Age of Adepts

Regardless of how heavy the snow was outside, it was always warm as spring in here.

Little goblin Locke pushed open the doors of the secret room and stumbled out from inside.

This damned advancement ceremony had exhausted nearly seventy percent of his life force; he had barely managed to succeed in his.

His suddenly boosted Spirit rippled and undulated controllably, slowly returning to his mental consciousness according to the meditation technique that had been earlier established. These undulations would last for six months and would only stop once Little Locke had managed to stabilize his Spirit Origin.

A small, scrappy, and battered magical machine ran out from behind him, creaking as it circled about. Then, it transformed into a tiny spider golem amidst some confusing motions and the sound of twisting metal. A seat just the size of Little Locke had been left on the elliptical metal platform.

Little Locke had chosen to lower his Physique and Strength to stimulate an abrupt increase to his Spirit during the advancement ceremony earlier. That was how he had barely managed to allow his Spirit to reach the minimum threshold for advancement. The most significant side effect of this decision was different degrees of regression to his Physique and Strength.

In particular, his Physique had been weakened below the level of an ordinary human!

At this moment, it wouldn’t even take an adept or a magical creature to kill him. Even a child with a simple stick could beat him to death now.

Locke, as he currently was, was truly weak enough to fall over to a stiff breeze!

However, this condition was only temporary.

As a First Grade magical mechanic, Locke had plenty of ways to regain his lost Physique after his increased Spirit had stabilized. The simplest method was to eat the Underground Fire Set provided by the tower.

The set was made from the meat of Underground Fire Dragons, found in the depths of volcanic landscapes. They might have the title of ‘dragon,’ but they were truthfully fire lizards that lived near lava seas. They might not look like much, but they were faux-dragons of sorts.

Naturally, their flesh possessed indescribable nourishment for the body!

Of course, this was also because Little Locke was far, far, far too poor.

If he had sufficient magical crystals on hand, he could totally choose the more high-quality fire dragon meat.

Indeed, fire dragon meat! Real fire dragon meat; fresh dragon meat procured from the body of a ferocious fire dragon!

Little Locke had never heard of such extravagant treatment in other adept’s towers.

The fact that White Tower could provide an unlimited supply of fire dragon meat was intangible internal welfare that attracted the envy of many foreign adepts.

Unfortunately, few magical crystals that Locke had accumulated had all been spent on that advancement ceremony. By the time he stumbled out of the secret room, he only had seventeen magical crystals in his pouch.

Clearly, he was not qualified to enjoy a fire dragon meal with such wealth.

Making a compromise and having an Underground Fire Dragon set to nourish his weakened body was still an excellent choice!

However, when he pushed open the door of his room, a wave of cheering came from outside. It almost knocked him to his feet once more.

No one knew when, but all sorts of people had already gathered outside his door.

Human apprentices, goblin apprentices, witch apprentices. Of course, the majority of them were still all sorts of goblins from the Goblin Plane.

The crowd of goblins filled the entire corridor in front of Locke’s room. They swarmed inside the moment he opened his door, lifted him, and started tossing him about in the air.

It was the highest etiquette of celebration for the goblins, afforded only for heroes and victorious soldiers.

A large group of goblins gathered around Locke, extending their arms to touch his body, taking pride from this simple act alone. They leaped about, yelling in joy and happiness.

The apprentices of the other races were still standing around on the outside with a sense of propriety, clapping while smiling at Locke.

“Alright, alright. You guys hurry up and put Lord Locke down. His body can’t stand your rowdiness at the moment.” A goblin captain in delicate warrior’s armor shouted, finally putting a stop to the goblin’s attempt to lift Locke out on parade.

He pushed aside the crowd and arrived in front of Locke, where he smiled and bowed as he said, “Lord Locke, congratulations on your advancement to adept. I offer you my sincere congratulations from Lord Snorlax. Apart from that...”

The captain waved his hand as a group of goblins dressed like chefs ran forward. Each of them held fancy trays in their hands. They removed the silver cover and revealed the perfectly roasted fire dragon ribs beneath.

The rich and fragrant smell instantly caused Little Locke’s stomach to growl. His body desperately needed replenishment of energy, and a voice was wildly calling out from all over his body, “I want to eat. I want to eat.”

If it weren’t for his decorum as an adept keeping him cool, Locke probably wouldn’t have been able to resist the urge to lunge forward and dig in.

His spiritual aura after becoming an adept was utterly incomparable to back when he was an adept.

As he listened to the calls of ‘Lord Locke’ around him, Little Locke finally truly felt the nobility and status of an adept for the first time. Locke’s mind quickly matured as the crowd cheered and crowded around him. A trace of dignity and pride that an adept should possess appeared naturally on his face, as it should be.

An intangible spiritual pressure slowly emanated from him, and the goblins gathered around Locke instinctively restrained their smiles and backed away. Only the goblin warrior continued to stand before him, unfazed.

“You said...you are representing Lord Snorlax?” Little Locke asked with some hesitation.

Snorlax’s name held a very significant position in the hearts and minds of all goblins!

Much like superstars in the Goblin Plane, the idols of every goblin were the undefeated Lord Tigule and the brilliant Lord Snorlax.

One was a military force and the other a political force. The two of them represented the goblins, providing a rare chance for their race to develop and grow in the Worlds of Adepts where humans were the rulers.

Without their pioneering the way forward, the goblins would have had a hard time escaping their fates of being enslaved and exploited. Without them standing at the forefront, the tens of thousands of goblins would never have stepped out of their plane and walked brazenly in the World of Adepts as certified merchants and goblin apprentices.

These tremendous results were enough to put the names of Snorlax and Tigule down in the history books as equals to the wise predecessors of all goblins. They were only more respected, never less!

Thus, even Little Locke felt a little exhilarated and moved when he heard this familiar name.

“Yes, Lord Locke!” The goblin warrior respectfully said, “Lord Snorlax heard that the first official adept of us goblins was about to be born, and he specially sent me over to congratulate you. And these are the gifts for you!”

“Did Lord Snorlax say anything else apart from this?”

“He also said that if you were willing to join the Goblin General Chamber of Commerce, the cost for all the materials you require from henceforth would be provided by the Chamber. Apart from this, the Chamber of Commerce is willing to provide you with sponsorship of five hundred magical crystals a month. Also, you will have purchase priority over all resources and materials managed by the Chamber of Commerce.”

This goblin warrior was an eloquent speaker as well and quickly promised Locke all sorts of conditions and support. He couldn’t help but be moved.

Just as he was about to agree, his eyes swept across the human apprentices waiting outside. Their eyes glinted with light, filled with an eager fervor as if they couldn’t wait to talk to him.

The increase to Locke’s Spirit also provided him with a sharper, more intelligent mind, along with finer thinking. He held back what he was about to say and instead replied with a polite smile. He then patted his stomach and said, “I’m hungry now!”

“Lord Locke wants to eat now! All unrelated personnel should leave for the moment!”

As the goblin warrior shouted, these apprentices and goblins that had come to celebrate had no choice but to step out of his room reluctantly. Meanwhile, this first magical mechanic of the goblins finally had a chance to sit down and feast, served by diligent servants.

Meanwhile, as his close companions, Body-Refining Apprentice Dakso and Plant Apprentice Eco could only stand in the crowd. They looked at the noble and proud goblin from a distance, not able to take a step toward him.

Lord Locke was already too busy now; he had no time to meet his teammates at the moment.

Moreover, what could they do even if they met Locke? The massive gulf between adept and apprentices was not something that could be filled with flimsy sentiments of the past.

Adepts. This world had always belonged to the adepts!

............

In a bright, magical room on the twelfth floor, Meryl was reading through a series of magical documents. She had a frown on her face. Most of these were requests for materials submitted by clan adepts.

The more documents she read, the deeper the wrinkles on her forehead.

Finally, she put down her magical pen and started rubbing her head as she fell into thought.

Old Fox Vanlier stood by her side, helping her work. He lifted his head and looked at Meryl in confusion.

“Requests for ordinary resources and materials have increased by 37% since last month. It is a tremendous expense!” Meryl explained her frustration.

Vanlier, who was dressed in a gentlemanly noble’s outfit, let out a bitter laugh and consoled her, “Lady Meryl, don’t worry about it. The resource sites in the Ailovis area of the Central Region will be successfully functioning in another three months. When that happens, the clan will have no need to purchase ordinary resources and materials from the outside. We will be able to sustain ourselves with our own production.”

“I know of everything that you are talking about, but that’s still going to take three months! The clan’s current magical crystal reserves have dipped below a million. It is concerning.”

“Why not...let the dragon hunting squad in Lance mobilize again?”

“We can’t. The group just killed two First Grade dragons last month. The commotion from that time hasn’t died down yet. It’d be very likely for them to run into entire dragonflights if they were to act now. We had best wait a little longer. Speaking of which, did anything out of the ordinary happen in the tower today?”

“There was something, Lady Meryl!”

“Oh, tell me about it!”

“A goblin from the goblin apprentices that the clan leader forcefully brought over has actually successfully advanced. He’s currently celebrating in the lower levels right now!”

“Mm? Goblin adept? It sounds a little awkward, but it is a boost to the clan’s strength. Go and tell that goblin to join White Tower, and all the First Grade knowledge of the clan will be open to him. All those stinking merchants and useless warriors can stand aside!”

“Yes!” Vanlier smiled when he heard this.

Resources, authority, women, magical crystals, and knowledge. What would that lucky little guy choose when these things were placed before him?

Hehe, I do look forward to his answer.