Chapter 283 Camaraderie
Adam walked back to the large clearing in a daze, his mind a mess. He kept thinking about Galriel's soul hovering inside the lotus' mysterious space in the shape of a small light orb.
Moreover, Galriel's wasn't the only one. There were many other Magi who had fought and perished in the war, all their souls stacked up like mementos inside the mysterious lotus.
Adam hadn't touched a single one of them.
He couldn't bring himself to.
These were his comrades.
If there really is an afterlife, then what about their souls? The youth thought to himself in grief.
Suddenly, he was jolted out of his reverie when he heard the faint sound of commotion coming from the near distance. Unknowingly, he had already reached the place where all the Magi had gathered and were setting up camp.
Adam stood at the edge of this clearing and gazed at the bustling scene that unfolded before him. The air was buzzing with the sound of hammers and people's voices.
After showing his identification token to the Magi stationed at the boundary, he slowly made his way down toward the camp, looking around at everything with curious eyes.
At the center of the camp stood a large building that would serve as the headquarters for the allied forces. This was also the place where Rank 2 Magi would work from whenever they were not directly engaged in battle.
Around the headquarters, the embryonic form of a marketplace was slowly beginning to emerge. Many stalls were being set up, each displaying different types of scrolls, artifacts, and potions.
Furthermore, this marketplace was countless times bigger than the one in Stardale.
A potion stall caught Adam's eyes. The one running this store was none other than that eccentric, old geezer whom he had done business with back in Stardale.
So you made it out alive, huh? You perverted geezer… The youth lightly chuckled to himself.
The Magi that had made it out here alive had accumulated quite a lot of contribution points, to say the least. So it was only right that there would be a marketplace set up here as well.
And if there was a system of contribution points and a place for transactions being implemented, Adam speculated that there would also be an object that would keep track of the points.
He confirmed his speculation when he saw a group of Artificers working tirelessly to build a magical scoreboard a little away from the headquarters.
Adam only cast a momentary glance at the scoreboard before going around the marketplace, looking for things that he could purchase.
As he explored more of the marketplace, he was taken aback to find the speed at which the Magi had built everything around here. Although he knew magic was used in the construction, it still came as a surprise to him.
Around the marketplace, tents, both big and small, were shooting up like mushrooms after a heavy rainfall. If the duty for the camp's construction was given to mortals, they would never have been this efficient and quick.
Adam suddenly had this weird thought. If the roles of Magi and mortals were reversed, what would happen to society?
He shook his head and got rid of such funny thoughts that would never come to pass. He continued to stroll around the marketplace, hoping to clear his mind. He was in a terrible mood, after all.
Hmm, no soul-related artifacts here as well. Adam thought to himself as he stroked his chin, looking around at all the artifact stalls.
This wasn't all that surprising, however. After all, even in the memories of the experts, soul-related artifacts were very rare.
As the day progressed, the construction of the camp was nearing completion. Most of the tents, which would serve as the Magi's living quarters, had already been erected.
The sky started to darken, but on the other hand, the marketplace started to come alive. Magi wandered around the stalls, exchanging goods and stories.
Every Magi that was present here had a fascinating tale to tell.
The scent of sizzling, grilled meat wafted in the air. All the battlefields had an abundance of beast corpses. Now, they had become nourishment for the Magi.
Survival of the fittest. Adam thought to himself as he approached one such stall. He exchanged his contribution points and purchased a plate of steaming, skewered, boar meat.
He sat down by the stall and leisurely filled his stomach, glancing at the ambiance around him. He sat there all by himself, gazing at the warm light of lanterns and crystal balls that illuminated the camp.
At a certain place, he could see a small group of Magi singing and dancing around a campfire. Along with the rustling of the leaves and crackling of the firewood, the sounds of chatter and laughter could also be heard.
Seeing that, he faintly smiled. Although there were a lot of sacrifices and losses, the spirit of camaraderie remained.
Suddenly, he felt someone's gaze on him and turned his head in that direction. There, he saw a familiar face that caused his expression to darken instantly.
Kevin Gracie! Adam deeply frowned. He glanced at the metallic arm on the youth and snorted. So this cockroach is not crippled, after all.
On the other side, Kevin was looking at Adam with shock etched all over his face. If one looked closely, one could even see fear flashing in the youth's eyes.
"What is it, Kevin?" A middle-aged, black-haired man with brown eyes suddenly asked, seeing the youth's peculiar reaction.
"F-Father…" Kevin's fear was instantly replaced by rage as he gritted his teeth and pointed at Adam in the distance.
"That's Adam!"
Kevin's father, Morden Gracie, turned his head in the direction Kevin was pointing at and his gaze landed on a black- robed youth, who was leisurely eating from a plate full of meat while derisively glancing at them.
Morden was immediately enraged. He still hadn't forgotten how this youth had ruined his son's life. If it wasn't for his elder brother, Oswald, then Kevin would have had to live the rest of his life as a cripple.
"All of you, come with me," Morden growled as he ordered the other Rank 1 Magi of the Gracie Family around him.
Then, the group stomped toward the place where Adam was sitting.
Adam had a composed expression on his face as he watched the group approach him. Initially, he was shocked to see Kevin here, but then he calmed himself.
It's not like he could do anything to the latter, and vice versa, while still within the boundaries of the camp. Infighting was frowned upon and also punishable.
Morden stood before the youth, his facial expression contorting in fury. "You are Adam Constantine?"
Adam glanced at the middle-aged man and sneered, "So what if I am?"
"You bastard!" Morden was enraged by the youth's lack of etiquette and his disrespectful behavior. He violently swung his hand and smacked away the meat plate that Adam was holding.
"Stand up while I'm talking to you, boy!" Morden roared angrily, attracting the attention of everyone around.
Adam glanced at the plate of food sprawled out on the ground. Then, he looked at Morden with cold and indifferent eyes. The next moment, he unleashed his aura that caused the group of Magi to shudder in terror.
"Oi." Adam slowly got to his feet and gazed at Morden with a bloodthirsty look.
"Do you want me to give you a beating in front of your son?"
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