Age of Adepts

As for the last item, which was the fist-sized metallic ore, after taking a moment to identify it, Greem realized that it was Magic Iron.

With proper smelting, refining, and forging, weapons made from this ore would stand out from standard iron weapons by displaying improvements in sharpness or penetration ability. Among mortals, this was an amazing treasure, but among Apprentice Adepts, who possessed supernatural powers, it was just an average item.

After briefly examining all the items, Greem took out a magic book and started reading. Actually, he wasn't in the mood to indulge himself in the atmosphere of researching magic knowledge. But he needed to arduously utilize every second he had.

When his Spirit Energy was full, he would practice magic spells. Although he could solidify useful spells with the help of the Chip, he still needed to practice them. Also, he had the ability to learn a skill. Whether it was 'Spell Casting Mastery', 'Spellwalk', or even 'Wondrous Item Crafting', they were all excellent options for him.

Only by purposely strengthening a specific ability could he obtain skills that would supplement his current abilities, allowing him to survive the upcoming mission.

'Spell Casting Mastery' was a skill that decreased an Apprentice Adept's casting time. He only needed to recite up to 80% of a spell, then it would be cast automatically. Although it only shaved off 20% of a spell's casting time, it was a prerequisite skill for the 'Quicken Spell' skill.

The value of the 'Quicken Spell' skill was enormous for Elemental Adepts. But it was beyond Greem's current abilities.

'Spellwalk', was the Apprentice level skill that Greem wanted the most. It allowed an Apprentice Adept to cast a spell while moving. Without it, no matter if it was an offensive or defensive skill, he could only cast them while standing still.

Therefore, this skill was a must have for all combat Adepts.

'Craft Wondrous Item' was a required skill for those Apprentice Adepts who wanted to concoct magical medicines, artifacts, or equipment. Only by mastering this skill could one further develop their skills in crafting magical items.

As for the process of obtaining these skills, most magic books didn't mention it in detail. However, all of them mentioned the term 'Will of the World of Adepts'. Greem had always been skeptical toward this.

No matter what kind of knowledge or techniques one knew, as long as one could practice them diligently, the body would remember it and it would eventually become second nature. But, depending on the feedback of the 'Adept World's Will' someone could obtain some mysterious ability without doing anything. This was just like a pie falling out of the sky suddenly and landing perfectly in someone's hands. Greem didn't understand how this could be.

Could this boundless world really have its own will? Was there some supreme deity indwelling in this World, paying attention to every individual who lived within its body, and, when the individual did something it approved of, it would reward him at the right time?

If this Will really did exist, what did it looked like? And, where did it hide? Also, what kind of ability did it have that allowed it to overcome everything and control this universe?

However, in regards to this extremely mysterious and abstruse will, Greem couldn't guarantee that it didn't exist. After all, the Adept World, where he currently lived, was a major scale Plane that was surrounded by a vast magical ocean. With such a large amount of abundant magical energy, it wasn't surprising to see all kind of mystical events occur.

So, before he uncovered the forces behind this mysticism world, he had to keep a reverent and respectful manner for everything. And that was the right attitude for an Apprentice Adept who sought knowledge and universal truths.

Greem kept copying the knowledge from the book into his database until he was left with 1 Spirit point. Then he stopped 'reading'. He couldn't use up all his Spirit, as the Fire Arrow spell was in the process of optimization and would use up 1 Spirit point every day.

He looked through the window and saw the dark sky. He quickly realized that it was after midnight.

Greem tiredly closed up the book, stood up, and stretched his body, making cracking sounds as he stretched. Then he got in his bed.

But he was not going to sleep yet because he hadn't completed his daily meditation!

Thus, within his still and quiet room, his breathing slowly became stable as his soul conscious immersed itself in the Spiritual world, which was filled with brightly glowing 'specks'.

This was one of the sad realities that an Apprentice Adept had to deal with.

Every day, from the moment they opened their eyes, they would have to face a full schedule. Even when they finally climbed back into their beds after being completely exhausted, what awaited them wasn't sweet dreams, but boring meditation. And only by meditating every day, could they increase their Spirit bit by bit.

…………

However, as the candles within the Tower went out, one by one, eventually bequeathing the tower in a complete darkness, save for the slight moonlight which could penetrate the fog and clouds above the tower, a strange figure suddenly appeared on one of the outside walls of the Tower.

A nearly perfectly perpendicular wall; numerous hidden, mysterious magical formations, yet all of these were no obstacle for it, as it was still crawling around the tower at a speed faster than any ordinary man. From its movement, you could tell it had a target in mind. It continuously passed many wide opened windows, never stopping even once, all the while moving from shadow to shadow at an incredible speed.

She was not a kind of shadow creature who could freely leap between shadows, but her extremely high Agility gave her fantastic mobility. For her, walking on the perpendicular tower wall was like walking on a level road, and she could do it all without making any noise. She was like an assassin who thrived in the shadows.

Finally, she found her target.

With a leap, the figure swiftly hung herself outside of the narrow window, hiding her body in the shadow where no light could reach. It seemed she was listening for something.

No sound could be heard from the room, except for stable, lengthy breathing. Obviously, the Apprentice in there was deep in meditation. An Apprentice Adept who was in a meditative state was defenseless. As long as a thief, or someone of a similar profession, could sneak into his room, he would be able to easily kill an ambitious future Adept.

But, clearly, the figure hanging outside of the window was an experienced person, as she didn't jump into the window impatiently. She closely examined the window.

Quiet! Silent! As still as death!

Everything around her seemed perfectly normal, but, for some unknown reason, a feeling of apprehension was growing inside her.

She didn't sense anything, but she had a gut feeling, from the depths of her strange bloodline, as if there was something really dangerous waiting for inside the window.

Although she really hated this damn bloodline, which had made her partially human and partially inhuman, but, as a Vampire who had gone through the awakening of her bloodline, she had an absolute trust in anything that came from her bloodline.

That bastard had dared to go against her earlier that day, and now he was in a deep meditation, seemingly defenseless. This Apprentice Adept was really careless!

Within the dark shadows below the window, bits of a bizarre smile could be seen in a pair of bright eyes. Mary gracefully waved her arm, throwing a fist-sized round object into the narrow window, then she immediately transformed into a black bat and merged into the dark night, flapping her wings and flying off into the distance.

Right when the round object went through the window, a magic formation, hidden on the inner side of the window, was triggered.

A blue colored 'Stun Thunder' instantly swept across the area that the round object had passed through. As this was electrical energy, even if she doubled her speed, Mary wouldn't be able to dodge this trap. Not only that, within the darkness of the room, a couple of bizarre, colorful magic spells suddenly shot out from an empty place, instantly striking the round object, which had safely passed through the Stun Thunder trap.

After all, the round object was just a hard shell made from ordinary clay. There was no way it could withstand so many magic spells, and thus it shattered immediately!

The outer shell was broken, revealing a jelly-like ooze that was trapped within. In fact, it was a living creature, and a human-like face could be seen on its pale green body, which seemed to be formed from mud, human waste, and stinking water.

"Oh shit, it's the Sludge!"

"Damn it, it's the Sludge…"

"Everybody run…"

"……"

As they were knowledgeable Apprentice Adepts, all of them recognized this 'frightening' demon, who was really famous within this Magical Swamp. Those who had experienced its terrifying ability would be overwhelmed with sorrow. During normal days, if anyone encountered it in the Magical Swamp, they would definitely keep far away from it. This included the strongest three.

Because it was the most disgusting demon that lived in the swamp: the Sludge.

The Sludge was a super disgusting demon with a soft flexible body. It looked like a weird organic object with soft, slimy tissue, messy teeth, and a pair of eyes. Its pale green body looked like a pile of mud, but it actually more like jelly.

Its offensive strength was so weak, one could simply ignore. But, it had a 'frightening' skill that brought grief to those who faced it: 'Acid Retch'.

This strange creature contained a certain amount of Elementium within its body, but it had been contaminated by a chaotic force. If any object or creature got stained by its 'bile', they would suffer slightly from it corrosive acid… but then there was its incredible, frightening stench.

This filthy smell couldn't be removed by any magic spell. Those who came in physical contact with this 'acid retch', would have to bear it for ten to fourteen days! Within this period, any object touched by the man would also gain the stench as well.

Imagine this, if an Apprentice Adept, who had touched this 'acid bile', tried to have a meal, even if it was the most delicious delicacy in the world, it would smell like shit that had been soak disgusting water for a thousand years. The torture, the ridicule coming from people who avoided him like plague… it would simply make an Apprentice Adept go crazy.

And now the Sludge, who had previously been trapped in a harden clay shell, was broken out by the spells of these Apprentices. So what happened next was a really enjoyable scene!

When the pale green acid liquid splashed all over the room, sounds of vomiting immediately echoed it.

"Ma-… blagh… Mary… urf…, I haven't… urgh… finish with you… braffffff…"

An extremely tragic, furious roar came out from Apprentice Leader Ellen's mouth. But before he could finish, his voice was flooded by the loud noise of vomiting.