Age of Adepts

It wasn’t until Greem reached the front of the door that he realized the cottage was shaped like a bucket.

It was like a massive wooden bucket stuck into the dirt. There were three ground levels to the building and an underground section.

Even with the help of the chip, Greem’s Spirit was incapable of reaching into the ground beneath the bucket cottage. A thick aura of death clung to the earth. He would have to alert Sharon’s accompanying spirit to break through the defenses.

Indeed, the witch standing before Greem and Alice wasn’t a true lifeform. Instead, it was a powerful accompanying spirit with an independent consciousness and power rivaling a First Grade adept.

She wore an extravagant dress like those of human nobles, and a red round hat on her head. She stood dignified at the door as she awaited the arrival of her two guests. She had a slim figure and a gentle, pretty face. Her light blue eyes were as bright as the purest of crystals, and her silver hair was soft and gleamed with beautiful light.

If it weren’t for her body blurring at the edges under the sunlight, Greem would have had trouble identifying her as a spirit.

What shocked Greem was her aura and her beauty.

The Northern Lands were the territories of the witches. Consequently, this was a different society, a matriarchal one ruled by women. With no need to seduce and please male adepts, the witches did not need to care for their looks and figures. Thus, they indulged in dangerous experiments and exposed themselves to the side effects, causing most of them to appear as ugly old hags.

They might have been able to possess their seductive figures and charming looks once again if they invested a significant amount of resources into it, but what significance did such an act have in a world where women ruled?

In this environment where only power and women commanded, the witches did not need to waste resources to please their male partners. It was why Greem had hardly ever seen a single pretty lady ever since he first came into contact with the witches. Moreover, they tended to be more ugly the more powerful they were!

Alice instantly dashed forward and leaped into the embrace of the noble lady when she saw her.

”Cheryl, Alice missed you so much.”

Greem was stunned for a second. He even forgot to breathe for a moment.

According to what knowledge he had, all spirits were intangible. They didn’t possess actual bodies that could interact with the material world. Such creatures could pass through any metal, rock, wood, or water without magical protection. In fact, spirits could phase through any substance that was not protected by magic.

This trait was the terrifying thing about ordinary spirits!

They had no real bodies, and therefore physical means could not harm them.

Supernatural powers were needed to deal with spirits.

However, the spirit before him could freely switch between intangibility and tangibility. This ability, to some extent, demonstrated her power.

As of yet, Greem severely lacked any means to deal with Spirits. The results of a battle against a powerful spirit like this one were hard to foresee. After all, the books had been unmistakable on this. Accompanying spirits were always as powerful as the Death Witch they were partners with.

”Cheryl, where is Granny Sharon?” Alice lifted her head and asked while still in the lady’s arms.

”She’s busy with an experiment downstairs, so she can’t meet you guys. Just tell me if you have anything you need to say!” The noble lady held Alice’s hand and brought her into the cottage. She turned and spoke as she walked, ”Come in and sit now that you are here! You must have quite a lot of luck to have reached here!”

The inside of the cottage was decorated in a straightforward fashion, and there was a certain beauty to it.

Everything in the house suited the aura Cheryl exuded.

”Cheryl, you said that Greem was big trouble earlier. What was that about?” Alice couldn’t bear to wait any longer. She asked the moment she sat down.

Greem also took a seat at her side and looked at Cheryl without speaking.

”You guys still don’t know, do you?” Cheryl sighed as she poured tea for the two guests, ”You killed an adept in the Witch Council’s territory earlier. While it was an outsider, your actions still drew the ire of the witches. They’ve already added Sir Greem to the wanted list. I have a copy of the list over here by my side.”

”Wanted list?”

”Wanted across the entire Northern Lands?”

The first question was from Greem. It was evident that he still lacked knowledge of how the witch government functioned. Alice asked the second question, and she had gotten to the critical part.

”Across the entire Northern Lands!” Cheryl nodded, ”This means that any witch might try to catch Greem if they discovered him. They would then send him to the Witch Council for the bounty!”

”But Greem killed that bastard Bill to protect me. Moreover, they were the ones who started the fight.” Alice instantly exploded into a rage like a wildcat, with its fur standing on end.

”I believe everything you say. That is why the Witch Council gave out a warrant for arrest, but not a warrant for execution,” Cheryl sighed, ”But do you think Greem will live to reach the Witch Council and appeal his case? The Witches of Deceit probably raised this entire issue. Their goal is to get rid of the only aid you have!”

”Then, Cheryl, will Granny Sharon help the Witches of Deceit against Alice?” Alice betrayed a pitiful expression on her face.

”Cough…” An awkward expression appeared on Cheryl’s face, ”Given our relationship with Endor and you, I won’t lay a single finger on either of you. However, if you want to survive in the Battle of Fate, then you will have to stop relying on the strength of an outsider. Greem going on the wanted list is a ludicrous thing to have been done. Yet not a single witch objected to the act. Why was it? All because they do not wish for any external force to interfere with the selection of the Witch of Fate.”

”Then what should we do now?”

”You can stay here for now. The Tower of Fate will activate in another four months. The two of you can wait until the last moment before showing yourselves again. By then there would be no point to the enemy’s tricks and schemes, regardless of how many they have prepared.”

”But we definitely won’t be able to hide from their investigations if we stayed here. Even Granny Sharon will be implicated.” Alice hesitated.

”Here might not be safe, but there are some places where your safety will be guaranteed. Moreover, you will have a good training experience there!”

”Where is this place you are talking about?” Alice asked, completely confused as to what Cheryl was referring to.

”A lesser plane!”

Greem and Alice looked at each other. They finally got it.

Indeed! A lesser plane!

The Death Witches had lesser planes that belonged to the branch themselves, especially with how powerful they were. If they hid there, Alice and Greem no longer needed to worry about a diviner finding their location, regardless of how powerful that diviner was. That said, all lesser planes were considered to be core secrets of their respective organizations. Would the Death Witches allow two outsiders to step foot on such forbidden land?

Cheryl showed a slight smile as if she saw through their concerns, ”Sharon has the right to nominate the two of you as members of the Death Witches. However, the price you would have to pay to get the Death Witches to agree would be a hefty one. It’s now up to you two and whether you have the wealth to move them. Even I can’t help you on this issue!”

”I agree with this!”

”Indeed. As long as this brat can pay the ticket fee, I don’t mind letting Greem and Alice have a tour around Greenwood World.”

”Two little fellows that haven’t even advanced for ten years. Are you sure they can come up with resources enough to move us?”

”Brat, you had best not be lying to us. If I find out I was dragged out from my lab for a pile of useless trash, you can be sure that someone will pay for it. Also, Cheryl, don’t casually represent Sharon in calling for an assembly the next time.”

”Yeah, all of us are busy people. If he can’t give us anything, I suggest we tie him up and send him to the Witches of Deceit.”

No one knew when or how Cheryl had cast her spells.

A dozen strange witches of varying appearances suddenly crowded the small living room. Judging by their translucent bodies, these weren’t their actual bodies that had transported over. Instead, these were their spiritual projections.

A dozen witch projections floated about in the air. Greem’s breath almost stopped completely.

Every single one of these witches had the power of a First Grade elite adept!

Being witches, they might not be too harsh on Alice, but they surely wouldn’t hold back against a male adept like Greem.

”Sir Greem, the dozen other witches present here are all executors of the Death Witches. As long as two of them agree to my suggestion, then you will be allowed to hide in a lesser plane and wait until the activation of the Tower of Fate. Of course, we will take good care of Alice in the meantime. Thus, let us see what your fate shall be!” An expression of helplessness appeared on Cheryl’s elegant face.

This was a classic case of buying his own life with money!

Greem couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He lowered his head and started to think about what item in his possession he could use to impress these greedy hags.

While he did hold quite a lot of good stuff in his private stash, most of these were things that were important for his plans and development. Greem’s heart would profusely bleed if he had to use them to exchange for his life.

The spacestone was out of the question!

Of the three spacestones, one had been taken away in the Castle in the Sky, and the other and been assimilated by Alice. He only had one more spacestone in his possession. It was an essential item for Greem’s plans for planar invasions. This spacestone was most definitely not something he could hand over.

Rejected!

Golden Apple?

While the conditions for its usage were stringent, it was a top-tier resource that could be used to revive a Fourth Grade being.

Rejected!

Orb of Deception?

No, the survival of Alice in the Tower of Fate could hang upon this orb.

Rejected!

Emblem of Fire?

The emblem was a critical item that he could use to sneak into the fire elementium plane. He couldn’t trade this away.

Rejected!

Shandera’s Sheepstick?

It was a powerful crowd-control magic wand that could bypass most magical protection. If Greem gave this away, he would be hard-pressed to find a magic wand of similar power in a short time frame.

Rejected!

Greem was frustrated.

Firstly, the item he offered had to be of sufficient value. Otherwise, it would not be able to move these cold and heartless Death Witches.

Secondly, the item had to be something Greem couldn’t use. Otherwise, he couldn’t bear to part with it.

Greem’s Spirit wandered around the storage belt as he thought.

All of a sudden, his Spirit came into contact with a couple of things. His eyes instantly brightened.

Of course! How could he have forgotten them!