Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Even though it couldn't increase their Physique, the blood crystal could still have a decent effect on their health if they ate it as a 'snack.'

  Having understood this, Greem put his hands behind his back and casually strolled through the Black Forest. With the help of his powerful elementium sight, no item that glowed with abnormal elementium radiance could avoid his vision.

  The blood crystal in the bloodsucking vines was a light red color; the roots and stinging tentacles of the man-eating flowers were a light blue. The leaves of the poison ivy were purple, and the sap of the Magespirit glowed with a milky-white color.

  Even Greem was busy upon seeing such rich magical resources for the first time.

  One moment, he would be tracing the vines of a Bloodsucking Vine back to its actual body behind a tree, and the next he was chasing behind a wriggling and shambling man-eating flower. Next, he would rip the Magespirits out of the earth as they screamed and cried.

  Evildoers were doomed to death at the hands of a greater evil!

  These hidden predators had finally met their match today.

  They had none of the litheness of magical animals, and could only hide from the pursuit of big bad Greem. Their short, stubby forked limbs made escaping a joke, and as hiding was impossible. What kind of stealth ability could keep them hidden from Greem's elementium sight?

  Just like that, an area two hundred and fifty meters wide was wiped clean of magical plants in less than an hour. Greem had utterly exterminated all of them with his barbaric methods of harvesting. He had practically dug three feet into the ground to catch all of the plants.

  He straightened his back and checked the time, before unhappily looking around the woods nearby. There, in the darkness, every blinking spot of light represented a target that was worth checking out.

  Unfortunately, he was out of time!

  By the time Greem followed the path he had taken back to the camp, the witches and apprentice had also returned. The servants had also finished their meals. After a brief rest, the caravans once again went on their way.

  Greem opened the pouch in his hand once he was in the creaking carriage. He showed Alice the spoils of war he had labored over.

  There was none of the expected praise and surprise. Instead, all Greem got was a stern questioning and a pair of rolling eyes.

  "What? How did you do this? Have you never learned anything about herbology? Why are there only blood crystals, but none of the actual bodies of the bloodsucking vines? Do you not know that their bodies are worth more than the blood crystals?

  "What's this? Could this be the roots of a man-eating flower? Don't tell me you ran into humanoid man-eating flowers! A lot of adepts are willing to buy this magical plant for forty magic crystals. You couldn't have burnt them all, could you?

  "Also, why are all the Mageroyals damaged? Do you not know that you are supposed to preserve their roots perfectly when you harvest Mageroyals? Damaged Mageroyals are worth way less than those in perfect condition."

  Greem's mouth twitched as he listened to Alice's devilish nagging. For the first time in his life, he grieved over his ignorance of herbology.

  Dammit, wasn't it just plucking some magical materials?! Why was it such a hassle!?

  Greem's face quickly soured.

  Chapter 347 Witch Beauty

  A failure of a forest exploration!

  That was Alice's judgment after running through all of Greem's spoils.

  Her assessment undoubtedly made Greem's face even darker.

  His whole life had been turned around ever since he'd obtained the help of the chip. Situations of 'defeat' like this one were infrequent with the support of the chip's massive reserves of knowledge.

  Then again, this also had much to do with Greem's excessive tendency to collect only practical knowledge.

  He had always been excited and quick to enter into the chip all the data that could strengthen himself. When it came to less popular fields, such as herbology, he was slower at gathering knowledge.

  Alice took out a wrinkled old book from her pouch and threw it to Greem as he frowned and thought about his mistakes.

  "Take a good look through this book!"

  Greem took the book and looked at it. It was called Elementary Encyclopedia of Magical Plants.

  Very well, he was indeed a beginner and rookie at herbology! The only thing he could do was to start picking up on all those works he hadn't in the past!

  Greem mentally sighed as he held the book in his hands and slowly started flipping the pages. In truth, he only needed less than five minutes to scan a hundred-page book like this one. The chip's current scanning and processing abilities were extremely powerful. That said, he didn't want to expose the existence of the chip in front of Alice's eyes. Thus, Greem had no other option but to slowly scan and accumulate the content of the book at a rate that most reasonable humans would.

  The caravan line successfully made it to the second camping site before sundown.

  The Black Forest at night was scarier than it was during the day. The active area and aggressiveness of most magical creatures were far higher in the night as well. Traveling in the forest at night was a huge mistake.

  The caravan line left the green and white road with the help of the guards and mercenaries. They then turned onto a narrow road. After a couple more winding turns and lengthy twists, the party arrived beside a small green lake.

  The lake wasn't all that large, but the water was crystal clear.

  The mirror-like surface of the water reflected the blue sky, white clouds, and all the towering trees that surrounded the lake. It was almost impossible for those who had just seen it for the first time to differentiate between the reality and the reflection.

  The sky quickly faded to dusk.

  The servants in the merchant group herded the horses and their carts to an empty field by the side of the lake. The wagons, carriages, and caravans were then arranged in a set fashion. Campfires were lit, water was drawn, and stew boiled. The faint fragrance of fish stew spread out throughout the forest.

  Greem and Alice got down from the carriage and took a stroll around the lake as they waited for dinner.

  Greem had noticed a Second Grade Dark Witch throwing a green seed in the middle of the campsite when she got down from her carriage. The few apprentice witches then set up a large, delicately magnificent tent on the location.

  Alice explained with a soft voice when she saw Greem's confused expression, "It's a magic array seed! A sort of variation on magic arrays. You seal a magic array within a special plant seed ahead of time. You can then plant the seed into the ground when you need to. The magic array will naturally extend and spread out as the plant rapidly grows from it. And when you need to leave the next day, all you need to do is seal the array back into the seed!"

  Greem frowned when he heard this.

  Alice's description was simple. However, everything didn't seem as plain once he analyzed the possibilities.

  The individual powers of an adept were always limited. It didn't matter whether it was casting speed or casting strength, the adepts would invariably lose to a stable and well-prepared array. Even though it had only been a crude offensive array, his experience back in the war tower on the knight's plane had thoroughly opened Greem's eyes to the power of magic formations.

  Would he have time to defeat his future opponents if they possessed similar means of erecting temporary magic arrays like this one?

  "Approximately how much does a temporary array like this one cost? What sorts of arrays of this kind are there? Are there any limitations to their functions? Where can one buy it?"

  Alice felt her head swell at all the questions Greem hurled at her. She frantically interrupted him.

  "I have only seen high-grade adepts in the clan using these things. As for their specific functions and effects, I have no idea."

  "Stupid!" Greem glared at her, "Just because you can't get your hands on it doesn't mean that someone else can't get t
heir hands on it. What happens if you run into such a thing during the Battle of Fate? Do you intend to do your research right then at the cost of your life? Of course, you must try your very best to prepare right now! Even if you can't obtain it, you have to find some way to understand its powers, strengths, and weaknesses. All this might save you during a critical moment!"

  Alice blinked her pair of pretty eyes as she silently listened to the lecture.

  It was at this moment that she started to have a vague idea of the difference between her and her master Greem.

  He had initiative, sensitivity to all things, and pragmatism.

  Whenever he encountered new knowledge or new objects, Greem would first match them with words such as combat, strengthening, practicality, and magical crystals. If they happened to be very well related to these words, he would take all two hundred percent of his passion in order to make sure he mastered and obtained them. And if these new subjects happened to have nothing to do with any of the words mentioned above, he would completely ignore them!

  How was this supposed to be an appropriate way of thinking for an adept!? Adepts were supposed to be servants of all knowledge!

  "I'll leave this thing to you." Greem gave a swift and decisive order, "You are a witch yourself. It should be easy for you to talk with the witches. It's your job to figure out everything about these temporary magic array things."

  "What about you?" Alice's head hurt from the amount of work she had to do. She grumbled unhappily.

  "Me? Of course, I'm going on a date!" Having said that, Greem revealed a sly smile on his face under the shadows of the cloak.

  "Go, go, go… be careful of them eating you for dinner!" Alice pouted and said resentfully.

  Greem chuckled and turned towards the forest in nearby.

  …………

  Nightfall.

  The dark forest became even more terrifying and sinister as the moisture from the ground rose into the air!

  Greem stepped upon the damp soil and parted the light veil of mist hanging in the air. He slowly walked through the dark and silent woods.

  It wasn't as if there was no light at all.

  Fluorescent moss that glowed with a ghostly light, Bright Shrooms that shone like lightbulbs, and all sorts of fluorescent plants of varying colors helped illuminate his surroundings.

  It was not wise to go near anything too bright or eye-catching in the Black Forest.

  It was basic knowledge that all adepts who ventured into the Black Forest needed to know!

  Bright meant poison! Eye-catching meant trap!

  Both of these together meant considerable trouble waiting to happen!

  Greem lifted his nose and sniffed. He could smell the faint scent of a woman mixed in with the damp, decaying smell of the forest.

  Greem saw a set of footprints in the black soil. They slowly disappeared into a bush to his left.

  He was nearly three kilometers away from the camp. Even the witches that went out on searches for resources never came this far.

  Greem hesitated for the moment. He finally started to wonder if it had been a wise decision to come to this meeting.

  He heard something just as he was contemplating giving up. The splashing of water came to his ears through the thin mist. Greem could also faintly hear singing amid the splashing.

  The sweet voice of a woman!

  As expected, this was going to be interesting!

  A light red barrier appeared around Greem's body. He scattered the mist and walked in the direction of the singing with a smile of disdain on his face.

  There was a small pool embedded in the middle of the forest.

  The moonlight was desolate and the water chilling.

  Towering trees grew around the pool. Their massive canopies formed a perfect circle, leaving only a small, bowl-sized hole above the water.

  A disc of silver light projected from above, much like a bright pillar of light projected onto a dark stage. It illuminated a beautiful and naked lady bending her body to cup water with her hands and bathe herself.

  The woman's taut skin reflected the silver light of the moon, causing her to shine with the radiance of a flawless doll. As if she had heard Greem's footsteps, the beautiful woman stood straight up in the knee-deep pool water. She flicked her wet golden hair behind her back and smiled at the young man standing by the side of the pool.

  The witch before Greem was undoubtedly a beauty, regardless of whether you were judging with the aesthetics of an adept or an ordinary man. She had a full bosom, a slim waist, long legs, and smooth skin. When you took into consideration her gorgeous appearance and perfectly proportioned figure, she was the ideal lover.

  It was more so when she bared her chest before Greem's unscrupulous gaze. That intense physical temptation was enough to turn any man into an irrational beast.

  "This is my offer, Sir Greem! If you are willing to give up on that beansprout of a little girl, I'll be willing to accompany you on this romantic trip through the woods!" The beauty licked her red lips, "I can do anything you want… "

  The heck？

  Mm, I like this scheme!

  The smile on Greem's face became even more radiant.

  He pushed the hood behind his head and exposed his handsome face to the cold moonlight.

  His eyes gleamed with the light of wisdom. His cold and sharp facial features. The slight trace of wickedness that hung around the corners of his mouth, and his tall, fit body. At this moment, Greem's unique elegance mixed with his intimidating and overwhelming masculinity turned about to attract the witch's gaze. And her desire!

  Who knew that this man, who had been hiding his face, was such a charming fellow!?

  The witch's gaze had become even more fervent.

  "If you want to, I can become your permanent partner. And sometimes, even your slave."

  For some reason, even the breeze that blew across the pool of water had a lick of blazing heat to it.

  "This condition isn't good enough!" Greem's calm eyes wandered everywhere.

  Strangely enough, his gaze remained calm and unfeeling, even when he was staring directly at the most seductive parts of the witch's body.

  After all, appreciation was appreciation. The beautiful body before Greem could not provoke even an inch of his desire!

  The beautiful witch's body froze.

  Chapter 348 Berserker Witch

  The water was chilling, and the moonlight was hazy.

  The witch's expression had become more and more solemn.

  "What is it that you want?" She finally voiced her doubts, "You can't actually be childish enough to believe that you can control a little brat, push her up to the throne of Witch of Fate, and gain a powerful servant just like that, could you?"

  "And what if that's what I'm thinking of doing!?"

  "Hehehe… ” The witch laughed sinisterly, "Then you should go and take a look at the history of the Witches of Fate! Do you not know? All witches are loyal to only one person. The great Queen Witch! It doesn't matter if you have her under your thumb with a contract of immense power. The moment she becomes the Witch of Fate, all bindings forcefully attached to her soul will instantly vanish!"

  "Then what good advice do you have for me?" Greem lifted his head and looked at the sky, "Speak up. I can't wait for dinner!"

  The witch forcibly suppressed her irritation and covered her body with a thin cloth robe that she had placed on a rock to the side of the pool. She allowed the wet fabric to caress her perfect body. She slowly walked toward Greem, lifted her head, and stared into his black eyes. A beautiful smile once again graced her face.

  "You are an interesting person... and very strong." The witch extended a slim, smooth finger towards Greem as if she wanted to touch his well-defined muscles. She immediately yelped in pain and retracted her hand when her fingertip reached the red barrier.

  The witch placed her red finger into her mouth and sucked. She seductively smiled as she spoke, "No one can completely control the Witch
of Fate. However, if you are willing to change your position and support me instead, I can be your secret lover for three years. Moreover, I can also agree to the same things that that little witch has promised you!"

  "Is this how you managed to bribe that male adept to your side?" Greem asked without betraying much emotion.

  Light shone in the witch's eyes. She seemed to think that she had discovered something about Greem. She chuckled, "What have you been thinking about… that person's my brother! He truly cares for me."

  "Then you should tell him to make his sister wear a bit more when she goes out next time! I have no interest in some disgusting flesh that has undergone magical modifications." Greem's shadow flashed and burst into a ball of fire. He disappeared from the spot, just in time to avoid the attacks of two green streaks.

  The two green balls of light didn't manage to find their targets. They turned around in the air and flew back to the side of the witch before landing on her shoulders.

  Greem reappeared twenty meters away. He couldn't help but be slightly surprised.

  "Green fairies?"

  Green fairies were a type of unique plant-attribute magical creature. They were only the size of a palm and looked like a naked human girl with the wings of a cicada. However, they had none of the gentleness and kindness of the nectar-eating flower fairies. They were carnivores; mean creatures with rapid speed and poisonous claws.

  The green fairies weren't powerful magical creatures, but they were enough of a nuisance to throw an adept off his spellcasting. The victim would not have any extra time to defend himself from the witch's spells!

  Greem laughed when he saw the witch's black face and the two green fairies that were about to lunge at him. His body once again turned into a blast of fire.

  He was already deep in the woods when he once again reappeared.

  A thin silhouette finally emerged after Greem had vanished.