Age of Adepts

The Crimson Clan.

A glaring, reputed name.

It had risen from nothing to an age of glory in the central lands in a mere two hundred years.

Two hundred years. That might be long enough for an ordinary human, but for high-grade adepts that stood at the very peak of the world, it was no more than a glimpse in time.

Two hundred years might be enough for a First Grade adept to reach the end of their lifespan, and two hundred years might only allow a high-grade adept to improve slightly. But for the Crimson Clan, two hundred years was already enough for it to grow into maturity and achieve its current excellence.

Due to the limitations set down by the Witch Council, Alice was never able to announce her relationship with Greem publicly.

Consequently, in the eyes of outsiders, the Crimson Clan only had two Fourth Grade adepts.

However, this number was quickly overwritten as an even more terrifying Fourth Grade appeared within the Crimson Clan ranks. His rise to Fourth Grade had drawn increasing attention from the high-grade adepts and made them warier. Rumors and gossip related to the Crimson Clan started to spread all over the land.

Third Grade Thunder Dragon Arms had returned to the Crimson Clan in domineering fashion, appearing before the public as the third Fourth Grade powerhouse of the clan!

Three Fourth Grades gathered in a single clan. Such a thing had never happened before in Zhentarim.

The Crimson Clan was now an undisputed ultra-clan, a glorious aristocrat family that reigned above all other clans in the central lands.

If the Fourth Grade adepts of Zhentarim had only been wondering if Greem had the ambition to unite Zhentarim, they were now certain.

The only question was when he would set his ambition into motion!

The Crimson Clan’s meteoric rise also put the Zhentarim Association’s leadership in an awkward position.

The one dream they had harbored for centuries had not been able to come to fruition. Now, a Fourth Grade adept had appeared out of nowhere and taken up the position they had always yearned for, becoming the center of attention and power of the entire Zhentarim area.

They hated to see this, but there was nothing they could do!

Apart from the three Fourth Grades of the Crimson Clan, Zhentarim had fourteen other Fourth Grade adepts. If they could unite their forces, they would most certainly be able to suppress Greem’s growing influence and power.

Unfortunately, everyone had desires of their own. They each had their own plans and schemes.

Asking them to contribute their forces and obey the orders of the clan in an organized assault on the Crimson Clan’s influence was a good idea. Still, it was a fantasy that would never come to materialize.

This much was evident from Chairman Freed and Vice-Chairman Mirva’s relationship.

The two of them had been partners for five hundred years now. They were extremely close, yet their clan forces showed no signs of assimilation.

The main reason for such a phenomenon was because no powerful adept had appeared in the central lands in thousands of years. Without a strong central figure, the central lands would always remain in a state of separation, never bound together in a single force.

With this period of accumulation and expansion, the Crimson Clan’s foundations had grown ever firmer and more robust.

Apart from their leaders, the Third Grade force that formed the backbone of their military had also taken shape. They were terrifying, both in quality and quantity.

Third Grade:

Vampire Faction: Blood Knight Soros (intermediate Third Grade), Blood Mage Isa (beginner Third Grade), Shapeshifter Spalla (beginner Third Grade), Rothers (advanced Third Grade), Disais (intermediate Third Grade), Bechdel (intermediate Third Grade), Morses (intermediate Third Grade).

Human Adepts: Fire Dragon Adept Meryl (beginner Third Grade), Bug Adept Billis (intermediate Third Grade), Mystique Emelia (beginner Third Grade), Dragon Devourer Oliven (intermediate Third Grade).

Brain-Monster Faction: Brain-Monster Gazlowe (peak Third Grade), Split-Brain Mok (beginner Third Grade).

Goblin FRaction: Goblin Magical-Mechanic Locke (beginner Third Grade), Goblin Sage Snorlax (beginner Third Grade).

As for the Second Grades? They were only even more extensive in number!

During this time, the Crimson Clan had also accumulated a sizeable reserve of Queyras alloy through their continuous trade with Molten Fire City. In doing so, the magic generator furnace was no longer a limiting factor for the magical machine army.

There was a time when a hidden force working behind the shadows had contacted Molten Fire City, attempting to pressure its owner and force them to cut off trade with the Crimson Clan. Just as the lord of Molten Fire City was about to do so, Greem approached him and offered up the mushrooms from the Spirit World for trade.

Such excellent resources that could benefit even high-grade adepts were simply too much of a temptation. Alfred, the Lord of Molten Fire City, caved-in to Greem once more.

Three species of those mutated mushrooms were used to trade for Queyras alloy, and the cooperation between the two clans continued.

News of the Crimson Clan having access to otherworldly resources that could increase the attributes of high-grade adepts instantly caused a commotion throughout Zhentarim when it was leaked from Molten Fire City.

As reluctant as they were to continue increasing the Crimson Clan’s power, the high-grade adepts of Zhentarim could not cut off their desire for more power. They couldn’t help but send out representatives in hopes of purchasing these resources from the Crimson Clan.

A resource that could increase the base attribute of a Fourth Grade adept was invaluable.

That was why many Fourth Grade adepts whose progress of improvement had stalled entirely had no choice but to open up their treasuries and offer their riches to trade with the Crimson Clan.

After many negotiations and arguments, the Crimson Clan managed to procure a hundred siths of high-quality origin substance, two spacestones, seventeen bloodline purification potions, and six high-grade bloodline reconstruction potions through the trade of their mushrooms.

Items that could be traded amongst Fourth Grade adepts were often high-grade resources and materials. As for powerful magical equipment? They didn’t even have enough for their own use, let alone to be traded away to other adepts.

Greem was already plenty surprised that they were able to obtain a hundred siths of origin substance in this manner.

Origin substance represented the future of Fourth Grade adepts. It was an absolutely necessary resource for advancement. To think that someone would be willing to exchange origin substance for these mutated mushrooms. That was basically trading away their future for an immediate increase in their power.

Greem could not judge if such an action were the right one.

After all, he had not experienced the tragedy of not having any progress in his power for hundreds of years. Naturally, he could not understand the agony and despair of these adepts. Not everyone would be able to reach the limit of Fourth Grade and use the origin substance to become revered Great Adepts before the end of their lives.

In such a case, it was best to give up on a pointless struggle early on and live in the moment. That might not necessarily be the right way of living!

…………

After a hundred years, Greem had once again returned to the Fire Elementium Plane.

Unlike other foreign worlds, Greem felt no discomfort or planar suppression in the Fire Elementium Plane. In fact, he felt relaxed, more so than ever, from his very soul to his body.

The flames that covered the Fire Elementium Plane had gathered around Greem the moment he stepped out of the portal. They gathered around him, forming circle after circle of flames. Some pure fire spirits that had been born in this world emerged out of nowhere and started dancing around Greem as well.

These fire spirits followed him wherever he went as if he had become the ruler of this world of fire. It was as if the world as a whole breathed and moved to his will.

However, Greem knew very well that he was no more than a medium. What truly attracted the fire spirits was the Orb of the Fire God embedded in his staff.

To avoid others detecting the orb’s presence, Greem had forcefully cut off the orb’s resonance with the Fire Elementium Plane and chased away the fire spirits lingering at his side.

Greem closed his eyes and silently communicated with the world. He soon obtained information on his location from the fire elementium.

The Fire Elementium Plane was too large. Without specific planar coordinates to guide him, Greem would never be able to reach his desired location in his entire life.

When Greem was still a Second Grade adept, walking around the Fire Elementium Plane had been a dangerous endeavor. Danger lurked in every corner. However, now that he had become a Fourth Grade adept, everything here seemed so easy.

Traveling through the Fire Elementium Plane seemed less like an adventure and more of a leisurely stroll!

Perhaps it was the pure fire energy in Greem’s body, but most fire creatures here mistook him for a local. As such, most roaming fire creatures minded their own business when he walked by. They no longer lunged at him as if he was the enemy.

Greem was still dressed like an adept.

He wore a red adept’s robe and further covered himself with a black cloak. The hood was pulled over his face, and he had his staff in hand. He walked across the fiery continent like a traveler casually sightseeing.

When he was in a rush, he would teleport six or seven times with Fire Teleportation, crossing hundreds of kilometers with every teleportation. When he had time on his hands, he would break into the homes of intelligent fire creatures and visit the more powerful individuals among them. When he was bored, he would stop at some land of fire and build a small magical hut for himself before taking a nice nap.

One had to admit that the world consciousness of the Fire Elementium Plane was truly different. It did not give one any sense of urgency, or continuously push you towards improvement as the World of Adept did. Instead, it only contained an indescribable sense of leisure and laziness.

In all honesty, the Elementium Lords, Kings, and Monarchs of the four Elementium Planes were far too lazy.

With the power and size of the elementium planes, they could form a horrifying flood of elementium creatures with a little effort and conquer most known higher civilizations.

Unfortunately, elementium creatures seemed to be uninterested in conquering and invading other worlds. They wasted the tremendous amount of power they had and simply roamed the land leisurely with no higher purpose in mind!