Age of Adepts

There was a large lake in front of Blueberry Villa.

You could see the bright villa in the distance under the night sky and across the lake’s peaceful surface. Merry music could also be faintly heard.

With his excellent vision, Greem could even see the small flying platform he had landed on when he arrived.

“What did you bring me here for?” Greem looked around him and couldn’t help but ask.

“This is only a temporary home of mine where I rest. I didn’t install a large arena for any sort of training purposes, so we can’t really go all out.” Olivia, who was still dressed in a dinner dress, lifted her hand casually and pointed at the lake in front of them. “Since that’s the case, let’s make this lake our battlefield!”

 Greem listened calmly. “We will fight with the area above the lake as the battlefield. Anyone forced out of the perimeter or thrown into the water will be considered the loser. Moreover, since the people in the villa are all my friends and family, I do not wish for any harm to come to them during our exchange. As such, whoever is unable to control their powers and prevent them from spreading out of the lake will also be considered to have lost! How about that? Can you accept those terms?” Olivia stood proudly, the cold night winds making her long black hair flutter in the wind. Her thin dress pressed against her body and further exposed her curves.

“And what happens after the victor is decided?” Greem did not show any expression, much less any concern or worry on his young and handsome face.

“If you win, you are free to put forth any terms. If you want the Lightfire stone, I will hand it over with both hands at no cost. However, if you lose, we will have to conduct the trade according to my prior suggestion!” Olivia coldly replied.

“Reasonable terms. I accept!” Greem nodded in agreement without any hesitation.

“Let’s enter then!” Olivia let out a soft battlecry and walked onto the lake first.

Indeed. Olivia ‘walked’ onto the lake instead of flying into the area.

As she let out her battlecry, two strange halos–one black and one white–suddenly appeared around her. They started to vibrate as they moved up and down. The two halos looked like they were forged out of countless sparks from a distance. Spots of beautiful energy were cast down towards the ground as the halos collided with each other, making for a fantastical, surreal image.

Empowered by the halos, Olivia’s body seemed to have lost all weight. She stepped onto the lake with her white feet and walked towards the center of the lake, step by step.

[Beep. Detecting two unusual magnetic fields of opposing magnetic poles. Energy level incredibly high Magnetic poles are in a state of dynamic change.]

“Dynamic change?” Greem frowned when he heard the Chip’s notification. He couldn’t help but frown and said, “Is it possible to determine the base traits of the two magnetic poles?”

[Beep. The black halo’s magnetic trait is attraction, while the white halo’s trait is repulsion. A unique magnetic disturbance is created during the collision of these two powers. It is estimated that such a disruption can inflict vicious damage on biological lifeforms. Note: Said damage can ignore defense. Ordinary elementium defenses will not be able to protect against this magnetic disturbance.]

“Damn.” Greem felt his head hurt when he heard this. For the first time, he felt fear and respect towards this Adept of Torture.

There were no easy opponents amongst the Fourth Grades, especially if they were someone with a long-established reputation. No wonder Olivia had so confidently challenged him to a duel!

However, he had already given his word. Backing off before a battle was not Greem’s way of doing things.

Greem took out his fire coral staff and tapped it against the ground. Flames shot out of the staff and gathered into two wings of fire on his back. These massive Wings of Fire beat slightly as Greem shot into the air like an arrow let loose from a bow.

A fire trail blazed behind him, continuing to burn in the air for a long time to come.

Greem typically rode on his magical golems or used Fire Teleportation when he was traveling. He seldom used the Wings of Fire. There was only one reason for this. The Wings of Fire were too conspicuous and drew too much attention!

The Wings of Fire, formed entirely out of static flames, continued to flap on his back, allowing Greem to hover in the air and fly around at rapid speeds. However, these two wings were so bright they could be seen from dozens of kilometers away in the night.

Moreover, the flames burned on for a long time wherever he flew past, leaving behind a clear trail for any pursuers. Escaping with the Wings of Fire was no more than a joke.

Faced with the Adept of Torture’s terrifying magnetic halos, Greem had no other option but to cast the Wings of Fire and enhance his mobility.

The Wings of Fire immediately drew the people’s attention at Blueberry Villa the moment they lit up in the air.

A massive magical barrier appeared out of nowhere and engulfed the villa. Countless black dots rose into the sky and observed from a distance. However, everyone was smart enough to know not to approach and disturb the two Fourth Grade adepts.

“Are you ready?” Olivia lifted her head and looked at Greem, who was flying above in the sky.

“Anytime now!”

He had barely just finished when Olivia raised a hand at him and made a grabbing motion as she shouted, “Come down here!”

The white halo around her somehow vanished and mysteriously appeared above Greem. The next second, an incredibly powerful and terrifying gravity affected Greem’s body, pushing him down from the air.

Greem was horrified.

A layer of powerful fire energy constantly protected his entire body; any foreign power would have to penetrate this invisible forcefield of flames before they could hit him. Yet, now, a simple attack from the enemy was able to penetrate his forcefield and instantly affect him.

His hair, skin, flesh, bones, and everything inside his body was being guided and dragged down towards the ground by an invisible force.

If Greem’s Physique were less than 20 points, that one attack would have been enough to injure his internal organs. If it weren’t for the fire energy around him, the Wings of Fire would not have been able to endure this degree of gravity.

Greem let out an enraged cry and beat his wings furiously. He then gathered five Blazing Fireballs and shot them at Olivia.

The best defense was offense!

The opponent’s gravity control was too strange. He couldn’t let her do as she liked.

Olivia did not even raise an eyebrow at the sight of the five fireballs.

She lifted her right hand and pointed at empty air. Two miniature white halos appeared in front of the fireballs.

Drawn by the gravity, the first two fireballs instantly changed trajectory and crashed together. Their explosion further detonated the other three fireballs behind them.

Five fireballs containing violent fire energy exploded, causing a massive eruption above the lake. The terrifying flame shockwaves instantly engulfed the thousand-meter-wide surface of the lake.

The water bubbled and boiled in an instant under the extreme heat.

White smoke rose, and the entire battlefield was filled with mist. However, even the mist was vaporized by the shocking temperatures before they could spread out. The two Fourth Grade adepts were revealed once again.

“You think your measly fire powers can compare to my gravity control! Have a taste of my Quadra-Gravity Halo!” Olivia let out a battlecry, utterly unharmed by the previous explosion. The energy in her body surged as three more white halos appeared above the white halo on top of Greem. They merged and formed into a single halo.

Greem’s muscular body immediately started creaking, the sound of his bones trying their best to resist the pressure. Blood trickled down his orifices, indicating that he had been injured internally. Meanwhile, his body was pressed down from the sky and shot towards the lake like a cannonball.

Upon seeing the famous legendary adept known throughout Zhentarim about to be injured beneath her Gravity Halo, Olivia let out a wild, boisterous laugh. Her hands continued to weave in front of her, tightening her control over the Gravity Halo and preventing her opponent from escaping.

Dong! A muffled boom rang out.

A massive ball of fire crashed into the lake and sunk to the bottom.

However, Olivia showed no signs of joy at the sight of this. Instead, the smile faded from her face as the black and white halo around her flashed. She reappeared a hundred meters away.

A massive meteor crashed from the skies and smashed into the water immediately after she teleported.

A massive pillar of water blasted into the air, rising a hundred meters high before scattering down as boiling beads of water. The terrifying shockwave lowered the surface of the water before producing massive waves that measured several meters tall to roar and surged towards the shore.

Olivia drew a circle in front of her with her right hand. A strange halo instantly formed and split the incoming waves in half. Not a single drop of vapor even touched Olivia.

After dealing with the wave, Olivia stared through her halo at Greem, who had appeared in the sky once again. A hint of wariness finally appeared in her gaze.

What she had just forced into the water earlier was only a humanoid ball of flame, rather than Greem’s actual body. Greem had somehow managed to hide somewhere else and had unleashed that terrifying Meteor Crash while she had let her guard down slightly.

If it weren’t for her plentiful experience that allowed her to dodge the moment she realized something was off, she would have been hit by that crashing meteor and blown into the lake.

What ability was that? To think he could allow a ball of fire to mimic his soul aura, while he hid himself for a sneak attack…dammit! This legendary fire adept did indeed had the power to support his reputation!

Light flickered in Olivia’s eyes. Her gaze couldn’t help but land on the staff that Greem held in his hands. For some reason, she kept having a feeling that that staff was projecting an unusual spiritual pressure on her, making her feel somewhat restrained.

There was something odd about that staff.