Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  A petrified body but a still-existing soul had looked on in terror and agony as the last fragments of her consciousness faded. The experience was incomprehensible for anyone that hadn't experienced it for themselves!

  The two adepts had hurried over to find her wholly petrified body.

  The serpentine adept had wanted to crush her with a simple strike and complete the mission. However, the female illusionist suggested otherwise. Once Alice's soul had dispersed entirely, this would be a decent collection item!

  Alice's petrified shell of a body had trapped her. She had cursed and cried and begged and despaired countless times as the two adepts had waited. Sadly, Alice had been a lonely prisoner in her dark mental world. She could not break through or convey her voice or thoughts to the outside world.

  She had absolutely no idea of what had transpired next.

  The call for help from the Bloodhand Butcher might have saved her. The two adepts had hurried away and failed to detect the trace of spatial flux from within her body.

  That was the power of the spacestone!

  It had been a long, long time before Greem's familiar mental flux pierced through the dark and deathly silent mental world. It was then that Alice had cried out loud.

  It was only then that Alice had thought of the ability to cry when she wanted to as a blessing in and of itself!

  Perhaps Alice might only have been sealed shut in her cold and dead mental world for a single night, but the significance of that one night was unprecedentedly enormous for her. It had been an incredibly long time in her mind. Long enough to make her go mad. An eternity that had caused her to hover at the brink of a breakdown.

  She had called for help, but none came. She had been afraid, despairing, crying, howling. But none of this had any meaning! She had been the only one in her cold and desolate world!

  The spatial talent that she had always relied on appeared to be so fragile and useless. Don't even mentioned saving her; she hadn't even been able to use her talent to kill herself.

  Her mind had undergone countless changes and browsed through many thoughts in the dead darkness. She hadn't been able to keep track of all of it herself. When Alice had given up on her pride and gave up on the temporal strength of the outside, she, for the first time, religiously and diligently used every bit of her soul's power to pray and pay respect to the one thing that could bring her hope.

  Fate!

  She had prayed zealously.

  No longer trying to negotiate with fate, no longer trying to ask for something from fate.

  Alice had been willing to become a believer in fate and shoulder her mission and become…

  Greem's mental flux had suddenly broken through her dark cell like a deity descending upon the mortal world, right as she had recognized the true nature of her powers and strength.

  Alice had desperately wanted to cry at that moment, yet she had smiled silently in the darkness!

  Naturally, Greem had no way to know of this subtle change in Alice's mind.

  After all, he also had been too busy dealing with the corrosive petrification energy and the rampaging of his abyssal aura at that time. He could only hurry and rush Alice and Snorlax back to the Feidnan City. There had been no time for him to think about any changes that had happened to Alice.

  Greem had only realized that Alice had changed when she was designing her magical tattoo for Greem.

  The usually violent and sly Alice had willingly given up on the components that could strengthen her spatial talents. Instead, she had asked Greem to enhance the sensitivity and insights of her Spirit.

  This request had been entirely out of the blue and was far beyond Greem's expectations. It was at that moment that Greem realized the change that had happened to Alice.

  Alice had honestly started to believe in fate. She was willing to put her faith in fate. It was a difficult thing to do, but she did it!

  After all, a spatial talent was a tangible thing. Greem only needed to strengthen it a little, and Alice's combat prowess and survival skills would increase exponentially. Fate, on the other hand, was intangible, unseen and mysterious. No one had any idea where it came from and no idea how to train and cultivate it.

  Throwing resources at such a thing was considered a massive waste!

  At least, that's how most adepts thought of the issue.

  However, Greem didn't belong to this group of adepts.

  Honestly, Alice's spatial talents were very desirable. Still, they couldn't compare to the title of the Witch of Fate. Only thirteen witches possessed titles in the World of Adepts. They were the core and the skeleton that held together the large group that was the Northern Witches.

  After tens of thousands of years, the thirteen branches of the Northern Witches had all experienced their own prosperities and declines. The chapter of the Witch of Fate was undoubtedly part of the groups that had gone extinct.

  However, as long as the legacy laws of the Witch of Fate were still part of the will of the World of Adepts, their legacy would never wholly go extinct.

  Numerous inheritors of the Witch of Fate and her considerable talents indicated the revival of the Fate branch after a thousand years of silence!

  The leaders of the Northern Witches had sent out many guides to bring these inheritors back to the Tower of Fate because of this.

  The Battle of Fate would happen eight years later, as was scheduled!

  It didn't matter who lived. That person would successfully become the true Witch of Fate. A new branch would rise among the Northern Witches.

  The people that were so stubbornly pursuing Alice at this time were most likely preparing for the Battle of Fate.

  It could be that an overbearing force backed one of the candidates, and this force was trying to help her get rid of the competitors. Or perhaps some influence within the Continent of Adept didn't want to see the Northern Witches continue to grow in strength. That was why they might have sent attacks to interrupt the inheritance ceremony of the Witch of Fate.

  It was the first time Alice had so clearly felt the danger she was in!

  The trip to Wylick Castle was a risk that she had taken. More importantly, it was her going fishing!

  Still.

  If she was the bait, who was the fish?

  Chapter 312

  The danger arrived swifter than anyone could have expected!

  A second ago, Alice was still patrolling the lab and examining her spoils of war. The very next second, the entire magically fortified roof was blasted away.

  For a moment, broken pillars, crumbling walls, damaged arrays, and raining sand and debris covered the entirety of the castle.

  Gasps and screams rang out throughout the castle.

  Alice raised her head.

  One could easily see the night sky, even as the wooden beams and crumbling rocks fell around the building. A massive, flying magical creature hovered above Alice, projecting a fearsome shadow onto the castle below.

  Alice had expected someone to attack, but she never expected them to raise such a huge commotion.

  In the sky.

  An eight-meter long faux-dragon with grey scales and metallic looking skin beat its wings. It had a devilish and sharp snout, short front limbs, and powerful hind legs. It had a three-meter-long tail with a spindle-shaped end dragging behind its body as well.

  The massive pair of grey wings sent howling winds blowing in every direction. No one could open their eyes with all the dust blowing at them.

  The reason they are described as faux-dragons is that they had none of the intimidating and chilling dragon's aura of might that an actual dragon possessed. However, their bodies still possessed many draconic traits. Alice was confident that they were a sort of hybrid dragon!

  It was a mixed-blood hybrid dragon born of a union between a dragon and another species!

  Alice couldn't help but suspect that this hybrid dragon's parent was a large rodent. After all, this 'dragon' had a thin snout, whiskers, and even a grey and furr
y tail.

  Given the lust of the dragons and their Ultimate Transfiguration, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility.

  Still, Alice quickly tossed aside these useless thoughts and focused on the beautiful lady sitting on the back of the dragon.

  It was her! As Alice had expected! It was her!

  The mysterious lady that the Sarubo Clan had been unable to track, despite the massive amount of resources they had put to use, had managed to chase her down!

  Alice betrayed an expression of shock and fear. She tried to hide behind the Decayer's body while secretly turning the wooden ring on her right pinky.

  A subtle magical message was secretly sent out!

  "There's no need for an act anymore!" The beautiful illusionist on the hybrid dragon laughed with disdain, "Don't think about sending a message or anything like that. From the moment this started, all of the magical messages from here are being intercepted. You have no chance to call for reinforcements!"

  Alice's face froze when she heard the woman speak. She quickly raised her right hand and frantically tried to communicate and ask for help. Sadly, a static noise was all that came from the wooden ring. She had no way of using the magical ring to contact Greem or 'that' person.

  Alice was truly afraid now!

  Dammit! The fishing plan worked, but now what about the hunters?

  The green, slimy Decayer slowly moved forward and stood before Alice. A brilliant green halo was glowing around it.

  Poison Halo!

  All life within a hundred meters of the Decayer would be poisoned and robbed of their life when the halo passed through.

  The apprentice adepts hiding in the corners of the lab grabbed their throats with their hands as they fell to the ground and struggled in agony. The ones with low magic resistances were dead within moments, while the stronger ones rolled around on the ground. They frantically grabbed antidotes from their pouches and swallowed as many as they could.

  However, with how much they were struggling, it didn't seem long before they would die!

  The ordinary servants and slaves on the lower floors did even worse. The moment the halo flashed, they had already collapsed without a chance to call for help.

  The Decayer would never care about its surroundings when it wanted to attack the enemy.

  Of course, Alice, as its temporary master, was able to enjoy immunity to his attacks!

  The illusionist quickly took out a white pearl and put it into her mouth. The green shade that had surfaced on her face quickly faded away. The hybrid dragon she rode on seemed to have inherited the powerful resistance of the dragons. It exhaled two clouds of black smoke from its nostrils and sneezed. That was all it took for it to endure the Decayer's poison attacks.

  Dammit! If I had known the plan was so weak, I would have brought master's Infernal Tyrant with me!

  Alice cursed angrily, but she knew that this was only her fantasy.

  With her status as a pseudo-adept, she had to wear several pieces of magical equipment to raise her Spirit, and still she could barely summon the weakest of the golems– the Decayer. Even if her master was able to overlook any damage to his golems and handed the Infernal Tyrant core to her, she couldn't possibly succeed at summoning the Tyrant anyway.

  The dragon dove down at Alice under the illusionist's orders. Its body caused powerful winds to blow at Alice even before it crashed into her.

  The Decayer's jelly-like green body shook, and a massive wad of green acid launched at the opponent. The glob of green acid exploded after flying a short distance and covered an area of ten meters. It coated everything in the area with acid.

  Oddly enough, the Decayer's 'spit' had missed its mark, despite how large the dragon was!

  Stupid illusions!

  Eight silhouettes of the dragon and the illusionist appeared in the sky. They circled above the damaged castle. The Decayer's Acid Spray continued to miss, only succeeding in hitting a couple of illusions.

  However, the massive wind blades that the enemy shot at them were not an illusion. Every blast damaged the body of the Decayer and sent acid splashing everywhere.

  The Decayer was not a worthwhile opponent for the illusionist and her dragon when fighting two against one!

  Alice had no choice but to join the battle now that she could see that they were at a disadvantage. She fired several spatial blades towards the sky like a crescent scimitar.

  These attacks caused the hybrid dragon to become fearful and cautious in its movements.

  Frankly speaking, the dragon might have an intimidating appearance, but it wasn't all that powerful.

  It had no devastating dragon's breath, no elementium talent, and no intimidating dragon's aura of might. Even it's grey scales couldn't cover its entire body. The more important parts of the body, such as the stomach and the wings, were not protected by the scales.

  These were all fatal spots that an enemy could strike at in a close fight.

  However, the illusionist's innate abilities were excellent cover for the dragon.

  Thanks to the powerful confusion effect from the tarot gem on the illusionist's forehead, most of the Decayer's attacks were missing their marks. The Decayer could only endure the enemy's blows. If it weren't due to the massive splash radius of the Acid Spray, the illusionist would likely have already charged forward and killed it.

  The illusionist could see that Alice was trying to help the Decayer as well. The tarot gem on her head shone with a prismatic light again, and Alice was instantly affected.

  The illusionist had misdirected Alice and caused her to lose her sense of direction. She had mistaken the Decayer for an enemy. The spatial blades were like transparent razors, instantly cutting at the Decayer's large and sticky jelly body.

  The body of the Decayer was acidic as well. They splashed against the walls of the castle, and even the sturdy stone material wasn't able to endure the acid. They quickly melted and softened. Large pools of green glowing acid eroded the ground. The sizzling sounds of corrosion continued to ring out.

  It had been one against two earlier, and now it was even worse! One against three.

  The illusionist immediately changed targets as well. The giant wind blades and terrifying wind vortices whipped in Alice's direction. The Decayer could only fire acid arrows to intercept the attacks. It even had to cover the attacks it couldn't deflect with its own body to protect Alice.

  Some of the acids still splashed from the Decayer's body and landed on Alice, causing her frail body to sizzle from the corrosion effect. She wasn't able to tell that something was off. Alice was still stubbornly shaving away at the Decayer.

  Alice's spatial talent might have been powerful, but that was only relative to the apprentices that were of the same Grade as her. When she faced a real adept, the opponent had hundreds of ways to torture her to death.

  Alice's life hung by a thread!

  …………

  Just as the battle raged on above the castle, two towering figures hid within the shadow of the castle on its southwestern side.

  "My Lady, isn't it about time for you to go?" A tall and intimidating flame humanoid gazed at the battle in the distance. He couldn't help but speak to the other person.

  The voice appeared to belong to Greem.

  "What are you in a hurry for!" The female adept wrapped in green smoke laughed softly without any regard for the situation, "You have been protecting this Alice girl way too well. She's almost forgotten how to fight. She is a pseudo-adept, and she dares to strike at an adept? She would probably do something dumb like this again if she didn't receive a punishment!"

  Greem rolled his eyes. He almost couldn't resist the urge to rebuke his overbearing superior.

  If you hadn't promised to guarantee her safety, even Alice wouldn't be so dumb as to take the initiative to strike at an adept. If it had been any usual circumstance, she would have used her spatial talents to teleport away and run as far as she could.

  Alice was still very talented at esc
aping!

  Her Spatial Teleportation didn't require the use of any tool or array. It was the most potent spell for escaping.

  It was without compare.

  As long as she only thought of escaping, no one would be able to stop her.

  The one thing she definitely should not have done was to trust her instincts. She thought she would succeed at baiting out the enemy hiding in the shadows. She thought she would be safe. This naivete was why she was bold enough to trade blows with an adept.

  It's the stronger swimmers who drown!

  It was a typical error of all the people that believed in fate and divination!

  Chapter 313

  I will not die!

  I definitely won't die!

  Alice exuded confidence even with the terrible situation she was experiencing.

  Not for any other reason but the fact that she did not sense death from fate.

  If death wasn't a possibility, then why shouldn't she go down the most dangerous path, and commit to the riskiest actions to reach the best outcomes!

  If Greem could tell what Alice was thinking, he would probably be fuming right now!

  She had jumped from one extreme to the other.

  The Alice in the past had only relied on her spatial talents. She had completely ignored the intangible and invisible fate. Even when Alice occasionally sensed something, she rarely acted in accordance with Fate's instructions. However, now that Alice had finally felt the limitations of her spatial talent, she had ultimately fallen for the mysterious and limited powers of fate.

  She was like a reckless zealot that trusted blindly in fate, a madman that charged under heavy fire without any regard for her life, all because of that one proclamation from fate that she wouldn't die.

  Reality seemed to concur with her expectations. Countless attacks and dangers poured down upon her, but she was always able to avoid or walk past these risks due to all sorts of coincidences and reasons. She was wounded, but it was still far from being enough to kill a pseudo-adept.