Age of Adepts

The miniaturization and simplification of the floating rings were the main directions of Greem’s research at the moment.

As this research touched upon the fundamental difference in arcane arts and adept magic, its progress was incredibly slow and difficult.

In all seriousness, arcane arts and adept magic came from the same origin of magical pattern studies. They were supernatural powers born out of ancient spellcasters copying the natural patterns found on magical creatures.

However, while the adepts preserved the chaos, bloodiness, and taboo of ancient magic in their later developments, the arcanists produced a simplified, neutered version of the ancient magic.

This version was indeed easier to learn and understand, making it practical for increasing the numbers of the arcanists. Unfortunately, the supernatural powers they simplified and neutered were the most profound ones that manifested when synchronized with the planar laws.

Without these profound portions of ancient magic, the arcane arts had indeed become simpler to learn. Even apprentices with unsatisfactory talent could slowly advance by accumulating experience and technique. However, this also severed the origin connection between the arcane arts and the planar laws. That made it much more difficult for the arcanists to advance at the higher grades compared to adepts.

Meanwhile, the adepts insisted on their ancient traditions. Their magic was bloody, cruel, and filled with chaotic and mysterious elements. The same rune and the spell could have completely different effects when cast in the hands of various adepts.

In addition to the grueling experience they went through, and the constant refinement of fighting techniques, the average adept’s power was three to five times that of the average arcanist.

Some had even simplified the difference: arcanists relied on knowledge and equipment while adepts relied on technique and abilities.

Arcanists respected knowledge; adepts respected power!

The fundamental difference between the two spellcaster systems also manifested in their equipment. While the arcanists’ equipment was often intricate and very detailed, the adepts’ equipment was simple but straightforward, even bloody at times.

The principles behind the floating ring weren’t all that complicated. The knowledge required was also elementary. It was the creation of an anti-gravity barrier with a fixed direction and form through a forcefield of simple construction. It then allowed an object to hover under zero-gravity conditions.

However, the energy used by the floating rings was arcane energy that had been refined and tamed multiple times. Such power was six to seven times tamer compared to the magical energy used by adepts. Arcane energy was easier to store, compress, and modulate. It could even be inserted directly into a spellcaster’s body and was of minimal radiation risk to ordinary individuals.

Given the difference between arcane energy and the adept’s magic energy, Greem would have to find a way to adapt. If he didn’t do so and used the adept’s magic energy to supply power to the floating ring, it would easily cause fluctuations in the energy system. The floating ring would not be able to function effectively and stably. In fact, in the worst-case scenario, the energy system would even collapse and cause a terrifying chain explosion.

The arcane system and the adept system were two civilizations that had developed independently of each other. Even though it might seem like there were many similarities, there were, in truth, even more fundamental conflicts and unresolvable differences.

Most adepts could only extract the useful parts of arcane knowledge they obtained and cast away all the conflicting elements.

After all, trying to merge two utterly distinct spellcasting systems was a colossal task that not even several generations of adepts or geniuses could accomplish easily.

As such, the obtaining of arcane knowledge was meant as a means for adepts to expand their knowledge reserves. It was an instinct to search for similar civilizations that they could refer to in their own development of knowledge.

Greem also faced similar problems when he tried to use the arcane knowledge he had recovered on runic studies, spells, and equipment carving.

The adept’s magic system contained around two to three hundred runes related to fire. However, only seven of these runes were origin runes. The rest were only derivatives or combinations of the seven origin runes.

After some research and experimentation, Greem also found the arcane runes in the arcane system that corresponded with these seven origin fire runes. Unfortunately, the runic arrays he carved with these arcane runes either had no effect or induced strange, inexplicable phenomenon.

It made Greem’s head hurt, but there was nothing he could do about it.

The Chip might be powerful, but it couldn’t do much when it came to the more advanced domain of profound studies. It could not guide Greem forward rapidly as it always had. After all, at this level and complexity, the large amount of data and experience accumulated by the Chip was of no use.

Mystic and profound studies required constant experimentation and searching at every step along the way. Failure was only par for the course.

That was because of the unpredictable nature of mystic studies!

According to the Chip’s data’s estimate, mystic studies originated from the delicate changes of forcefields caused by the combination of magical energy and material substances. The difference in materials, environment, and substance caused large, complex, and numerous energy spaces created by the resonance between countless forcefields.

Under such circumstances, a stable state was temporary, localized, and small in scale. Constant change and flux were what was generally referred to as mystic studies!

The adept’s magic itself was the pursuit of this unpredictability.

They used minute, localized energy changes as a lever to move the powers of the planar laws, thus guiding the laws in the direction they wanted. That was the true heart and core of adept magic!

In this process, the only thing that adepts could control was the guidance process.

They used chants, handsigns, spellcasting components, and magical arrays to complete the task of guiding the energy. Yet, how did the energy resonance that came afterward succeed at moving the planar laws? How did the movements of the planar laws then spread to the principles?

Low-grade adepts knew nothing about this. Only high-grade adepts that had finally come into contact with the planar laws could continue researching this domain.

Take fire magic, for example. The focus of Greem’s research back in First Grade was how to gather more fire elementium particles and invoke more fire elementium resonance when forming his fireball. In other words, he was trying to figure out how he could increase the concentration of energy in his fireball, make its explosion radius larger, and make the fireball itself more destructive.

At Second Grade, Greem had researched the penetrative effects of fire energy and its conductivity.

At Third Grade, Greem put his mind to the conversion and assimilation of fire energy with other magic energies.

At its core, prior to Fourth Grade, Greem’s research on fire magic had only revolved around its superficial physical traits. It had not actually involved the magic origin of fire energy.

Now, upon advancing to Fourth Grade and mastering some of the lesser fire laws, Greem’s research was finally moving towards the direction of magic origin. There were no pioneers in this domain nor any experience he could draw upon or patterns to follow. He had to figure out everything from scratch, alone.

Every high-grade domain was a knowledgeable individual with plenty of information on their specific expertise. However, their research was closely related to their own abilities. Should such research and knowledge be leaked, it would mean that everything about them would be made public.

That would put them in grave danger!

It was precisely out of such considerations that high-trade adepts always kept their research a secret. They would only teach or trade their knowledge in portions, never offering them up to the public as proper theories as arcanists would.

In comparison, this situation was much better when it came to the three major adept organizations.

Through the use of resources, materials, and magical crystals as rewards, the organizations could obtain some inferior research materials and information that were not as sensitive to an adept’s privacy. This information could also be used as a reward, motivating low-grade adepts–who required the information but did not have the ability to embark on such research–to join the organization.

However, at Zhentarim, the adept organizations were too scattered and fractured. They existed in the form of multiple independent clans. Magic knowledge would only be traded within clans, causing the magic system of Zhentarim to be significantly inferior to the three major organizations.

If Greem wanted to make progress on his high-grade magic research, he would have to work hard on his own while also finding help from the three major organizations.

Greem’s relationship with the Northern Witches was tense. Trying to obtain high-grade knowledge from them was impractical. Meanwhile, the Adept’s Association kept to themselves. Trying to purchase knowledge from them without a suitable medium to help him and without a suitable point of association was incredibly tricky.

In the end, by comparison, the Silver Union was his best choice!

The Silver Union was indeed a massive adept’s organization that most closely resembled a commercial entity. As long as you had enough magical crystals, there were no spells or resources you couldn’t buy.

However, the high-grade knowledge useful to Fourth Grade adepts was too expensive. Even with Greem’s wealth, he was troubled by the astronomical price.

The reason Greem insisted on expanding to space was that he had his eye on its market. Tens of thousands of different planes, each with their own unique distribution of resources.

Something scarce in the World of Adepts could be much more common in another world!

If Greem could navigate his way around the massive market of space that combined tens of thousands of planes, he could make a profit by conducting interplanar trade and taking advantage of the price difference. The incredible profit that could be found in space was unimaginable for a small clan stuck in a plane.

Sending Gazlowe to establish an outpost near Exodar Camp was the Crimson Clan’s first step towards this goal!