Alice couldn't believe her ears.
He didn't want her? She was …useless, to him?
Since when was someone with her talents useless? Several clans would present her with their entire wealth accumulated over decades and centuries just to have her join them.
As a matter of fact, some clans had done that.
And to think, there existed a person who had no desire for her whatsoever. Alice was triggered in ways she couldn't yet understand.
"M-Master, I.. I…"
Frowning, Greem looked at the girl in confusion. "What is it? Spit it out."
Alice wanted many things, but her conscious mind could only come up with three.
One, find out how Greem located the weakness in her "invincible" Protection Barrier.
Two, learn the secrets behind his speedy advancement.
And three, discover whatever item, person, or ability he possessed that reduced her worth in his eyes and made her so undesirable.
She couldn't ferret out these things if he sent her away!
Gritting her teeth, the floundering little witch forced out in a tiny voice, "Master… I want to stay here."
"..." Both of Greem's eyebrows rose in incredulity.
"You know what, I don't even… I don't care what's going on in that head of yours. But if you're going to stay, we'll have to maintain the contract, else the clan heads will want to know why I'm letting you, an apprentice from another clan, stay here."
Hesitating slightly, Alice mentally examined her reasons for this decision one more time and weighed them against her apparent enslavement.
She thought of the worst possible things that could happen to her as someone of that status and brightened internally when remembered how she had nothing to worry about on that front.
Greem wasn't a pervert interested in little girls. Her clan, and by extension, the faction of Northern Witches behind her also served as a potent deterrent for any harsh treatment.
She was only going to be a slave in name, making the acceptance of that condition easy.
Holding the hem of her still lowered dress, she did a proper curtsy and said, "Your wish is my command… master."
☀☀☀
It was finally time.
After six goddamn months, Greem, Mary, and Anderson had been summoned to Feidnan City, the place where the clan Adepts were meeting so they could start the expedition to the foreign plane.
While the wait was more than a bit boring, Greem understood why it took the clan so long.
Planar wars were a serious matter. They were one of, if not, the sole determinant of the survival, expansion, and growth of a clan.
They were a make or break affair, requiring years of careful preparation and sufficient manpower to pull off and come out victorious.
If a clan succeeded in their conquest of a plane, everything within it would be long to them. The inhabitants, the various resources, arcane knowledge… whatever it may be.
They were now properties of the clan and the jet fuel for their rise, their name, and the growth of their wealth and adepts.
If they failed however—meaning multiple of their members fell to the target plane's natives—it would spell ruin for them.
For one, even if the natives had also lost their powerhouses in this case, the clan wouldn't have the manpower needed to oversee the subdued and defenseless general populace, manage the resource gathering operations, and prevent any possible rebellions.
Moreover, their interests in Lethon would be up for grabs by the circling wolves that were other clans. Once they all got wind of their weakened enemy, it would be an all you can eat buffet.
So Greem understood the Sarubo clan's behavior and was aware of the fact that they'd been preparing for this invasion for years.
What more was a few months compared to that?
Currently, he strolled through the streets of the city with Mary by his side. They were going towards the shop he'd helped Snorlax set up upon arrival here.
They entered the magical equipment store and found Snorlax standing on a wooden stool, the goblin enthusiastically promoting his master's wares to the three apprentices before him.
Immediately he saw his master and mistress, he jumped down from the stool and rushed towards them, ignoring the, of course, upset apprentices.
When they turned around however and noticed Greem and Mary side by side, they swallowed any grievances they had.
They were all too familiar with the duo and the quiet aura of power that radiated, hence they paid their respects and exited the shop, nervous sweat going down their backs.
Holding their collective breaths until they were far enough away, the trio stopped to converse about what just happened.
"I've never seen such a beautiful couple. Did you see Adept Greem? He looks even more burly than Adept Kiel but he's so handsome. And he's taller than Hans too."
"I thought I was the only one who noticed. Oh my god, that hair and that jawline…" the other girl thought dreamily.
Rolling his eyes at the behaviour of his female companions, the one named Hans said, "You guys better be careful. That's an official Adept. Remember what the seniors taught us. If they decide to take offense at your words, they have the right to punish you right there and then.
Besides, appearances among Adepts are deceiving. An Adept can look young but secretly he may be hundreds of years old."
One of the fangirling apprentices immediately retorted, "You're just jealous. We asked around. Sir Greem is not even 20 years old."
"Yeah," the other one chimed in, "I heard the same thing. Adept Mary is the same. She came here with him, and I heard their lovers. If that's true, they're really perfect for each other. They're both so pretty… I wish I'll be like them when I become an Adept."
Shaking his head at his utterly obsessed companions, Hans turned and started walking away, frowning when he
heard them following while chattering along.
Back in the shop, in a backroom accessible to only Snorlax and his masters, Mary had made herself at home on a couch while Greem conversed with the goblin about the future.
"Did you get them?" he asked.
"Yes master," Snorlax said and presented a leather storage sack to Greem, his movements and demeanor carrying obvious hints of respect.
Inside the sack, Greem found scores of elementium crystal cores of differing attributes, those of earth, wind, and water present in droves due to being common.
For the few rare ones, there were light, darkness, poison, and plant elementium cores. They would make for interesting golems and crafting resources, however they weren't Greem's current focus.
What he was interested in was the crystal ball lying amidst them.
He picked it up, pressed it against his forehead and checked its contents. He nodded upon verifying that it was indeed what he wanted and stored the knowledge crystal in his ring, closing the bag right after.
Sharing a look with the goblin awaiting his commands, Greem said, "Good work. I'll get you the finished golems in a week. If you don't hear from me or Mary before we leave for the planar war, you can keep the shop open if you still have wares. If not, you can stay in the tower and await our return."
"I understand master."
Nodding, Greem got on his feet and Mary joined him on his way out.
☀☀☀
In the end, it took another half a month before the expedition force set off.
The Sarubo clan Adepts stationed all over made their way to the tower in Feidnan City in this period, keeping their movements secretive so enemy clans wouldn't find out about the power vacuum about to be left behind.
With Greem and Mary's recent addition to their ranks, the clan now had ten First Grades, seven of which were going to participate in this war.
For them to dedicate more than half of their junior forces to this expedition, it meant the leaders were approaching things with utmost seriousness. Or desperation. It all depended on perspective.
On the tenth floor of the clan's tower, the seven were made eight by their leader, Second Grade Adept Lord Fügen. The First Grades stood on a teleportation array, facing the cold and serious Adept.
"We're going to the outlands to regroup with the others. Those who haven't experienced this form of teleportation before should keep their Spirits in check. Do not extend it past yourself. Am I clear?" he asked and looked at everyone's faces.
Finding solemn and attentive visages all around, he nodded and extended a finger, drawing a rune in the air. "Get ready. This is an ultra grade level of teleportation, it'll break through the plane barrier."
He flicked his hand and sent the icy rune into a spot on the array beneath them, triggering an effect that engulfed the room in bright flashes of light.
When the brightness died down and visibility returned a few seconds later, all of them were gone.
In the space between worlds, Greem and Mary experienced their first ever long range teleportation, the both of them completely at the mercy of the warping effect.
Colors, gathered in haphazard patches and shades, filled every inch of their vision and swept past at speeds even their Adept brains couldn't keep up with.
The nausea and disorientation from the sudden changes and flips in direction were even worse, leaving Greem bewildered as to why teleportation included directions.
Or was his non-spatial aligned mind perceiving things as such?
He didn't know, but he was supremely glad when it came to an end.
After hours—or was it days… a second maybe—Greem reappeared with the others on the teleportation array at their destination, and they all took a few to regain their bearings.
When he opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed were the stars.
They were so bright and plentiful. They filled every inch of his vision, their splendid radiance visible through the roiling sea of energy called space.
The only thing keeping this endless maelstrom of ruinous energy from drowning this place was the transparent energy dome surrounding it.
Speaking of this place, it took Greem a few seconds of looking around to determine that they were on a pseudo plane, basically a giant rock with no will floating in space.
It was a mountain—the largest he'd ever seen. And he and everyone else stood on its flat peak, the surface looking as though someone had sliced it off with a sword.
From their positions, they could make out other platforms, each of them jutting out the sides of the mountain but similar to the one they currently stood on.
Lights similar to what heralded their appearance flashed on three of the others, signaling that other groups had arrived from wherever they were.
"Come. It's time to regroup with the others," Fügen said and rose from the platform, a chilling and propulsive stream of frost from his lower body pushing him up and then down the mountain.
Stepping close to the edge and looking down in the direction he flew in, Greem and Mary shared a look before they both leaned forward and threw themselves off.
Almost anyone who became an Adept had their own method of flight, so their "reckless" actions didn't draw any surprised or shocked gazes from their fellow colleagues.
Instead, they summoned flying creatures from their beast-slaving rings, some called upon wind elementium particles to surround them, and a few, like Greem and Mary, deployed wings and glided downwards.
****
Author's note:
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