't find their marks. The spells would crash against the walls or floor and do absolutely nothing to the spirit. Moreover, the attacks on the apprentices were adding up. Their wounds increased, their flesh had started rotting, and more and more parts of their bodies were frozen. It was hard to regenerate even with the use of the medicine they had with them.

  Bizarrely enough, the spirit seemed to have a vendetta against the apprentices alone. It only attacked them and wholly ignored Alice, who was casually walking along.

  Alice was perfectly happy with how things were as well. She held the Gem of True Sight against the wall and examined the paintings on it one by one.

  Much like what she saw in the swamp tower, none of the paintings in the walls here were ordinary. If it weren't some type of spirit sealed within, it would be a strange monster with mysterious abilities.

  Every time Alice peered into a painting with her gem, the monster sealed within would screech and hide into the depths of the picture to avoid the light from the gem.

  Finally, Alice found a sinister scenic painting on a wall by the side. Naturally, she also found Will, who was frantically calling for help from within.

  The scene in the painting had turned to night by now.

  The grey grass near the small hill started to overturn under the desolate moonlight. Shambling figures rose from beneath the ground. Their howling filled the entire world of the painting

  These were fearsome mummies that had slept underground for many decades. Their bodies had shriveled entirely. Their stomachs had shrunk, and their remaining hair was yellow and withered. Countless corpse beetles crawled between their eye sockets, nostrils, and mouths.

  Their actions were dull and slow. Unknown black flakes even fell off their bodies as they stumbled around.

  They wandered without any particular purpose.

  However, their shriveled nostrils were able to pick up on the smell of the wind; the warm smell of flesh and blood that belonged to a living being. It was a smell that would send any undead into a frenzy.

  Everything changed in the very next moment!

  The mummies started howling and growling loudly. A pungent odor of decay came from their mouths.

  They got down on all fours and lunged towards Will's location with the speed and agility of a hunting hound. Their actions were as fast as lightning. Will hadn't even managed to break free from the shock when they had already had arrived before him.

  The spinning bone shield repelled the mummies. A rain of bone fangs shot out from Will's hand, riddling the mummies around him full of holes.

  But none of this
curbed their desire for warm blood.

  The mummies' growling became even more frequent, and the entire land started to crumble. More mummies emerged from the ground and leaped towards Will's position.

  Dammit! Why was there so many of them?

  Will cursed angrily.

  His elementium affinity was negative energy, and he walked the path of a Whitebone Adept. He wasn't unfamiliar with these undead mummies. In fact, Will was better acquainted than any other apprentice adept when it came to these monsters. He might be able to deal with one or two dozen mummies, but a horde of hundreds or thousands of mummies was way too much! He wouldn't be able to survive even if he could split himself in three right now!

  Will continuously released all sorts of bone tools from his pouch. He activated the negative energy within them and tossed them into the mummy horde. What happened next was a shocking eruption of negative energy. All the mummies enveloped by the tide of power were shredded to pieces instantly. The fragmented soul consciousness that remained in their bodies was dispersed as well, leaving them with no way to control their broken bodies.

  Will's research focused on negative energy after all. He knew very well how to kill undead efficiently.

  However, he didn't have very many of these powerful bone tools.He went pale after throwing four or five of them at the enemy. There was nothing left in his pouch.

  Will couldn't help but let out a scream of despair as he looked on at the lunging horde of undead.

  Then, the frame shimmered, and a massive hand extended in from the outside. This hand was like the small arm of a girl that had been enlarged by hundreds of times. The skin was smooth and white. The fingerprints and pores were all present. Will could even see the red nail polish that was applied to her nails.

  The giant hand reached inside and instantly appeared above the hill. It grabbed Will and quickly exited the painting.

  The mummies surrounding Will couldn't possibly let him go just like that. They stacked together and roared as they grabbed the hand and tried to stall it.

  Their actions angered the owner of the hand. The hand shook, and everything within the world of the painting shattered to pieces. The swarm of mummies broke as well.

  Now that it had dealt with the undead, the giant hand quickly withdrew and disappeared through the wooden frame portal.

  Alice waved the Gem of True Sight around as she chased away the accursed spirit that had tried to take the opportunity to attack her. Meanwhile, she drew her right hand out from the wall.

  Bop.

  Her arm came out and Will the apprentice was dragged out of the painting as well.

  The spirit was enraged to see the prey it had caught be saved.

  It let out an ear-piercing screech, and white smoke started to obscure the painting. Countless mummies charged towards the exit as if they wanted to get out of the picture as well.

  Alice let out a cold laugh and shook the Gem of True Sight. A series of twisted and distorted magical runes surfaced in the middle of the painting.

  "Amiasa, Slumber of the Dead!"

  Alice quickly finished her chant, and a bright white light glowed within the painting. A mysterious white vortex appeared out of nowhere and dragged the wailing spirit back into the canvas.

  When the light faded away, the painting had returned to its original appearance.

  Mountains in the distance, a river, grey fields, a small hill, and a spirit wailing on the top of the hill.

  She managed to seal the enemy!

  Alice turned and smiled at Warren, "Hey, big guy! I really won't be responsible again if you take one more step backward and wake the monster sealed in that painting!"

  Warren turned around with his left hand cradling his wounded right arm. Only then did he realize how close he had gotten to the wooden frame on the other side when he retreated.

  A mysterious spirit boat was crashing through the towering waves in the painting as it sped forward.

  Warren might not know what monster was sealed within, but he had already seen what happened to Will. He had no desire to tempt fate.

  He quickly moved away from the painting!

  It seemed that the guardians of this corridor were the creatures in these sealing paintings.

  Progress was much more relaxed now that they understood what awaited them.

  Alice used her Gem of True Sight to shine the way for every bit of distance they covered. They quickly uncovered the existence of magical traps this way. All they needed to do was take turns to attack and seal any enemies before they could come out and cause trouble.

  It was evident that this was the primary location where Adept Sak performed his secret experiments. The number of magical traps he had prepared was numerous.

  Monsters sealed in paintings, alarms hidden in candlesticks, and killing contraptions hidden underneath the floorboard were only a few.

  It wasn't hard to imagine the fate of an intruder. Sak would be able to pick up on the abnormality even if he was a thousand kilometers away. All he needed to do then was rush back and seal the exit. The depths of the corridor would trap the enemy.

  All magical traps and contraptions, as well as voodoo beasts, required an adept's management to exhibit their fullest potential.

  However, now that Sak was dead, it didn't matter how many and how tightly-packed his defenses were. They would eventually be overwhelmed.

  Thus, after an entire night's worth of torturous exploration, the party successfully reached the end of the corridor. They had arrived before the door of the laboratory!

  A strange human face surfaced on the wooden door.

  "Password. Speak the password or be denied entry!"

  Chapter 311

  Szzzzzz.

  Violent acid splashed against the human-faced door. It destroyed the face before the magic arrays could even activate.

  The four apprentices winced as they looked at the mess before them. They took a look at the strange slime golem that Alice had just summoned and howled silently in their hearts.

  Christ! Why didn't you summon an adept-level golem earlier if you had one? You had to wait for us to get all beaten up before sending this out to take out the trash!

  Of course, the few apprentices might have been cursing all they wanted in their hearts, but they were even more respectful when talking to Alice now.

  Of course, they had to! Anyone would probably act like them if they were faced with a pseudo-adept that could summon an adept-level golem at any time. If she didn't like them, she could send an Acid Spray their way, and their bodies wouldn't even leave bones behind!

  The Decayer's 50 point acid attack destroyed even the magic door and its secure defenses. They probably weren't even enough for the Decayer to swallow in a single bite.

  The following exploration was much more comfortable with the help of the Decayer.

  Sak might have been a veteran elite adept, and his traps might have been deadly and well-hidden. However, without Sak's control, or the aid of the system within an actual adept's tower, the traps were merely inanimate objects. They couldn't possibly stop the violent destruction of the Decayer.

  It didn't matter whether it was a magical door or trap, or even a pocket-dimensional sealing spell. The Decayer just threw a little green spit their way. Everything would then turn into white smoke amidst the sizzling sounds of corroding acid. Naturally, the traps no longer worked after that.

  The party found Sak's lab, treasury, and study room at the end of the corridor.

  Alice puffed her chest and led the Decayer into the room first. She took a look at everything in the lab and waved her hand.

  "Go, find everything of value in this room. This Lady will naturally reward you if you bring back enough items of sufficient quality. Go, go, go…"

  The four apprentices behaved with a frenzied glee once Alice delivered her instructions. They excitedly shouted as they rushed to each corner of the room. After all, this was a magical lab set up by a veteran elite adept. Any discovery was
more than enough for them to utilize.

  The good stuff naturally belonged to Alice. They would be content with all the insignificant treasures here!

  Alice stood unmovingly on the spot. She put her hands behind her back and closed her eyes as if she were waiting for something.

  As expected, an indescribable feeling of danger crept up in her heart as the party was happily searching for and splitting the resources and treasures they found.

  Yes, it was this feeling!

  Alice's heart tremored. A sharp brilliance gleamed in her eyes.

  She had felt this sudden unease back in the forest camp earlier. They were attacked right after that. Alice couldn't be more familiar with this feeling!

  For the first time in her life, she, Alice, a mere pseudo-adept, had felt real helplessness when faced with a powerful enemy!

  Spatial Barrier; forcefully crushed by the serpentine adept!

  Spatial Cut; diverted to who knows where by that stupid illusionist.

  The bird cage; not even enough to break through the defenses of the two adepts.

  She had been about to run away from the camp when that strange Eye of Petrification hit her. The overflowing energy of petrification ravaged through her body, quickly numbing her legs and turning them into lifeless stone.

  Alice had been left with no choice but to escape with Snorlax even as she resisted the corrosion of the petrification energy.

  Sadly, the two adepts had prepared for the situation. They were able to accurately locate Alice's position every time she teleported and kept up a heavy pursuit. On the other hand, most of her powers had been used to suppress the petrification. The frequent use of spatial energy had caused more and more of her body to be petrified.

  In the end, Alice had to leave Snorlax alone and escape in a different direction. It still wasn't enough to elude the enemies behind her.

  After one last teleportation, Alice had no longer been able to control the petrification energy in her body and slowly turned into a statue with her face frozen in fear.

  What kind of feeling was that?

  She had felt every inch of her body losing their senses. She had felt her organs become hard and heavy. She felt her body lose control and her consciousness fade. She had wanted to scream, but her vocal chords had turned to stone. She had wanted to cry, but she couldn't even let a single tear flow out.