Age of Adepts

A war between the Northern Witch branches was entirely different from wars in the center region.

In the Zhentarim region, any war started between two adept clans would bring about tremendous devastation and carnage. The utter destruction of an adept clan was easily one of the starting conditions for the war to conclude.

The defeated would be vanquished, and the victor would take all!

Defeated adept clans would be pulled out by the roots as their very name was wiped out of existence.

Meanwhile, the victors would devour all that belonged to their enemy, taking over new territories and resource sites while imprisoning and enslaving the adepts and apprentices of their enemy. They would grow strong and fast from the corpse of their defeated foe.

On the other hand, the Northern Witches had stringent rules for war between themselves.

No slaughtering of civilians, no destruction of resource sites, and even more so, no killing of the opponent’s adepts and apprentices. With such strict conditions about war, any party that failed to restrain the scope of battle and disrupted the local civilians or any other witch faction would be instantly be judged as the loser.

Consequently, the battles between witches were elegant and restrained, which was a far cry from the darkness and cruelty of Zhentarim!

Both Mary and Billis let out a sigh of disappointment in unison when they heard this.

For the two of them, a constant war was the only thing that could keep them going in battle. Their strength was built entirely upon the blood and flesh of their enemies.

The witch war this time had far too many limiting conditions. They clearly wouldn’t be able to enjoy a free and liberating slaughter. It also caused them to lose all interest in the upcoming witch war instantly; they couldn’t get their spirits up at all.

By the decision of the Witch Council, Greem was not allowed to interfere in this war. However, his many subordinates were not limited in this aspect and could freely join the Fate Witches as foreign reinforcements to become powerful fighters charging at the very frontlines.

However, Alice very clearly warned that the Third Grades of the Crimson Clan were not suited for involvement in this affair.

Be it Third Grade Thunder Dragon Arms, Emerald Dragon Iritina, or even Second Grade Gru, their appearance on the battlefield would immediately cause the scale and level of the war to go up.

If the Fate Witches could get foreign reinforcements, wasn’t it the same for the Coldwinter Witches?

It wasn’t too much trouble for the Coldwinter Witches. Witch Leader Morgana only needed to call in a few favors and drag a single Fourth Grade witch into the battle, and the war would lose all meaning.

That was why they couldn’t rattle the snake before the battle and cause Morgana to waste such a precious favor in her desperation to win the war. That was perhaps the key to this war!

Of course, with Alice’s presence on the side of the Fate Witches, Morgana’s psychological baseline was no longer a secret.

As long as no Third Grades from the Crimson Clan or Second Grade Split-Off Brain Gru appeared on the battlefield, Morgana would not be willing to make use of this trump card of the Coldwinter Witches.

Moreover, though Morgana could have a Fourth Grade witch join the battle using some favors that the Coldwinter branches of the past had accumulated, Alice, as the Fate Witch leader, also held similar aces in her hand. If the war reached this point, it would only be wearing away at the hidden powers of both factions.

No witch leader would be willing to cast away their hidden strength in such a meaningless battle for pride under ordinary circumstances; not unless it was a moment of life and death for the branch.

Thus, Alice started to pick her team and quickly put together a suitable army.

On the side of the Second Grade adepts, Alice would be the leader, reinforced by Mary and her vampires, Dragonborn Zacha, Goblin Tigule, Dragon Devourer Oliven, and the Spirit of Pestilence, all from the Crimson Clan.

As for Bug Adept Billis? Alice personally made sure he was off the list.

It couldn’t be helped. Billis’ means of attack were way too bloody and cruel. Every single move was meant to kill and butcher. It was an absolute taboo in the Northern Lands, where the civilian population was already very scarce!

Meanwhile, the Spirit of Pestilence, as Greem’s Soul Equipment, had never exposed its power to the outside world. This time, it had joined the ranks of the Fate Witches and took on the role of a terrifying magical spirit with a mysterious identity.

As long as it didn’t unleash its terrifying plagues and viruses, the Coldwinter Witches would have no evidence of its identity even if they were to suspect it.

On the other hand, the First Grade adepts were led by Berserk Witch Sofia and Icelady Snowlotus, supported by a group of blood elves and a large army of the improved Archers. Such an army was enough to deal with the provocation of the Coldwinter Witches!

…………

The battle happening in the Northern Lands had excluded Greem from the very start.

As such, when large groups of Crimson adepts hurried over to the Northern Lands for war, the person in question could only return to Fire Throne and began his semi-reclusive life.

Upon returning home, Greem immediately started examining the first Third Grade spell he had mastered after his advancement– Vicious Fireball!

Fireball spells could be considered the most comprehended and mastered spells among all public fire attribute spells.

From the apprentice-level Small Fireball, to the adept-level Magical Fireball, to the Second Grade Magma Fireball, the might and radius-of-effect of the fireball spells increased exponentially. Now, with the continued optimization and enhancement performed by the Chip, the Second Grade Magma Fireball had advanced to the Third Grade Vicious Fireball, and its power had increased significantly.

The apprentice-level Fireball spell required three to seven seconds of chanting. It had a thirteen-second cooldown, exhausted two points of Spirit, and dealt between thirty to thirty-five points of power. Its power was relatively high compared to spells of the same grade. Moreover, the Fireball spells also possessed a splash radius of one to two meters, making it a relatively cost-efficient offensive spell.

The First Grade Magical Fireball required one to five seconds of chanting, had an eleven-second cooldown, exhausted two points of Spirit, dealt between ninety to one hundred and fifteen points of power and had a splash radius of three to five meters.

The Second Grade Magma Fireball required one to three seconds of chanting, had a seven-second cooldown, exhausted two points of Spirit, dealt between two hundred and twenty to two hundred and forty points of power and had a splash radius of five to ten meters.

The Third Grade Magma Fireball required one to two seconds of chanting, had a five-second cooldown, exhausted two points of Spirit, and dealt between three hundred and ten to three hundred and thirty points of power. It had a splash radius of twenty to thirty meters and also possessed the two special effects of fire poison and Coldflame.

That was merely the basic offensive power of the Vicious Fireball.

If one were to include the thirty percent power increase from Greem’s fire specialization and the effects of his profession cutting down Spirit consumption, cooldowns, and chant times of fire spells by half, an ordinary Third Grade Vicious Fireball cast by Greem’s hand would deal a shocking four hundred to four hundred and thirty points of damage.

It was already sufficiently shocking for an instant-cast Third Grade spell.

With this Vicious Fireball spell alone, Greem could quickly exterminate those Second Grade adepts with mediocre magic resistances in an instant.

Moreover, Vicious Fireball was an instant-cast spell in his hands.

With his current thirty-six points of Spirit, he only needed a single point of Spirit to fire a Vicious Fireball; Greem could simultaneously shoot thirty-six Vicious Fireballs.

Apart from those monstrously powerful existences, there were almost no adepts among the Third Grades who could withstand the bombardment of thirty-six Vicious Fireballs. Even the Third Grade Adept Sanazar of the Sarubo Clan could be blasted to death by the Vicious Fireballs if she didn’t transform into her dragon form.

However, if Sanazar did manage to transform into the Flying Venom Dragon, her exceptional magic resistance and poisonous nature would render Greem’s spells largely ineffective. After all, the fire poison in the Vicious Fireballs would be completely useless. Even the effect of the Coldflame would be greatly discounted.

In an all-out battle, Greem’s chance of defeat and death would be over seventy percent if Sanazar managed to break through his bombardment and reach his side. However, if Greem could maintain a distance of one to two hundred meters for an extended period and attack Sanazar with long-ranged spells, his chance of victory would be eighty percent.

Of course, such percentages were established upon the assumption that the opponent wouldn’t run.

With Greem’s current mastery over his magical powers, he had no method of preventing the enemy from leaving should they decide to turn and flee!

Thus, the second enhancement task that Greem gave the Chip after the Vicious Fireball was the Lava Shield.

One offense and one defense.

Vicious Fireball was basically enough for an offense. Meanwhile, Greem required suitable protection if he wanted his defense to reach the standard of Third Grade. After some thought, Greem decided that the Lava Shield possessed the two critical traits of elementium and physical protection, and was far more sturdy compared to the Inferno Shield.

All these factors led Greem to decide on the Lava Shield as the first defensive spell to strengthen!

It was important to note that even the Third Grade Adept Sanazar possessed the mid-ranged ability to spit poison after transforming into a flying venom dragon. Without a suitable Third Grade defensive spell, Greem would be a glass cannon, shattering into pieces with a single touch.

Even with his current twenty-two points of Physique, he wasn’t well-protected enough. That level of Physique had to be paired with a strong defensive spell to maximize the protection he would get. Thus, after obtaining a means of offense, the one thing that Greem needed the most was a Third Grade defensive spell that matched his grade and attributes!

[Beep. Spell improvement task received. Original spell model is the Second Grade Lava Shield. Prerequisite knowledge conditions are satisfied. Estimated time required: 48 days, 22 hours, 37 minutes, 54 seconds.]

Greem couldn’t help but let out a long sigh after hearing the Chip’s feedback.

The complexity of magical system knowledge had reached a new level since he became Third Grade.

Now, even improving a Second Grade spell easily took up over a month of time. Greem would probably need a minimum of ten years if he wanted to turn all the Second Grade spells he knew into new Third Grade spells.

Time was no longer as urgent for high-grade adepts as it was for low-grade adepts.

With the lifespan of a Third Grade adept, Greem had hundreds of years worth of time to while away. Some adepts with less willpower were very likely to become entranced with a life of ease and enjoyment, ultimately forgetting their origins as adepts.

However, Greem clearly wouldn’t be such an individual.

After just a few days of rest in his room, Greem threw his entire body and mind into new magical experiments!