Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  The so-called staying adepts were wandering adepts. When they walked to a place, they would temporarily stay over in a tower open to the public. Their stay might be to gather knowledge, collecting nearby resources, or even to borrow the magical facilities of the adept's tower.

  Even though they didn't belong to the ranks of stationed adepts, they would be active around the tower in the short term.

  These 'short terms' were often one to two years.

  Of course, there were also staying adepts who easily resided in a single place for a dozen years.

  Gargamel provided living environments with the least regulation he could afford to these people who chased after resources and didn't wish to be restricted by the clans. He also allowed their descendants to stay within the tower.

  Wandering Adepts were adepts as well. Many times, they would form parties to go on adventures or to explore ancient ruins. In these cases, the descendants that always followed behind them became a tricky problem.

  Bringing them on the adventure was definitely out of the question.

  Leaving them in a random place could easily affect and delay their improvement and development.

  That was why Gargamel helped them deal with their concerns while calling for more wandering adepts to adventure around Fire Throne. As long as they were staying adepts that had registered with Fire Throne, they would enjoy the fundamental rights of a stationed adept, and they would not need to take on compulsory adept missions.

  The apprentice adepts that came along with them could also enjoy the learning and trial opportunities within the tower.

  As massive quantities of quality resources flowed into Fire Throne from the surrounding Black Forest, a new market slowly formed. Purchasing raw magical creature resources and herbs here and processing them into valuable magical materials and potions was a lucrative affair. So much so that it attracted droves of merchants and wandering adepts.

  The policies that Fire Throne pushed out might not look like much on the surface to the ignorant. However, each and every single one of them would resonate and play to the hearts of the wandering adepts.

  It might not move them enough to make them change their resolve to continue wandering, but the abundant resources and loose rules would indirectly influence them to stay a little longer.

  One or two wandering adepts doing this wouldn't bring about much of a change. However, if seven or eight wandering adepts chose to become staying adepts, then it would be a massive revolution for Fire Throne.

  At any one point, Fire Throne could host a dozen staying adepts. In their free time, Gargamel would be able to use generous magical crystal rewards to get them to teach lessons to the apprentices of the tower. These wandering adepts were often masters and experts in various fields. Some of the less popular magical disciplines quickly found suitable teachers in this manner.

  For a moment, the magical fields and research topics that tower apprentices could take part in had gained much more variety and fullness. It indirectly increased the apprentices' reserves of knowledge, as well as their insight into magic. That allowed them to have a broader space for development!

  Of course, for the sake of spreading the name of Fire Throne even further, and to increase the passion with which stationed adepts and apprentices would work for contribution points, Gargamel and Greem came to a decision. After some discussion, they put in some rare resources that couldn't be found in a normal market into the mission and reward system of the tower in a purposeful and limited fashion.

  For example; advanced potions, adept-level magical creatures, elementium golems, etc.

  These things were rare resources that were hard to find, even in an adept's trading point. Adept Clans and organizations monopolized most of them. When they did appear, everyone would fight for them. Ordinary adepts without plentiful savings would not be able to get these things even if they wanted to.

  However, now, Fire Throne introduced a set amount of such resources on a monthly basis into its mission system. These resources didn't cost magical crystals and didn't demand power. One could get them as long as they had enough contribution points.

  Moreover, when one stayed in Fire Throne, they didn't need to go out and conduct dangerous adept missions. The missions that allowed them to gain contribution points while staying in the tower were numerous.

  They were missions such as: holding some classes, becoming the teacher for specific magic research topics, helping manage the magical garden, or treating some enchanting materials. There were far too many such missions. Most staying adepts could take out enough free time to do one or two tasks while they were exploring and adventuring on their own.

  That was why Fire Throne was able to prop up the functioning of the magical facilities and the mission system just through these staying adepts who had no contractual relationship with the tower. The stationed adepts that belonged to Fire Throne could now gain more time to be placed into their research and experiments.

  This ingenious act, which brought about so many benefits, obtained the uncontested approval of all the stationed adepts.

  As praises were passed around, Gargamel's position as the head butler of Fire Throne was solidified!

  …………

  In comparison to Gargamel's exceptional talent for management, Greem, the actual owner of the tower, was doing poorly in this aspect.

  After handing over most of the authority to Gargamel and Meryl, Greem had hidden himself on the fifth level of the tower. He was entirely absorbed in all sorts of research and experiments.

  The cloning of the robber bug was still being tested, even after over a hundred failures. He had lost a lot of resources due to that. However, the beautiful future was right in front of him and waving its hands at Greem, and he was unwilling to give up.

  After he had successfully deciphered the Explosion variant fire rune, Greem had also successfully etched it into his core consciousness. That meant he could add on an explosive effect to any fire spells he cast from now on with just a thought. However, the changes to the runes at the core meant changes had to be made to the spiritual spell models and magical chants.

  It was an incredibly exhausting practice and a massive project that required changes to each spell!

  However, with the help of the Chip, anything related to large data calculation and data model construction could be left to the Chip to figure out in its free time slowly. As such, Greem could still utilize lots of time to deal with the current magical problem he was facing!

  Two more rare fire runes were waiting for him to decipher. They were listed in the Chip's idle missions. Judging by the magical characteristics that the variant fire rune had displayed so far, the two rare fire runes were clearly above it.

  The moment they were deciphered, the runes would be an immensely helpful increase to Greem's combat prowess.

  Chapter 482 Bloodline Origin

  Fire Throne.

  In a secret room on the tower's fifth level.

  A cluster of black flames lit up an array. It floated in the air steadily as the temperature in the room plummeted to the freezing point. Apparent signs of frost developed on both the ceilings and the walls.

  Greem wasn't concerned about these abnormalities. He only silently gazed at that black fist-sized fire. Who knew what he was thinking.

  He didn't have to wait long. A short moment later, a strange spatial flux emanated from within the black fire. It then turned into a clear wave of mental flux.

  "Tell me your request, adept!" The voice in the black fire was dry, cold, and stiff. The mental flux also vibrated tremendously. It was evident that the mental flux and voice had both been disguised with magic.

  "I'm looking for a person! It's best if you people can kill him. If you can't kill him, then give me his information and location!" Greem was just as straightforward.

  "There is no problem. Send over the basic information on that person!" The mental flux in the black fire continued, "Remember, something like assassination costs
money. A thousand magical crystals for an ordinary human, and a hundred thousand magical crystals for an adept. If the target belongs to a clan or organization, the price will increase by two to five times, depending on the situation. Given your current clearance, we will not accept any mission on adepts of Second Grade and above."

  Greem's gaze sharpened.

  Since they mentioned Second Grade adepts, it meant that they possessed the means to kill a Second Grade adept without leaving behind any trace. It also meant that there had to be multiple Third Grade adepts in their organization!

  On the Continent of Adepts, Third Grade adepts were already the core combat strength of adepts. The grade above that was the Fourth Grade. Those people were mysterious characters that often shut themselves away in their rooms and spent all their days thinking about how they could make it past the threshold of Great Adept.

  It was almost impossible to run into a Fourth Grade adept under normal circumstances.

  "As expected, the hidden strength of these extreme organizations is definitely beyond the imagination of ordinary people." Greem's mind turned, but he sent over the necessary information he had on the target without hesitation.

  "The information has been received. A result will be provided after three days!" The adept on the other end of the black fire cut the long-ranged communications after its reply.

  The black fire in front of Greem suddenly went out. The array of floating runes also started to disperse.

  Hopefully, they can provide us with good news!

  Greem silently contemplated.

  Alice had only managed to divine a name and an image of the person related to Mary's source of blood. However, she lacked more comprehensive information on that person.

  Leicester. A three-hundred-year-old vampire. Given the thousand-year lifespan of ordinary vampires, he was still in his rebellious teenage years.

  He had mysteriously appeared in a villa near Feidnan City and lived a life of hermitage there for several decades. No one might have been able to discover his existence if it weren't for his victims including a person under the protection of the Sarubo Clan.

  The things that happened afterward were just as Adept Anderson had described in the past.

  The clan had sent many adepts to exterminate this vampire with only beginner-adept-level prowess. However, they were unexpectedly ambushed by large numbers of blood servants. During the chaos, Leicester had escaped while grievously wounded. The attacking clan adepts returned empty-handed.

  Anderson had taken the opportunity of searching the mysterious lab beneath the villa to swipe a vial of essence blood from Leicester's body for himself. It was only then that he started his research on the ancient species that was the vampires.

  The reason Mary was corrupted into an offshoot vampire was due to those couple drops of essence blood.

  Mary had indirectly become the blood servant of Leicester!

  Now that Mary had become an elite-level adept, her power had almost caught up to that vampire. As the bloodline origin, the restrictions of the bloodline limit was extremely obvious.

  If that vampire Leicester didn't advance to Second Grade, then Mary would never have the chance to develop any further. Her power would be locked under her bloodline source's grade for her entire life.

  The only way to change that was to find the bloodline source and conduct a blood exchange transfusion ceremony. This way, Mary would be able to obtain the room for growth that belonged to the other person. Until she reached the next bloodline limit, she would be free!

  Trying to find someone with just their name and image in this massive world was a virtually impossible task for someone of Mary's strength and resources. Even Alice, as the Witch of Fate, couldn't directly obtain the location of the opponent. It meant that Leicester was currently within some kind of strange place, or that he was being obscured by a high grade adept. Otherwise, there was no reason for Alice to fail.

  As the information Alice provided was far too crude, Greem had no choice but to contact a prominent underground organization on the Continent of Adepts through Gargamel. They were the Shadowhand, and Greem hoped to find Leicester through their channels and means.

  …………

  The Shadowhand was a famous underground organization of the Continent of Adepts, just as expected!

  In just three days, they had managed to find the vampire known as Leicester.

  However, they had turned down Greem's request to kill him. The reason was simple. The vampire was a member of a vampire family, and the family he belonged to had many Second Grade vampire adepts.

  For that reason, Greem had no choice but to take out fifty thousand magical crystals to purchase the detailed information on the vampire.

  Leicester Vik. Part of the Vik family. It was a vampire family that possessed ancient bloodlines. They had sixty-seven members, one of which was a Third Grade vampire, and three of which were Second Grade vampires. There was also twenty-five pureblood vampires and thirty-eight offshoot vampires.

  The vampires that had yet to reach adolescence wouldn't even be included in the family tree by the family.

  The Vik Family resided in the southwest area of the Zhentarim area. That was also a place where adept clans of various races lived. Much like the Kingdom of Stormwind that the Storm Giants had established in the center of the continent, these adepts of other races had also created peace treaties with the human adepts. That was why they could possess the same status and rights as human adepts as long as they didn't go against the adept code of practice set down by the Zhentarim Association.

  The Leicester that Greem was looking for was already an elite adept now. He was also one of the more powerful pureblood vampires amongst the other purebloods of the Viks. That was why it was hard to avoid serious backlash from the Viks if he wanted to kill Leicester.

  Greem's current clearance was not enough to get the Shadowhand to take the risk of offending high-grade adepts to kill Leicester. That was the truth, regardless of how many magical crystals Greem could take out from his pocket.

  Consequently, the Shadowhand promptly cut off all communications with Greem after selling Leicester's information to him.

  Greem immediately fell into a dilemma after researching the information he had received.

  According to Leicester's travel records over the past few years, he had rarely left the Bloodcastle, located in the Qatarselon area. It seemed the family was grounding him. This fact undoubtedly increased the difficulty of catching him. As for something like breaking into Bloodcastle? Maybe if someday Greem got sick of living!

  Moreover, Greem had also left behind tracks by checking on Leicester's information through the Shadowhand. Even if he managed to, with great fortune, kill Leicester, the Viks would be able to trace this clue and easily find Greem.

  Greem felt his scalp go numb at the thought of facing a terrifying Second Grade vampire. If he really did get himself an enemy like that, he would be in danger even if he turtled within the

  safety of Fire Throne.

  That was why Greem decided to temporarily let go of the issue of the vampire after a deep and intimate talk with Mary. After all, the most critical thing for Greem currently had to be his own advancement.

  Even though advancement to Second Grade was still a faraway goal, Greem had already found his path forward. The only thing left was the accumulation of power and the passage of time. As long as he successfully advanced to Second Grade, the difficulty of these problems would decrease significantly.

  After all, it was much harder to tell if that Third Grade vampire of the Vik family would choose to clash with a Second Grade Greem over a First Grade descendant. Not to mention that Greem was not going to be the kind of ordinary Second Grade adept that relied on time and luck after he advanced.

  When the time came, a Third Grade vampire might not be all that scary to him as the world would imagine!

  …………

  Bloodcastle.

  Five pitch-black and heavy
stone coffins laid in a damp and dark room underground.

  Creaaaaak!

  An ear-piercing creaking rang out as the lid of a coffin moved. Flickers of fire started burning on the torches placed on the walls. They illuminated this sinister room and its walls covered in ugly moss.

  The second coffin from the left suddenly opened during the creaking. Cold, ancient, and fetid air emerged from within as a black silhouette suddenly sat up. Their crimson eyes glowed with a cold light in the dim room.

  The stone coffin beside that person suddenly opened as if its resident had sensed the movement beside them.

  "Brother, what has happened? Why did you suddenly wake up from your deep slumber?" The one asking was a beautiful teenage girl in a golden noble's dress. Her crimson eyes glowed brilliantly despite the darkness.

  Leicester was a handsome young man. His delicate and perfect mustache was neatly combed. He radiated the noble aura of a gentleman.

  After silently staring into the darkness, Leicester finally spoke, "I sense something unknown calling to my blood. As if... as if some of my essence blood has been leaked to the outside world and is slowly growing stronger."

  "What?" The beautiful female vampire couldn't help but exclaim, "Do you not know what it means to us for our origin blood to be leaked? Losing control over our blood descendants is the easiest way to cause a bloodline backlash."

  Leicester understood the terror of bloodline backlash. However, no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't recall when he had leaked his essence blood.

  After all, he had set up several bloodline laboratories back then, when he was secretly conducting his bloodline research. The process of his study hadn't gone entirely smoothly; he had been pursued by human adepts several times. However, he had always destroyed his labs before he escaped, and there shouldn't be any of his essence blood leaked to the outside world.