Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  "You are asking for your death!" The shocked and angered Acteon shouted and raised both of his arms. A black cloud of strange flying insects spewed out from within his body. Their target was the human knight in the sky.

  Meanwhile, Radiant Knight Soros slashed with his massive sword. An energy blade shot towards the bat and the human like a bolt of lightning.

  They were quick, but a red shadow was even faster than they were!

  Crimson light flashed in the air, and Mary had already soared high into the skies with a push of her wings. She grabbed Vanlier and the human knight before the insects and the energy blade could catch up. Mary quickly made her way high up into the clouds.

  Chapter 335 Vampiric Reconstruction

  The entire place became silent for an instant.

  Every living being in the battle couldn't help but raise their heads and gaze at the brilliant red figure in the sky.

  A beautiful image appeared beneath the cerulean sky.

  An alluring crimson silhouette embraced a majestic knight. She leaned against the knight's chest as she beat her wings. The two of them slowly circled in the air.

  The beauty and the knight!

  One slim and delicate, the other strong and muscular.

  When compared, the differences in the figures of the handsome man and the beautiful lady created a striking visual contrast. There was an odd sort of surrealism to the sight.

  Acteon, in particular, was disturbed at this turn of events. He was barely able to suppress his anger. He would already have charged up into the sky and resumed the fight if he wasn't concerned about being beat by Mary in her current condition.

  Bloody Sorceress Mary and her embrace with the knight had no romance or beauty to speak off. There was only the call of death and decay.

  Mary's fangs dug into the knight's veins. Fresh blood flowed into her body through the teeth, replenishing and rejuvenating her exhausted blood energy. Miraculously, all the wounds on Mary's body closed and healed at a rate visible to the naked eye.

  Soon, a crimson halo radiated from her body, and not a trace of damage remained on Mary. Even her skin had once again become glowing white. There was also a faint and healthy red glow from having an abundant amount of blood.

  Goddamned vampires! Fearsome vampires!

  Wounds and injuries didn't matter. As long as there was blood, and as long as they were alive, the vampires could recover instantly through the consumption of blood.

  This recovery was the outstanding trait of vampires!

  Seven minutes later, Mary casually loosened her grip. A dried and wrinkled corpse slowly descended from the sky.

  Mary stuck out her agile tongue and licked the blood stained on her lips. She bent her body and looked down upon the emotionless Acteon. She pointed with her finger and shouted, "Fight!"

  The halted battle once again erupted into action!

  "Mary, don't think that I…am afraid…of you." A reasonable sentence, but Acteon stuttered as he spoke. It wasn't entirely because he was fearful of Mary. Instead, three crimson arrows had embedded themselves in his body in succession. The bolts were blowing him up as he was speaking.

  Once more, several gaping holes had appeared in his body, and once more, they quickly regenerated with the bugs around him.

  Acteon grabbed a carcass beetle and used it as a shield against Mary's arrows. His other hand continuously gathered spears made of creeping beetles and launched them at his enemy.

  They had both sustained losses, but Acteon was the first to think of retreat.

  He had no choice. Every time he regenerated, his body cost him part of his Spirit. Commanding the carcass beetles in battle was also taxing his Spirit. He might have been able to continue the fight for a little longer if he had reduced the number of beetles in combat. That said, his Spirit was almost at its end. Drawing out the fight was not going to work out in his favor.

  Of course, Acteon might have been able to exhaust Mary and outlast her if it hadn't been for the incident earlier. His Spirit was more resilient and lasting. After all, the Queen Bug allowed him to save much more of his Spirit compared to an ordinary summoner.

  However… in fact, there weren't that many 'however's.

  The scales of victory had tipped in Mary's favor when she had consumed all the blood from a Second Grade knight!

  The value of a Second Grade knight could not be ignored, regardless of how it was used!

  Acteon's defeat was confirmed when Mary had the decisiveness to waste away a Second Grade knight in this fight.

  Acteon took one last, hateful look at Mary before whistling and retreating with the remainder of his subordinates. The swarming insects returned to the hole in the ground. The carcass beetles fought as they fled and safely made it into the hole.

  Acteon took a simple look at his subordinates, and his heart ached.

  Only twenty-three of the thirty-four carcass beetles he had spent so much effort cultivating over the past six months remained. More than one-third of his carcass beetles had died on this accursed battlefield!

  Acteon dejectedly dispersed his body once all the insects had retreated into the ground. He disintegrated into numerous tiny bugs and went into the hole as well.

  The vampires didn't try to interfere too much with the swarm's retreat. Instead, they took the opportunity to exterminate all the enemies that had yet to make it back into the hole. Mary would never lose her cool and do something as foolish as chasing the enemy into the ground.

  Perhaps Evil Bugs Acteon was praying for her to do that!

  Only groups of vampires lingered on the empty mountain once the insects had disappeared. Two Second Grade Blood Knights had also surrounded Soros. His face had gone pale as he awaited his final fate.

  Soros looked at the Bloody Sorceress slowly making her way towards him and the two former 'companions' fighting with him. He tried countless times to muster the courage to gather his energy and self-destruct. However, he always failed mysteriously as his body shivered in fear.

  The rustling of beating wings came from above. Vanlier landed and transformed into his elegant human form, appearing before Soros.

  His lifespan had also extended since he became a vampire.

  As a human, he was at the end of his lifespan. However, his life had just started now that he had turned into a vampire.

  Vanlier, having experienced the fantastic feeling of regaining his youth, had embraced his new identity without hesitation. He became the first native of the plane to wholeheartedly accept his transformation from his very soul.

  "O respected Sir Soros. I am sure you understand the situation you are in. Do you still intend to use your life to resist us, the great vampires? As long as you are willing to give up that frail human body and join us, I, Vanlier, will be more than willing to speak well of you before her majesty, the Great Queen Mary!" Vanlier smiled at Soros from ten steps away. He rubbed his hands together as he showed off his glibness.

  "I would sooner die than turn into mindless puppets like them!" Soros scolded as he waved his longsword. His voice was loud and fierce, but there was a softness to his choice of words.

  Vanlier smiled even brighter.

  "Sir Soros, you misunderstand something about this. If you actively reject the transformation into a vampire, Her Majesty will inevitably have to harm your intelligence when she Embraces you. However, if you willingly accept all this from the depths of your heart, you can be like me. Not only will you be able to retain your full consciousness, but you will also even be able to set foot on a new journey of life. A lasting and powerful one."

  "Do you mean what you say?" Soros' voice shook as he spoke. Even his hand trembled.

  He had still been looking at Vanlier when he started speaking, but his eyes couldn't help but drift towards Mary when he spat out the last few words.

  "As long as you sincerely submit to me and become my slave, I will allow you to keep your intelligence and all of your abilities. Choose, Soros!" Mary's words were very much li
ke herself; cold and direct, without any room for doubt or hesitation.

  The Second Grade Knight Soros grit his teeth for a moment. Finally, he lowered his head dejectedly and tossed his longsword aside. He kneeled on one knee and spoke, "I, Soros, am willing to submit!"

  A gleam of joy and excitement shone in Mary's crimson pupils. She lowered her body and nodded at Vanlier, "Go! Get them to clean up the battlefield properly!"

  "Understood!" Vanlier was happy to hear this. He turned and left after bowing in respect.

  Mary's words had affirmed his value. This acknowledgment meant that he had been given total authority over all the vampires, except for the five remaining Blood Knights.

  This promotion was a massive change for Vanlier, who had no skill at combat!

  Mary confidently stepped before Soros once Vanlier left. She looked down at him from above.

  The two Second Grade Blood Knights kept a close eye on Soros from both sides of him. The longswords in their hands would not spare him if he made any unusual movements.

  "Raise your head!" Mary said coldly.

  Soros obeyed her orders and lifted his head. His eyes clashed with Mary's crimson eyes.

  "Remember, you can only retain all of your intelligence if you truly accept the Embrace from the depths of your heart. So now, open your soul to me!" Mary extended a sharp finger and drew her magical emblem upon Soros' forehead.

  Fresh blood flowed down his face.

  "I am willing…I am willing…I am willing…" Soros repeated to himself again and again. His voice was hoarse and muffled, but his intention was apparent.

  Mary's sharp nails ran over her wrist. Scarlet blood flowed.

  She lowered her arm and allowed the blood to stream down her finger onto the emblem on Soros' forehead. Oddly enough, Mary's blood and Soros' blood lit up the symbol when they mixed.

  The sizzling sound of corrosion came from the bloody markings on Soros' head. The blood had started to seep into his flesh and carved upon Soros' skull. Every drop of blood that fell on the brand was like boiling lava. It hurt so much that Soros trembled in agony. The intense pain distorted his face.

  However, he knew well enough not to make any weird movements. He silently endured the strange vampiric reconstruction.

  A surge of strong blood energy infiltrated his entire body. It rapidly corroded, ate away at, and reconstructed all the flesh, muscles, and organs that it passed through. This process wouldn't have been so smooth and peaceful if Soros had drawn upon his runic energy to resist.

  However, the intense pain from the foreign energy's corrosion of the runic energy nodes in his body was still enough to make him scream out loud.

  Just like that, more and more of Mary's blood surged into his body, faster and faster!

  Chapter 336 Black-hearted Loli

  Feidnan City, Adept's Tower.

  The golem hall on the seventh floor was still as crowded as before.

  A magnificent metallic spider crouched on the floor in the middle of the massive hall. Many apprentice adepts were busy working on the spider while sitting on the scaffolding around it.

  Greem had finally completed the metallic shell, which he had personally designed, after countless days and nights of endless work. He immediately hired a large group of apprentices once the dwarven smiths had departed and left the rune carving process to them.

  Right now, the spider-golem beast was no more than an iron can. Numerous runes needed to be carved into its body for it to be able to obey its master's commands. It required control runes, energy circuits, reinforcement runes, elementary elementium resistance runes, consciousness control centers, energy storage nodes, and more.

  The main torso of the spider golem was a disc-shaped metallic cabin five meters in diameter. Fifty centimeters of a magical alloy formed the outer shell, while the gear structures of the magical machinery had been put to use inside the frame. That reduced the heavy use of magical alloy and allowed the golem to possess extraordinary limb agility and flexibility.

  Greem had already examined most of the magical statues and puppets of the Silver Union. Their bodies were almost always entirely forged from solid metal in pursuit of greater toughness and hardness. Golems formed in this manner could only move in a limited fashion due to the small number of joints they had. They traded away their mobility for impenetrable defenses.

  Such a line of reasoning wasn't necessarily wrong. After all, the purpose of the magic statues and puppets within the Silver Union was to serve as metallic meat shields and cannon fodder. Long-ranged attacks could be assigned to the elementium golems. These metal creatures didn't need to be agile or flexible. They only needed to be hard and resilient enough to resist the enemy's assaults.

  On the other hand, Greem had paid more attention to the spider golem's all-terrain ability and auxiliary powers when he designed the machine.

  Defense?

  The fifty centimeters of magical alloy might not be impenetrable and indestructible, but it was a solid defense. Greem estimated that two or three adept-level rock golems would have to continuously bash away at the spider golem for fifteen minutes to crack its shell. It wasn't going to be easy to harm Alice while she was hiding inside.

  Meanwhile, fifteen minutes would be more than enough for the accompanying Infernal Tyrant to reduce everything to ashes!

  This arrangement was why Greem, after much deliberation, decided to place less focus on the golem's defense. Instead, he chose to put more emphasis on its mobility and offensive abilities.

  Otherwise, a single Quagmire Spell would be enough to render this giant creature useless.

  In this regard, the multi-limbed and well-balanced spider form was the best choice!

  Modifying the spider golem beast was not an easy undertaking. Most of the crucial runes and circuits had to be carved on the inside of the metal shell. Reinforcement Runes had to be etched onto all of its limbs as well, along with Sharpening Runes and several others.

  It was to prevent the spider golem from utterly malfunctioning after receiving damage to parts of its runic circuits.

  There was also the problem of vision. Alice would be surrounded by thick heavy metal when she hid in the cabin. Her ability to sense and understand what was going one became a troublesome issue. To solve this problem, Greem attached a metal ball one meter in diameter on the front of the golem's disc-shaped torso. He hollowed the metal ball and filled the insides with plenty of magical gemstones, turning it into a head of sorts with compound eyes made of gems.

  He included Detection Crystals, Laser Stones, large red gemstones that could fire heat rays, Energy Barrier Crystals that could erect defensive forcefields, and the two Eyes of Petrification that could draw upon the powers of petrification.

  Greem had searched through his stash of gemstones and put to use every single magical gem that could potentially maximize the spider golem's survival and combat potential. Disregarding the cost of the magical alloy used in forging the body of the golem, just these magical gems alone cost no less than thirty thousand magical crystals.

  It was apparent how much Greem was investing to ensure Alice's safety!

  …………

  As Greem was busy working in the golem hall, Alice was casually toying with her divinations.

  Yes, toying!

  Alice had finally obtained a better understanding of divination after a long time experimenting. Its strengths, weaknesses, limitations, how to maximize efficiency; she had gotten the answers to all of this.

  Firstly, there were no deities in the World of Adepts.

  This fact was the absolute most important thing to get right!

  The absence of deities meant that there wasn't a super lifeform hanging above Alice's head that could do as they wanted to her.

  Given that case, all the feedback that Alice got from her divination wasn't a gift from some omnipotent god. Instead, it was planar feedback that the planar laws had bestowed upon her.

  Which was to say she wasn't communicating wit
h a celestial existence with omniscience when she used divination. It was a cold and unfeeling system of laws that she communed with.

  Thus, Alice had repeatedly been trying and testing out this so-called system of laws for the past few days. She would always do this once she had exhausted all her divination slots.

  The scale and severity of the planar law system had already exceeded the limits of her imagination as a First Grade Witch.

  Divinations on the same subject at the same time could yield different results from the planar laws. Sometimes, they would even be completely contradictory. Moreover, the more powerful the subject of the divination, the vaguer the information Alice obtained. More often than not, she would not receive any feedback at all.

  With her current abilities, Alice was unable to get any feedback if she divined subjects above Second Grade. Even when she did succeed, the information was often vague and unclear. It was of no practical value.

  However, Alice's divination was still extremely useful when used against opponents of the same Grade.

  Her chance of success when divining elite adepts was no more than thirty percent. She could, at best, succeed twice out of the five times she divined each day. On the other hand, her chance of success rose to seventy percent when targeting an ordinary adept. At least three of the five divinations would succeed.

  If it was anyone below an adept, Alice had almost complete confidence at succeeding.

  Unfortunately for that slightly threatening Snowlotus, she was below adept-level. And thus Alice, having fully understood the traits of divination, became a sly and nasty little girl during the past couple of days. She hid in her room every single day and spied on the private life of this future enemy.

  Indeed, she spied!

  Alice consumed almost all five of her divination slots on Snowlotus.

  For example:

  What was Snowlotus' elementium affinity?

  What spells was Snowlotus good at?

  What was Snowlotus' personality?