There were many options available to Greem, but randomly shifting between the various weapons forms during combat would most definitely invite trouble. Greem had the Chip repeatedly calculate the most effective weapon forms for battle after having it gather the sufficient necessary data. He prepared to incorporate these weapon forms as part of his combat abilities.
Moreover, the Emblem of Fire and Ash had already resonated with his soul. As such, apart from his human form, he would also be able to benefit from the massive boost provided by the two pieces of Second Grade magical equipment even after he turned into his Flame Fiend form.
Ash provided Greem with +1 Spirit, while the Emblem of Fire provided +1 Strength.
Moreover, these attribute bonuses were not something that the origin contract could limit.
Greem repeatedly tested his Fire Molding ability along the way, even as he surveyed the unique scenery of the Fire Elementium Plane. Two bright yellow flames burned in his palms, occasionally shifting into different weapon forms.
It was almost as if Greem had discovered a new land. His hands used the simple Fire Molding ability to turn the fires into all sorts of new things. One moment they would turn into a shimmering shield of fire, the next it would be a fire whip with adjustable range, and then it would become upper body armor fit with claws before turning into a fire longbow.
Of course, apart from these basic weapon forms, Greem was also overcome by a momentary surge of playfulness. He manipulated the fires to turn into the form of a magic energy cannon. Sadly, the most crucial part about the cannons–the runic arrays within their core–exhausted too much of his Spirit. Thus, the magic energy cannon that Greem had conjured only had an awesome look and could only fire the most basic of energy fireballs.
"Chip, is it possible to solidify a powerful ranged weapon form?" Greem gave it a bit of thought and finally started to look through the Chip's data library.
[Magic-energy marksman form. The simulation of the form of the energy cannon through Fire Molding while using the host's right arm as the carrier for the cannon and the host's right shoulder as a support structure for the turret. The mode of offense is energy fireballs. Attack intensity is estimated to be between a hundred and seventy to two hundred and ten points. Attack frequency will be three shots per two seconds.]
A three-dimensional projection slowly started turning within Greem's mind as the Chip's notification rang out.
The three-dimensional form of the host was still Greem's Flame Fiend appearance. However, his arms were no longer the appearance of bare magma hands. Instead, they were covered by two shining energy cannons embedded into them. The body of the barrels extended up Greem's arms, before turning into an odd mode of armor when they reached his shoulders.
Greem had always preferred to control large portions of the battlefield in the past, turning everything within vision into a sea of fire at his whim. However, such a combat method had its limitations in small-scale skirmishes. Area-of-effect spells could not do sufficient damage to opponents of the same grade due to the dispersion of power.
With the ability of Fire Molding, Greem could now rapidly transform into the magic energy marksman form by turning his hands into cannons. Of course, this attack method was reduced to inflexible and straightforward energy fireballs. Still, that rapid attack rate and powerful energy intensity of two hundred points made it an excellent option to decide a battle.
"Approximately how long will it take to complete the design of the magic energy marksman form?"
[Beep. Fundamental knowledge and magical theories are already in possession. Related combat module designs and optimization requires an estimated 37 hours, 56 minutes, 33 seconds.]
"Begin now!"
[Beep. Host's instructions received! Model of magic energy marksman form is currently being constructed.]
As the Chip began the massive number of calculations required for the complex optimization process, Greem felt his Spirit drain at a rapid pace. In the blink of an eye, he had lost five points of Spirit. If it weren't for his Spirit reaching twenty-six points after his advancement, and the +1 bonus provided by Ash, Greem would not have been able to endure such an intense demand of Spirit.
Greem immediately stopped walking. He looked around and quickly found a small fire pool that was suited for him to recover his Spirit. He charged over without any hesitation.
As for the original owner of this pool? It was an advanced First Grade Fire Deity, but Greem simply ignored his existence!
A short moment later, the First Grade Fire Deity's fire core had been removed by Greem and faded into sparks. Meanwhile, Greem jumped into the pool of fire and comfortably started to bathe.
Ordinary mortals could only enjoy hot springs. Only fire creatures of the Fire Elementium Plane could enjoy such a unique fire bath!
…………
While Greem was casually enjoying his life of fire, a vast horde of fire creatures had started to search for signs of an outsider far, far away in Dustfire Valley. They had received instructions from Fire Lord Artes.
However, the black mountain that Greem had appeared on was several tens of thousands of kilometers away from Artes' Dustfire Valley. As such, the Fire Lord couldn't possibly find any trace of Greem, even if he was to tear his territory apart.
However, the Second Grade Fire Lord Artes was not an incapable individual either. He quickly recalled his troops after an inconclusive search and instead switched to a facade of loose security while keeping up the intensive hunts. He had also spoken with the neighboring Fire Lords and cast a massive net around Dustfire Valley.
This way, the human adept would not be able to escape his scouts and his eyes, regardless of which direction he approached from!
The only thing that Artes felt to be a shame was his lack of knowledge about the human adept that was to assassinate him. That made it hard to prepare traps and ambushes based on the enemy's personality and habits. However, Artes quickly calmed down when he remembered the seven thousand soldiers he had in his lands.
All that was left was waiting for that human adept to attack him!
…………
One had to admit that the Fire Elementium Plane was truly a higher plane most suited for fire adepts to train in and explore.
The Heart of Flames in Greem's chest had been beating even more strongly ever since he entered the plane. The frequency of fire energy pumping out of the heart also significantly increased.
More importantly, the planar consciousness here appeared to be willing to embrace all fire beings, allowing them to live as they liked in this strange world freely. If it was possible, Greem planned to construct a magical laboratory here in the future.
If he were ever expelled from the World of Adepts, treating this plane as his second origin plane wouldn't be a bad choice!
It was a vast and wide plain of fire!
Fissures and valleys were all over the scorched earth. Terrifying and hot jets of air would occasionally burst forth from the ground, forming red pillars of fire on the surface, each measuring several hundreds of meters high.
These pillars of fire all had temperatures reaching seven thousand degrees. Even the native fire creatures could not endure such astounding heat. They would be burned to ashes when hit by these roiling flame streams and fire pillars.
Then, as the fire pillars burst into the sky, some fire crystals or strange magical gemstones would be expelled from the ground alongside the explosions. These things were massively beneficial to those low-grade fire creatures. As such, there were plenty of fire creatures that roamed these parts despite the danger.
From a distance, one could see the wandering fire spirits, fire elementals, and fire humanoids drifting about everywhere in this massive space.
When Greem arrived here, he had run into an unprecedentedly massive explosion. Countless rare fire materials were expelled from underground, sending a rain of gems pouring down from the skies.
It was the first time Greem had seen such a phen
omenon in the Fire Elementium Plane. He couldn't help but be attracted to it.
Fire agates, fire crystals, firestones, fire cores, magma shards, and numerous strange fire materials.
Greem stood on the edge of the sea of fire and silently let his vision sweep across the plains. Suddenly, his pupils shrunk as they were drawn to a strange gem rolling across the sky.
It was that!
Chapter 758 Essence of Fire
Essence of Fire!
It was a type of peculiar elementium essence born of the purest fire.
If absorbed into his body, it would increase Greem's elementium affinity for magical flames.
That was why Greem immediately used Fire Teleportation and charged into the fire plains the instant he saw the Essence of Fire. He sprinted with all his strength toward the gemstone.
Three low-grade fire spirits were already fighting amongst each other for the gemstone over there.
Fire spirits were actually a type of low-grade fire creatures. They had not even managed to accumulate the energy required to solidify their forms, which caused them to appear like amorphous, shifting blobs of fire. One could only vaguely make out a humanoid face within all the flames.
Their primary mode of offense was the use of explosive fireballs, fire shockwave blasts, and Ignite.
If any of them were to be thrown into a material plane, they would pose an immense threat to unarmed mortals. A beginner First Grade fire spirit could easily use its pyromancy to burn down a human village.
However, in the Fire Elementium Plane, most of their attacks could hardly even threaten the other fire creatures. With their offensive options being so severely ineffective, their lack of defensive powers became all the more striking.
Greem looked on from afar. He could see the Essence of Fire–a crystalline elementium gemstone–silently lying on the edge of an underground fissure. The three low-grade fire spirits were ripping into each other around the Essence of Fire as if they were mad dogs, ferocious and intent of getting what they wanted.
For a moment, elementium fireballs and flame shockwaves ravaged through the sea of fire. Though the fire spirits blocked most of the fire damage coming their way, they still couldn't avoid their bodies of fire slowly being damaged by the wild attacks of their foes.
Three beginner First Grade fire spirits who couldn't even solidify their forms dared to set their sights on such a valuable and precious treasure; Greem roared internally and quickly closed in on the battlefield with multiple Fire Teleportations.
Perhaps because they sensed Greem approaching, the three First Grade fire spirits started to panic.
Even in the Fire Elementium Plane, where elementium creatures ran amok, beings that had evolved whole bodies were not easy opponents. That was why the three fire spirits immediately knew that a problematic enemy had arrived when they saw Greem's fire-clad humanoid body.
If it weren't for the Essence of Fire, they would have run with their tails between their legs the very moment they saw Greem. Sadly, their instincts and desire to evolve that came from the depths of their consciousness core controlled their bodies. They loitered around the battlefield, unwilling to leave empty-handed.
Greem managed to cross a distance of one and a half kilometers and appeared in the battle in a matter of seventeen seconds.
With a single Fire Teleportation, he appeared behind two fire spirits engaged in combat. The flames blazing in his hands instantly turned into a broad executioner's blade with horrifying jagged teeth. With a single strike, he slashed apart the bodies of the two fire spirits.
The last surviving fire spirit finally turned to leave at the sight of this. Sadly, the moment it moved, a fire whip cut across the air and obliterated its unstable body of flames, leaving sparks falling to the ground.
After quickly clearing up the battlefield, Greem ran towards the Essence of Fire. Just as he was five steps away from the Essence of Fire, a strange flame rushed past his side and whisked away the gemstone moments before Greem could reach it.
Who?
Greem's heart shook. His face formed from flames turned abruptly and looked at the towering humanoid that had majestically emerged from a pillar of fire.
A Second Grade fire elemental elder!
The Chip scanned the opponent's data and compiled it in a single second. Greem's face gradually darkened as he saw the information.
Fire Elemental Elder.
Second Grade elementium creature.
Bodily Attributes: Strength 14 | Physique 16 | Agility 8 | Spirit 2
One had to admit that fire elemental elders that had mastered most fire spells had achieved elementary fire immunity. When paired with their five-meter-tall bodies, the fire elementium within them became even more concentrated and compressed to the limits. Though they had no tough outer shell, their body of flames was already sufficiently sturdy when compared to other fire elementals.
The fire elemental elder absorbed the Essence of Fire into its palm. It then glared at Greem with its ferocious, burning eyes, towering over Greem with its superior stature as if ready to fight at any moment.
Both of them were Second Grade creatures, and their abilities were of almost the same level. If it weren't for the irresistible temptation of the Essence of Fire, they would not cross swords so easily.
Greem hesitated for a moment and silently stepped back as if intimidated by the opponent's fierce appearance. It seemed like he was giving up and retreating. The Second Grade fire elemental elder was extremely satisfied at the sight of this. It gripped the Essence of Fire tighter in its palm and turned to find a suitable place to absorb it as soon as possible.
As the fire elemental elder turned, Greem lifted his face as a cold light filled with killing intent burst forth from his blazing eyes.
Greem lifted his right arm and pointed at the fire elemental elder. A Fire Prison forged from flames rose from the ground and caged the elemental.
A First Grade binding spell like this couldn't possibly restrain the movements of someone with the power of the fire elemental elder. It punched furiously, and its flaming fists reduced the prison into sparks.
As fast it escaped its constraints, the fire prison had forced the elemental elder to remain in the same spot for one second.
One second's time was more than enough for an evil adept who knew how to take advantage of opportunities in battle.
First, Greem hurled three magma fireballs at the elemental elder. While it was busy dodging and defending itself, Greem disappeared with a Fire Teleportation and appeared behind the enemy. The flames in his hands formed into the shape of a giant sword and stabbed toward the location of the fire core in the elemental's body.
The fire elemental elder roared in anger. With an instance of Fire Blast, it knocked away the three magma fireballs and proceeded to use a Flame Halo of Repulsion to push away Greem.
As Greem stumbled away, the fire elemental elder motioned with its arm, and a meteor fireball crashed from above, smashing into the afterimage that Greem had left behind.
Boom!
The meteor landed, and the ground quaked.
The afterimages shattered into pieces and turned into sparks, while a meter-deep crater had been carved into the burning land beneath their feet. The bottom of the hole was filled with web-like cracks, while the splashing sparks had burnt everything nearby, turning them a bright red.
However, Greem's towering and blazing body was the only thing that could not be found in the roiling flames!
The fire elemental elder was surprised. It gripped the Essence of Fire in its left hand and rapidly drew a rune in the air with its right. A short moment later, the rune vanished as a strange flame ripple rippled outward with the elder at its center.
All the burning flames around the fire elemental elder were extinguished when they came into contact with this flame ripple; a clean space had been created on the battlefield.
When the fire ripple expanded ten meters away from the elemental elder, a distortion sudde
nly appeared in the empty air. Greem's body stumbled out of the spot and was knocked away.
Kehkehkeh…dumb brat! To think you would try and use such a way of hiding yourself in the flames to ambush me. Prepare to suffer the consequences!
The fire elemental elder roared arrogantly and waved its arms. A meteor fireball was quickly formed and crashed toward the other fire humanoid.
The fire elemental elder was still a bit confused, even as it hurled the fireball at the enemy.
Hasn't it just been a moment? Why's the fire humanoid's size a bit different from before?
However, before the fire elemental elder could finish its thought, the fires behind it split. Another blazing giant emerged from the flames, and the fire sword in his hand stabbed toward the fire elemental elder.
Dammit! Why is there two of them?
For a moment, the fire elemental elder thought that the enemy had used a fire projection to create a false clone to distract it. However, when the elemental elder's Spirit swept across the two fire giants, its body trembled in fear. It was so scared that it almost threw away the Essence of Fire in its hand.
To think…to think that both of the giants were real and that both of them were Second Grade!
This moment of shock caused the elemental elder to lose its chance to escape.
The two Second Grade fire humanoids closed it on the elemental elder, using their instant-cast fireballs to bombard its body. Regardless of how resilient and sturdy the elemental elder's body was, it had to break beneath the repeated attacks of two opponents of the same grade. It was starting to fall apart.
The fire elemental elder roared furiously and started to concentrate all of its attacks on one of the fire humanoids. It could clearly sense that this fire humanoid was its real enemy. The other one was only a fire puppet that the former had summoned!
Age of Adepts c1-1513 Page 471