Age of Adepts
chapter-279

It was a necessity to gather local knowledge wherever you went.

This was almost an instinct engraved into the souls of each and every adept!

Even though it might not be possible to get his hands on any rare or unique knowledge, Greem would be happy to collect any knowledge on the west coast and its cities.

The flying ship going onwards to the Castle in the Sky arrived on their second day in Sigma City.

Having experienced the local culture within the Silver Union, Greem and the others set out towards the holy city of the esoteric adepts– the Castle in the Sky.

Night.

Greem was draped in a black robe. He sat by his table, continuously writing on a scroll with a white quill in his hand. It seemed he was calculating something. Countless symbols, formulas, and numbers filled the parchment. Blue light gleamed within his black eyes as his quill continued to scratch against the parchment. It was clear that the chip was also calculating something at a very high speed.

In honesty, most of the calculations and deductions were completed by the chip. Greem's job was organizing and writing out the numbers that the chip output. He then used these numbers as a foundation and started considering his future development.

His sense and control over the other elementium particles had gradually weakened after he chose fire mastery. Yet at the same time this allowed his fire spells to have more room for improvement.

It didn't matter whether it was the range of the Fire Teleportation, or the splash damage of the Magma Fireball, or the core damage of Fire Core Explosion. All of his spells had reached the very limits that his Spirit could allow. The one hundred and fifteen points of fire damage that the Fire Core Explosion could output was already at the very limits of what First Grade adepts could usually do. Most ordinary adepts could only do between eighty to a hundred damage with their spells. Those who could do above a hundred were so few they could almost be counted with two hands.

A system of fire spells quickly built up within the data library as the chip continued to expand the amount of knowledge it had. Greem vaguely saw the path forward, and the path to self improvement, with the gradual deciphering and inclusion of the otherworldly runes to his powers.

According to the chip's calculations, Greem's use of his powers in past combat had been extremely inefficient. It was almost the most inefficient way he could have used them. Regardless of whether it was his spells, or the exponential increase in Physique brought about by his Flame Fiend Transformation, Greem had never been able to bring out their might to its fullest.

Rather, they existed in a state of extreme waste and inefficiency!

Greem would always choose a different style of combat depending on his enemy. The long-ranged elementium adept style, the magic-enhanced melee combat style, or using both together.

He had yet to form a cohesive, consistent, and systematic style of combat. Most of the time, Greem relied on his wasteful and excessive output to overwhelm and crush the enemy.

This might not be much of a problem if he was the one with the upper hand. However, such a crude and savage way of fighting was bound to backfire if used against an enemy more powerful than himself. Greem wanted to take this opportunity while revamping his abilities to decide on some core magics. He would then forge his own style of combat around those core magics and spells.

Having experienced numerous fights, Greem clearly felt the importance of mobility spells for a combat adept. That was why the first spell Greem thought of when deciding on his core magics was the Fire Teleportation he so frequently used.

In all honesty, Greem might not even have had a ten percent chance of surviving all his past battles if he hadn’t been able to cast Fire Teleportation. Greem was only able to escape death when faced with powerful enemies because of it. Otherwise, his only option would have been a fight to the death.

If he wanted to settle on a combat style, it would have to revolve around Fire Teleportation.

The mobility spell was decided. What about the offensive spells then?

There was a period of time where Greem believed his core offensive spell was Fire Core Explosion. After all, it was the most powerful and lethal fire spell in his arsenal. However the data that the chip collated indicated otherwise. The spell that Greem used the most in battle was the quickly cast Magma Fireball.

Greem only needed half a second to summon a Magma Fireball with his current abilities. However, if one was to include the strain that his Spirit could endure, along with the disparity in the speed at which elementium gathered, Greem could only consistently summon two fireballs in three seconds time.

The Magma Fireball itself had forty-five points of fire damage, along with fifteen points of magma and explosive physical damage. The magma would even splash in a ten meter radius. When paired with the thirty percent bonus damage from his fire mastery, a single Magma Fireball could deal a terrifying sixty points of damage.

This might be much lower than the one hundred and fifty five points of the Fire Core Explosion, but the Magma Fireball could be fired at a tremendous speed!

Where on a chaotic and intense battlefield would you be able to find a safe place to calmly chant your spell and channel such a powerful attack? In comparison, instant-cast spells like the Magma Fireball were far superior, as they allowed the caster to control the pace of the fight.

Even if there was truly a need for a powerful spell to crack the enemy's defense, Greem could store six of them within his Scroll of Voodoo for use in any situation. There was absolutely no need for him to risk his life and chant in the middle of enemy fire.

Thus, the first group of core magics was decided. There were three of them. The mobility-type Fire Teleportation, the offensive Magma Fireball, and the defensive Ring of Fire.

There was a good reason why Greem chose the Ring of Fire as his defensive spell over the Lava Shield!

The Ring of Fire might be significantly inferior to the Lava Shield when it came to physical defense, but it was far more efficient when it came to defending and damaging enemies at the same time.

A barrier of fire that easily engulfed an area of a hundred meters. No enemy would recklessly step into this area while they fought with Greem. The ten points of fire damage per second would never stop. You would have to endure the damage for as long as you were within the Ring of Fire.

Moreover, the combat potential of these three spells could still be greatly improved. All that Greem needed to do now was organize the spells into a proper system, and create a combat style revolving them.

Someone knocked on the wooden door, just as Greem was busy with his calculations for the potential improvements on the three core magics’ magical models.

Dong. Dong. Dong.

" Who is it!"

Greem couldn't possibly be in a good mood after being interrupted at such a key moment.

"Sir Greem, it is me!" Adept's Angus' voice rang out from behind the door.

Greem hesitated for a moment before clearing away the documents on his table. He covered the parchments of paper that contained secrets about his own body before walking to the door and removing the magical defenses.

Adept Angus complexion looked pale and terrible. He had visited in the dead of the night, and it seemed like he had something he wanted to talk about. Still, he was hesitant to speak.

"Sir Angus, we can already be considered friends after such a long trip together. Is there anything that can't be said between friends?" Greem could see his discomfort, and took the initiative to ask.

"This… " Angus couldn't help but hesitate once more before finally speaking, "I just got news from the clan. There might be trouble for the duel this time!"

"What happened?"

"The adept from the challenging clan has actually created a Steel Knight. Apparently, the golem is extremely powerful. It has already defeated the esoteric adepts of two firms. It is chaos in the clan right now… "

Greem's eyes focused, "Your clan intends to ask for a truce?"

Angus nodded reluctantly, his voice hoarse and dry, "Very possibly. The clan has already sent some ambassadors in secret. If their conditions aren't too strict, the clan will be willing to give up on the duel and admit defeat!"

Angus quickly consoled Greem when he saw him falling deep into thought, "You have no need to worry. The clan will still give you the promised rewards even if the duel doesn't take place. That much I can ensure!"

Greem shook his head as he laughed out loud, "That's not what I am worried about. I am only disappointed that I might miss a chance to have an exchange with another esoteric adept."

Angus laughed as well, "Do you still need to worry about this once you arrive at the Castle in the Sky? The duels and challenges for the shops might only happen once every ten years, but the arena there is never empty. As long as you are confident in your golem and are willing to bet on it, you can go to the arena every single day if you so wish!"

The two made a little small talk after this, and Angus finally left.

Greem went back to his table and started to think of his plans for the future.

His original plan was to win the duel for the Byron Clan. Then he would take the opportunity and leave Snorlax in their care at the Castle in the Sky. After all, Greem couldn't possibly stay at the Castle in the Sky for long periods of time. Snorlax, as a goblin, would also find it virtually impossible to make a name for himself if left alone.

It might be rude and pushy to put forth such a request if the expected esoteric duel was canceled and the promised rewards already given to him

How was he supposed to leave Snorlax in the Castle in the Sky then?

It was important to note how much force was needed to defend your place in the Castle in the Sky. There was a Second Grade adept from the Byron Clan stationed in their shop! If even such a force found it hard to defend themselves, how was a goblin with no combat ability whatsoever to survive in this savage and competitive place?

The more Greem thought about it, the more he realized how far ahead of himself he was getting.

He was alone right now. The two so-called subordinates he had were extremely weak. One was only a pseudo-adept, and would soon be starting a 'Battle of Fate'. Her fate was unknown and unclear as of yet. The other had adept-level Spirit, but had absolutely no way of using it in combat.

These two were completely useless when it came to conflicts.

Right now, Greem was in the process of improving his abilities and influence. He needed to gather all the strength and resources he had, cultivate them, and ensure that all his resources would grow and increase in number. He didn't have any excess energy to set up for the future.

If the adept force he envisioned succeeded in the future then it would be possible to do so, allowing him access to more options in the future. However, what he should do right now wasn't to spread his energy too widely. He had to pull back all the fingers he had extended outwards and form a solid fist to ensure that his each and every punch would be a powerful blow!