Thus, they gathered together and pulled along Alice and Meryl for support. Naturally, they then became one of the more powerful factions within the Sarubo Clan.
The intimacy and closeness of this group of individuals, along with their striking combat power, was enough to keep most people at bay!
Flame Demon Greem, the violent little Alice, and the gentlest Meryl; the three of them added together were such a significant force that even Second Grade Sir Fügen didn't dare to make light of them.
And so their positions within the clan rose, again and again. The number of resources and benefits that the clan gave them also increasingly favored them.
The second circle of the banquet contained the elite apprentices of various adepts.
These were mostly pseudo-adepts. The occassional advanced apprentice was also a talented individual with unique and powerful abilities. They were the type of people who were never ignored wherever they went.
They might not have belonged to Greem's faction, but they maintained good relations with the members of the group through various means. These people were also the most powerful here, aside from the real adepts of the clan.
They might have been apprentices, but all of them had the potential to become adepts. It was not wise to underestimate any of them.
This potential was why there were so many incidents of apprentice tensions resolving themselves when an opposing apprentice advanced to an adept. Most of the apprentice were smart people. They knew not to provoke a pseudo-adept without good reason. At least on the surface, everyone was friendly with each other. Everything seemed to be peaceful.
The third circle contained the largest population in every clan– the advanced apprentices.
Take the Sarubo Clan as an example. They barely had double digits worth of adepts. The clan had to station most of these adepts at resources sites and essential outposts. Only a few remained in Feidnan City.
After the adepts, there were the pseudo-adepts.
They were slightly more abundant in number, but not by much.
There were only about twenty to thirty pseudo-adepts within the Sarubo Clan. The pseudo-adepts were also the people that the clan would invest the most in. It didn't matter which one of them advanced to an adept. They would instantly find that their status had risen immensely. They would become figures of authority with plenty of resources to their name.
Apart from the adepts and the pseudo-adepts, it was the massively populated class of apprentices that maintained and supported the rule of the adept clans. They were the advanced apprentices.
Apprentices that were chosen from the resource sites and outposts to move on to the headquarters were mostly advanced apprentices. Even the occasional intermediate and beginner apprentice would possess unique talents such as enchantment, herbology, or alchemy.
There were over three to four hundred of these advanced apprentices in the Sarubo Clan!
Chapter 342 Dreams of the Galaxy
Apprentices were the bedrock of a clan's continued development.
Only a proper and functional system that raised capable adepts could provide clans with qualified cannon fodder.
Indeed, First Grade adepts barely qualified as soldiers when it came to planar wars, the most crucial aspect of any clan's development. They were the primary force that charged to the frontlines of every conflict. They were the cannon fodder that a clan needed to rely on to expand.
Adepts needed the resources from planar wars in order to compensate for the limited resources in the World of Adepts. It was only in doing so that organizations could cultivate all-powerful individuals that were capable of venturing outside of the world and exploring the galaxy.
As one of the few large and developed planes of the multiverse, the World of Adepts had one of the most resource-rich and biologically diverse realms amongst the other planes. However, its vast lands and bountiful resources were still insufficient for the needs of the ever-expanding adept population.
It didn't matter how vast the world was; it would never be enough.
The World of Disaster was one such example!
If one were to trace the timeline, the World of Disaster was, in fact, a large-sized plane that had developed even before the rise of the World of Adepts.
With the explosive and exponential increase of powerful individuals within the world, there had no longer been enough resources to sustain their needs. The super beings that inhabited the World of Disasters were foolish as well. Apart from occasional raids on smaller planes, most of their resources had still come from exploiting their homeworld.
It undoubtedly allowed them to continue to grow in strength and numbers, but it was a catastrophe for the world that had nurtured them.
The continuous damage to the planar power source caused the World of Disaster to fall into a decline gradually. The environment started to worsen and became no longer able to provide the necessary elements that all living beings required. Food, air, water. Everything was gone.
Seeing the world they inhabited fall into ruin was finally enough to put a stop to the actions of those supreme beings. The state of the World of Disaster had rendered it incapable of sustaining any more transcendent people.
Moreover, the most powerful beings that had advanced to the Ninth Grade through the exploitation of the plane's power source were at risk as well. Their power origin was linked to the plane itself. They would die when the World of Disaster fell apart.
Thus, the eleven Ninth Grade monsters met for a discussion and came to an agreement. The world was to be sealed, and no other being would be allowed to rise to Ninth Grade through the forceful usurpation of the plane's source power. They even set down a new decree, that the Ninth Grade beings of the World of Disaster were to be fixed at eleven.
The Ninth Grade transcendent beings then crowned themselves the Scourge Lords for their courage and might. Every one of them was a domineering individual that could ravage the entire multiverse.
To prevent the continued decline of their world, the eleven Scourge Lords came to yet another consensus. Most of them hid deep within the planet and underwent a deep sleep to reduce the strain on the will of the world. Only fewer than five of the Scourge Lords were allowed to be conscious at any one time.
These awakened Scourge Lords were responsible for excursions to foreign worlds to steal resources, populations, and planar source powers to mend the wounds of the World of Disaster. Such vile and harmful actions had naturally earned them the hostility of most of the multiverse.
Thus, a new dominant race rose within the multiverse as the Scourge Lords continued their wild invasions and exploitation of material planes. These were the Titans.
It was a terrifying giant that could smash a small-sized plane to pieces with their bare fists.
Newborn Titans possessed power rivaling Fourth Grades, and mature titans were no less potent than Seventh Grades. The most powerful of their kind all had the enormous strength of the Ninth Grade.
They were powerful beings that had come into existence due to the will of the multiverse. The purpose of their lives was to hunt and exterminate the Scourge Lords.
They would fight with the Scourge Lords to prevent their continued ravaging of the various plane worlds. Their fights happened all over the galaxy, across almost every cluster of stars within the multiverse. They shifted from one plane to another, leaving behind a trail of dust and debris. Every plane that they had chosen as their battlefield had been reduced to fragments floating in the endless sea of stars.
Countless numbers of Titans died under the frightening attacks of the Scourge Lords. The Titans' blood drifted through the depths of the galaxy, occasionally landing on some of the material planes and finding roots there. Strange beings with powers related to the Titans would come into existence in those places.
Powerful creatures, such as the Oceanic Giants, Galaxy Giants, and the Earth Emperors sprang into being. All of them possessed part of the Titans' bloodline. This blood was also why the ade
pts of the Gaia Clan, who owned the bloodline of the Golden Titans, were hailed as the most powerful of the bloodline adepts.
The war ended with losses on the sides of both the Scourge Lords and the Titans. Both parties retreated to their homes to rest and recuperate. Thus, a chance came to the weaker worlds. A chance to rise to power. Planets such as the World of Adepts, the World of Gods, and the World of Dragons had an opportunity now.
Even so, these upstart worlds were never able to reach the heights of the Scourge Lords and the Titans.
The World of Adepts might be sufficiently impressive in the multiverse, but only three Ninth Grade adepts had been born as of yet. On the other hand, the World of Gods, which had always vied for control over the multiverse with the World of Adepts, had over a dozen 'major gods'. These were entities with power that rivaled Ninth Grade beings.
Sadly, they were divided internally, split into four or five separate factions, each with their own primary diety. There were deep-seated hatred and ingrained vendettas between each one of them. This was why they were unable to use their overwhelming numerical advantage against the World of Adepts.
Meanwhile, the World of Dragons had a pitiful total of only a single Ninth Grade 'Dragon God'.
That said, the dragons had always possessed enviable bodies and physical strength. Punching above their weight and fighting enemies above their grade had never been a problem. Thus, a single Ninth Grade 'Dragon God' was still a match for both the adepts and the gods. In fact, his power even allowed him to carve out a place for the dragon race and extend their reach many material planes.
…………
Within his home.
Greem couldn't help but close the book when he read to this point. He started fantasizing about the boundless galaxy.
As a transmigrator, and a man that had two lifetime's worth of ideology and thought, Greem couldn't help but desire to assess the world he inhabited from a higher and more complete perspective!
What kind of world was it?
How did the veins of the world look?
Was it an accident that he had appeared in this world, or was it a fated 'variable'?
If his appearance was an intentional plan, then what was the mission he carried upon his shoulders?
Alice was holding a grand banquet in the room next door.
Greem didn't even need to extend his Spirit to know this. He could sense everything happening nearby with his acute senses.
Greem didn't object to Alice's wild adventures and opulent celebrations. In fact, he even sympathized with her.
The Battle of Fate was finally upon her!
It didn't matter how well-prepared she thought she was. The moment Alice stepped into the Tower of Fate, her life would no longer be within her control.
The rise of the Witches of Fate was a consequence of the unstoppable planar law forces.
In the end, the Witch of Fate was only a host and representative for the powers of fate. Fate didn't want the strongest or the most powerful, but the most compatible!
Who would be the one chosen by fate?
No one knew for sure.
Even Greem had no guarantees that she would be the one to live, despite all that he had done for her.
The upcoming Battle of Fate was a real battle of life and death!
Alice was only twenty-three years of age currently. It was already decent that she hadn't gone mad from the pressure that she was facing right now. The immense pressure that was death hung before her eyes.
A such, Greem was not upset at Alice's adventures for the past few years. Nor was he upset at her mingling with the apprentices, or her playing around. There was just sympathy.
If she lost in this Battle of Fate, Greem would lose ten years of his time and an uncountable amount of resources, but Alice herself would pay with her life!
As such, Greem had no intention of interfering with how Alice had intended to spend these last eight years of her life. As long as she was smart and still valued her own life, she wouldn't truly waste away these years.
The chance had already been provided to Alice, and now it was up to her to grab it!
That said, much of what was to unfold still depended on 'fate'!
The matter of the Battle of Fate had made Greem choose to remain within the adept's tower. He had been focusing on his research into the secrets of the multiverse as he waited for the day of the battle to arrive. Greem was already on the verge of despair when it came to the improvement of his own power.
"Chip, display my current bodily attributes!"
"Beep. Order received. Self-examination in process……"
Soon, Greem's attributes projected in his mind.
Greem
Human (half-elementiumized), Male
First Grade Adept
Attributes: Strength 2.8 | Agility 1.3 | Physique 3.9 | Spirit 7
Condition: Healthy.
Seven years! After seven years of arduous meditation, his Spirit had only increased from 6.3 to 7. He was no longer able to feel any increase in his Spirit ever since he reached 7 points.
It was like his current Spirit had reached a threshold. He was no longer able to improve by even an inch.
Greem finally found the fundamental reason for the difficulty in improvement after reading through numerous books within the clan.
His elementiumization was incomplete!
Right now, he had only completed his bodily elementiumization. The progress of his spirit elementiumization was going incredibly slowly.
The lagging of his spirit elementiumization was what burdened his Spirit's improvement.
That said, seven years of time had still allowed him to slowly get accustomed to the Flame Fiend's Heart sealed in his chest. His current skill was able to draw out all the might of the Flame Fiend's Heart. Greem didn't need to be concerned about pollution as long as he kept the unsealed time under thirty minutes.
This improvement was one of the most significant reasons why Greem was willing to 'lend' the Tyrant to Alice!
Chapter 343 Witch's Secret
The time was almost upon them.
Regardless of whether it was fear or excitement that filled Alice's heart, the day of the Tower of Fate's activation was at hand.
Taking into consideration the lack of floating battleships from Zhentarim to the Northern Lands, there was only one way through the ten-thousand mile Black Forest. It was the large merchant groups that regularly traveled between the two places.
These merchant groups usually had relations with some of the witch branches. The witches would send guards to protect the merchants, thereby guaranteeing the safety of the goods.
However, the journey would take two months to complete. As such, Greem decided to set off six months early before the Battle of Fate.
Greem left with Alice on an ordinary morning. No more than three people within the clan knew where they headed.
The trip to Motta City was reasonably peaceful. They then took a floating ship north. Nine days later, they arrived in the most northern of the Zhentarim public cities– the city of Ibis.
Greem's attention was instantly attracted by this lively and crowded city when he got off the ship.
Ibis City appeared to be messier and chaotic compared to other cities of the same scale. However, it buzzed with much more life than any of those cities.
Long trains of merchants herded their massive burden-carrying beasts through the markets, muscular barbarians wore beast hides and carried huge axes on their backs, wolfmen with the heads of wolves, and mercenaries walking in a group.
Greem had never seen so many individuals of different races gathered in a single area.
They all seemed to be combat species with imposing physical strength. They also possessed intelligence that could rival those of humans. These races also happened to be natives of some manner to the Black Forest. Consequently, merchant groups that needed to make it through the Black Forest often hired them as guards.
"Let's go! We will find
a place to rest first then think about which merchant group to join!" Greem was no longer the one taking the lead once they reached this place. It was Alice that took the reins instead.
She might have been young, but she had already traveled through this part of the continent twice in her life. She was much more acquainted with the paths and the rules of this place compared to Greem.
The two walked out of the airship landing area under Alice's lead. They passed through a crowded market and entered Ibis City.
Ibis City was closer to the Northern Lands than the other areas of Zhentarim. The number of witches stationed here was far higher than the number of adepts that the Adept's Association had here. Consequently, most of the buildings, with the sole exception of the great adept's tower at the heart of the city, were constructed of rough and untreated wood. They all gave off the raw and easygoing feeling unique to the northerners.
Alice didn't bring Greem to visit the adept's tower here.
Even though most wandering adepts would visit, it was a conspicuous act that would draw the attention of the witches. This was especially true at this critical period. All unfamiliar faces that wanted to enter and exit the Northern Lands would be under scrutiny.
Greem had thought that Alice would bring him to the Moya's outpost in the city. He didn't expect Alice to wind through the city and bring him to a trading company by the name of Night Rose. The Night Rose was a subordinate organization that belonged to the Dark Witches.
After skillfully negotiating with the manager of the company, Alice succeeded in reserving two spots within the merchant group at the cost of two hundred magical crystals per person. The identity she gave to the company was of two ordinary adepts on a journey to the Northern Lands in search of unique resources.
The date of departure was set to be three days later as the goods of the company were still waiting to be carted over. Consequently, Alice and Greem had no choice but to find an inn near the company to settle down in.
The manager of the company hesitated for a moment when the two finally left. He waved and called over a subordinate to take the counter as he hurried to the courtyard of the building.
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