Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Just a while ago, the Chip had rearranged the bits and pieces of magical knowledge within. After filtering out the 87% useless knowledge, the remaining 13% significantly expanded Greem's library of knowledge.

  He unexpectedly obtained a vital detail from this 13% of incomplete knowledge.

  Soul Equipment could further evolve!

  Greem had Soul Equipment of his own. It was the tome that he had obtained from the den of the Demon Flower. Ever since he had gotten his hands on it, the Scroll of Voodoo had always been by his side. It had been a great help in countless battles in the past.

  First, this trait of the Soul Equipment to stay by its owner's side was a fascinating subject of research for Greem.

  Sadly, his knowledge and information had always been quite limited. Greem didn't know where to start if he wanted to venture into research like this.

  That was why Greem had always treated the Scroll of Voodoo like an advanced-level magical tome meant for the sole purpose of storing six instant-cast spells. Greem had never really considered how to exploit and further utilize the functions of the Scroll.

  However, Greem had unexpectedly obtained this strange detail from Flandre's knowledge crystal.

  If the power of the Scroll of Voodoo could be further improved…

  Greem narrowed his eyes and started to consider whether it was worth his time to go collect some knowledge related to Soul Equipment!

  Chapter 462 Elementium Golems

  The tumultuous city of Gilneas had finally returned to peace.

  The Second Class resource site had been ruined beyond repair after this conflict.

  For the resource site to regain its functionality, they would first have to repair the severe damage done to the geography by the three adepts. Yet, if one had that many resources, they might as well reconstruct the resource site in another location.

  That was why the Sarubo Clan decisively gave up on this resource site after they received the compensation from the Aki Clan. They only performed some light repairs on the Iron Ring Mine and got it to resume functions.

  Apart from assigning some of the apprentices to the mine and Gilneas City, the rest were all recalled back to the clan headquarters.

  As the Aki clan members retreated from the surrounding areas of Gilneas City, the conflict between the Sarubo and the Aki finally reached a temporary conclusion with the Aki's loss of face.

  Even though everyone knew that things weren't truly over, both mid-sized clans managed to restrain themselves on the surface. Tensions hadn't escalated to the level of a clan war.

  Pseudo Adept Sak, who was the cause of all the conflicts and the person who murdered the Aki Clan's apprentice, was hiding in Feidnan City and managing to keep his life for the moment. On the other hand, the name of the Flame Demon started to spread once again.

  Greem had defeated two Aki adepts alone, and he had even managed to capture both of them as prisoners. Such a ridiculous occurrence didn't frequently happen, even in the entire history of the Zhentarim area. Thus, Greem's title of the 'Flame Demon' was once again mentioned by people, gradually becoming known by all the adept clans.

  The Sarubo Clan itself had a pretty solid background in the first place. Now they also had a new and rising star in Greem. For a while, many adept clans and organizations in the central area of the continent had optimistic predictions about the Sarubo Clan's future!

  However, all of this didn't concern Greem, who hid within the stone tower without taking a single step out.

  During the days while the dust settled, many adepts had made special trips to Gilneas City to visit Greem.

  There were those who specially came to congratulate Greem, those who happened to pass by and decided to meet him, and those who heard of his reputation and began to invite him on adventures and explorations. Of course, the majority of them were still individuals who came over to see if they could purchase a top-class golem.

  Indeed!

  As news of the battle slowly started to spread, the elementium golem that had allowed Greem's magnificent performance in the fight turned into the focus of everyone's attention.

  People once again took a look at Greem's rise to prominence. It didn't matter whether it was the Fire Lord or the Infernal Tyrant or the Wind Dragon this time; powerful golems had always been Greem's greatest ace with which he used to turn the tables in a fight.

  It indirectly proved that Greem was a person capable of crafting golems!

  In a situation where the number of resources spent was the same, the elementium golems were inferior to metallic golems of the same grade, due to a lack of a durable body. However, the large size and heavy weight of metallic golems made them impossible to carry around without the use of a golem talisman.

  In such situations, a high-quality elementium golem would be a precious and valuable commodity!

  Many adepts appeared after hearing news of Greem's feats. They were willing to spend large numbers of magical crystals to have Greem build a custom-made combat elementium golem for them.

  Everyone knew that esoteric adepts had a fairly high failure rate when crafting magical items. Thus, every visiting adept would prepare two to three sets of magical materials and high-grade elementium cores, all for the sake of obtaining a magical golem that they would be satisfied with.

  Greem was initially extremely apprehensive of this idea.

  Just like everyone's investigations showed, high-quality elementium golems were undoubtedly Greem's most important insurance that had allowed him to survive until now. If his enemies also got their hands on similar golems, it would be unclear if he would still possess his dominance and advantage in a battle.

  Yet, when a rich and wealthy adept dumped three sets of resources in front of him and requested only one well-crafted elementium golem, Greem finally cracked. He couldn't suppress his greed and accepted the adept's conditions.

  For the next three days, the adept stayed in his stone tower, vaguely revealing parts of his ability to Greem and providing more detailed and specific lists of requests.

  Greem couldn't directly scan the adept's body to obtain detailed information. Still, he could already formulate a vague outline of their bodily attributes and casting habits through the information they had provided him.

  This preparation work took a total of three days. The Chip used this period to complete the model construction and data calculation for the custom-made golem.

  The adept had provided Greem with three First Grade, peak-level wind elementium cores. He needed Greem to create a mount that coordinated spells and attacks with him.

  With the help and guidance of the Chip, Greem already had an 89% success rate with this kind of golem design and creation. It was far higher than his 64% success rate when it came to Second Grade golems.

  Thus, with no mishaps, Greem successfully created a mighty Razorwind Hawk for his client in a single attempt. Of course, Greem kept the process of creating it under wraps!

  When the adept finally left in satisfaction, Greem managed to keep two First Grade, peak-level wind elementium cores and quite a lot of other materials.

  In comparison, the magical crystal fee that the adept had paid was no more than small change!

  Greem quickly accepted three other requests after this sweet harvest. Apart from one instance of a mistake where he exhausted one set of materials, he completed all of the orders in a single attempt.

  This efficiency caused him to become rich in an instant!

  Moreover, all of the elementium golems he created were excellent products. They only consumed 70% of the energy an ordinary golem would, yet they were also 30% more powerful. However, the truly outstanding factor about Greem's elementium golems was the fact that they only took about 50% of the Spirit that a regular golem would.

  That also meant that the same amount of Spirit consumed could allow for two elementium golems to summoned to the field at the same time, as opposed to just one.

  That was just a little too scary!

 
In fights between adepts, summoned golems were often treated more as cannon fodder or meatshields. They were rarely used as the primary force in combat. The main reason for this was due to an elementium golem taking up an adept's Spirit when summoned.

  An adept only had so much Spirit. If too much of it were taken up by an elementium golem, there wouldn't be enough for them to cast spells with.

  Take for example the veteran adepts. A veteran adept would have between ten to fifteen points of Spirit. If they wanted to summon an elementium golem of similar strength, it would tie up six or seven points of their Spirit. While the elementium golem was still activated, this portion of their Spirit would perpetually be in use, continuously supplying and fueling the elementium golem.

  This missing portion of Spirit would cause quite a bit of disruption to a veteran adept, be it the regeneration of Spirit, or the casting of large-scale spells. That was why most adepts chose to believe in their own abilities over golems, especially when the golems' powers were not ideal.

  However, golems created by Greem, even those at elite-level, only took up three to four points of Spirit when summoned. That meant that a veteran adept just needed to exhaust six to eight points of their Spirit, and they would be able to support two magical golems of similar power by themselves simultaneously.

  It would be like three 'adepts' attacking together. Even if two of those 'adepts' were slightly weaker, they would still form a terrifying force to be reckoned with!

  In fact, one could go even further in their theorycrafting. A veteran adept could give up on the battlefield and choose to summon four elementium golems of similar power to themselves. An adept like this could rely on the golem's reckless bombardment to force back an enemy and keep them at a distance.

  That was far safer than the adept themselves fighting on the battlefield!

  As long as the enemy possessed no sneak attacks or skills that allowed them to bypass the elementium golems, this was a flawless, brainless, and sufficiently savage way of fighting!

  It didn't matter how much of a genius you were, how much faster you could cast your spells, or how much more powerful they were. When faced with four or five fearless elementium golems, the continuous streams of attacks and suicidal assaults would be enough to make you back off.

  Once the secret of Greem's golems had spread out through various means, all adepts that heard of the news were moved. In particular, those adepts that mainly relied on summoned beings fell into a craze.

  While more and more adepts hurried to Gilneas City, Second Grade Adept Fügen of the Sarubo Clan personally made it to the stone tower. He somewhat forcefully persuaded and dragged Greem back to Feidnan City.

  His excuse was a notably legitimate one as well!

  According to the Sarubo's secret intelligence network, several Second Grade adepts had set their sights on Greem.

  Greem should have never revealed that First Grade peak-level Wind Dragon of his in the previous battle. The core he had used to create the Wind Dragon with was an actual Second Grade core.

  It meant that Greem's current golem crafting skills were sufficient to work on Second Grade cores.

  If the Sarubo Clan managed to gain one or two additional Second Grade magical golems out of nowhere, it would be devastating news for any rival clans!

  Even if Greem couldn't create Second Grade golems, just an army of twenty or thirty First Grade peak-level golems created for the clan would allow them to perpetrate a bloody slaughter against their enemies!

  It was due to these considerations that the Sarubo leaders had Greem forcefully brought back to the clan headquarters. In fact, they had even alerted Lord Sarubo himself.

  Greem agreed without pause when he heard that the clan wanted him to help them create a batch of elementium golems.

  Adept Fügen brought him to a highly-secure resource warehouse on the sixteenth floor of the adept's tower.

  Fügen had to use seven magical techniques and undergo sixteen different identity tests before the warehouse doors finally opened.

  "Work hard, Greem!" Adept Fügen raised his arms in excitement, "You will become the hero responsible for the rise of the clan."

  Behind him, in that somewhat small magical room, nearly a hundred crystalline gems radiating tremendous elementium power were grouped together. These were all Second Grade elementium cores!

  Chapter 463 Mutual Benefit

  A problematic negotiation began with this abundance of resources.

  A stable success rate was the most important consideration for a qualified esoteric adept.

  After a period of consideration, Greem reported his success rate to Adept Fügen as 17% for Second Grade elementium cores, and 36% for First Grade elementium cores.

  Due to unavoidable energy loss, all elementium golems and their cores would devalue by a certain degree during the crafting process. For example, it was already decent that Second Grade elementium cores could end up as First Grade peak-level after passing through Greem's hands.

  Greem himself hadn't even reached Second Grade. He had no concept or idea of the real power of a Second Grade adept. Apart from knowing that any attack from a Second Grade adept could reach a terrifying number of two hundred points, Greem knew nothing about them.

  That was why he couldn't possibly go beyond his grade and forge a true Second Grade golem, regardless of how talented he was!

  Of course, Adept Fügen couldn't possibly be so trusting of the base success rate that Greem gave him. However, he still had basic knowledge about the professions of golem masters and puppet masters. An ordinary esoteric adept's success rate when crafting a First Grade elementium golem was roughly around 42%; that wasn't much higher compared to Greem. Not to mention that Greem's golems were all modified and improved golems. They took up less Spirit, consumed less magical power, and were more powerful!

  With these merits in mind, it was understandable for Greem's success rate to be slightly lower than ordinary esoteric adepts.

  Since Greem dared to present a 36% success rate for First Grade elementium cores, he had undoubtedly fiddled with the numbers a little. Still, with the baseline 42% of an ordinary esoteric adept, it wasn't too unbelievable an amount, even if he was lowering it by a little.

  In truth, Adept Fügen had already mentally prepared to haggle for lower prices, even before talking to Greem. Right now, to Fügen's surprise, the success rate that Greem reported was still above his mental baseline. That undoubtedly caused Adept Fügen to be extremely satisfied at Greem's obedience.

  As for Greem's claim that he was unable to craft Second Grade magical golems, Adept Fügen chose to believe it.

  After all, even the Wind Dragon golem that Greem had crafted for himself had only reached First Grade peak-level, despite using a Second Grade dragon crystal. The golem's most potent attack had also barely reached a hundred and fifty-five points. That was even inferior to the Infernal Tyrant.

  Of course, this had to do with the two golems' assigned positions on the battlefield.

  The Infernal Tyrant had been planned as a mighty flame cannon at its inception. Add that to the fact that fire spells were known for their offensive power, and the Tyrant's most potent attacks could reach around one hundred and seventy-five points. The Wind Dragon possessed high-speed mobility, and wind spells were also known for being light and fast. Consequently, the Wind Dragon's best attack only reached a measly hundred and fifty-five points.

  After figuring out each other's baseline, Fügen and Greem finally started to argue over the exchange rate of the golem crafting.

  According to Adept Fügen, Greem would have to provide an elementium golem with at least First Grade elite-level strength for every three Second Grade elementium cores and supporting materials that the clan provided him with. The clan would purchase these elementium golems at a price of twenty thousand magical crystals per golem.

  On the other hand, Greem leaned towards being paid with Second Grade elementium cores. He wanted the clan to provide him with fou
r Second Grade elementium cores in exchange for not taking any payment for the elementium golems.

  Both parties were unwilling to back down on this issue. After all, it concerned Second Grade elementium cores. Every single Second Grade elementium core had a base price of over fifty thousand magical crystals here on the Continent of Adepts. Moreover, they often couldn't be found on the market. Collecting these cores was troublesome.

  Even the Sarubo Clan could only take out so many Second Grade elementium cores, thanks to the two lesser planes that they had been running for a long time. A small clan might not even be able to come up with more than ten Second Grade elementium cores.

  After some serious haggling, both parties finally reached an initial consensus. For every seven Second Grade elementium cores that the Sarubo Clan provided Greem with, Greem would have to produce two elite-level golems; the clan would not pay a separate fee for the golems.

  They would set the time allowed for the crafting process at one year!

  However, Greem had also mentioned that he needed to return to Fire Throne for this job. After all, that was his territory. The underground lava sea that helped his cultivation and energy regeneration was also there.

  Adept Fügen reluctantly agreed to this condition after consulting Lady Sanazar.

  However, Adept Fügen also attached a condition to it. Greem was not to leave Fire Throne without reason. If there were a need to go out, Greem would have to ask Adept Fügen for permission and be escorted by him.

  This measure was actually for Greem's safety!

  After all, an esoteric adept of such strategic significance to a clan was very likely to fall into the trap of a rival clan if they went out. If Greem didn't want to die mysteriously, his best choice was to be a hermit and stay in his tower.

  As for his title as the Flame Demon? That counted for nothing in the eyes of enemy Second Grade adepts.