Age of Adepts

The water was chilling, and the moonlight was hazy.

The witch’s expression had become more and more solemn.

”What is it that you want?” She finally voiced her doubts, ”You can’t actually be childish enough to believe that you can control a little brat, push her up to the throne of Witch of Fate, and gain a powerful servant just like that, could you?”

”And what if that’s what I’m thinking of doing!?”

”Hehehe… ” The witch laughed sinisterly, ”Then you should go and take a look at the history of the Witches of Fate! Do you not know? All witches are loyal to only one person. The great Queen Witch! It doesn’t matter if you have her under your thumb with a contract of immense power. The moment she becomes the Witch of Fate, all bindings forcefully attached to her soul will instantly vanish!”

”Then what good advice do you have for me?” Greem lifted his head and looked at the sky, ”Speak up. I can’t wait for dinner!”

The witch forcibly suppressed her irritation and covered her body with a thin cloth robe that she had placed on a rock to the side of the pool. She allowed the wet fabric to caress her perfect body. She slowly walked toward Greem, lifted her head, and stared into his black eyes. A beautiful smile once again graced her face.

”You are an interesting person... and very strong.” The witch extended a slim, smooth finger towards Greem as if she wanted to touch his well-defined muscles. She immediately yelped in pain and retracted her hand when her fingertip reached the red barrier.

The witch placed her red finger into her mouth and sucked. She seductively smiled as she spoke, ”No one can completely control the Witch of Fate. However, if you are willing to change your position and support me instead, I can be your secret lover for three years. Moreover, I can also agree to the same things that that little witch has promised you!”

”Is this how you managed to bribe that male adept to your side?” Greem asked without betraying much emotion.

Light shone in the witch’s eyes. She seemed to think that she had discovered something about Greem. She chuckled, ”What have you been thinking about… that person’s my brother! He truly cares for me.”

”Then you should tell him to make his sister wear a bit more when she goes out next time! I have no interest in some disgusting flesh that has undergone magical modifications.” Greem’s shadow flashed and burst into a ball of fire. He disappeared from the spot, just in time to avoid the attacks of two green streaks.

The two green balls of light didn’t manage to find their targets. They turned around in the air and flew back to the side of the witch before landing on her shoulders.

Greem reappeared twenty meters away. He couldn’t help but be slightly surprised.

”Green fairies?”

Green fairies were a type of unique plant-attribute magical creature. They were only the size of a palm and looked like a naked human girl with the wings of a cicada. However, they had none of the gentleness and kindness of the nectar-eating flower fairies. They were carnivores; mean creatures with rapid speed and poisonous claws.

The green fairies weren’t powerful magical creatures, but they were enough of a nuisance to throw an adept off his spellcasting. The victim would not have any extra time to defend himself from the witch’s spells!

Greem laughed when he saw the witch’s black face and the two green fairies that were about to lunge at him. His body once again turned into a blast of fire.

He was already deep in the woods when he once again reappeared.

A thin silhouette finally emerged after Greem had vanished.

”Ina, was there a need for that?” The black outline walked to the witch’s side and stared at the slowly dissipating fires in the distance, ”No external force can help you once the Tower of Fate is activated. What use is there, even if you managed to convince this adept to your side?”

”No, you don’t understand,” The witch’s alluring gaze turned sharp and cold, ”That brat is different from the others. She might be the most frightening competitor of them all!”

The black silhouette was stunned for a moment, ”Could she possibly be more frightening than that Snowlotus?”

”You can’t compare them like that,” The witch shook her head in frustration. It seemed like she couldn’t figure out something on her own, ”Snowlotus, the Witch of Ice and Snow, is already powerful, but she couldn’t possibly cause me to feel this intense pressure in the depths of my soul. That brat, on the other hand…...”

The witch stuttered for quite a while. She didn’t know how to describe that overwhelming feeling roiling around deep within her soul.

”You couldn’t have fallen for that adept, could you!?” The dark form was finally unable to suppress the urge to ask. The envy dripping from his voice was unmistakable.

”Hehehe……” The sharp look in the witch’s eyes had once again faded away into hiding. Her seductive gaze appeared once more, ”Brother, are you jealous?”

A pair of lips violently pressed against hers before she could finish speaking.

”You are mine. you will always be mine……”

The sounds of heavy breathing filled the woods, quickly followed by bestial cries and roars.

The robe she had just put on ripped to shreds within moments. Two naked bodies tangled with each other and rolled into the pool.

Soon, the mirror-like pool of water started rippling and splashing!

The two green fairies beat their wings and dashed into the forest nearby. They hid within the vast darkness.

…………

”This pair of dogs! ”

Alice couldn’t help but cover her big bright eyes as she cursed furiously.

That said, wasn’t the gap between her fingers a little wide? It didn’t seem like they could stop her from seeing anything!

She didn’t forget to record all this into her image-recording crystal even as she scolded and grumbled.

Alice hurried and packed away all the shattered shell pieces on the floor of the carriage when she remembered that Greem was on his way back. She then stealthily sneaked back to the campfire.

Using her privilege as an adept, Alice half-robbed and half-bought a perfectly-treated guinea fowl from a half-wolf mercenary.

The innards of the guinea fowl had been completely emptied and filled with mushrooms and chestnuts. Alice roasted it on the fire as she used a brush to apply a layer of spice on her dinner evenly. Golden oil continuously seeped out from the meat. It sizzled as the fire lightly licked it and cooked it to perfection.

A thick and fragrant smell of roasted chicken hung in the air.

Fifteen minutes later, Greem stepped foot into the campsite. The first thing that greeted him was a perfectly roasted chicken that gleamed with a golden shine.

”Eat it, quick. I especially left this for you!” Alice licked her lips as if she didn’t mind at all.

Greem put up a slight smile and tore off the juiciest drumstick. He passed it to Alice.

Alice instantly took it and started to ravage the meat with a huge smile on her face. Her mouth was still full of food, but she continued to mumble something like, ”Gwess you knwow a lwady’s hweart.”

Of course, many watching eyes saw everything that happened by the fire.

An old witch unhappily grumbled after she let down the curtains, ”These are the witches that appeared in recent times? Always relying on male adepts and seducing them! A complete disgrace to us witches!”

The Second Grade Witch Kola rested silently on her couch in the middle of the tent. She spoke coldly, ”Laura, there’s no need to get upset. From what I know, this little Alice brat is, in fact, a favored candidate in the Battle of Fate!”

”What? A child like this is favored?! ”The three Dark Witches in the tent let out a gasp of surprise in unison.

”I visited Sage Else a while back. She told me that this Alice was amongst the three hopefuls for the winner of the Battle of Fate!”

”Sssss……” The three Dark Witches drew in a cold breath, all at the same time.

No one was foolish enough to doubt Sage Elsa’s words. However, the massive juxtaposition between the prophecy and reality was sufficiently jarring to confuse the witches.

”What powers does she possess? From the looks of it, she must have sacrificed all her powers in exchange for the blessing of fate. But that powerful male adept can’t help her with anything once she’s in the Tower. What will she use to defend against the tower guardians and her competitors?”

”Indeed… does she intend to use her completely harmless divination spells to kill someone?”

”If she enchanted her little platinum hammer with some offensive spells, she might be able to use it to hit someone to death!”

The Dark Witches took turns to make fun of Alice. Clearly, none of them thought well of her odds.

”Oh, that’s right, Lady Kola. Since Sage Elsa named three witches to be favored to win the Battle of Fate and one of them has to be Snowlotus of the Witches of Deceit, who is the remaining one?” One of the witches suddenly thought of this and asked curiously.

”The other one… ” Even the Second Grade Kola betrayed an expression of frustration when it came to this, ”That girl is even worse than Alice. She...she... ”

”What about her.” The other two witches asked together.

”She advanced to a berserker witch!” Kola finally spat out this lump in her throat disdainfully.

”A berserker witch!?” The three Dark Witches let out a gasp of surprise. They looked at each other but were utterly speechless.

Odd things happened every year, but never as many as this year.

Why were there so many odd sprouts that rose up in the Battle of Fate this time?

Speaking of berserker witches, this was a unique term that outsiders might not have been familiar with. That said, almost all the Northern Witches knew what kind of profession it was.

As only witches comprised the Northern Witches’ highest authority, they had inherent flaws when it came to profession compositions and skill choices.

That was their severe lack of meat shields and tanks!

The high-grade witches were all impressive individuals with strange and unheard of powers. However, most of these abilities were long-ranged and support spells. Their lack of a powerful meat shield became extremely obvious when it came to group battles.

The adepts had body-refining adepts to take the damage for their army. When necessary, bloodline adepts and golems could also hold the line. In comparison, what did the witches have?

The high-grade witches had sat down and searched for a solution. After a long time, they had come up with a peculiar answer. They invented the perverted witch advancement known as a Berserker Witch.

Apprentice witches of every branch could choose to become a berserker witch when they advanced. The moment the berserker witches engaged in combat, they would be able to convert all their magical energies into ferocious and incomparable strength. They would turn into undefeatable warriors that swept across the battlefield.

They had great magic resistances that improved even further once they went into their berserk state. This state made them capable of ignoring any and all attacks from opponents of the same grade. That said, they also lost their spellcasting abilities in exchange. The only thing they had left was their powerful physical attacks.

But this was enough!

All witches respected berserker witches. Without their sacrifices, their companions wouldn’t have the room to cast their spells in safety.

However, a candidate for the Witch of Fate turning into a berserker witch that smacked people around with a wooden bat was just a little too much of an upset of their expectations!

What was going on in this world?!