Age of Adepts

Stone room after stone room, corridor after corridor, hall after hall. Cruel, bloody murders were committed everywhere people were present.

It was either two apprentice witches fighting to the death in an arcane hall, or a witch who was hunting down a group of apprentices, or a bunch of apprentices working together to defend against the guards of the tower.

Even amidst these terrifying battles, there was one young apprentice that walked between all the competitors, traps, and voodoo beasts. Her power was limited. In fact, one could even say she was the weakest of the candidates.

For some reason, it was this frail little girl that could die to any single competitor or trap that mysteriously passed by one battlefield after another. She had flawlessly avoided everything and everyone that could threaten her.

Sometimes, the end of the corridor she was walking down would be a high-security room full of guards. Just a few minutes before she arrived, a group of apprentices would accidentally stumble upon the place and draw away all the guards in the area.

Most of the time, the girl was only one door away from hunters who were wandering about the corridors and exploring the various rooms. Judging by the mental flux she radiated, she would have been utterly helpless if she ever met a witch or a tower guard. She would even die if she met an apprentice of the same level.

Still, the massive surprise was how she continuously steered away from trouble. Many of her enemies were inches away from her. They were one turn or one more open door away from spotting the weak girl. However, they were always distracted by a new enemy or a sudden accident and would be forced to leave.

Once, and it might have been a coincidence. Twice and it could have been luck. However, it was an unending streak of luck and fortune that had accompanied the woman ever since she had entered the Tower.

She silently continued down the dark corridors.

The enemies in front would pass by the end of the corridor, still engaged in their brutal battle.

The steel guards hiding in the walls would sense intruders but be unable to move due to the thousand years of corrosion and rust.

A voodoo beast that lost contact with its owner would smell the girl, but step on a severed head and slip before it could reach her.

If anyone had been able to see through the walls of the Tower and witness this scene, they would most definitely marvel at the miracle happening to this girl. It was almost like a mysterious deity silently watched over her and shielded her with a pair of invisible hands.

If Sage Elsa of the Dark Witches could have seen this girl, she would have screamed out in surprise. That was because the powers of Fate in this frail girl’s body was so dense that it had reached a point of qualitative change.

Nineteen points!

The powers of Fate in this girl was as high as nineteen points. One more point and her fortune would be beyond what an ordinary witch could have!

It was such a mysterious girl that possessed such tremendous fate, yet her power remained at the lowest level possible– a beginner apprentice. The wonder and reasons behind this were enough to make onlookers marvel at the immense capabilities of fate!

The other candidates were unable to sense her existence. Only Alice and Sofia, who had raised their powers of Fate above ten points through continuous killings, had a vague sense of discomfort.

Sofia smashed a steel guard assembled from living armor and crushed an apprentice’s skull with a stomp of her foot. The Berserk Witch abruptly stopped all her actions and turned to look doubtfully in a particular direction.

There was only a dusty wall there!

However, Sofia had a feeling out of nowhere that an extremely dangerous beast was inching forward in that direction. If she ignored it, a perilous situation was bound to happen in the future.

Still, despite all her attempts at sensing with her Spirit, she could not find any trace of life there.

Was this an omen or an illusion? Or was it confusion in Sofia’s Spirit brought about by the chaotic and intense powers of Fate within the Tower?

However, a bloody witch with only one arm left barged into the room Sofia was in, right as the Berserk Witch was planning to check out the disturbance.

Perhaps the witch had run here to avoid the pursuing enemies from behind.

However, she once again screamed when she saw the dismembered steel guards and the monstrous Sofia. She opened a door at another end of the room and ran away without looking back.

Sofia looked at the swinging door and sensed the corridor behind her with her Spirit. She hesitated for a second before finally picking up her staff and chasing after the fleeing witch, disappearing behind the door.

Almost at the same second that Sofia charged through the door, the mysterious girl appeared at one end of the black corridor and slowly walked towards the other end.

That was the only path to the next floor of the Tower.

At the same time, Alice, who had raised her powers of Fate to fourteen points, and Snowlotus, who had raised it to eleven points, were frantically rushing towards this place by tearing down every wall and door in their way.

The two knocked down the wooden doors on either side of this last corridor and arrived at the stairs, right as the mysterious girl’s frail form vanished above the spiral staircase.

They discovered each other the moment they both arrived in the corridor.

A very dense aura of fate!

Alice and Snowlotus sniffed the aura of fate that had lingered in the air with confusion in their eyes. They then cast their gazes to the stone staircase at the end of the corridor before shifting their attention back to each other.

Once more, eight years later, their eyes clashed.

They recognized each other in almost an instant.

"You!"

"So it’s you!"

An expression of sudden realization appeared on both of their faces, but an uncomfortable feeling rose in the depths of their hearts.

"Do you feel any premonitions?" Alice’s short body appeared even weaker and delicate under the ferocious glow of the Tyrant’s flames.

"It seems a favored one just walked by here!" Naturally, Snowlotus knew what Alice was asking about. They might have been enemies, but she still felt the need to answer this question.

That was because this could be crucial to their survival!

A sinister smile appeared on Alice’s cute face, "Which means there was another favored one other than the three of us! Someone who has never shown her face!"

"Perhaps the three of us were only the supporting players after all, and she is the true champion selected by Fate!" Murderous intent appeared on Snowlotus’ face.

"How about it? Work together to kill her off, then have our showdown after?" Alice suggested.

"Very well. However, to ensure that we can cooperate properly, it’s best that we sign a simple magical contract!"

"As you say! You host the contact since it’s your suggestion, then!"

Snowlotus nodded silently. She started chanting a spell in a soft voice. Her words resonated in the air as magic imbued them. One after another, glowing runes slowly appeared. The runes flew in the air but never crashed into each other, as if there was an invisible hand guiding their movements.

For a moment, over a hundred of these runes danced around in the air. Their bright colors illuminated the dark corridor. It was a lovely sight.

The runes were finally guided to their position with the final word of Snowlotus’ spell. Just like that, a magical contract was formed!

"I have added clauses to cooperate and to forbid friendly fire. Take a look and place your soul mark on it if you find it acceptable. The contract will resolve at the time." A trace of a smile appeared on Snowlotus’ face.

"Wow! Sis Snowlotus is so cool! That said, since it’s related to our souls, I must take a look at it!" An expression of envy appeared on Alice’s face as she skipped towards Snowlotus.

Sweet smiles appeared on both of their faces!

Ten steps.

Eight steps.

Five steps.

Alice’s and Snowlotus’ vision finally clashed when they were so close they could hear each other’s breath.

The trace of murderous intent in the depths of their gleaming eyes couldn’t be hidden, even behind those sweet smiles!

The two smiling witches acted at the same time without the need for a signal.

"Shandera’s Polymorph!"

"Deep Freeze!"

Alice, who had planned this all along, extended her small hand. Shandera’s Sheepstick appeared in her hand, and a gray light instantly shot into Snowlotus’ body.

At the same time, the unmoving Infernal Tyrant raised both of its arms as a ferocious pillar of scarlet flames started to form beneath Snowlotus.

Snowlotus wasn’t backing down either.

An expressionless woman’s face appeared from the contract floating in the air. It pressed its lips together, and a chilling breath of wind blew towards Alice.

Both of them had plotted this, and surprise caught both of them.

They had fallen into each other’s traps, even as they tried their best to sabotage and kill the other.

Polymorph was a form of malicious transfiguration. Only sheer mental will could resist a curse like this if the victim didn’t have magical tools to defend against it. However, the malicious transfiguration effect was absorbed by a strange doll on Snowlotus’ waist when the gray light glowed on her body.

Substitute Doll!

A voodoo doll that could help its owner take on lethal attacks, curses, and hexes.

A voodoo doll like this one was remarkably potent. It typically provided its owner with an extra life. That said, the resources needed to make it were precious. Moreover, it was a one-time-use consumable. There were very few people who had such a doll.

The cruel Flame Pillar engulfed Snowlotus, completely enveloping her perfect crystalline body in a fiery blaze.

Alice’s cute and petite body also froze within moments of being exposed to the chilling wind. She had turned into a pretty doll sealed in a block of ice.