I Refused To Be Reincarnated-Chapter 672: Into the Venomous Temple

Amidst the poison, Adam stood like an incarnation of certain death, his voice a judgment, and his mana the executioner’s axe, ready to dismember them in atrocious sufferings.

The guard’s teeth chattered, regret clawing at him. Although they were three dozen, a glance at his vomiting or suffocating companions was enough to know who held the absolute advantage. He had to defuse the time bomb he had engaged with his own foul mouth—and fast.

"Mana! It’s mana!" He roared in answer, the stench sticking to his throat. "I’m a fool for refusing to listen. Please, let me apologise!"

"Want to listen now?" Adam approached, smiling menacingly. The guard paled as his poisonous mana followed, but he continued. "None of this was necessary. But at least you can admit your mistake."

"Please don’t step closer!" The guard jumped back, prostrating and shuddering like a leaf.

Yet, his eyes widened as the horrible stench shifted into something purer. A natural fragrance drifted to his nose, relaxing, invigorating even. Confused but less panicked, he looked at the colossal circle of weapons that had hovered behind the youth, finally noticing they were dissolving into verdant green gases.

"What?!" He prostrated again, his heart almost exploding in his chest. "Nature and poison. You mastered two elements at your age?!"

A sudden idea flashed in his mind. Such genius and control could only come from a single place: the cradle of magic, the western archipelago. So was this a talented heir banished for misconduct like the order of the venomous path’s founder?

As he grappled with theories, his colleagues fumbled to their feet. Healed by the gas, they gathered beside him and exchanged terrified glances, wondering if they were to prostrate themselves too, apologise, or act as if they didn’t exist. After all, it was Bill who troubled the youth.

Meanwhile, Adam shrugged. "Whatever you believe is of no concern to me. I came to browse your mana-gathering techniques and spells. Do you want to guide us, or..."

The guard jumped to his feet, rubbing his hands and bowing obsequiously. "Of course, I’ll guide you to our leader. Only he can show you our most prized techniques. I’m Bill, by the way." He turned to the others without waiting for an answer, waving his hands as if to chase curious birds. "Make way for the young master, fools!"

Adam chuckled at the appellation as he passed by the eye-rolling guards, knowing they blamed Bill. But why would he care? Without giving them more than a glance, he passed through the gates, entering inside the purple mana barrier.

Misha tapped on his shoulder, pointing at the medieval-style architecture with a surprised gasp. "It looks nothing like the cultivators’ buildings!"

Adam observed the greenish thatch covering old houses. It smelled stale and was well on its way to mold, yet a soft smile curved his lips. These habitations reminded him too much of Julius’ poor village.

Everything was similar down to the cracked walls and kids eying him like predators assessing prey. But everything was also much different. Mana pulsed in each one of them—all mages.

Following his gaze, Bill stood before him and waved his hand as if he were chasing thieving cats. "PSHH! Get lost, brats! I hope their gazes didn’t sour your mood, young master. They’re bad weeds we relocated to the outskirts, weak mages with little to no potential. I tell you, we’d live much better without these leeches."

Adam tucked his fingers around his chin, amusement flashing in his eyes as the kids scrambled. "I wonder. Perhaps it’s your education that’s lacking."

Bill pursed his lip in disdain, holding himself from spitting to the ground. "They either have no affinity to poison or failed to control their mana. Education has nothing to do with it. But let us talk about more interesting things. I bet you must have been a hailed genius in the archipelago. What have you done to deserve banishment?"

Adam caught Misha’s glance and sighed. He knew she wanted to help the kids. Perhaps later. Gathering information came first.

"You got something wrong here. I’m not from the archipelago." He chuckled at Bill’s frown. "I plan to visit it soon, though. I wonder what it looks like and what societal structure they’ve adopted."

Baffled by his mistake and the question, Bill scratched his head. "Well, I don’t really know. Our founder was banished around six thousand years ago. Dangerous experiments, they said, ha! A few drops of venom was all it took to scare these cowards back in the day."

He noticed Adam roll his eyes, the simple gesture prompting him to focus on the answer. "We’ve had no contact with the archipelago since then. You know how it is. Murmurs become legends, then myths, until even they become forgotten memories. But Noah, our leader, might have records, even if I doubt you’ll learn much with how outdated they are."

Adam nodded, watching the houses improve with each street they crossed until several-story buildings rose around him. Red tiles covered their roof, and smoke billowed out of chimneys. He even saw a few lampposts powered by red beast cores. Impressive but unremarkable compared to his bastion.

He let the silence linger during his observation, catching Bill’s curious glances. But he would learn everything after they met Noah, so he just enjoyed the rest of the walk with Misha.

After passing by a few rare shops, most selling poison-based potions flickering in disgusting greens and violets, Bill halted before a building’s entrance, gesturing to the two hooded statues standing by the sides like guards.

"This is the venomous temple, where we learn spells under older teachers’ guidance. Noah’s inside, supervising education and politics."

"Like a magic academy?" Adam’s brow rose as he climbed the marble stairs with Misha.

Bill hurried behind, confused by the question. "I don’t know about magic academies. Is that a thing where you came from?"

"We had nine divided into as many specialities. But they were nothing worth mentioning compared to your temple."

He stepped on a soft carpet, his eyes darting between the columns and many corridors carved from the mountain. Most led downward, making the building much more spacious than the outside suggested.

Many youths strolled the hall, holding yellowed parchments, moving cauldrons, or just pointing here and there while laughing on benches. It really reminded him of the academy—a gloomy version with the central focus on poison, though. Their mage robes were much different, too, with eastern sashes instead of leather belts or embroidered mythical creatures.

While he reminisced, Bill paused, his mind shaken. Why had he never heard of academies? Even if isolated, the order of the venomous path often took missions down the mountain. Even weirder, they were in the same western region as the archipelago, at the border of the central one, yet had never heard about academies. Did it mean Adam came from the East? frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

As he pondered, Adam pinched the bridge of his nose, his voice forcing him out of his thoughts.

"Come on, Bill. This place looks like a maze. I can navigate it, but you won’t like the method."

His hair bristled as he ran to the front. "Noah should be in his office, down the central corridor." He gestured. "It’s not far. Follow me, young master."

This chapter is updat𝙚d by f(r)eew𝒆bn(o)vel.com