Age of Adepts

Chapter 397



Chapter 397 Contract

Greem vaguely sensed the abnormality in the forest spirit’s abdomen with the help of the chip’s three-dimensional projection.

The forest spirit had behaved in a cowardly fashion in the fight earlier.

Greem had thought of her performance as a reflection of her true nature. It was only now that he understood that she had just wanted to protect the child in her. That was why she didn’t dare to fight as aggressively as she usually would.

Greem looked at the black cat in his hand, then looked at the anxious Eva and the dejected Gargamel. For a moment, he couldn’t come to a decision.

Should he kill them all, or should he use the black cat and force them to serve him for a period of time?

Greem decided after three seconds of hesitation.

“Serve me for thirty years, and I’ll let you go!”

Manticores were terrifying creatures that combined the traits of bats, lions, and scorpions. They possessed the head of a lion, the sting of a scorpion, four legs, and the wings of a bat. They fought like a lion in most circumstances, while the bat wings on their back gave them the ability to glide and fly across short distances. However, their most frightening trait was the scorpion sting on their backs.

The claws and fangs of the manticore were coated in a lethal venom, but its scorpion sting possessed unparalleled paralyzing effects in addition to its toxin. Most adepts were able to resist the venom by concocting antidotes on their own. However, their potions had little to no effect in neutralizing the paralyzing effects of the scorpion sting.

If an adept ever found himself surrounded by an entire pack of manticores, their odds of surviving was extremely low. They would be continuously paralyzed and ripped to shreds before they had a chance to resist.

However, the manticore venom and paralyzing poison were ineffective against golems. It was excellent news!

Envy appeared on Eva’s face when Greem slowly told them of what he knew about manticores.

Here, he fully illustrated the overwhelming power of human adepts.

What understanding Eva had of manticores had only been obtained through countless bloody fights and personal experience. Blood had to be shed, and tears had to drop for the sake of such valuable information. On the other hand, the adepts were able to rely on the generations of knowledge that had been passed down by their ancestors. A single mention of a name and they were able to quickly extract all the information they needed from their library of knowledge that had accumulated over the ages.

They could plan their fights and prepare for any situation, even before they met the opponent. This prior preparation was what gave the adepts an absolute advantage when they clashed against magical creatures.

Most of the time, the magical creatures were often more powerful and possessed greater numbers than the human adepts they were facing. Yet, even in those situations, they were the prey of adepts; prey that could be hunted at any time. The adept’s preparedness was a significant reason why!

Greem was in no mood to appreciate the turmoil in Eva’s emotions right now. He only wanted to know more about the manticores and kept asking about the geography surrounding their den. After listening to Eva’s answers, Greem was reasonably confident that the underground volcano he sought was located there.

Still, this was a serious matter that he had to settle personally. Greem would have to make a trip there to confirm the existence of the volcano.

It wasn’t until Greem had gotten all the information he needed that he let Gargamel neutralize the poison in Sabrina’s body. The mechanical girl gradually awakened from her coma. Forest Spirit Eva had left the place beforehand, so as not to expose her association with the adepts. Gargamel, on the other hand, stood obediently behind Greem.

After a slight period of unconsciousness, the adepts had come to a truce while the magical creature had gone missing? Sabrina knew something was odd about this situation, but she swallowed her doubts. She didn’t presume to ask any questions.

Matters between adepts were not something a pseudo-adept like herself could seek to be a part of!

The more she knew, the more danger she invited onto herself. That was why Sabrina chose, very wisely, to remain silent.

…………

It was almost daybreak when the three of them returned to the camp.

Compared to Greem, Gargamel and Sabrina appeared to be somewhat worn out. They even had to wear their hoods to hide the burns on their faces.

The other members of the exploration party were happy to see the adepts return. Only the potions apprentice called Anthony betrayed shock in his eyes.

He was Gargamel’s apprentice and undoubtedly knew of his mentor’s plan. It was natural that he would be surprised that all three of the adepts had returned together. Panic and unease were written all over his face.

However, Greem couldn’t care less about someone as unimportant as him. He left it to Gargamel to deal with his apprentice.

Thus, after a quick rest and a breakfast prepared by Neil, they once again continued on their journey into the forest!


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