Age of Adepts
chapter-321

Alice's instant teleportation in the past had been an application of her spatial talent.

Back then, an intense and apparent spatial flux had accompanied her usage of spatial powers. Much like a boulder thrown into a pond, everyone would know that she was doing spatial transfer and teleportation.

However, the teleportation Alice had just used caused absolutely no commotion at all. Even though Greem was staring right at her, he still failed to catch her movements in time.

Still, who was Greem?

With the help of the chip, he had been able to use slow-motion replay to discover the truth behind Alice's instant teleportation.

In the past, Alice always made a spatial rift sizeable enough for herself when she teleported. Then she hid in the folds of space and tore another spatial rift at her target location. The smooth execution of the process made it seem like Alice could disappear and then instantly teleport to another spot.

But this time, Alice had genuinely succeeded in her instant teleportation!

Her body hadn't moved at all. The surrounding space had suddenly wrinkled and distorted, then the area around her had already been 'squeezed' and 'displaced' to a new location. As no damage was caused to the space in the process, only a very minor spatial flux registered.

If we were to compare space to water, Alice would have been a fish in the past. She could weave anywhere through the water, but the splashes and the ripples she caused were present for all to see. Now, Alice was a drop of water. She had merged entirely with space. Distinguishing between one and the other was difficult!

While Greem silently analyzed the miraculous change that had happened to Alice, she was still playing with the silver ball of light in her hands. The silver light was like a ball of fireflies, continuously changing shape in her little hands.

One moment it would stick onto her white arm and stretch into a silver tattoo, the next it turned into a whirlwind and gathered to her arms in the form of a silver staff. It yet another moment it would circle her head before transforming into a delicately crafted tiara.

Bracers, bracelets, armor, cape.

The silver light was like a liquid metal that could be controlled by the human will. It flowed along Alice's body, ceaselessly transforming into all sorts of shapes and appearances. It didn't matter how much the sphere changed; it continued to glow a bright silver color.

This spacestone that had wanted to devour Alice had become exceedingly tame and gentle after being assimilated by Alice's mental consciousness. The various traits that it displayed caused Greem to think of a certain word. Soul Equipment!

He also had a piece of Soul Equipment himself. It was the Scroll of Voodoo tied to his waist. He had exhausted plenty of resources to obtain this Scroll of Voodoo. It was already bound to his soul.

He didn't need to use magical chants to control his Soul Equipment, unlike ordinary magic gear and tools. He only needed to think, and the Soul Equipment would move as he wanted.

The harmony between Alice and the liquid spacestone vaguely resembled this particular trait of Soul Equipment!

Greem raised his head and looked at Alice's excited face as she toyed with the silver light. A blissful smile filled her entire face. Greem suddenly remembered something as he looked on.

"Alice, why is your body still sealed in your eight-year-old form if you have already advanced? Are you still unable to break through the seal?"

"Hmph! I don't want to grow up! " Alice raised her head arrogantly, "Wouldn't I be suffering a big loss if I restored my sixteen-year-old body while serving a perverted and horny master?"

Several black lines surfaced on Greem's face.

However, Alice quickly giggled and said, "Seriously speaking, I have only just advanced to a witch. There's still an immense distance before I reach the Witch of Fate. The seal on my body will probably have to wait until I truly become the Witch of Fate."

Greem nodded his head. It was the explanation that made the most sense.

"You really can't cast any other spell right now?" Greem asked doubtfully.

"Yup! Ever since I advanced, all the spells I had mastered have vanished from my mind. My spatial talent has also disappeared. The spatial transfer earlier wasn't completed with my personal strength, but with the help of this spacestone!"

"That wasn't a spatial transfer earlier!" Greem shook his head with a smile. He finally decided to give Alice a much-needed lesson in magic, "How could it be called a spatial transfer if you didn't even rend the space apart? In my opinion, it's better to call it Spatial Relocation!"

"Spatial Relocation?" Alice opened her eyes wide in confusion.

Her control over her spatial talent in the past had been as natural and comfortable as breathing and drinking was for ordinary humans. It was why she didn't have a good understanding of the spatial phenomena that she caused. She couldn't even tell the difference between Spatial Transfer and Spatial Relocation.

Now that Greem had started speaking, he didn't intend to hide anything. He told her about the concept of Soul Equipment as well. That said, even Greem couldn't explain how a miraculous item with the power of space could suddenly become a piece of Soul Equipment.

Greem had tried to have Alice split out part of the silver ball of light for him to see if he could conduct some experiments and research on the substance. Unfortunately, any of the liquid spacestone that left Alice's side would mysteriously return to her within two hours.

That was the same effect as the Scroll of Voodoo!

Greem also asked Alice about some of the details on the divination arts. After an extended period of consideration, he concluded that the Witch of Fate was very much a potent profession, contrary to his prior thoughts of it being a powerless support role!

The laws of the world were fair in the end!

It was precisely because certain professions were far too powerful that the world would impose upon them unnaturally strict restrictions.

Alice had to give up on all her other powers if she wanted to obtain the ability to divine and prophesize. If she hadn't assimilated the spacestone by accident, she wouldn't have had any bit of offensive or defensive talent left.

Domineering strength or expansive divination abilities. You had to give up on one if you wanted the other.

It was probably one of the ways that the world consciousness prevented overly powerful individuals from being born!

"There's nothing else left, is there? If so, I'll go back and stabilize my Spirit." Alice apparently couldn't wait to discover her new abilities.

"One last thing!" Greem stopped her in time, "We've gotten leads on the identity of the old hag that disguised herself as the illusionist. A witch named Angelina had sent her to assassinate you."

"Angelina? The leader of the Witches of Deceit!" Alice almost leaped up in shock. She practically shouted this name when she heard Greem's words.

"You know this person?"

"Of course. Don't you forget, I used to be an apprentice witch of the Moya Clan. If I hadn't lost to you by accident, I might already have returned to the Northern lands with Granny Endor."

"To which branch of the witches does the Moya Clan belong?" Greem asked in all seriousness.

"We of the Moya Clan belong to the Pale Witches. We are a great witch clan that has a history of thousands of years." Her tone couldn't help but reveal her pride when she spoke about the Moya Clan.

"Isn't it a common occurrence for your witch branches to rise and fall throughout the ages? I read it in the books. And if anything was related to the revival and restoration of a branch, it is forbidden for the other witch branches to intervene in the process. Why would the leader of the Witches of Deceit actively act to intervene in the revival of the Witch of Fate?"

Alice's eyes went dim at Greem's question.

After a long pause, she spoke resentfully, "The witches now can hardly be compared to the witches ten thousand years ago. The Witch Queen was still present then. All the witches gathered about her, and together they were a dominant force. With the Witch Queen's departure into the infinite universe, the other witches left in the World of Adepts had started to become lax and disunited. Only seven branches remain of the thirteen witch branches.

"Only seven branches remain in the Northern lands. The Witches of Deceit, the Pale Witches, Agony Witches, Death Witches, Coldwinter Witches, Dark Witches, and the False Witches. If a new branch were to rise once again, it would unavoidably change the political scene of the Northern lands. Thus…"

"Is she not worried about fate's backlash now that she has intervened in the selection of the Witch of Fate?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps a descendant of her own family has awakened the bloodline of the Witch of Fate. Only something like this could cause her to risk the backlash of intervening in the selections!" Alice couldn't help but suspect that this was the case.

"……"

Greem was utterly speechless for a moment.

As expected, even the knowledge in books wasn't always trustworthy!

The size of this world and the trickeries that hid below its surface had far exceeded his imaginations. If he continued to believe blindly in ancient textual records, he would probably end up in a disadvantageous situation in the future.

Once Greem and Alice were finished talking, the Third Grade adept Sanazar summoned her.

With Sanazar personally asking Alice to join the Sarubo Clan, Alice eagerly accepted her offer to serve the Sarubo for an eight-year period temporarily.

Alice's identity as a candidate for the Witch of Fate was already an open secret. Sanazar might not have cared for the mysterious inheritance methods of the Northern Witches, but she had most definitely heard rumors.

With more and more candidates popping up across the world, the Northern Witches weren't the only ones that had become excessively busy. Some of the other forces in the World of Adepts had also started to interfere in this ceremony.

They didn't dare to challenge the Northern Witches directly.

However, now that a candidate for the Witch of Fate had appeared in their lands, they would put in all their effort to win her to their side and cultivate her powers.

If their candidate won in the Battle of Fate, they could take the opportunity and obtain a piece of land in the Northern areas. In doing so, they would successfully extend their reach into the traditional territories of the Northern Witches.

As such, the candidates for the Witch of Fate were both highly desired talents and troublesome individuals at the same time.

If a clan had sufficient resources, they could participate in the event and hope to win great benefits with small investments. As long as they were able to kill off all other challengers before the Battle of Fate, their candidate would successfully ascend to the legendary throne of the Witch of Fate, even if the candidate was unbelievably weak and useless.

However, it was very much advised that they kept their hands clean of the matter if their clan was weak and powerless!