Age of Adepts

A sturdy and beautiful stone bridge that stretched across Silentwater Lake split the town into east and west. The only tavern in town was located on the east coast of the lake.

It was early in the morning. Though the tavern was already open, there weren’t many guests yet.

Thus, when Greem stepped into the tavern wrapped in his black cloak, no one took notice at all. Even Ol’ Willy, who was yawning as he wiped down the counter, paid no heed after the first glance.

Greem might have hidden most of his body and face with the cloak, but one could tell he was a human from his exposed hands and chin.

Adventurers and mercenaries like this were a common sight in a border region like Lakeside Town.

Both the savage werewolves of the forest and the orcs of the north had handsome bounties in the Zambez Empire, thereby attracting many hunters who overestimated their abilities. These adventurers were frequent guests of the tavern, and Ol’ Willy was more than familiar with their kind and how they dressed.

“You’re an unfamiliar face. You just arrive in Lakeside Town?” Ol’ Willy quickly poured a mug of Thunderbeer and slid it down the counter to the man in the black cloak, “This one’s on me!”

Greem took down his hood and put on a bright, gentle smile as he raised the mug and cheered, “Thank you! Cheers to your health!”

Fluent and local Zambezian came out of Greem’s mouth when he spoke.

Ol’ Willy couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment when he saw the young man’s long crimson hair, white skin, tall nose, and black eyes. He scratched his head as he said, “Are you from the north of the Empire? We don’t often see people that look like you over here!”

Greem smiled and didn’t answer the question. He simply ordered some stew and started eating in the corner of the tavern.

While Greem was eating and thinking about his next step forward, a commotion came from the distance, accompanied by the loud sound of warning bells.

“Goddamit! It must be those beholders again.” Ol’ Willy cursed under his breath as he walked to the door and looked in the direction of the stone bridge.

He was instantly stunned with shock.

The stone fortress on the other end of the stone bridge was not only in flames and smoking, but was blaring with the sound of warning bells. All the civilians of Lakeside Town emerged from their homes and looked at the stone fortress in the distance with concerned and worried faces.

The stone fortress was the only military facility outside of town. One hundred and fifty imperial soldiers lived within, ensuring the safety of the town throughout the year.

However, smoke signals were now rising from the fortress. That was not a good sign.

Town Mayor Gandas hastily rushed out of the town hall. He led two of his subordinates and ran toward the stone fortress, all while shouting at Ol’ Willy.

“Ol’ Will, stop staring. Hurry up and gather all the young people in the town and have them wait for orders. I will lead some people to check out the situation!”

Having said that, he left in a hurry.

Ol’ Willy hesitated for a moment and shivered when he turned back.

The young man from earlier was standing behind him all of a sudden, lifting his head and gazing at the smoke in the distance.

“I’m sorry, young man, but I’ll have to close my tavern for the moment. If you really are an adventurer, then please do stay and help our Lakeside Town. I am anxious that the enemy this time will be extremely dangerous.”

Greem completely ignored this old man with his barrel-like physique. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the distance.

Elementium fluctuations.

Greem could sense an intense elementium flux coming from the distance where the smoke rose. There was a faint feeling of something familiar.

According to Greem’s understandings, casters did not exist in significant numbers in Henvic Plane. Moreover, this elementium flux seemed discordant with the power system of this plane, seemingly as if…it was the magic of an adept.

Greem narrowed his eyes.

He had clearly seen that the Deceit Witches had crashed in two completely different directions while they were traversing the spatial rift; they couldn’t have hurried over in such a short time to meet with him. That was why Greem felt no sense of intimacy from this unexpectedly familiar flux of power. Instead, he felt a bad omen.

Friend or foe? A coincidental crossing of paths, or someone headed straight for him?

Greem turned, left the tavern without hesitation, and sprinted out of town away from the direction of the smoke.

Ol’ Willy could only shake his head and sigh when he saw this. He quickly moved his fat body down the streets to gather the young folks.

There were over two thousand people in the town. Apart from the old, the sickly, and the young, he could still easily pull together a group of seven to eight hundred young men. They didn’t know the situation outside of town either. They could only hold clubs, pitchforks, and torches in their hands as they blockaded the bridge and waited for news with bated breath.

Dawn came, and the gravel road leading to the stone fortress was now engulfed in a layer of light mist, making it difficult to see into the distance.

All of a sudden, a pained cry came from the distance as a stumbling figure charged onto the bridge with a torch in hand.

“It’s York.”

“Go check it out. It’s York. He went with the mayor earlier.”

Some of the townspeople had sharp eyes and quickly recognized the man who was hastily running back toward them.

“York, what happened at the stone fortress?” A muscular man emerged from the crowd and asked loudly.

“Dead, dead…they are all dead. The mayor…” York exasperated as he stumbled forward.

A sharp whistling sound suddenly rang out from within the mist.

A strange disc-shaped blade flew out, wrapping around York’s neck before it flew back into the fog.

York’s body froze as the head on his neck fell to the ground before rolling into the crowd.

The crowd stepped back from the head, their faces green from shock and fear. Shouts and screams started to ring out throughout the crowd.

A small and slender silhouette slowly appeared from the mist. Five or six strange appendages waved around her.

It was a strange woman that walked out of the mist, half human and half machine. She wore fine and fancy black combat armor. Half of her skin and face were still human, but the other half had been replaced with strange silver metal.

The most striking feature on the cold, hard lines of her faces was the pair of glowing red mechanical eyes.

“She’s…she’s from the other world. She’s a witch!” The experienced Ol’ Willy stepped backward in terror, his voice sharp enough to shatter the eardrums of the people around him.

A witch? She’s a witch?

This horrifying news instantly terrified the townspeople to their core.

Otherworldly witches had invaded Henvic Plane. That was news that every citizen of the Zambez Empire knew. However, the holy knights of the Empire had already surrounded the witches at Dabyrie Highlands. It was said that they had almost exterminated every last one of them.

How was it possible for them to appear here, at the northernmost end of the Empire in Lakeside Town?

Several of the more cowardly townsfolk immediately turned to run. However, the half-machine witch let out a shriek as four terrifying disc-blades instantly flew out and cut them in half.

Their remains collapsed to the ground, the thick scent of blood and the frightening gore causing many of the civilians to pass out directly.

“Stand there. No one move!” Blade Princess Katherine casually walked forward as she threatened loudly, “Anyone runs again, and you will end up like them.”

All of the civilians retreated to the sides of the stone bridge and made a wide path for the witch.

“I am searching for a person. If any of you can tell me his location, I can spare you your life.”

Blade Princess Katherine took out a crystal ball and activated it with her magical power, projecting the image of a tall and handsome young man into the air. Judging by the facial features, the garb, and the physique, there was no doubt that it was Greem.

Several of the people in the crowd had seen Greem at the entrance of the tavern. They immediately recognized him and couldn’t help but look toward Ol’ Willy.

Katherine’s spiritual senses were extremely sharp. She instantly noticed the looks of the people directed at the short and fat Willy. Several buzzing metal blades approached Ol’ Willy, driving back the crowd and trapping him in the middle.

“You’ve seen this man?” A strange smile appeared on Katherine’s cold and frozen face.

“I’ve…seen him.”

“Where is he?”

“He…he went…”

Just as Ol’ Willy was about to point into the distance, a quick fireball flew out of the mist and landed on him.

A loud explosion rang out as Ol’ Willy exploded like a barrel of wine. The flame shockwave evaporated his blood before it could even land.

The civilians immediately scattered in terror, their screams and cries filling the town.

Katherine couldn’t be bothered with these boring gnats. Instead, her mechanical eye creaked as she slowly locked onto the towering figure stepping out of the fog from the other end of the stone bridge.

“Greem.” Katherine put on a sinister smile, “I thought you would be running with all you have! You dare to step up so voluntarily?”

“Run? Why would I run?” Greem brushed aside the mist and stopped a hundred meters away from Katherine as he smiled and said, “You are Third Grade, as am I. Neither of us can use our full strength in this god-forsaken place, so why should I fear you?”

“Because you are an elementium adept, and I am a mechanical adept!” Blade Princess Katherine’s crimson mechanical eye glowed even brighter, “The effects of this other plane are more significant against you. Moreover, I am a hunter adept!”

Katherine’s metal boots abruptly stomped against the ground, and her petite body no taller than 1.6 meters shot out like an arrow toward Greem.

Her metallic appendages lashed forward as five glowing metal blades slashed at Greem from various angles.