Age of Adepts

The drop of liquid preserved in the blue crystal was something that Greem had procured using the Sourcestealer. First, he had the Sourcestealer devour the starbeast’s corpse. He then extracted the complete bloodline power from the Sourcestealer’s body and subjected the blood to a series of refinements and purifications. The end result was this measly drop of ‘blood.’

Starbeasts mostly had Chaos Physiques. The energy they absorbed was violent magical energy that had not been filtered or purified in any manner. As such, starbeasts were often very different from planar creatures in various aspects.

His flesh and muscles had wholly enveloped the shattered crystal in Greem’s chest. At this moment, traces of blue and black mist evaporated from the liquid, promptly absorbed by the delicate flesh tendrils wrapped around the crystal.

This mist would gradually be delivered to every corner of Greem’s body, where it would undergo a mysterious and delicate energy exchange with blood, tendons, veins, and organs.

Mysterious energy seeped into Greem’s organs and flesh, triggering unknown changes in his body. This process of metamorphosis wasn’t as peaceful as it appeared on Greem’s face.

Greem lay on the floor, a trace of agony flashing across his youthful face every once in a while. A certain part of his body would also twitch violently and abruptly.

However, regardless of how intense the pain was, Greem refused to stop the bloodline replacement. Instead, he subtly observed the progress of the process through the Chip’s fine and detailed sensing abilities.

A set of crimson words projected onto a screen in the depths of his mind.

[......21%...22%...23%......]

At times, the number on the screen would not move for days on end, while at other times, the number would change rapidly in a matter of minutes. Every change in the numbers meant that a tremendous shift was occurring inside Greem’s body. These changes were often accompanied by unforgettable pain and agony.

It was evident from Greem’s mental state! He frequently switched from a state of perfect consciousness to a state of faint awareness, over and over again.

The Crimson Clan also kept a low profile while Greem was in seclusion.

Most of the administrative matters of the Ailovis Region were left to the nobles of the Crimson Dynasty. Apart from the few Crimson adepts who were stationed at the various resource sites, the rest of them retreated back to the clan headquarters and rarely showed themselves in public.

It wasn’t just the Crimson Clan members who were waiting excitedly for the birth of a new Fourth Grade adept. Countless clans and organizations across the entirety of Zhentarim were silently awaiting the final results.

The adepts and organizations that had offended or attacked the Crimson Clan in the past were like ants on a hot pan. They were incredibly frustrated and anxious, but there was simply nothing they could do. Should Greem succeed at advancing to Fourth Grade, the Crimson Clan would not even need to lift a finger to crush them. Bootlickers and opportunists would swarm at them, hoping to use their heads to gain favor with the Crimson Clan.

When that happened, there would no longer be a place for them in the Central Region!

Though every region in the World of Adepts had rules and laws about internal conflict and murder between adepts, these rules could only apply to the low and intermediate-grade adepts. No rule or law could apply to Fourth Grade adepts, who stood at the peak of the World of Adepts. Only Fourth Grade adepts or a military force equal to Fourth Grade could serve as a deterrent against these adepts.

However, Greem was in a unique situation at the moment. He was the ‘rising star’ of the Association. No Fourth Grade adept in the Association would ever shake him down just for some insignificant amount of resources!

One could even go so far as to say that Greem was currently the precious ‘sweetheart’ of all the Association Fourth Grades. They couldn’t wait for him to advance quicker. Why would they find trouble with him now?

To the contrary, to prevent the more foolish adepts from interrupting Greem’s advancement, the Association even secretly sent out two troops of elite adepts to the border of Ailovis. On the one hand, they were to protect Greem. On the other, they were to monitor and oversee his progress secretly.

On the second day of Greem’s seclusion, the Crimson Clan’s leadership, represented by Gargamel and Meryl, secretly arrived at Kerslin Castle and met with Vice-Chairman Mirva.

The purpose of their visit was simple. One word– extortion!

It wasn’t really extortion. After all, the Association was the one that schemed and plotted to put Greem into this predicament in the first place.

If Greem didn’t know the cause-and-effect behind the whole affair, the Association would have used the conditions of the contract to force Greem into accepting that damned mission once he had advanced to Fourth Grade. When that happened, Greem would have been caught by surprise. Yet, he would have no choice but to accept reality and step upon a path of death and reckoning.

In doing so, the Association would have been able to deal with the crisis at the smallest possible cost to themselves!

Unfortunately for them, Greem now knew the conspiracy behind the scenes.

The Association could no longer pretend to be ignorant and hope for him to swallow such a dangerous fruit so easily. He would not just roll over and bear all the danger and loss upon his shoulders.

If the Association upset Greem, he could choose to bid his time and refuse to advance until the event had passed. Though he might end up being severely punished by the Association in such a scenario, they would have no choice but to select one of the current fourteen Fourth Grade adepts to go on the suicide mission.

The Zhentarim Association was unlike the three other major forces, after all. It was only a loose union of adepts of different factions. Therefore, it lacked strict internal discipline or binding power. If they attempted to choose one amongst themselves for the suicide mission, the Association would be at high risk of breaking apart. All the Fourth Grade adepts would decide to resign from the Zhentarim Association.

That was the leverage by which Gargamel and Meryl intended to use to negotiate with the Association.

They wanted the horse to run, yet they also wanted the horse not to eat. How could such a profitable thing be possible?!

Having received Greem’s instructions and orders, Gargamel came forth with all his unreasonable diplomatic prowess. He immediately made impossible demands of Vice-Chairman Mirva, listing one outrageous request after another, each one causing Mirva’s beard to puff up in a fury. They wanted resources, territory, civilians, treasure, and knowledge.

Gargamel listed practically everything he could think of as a request and put them on a long, long list; he made sure to put down a massive number at the end of each item. He then proceeded to argue and negotiate with Mirva with all he had.

Fourth Grade adept? What’s that? Does that have anything to do with my request?

One had to admit that the loyal and dedicated Gargamel lived up to his name as the Crimson Majordomo. To think he would dare to throw a tantrum before a furious Fourth Grade adept over an insignificant amount of resources.

Adept Laurent, who was stuck in between the two of them, felt his head swell in pain. He spent most of the session consoling Gargamel, then immediately turned over to console Mirva instead. He would put out their flaring tempers with much difficulty, and they would quickly erupt the moment a new proposal was raised.

It was a Second Grade adept arguing with a Fourth Grade adept with flushed, red faces, while a Third Grade adept tried his best to diffuse the tension. The muscles on Meryl’s face twitched uncontrollably. She was trying her hardest not to laugh out loud. There were many times when she found this scene incredibly ridiculous and hilarious, but after some thought, she would always find it to be a most understandable situation!

Having understood the actual circumstances revolving around the entire affair, Meryl knew very well that Vice-Chairman Mirva was actually very delighted, despite how angry and furious he appeared to be at the moment.

After all, losing some resources was much better than the Association breaking up over having to elect one of their own for a suicide mission!

As such, regardless of how outrageous Gargamel’s demands were, Mirva was only ‘angry, angry, and angry.’

After all, as a Fourth Grade adept, Mirva could not possibly have been consoled by his Third Grade subordinate if he had been truly angered. He simply had to drop a spell, and the whole world would return to silence. An ant of a Second Grade adept would not have the chance to display such insolence before him.

His anger was only a declaration of sorts!

It was warning Gargamel not to overstep his boundaries while acknowledging that the Association was at fault. As for where the limit lay? That was something that a ‘hooligan’ like Gargamel had to probe for slowly.

With neither party wanting to break out into an actual conflict, the so-called ‘negotiations’ ended up looking more like a slapstick show!

After a loud and passionate discussion that lasted for an entire day, the two parties finally arrived at a basic agreement on a series of resources, items, and knowledge.

When Meryl and the extremely parched Gargamel were eventually escorted to the Association’s treasury by Laurent, the anger on Mirva’s face slowly faded away.

“They asked for quite a lot this time. It’s a little too greedy of them!” Mirva coldly said to the empty air. It was a mystery who he was speaking to.

“It’s good greed, fantastic greed, I would say. if they weren’t that greedy, I would think that the Association is in trouble!” Chairman Freed’s projection silently appeared behind Mirva.

“It’s not a small amount that we are going to lose this time. It’s a hefty sum of resources and materials. Their appetite is enormous!” Mirva was still a little resentful.

“Are those resources and materials worth the price of a Fourth Grade adept?” Freed smiled and asked in return.

Mirva fell silent.

Soon, even that last bit of resentment faded away.

Mirva gritted his teeth. He will just treat those resources as the price for Greem’s life, then!

............

The massive injection of resources, materials, treasures, and knowledge into the Crimson Clan allowed the clan’s foundations to become even more secure.

The majority of Crimson adepts had no means of finding out about the crisis that hung above the head of their clan leader. They were indulging in the joy of the clan’s grand ‘harvest.’

Their clan leader was almost about to advance to Fourth Grade. How were they, the clan members, supposed to keep up if they were left too far behind by their leader? As such, even without the encouragement and agitation of the higher-ups, a frenzied trend for improvement and advancement swept over the Crimson adepts.

With the plentiful resources in the clan’s possession, the more talented clan adepts obtained an even more significant investment of resources. More and more individuals started growing in power.

However, most of these adepts only improved by minor grades. The people who advanced from First to Second Grade and Second to Third Grade were still in the extreme minority.

Among all these striving adepts, one lonely and abject fellow stood out more conspicuously than any other!