Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  It was not just intelligence. It was experience and knowledge only gained after living in the world.

  “Sit tight, Lord Adept, we are about to pass through the Dead Mire right now. The creatures there haven’t exactly been friendly recently,” As the sporebat warned loudly, it started to fly even faster, diving past several hills and arriving above a strange land.

  Greem, who had been sitting silently on the back of the sporebat, abruptly stood up. His sharp eyes looked at the earth before him in shock and surprise.

  This place might have been a vast and beautiful lake not too long ago.

  However, with the passage of time, the water here had flowed elsewhere due to some unknown reason. The black and slimy bed of the lake was exposed, and the place turned into the terrifying and pungent Dead Mire.

  Due to the changes in the environment, the swamp creatures that had lost their homes went berserk. They started to fight for what puddles remained in the area. For the sake of this last bit of water supply, all the swamp creatures descended into a frenzied battle.

  Even from afar, Greem could see countless pieces of shells and torn limbs on the black mud. Anyone who could survive such a bloody and cruel battle had to be terrifying individuals. Most of them were Swamp Giants, Fungus Giants, and Hydras.

  However, even the victors of this war could not find enough water to nourish their bodies. They dragged their nearly withered bodies across the several kilometers of the Dead Mire, searching for what puddles remained.

  The Dead Mire. Truly a mire of death!

  “Wait up here for me. I will go collect some samples!” Greem instructed the sporebat and leaped out of the sky.

  Forty meters was nothing to Greem. He did not even cast Feather Fall on himself; he simply crashed into the mud like a meteor.

  Dong! A muffled boom rang out.

  Mud splashed everywhere, and a wave of fire rolled outwards.

  The flaming tongues evaporated the mud in the air before it could land.

  Greem squatted slightly and negated most of the impact from the fall.

  An ordinary person’s organs would have been badly damaged even if they had not died from such a fall. Greem’s thirty-two points of Physique did its work here. A potentially lethal force had only made his body stall slightly. It did not leave a single injury.

  He slowly stood up straight and walked out of the crater, now made of dry earth rather than mud.

  His arrival was loud and shocking. Naturally, it drew the attention of several shambling figures nearby.

  A withered Swamp Giant close to him immediately roared and charged when it saw Greem’s blazing body.

  To think a Second Grade Swamp Giant would dare to charge at a Fourth Grade adept. Judging by its suicidal actions, the blight had not only affected its body, but its mind as well.

  Greem snorted. He leaned against the staff in his left hand and extended his right palm at the enemy. A barrage of fireballs shot at it.

  Greem was only two meters tall, while the withered Swamp Giant stood at around seven meters tall. However, the Swamp Giant could not take a single step further before it was drowned by fire magic. It was slowly blasted backward by the fireball, and its body started to turn dry and crumble.

  A Swamp Giant’s towering body contained a tremendous and resilient life force. Even if one-third of their body had been removed, they could regenerate with the sheer amount of life force they possessed. It was this resilience that allowed the infected Swamp Giants to survive all these years of drought.

  However, it didn’t matter how strong their life force was. The Swamp Giant was facing a terrifying fire adept. Nothing could save it now!

  With just five seconds and seven fireballs, Greem had blasted the Swamp Giant to pieces, reducing its body into bloodstains on the ground.

  Sparks dissipated from the broken body of the Swamp Giant and slowly merged into the mist. Greem frowned and grabbed with his hand, picking out a cluster of faint black smoke from the air.

  Greem’s fire gathered into a fireball and sealed the black smoke within.

  Some black smoke in a hurry to escape crashed against the fire and was turned to dust in an instant. The rest of the smoke seemed to know the terror of the flames now. It didn’t dare approach the fire and instead wandered aimlessly inside the fireball.

  Aren’t the planar laws of the Spirit World a little too powerful? Even smoke has intelligence?

  Greem smiled coldly and gathered power in his eyes. Blue light flickered as he quickly identified the nature of the black smoke.

  [Beep. Detecting fatal virus. Warning. Said virus has terrifying infectiousness and lethality. It can cause an infection of the third degree to host. suggesting host tactivate Ring of Fire and prevent all possibility of infection.]

  As expected.

  Greem had felt the sight of the smoke was familiar the moment he saw it.

  As expected, the Chip’s scans confirmed his suspicions.

  The ‘blight’ was simply the infection of a strange virus.

  The means by which the virus spread and infected its victims resembled Remi’s techniques.

  Chapter 1202 - Feed

  Chapter 1202 Feed

  Greem, Emelia, and Remi had been acting separately ever since they accepted the mission from Sage Moat.

  Greem came here to investigate the blight, while Emelia snuck over to the Spore Forest. Meanwhile, Remi was wandering the Marsh Wetlands aimlessly.

  Before they split off, Greem had already warned Remi that he could not freely spread his plague virus as he did in other lesser planes. Otherwise, if they provoked the fury of those Fourth Grade Sages, even Greem couldn’t guarantee his survival.

  After all, even Zhentarim of the World of Adepts had no more than thirteen Fourth Grade adepts. Yet the Marsh Wetlands, despite being a dozen times smaller than Zhentarim, contained eight Fourth Grades. When it came to individual territories, the Spirit World undoubtedly had more high-grade beings than the World of Adepts.

  If they were to act brazenly as they had in the past in this alien world, they would eventually be hunted by the natives. Out of consideration and convenience, Greem had agreed to the Sage’s request to investigate the blight.

  However, it seemed like Moat’s suspicions weren’t without reason.

  This so-called blight wasn’t a natural disease caused by a drought of water. It was a terrifying virus that had been cultivated through unique means.

  Greem tapped his staff without any hesitation when he identified the black smoke. A ring of fire appeared around him, and he immediately summoned Remi from afar.

  “Master, what do you want now?” Remi found himself in front of Greem and immediately complained, “I just found a somewhat interesting merloc and you…hmm, what is this?”

  Remi quickly smelled the virus trapped in the fireball. His beady green eyes quickly opened wide.

  “It smells like modified viruses and spores…Master, it seems like there’s someone skilled at manipulating plague spores here as well. Where did you get this?”

  “They were in the bodies of those infected by the blight. What do you think? Are you able to identify where they are from with your expertise?”

  “Release them all! I can’t get more information if I don’t devour them.”

  Greem waved his hand, and the fireball dissipated.

  The black smoke immediately attempted to escape but was devoured by Remi in a single breath.

  After inhaling all the black smoke, Remi smacked his lips, and his eyes glazed over. He muttered to himself as if daydreaming, “Feed…infection…dispelling.”

  Several minutes later, Remi shivered and woke up from his dazed state.

  “I figured out how these creatures got infected! Follow me.”

  Remi brought Greem to a clearing in the center of the Dead Mire. There was a shallow puddle about a hundred square meters in size here. It was also the region where the swamp creatures were most concentrated.

  A large pack of
swamp creatures had gathered here. Some of them showed visible signs of the blight’s decay on their limbs, and many flies hovered around them. Other animals actively avoided those infected by the disease, not daring to approach at all.

  “Master, do you have any means of concealing us? We should be able to see something good soon!” A vicious smile appeared on Remi’s pig face.

  Greem tapped his staff against the ground, and a ring of fire engulfed them.

  As the flames washed over them, their figures vanished without a trace.

  Remi looked around him and at his own body curiously through the flames. Everything in sight appeared scarlet as if his eyes had been covered in a red veil. Everything he saw was twisted and distorted.

  “Is this one of the fire laws you have mastered? Truly wondrous.” Remi looked around enviously, even walking near a Fungal Giant and baring his teeth, only stopping when he confirmed that no one could see him.

  “What are we waiting here for?” Greem asked.

  “For a good show to begin!” Remi smiled wickedly. “They intentionally neutered the virus’ ability to transmit aerially. The virus can only be transmitted through direct contact. It seems like the culprit doesn’t want the virus to spread without restraint.”

  “And what about that?”

  “Therefore, the best method for them to selectively infect the creatures in a specific region is by throwing out feed. This way, they can control the infected in a particular area without becoming infected themselves!”

  “When will the culprits arrive?”

  “Soon. At the very least, I can sense that the virus in the infected creatures only appeared recently!”

  “Very well, we will wait then!”

  …………

  Time spent waiting is often long, but very valuable as well.

  Remi went out to collect samples of the infected’s waste, while Greem started to collect some native spores and mushrooms.

  He could sense that the unique environment of the Marsh Wetlands was related to the strange mushrooms here. Meanwhile, some of these mushrooms’ contents greatly interested Greem.

  While the two of them were busy working, an insignificant and sneaky figure slipped into the area.

  It was a male sporeperson about half a meter tall. He had sharp facial features, shifty-looking eyes, and looked as if he was about to do something bad. He had swollen bumps on his back as well.

  Supposedly, with how weak the sporepeople were, he would have been torn to pieces by the frenzied swamp creatures here before he could reach the center of the Dead Mire. Somehow, he had managed to slip all the way in without being attacked at all.

  The reason for it was simple. The sporeperson was emitting the blight’s unique stench, causing all of the swamp creatures to keep as far away as possible. However, Greem’s scans could not find any signs of decay that the blight inflicted on this sporeperson.

  After looking around and confirming that there were no abnormalities, the sporeperson carefully approached a shambling Fungal Giant and tossed a white mushroom the size of a fist at it.

  The white mushroom rolled along the ground and finally drew the attention of the Fungal Giant.

  Perhaps sensing the mushroom’s fragrance, the Fungal Giant lunged forward madly, grabbed the white mushroom with its arms, and ate it.

  A short moment later, the Fungal Giant started to tremble and roar. Large parts of its once muscular body began to wither and dry rapidly. Flies flew out of its mouth and circled its body.

  Seeing as the Fungal Giant had fallen victim, the sporeperson immediately moved towards his second target.

  However, just as he took out a white mushroom and prepared to do the same again, a soft male voice from behind scared him.

  “Who made you do this?”

  The sporeperson turned back abruptly and saw Greem appeared out of nowhere in the air.

  Greem was dressed like a human adept, but he did not radiate any of his fearsome magical aura. From the outside, he looked just like an ordinary human. However, the sporeperson was not an ignorant fool either. He was able to recognize that Greem was no average person.

  Moreover, what he was doing was an act of evil that should never see the day of light; he immediately turned and ran.

  However, with his power that was only comparable to an advanced apprentice, there was no way he could escape the legendary fire adept. Even the very thought of it was laughable!

  Greem snapped his finger, and a ring of fire mysteriously appeared beneath the spore person. Shackles of flames as solid as actual steel extended from the flames and bound the sporeperson tightly.

  Greem stepped upon the soft mud and appeared beside the sporeperson. He waved his right hand, and a small golden flame gathered on the tip of his index finger. The sporeperson was panicking, but the small flame immediately drew his attention.

  When his eyes settled on the flame, his mind and thoughts seemed to have slowed down in a mire. He could no longer effectively organize his thoughts or put together a response.

  He had been charmed…by a simple fire spell!

  “Where are you from? Why did you come here to poison the swamp creatures? Where did you create these viruses?” Greem immediately began his interrogation without any hesitation.

  “Podling Cave…Podling Cave…Podling Cave.”

  For some reason, it seemed like the sporeperson’s mind no longer worked properly. He could not remember anything apart from the words ‘Podling Cave.’

  “Sir Moat, what do you think we should do about this?” Greem could not get any other answer despite repeated attempts. He could only turn his head and ask the strange eyeball on his shoulder.

  Through this Eye of Nature, Moat had been able to witness the entire process from a hundred kilometers away.

  Sage Moat was not in a good mood. His voice, even through the Eye of Nature, carried a heavy killing intent.

  “Podling Cave is the sacred land of the magical sporepeople! Many terrifying traps and guards guard the cave. Even I can’t freely extend my mental consciousness into it. Judging by the current situation, the viruses were created by the sporepeople in Podling Cave with the purpose of forcing the other species and creatures out of the Marsh Wetlands. Hmph! These bastards have crossed the line this time!”

  “Then, you mean?” As someone uninvolved in the local affairs, Greem couldn’t care less about the residents’ lives. However, upon hearing that Podling Cave was the sacred land of the sporepeople, he couldn’t help but become excited.

  “Have the sporebat bring this sporeperson and the virus carriers back. I will contact the hydra’s king and the leader of the sporebats. We will discuss the matter of exiling the sporepeople. In the meantime, if you can produce more decisive evidence, I will not hesitate to use the Marsh Wetlands’ entire force against the sporepeople. When that happens, we will be able to break into the sporepeople’s sacred land, and you will naturally get your Primal Water.

  “Furthermore, we can consider your mission to find the mastermind behind the blight to be completed! I will get the rewards to your hands as soon as possible.”

  Chapter 1203 - Civil War Erupts

  The Marsh Wetlands was large and had a diverse ecosystem.

  Moreover, the unique planar environment had given birth to all sorts of strange creatures and plants.

  However, in terms of numbers alone, there was no doubt that the strange spores gliding through the air were the most superior.

  According to the Chip’s scans and analysis results, genetic sequences of the spores could be found in the bodies of almost all the creatures in the Marsh Wetlands. If one were honest, the Marsh Wetlands’ ecosystem was composed entirely of spores and animals that had assimilated with the spores.

  The source of these spores was the mushroom forest that grew all over the Wetlands.

  The mushrooms grew and became home and food for all sorts of swamp creatures. Mature mushrooms would release countless spores, spreading their genes all ov
er the land.

  The many different species of mushrooms, and the many spores with their different genes, parasitized and contaminated all the animals and plants of the Marsh Wetlands. It created all sorts of strange, unusual magical creatures and plants.

  It appeared to be an exceedingly slow and gradual process. However, with the appearance of the magical sporepeople, this process of assimilation seemed to have been accelerated.

  The magical sporepeople were small and insignificant. They lacked muscular bodies, great strength, or mysterious powers. They used to be an inconspicuous lesser species of the Marsh Wetlands.

  At the same time, the magical sporepeople were also incredibly powerful. They cultivated a shocking quantity of parasitic spores and mixed them into the unique mushrooms of the Wetlands. Bit by bit, the spores began to contaminate powerful species surrounding them.

  In the three hundred years that the magical sporepeople had lived in the Marsh Wetlands, they had managed to corrupt large groups of Fungal Giants, multiple Swamp Lords, and even a powerful tribe of ogres.

  Tribes that had been contaminated by the spores of the magical sporepeople became servants, loyally protecting and guarding the sporepeople. Even if they knew something was wrong, the Marsh Wetlands’ powerhouses had trouble making their way through the lands of these subordinate species to attack the sporepeople themselves!

  The relationships and connections involved in this were too complicated. Even Greem only managed to straighten out all the politics after thinking about it for a while.

  Of course, it helped that Emelia was able to provide him with some insider information!

  After all, half of Emelia’s soul memory came from the spore princess. Even though the princess was forced to abandon her hometown due to being defeated in a civil war, she still had many of the tribe’s classified secrets in her memories.

  In particular, information on the powerhouses of the sporepeople and a map layout of the Podling Cave drew Greem’s attention.

  The leader of the magical sporepeople that stood opposed to Emelia, her uncle Fahssn, was no more than an insignificant Third Grade. However, the Fungal Giant he could assimilate with, Mragesh, was a genuine Fourth Grade monster. He would have to be regarded as a fearsome Fourth Grade opponent in combat.