The Fourth Founder-An Age of Adepts SI

The trio stopped in front of the room next to Greem's, rapping on the wooden door many times, getting no answer each time.

Right when Ellen—who'd regained some of his backbone—was about to let his annoyance get the best of him, the door swung open, freezing his raised leg mid-kick

In the doorway stood a bewitching young girl, her expression as seductive as her lithe and slender figure.

Wrapped in a tight red dress, the girl's tiny red lips parted and produced a delicate voice that melted the hearts of those who heard it.

"So it's Apprentice Leader Anksorus. I haven't had the time to thank you for arranging my last task."

When combined with her fair, flawless skin, perfect facial features, well-defined curves, and ruby red eyes, the girl's voice dazzled any man who crossed paths with her.

In the Swampy Tower, most of the Apprentice Adepts wore gray robes and black cloaks, making dark tones the predominant theme of this place.

So by bumping into a stunning, young girl with such a splendid and bright appearance, the two lackeys had become tongue-tied.

An inexplicable lust began to surge in their loins, bringing their more carnal hungers to life.

Greem remained unaffected, largely due to his mental maturity and Pseudo Adept level Spirit. Anksorus proved to be the same, showcasing why he'd been selected as the Apprentice Leader.

While Ellen and Fenrir's faces grew red and their breaths grew heavier, Anksorus just "hmphed" and pulled himself out of the 'Charm' effect in less than an instant.

With an alert and wary expression, he took a few steps back and placed his right hand in his waist pocket. "Who are you? Quickly tell me your name or else…"

Though the tower was a large structure, the apprentices were quite familiar with each other. There were just about fifty of them and they had lived here for years.

This was even more true for Anksorus since he needed to liaise with every apprentice once a week.

As such, he knew whose room this was. That's why he was confused as to the person that came out. He had never seen her before. 'Wait… she came out from Mary's room. But… it can't be.'

Taking a closer look at the vibrantly dressed girl standing there without a care in the world, Anksorus tried to reconcile her appearance with the Mary he knew.

That Mary had rejected his advances numerous times, so as revenge he'd recommended her to the tower master when he asked for a test subject to experiment on.

When the two separate images overlapped perfectly in his mind's eye, his jaw dropped and he exclaimed in shock. "You-you're Mary!"

As the girl's name resounded throughout the corridor, she clutched her head in pain.

It was as though hearing it triggered something horrible within her. Her charming face suddenly grew twisted, malevolence and insanity burning in her eyes.

Her mouth stretched open, revealing sharp, pointed fangs that rose from her jaws. With sudden swiftness, she turned into a blur of red and lunged at Anksorus.

She collided with him instantly and clamped her jaws around his neck. She sunk her pointed fangs in and wrapped her thin but deceptively strong limbs around him tightly.

Audible sucking and gurgling sounds filled the silent corridor, accompanied by heavy steps as Anksorus retreated unsteadily. When his back hit the wall, the trembling and ecstasy in his body seized for a moment.

This brief period of respite allowed him to raise a scorpion shaped magical item and press it against the bloodthirsty girl's chest, triggering the attack stored in it.

A flaming red beam shot out of the scorpion's tail and pierced through the breadth of the girl's body, causing her grip on Anksorus to loosen.

The man himself noticed this and flung her off, falling on his butt due to the effort and loss of blood.

Due to his ultra-clear eyesight, Greem noted how the red beam burned straight through the girl's ribcage, lungs, heart and even the corridor wall a few meters away.

He could also see how her body began to knit itself back together, bright red and pink flesh squirming and extending to refill the empty space.

While the girl healed and regained her senses due to the damaging nature of the attack, Anksorus quickly applied this world's version of first aid on himself.

He pulled a fist-sized bottle from his pocket and dumped its green contents on his neck.

When the liquid rolled over the injured area, it sucked the water out of it, turning the skin wrinkled and dehydrated until the blood flow ceased.

Before he could even say hey however, a dark shadow loomed over him as a recovered Mary pounced on him once again.

Unable to defend himself, Anksorus could only watch as she pressed him down and resumed her meal.

Ellen and Fenrir had both been paralyzed, the lust in their loins long frozen over by the horrid display. Both held crude magical items and stood faraway backed against the wall.

Mary's display had chilled them to their very bones; they couldn't even attack when she exposed her back to them.

Soon, the sucking and gurgling stopped and the newborn vampire stood up, her face splattered with blood.

She took out a snow-white handkerchief and a round mirror, wiping her face and lips with a satisfied expression. Once she finished, she set her sights on Ellen, intensifying the latter's shaking.

Before she could make a move though, the torches lining the corridor darkened for a second. When they lightened and normal visibility returned, a mysterious figure stepped out of the shadows.

"That's enough. This slaughter is enough for you to complete the final step in your evolution. From now on, you have to restrain your desire for blood and steel your mind."

Adept Anderson, the tower master, had finally decided to intervene.

He had a bent posture, a wrinkled visage that looked like tree bark and loose skin hanging off his bones. A long, flowing robe of pure black covered his whole body, and a pointed hat that curled slightly at the top sat on his head.

He held a staff composed of twisted roots, gnarled branches, and one big emerald crystal embedded at the top.

Greem knew that Anderson would appear, but he didn't expect that just looking at the adept would make his eyes sting and tear up. The power of an Adept truly couldn't be underestimated.

Quickly and gently, he shut the door and hid in his room, making sure to not even breathe loudly. The last thing he needed right now was the attention of an adept.

On the other side of the door, a rather nasty confrontation took place.

Mary had transformed into her ferocious vampire form once more, her eyes turning blood red and nails elongating into claws. She rushed Adept Anderson, her lithe body a crimson blur.

Facing this, Anderson didn't display the slightest bit of panic or worry.

His expression morphed into a smile, one that looked quite evil due to the creases on his face. He tilted his staff like a wine glass in Mary's direction and a mini-tornado appeared in her path.

She slammed into it and got sucked into its spinning grasp.

Unable to escape the rapidly intensifying revolving force, she released cries of shock as her body gyrated like a top.

In no time, the world around her had lost all meaning. Shapes, colors, and sizes no longer registered in her clouded mind.

Anderson perfectly sensed this and angled the upper mouth of the tornado towards a nearby wall.

Under his control, the tiny maelstrom spat out the defenseless bloodsucker, slamming her into it with such force her bones cracked from the impact.

Even from behind their doors, the various apprentices heard these fractures occur.

"A newborn vampire who has lost her mind… you are of no use to me."

Taking advantage of her injured and helpless state, Anderson drew close to the downed Mary.

He ignored her weak growling and stood over her, conjuring a pale white flame that exuded the thick aura of death. He flipped his skinny and wrinkled palm over and pressed the flame on the snarling girl's forehead.

Perhaps sensing her death draw near, Mary let out a grating scream and ceased the animalistic behavior. She tried to crawl away desperately, ignoring and worsening her injuries.

The red in her eyes also receded, replaced by a leafy green. Her claws retracted, and her face went white as a sheet.

"Oh?" Master Anderson raised his palm back up, the flame dancing quietly atop it. "So the fear of death can make you regain consciousness? I've never observed such a phenomenon…. there is value in researching this."

Muttering to himself under his breath, Adept Anderson waved his hand and dispelled the flame. After that, he snapped his fingers and created dozens of tiny air vortexes around the panic stricken Mary.

He controlled them to clamp and coil around her neck, limbs, and joints, chaining her up firmly.

Once he secured her, he turned to Ellen, giving Anksorus' withered corpse a brief glance.

With a frown, he pointed at Ellen, who still remained on his feet by hugging the stone wall and ordered indifferently. "You're the Apprentice Leader now. Remember to properly manage all the apprentices."

When his words landed, the torches lining the corridor dimmed. Light returned a second later, and the master Adept and Mary were gone without a trace.

Ellen couldn't stop trembling. His pants were wet, but his face displayed shock and excitement.

He had been promoted to Apprentice Leader! The moment this thought settled in his mind, his gaze snapped towards Anksorus like a bowstring.

His whole body followed at a slower pace, staggering towards the corpse of his former boss with none of the former reverence and fear.

Greed evident in his pupils and actions, his hands roamed all over the dried husk that used to be Anksorus, searching through the dead man's pockets and clothes.

 ☀☀☀​

3 days later…

When Mary became Anderson's experimental 'partner' a month ago, everyone believed that was the end of her.

Rarely did apprentices survive the horrible procedures, drugs, or spells an Adept had cooked up and wanted to test.

Those who did though, 9 out 10 times, mutated into monstrosities or disfigured states. Mary was a victim of this, one of the lucky ones if you will.

When she returned a few days after the "partnership," she was wrapped in a thick cloak that obscured her features, leaving the nature of what she endured unknown.

She locked herself in her room after that, staying in there for weeks. Everyone else in the tower assumed she'd died. But Greem, whose room was right next to hers, knew the reality was anything but.

Mary was very much alive. His Method sharpened senses picked up her agonized groans day in and day out. The scratching sounds were the worst.

Greem was hundred percent certain the girl tried to kill herself, the sound of nails tearing into flesh unmistakable to him.

Being so close to someone dying a slow, painful death, Greem decided to do something about it. Hidden away from prying eyes, he'd buy highly nutritious food, wrap it up in a tight bundle and toss it into her room.

When his Spirit picked up the slight uptick in her life signs the next morning, he made it a regular occurrence. Every night he'd toss the girl food, up on to the recent debacle with Anksorus.

Now, without a doubt, Greem was being compassionate when he helped the fledgling vampire. But that wasn't all that motivated him.

Compassion wasn't enough for him to risk the ire of the tower master, someone who could command his very room to reap his life should he desire it.

The future however was.

If he remembered correctly, Mary was feisty and headstrong, especially after she advanced to Adept. But she was also fiercely loyal. Greem wanted that. He wanted powerful partners and subordinates.

And who better than a beautiful vampire girl he'd helped in her time of need.

Speak of the devil, and she shall appear.

Getting on to his feet, Greem didn't bother to cover himself with a shirt and opened the door to his room, catching the red dressed spitfire off guard, her dainty hand raised to give a knock.

Letting his Advanced Apprentice aura wash over her, her flashed a bright toothy smile.

"Mary. It's good to see you."