Circe’s face twisted into an ugly expression underneath the mist when she heard Alice so casually bring up these two priceless treasures. They might not know how heavy a price the Dark Witches had paid for this, but as the leader of the Dark Witches, she knew perfectly well.
It was such a heavy price that her heart would break at the very thought of it!
The Orb of the Fire God was an artifact created by Sinai, the Fire God of the World of Gods. It was just as powerful as the Orb of Shadows. Trying to steal the Orb of the Fire God from his hands was a nearly impossible task.
However, Alice had divined that the Orb would be handed over to one of his followers during a planar war. Thus, the Dark Witches took that opportunity and launched an ambush, badly wounding the follower and retrieving the Orb.
Of course, the Dark Witches had paid a heavy price for this operation as well!
Elder Claudina, who had led the operation, was heavily injured and required at least thirty years to get rid of the flames that ravaged her body. Shadow had also lost a Third Grade witch and three Second Grade witches. They had all been killed by the artifact; their souls did not even have the chance to escape. Naturally, this meant that they could not return to life.
Meanwhile, the Moonspring was a divine item of the elves of Faen. It was located in Moonlight Goddess Meve’s main temple. Trying to rob the Moonlight Goddess’ temple had been unimaginably difficult.
The Dark Witches had lost five Second Grade Dark Witches to obtain the Moonspring!
That was why Circe’s expression was so ugly when she heard Alice’s question. She fell silent for a long moment before waving her hand and releasing two Fifth Grade items.
The Orb of the Fire God was a sphere the size of a fist. It constantly burned with an inextinguishable golden flame. The moment it was released from its container, it turned into a massive fireball and seemed to only grow by the minute.
The temperature of the hall was also rising rapidly, as if this place was going to turn into a molten world at any time.
Greem shut his eyes and silently felt the fire elementium particles in the air. They were so dense they had nearly turned solid. Greem could feel his every cell scream out loud, expressing their desire to devour the Orb of the Fire God and turn it into part of his power.
Mm, this was indeed a Fifth Grade artifact, and an offensive one at that. The value of such an item was far above the Orb of Shadows for Greem.
After finishing his inspection, Greem looked at Alice. She nodded her head, and he knew that the Moonspring was the real thing. He opened his right palm, and a metal claw emerged from his shadow, placing the Orb of Shadows in his hand.
Circe’s breath instantly became short and rapid!
Chapter 1191 - Fair Trade
Trading a Fifth Grade Orb of the Fire God and a Fourth Grade Moonspring for a Fifth Grade Orb of Shadows.
No one would ever agree to such unfair terms.
However, the significance of the Orb of Shadows to the Dark Witches was simply too great!
As unwilling as they were, Circe had no choice but to agree to this unfair trade.
After getting her hands on the Orb of Shadows, Circe shot a hateful glance at Greem and turned to leave. However, Greem extended his hand and stopped her.
“What do you want?” Circe was surprised and immediately prepared for battle.
It was the first time a deep sense of danger had appeared in her heart since she arrived.
This place was Alice’s Tower of Fate, not the Black Mystery of the Dark Witches.
Alice, Greem, and Shadow Demon had a pretty good chance of taking her down if Alice had ill intentions. So even though she knew that Alice would never betray the Northern Witches, Circe still felt her heart tighten.
“Our transaction isn’t over yet, Lady Circe. Why the rush?” Greem coughed lightly. His Spirit’s weakness was still as evident as ever.
“Isn’t the transaction complete? What else is there for us to trade?” Circe asked cautiously.
“So, you mean you don’t want her?” Greem smiled slightly and drew a circle in the air. The red elementium gathered into a mirror, revealing a young, restrained witch.
Judging from her appearance, her dress, and her emblem, she was a Third Grade Dark Witch.
“Karin,” Circe’s expression lightened slightly. She feigned surprise and said, “Lord Greem, why have you imprisoned one of our clan’s young witches. This…is hardly goodwill, is it?”
Greem was well-prepared for Circe refusing to acknowledge her orders.
“I didn’t run over to Dark Witch territory to catch her. I captured her in my adept tower. Do you really not know anything about what she was doing?”
Seeing as Greem’s tone wasn’t severe, it seemed like there was room for negotiation. Circe hurriedly replied, “She’s a young witch from our clan that we sent to Zhentarim to venture and train. She must have ignorantly and mistakenly entered your territory. How about this? Any losses that you have suffered, we Dark Witches will be willing to compensate. That should be enough, is it not?”
Greem had no intention of being cordial to these Dark Witches. He tossed a parchment at Circe that had a list of a dozen valuable high-grade resources. These were rare resources that were urgently needed for the blood ritual that the Crimson Clan could not put together within a short time.
Circe wanted to reject the offer and keep Greem frustrated over having to find these resources. However, the value of a Third Grade Dark Witch to a clan was indescribable. That was especially so in times like these, where the clan had just suffered significant losses. Losing a Third Grade witch just for ‘a few’ resources undesirable. Even with her authority and influence, Circe would be reprimanded and questioned by the clan for her decision.
Circe lifted her head once more. Her eyes looked through the mist and stared at Greem. Finally, she spoke.
“Let go of Karin and allow her to return to her outpost in Zhentarim. I will send all the resources you require to your hands as soon as possible.”
The leader of the Dark Witches had made a promise. Greem could still trust the word and honor of someone of her position.
Without wasting any time on pleasantries, Greem waved with one hand, and several fire runes entered the mirror.
Soon, Witch Karin was escorted out of Fire Cave by a squad of high-grade magical machines under the directions of the tower spirit. Karin took a long while to get up from the ground after her magical bindings were removed. She shot a resentful glance at this terrifying place that had humiliated her before turning and vanishing into the shadows.
Circe nodded silently and hurried away from the Tower of Fate.
Once she had left, Greem looked at Alice and asked in a concerned tone.
“Can this Moonspring help you recover your life origin?”
Alice was touched when she saw his worried expression. She chuckled, “More than enough. Don’t forget. I just advanced to Fourth Grade. My lifespan’s already been extended tremendously. With the Moonspring to replenish the life origin I lost prior to this, I should have no problem regaining the lifespan of a Fourth Grade adept!”
After getting an affirmative reply from Alice, Greem was finally relieved.
After flirting with Greem slightly, Alice’s gaze drifted towards the Orb of the Fire God and the Moonspring. She took a sudden step forward.
As she stepped forward, the complex array carved onto the floor of the astrology hall slowly lit up, illuminating the room and making it appear as if they were in a tiny boat amidst the endless sea of stars.
The light in the hall abruptly dimmed as powerful starlight energy burst forth from the bright stars in the night sky. The hall had become a mysterious and beautiful world of stars and light.
Alice was somehow fully equipped now.
She held the Staff of Divination in one hand and the Hourglass of Time in the other. The Witch’s Mask was on her face, and the Mercury Accessories were attached to her belt. Many pretty card
s floated around her, the contents on their faces shifting and changing.
Fate Witches gained unique and unusual abilities upon reaching Fourth Grade.
Though they still weren’t excellent combatants, they could be considered extremely powerful individuals in an auxiliary capacity!
Alice transformed, her body rapidly growing in size. In just a few seconds, she had turned into a beautiful and mysterious goddess that stood several hundred meters tall.
She focused her attention on the enchanting starlight and raised her Staff of Divination. She chanted profound words and pointed at the two artifacts in the room. Two gentle beams of light shone from the night sky, turning into intricate starlight chains and wrapping around the artifacts.
Greem instantly felt the Orb of the Fire God and the Moonspring fade from his senses.
At the same time, two furious mental fluxes abruptly burst forth from the depths of space.
One was bold and furious, the other cool and indignant. Both were equally angry.
Now that the artifacts had been sealed, the connections with their masters had been obscured.
This way, both Fire God Sinai and Moonlight Goddess Meve had lost their connection with their divine tools.
Even if they managed to get the help of the God of Divination, they would not be able to find the location of their artifact any longer!
Alice motioned with her hand, and the Orb of the Fire God drifted in front of Greem.
“I have sealed the divine aura on the orb. It will prevent any trouble coming from the Fire God. You will have to create a separate, isolated space if you wish to examine it. Do not bring it outside of that space before you have gained complete control of the orb. Otherwise, the Fire God will be able to sense its location and your soul aura! When that happens, the Crimson Clan will be in deep trouble.”
Greem smiled bitterly.
Was he not in enough trouble already?
He already had the Libram of Wisdom in Fire Throne. That was also a spoil of war that could never see the light of day. Should the God of Wisdom ever sense Greem’s soul aura through the Libram of Wisdom, he would track him down the moment he left the World of Adepts. He would teach Greem an unforgettable lesson.
As they say, you can’t break an already broken jar!
Greem was already shouldering plenty of grudges on his back.
Honestly, the hatred from a Fire God could hardly scare him. If worse came to worst, he would just stay inside the World of Adepts for a few hundred years. He didn’t believe the gods would remain on the alert for a ‘mere’ artifact.
Moreover, the ones that robbed the Fire God were the Dark Witches. If anything, they should be the first ones he found trouble with.
With this in mind, Greem felt a lot more confident about possessing the Orb of the Fire God.
Even though he wanted to stay and get intimate with Alice, the orb was very, very tempting. He couldn’t wait until he had gained complete ownership of it.
The Orb of the Fire God was not like the Orb of Shadows.
The attribute of the Orb of Shadows was incompatible with Greem. In fact, using the Orb of Shadows for an extended period would even contaminate Greem with shadow energy. It was not worth what it offered in exchange. Meanwhile, the Orb of the Fire God was a Fifth Grade fire artifact that perfectly matched Greem’s needs.
As long as he could wipe away the divine brand left by Fire God Sinai, Greem would obtain an origin artifact that genuinely belonged to him.
Even a Fifth Grade adept would go mad with envy if they knew he possessed such a treasure!
After all, Fifth Grade artifacts and equipment were so rare that not even Fifth Grade adepts would necessarily have one in their possession, let alone a Fifth Grade artifact that perfectly matched the adept’s attribute. The value of such an item was immeasurable!
After bidding Alice farewell, Greem excitedly returned to Fire Throne with the orb.
The first thing he did upon returning was creating a unique, isolated space inside the adept tower.
With the endless supply of energy from the tower, Greem tore a spatial rift in the air. He then stabilized it and slowly expanded it until the space was a dimension about a hundred square meters in size.
If needed, Greem could further expand this space. However, this would also take up more energy from the adept tower and was hardly worth it.
Thus, Fire Throne was now an anchor for two independent dimensions. One was used to hold the Libram of Wisdom and the other to store the Orb of the Fire God. These two items were Greem’s most treasured objects at the moment.
After visiting the two dimensions and his own laboratories, Greem began working hard to convert the arcane knowledge he had obtained a while ago into practical spells to fill in the gaps in his magical arsenal.
Chapter 1192 - Clash of Civilizations
The miniaturization and simplification of the floating rings were the main directions of Greem’s research at the moment.
As this research touched upon the fundamental difference in arcane arts and adept magic, its progress was incredibly slow and difficult.
In all seriousness, arcane arts and adept magic came from the same origin of magical pattern studies. They were supernatural powers born out of ancient spellcasters copying the natural patterns found on magical creatures.
However, while the adepts preserved the chaos, bloodiness, and taboo of ancient magic in their later developments, the arcanists produced a simplified, neutered version of the ancient magic.
This version was indeed easier to learn and understand, making it practical for increasing the numbers of the arcanists. Unfortunately, the supernatural powers they simplified and neutered were the most profound ones that manifested when synchronized with the planar laws.
Without these profound portions of ancient magic, the arcane arts had indeed become simpler to learn. Even apprentices with unsatisfactory talent could slowly advance by accumulating experience and technique. However, this also severed the origin connection between the arcane arts and the planar laws. That made it much more difficult for the arcanists to advance at the higher grades compared to adepts.
Meanwhile, the adepts insisted on their ancient traditions. Their magic was bloody, cruel, and filled with chaotic and mysterious elements. The same rune and the spell could have completely different effects when cast in the hands of various adepts.
In addition to the grueling experience they went through, and the constant refinement of fighting techniques, the average adept’s power was three to five times that of the average arcanist.
Some had even simplified the difference: arcanists relied on knowledge and equipment while adepts relied on technique and abilities.
Arcanists respected knowledge; adepts respected power!
The fundamental difference between the two spellcaster systems also manifested in their equipment. While the arcanists’ equipment was often intricate and very detailed, the adepts’ equipment was simple but straightforward, even bloody at times.
The principles behind the floating ring weren’t all that complicated. The knowledge required was also elementary. It was the creation of an anti-gravity barrier with a fixed direction and form through a forcefield of simple construction. It then allowed an object to hover under zero-gravity conditions.
However, the energy used by the floating rings was arcane energy that had been refined and tamed multiple times. Such power was six to seven times tamer compared to the magical energy used by adepts. Arcane energy was easier to store, compress, and modulate. It could even be inserted directly into a spellcaster’s body and was of minimal radiation risk to ordinary individuals.
Given the difference between arcane energy and the adept’s magic energy, Greem would have to find a way to adapt. If he didn’t do so and used the adept’s magic energy to supply power to the floating ring, it would easily cause fluctuations in the energy system. The floating ring would not be able to function effectively and stably. In fact, in the w
orst-case scenario, the energy system would even collapse and cause a terrifying chain explosion.
The arcane system and the adept system were two civilizations that had developed independently of each other. Even though it might seem like there were many similarities, there were, in truth, even more fundamental conflicts and unresolvable differences.
Most adepts could only extract the useful parts of arcane knowledge they obtained and cast away all the conflicting elements.
After all, trying to merge two utterly distinct spellcasting systems was a colossal task that not even several generations of adepts or geniuses could accomplish easily.
As such, the obtaining of arcane knowledge was meant as a means for adepts to expand their knowledge reserves. It was an instinct to search for similar civilizations that they could refer to in their own development of knowledge.
Greem also faced similar problems when he tried to use the arcane knowledge he had recovered on runic studies, spells, and equipment carving.
The adept’s magic system contained around two to three hundred runes related to fire. However, only seven of these runes were origin runes. The rest were only derivatives or combinations of the seven origin runes.
After some research and experimentation, Greem also found the arcane runes in the arcane system that corresponded with these seven origin fire runes. Unfortunately, the runic arrays he carved with these arcane runes either had no effect or induced strange, inexplicable phenomenon.
It made Greem’s head hurt, but there was nothing he could do about it.
The Chip might be powerful, but it couldn’t do much when it came to the more advanced domain of profound studies. It could not guide Greem forward rapidly as it always had. After all, at this level and complexity, the large amount of data and experience accumulated by the Chip was of no use.
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