Age of Adepts

“Mary’s in danger?”

Greem asked in surprise.

Alice let out a sigh through the mirror.

“You all underestimated those planar natives. They might not compare to the World of Adepts in any regard, but some powerhouse can still be born with all the confluence of variables available.”

“What’s in Seawoods Plane?”

“A native god. A totem god described in books!”

Greem was silent for a moment.

In just an instant, the chip had managed to draw out all the information in the data library related to a totem god. Greem instantly understood the risks that Mary currently faced.

“Alice, given what you know, what is the fundamental difference between adepts and arcanists? Is it possible we share the same origin?”

Alice simply smiled.

“We are adepts, not mages or arcanists. We come from chaos and will return to chaos. Even if all living things perceive us as evil, that will not change our true origin of chaos. Becoming an adept means danger, taboo, and the unknown will always accompany us.

“Mages and the arcanists might have come from the same origin as ourselves. However, for the sake of spreading their so-called civilization and passing on their knowledge, they repeatedly removed the chaotic portions of their systems. Everything dangerous and unknown containing the adept arts were removed, leaving behind only spells and arcane arts that can be systematically cast and unleashed.

“This might increase the universality of magic and allow untalented individuals to become part of the system. However, the adept arts lose an incredible amount of power when doctored in such a fashion, as well as the trace of origin connection they possess with the planar world.

“Moreover, do you think that what decides the might of a group of spellcasters is the number of its members or the might of their greatest users? Greem, you are already a Fourth Grade adept. You should be able to sense it now. Who has more value? A single Fourth Grade, or ten Third Grades?

“Take yourself as an example. How many Third Grades are required to be able to match you in combat? Ten? A hundred, two hundred? In your eyes, it probably doesn’t matter how many Third Grade creatures there are. They would never be formidable enough to be your enemy!

“The extinct Arcane Empire had once forged such a brilliant and beautiful arcane civilization. They were just like us. They were spellcasters with a similar origin. However, in their developmental process, they abandoned the excessively bloody and cruel portions of being primal spellcasters. They organized their primal magic and turned it into a neat little system. They called this civilization. They called it progress. Where are they now?

“Such a massive empire. Such incredible amounts of resources. If they had not pursued stability and limited their individual powers, then a blood ritual would have been enough for them to instantly create a large group of arcanists at the Great Adept level! If the Arcane Empire had managed to develop a Ninth Grade Great Arcanist, would the Arcane Empire still have been invaded by their enemies and taken apart alive as they had?

“The arcanists are gentle and elegant. They have vast knowledge yet are kindly and close to the common folk. However, they never train their bodies and Spirits, relying primarily on their arcane facilities in combat and magic. Adepts are heretical and selfish. They never care about whether their means and methods match the values and morals of worldly society. In most cases, adepts can be very cruel to their own kind. They do not reject taboo magic like blood rituals or voodoo poison.

“It is because of all this that the paths of development for arcanists and adepts differ so much.”