Chapter 290 Fortune and Misfortune
"You are really strong. Your vitality and vigor seem to be exceptionally strong as well… "
Winnie from the Clyde Clan pressed against Greem's chest with her hand. She licked her red lips seductively and smiled.
"Yes… more importantly, he smells really good!"
Caroline closed her eyes and breathed in the smell, betraying an expression of intoxication.
The other female adepts were also giggling as they talked about Greem.
Both Winnie and Caroline were tall and beautiful with seductive figures. Their dresses were extremely revealing. Soft, light robes of cloth revealed their curvaceous lines to everyone. The bold cuts to the front of the chest exposed an abundance of their white breasts to the male adepts’ lustful gazes.
In truth, a newly advanced adept was at the peak of their appearance in the first hundred to two hundred years of their advancement. Young adepts during this time placed a great deal of emphasis on their appearance and looks. They were willing to invest large amounts of time and resources into maintaining them.
Every young adept that stepped foot in this banquet hall was a handsome man or a beautiful woman. It was obvious that they were already fairly familiar with each other after a long time socializing here in the Castle in the Sky. Now that a new face like Greem had joined their circle, all of the young female adepts were trying their best to pursue him!
Especially since Greem was so exceptional compared to the other male adepts.
Greem had a young and handsome face. Black eyes, dark-red long hair, and a body-tight leather suit further brought out the charm of his figure. His aura of wisdom and knowledge was mixed with the calm indifference and depravity of an adept, all turning into his own uniquely wicked quality.
Greem calmly dealt with the female adepts' passionate advances as he listened to Adept Angus introduce the ladies.
"Winnie is actually pretty good. She's pretty and has a hot body. She's really wild in bed as well. If you want to, you can definitely get in bed with her by tonight. Caroline is the granddaughter of the Second Grade Lareina. If you can charm her completely, I guarantee no one would dare cross you as long as they are within the Aliford area. The one in the low-cut yellow evening gown beside you is probably the most debaucherous and kinky one of them all. With your conditions as they are, you could probably convince her to sleep along with you and Winnie… "
Greem looked around the hall as he listened to Angus' endless rambling. He found him engaged in a passionate conversation with two pseudo-adepts in a corner of the hall.
He even raised his cup and let out an odd and perverted smile when he felt Greem looking at him.
What was this! A group wild and debaucherous ladies. Even though they were already pretending to be noble and elegant right now, if you raided their homes you would probably find hordes of male concubines and strong slaves in their personal collection.
Sleeping with such people was a terrible idea. Was he toying with them, or were they toying with him?
Greem wasn't much for the idea of emotional and physical loyalty in a relationship. But Greem couldn't imagine that these experienced female adepts would enjoy sleeping with him. Greem could only politely rebuke them as he silently screamed for help.
This was going be an arduous night!
…………
This was gonna be an arduous night!
Is there anyone who can come and save me!?
At the same time, in a different location, Alice also looked up at the skies filled with stars. She let out a tragic lament of despair.
The Mushroom Cottage.
It wasn’t until night fell that the perpetual mist would lighten a little, allowing the bright moonlight to pour into the small house and give it a hint of peace and silence.
Alice had been stripped of her clothes and tossed into a boiling cauldron. She silently endured a lifetime's worth of torture inside it.
The bubbling brew was a sickly green color!
Adept Liana, who as short as a dwarf, stood on a tall tool stirring the mixture with all her might. She occasionally tossed in some odd powder and unknown substances into the cauldron.
Once in awhile, she raised the stirring spoon to taste the brew, and then she would go back to tossing more things into the cauldron if she was dissatisfied.
Guano, mermaid tears, werewolf eyeballs, wight shroud powder, ghost ashes, black dragon's saliva, poison sac of a retriever…
Alice was completely frightened out of her wits! She had to listen to this mentally unstable witch mumble silently to herself as she continued to throw in more and more of these mysterious objects into the cauldron.
Seven days ago, when she had just arrived at the Mushroom Cottage, Alice was extremely attracted by the soup. She had to control her impulse to drink every last drop of it. However, now that she was part of the brew and being cooked alive by the old witch, it was truly a miracle that Alice hadn't gone insane.
She had a vague feeling that the old witch wasn't trying to make her into supper but… to instead use her to conduct some sort of secret experiment. That was because the old witch would draw a whole lot of blood from her with a large syringe. She would then toss her into this dirty cauldron. This happened every single day.
Alice couldn't see through the secret behind the witch’s actions, but she was already disgusted by this life of being a prisoner and lab rat after only seven days. What disgusted her, even more, were the revolting materials she was swimming in.
Witches' traditions were often extremely bizarre and ludicrous when compared to the strict and orderly system of the esoteric adepts. Some of their traditions were so bizarre that they were laughable.
Take a look at what esoteric adepts used!
They used Star Iron, Obsidian and Horus' Meteorite with exceptional magical resistance, Mansordar Alloy and Underground Wrought Gold with immense toughness, magical alloy with good malleability, mithril with high magical conductivity, and even Pyre Stones, Empyrean Sapphire, and Shadowsong Amethyst that had natural elementium traits…
All of these materials could be sorted by types, traits, the method of use, and points of caution. Just the sheer number of magical materials required the establishment of a new area of study to decipher, in detail, the traits of the materials, the locations where they could be found, the method of gathering, the points of caution when preserving the materials, and the means used to unseal them for experimentation. All of these things had been collated into a book and was one of the fundamental subjects of study for esoteric adepts– Material Studies.
The witches, on the other hand, kept their legacies to themselves. Each and every one of them had secrets of their own that they never shared among themselves. The magical materials that they used were so weird and odd that it was unbelievable. Most of the time they knew very well what materials were needed for a curse, thanks to their personal legacies. However, very few witches would be able to figure out why they needed those materials.
The witches had always refused to share the magical knowledge within their system. They also disliked dealings with the outside world. This was why the Northern Witches had a legacy of knowledge that was completely distinct from the mainstream adepts on the continent.
In the eyes of other adepts, the Northern Witches were all insane women with bizarre abilities. Even though they weren't that much more powerful, they were a pain to deal with. A real pain!
The curses they were so skilled at often involved planar laws of extreme complexity and profundity. It was very difficult to dispel these curses. Even if an adept was of a superior grade, they wouldn't dare to offend a Northern Witch in possession of a proper legacy.
Alice hugged her arms together as she sulked and soaked within the green brew. Only a small part of her head stayed above the liquid. The rest of her body was completely immersed in the sticky green soup. She put on an upset expression and tried to tolerate the weird energies that continuously seeped into her body through her nostrils and skin.
Every time she couldn't stomach the uncomfortable feeling, and wanted to distance her nose and mouth from the stinking brew, she would be stopped. The black serpent hanging from the ceiling would hiss as it extended its body downwards.
Alice had no choice but to soak herself in the green brew and let the liquid cover her mouth. Only her nose hadn't been submerged under the brew.
You stupid master! You are way too cruel! To leave this cute Alice with this old hag to do as she wills! You wait for me. Once I get out of this old witch's claws, I'll try my very best to land my most carefully crafted curses on you!
Alice already understood what had transpired by now.
Greem's action of protecting her the last time had to be an act he put up. Alice's affinity for fate might have been very important to him, but it wasn't important enough for him to throw his life away for it. So… he must have had an ulterior motive for trying to cover her the last time.
Mm! That must be the case!
He must have seen through the purpose behind the old witch's actions and came up with the perfect facade. Hmph! This old witch thought she had perfect control of the situation and never expected to be tricked by an insignificant newly advanced adept. She really has gone senile.
Then, should I reveal master's little trick to the old witch?
Nope. Definitely not.
The old witch promised to let her go after ten days. Now that she already endured seven days, there were only three days left until she regained her freedom. If something happened now, Alice would likely be dragged into the trouble as well.
She could envision a future where she was trapped in this dark and lightless place for eternity, enduring the bizarre experiments of a crazy old hag. Just thinking about it was enough to make Alice go mad!
I curse you… no. Oh my beloved master, as long as you save Alice from this hell, Alice won't ever stir up any trouble for you again.
For the first time in her life, Alice threw away her pride and recklessness, praying religiously to fate.
Perhaps a Witch of Fate could only receive the blessings and protection of fate if they religiously believed in the laws of fate!