Age of Adepts c1-1513
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Furthermore, Adept Fügen also agreed to send Meryl over to Fire Throne to further reinforce the tower. It was synonymous with tacitly allowing Greem to build a faction of his own.
This kind of privilege was usually only reserved for Second Grade adepts in an ordinary clan.
The fact that Greem could start a faction of his own while being at First Grade was more than enough proof the Sarubo Clan's sincerity!
Greem had his own suspicions about why the Sarubo elders were so easygoing about this matter now. It was highly likely to be an open conspiracy of theirs.
Greem had always walked on the path of a fire adept, trying his best as a combat adept.
Yet, there was a turn of events over the past few days. Greem had demonstrated tremendous potential as an esoteric adept. That aligned just right with the intentions of the Sarubo higher-ups.
Crafting two elementium golems for the clan in one year. Greem would spend most of his time during this one year on the treatment of the elementium cores and the crafting of the elementium golems. It would be a massive profit for him. If he were fortunate enough, he would even obtain an extra Second Grade elementium core. However, in exchange for this wealth, he would have to pay the price of his power stagnating for prolonged periods of time.
That was torturous for a person whose ambition was to become a combat adept!
At the moment, the benefit given to Greem was just far too substantial. That was why he would passionately cast himself into the grueling grind of golem crafting. After three to five years of this tedious labor, and he would find his past ambition and passion worn away, despite obtaining plenty of resources and magical crystals.
The Sarubo Clan had a large enough resource reserve to rely on this method and chain Greem to his lab. If three to five years weren't enough, then they would make it thirty to fifty years. On the one hand, the clan would be able to convert inactive resources into active combat power. On the other, they would be able to wear away Greem's drive.
Thus, the Sarubo Clan changed their strategy of suppression after discovering Greem's talent. Instead, they became much more acquiescent and protective of him.
Greem couldn't care less about the clan's schemes and conspiracy.
With the help of the Chip, the speed and success rate at which he crafted golems was unimaginable to outsiders. That was why their idea of chaining him to the lab with this deal was an utterly mistaken one!
That instead gave him the time and opportunity to temper his Spirit legitimately.
Adept Fügen glanced at Greem with a complicated light in his eyes when they parted ways. He gave advice with certain hidden implications, "I saw something strange on the body of your subordinate apprentice. You should be more careful. Don't be deceived by a certain brat's superficial obedience."
Greem was slightly shocked. He now knew that the change to Billis hadn't managed to escape Adept Fügen's senses. He could only nod and acknowledge the advice.
Once the negotiations with the clan were complete, they signed a magical contract that lasted for as long as twenty years. It was only then that Greem used Feidnan City's teleportation array to return to Fire Throne. Meryl and Billis returned with him in this manner. Sabrina and the other apprentices, on the other hand, would have to go back by themselves.
The base price of a single person using the long-ranged teleportation array was two thousand magical crystals. Three people together would be six thousand. If it weren't because the clan chose to exempt them from the fee, Greem would not have been willing to spend this much money to save four days journey.
In truth, it wasn't that Adept Fügen had become more generous this time. Instead, it was because he couldn't accept the possible risks that Greem would have to take on an ordinary trip back.
Apart from being a powerful combat adept, Flame Demon Greem was also an exceptional golem crafter. Such rumors had already spread throughout the central area of the continent. Letting Greem go back to Fire Throne on his own under such circumstances was an unforgivably dangerous act!
To prevent anything from happening on the way, Fügen could only consent to exempt Greem's teleportation fee!
…………
The brilliant light from the teleportation array faded away.
Greem shook his dizzy head. When his vision finally settled down, he saw Gargamel holding a staff in one hand, a scroll in the other, and biting a potion vial between his teeth.
Greem hadn't informed Gargamel before his return. Moreover, he had used the teleportation array within Fire Throne. That was why Gargamel immediately hurried to the array after sensing the commotion in the teleportation room. He brought Eva along with him.
The frail and skinny Gargamel, with his sharp features, opened his round mousy eyes wide as he carefully evaluated the three individuals that had teleported into the tower. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Greem's familiar silhouette. He quickly put away his equipment and called over the forest spirit that had been hiding in the shadows. Both of them greeted their master.
In all honesty, Gargamel might not have been much in terms of power, but as a butler, he did an excellent job.
Chapter 464 Report
The meeting in the teleportation room was somewhat awkward.
Eva seemed to be slightly oversensitive. She displayed quite a lot of hostility towards Billis, who cloaked himself under his robes.
If it weren't for Greem and Gargamel being present, she would likely have failed at suppressing her instincts and struck at Billis. Even with Greem here, Eva was still openly hostile towards Billis, as if she didn't want to get close to him.
When he saw Eva's response, Billis let out a sinister laugh while hidden under the thick black robe. The pale green compound eyes under his hood were a chilling sight to behold.
In comparison, Meryl and Gargamel could also sense Billis' potential danger, but they weren't feeling the same intensity as Eva was. After all, Billis' intermediate apprentice-level of power was too deceptive!
In less than half a month, Billis had managed to rise from beginner apprentice to intermediate apprentice. It was only because his regular presence was too weak that Gargamel and Meryl had rarely taken notice of him before this. That was why neither of them had realized the change in his power.
Billis' actions had become increasingly inconspicuous ever since he assimilated the Queen Bug. He had become more mysterious and never showed his face in public locations. Even today, he was wearing a black robe and hiding in the corner furthest from the rest of the party. Meanwhile, he was silently looking at everyone from under the shadows of his hood.
"Go and find a suitable room for yourself on the fourth floor. I have something to tell you tonight." Greem picked up on the awkward atmosphere in the room and turned to give Billis an order.
Billis bowed and acknowledged the order with a harsh voice, before leaving ahead of everyone else.
Meryl and Gargamel looked at each other. Their eyes filled with utter incomprehension.
The fourth level of the adept's tower was the rest area for the stationed adepts. Even the more favored pseudo-adepts were only allowed to stay on the third level. They were not to set foot on the fourth level unless otherwise permitted. Yet now, Greem had given this privilege that belonged to adepts to an intermediate apprentice. This…
"Let's go to my place!" Greem nodded at the other three people, "A lot has happened to the situation outside. We will need to rework a lot of our arrangements."
Gargamel and Meryl nodded in silence.
Eva was utterly disinterested in these trivial chores, but she didn't dare to go against the will of the tower's master. She could only follow along with the rest.
Half an hour later, Gargamel finally understood everything that had happened in Gilneas City during this period, thanks to Greem's narration. However, an expression of pity appeared on Gargamel's mouse-like face when he heard that Greem had been chained with heavy shackles by the clan due to his ability to craft golems.
His wrinkled forehead scrunched up further when he heard that Greem had promised to hand over two elite-level elementium golems to the clan every year.
As a potions master, Gargamel had personal experience in crafting adept-level magical items.
One could disregard apprentice-level potions. Three or four days were enough to brew a batch of those, especially those that they were already familiar with. On the other hand, adept-level potions often required ten to fifteen days to be completed. That was due to the number of materials needed for the creation process. Every one of those materials had to undergo complex procedures of selection, filtering, treatment, extraction, refinement, and much more.
Moreover, the failure rate was relatively higher!
Gargamel, at his current level, couldn't craft potions of any higher quality than that.
His Spirit was no more than seven points at this point. Such weak Spirit was incapable of sustaining the creation process of high-quality potions that took long periods of continuous and precise mental manipulation.
It was because of how well Gargamel understood this that he could understand the difficulty of crafting two elite-level golems in a single year.
An elite-level golem would require two to three months to complete. If the crafting process failed, this time could multiply by several times. Even if Greem were hugely successful in his efforts, he would need four to six months to complete the clan's assignment. That left him with only half a year to improve his abilities.
However, if Greem failed one of his attempts, he would only have three months of free time left. If he failed twice in a row, he would have to spend his entire year in the lab!
Day after day, year after year, perpetually staying in the cold and silent lab, repeating the same monotonous work; that kind of life would be enough to crush the passion and ambition of most esoteric adepts!
It also caused the esoteric adepts to be one of the slowest-improving groups among adepts.
Gargamel hesitated for a moment and finally expressed his thoughts. He didn't understand. Greem had always been a brilliant and sharp individual. How could he have not seen through the trick that the Sarubo Clan was pulling on him? Why would he instead agree to these harsh conditions?
Was he blinded by the reward of those Second Grade elementium cores?
Meryl also looked at Greem with concern when she heard Gargamel's question.
In finding the determination to come with Greem to Fire Throne, she had essentially severed her ties with those in the clan. If Greem's power were suppressed at a certain level and never improved, then they, as his followers, would not end up much better. Thus, Meryl was also concerned with Greem's answer.
"Don't worry!" Greem knew very well how the two of them felt, "I have my plans on this matter, as well as sufficient countermeasures. Also…"
Greem paused for a moment when he reached her.
"…I have already figured out the method and path to advance to Second Grade. I happen to need this period to accumulate and condense what I have learned. Thus, this thing is only beneficial for me. There is nothing bad about it!"
Advancement to Second Grade?
Expressions of shock appeared on Gargamel and Meryl's faces when they heard Greem's reply.
Greem was their master (teacher), and he had power enough to impress and convince them. However, it had only been eleven years since he advanced to adept. Yet he was already thinking about progressing to Second Grade.
How could this not cause them to feel as if lightning had struck them!
In particular, Gargamel, who had advanced to adept seventy years ago, felt like his entire worldview was falling apart. Was the difference between one person and another that large? Had he been living a dog's life for all these years?
"It's not as exaggerated as you think. I just understood where the path forward lies." Greem never expected a casual sentence from him would cause his two subordinates to put on such exaggerated expressions. He couldn't help but explain, "Even though the path is clear, it's still a long journey ahead. I estimate that I can't reach the threshold to attempt to advance to Second Grade without another eighty to ninety years!"
So that's how it was!
However, thinking about it some more made Gargamel experience that terrible feeling of despair and being abandoned by fate. Greem had still managed to find his path so quickly.
"Alright, alright. You've asked your questions; it's time for mine," Eva was already impatient from waiting at the side: "Gre…master, what was with that black-robed person earlier? Why..."
Eva's questions immediately dragged Gargamel and Meryl out of their thoughts. They once again cast their eyes upon Greem.
"His name is Billis. He used to be a beginner apprentice. Gargamel, you personally accepted him into the tower." Greem slowly started speaking.
"Billis…" Gargamel stroked his wispy goatee as he muttered to himself.
This name sounded familiar to him, but He couldn't reconcile the person he saw today with the person from his memories.
"Was he the first apprentice to want to join the tower? But his aura…" Gargamel had already recalled the person in question, but he couldn't be sure yet.
Things like retentive memory and recollecting past things were child's play with an adept's Spirit. However, an adept typically relied more on the aura of a soul to recognize an individual apart from just the physical characteristics.
Everyone's life force and soul mixed to form their own unique aura. This aura could be stronger or weaker, and it could even change with advances to the soul origin. Still, for a person's soul aura to completely change within such a short time was virtually impossible.
At least, an apprentice adept shouldn't possess such a strange ability to do so!
"Just a while ago, Mary came back from the other plane. She killed Evil Bugs Acteon and gave the Queen Bug he assimilated with to me after wiping away his soul brand. Thus, I had Billis assimilate with it!"
They were just a few short sentences, yet they hid a shocking story behind them. The twists in the plot were many and unexpected. It would be hard to describe them all even if they were written in a book.
Meryl had some idea of the tensions between Greem, Mary, and Acteon. She could only whisper to Gargamel and Eva what she knew when she saw their confused expressions.
"Then, is Lady Mary our mistress?" Gargamel voiced what he thought since it was the first time he had heard of this.
Greem's face froze.
Meryl was giggling from aside, "This isn't certain, you know? Teacher still has Sister Alice. She isn't an easy one either. Lady Mary's paying a visit to her. Who knows whether the two of them will still have a vicious fight between them!"
"Why's there still an Alice? " Gargamel was clearly a person who loved gossiping. He immediately asked with gleaming eyes, "Who is this Alice? Why haven't I heard Master mention her before? Quick, tell me, tell me…"
Greem hastily interrupted his subordinates' gossiping and asked with an expression that was neither crying nor smiling, "Gargamel, you haven't given me a report about the situation near Fire Throne! Are the magical creature leaders still quiet? Did they bring any trouble to the tower?"
Gargamel finally remembered something when Greem asked him.
"This isn't good, Master. I almost forgot to tell you," Gargamel's expression turned solemn and grave, "Something huge has happened in the Black Forest."
Chapter 465 The Battle in the Night
The Black Forest at night was never peaceful.
Unpredictable hazards hid everywhere in the silent and ghostly darkness.
There were forest beasts that went hunting under cover of night, bloodsucking vines that hid among ordinary vines, acid swamps that looked like grass but were actually the homes of Ghost Nannies, and ferocious predators that wandered in the depths of the forest like phantoms.
&
nbsp; Including all of the rumored corruptors, monsters, and magical beasts would give you a genuinely primal world with a variety of resources and species– the Black Forest.
Sixty kilometers to the north of Fire Throne was land owned by the Aba Beemen.
It was deep into the night, yet his place was still bustling with activity and a particular sort of urgency.
Squads of beeman soldiers holding poison-tipped spears and arrows beat their wings and moved between the trees. Many of them were also carrying in their hands the prey they had hunted. Most of them were ordinary forest creatures such as goats, wolves, and apes. Once in a while, one would also see berserk apes, Otyughs, and human mercenaries in their grasp.
Under ordinary circumstances, each beeman squad would employ fifteen beeman soldiers.
They would move through the fifteen kilometers of Black Forest around their den in a specific pattern, carefully and seriously searching for prey they could hunt. Every time they ran into a beast or other magical creature that had come out to hunt meant an inevitable battle.
It was precisely the terrifying offensive abilities of these prey that often ensured casualties in these beeman squads; almost none of the beeman squads returned unscathed. The worst battle saw only four beeman soldiers return. However, without exception, all of them returned with varying sizes of spoils.
The Aba Beemen's nest was constructed in a dense stretch of forest. It was a strange magical structure that resembled a bee's nest.
This place was also the Aba Queen's delivery room. It was the special place where she gave birth to new beemen.
Ordinary beemen had no right to enter the hive. Only specially selected servants could stay by the Queen's side, continually feeding her and taking care of the newly-spawned eggs.
The hatching cycle of a beeman was extremely short. An egg only required a short seven days to hatch into a beeman soldier. That was why an Aba bee nest could produce beeman soldiers at a breakneck pace as long as there was enough food.