Adam nodded grimly. They couldn't kill him, but they could surely convince him to join them via gruesome means.
If they isolate him, they would deny Adam any information or assistance. If they want to break him, they could easily give him a dangerous task and send Adam to his death. Either way, Adam was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
For ordinary apprentices, this would spell doom, but Adam is no ordinary apprentice.
Adam smirked.
He checked up on the devil who was resting inside his mind and watched as the four apprentices scavenged through the ruins of the city. After half an hour, the five of them were ready to leave and return to headquarters.
"Headquarters" was sloppily established in a town -- the apprentices used magic to raise a fortress on the ruins of a city. After displaying his bracelet, Adam entered the fortress with no trouble.
The four of them separated themselves from Adam since they didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble by being affiliated with him.
Adam didn't care and chose an empty room. He set runes up in his room and came to the hall.
As he entered the hall, he saw less than a hundred apprentices. He estimates that it's probably because the teleportation spell scattered everyone across the island. The worst part was, Adam didn't know anyone here.
Most of the conversations that he overheard were about the apprentices listing their own strengths, as well as team formation requests. There wasn't any useful information that he could scourge. All of them wanted points at the end of the day.
In another room of the headquarters, five apprentices sat in a line in front of two light curtains -- one of which was displaying a map of Ceylon Island. Most of the map was painted red, while there were some tiny green areas on the map; on the other screen displayed a light curtain that displayed the hall.
"That must be the apprentice who started the first battle," one of them pointed at Adam's figure.
"Tsk, who cares if he was the first? Mind you, he razed seven cities one after another. That isn't an easy feat."
"Relying on magic scrolls like that... once he runs out, he won't be that strong anymore."
The other four agreed with the previous statement, and one of them swiped his fingers to zoom into Adam, "It seems that he must be warned. He cannot be allowed to act like this and destroy our plan."
Adam swiftly turned around, feeling as if he was being spied on. He expanded his magnetic field and could find a surveillance device hidden in the dark.
"Oh? He has a keen perception. So, which one of us is going to talk to our fellow friend here?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the room was pushed open, and a female apprentice walked in. She gingerly placed a crystal ball and a document on the table.
"Lilith, you're back."
The female apprentice named Lilith waved her hand. After seeing the five of them spying on Adam, her face turned dark as she forcefully dispelled the light curtain, "Don't provoke him. We are in the wrong here."
Everyone stared at her, dumbfounded. She put her hand on the crystal ball which stored a remnant of his magic power.
"I stored his magic in the City of Keyin and several other towns he razed. Feel it for yourself."
The faces of the five turned dark as well. If this was Adam's own strength and not magic scrolls...
"He has far surpassed any apprentice in terms of magic, he is practically a mage in his own right! None of us can... talk to him. Including me."
"Even then..."
"Remember Bill from Monte Carlo?"
Everybody nodded, and Lilith continued, "Even the likes of him was killed by an apprentice from a small Academy. Could it be that..."
Everyone remained silent.
Adam stared at his bracelet -- killing an apprentice will cost him 50 points. If he was forced to, he would kill one or two apprentices and still be cost-effective.
As he was about to stand his ground, he felt the prying eyes on him gaze away. At the same time, an energetic voice snapped him out of his stupor, "Adam! You're here!"
Adam got up and smiled, "Hello Hailey, hello Shirley. I just came here."
Shirley still had a cold temperament, and Hailey sat next to Adam, showing off the number of points she and her sister had obtained. Adam was a little unaccustomed to her enthusiasm. He really wanted to go back to his room and check on the devil's condition. Hailey leaned over and asked mysteriously, "Hey, are you researching on the electric element?"
Adam nodded.
"Then, were you the one who razed all those cities on your first day?"
Adam nodded again.
Hailey clapped her hands together and nudged Shirley harshly, "See?! I told you!"
She quickly pulled Adam's arm and shouted, "Me and my sister found out that..."
Shirley put her hand on Hailey's shoulder and shushed her, "Shut up! Do you want everyone to know?"
"Sorry," Shirley apologized. "Care to talk somewhere else?"
Adam nodded, so the three of them came to Adam's room.
"Speak."
"So," Shirley interrogated. "That was your own magic, correct? Not magic scrolls?"
Adam became even more curious. They must have discovered some good information. To demonstrate, he raised his arm, and the twins' hair fluttered involuntarily.
Adam's magic was able to pierce through their souls as well, which was enough proof for them.
"We're in the Aum's family's territory," Shirley whispered. "Well, I'll cut straight to the point -- they set up their defences in advance because of you, and we got a valuable piece of information after headquarters sent us to destroy small towns in batches."
"Let me tell him!" Hailey leapt to Adam. "There is a big city along the coastline called the City of Molan, and an official antimage named Peter Aum will arrive tomorrow! Let's go and kill him together!"
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