Age of Adepts

Inside a hidden room.

A strange humanoid figure had suddenly swelled up from the empty ground.

As the light yellow mist that obscured the figure scattered, a strange man who looked even older than Domhnall was revealed. The folds and wrinkles on his face were so heavy that it was almost impossible to discern his actual appearance.

This elderly man was hunched over, leaning against a yellow staff taller than himself. His hair was a mess, and his eyes were a blank white with no pupils at all. He was even wearing a raggedy old robe that had clearly not been washed in years. The stains and dirt on the robe had already covered its original color, making it impossible to tell what material it was made of.

At a single glance, this was a poor wandering adept who couldn’t be in any worse of a financial situation. He was someone who could never be seen at a proper place, let alone the Tower of Observation, a structure that represented the Adept Association’s greatest achievement.

Yet, somehow, this old man had not only appeared here, but even casually acknowledged Vice-Chairman Domhnall’s greeting.

“Maztan, you are the most potent diviner of the entire Association. Can’t even you see Greem’s future clearly?”

“Domhnall, as I said earlier, someone has concealed this young man’s Fate from view.”

The Tower of Observation…the Tower of Observation.

The reason this tower was named such was because it was the tallest tower in the World of Adepts. When one stood at the top of this tower, they could see the unusual speck of blue at the edge of the horizon if they had good enough vision.

That was the color of the Boundless Sea!

Maztan passed through a lonely and empty corridor and arrived in front of a metal spiral staircase. He walked up, holding onto the rails as he did so. Finally, he arrived at the astrology platform.

The platform was a very crude construction. It was a narrow space placed under the roof of the Tower.

Above the platform was the tip of the Tower of Observation. A ten-meter metal spike stood there, terrifying magical energy radiating from it. The walls of the astrology platform were hollowed out. When the cold winds of the altitude soared past the metal wall’s patterns, they would cause a phantom-like howl.

A one-meter-tall stone pillar stood at the center of the narrow space. An unusual crystal the size of a human head was embedded at the top.

Clouds and mist filled the inside of this crystal, obscuring everything from sight.

Maztan walked into this small room through the staircase.

Upon setting foot here, he pulled his robe tighter around himself. Yet, there was no stopping the cold winds from seeping in from the corners of his clothes, robbing him of what little warmth he had.

This place was Fate’s Shelter. All powers apart from Fate power were rejected from here.

As such, Maztan could not cast any spells to protect or warm himself. Even his robe had to be made out of ordinary cloth with no magical effects to speak of.

If it weren’t for his Physique as a Fourth Grade adept, he might even have risked hypothermia just by staying here.

Eleven points of Physique were undoubtedly incredibly low for a Fourth Grade adept. However, it was enough for Maztan.

Due to their profession, diviners always lacked in lifeforce. Even if they were to take perfect care of themselves and increase their Physique as much as possible, their lifeforce would be drained away with all the significant Fate rituals that they conducted.

A price had to be paid to scry Fate!

The diviners of the Adept’s Association did not have such high affinity with Fate as the Fate Witches did. To scry Fate’s direction required them to sacrifice their lives. The most considerable exhaustion was to their Physique!

Once Maztan’s Physique was wholly eroded, it would be the end of him.

Before that, he still had eleven points of Physique. That was enough to do plenty of things.

Maztan stumbled before the stone pillar and placed his right hand over the crystal. He caressed it softly.

A tremendous surge of energy flowed through the tower, lighting up all the runes and arrays on the walls. Even the stone pillar started glowing, inch by inch.

Finally, when the magic energy surged into the crystal, the tip of the Tower of Observation glowed with blinding radiance.

The winds mysteriously halted!

The mist and clouds inside the crystal slowly faded away, revealing a majestic and mysterious world within.