Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  These five spells were all the Third Grade spells that Greem had obtained from the Chip’s continued optimization. They did not use the same models as other conventional Third Grade spells. Thus, if Greem were to hand them over to the Winds of Freedom’s Knowledge Hall, he was incredibly likely to obtain the corresponding contribution points.

  However, these were all combat spells that Greem had prepared for himself. If the specific numbers of the spells were shown to the public, it would be effortless for his opponents to obtain the core statistics of his combat tactics.

  This factor alone made it such that Greem could never put them out in public!

  Meanwhile, the first elementium magical machine now possessed some degree of combat power after all these days of optimization and refinement. However, due to the lack of a magic generator furnace, the average Second Grade elementium magical golem crystal core could only sustain it for five minutes of all-out combat.

  Greem had barely managed to keep it fighting for fifteen minutes through the harmonization of three Second Grade elementium golem cores.

  It made Greem even more desperate to obtain a new batch of Queyras alloy.

  Hydra, the first golem that the majority of the Goblin Plane’s engineers had gathered to construct, was almost ready for operation as well. Yet, the magic generator furnace that was supposed to function as its energy core was still nowhere to be found.

  As such, Greem frequented the Trading Hall of the Spirit Illusion Realm even more.

  However, the terrifying price of Queyras alloy and ores left Greem without any options.

  Perhaps because of his past year of continuous search and questioning for Queyras alloy, he finally attracted an individual interested in a trade.

  This day, Greem had finally concluded his daily meditation and once again entered the Spirit Illusion Realm. He was stopped by an incredibly youthful-looking, skinny man when he entered the Trading Hall.

  “You are…Fire?” The tall and skinny man carefully assessed Greem.

  Fire was the unique codename that Greem had given himself. After all, here in the Spirit Illusion Realm, he required a fake identity with which he could interact and trade with others.

  “I am Fire! Do you have any business with me?”

  “I have a mission here with me. You might be interested.” The skinny man smiled mysteriously.

  “Mission? Shouldn’t that sort of thing be in the Mission Hall?” Greem couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.

  In the Spirit Illusion Realm, his appearance was that of a humanoid flame. Moreover, his face was covered by a golden mask. Others would have a hard time figuring out his true identity through these external traits.

  “That’s not for you to worry about; just take a look at this mission first!” The skinny man flicked a finger as a purple-black orb of light flew toward Greem.

  [Beep. Detecting odd data stream. Requesting instructions from host. Allow connection?]

  “Connect!”

  As a cool feeling surged into his consciousness form, a strange set of information appeared in his mind.

  ……

  Molten Fire City Creature Banishment Mission. Third Grade.

  Mission Issuer: Molten Fire Castellan

  Mission Contents: The Molten Fire City of the Skettis Region has been invaded by an otherworldly fire creature over the past two years. Currently, it has caused the deaths of one Second Grade adept, three First Grade adepts, and many more apprentices. The underground mine of Molten Fire City has also been severely affected.

  Mission Rewards: 50,000 magical crystals. 1,200 hundred contribution points.

  Mission Requirements: Recruiting two Third Grade adepts.

  ……

  Greem gave it a quick look before shaking his head disinterestedly.

  He was still solidifying his power after advancing to Third Grade, and it wasn’t ideal for him to leave the clan to participate in a dangerous mission. As such, he rejected it without any hesitation.

  The thin man seemed to be prepared for this. He whispered to Greem with a voice transmission, “I heard you have been searching about for Queyras alloy.”

  Greem stopped in his tracks when he heard this.

  “You have news about Queyras alloy?”

  “To tell you the truth, there is Queyrqas alloy in the underground mine of Molten Fire City. However, the mine mostly produces Eternium ore. Queyras ores are only an associated mineral!”

  Greem narrowed his eyes.

  “You are the Castellan of Molten Fire City?”

  The tall man smiled slightly, “The Castellan of Molten Fire City is a Fourth Grade adept. I am only a hired adept working beneath him.”

  Greem sensed the man’s aura carefully. He might not know the person’s true identity, but there was no doubt that he was a Third Grade adept.

  “Can you tell me more about this mission?” Greem hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he could not help but ask.

  “That beast broke into Molten Fire City two years ago. Its origins are bizarre. It seems as if it snuck into Molten Fire City through the underground tunnel beneath the lava sea. It occupied the magma sea near the underground mine after it arrived and has continually harassed the voodoo beasts who descend to mine the ores. As of now, the losses to workforce and equipment are uncountable.”

  “You people did not make a plan to capture and kill it?”

  “It seems to be a fairly intelligent fire creature and is exceptionally sly. It never dives too deep into Molten Fire City and only devours some eternium ores near the mines. The castellan wanted to capture it, but whenever the castellan gets close, the creature dives into the sea and hides. Once the castellan leaves, it immediately shows up and starts causing trouble again. We have suffered all of its harassment over these two years!”

  “Has its power been confirmed?”

  “Intermediate or Advanced Third Grade. We have already sent people to confirm it. If it weren’t for the environment there being suited to it so much, we would have seized it. Any other Third Grade fire creature would have been caught.”

  Greem couldn’t help but lower his head and start thinking when he heard this.

  It seemed that they had found him because of his identity as a fire adept.

  The skinny man couldn’t help but promise another reward when he saw the offer sway Greem.

  “I have heard you have been looking for Queyras alloy everywhere. If you can banish that creature and return the mine to its normal state, our castellan has promised that some Queyras metal can be added to the list of rewards.”

  Chapter 876 - Golden Hall

  Chapter 876 Golden Hall

  Greem arrived in Rhein City three days later.

  The Skettis Region, where Molten Fire City was located, was hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from the Ailovis region; it required crossing four different regions. Ordinary flying voodoo beasts could not possibly traverse such long distances. The flying ships of the Silver Unions were required for such a journey.

  The treatment that Greem received upon arriving at Rhein was completely different from the last time he came.

  He had just gotten down from the manticore and had yet to enter the lodgings he had arranged, yet an adept was already waiting for him at the door. They had been sent by the manager of the adept’s tower.

  “Lord Greem, what business do you have here in Rhein? If there is anything you need, please tell us.” The person responsible for his reception was a Second Grade mechanical adept. Most of his exposed skin had been replaced by a strange silver-white metal, making for a fairly scary appearance.

  “I need to proceed to the Skettis Region on business. I also need to take the flying ships here.” The mission didn’t require him to keep any secrets, so Greem didn’t hide his destination.

  “No problem! There will be a flying ship due west in two days. I will make sure to arrange passage for you! In addition,” The mechanical adept smiled, “The tower is hosting a routine adept’s g
athering at the Golden Hall tonight. I wonder if you…”

  “I understand! Send someone to notify me once the gathering starts!”

  “Very well, I will tell them now!”

  The mechanical adept immediately left with a smile on his face after Greem agreed to go to the gathering.

  It was clear that the higher-ups of the Rhein adept’s tower looked forward to Greem’s presence.

  It was important to note that the Ailovis Region, where Rhein City was located, had mostly fallen into the hands of the Crimson Clan at this point. The rise of the Crimson Clan was now an undeniable fact. Under such circumstances, establishing a good personal relationship with Greem would undoubtedly have tremendous benefits for the development of the city.

  Thus, be it for personal or official reasons, the leaders of Rhein City had to show Greem proper respect.

  There might still be some people who would oppress others if they were a Second Grade adept. But setting aside the Fourth Grade monsters who wouldn’t easily show themselves, Third Grade adepts were already the most powerful force in the World of Adepts.

  In particular, combat adepts like Greem, who demonstrated tremendous power, could only be won over, never beaten down.

  The attitudes of the Rhein adept tower’s leaders was a stark contrast to the last time Greem came to the city. There were some slight intentions to fix the cracks created from their last encounter.

  Greem knew this very well.

  He also intended to take this opportunity to make contact with the high-grade adepts of Zhentarim.

  …………

  When night finally fell, the Golden Hall was already filled with noble adepts from various levels of the tower.

  The routine gathering for the tower adepts should have been hosted five days later, but the arrival of an esteemed guest meant that the higher-ups had no choice but to bring it forward.

  The adepts who stayed at the tower had all figured out the identity of tonight’s mysterious guest through various channels. As such, they had all arrived to the Golden Hall ahead of time, taking up some better spots and conversing with their friends as they waited for the guest to arrive.

  Of course, their private conversations never left the topic of the battle in the arena.

  Some adepts who weren’t present asked softly, while those who had witnessed the entire event started to describe it with life-like detail.

  A Second Grade adept defeated a Third Grade adept in a duel. Such a thing should never have happened, yet it had occurred in Rhein City. That caused the adepts of Rhein City to feel pride for a long time.

  A group of performers in beautiful clothes were performing elegant music in the corner of the hall. Waiters and waitresses in uniforms were weaving between the adepts with smiles on their faces, serving fine wine and dessert on their silver platters.

  Meanwhile, adepts in all sorts of robes casually stood all over the hall, laughing and whispering amongst themselves as they drank and talked. In particular, some female adepts with pretty looks and notable figures were dressed very seductively and quickly became the center of attention at the banquet.

  There were only three Third Grade adepts who typically stayed in Rhein’s adept’s tower. One of them had headed north to settle some personal matter and had yet to return. Only two Third Grade adepts appeared in the Golden Hall. One was Third Grade Body-Refining Adept Zavest, while the other was Third Grade Earth Adept Ragnar.

  They stood in the center of the hall, surrounded by a group of subordinate adepts. They talked amongst themselves casually while occasionally looking toward the entrance to the room.

  “How much exactly do you know about this Adept Greem? I heard he isn’t even two hundred years old this year. Is this reliable news?” Third Grade Body-Refining Adept Zavest had not been in the tower the last time Greem came to Rhein. As such, he had not met him and was skeptical about all the rumors he had heard.

  Earth Adept Ragnar lifted a deep red glass of wine and shook it lightly in his hand. There was a faint smile on his face.

  “I don’t really know much more than you do. Everything I’ve heard is from those rumors as well. Still, he is truly very young. The rumor that he is not even two hundred might just be real!”

  “Sss,” Zavest couldn’t help but draw in a cold breath of air, “Not even two hundred years old! Doesn’t…doesn’t that mean he is very likely to advance to Fourth Grade?”

  “Just in terms of how much time and potential he has, he is very likely to become a Fourth Grade adept in the future!” The smile on Ragnar’s face had not faded at all. He chuckled slightly and said, “This time, those people who want to suppress this young adept are probably having a headache!”

  Zavest let out a dry laugh as well.

  The conflict between Greem and his old clan, the Sarubo Clan, was well known to everyone. Now that Greem’s Crimson Clan was rising steadily in the Ailovis Region, the Sarubo Clan was probably the one party that was feeling the worst.

  In the past, many opportunists had suppressed Greem to win favor with Great Adept Sarubo. However, Greem had now become a Third Grade adept and demonstrated the potential to advance to Fourth Grade.

  Under such circumstances, which idiot would rush forward to offend a future Fourth Grade adept like him?

  In fact, until they had a new Fourth Grade adept, even the Sarubo Clan was looking for ways to make peace with Greem!

  Great Adept Sarubo might have tremendous power, but he was unfortunately in the outer realms and could not return to the World of Adepts. It undoubtedly caused the Saurbo Clan to lose their only possibility of suppressing Greem. Of course, if Greem wasn’t a fool, he would not actively provoke the Sarubo Clan either. After all, with two Third Grade bloodline adepts standing behind them, the Sarubo Clan was still a fairly powerful group in the Central Region.

  The First and Second Grade adepts gathered around the two Third Grade adepts could only laugh or listen silently as the conversation went on. At this moment, the only ones who could cut into their discussion were those who were closest with the two Third Grade adepts.

  “Teacher, the tower received some news from the North a few days ago. It seems to have some relation to this Lord Greem!” The one who had spoken up was a middle-aged adept who was at Second Grade. He had a solemn expression on his face.

  He was the disciple of Third Grade Earth Adept Ragnar.

  “Oh? Tell us about it.” Ragnar nodded and said.

  “Yes, teacher! This news came from the Black Rose Merchant Group from the North. It is said that the battle between the Fate Witches and Coldwinter Witches has concluded! Teacher, can you guess which party won?”

  “Supposedly, the Coldwinter Witches should have won. But since you asked this question, could the Fate Witches have won instead?” Ragnar couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.

  “Yes, teacher! The news they brought back was clear. The Fate Witches are the victors.”

  Zavest, who was listening from the side, couldn’t help but frown.

  “We were talking about Greem and now you two are talking about the Northern Witches. Could the Northern Witches have something to do with this Greem?”

  Ragnar shook his head and sighed, “Zavest, you are still too uninformed about such news! You might not know this, but the young Greem’s relationship with the Fate Witches is not shallow at all. It’s said that the leader of the Fate Witches this time might be Greem’s secret lover. Say, isn’t that news a bombshell?”

  “What? There was such a thing?” Zavest’s eyes immediately opened wide with shock and disbelief.

  The leaders of the Northern Witch branches were all seen as Fourth Grade witches in the Zhentarim Area!

  Being able to be involved with them meant resources, wealth, influence…you could have anything you wanted!

  For a moment, even Zavest felt envy toward that lucky boy.

  “Lord Greem has arrived.”

  As the apprentice at the entrance loudly announced this name, all the ade
pts in the Golden Hall stopped talking and turned to look at the door.

  There, a handsome young man with a muscular body walked in, his black eyes cutting across everyone and landing on the two Third Grade adepts.

  The two Third Grade adepts immediately lifted their glasses and nodded to acknowledge his arrival.

  Greem strode toward them.

  The subordinate adepts that had gathered around the two Third Grade adepts knew well enough to step away and leave a proper place for the three of them to talk.

  “Welcome, Adept Greem!”

  “Thank you for your hospitality. I am proud to be able to visit the two of you.”

  After exchanging some simple greetings, the three of them got together and started talking happily.

  Matters of cooperation was not brought up at all during their conversation. It only had to do with the things of note for adepts upon advancing to Third Grade. From this perspective, though the three adepts appeared to be conversing with each other, it was actually the two veteran adepts silently teaching and guiding Greem, the newly advanced adept.

  For a moment, the atmosphere of the banquet was lively and joyous!

  Chapter 877 - Daily Life on the Journey

  Two days later.

  A flying ship belonging to the Zhentarim Association rose from a tall wooden platform. It slowly adjusted its trajectory before accelerating toward the west.

  Meanwhile, as one of its passengers, Greem was mixed in with the crowd on the deck.

  Those who could board the flying ships were either adepts or higher nobles. As such, though there weren’t very many people on the deck, they behaved in an orderly fashion.

  Due to the many factions and organizations in the World of Adepts, there was no single standard for an adept’s dress code. Of course, there were no limitations on the colors of their clothes either.

  Typically, most elementium adepts liked to wear soft and light cloth robes due to their weaker Physiques. On the other hand, body-refining adepts and bloodline adepts dressed with much more variety. From light leather armor with decent defense to full metal armors with shocking defense, there was almost nothing they wouldn’t wear.