Age of Adepts

“These must be the small and mid-sized planes that you have conquered. How does the Association deal with the more difficult large planes?”

After holding it in for a long time, Greem couldn’t help but ask this question that he had been keeping in his mind the whole time.

After all, there were too few top-class resources that could be found in the small and mid-sized planes. They were more than enough for one or two adepts and perhaps even a small clan, but small planes did not have enough resources to keep a large organization running.

If someone were to tell Greem that a monstrosity like the Adept’s Association was built on the foundation of raiding only small and mid-sized planes, he would never believe it, even with his life on the line.

It didn’t matter how many small or mid-sized planes you invaded. The best you could do was maintain a scarce living as a Fourth Grade adept. To become truly wealthy and allow an organization to continuously expand, invading civilizations that were close to or on par with the World of Adepts was the only option.

Horner sinisterly smiled when he heard Greem’s question. He fell silent for a moment, seemingly communicating with someone far away.

The Zhentarim Association, with what power they had, would probably have to commit all their might just on an invasion into a mid-sized plane! Meanwhile, not only was the Adept’s Association able to invade large planes on par with the World of Adepts, but could even casually categorize them based on the difficulty of conquering them.

The vast difference in power revealed in this deflated Greem’s ambition. He had wanted to unify the Central lands, but he couldn’t help but be dejected by what he had seen.

Moreover, since they were willing to show him the secrets of their War Tower, it meant even these secrets weren’t their most important ones. There had to be something even deeper beyond these crimson portals.

However, Greem knew the situation he was in.

As an outsider, there was a limit to the courtesy that could be extended to him. If he pushed the letter, he would be forcing the Adept’s Association to turn on him!

Greem nodded satisfactorily and smiled at Adept Horner as he expressed his gratitude.

“Well, we’ve toured the War Tower. How about it? Let’s go to the Association’s main hall for a spin! There are many elders over there who want to meet you!”

Horner felt relaxed when he saw Greem nod.

The metal platform immediately returned along the same path it had arrived. It returned to the lower levels of the War Tower and retrieved the ‘imprisoned’ Billis before leaving the War Tower. The adepts then got onto a flying disc and flew towards the main body of the Tower of Observation.

Fifteen minutes later, in a hall on the three hundred and twenty-seventh level of the central tower, Greem finally met the dozen Association elders who had been waiting here.

It was a simple magical hall. A dozen Fourth Grade adepts in robes and armor of various colors were gathered in the room, talking amongst themselves as they waited.

When Greem and Horner stepped into the room, they immediately halted their conversation, and their eyes looked towards Greem.

Greem immediately felt the tremendously heavy pressure pressing towards him.

Everyone here was a Fourth Grade adept; there were no weaklings among them.

They didn’t even need to speak. Even a simple gaze of theirs could be empowered with Spirit and extended over Greem’s body as an invisible force.

They were using their Spirit appendages to subtly search for Greem’s secrets even as they looked at him. Greem even smelled the revolting smell of divination magic on some of those gazes!

Sixteen Fourth Grade adepts, sixteen pairs of eyes, sixteen sources of spiritual pressure.

This sort of intimidation and probing would have made any other Fourth Grade adept turn pale.

Greem resisted the impulse to take out the fire coral staff. He maintained the smile on his young, handsome face. Overwhelming fire energy surged out of his Heart of Principles, the power of the fire laws turning into runes that rushed towards his mind.

A searing surge of mental consciousness rose from Greem and clashed with the horrifying spiritual pressure of the many Association elders.

Everyone let out a muffled grunt at the same time.

The heavy pressure in the air vanished in an instant.

Greem paused his steps for a brief moment and managed to neutralize the backlash from the clash. He then smiled and greeted the elders of the Association.

The Association elders immediately showed expressions of puzzlement. Half of the elders, who were only present here as clone projections, even flushed red in the faces. It seemed like that unusual, searing mental will had invaded their bodies.

Fortunately, they were Fourth Grade adepts, after all. Even if they were only clone projections, they were able to suppress the ‘insignificant’ aftershocks of that clash in an instant.