Chapter 114: Accumulating Strength

For the past few days, Greem had been deeply immersed in researching the high-temperature force field.

He had already completed all the prerequisite knowledge related to it and could now maintain the force field for ten minutes. However, there were still numerous hurdles to overcome regarding the fusion of his "Body of Blazing Fire" with the high-temperature force field.

Greem’s ultimate goal was to extend the passive, trigger-based fire counter-damage of his body into the force field barrier. This way, any enemy entering his high-temperature zone would suffer constant damage from void flames. It would effectively become a miniature flame barrier.

Greem estimated that to fully master a flame barrier, he would likely need to wait until he advanced to the rank of an official wizard. For now, he was attempting to take a shortcut, using the fusion of his body and the force field to achieve a similar effect from a different angle.

To achieve this, however, he needed to parse a vast amount of sorcery knowledge and further optimize the node control of the high-temperature force field. Consequently, most of his daily energy was devoted to the heavy calculations of the Chip, leaving Greem only enough time for simple reading, meditation, and the repair of his magic puppets.

The previous battle in the Magic Forest had left Greem’s puppet squad severely damaged.

The Lightning Giant had lost two auxiliary crystal cores, which could be restored to full combat readiness once replaced. However, two of the three Rock Python puppets were completely totaled and beyond repair. Therefore, during this period, aside from hiding in his residence to study relevant sorcery, Greem had spent almost all his remaining time in the alchemy laboratory.

Thanks to Gobby’s enthusiastic salesmanship, the magic gems seized from the underground had successfully been traded for a large number of magic crystals and practical wizarding equipment.

Greem was now completely renewed, with his combat power soaring.

Name: Greem
Race: Human
Attributes: Strength 7.32 (+1), Agility 7.51 (+1), Constitution 9.47 (+1), Spirit 16.67 (+3)
Profession: Wizard Apprentice (Advanced)
Health: 34/34
Professional Experience: 871/1000
Status: Healthy
Professional Skills: Scroll Transcription, Spell Reading, Puppet Making (Intermediate), Skilled Casting
Personal Skills: Body of Blazing Fire (Passive), Burning Hands (Solidified), Flame Arrow (Solidified), Flame Spear (Solidified), Flame Shield, Flame Counter-damage (Melee Passive)
Wizarding Equipment: Flame Lord’s Staff, Storage Belt, Voodoo Grimoire, Aristocrat’s Circlet (Spirit +1), Ioun Stone (Spirit +2), Boots of Speed (Agility +1), Amulet of Brute Force (Constitution/Strength +1), Dispel Wand, Healing Wand, Divination Wand, Green Fairy (Curse Resistance +5), Screaming Branch

Having spent a fortune in magic crystals, Greem finally understood the massive gap in strength that came with upgrading his gear. Among the gems brought back from the underground was a Star of Elune, which, after being cut by a master gemcutter, yielded an Ioun Stone that granted +2 to Spirit. Combined with the Aristocrat’s Circlet that provided +1 to Spirit, even though Greem’s base spirit was only 16 points, he was already capable of exerting a terrifying 19 points of combat power.

This meant that if Greem went all out, he could already simultaneously command six Rock Python puppets or two Lightning Giants and one Rock Python puppet.

However, crafting a Lightning Giant required a quasi-wizard-level Storm Giant core, a contraband item that was rarely encountered. Consequently, the goblin Gobby had scoured nearly every merchant guild and trading firm around the Wizard Tower without managing to acquire a second one.

During this period, Gobby’s name had become well-known among the lower and middle levels of the Wizard Tower; nearly every wizard family’s trading guild was aware of its existence.

It was worth noting that in the Dark Abyss region, all high-end materials and resources were effectively monopolized by these wizard family guilds. They purchased almost all the local specialties of the Underdark and sold them to other regions, reaping the most generous profits through regional price differences.

While other ordinary firms or wandering merchants wanted to do the same, they lacked the deep financial resources and the extensive networks that spanned the entire Wizard Continent, making it impossible for them to compete. Yet, Gobby had quickly won the hearts of these small guilds and wandering merchants just by selling a Night-Eye Stone and a piece of Water Jade.

Perhaps having received warnings from the powers behind them, Gobby’s act of bypassing them to sell high-grade materials and resources did not meet with retaliation, which only served to further cement the goblin’s mysterious and formidable image. Most of the mysterious equipment Greem needed was obtained through these low-level wandering merchants.

Greem had the clearest understanding of his own strength. Most of his current power was concentrated in his puppets; at least until his fire-element sorcery system was fully architected, he could only rely on them to maintain strong offensive capabilities.

He didn't need to worry about his attack power, so Greem shifted the focus of his fire sorcery research toward defense. Whether it was the Flame Shield, the Body of Blazing Fire, or the high-temperature force field, these were all defensive fire sorceries. As long as he didn't encounter a powerful wizard-level opponent, even a quasi-wizard would find it extremely difficult to break through his layers of fire-based defenses while under the assault of his numerous puppets.

However, sorceries were diverse, and many low-tier spells were intangible and impossible to guard against completely. To avoid capsizing in the gutter, Greem had frantically acquired several high-quality wands and rods.

The Dispel Wand could eliminate some of his own negative status effects, such as poisoning, slowing, freezing, or paralysis.
The Healing Wand could treat significant physical injuries.
The Divination Wand could, to a limited extent, predict the direction from which danger would arrive.

If the Dagon region wasn't so resource-poor, Greem would have intended to prepare a preventive or curative measure for every possible sorcerous threat in the Dark Abyss. "Better safe than sorry"—this was the life motto Greem firmly believed in.

Armed in this way, Greem was confident in his ability to fight even those at the quasi-wizard level. Of course, this excluded top-tier powerhouses like Baldy Afu! Magic puppets crafted with advanced cores were still too fragile when facing top-tier experts like Afu, making it difficult to wear them down using the characteristics of elemental puppets.

If Greem truly wanted to fight Afu, he would likely need to upgrade all his puppets to the quasi-wizard level and possess at least two main combat units equivalent to Lightning Giants. Thus, despite being able to threaten Afu with his current strength, he still lacked the certainty of victory!

As for those below Afu, Greem wasn't being arrogant—in a fair fight, no other wizard apprentice was his match.

However, seeing his strength steadily improving bit by bit, Greem no longer dared to step half a step into the Dark Abyss. It was for no other reason than the previous battle in the Magic Forest: with one fallen quasi-wizard dead and another severely injured, Joy City had issued a kill order against Greem. As long as he dared to enter the Dark Abyss, Joy City would kill him at all costs!

This also meant that the squads sent to intercept him on the road would likely include fallen wizards.

Therefore, upon hearing this news from Wizard Angus, Greem was left completely speechless. He had no choice but to obediently shut himself away and never step out of the Wizard Tower again.

Although surface wizards held the dominant position in this region, when fallen wizards were determined to kill a specific apprentice, they naturally had a thousand ways to achieve it. Thus, after offering a few of his most precious gems to Angus, Greem was finally exempted from compulsory labor and training camp duties, allowing him to hide and relax within the Wizard Tower until the end of this mandatory assignment.

After all, this Wizard Angus was the very person who acted as the evaluator for their mandatory trial mission!

Greem and Mary could hide and relax, but the other members of the team who had come with them were miserable. With two advanced apprentices dead and Greem and Mary having withdrawn, the remaining six-member squad wanted to recruit temporary teammates in the Wizard Tower to assist in completing the mission, but unfortunately, they couldn't find anyone.

Forced by necessity, they had to band together, rushing day and night between the five mission points. For each 15-day mission period, they had to spend 11 to 12 days just to visit all five points. And before they could even rest for two or three days upon returning, the next mission would begin.

Especially after the loss of the fallen quasi-wizard, Joy City’s incursions against the upper surface had become increasingly frequent. Their six-member squad suffered ambushes or plots, both overt and covert, almost every day. If it weren't for the combined strength of their three quasi-wizards, they likely would have struggled to withstand such repetitive and terrifying attacks.

But it must be said, after such high-intensity battlefield tempering and sorcerous combat, the strength of the six squad members was growing by leaps and bounds. Compared to when they first arrived months ago, although their ranks remained the same, their actual combat power had doubled.

Especially Sabrina, the leader, who now faintly possessed a hint of the sharp murderous aura and ferocity that Blackhand Kevin had shown when they first met.

Greem and Mary had once encountered the squad members returning from a mission inside the Wizard Tower, and the hostility between the two sides had reached the point where there was no need to hide it.

Although they had heard that Greem displayed astonishing combat power here and had once taken down a bloodline quasi-wizard on the verge of advancement, they relied on the fact that their own combat power had greatly increased through their trials in the underground world. Consequently, the moment they met, sparks of battle nearly flew.

The location of their encounter was right outside Wizard Angus’s residence; Greem and Mary were there to ask some questions about sorcery, while the squad had just finished an underground trial and come to submit their mission items.

The squad members, who had suffered greatly, glared at the two, with only their leader, Sabrina, smiling as she greeted Greem and Mary.

After the two disappeared into the corridor, Sabrina continued to gaze for a long time in the direction they had vanished, silently pondering something.

"What is it, leader? Why do you still care about those two jerks? If they hadn't quit halfway, our trial mission wouldn't have become so difficult!" the lightning-element quasi-wizard Leo whispered as he approached. From his tone, it was clear that he had truly submitted to Sabrina.

The mechanical eye hidden under Sabrina’s silver mask emitted a ghostly green light as she said coldly, "Haven't you noticed? One of them is already a quasi-wizard, and the other is an advanced apprentice!"

Gasp!

The squad members who had gathered around were all stunned.