Age of Adepts

Mary arrived at Kerslin Castle seven days later, accompanied by Meryl and Emelia.

She started complaining the moment she saw Greem.

“Why do things keep happenings? Things have only just been getting stable for the last ten years, and now a tournament like this suddenly pops up? Do those old fools have nothing better to do than to give out free resources to you?”

Greem smiled and interrupted Mary’s rant. If these words were to fall into the ears of those Fourth Grade adepts, trouble would be coming her way.

“Why are you so angry if you already know that their intention is to give me resources?”

“Hmph! Don’t let your guard down. I heard all sorts of things on my way here. None of those three opponents of yours are pushovers. Every one of them is the best of the best among Third Grade adepts!” Mary said concernedly.

“Yes, Teacher, you must be careful! I keep having a feeling that there’s a conspiracy behind the Association’s invitation!” Meryl was also frowning. She was behaving more and more like the fire dragon adept that she was now. Every word that came out of her mouth and every action that she made usually carried a trace of unquestionable confidence.

It was only when she was in front of Greem that she would betray such a troubled look.

Emelia typically got along very well with Mary and Meryl. Naturally, upon hearing that there was a show to be had, she had rushed over with the two of them as quickly as she could. She couldn’t help but start chuckling when she saw the rare expressions of concern on their faces.

“I think the two of you are overthinking. Our clan leader has always been brilliant and cautious. There is no way he would readily agree to participate in the tournament if there was actual danger.”

Mary shot Greem a mean glance.

“This guy isn’t as smart as you think he is! Alice must have given him some sort of hint, which is why he bet it all and agreed to the tournament.”

“Lady Alice is the leader of the Witches of Fate, after all! If even she thinks Teacher is favored…ow!” Meryl couldn’t help but cry out in pain. Mary had pinched her hard before she could even finish speaking.

“Hmph! If Alice is really that powerful, why is she so scared of even leaving the Tower of Fate? Last time…last time, she said that a trip to Henvic Plane would be incredibly useful for Greem, and what happened? Greem almost died in there!”

“But…but teacher came back successfully in the end, didn’t he? And he brought back all sorts of useful things with him!”

“Things he got with his life on the line!” Mary had a disgruntled look on her face, “Alice might be good at what she does. She can help you find where there’s treasure and where there’s something you badly need. But the one thing she can’t tell you is what’s sitting in wait right beside the treasure! Think about it! If a human warrior listened to the old witch’s words and went into the promised treasure vault only to find a dragon…a dragon could indeed be considered a moving treasure box, but would the warrior be alive to enjoy the bounty?”

Meryl and Emelia looked at each other in shock. They never expected the typically brash and impulsive Lady Mary to spout such words of wisdom.

Indeed, most Fate Witches had this problem to some varying extents!

It was true that they could help people find the most efficient path to walk upon. However, they always, always–intentionally or not–ignored the risks of walking down the shortcut. Moving according to the instructions of the Fate Witches would always yield tremendous bounties. However, any danger encountered along the way would most certainly be incredibly dangerous as well.

After all, risk and reward always came hand in hand!

“If the clan leader is in so much danger, why isn’t Lady Alice here in person?” Emelia asked.

Meryl shook her head slightly. “This is Zhentarim. They are still very vigilant of the three major forces. They won’t be welcoming of Lady Alice.”

“Teacher, will your life be in any danger throughout this tournament?” Meryl asked in a soft voice, “I have already mobilized all my forces to look for information, but we have nothing. The tournament by the Association this time is very sudden, while the Association adepts we can get in contact with are too low-level to know anything.”

“Don’t worry, Meryl. I’m still fairly confident about the tournament this time.”

“Speaking of which, Teacher, this is the information that we have managed to obtain on your three opponents. Take a look at it when you have the chance!” Having said that, Meryl took out a piece of parchment and passed it to Greem.

Greem took the parchment and gave it a look. Gallow, Dante, and Sanazar’s personal information were recorded there. Though it wasn’t as detailed as the information on the Association’s database, it still gave a basic idea of the three fighter’s capabilities and their style of combat.

“How is it? You might be running into an old friend this time. Are you feeling anything special?” Mary stared at Greem with a sadistic smile on her face.

There was a time when Sanazar had been synonymous with a powerful adept in their eyes. The two of them knew very well how strong she was.

Yet, at this point, Greem had grown from an insignificant First Grade adept to a powerful adept who could stand shoulder to shoulder with her. An outsider could not adequately describe the complex and intricate shift in his feelings.

At the very least, Greem felt his own emotions surge and soar uncontrollably at the thought of getting to fight with Sanazar.

As for Sanazar? It would probably take a long time to write out everything she was feeling right now!

…………

Regardless of how Greem and Sanazar felt, Kerslin Castle had now become the center of a massive whirlpool.

The tournament announced ten days earlier had sent tremors throughout Zhentarim.

It was important to note that it had been hundreds of years since there had been a new Fourth Grade adept in the Central Region. Judging by the nature of the Association’s tournament, this wasn’t a selection amongst all Third Grade adepts, but one with four predetermined candidates.

Scarface Adept Gallow, Medium Adept Dante, Flying Venom Dragon Sanazar, and the legendary Fire Adept Greem, who had just recently risen to power.

In all seriousness, all four of them were true powerhouses at the peak of Third Grade. Advancing to Fourth Grade was a certainty once they obtained the origin substance awarded by the Association.

The birth of every Fourth Grade adept would substantially change the regional power structure where their organization resided, often resulting in a wave of changes throughout the land.

Consequently, every adept clan and organization that heard the news of the tournament sent their representatives to Kerslin as quickly as they could. Watching the competition was only one aspect of it. More importantly, they needed to know who the new Fourth Grade adept candidate would be the moment it happened.

After all, being able to maintain an excellent personal relationship with a Fourth Grade adept ahead of time was an incredibly valuable thing for most small and medium adept clans!

A flying ship headed towards Kerslin Castle. It was packed full of clan representatives and authorities from all over Zhentarim. Amongst them were a few adepts who wore the emblem of the Sarubo Clan on their chests.

“I honestly never expected that that kid could be so incredible. To think that he can now stand shoulder to shoulder with Lady Sanazar!” It was Adept Fügen of the Sarubo Clan who spoke. Naturally, the ‘kid’ he kept mentioning was Greem, the traitor who was a taboo subject for most people in the clan.

“Lord Fügen, you had better stop mentioning him so much! This place isn’t the clan headquarters. If someone hears you…” Adept Keoghan warned worriedly. He was still as cautious as ever before.

“What are you so scared of!” Adept Fügen looked furious. “It doesn’t matter how fast he’s climbed the ladder. He still has to stand behind our Lady Sanazar. Have you not heard of the rankings that the adepts have put together? Our Lady Sanazar is ranked second, while that guy is only ranked third. Hmph! Traitor!”

This ranking was also something that only recently appeared.

To most people’s understanding, there weren’t very many characters who could reach peak Third Grade, to begin with. As such, Gallow, Sanazar, and Dante were the absolute elites among the Third Grade adepts and firmly took up the top three positions.

Unfortunately, with the meteoric rise of this legendary fire adept, three powerhouses became four powerhouses, and the poor medium adept was forced out of the top three and fell to the fourth rank. This ranking reflected the most likely candidate to take the victory in this tournament.

One had to admit that Scarface Gallow, who represented the Dener Clan and led the elite Bloody Spear Army, held as much of a reputation throughout Zhentarim as Greem did. It was only because Greem had defeated Fourth Grade Body-Refining Adept Declan with the aid of a Fourth Grade war machine that he had managed to take away Gallow’s fame and spotlight.

However, there was no room for the fire adept to cheat in this tournament. He was ranked third by the more free-spirited adepts after they had compiled all the essential information on the participants.

Naturally, ranked in first was Scarface Gallow, who had established his reputation for several hundreds of years now!

He was a powerful adept who had spent his years in foreign planes, and who had personally killed an otherworldly Fallen Emperor. These Fallen Emperors might not compare to the adepts of the World of Adepts, but they were still powerful Fourth Grade undead beings.

It was this incredibly fortunate and coincidental slaying of a Fallen Emperor that bestowed upon Adept Gallow an incredibly powerful Undying Body. Over seventy percent of his power came from this Undying Body of his.

Ranked second was the Tyrant Adept, Sanazar of the Sarubo Clan.

She had inherited the strange bloodline of the Flying Venom Dragon and could transform into a mighty dragon during battle. She not only had incredible Physique and excellent magical resistance but fearsome poison as well.

As such, an ordinary Third Grade adept was hardly the opponent of Sanazar after her transformation.

In third was Legendary Fire Adept Greem, a unique existence whose legendary tales were endless.

It was his miraculous rise that had set several unreachable records within the Central Region.

It was said that this Adept Greem had only taken two hundred years to attain his current power since his advancement to First Grade!

Two hundred years might be a long time for ordinary humans, but it was hardly anything for adepts.

Two hundred years. That much time was perhaps only enough for an ordinary adept to reach advanced First Grade, yet Adept Greem had climbed to the peak of Third Grade.