Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  These smaller clans all had numerous hunting parties, trained to delve into the Black Forest to hunt for valuable magical creatures and resources. In peaceful times, the Black Forest was not only not a threat to these clans, but also a tremendous trove of treasure and resources.

  Should the magic surge arrive, this situation would turn entirely on its head.

  The hunters would become the hunted as the scattered magical creatures gathered together and unleashed a stampede upon the human clans.

  It was unknown if these smaller clans could defend against these stampedes without the same wealth and power as the major clans!

  The fall of an adept tower did not just signify the loss of the lives of a dozen adepts and a hundred apprentices. The human cities and settlements protected by those towers would burn and be reduced to food for the tens of thousands of wild beasts.

  Given the intelligence of adepts, they were able to quickly come to a conclusion about what would happen based on interference and deduction.

  If the magic surge were as terrifying as claimed in the ancient records, then the adept clans of the Central Lands would face an unprecedented reshuffling of power. Most clans and organizations without the power to defend themselves would disappear beneath the hooves of the stampede.

  The surviving adept clans then only had to survive the magic surge’s first few waves, protecting their territories and adept towers. What awaited them would be a tremendous increase in influence and power.

  There were two sides to everything in the world!

  Magic surges were terrifying affairs and apocalyptic calamities. On the other hand, they also brought along incredible benefits.

  Naturally, the first was the increase in magical creature resources.

  Ferocious magical creatures not seen in a hundred years and fearsome starbeasts rarely spotted in a thousand years would all appear, hoping to feast on the flesh and souls of humans. Defeat them, and the surviving adepts would obtain a once-unimaginable amount of resources.

  With the sustenance of these resources and the trials of fighting, most adepts’ chances to advance to a higher grade were amplified tremendously. From a certain point of view, you could see it as intentional guidance and feedback from the planar consciousness!

  Aid the World of Adepts in eliminating the enemy and the intruders, and the planar consciousness would reward you indirectly, allowing your soul to rise in power rapidly.

  By helping the World of Adepts, you would be helping yourself!

  The second benefit would be the change in the environment. The increase in magical particles would stimulate the birth of more, stronger, and more excellent descendants.

  In the Words of Adepts, the number of human babies with magic talent born during the magic surge would increase ten-fold, a hundred-fold. If all these children were cultivated properly, the adepts would enjoy an exponential increase in number.

  As for the other benefits? Those were benefits that only high-grade adepts could enjoy.

  After all, chaos in the planar worlds was also the best time for them to venture into the muddy waters!

  The World of Gods was usually well-defended, with barely any chances of infiltration or invasion. Now, with the coming of the magic surge, their planar barrier would be full of holes. It was the best time for those with grudges to repay them, and for those with none to obtain resources.

  At the very least, Greem intended to go for a stroll in Faen Plane!

  After all, Alice had begged for Greem to destroy Faen Plane following the death of Endor. Greem could not possibly accomplish such a feat given his current powers. However, he should have no trouble going over to Faen for a stroll and have a conversation with a few old friends.

  In particular, the Elven Sword Saint Agassi had forced Greem to flee all over Faen. He was also the one who had personally killed Endor. He kept all these grudges fresh in his mind!

  Of course, if he had the time, he could also go for a round of harvesting in the Holy Knight Plane. It had been more than two hundred years now. Surely, a new batch of holy knights must have emerged.

  Though Greem no longer needed the means of improving Spirit by devouring souls–with all its defects and problems–he could still use it to cultivate the next generation of adepts in the clan.

  Chapter 1356 - The Stoney Wilderness

  Ailovis, the Stoney Wilderness.

  Located between River Venlo and the Cedrac Mountains was an empty wilderness that measured approximately twenty square kilometers in area.

  For some reason, no trees, vegetation, or grass could be seen here. Instead, there were only boulders and rocks of various shapes and sizes.

  These green, gray, and hard rocks filled the wilderness. There were no signs of any life or plants besides these rocks.

  It was slightly past noon when a small caravan of wagons slowly made their way down the narrow path that had been made through the wilderness. The caravan wasn’t large. There were only three wagons, three of which were carrying food and other goods, and a carriage that belonged to Adept Ragu.

  The caravan turned onto an even smaller road halfway through the wilderness. The road was somewhat bumpy, and the wagons’ wheels were occasionally damaged by rocks hidden in the earth. Fortunately, the mercenaries protecting the caravan were experts at surviving in the wild. Repairing and replacing a broken wheel was well within their expertise.

  Finally, the caravan stopped near a pile of rocks.

  Jack, the captain of the mercenaries, cautiously approached the black carriage at the center of the caravan. He knocked on the carriage lightly as he said, “Lord Ragu, we have arrived at the Stoney Wilderness!”

  A deep and hoarse man’s voice came from within the carriage.

  “I understand. Wait for me out there.”

  Jack respectfully stepped away and waited in silence.

  Seven minutes passed before Adept Ragu finally emerged from the carriage, having completed his routine meditation. He stood on the steps as he looked around at this unusual place around him.

  He sensed the environment’s magic intensity quietly before waving a single hand and drawing a rune in the air. The rune was then allowed to dissipate and vanish slowly.

  All of a sudden, Ragu’s vision was filled with prismatic lights. Several balls of magic light bobbed in the air, each of a different color, ranging from yellow, green, golden, and many others.

  Even without Elementium Sight, it was obvious that yellow was the most dominant color among the lights. The other balls of light had been forced to the edge of the region.

  “As we expected, there is an imbalance of elementium. To think it could let the earth elementium suppress the other elementium to such an extent. The clan’s assumptions were correct.

  “It seems like there are indeed some minor spatial rifts here. The earth elementium is unnaturally active. Could it be that the rift here is connected to the Earth Elementium Plane?” Adept Ragu mumbled to himself as he examined the test results of his spell.

  He was the only person in the caravan that was an adept. The rest of them were all mortals, specially hired to take care of his lifestyle.

  It couldn’t be helped. Ragu had gotten used to a luxurious lifestyle in an adept tower. The difficulties of traveling around outside presented too many discomforts for him. In the past, when Adept Ragu did go out on errands, he would always be accompanied by two or three apprentices who could serve and attend him.

  However, the clan was facing a shortage of manpower. All adepts and apprentices had been assigned many tasks and were busy traveling all over the Central Lands. Thus, he could only hire mortals and mercenaries to serve him instead.

  The mortals and mercenaries kept a healthy distance away from Ragu. They watched as the tall and scrawny adept dressed in an intricate robe cast his spells, envy and respect in their eyes.

  Adepts were the true rulers of this world that they lived in. Ordinary people like themselves were little more than sniveling bugs before the a
depts.

  It was because they understood their position and status perfectly that these human mercenaries behaved so respectfully in front of Adept Ragu. They didn’t even dare to breathe too heavily before him, fearing that their crass and crude behaviors would disturb the adept’s spellcasting.

  After confirming his purpose here, Adept Ragu turned to Jack and said, “Set up camp here! We might need to remain here for two more days.” Having said that, Ragu lifted his head and looked at the sky. He then continued, “It’s still early. Have the rest of the people work on the camp. You bring along a few people and follow me to investigate this place.”

  Having said that, he ignored the mercenary captain and activated the ‘Fly’ spell contained in his belt. He slowly took to the air and flew into the distance.

  “Hurry, hurry, hurry…all you lazy bums. Did you not hear Lord Adept’s orders? Hurry up and get off of the wagon and clean up the area. If the camp isn’t done by the time I return, then you can forget about dinner tonight,” The muscular captain, with his face full of scars, shouted out before singling out a few individuals, “Tol, Ironhead, One-Eye; the three of you, follow me. Don’t forget your tools! Let’s go.”

  The four mercenaries hastily collected their equipment before leaping onto their horses and chasing after the black dot on the horizon.

  Adept Ragu hovered ten meters above the ground, holding a semi-translucent black crystal in his hand. He would cast a spell and verify the energy intensity of the wandering elementium particles in the environment after flying out some distance. He was attempting to confirm the exact location of the spatial weakpoint through this information.

  After changing directions four or five times, Adept Ragu finally landed beside a rough pile of rocks. When he pointed the black crystal ball at the rocks, a strange yellow light appeared in the center of the crystal.

  “It should be here!”

  Adept Ragu circled around the rocks one time and confirmed that there was no mistake. A short moment later, Jack and his three mercenaries arrived on horseback, their saddles filled with all sorts of digging tools.

  “Dig…dig through this pile of rocks for me!”

  The mercenaries immediately went to work without another word.

  In just fifteen minutes, they had dug a hole into this approximately thirty-meter-wide pile of rocks. A strange ball of light the size of a bean could be seen inside.

  This ball of light wandered slowly in the crevices, occasionally letting out strands of yellow mist. These mists were quickly absorbed by the rocks. The rocks close to the light visibly became more crystalline, as if they had been charged with energy.

  “So it was indeed a miniature spatial singularity,” Adept Ragu chased the mercenaries away when he saw this. He moved closer and examined the ball of light. He then took out a parchment and started recording something.

  However, while he was busy at work, the pile of rocks suddenly started shaking violently. Even the ground itself seemed to be quaking.

  “Hm? Why is there an earth elementium creature here?” Adept Ragu took a few steps backward and looked at the mid-sized earth elemental that had emerged from the ground.

  It was a three-meter-tall humanoid earth elemental. Its body was formed of shattered rocks and pebbles of various shapes and sizes. Find sand flowed slowly between the stones.

  “Who disturbed my slumber? I smell the smell of adepts. Human adept, why have you broke into the home of Baccarat?” The tall earth elemental’s head was formed of a single rock with a chipped edge. The two dim spots of yellow light were its eyes. It had no mouth, but it could converse with Ragu telepathically.

  The sudden appearance of the elemental undoubtedly terrified the four human mercenaries. They cast aside their tools and pulled out their weapons, protecting Adept Ragu.

  “Baccarat? Your name is Baccarat? Hehehe, who would’ve thought a sentient earth elemental could have appeared in such a remote place. It seems like this place does have some research value, after all!” Compared to the anxious mercenaries, Adept Ragu appeared much more composed.

  After all, this earth elemental was no more than a beginner First Grade when classified according to its energy level. It was far from a substantial threat to him!

  “Baccarat, I hereby declare to you that the land you reside upon belongs to the Crimson Clan. As a Crimson adept, I possess the authority to banish you back to your elementium world. Speak, would you prefer to kill yourself or hand over your life brand and submit as my servant?”

  “No…we earth elementals are always free. I refuse to be bound! We shall fight! Baccarat will crush you to death.”

  Adept Ragu’s declaration had clearly infuriated the earth elemental. It roared and rushed toward the mercenaries, raising a wave of earth as it did so.

  Jack and the mercenaries could only meet the elemental in combat, as reluctant as they were.

  The mercenaries were out of their league. The earth elemental had no weaknesses and was incomparably strong. In just a single blow, the wooden shields of the mercenaries had been shattered to pieces. The mercenaries could only dodge the rocks hurled toward them while circling around the elemental. However, none of them dared to get too close.

  Aware that these mercenaries were no match for the earth elemental, Adept Ragu took out a silver insignia. He waved it, and a three-meter-tall magical machine appeared.

  The machine whirred as it raised its arms and unleashed a volley of energy fireballs from its cannons.

  Rocks scattered everywhere, and dust rose into the air.

  The magical machine instantly ground the earth elemental that had been wreaking havoc earlier into dust. The elemental turned into an ordinary pile of rocks and scattered to the ground.

  The seemingly scrawny Adept Ragu made his way across the rocks, digging through them until he found a fist-sized stone within. The stone glowed with an earth-yellow light. He sealed the stone with some simple spells and put it away.

  It seemed like the spatial singularity here had existed for quite a while, such that a First Grade earth elemental had actually been born. With this earth elementium core in his possession, he could refine it slightly and turn it into a Rock Mark. It was a fine idea to summon an earth elemental as a servant every so often.

  It was important to note that a First Grade Rock Mark like this could easily sell for eighty magical crystals. It wasn’t a lot, but it was still money!

  Adept Ragu never expected to make an unexpected catch like this while out on a clan mission. A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

  Chapter 1357 - Clan Assignment

  Night quickly fell.

  The campfire had been lit in the middle of that temporary camp. The thick smell of stew lingered in the air of the Stoney Wilderness.

  Because of the earth elementium core from that afternoon, Adept Ragu was in an exceptional mood. He had a rare smile on his thin and yellow face.

  The rugged-looking Jack put on as big of a smile when he passed the stew and a soft loaf of bread to Adept Rage, as he asked a question.

  “…my lord, my little kid Tom has always been a smart kid. He’s always been able to pick up anything he’s taught. Unfortunately, he’s never been able to meet a teacher willing to teach him. That is why…I was hoping……”

  “Every child under ten will have their talents examined by someone from the clans. Does your child not have a talent for magic?”

  “No…of course he does. But…according to the adept that tested his talent, our little Tom has recessive talent. He needs to activate his talent before he reaches ten, or that talent will be lost forever.”

  “Recessive talent,” Adept Rage couldn’t help but shake his head.

  Every ten years, adepts would travel all over to search for children with magic talent. They would then be gathered together and sent to adept towers for further training. However, the situation in Zhentarim was a bit different. Every clan had its own territory and civilians. Typically, you wouldn’t be allowed to re
cruit apprentices from clans other than your own.

  That was why adept clans and organizations without their own private territory would lose the chance to gain fresh blood. If such a situation was allowed to persist, it was only natural if their legacy was cut short!

  While these messengers were traveling all over searching for apprentices with magical talent, they would unavoidably come across individuals with recessive talent. These individuals’ magical talent was sealed away the moment they were born. If this recessive talent wasn’t activated through special means before they were ten years old, then their talent would assimilate with their bloodline and become forever inaccessible.

  Adept clans without sufficient power and resources would often give up on these individuals with recessive talent. They refused to invest any resources in them. The reason was simple. The Awakening Potion required to activate such recessive talents was worth a hundred and twenty magical crystals, while an apprentice with awakened talent was not any stronger than an ordinary apprentice.

  If the awakened apprentice could not advance to become an adept, then the clan would take a loss.

  Not many adepts were willing to spend a hundred and twenty magical crystals to bet on an apprentice with unknown talents. That was the fundamental reason they were cast aside!

  Without the investment of a clan, an ordinary family had no means of paying the massive price of one hundred and twenty magical crystals.

  It was important to note that magical crystals were the hard currency of the World of Adepts. The adepts entirely monopolized them. Without an adept connection, an ordinary family could not purchase any magical crystals regardless of how much gold they had.

  After all, all adepts traded in magical crystals and never accepted gold coins.

  “Have you managed to accumulate enough magical crystals for an Awakening Potion? If you have enough, I can help you purchase a vial!”