Advent of the Archmage - Chapter 350

Chapter 350: The Cost of Recklessness

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the forest

Boom! Boom! Explosions sounded out one after another as the lightning flashed and blasted out in all directions. Link’s legendary magic spell continuously clashed with the Divine Gear.

The Dark Serpent was already just a few feet away from Link.

At this moment, 15 seconds had already passed. There were only five seconds left before Link’s legendary spell ended. After that, Link would have no method to deal with the Dark Serpent.

However, what made Aymons anxious was that he had noticed that Link’s expression hadn’t changed from before. After slaying the fallen angel, Link constantly attacked more enemies with the one hand while blocking the attacks from the Dark Serpent with another.

Boom! The Winged Howlers that were shot down from the sky simply had no chance to fly back up. Any demon who was within 450 feet of Link would be bombarded by the lightning.

The power of the lightning was simply too incredible. Even Level-8 demons stood no chance against it, and every single one of the Winged Howlers that was hit was eventually burnt to a pile of ashes.

Very quickly, only ten Winged Howlers were left of the initial 50 that came, and none of them dared to get close. They maintained their distance far away from Link, afraid that they too would be struck by the lightning.

Unfortunately for Link, when Misamier escaped, she landed behind a large rock where she was then carried out of Link’s kill zone by another Winged Howler.

“Link, you will pay for this recklessness!” Aymons bellowed.

Facing the Divine Gear and daring to split his attention, Link was truly being very reckless.

Aymons increased the output of the Divine Gear. Roaaar! In an instant, the Dark Serpent Whip closed in about one foot and was only about two more feet from Link. It looked like it was about to break through his defenses and strike his body.

If it hit, even if it just barely scraped Link’s body, he would immediately be killed, his body disintegrated, and his soul dispersed.

Aymons just needed one more push to succeed.

However, it was at this moment that he noticed a silhouette in the corner of his eye. The moment this figure appeared, his heart constricted, and a sense of immense danger welled up within him. He didn’t dare to waste time consider and immediately retracted the Dark Serpent, dodging to the side.

Whoosh. The sudden strike hit nothing but air.

Aymons’s reaction was truly fast. Seeing his chance, he immediately activated the Divine Gear’s protection. Whoosh! His body was surrounded by a dark glowing barrier.

Almost in the same instant that the barrier materialized, Aymons saw the figure clearly. It was Link’s magic puppet, Nana!

Nana held a dagger in her hand and was stabbing into the barrier. What made Aymons afraid was that the barrier created by the Divine Gear was actually unable to block the dagger. Inch by inch, the dagger edged towards his forehead.

Aymons could not understand what was happening. Wasn’t the Dark Serpent a Divine Gear? Earlier, when he was blocked by Link’s legendary magic spell, he could believe that it was a restriction on the Divine Gear by the laws of the world of Firuman. However, right now, what was going on?!

If a normal looking dagger could penetrate the Divine Gear’s defenses, wouldn’t that mean that the magic puppet was abnormally strong?

Watching the dagger approach his head, Aymons didn’t dare to dally any longer. He immediately controlled the Dark Serpent to attack Nana.

Boom, boom! The Dark Serpent was blocked! It was Link’s lightning!

The lightning branched out, flashing through the air and forming a net of lightning and destruction. Under attack by the lightning web, the Dark Serpent’s attack speed was sharply reduced.

At this rate, the dagger would hit his forehead first.

Even with the Divine Gear, I’m being pushed back by this Magician? Aymons couldn’t believe it. However, in the face of the imminent danger, he had no choice to believe it. Without daring to hold anything back, he activated a teleportation spell powered by the Divine Gear. His body was surrounded by a white light.

Previously, when Auselia controlled the Divine Gear, she could only use its extreme speed and barrier abilities. In Aymons’s hands, the Divine Gear could exhibit even greater power in attack and defense. Furthermore, this teleportation spell could achieve a range of up to 25 miles and could be activated instantaneously. It was essentially unstoppable.

The next instant, Aymons disappeared.

As he disappeared, a voice remained that said, “Link, don’t be happy too quickly. You will soon experience the true power of the Divine Gear!”

After the voice vanished, Link’s legendary magic spell also came to an end. The lightning flashing across his body also dimmed. Meanwhile, his Flame Controller’s Robe had become torn and tattered, just like an old piece of rag. His eyes were dark. He had only 4000 Mana points remaining, and he could feel his head splitting as though someone had used a hammer to bash his head. It hurt so bad that Link couldn’t concentrate to cast any spell. In fact, it took all Link had just to remain standing.

Link instinctively knew that this was a weakness that came from overexertion.

In his previous life, while playing the game, Link had meticulously trained his character into a Legendary Magician. Every time he leveled up, not only did he raise his magic, but he also raised his body’s tenacity. This was just like the characters in the game increasing their hp.

However, right now in reality, his body was just slightly stronger than an average human. It was about the same standard as a Level-1 Warrior. With this kind of body, there was no way for him to withstand the might of lightning. If not for the Mana protecting his body, he would have long been burnt to a pile of ashes.

Something flashed in his vision. Link squinted his eyes to look. It was a system notification.

Player has forcefully activated a Legendary Magic Spell and is now in a state of “Soul Weakness.”

This status will be in effect for 720 hours. Under this status, the player’s ability to cast spells is drastically reduced.

Link was speechless. Earlier, when he had purchased the Legendary spell, this wasn’t stated. This unexpected side effect was truly perilous.

He couldn’t help but curse in his heart. Thank goodness Aymons is gone. If he had stayed for just a few more seconds, it would be really troublesome.

Looking around, there were still over ten Winged Howlers around. Because of Link’s earlier display of power, even though he looked extremely weak right now, none of them dared to approach him, instead choosing to observe from afar.

These demons would definitely pose a problem once they realized that Link was in a weakened state. Just Nana alone would be insufficient to defend against them.

Among these demons, six were Level-7, and five were Level-8. This was an enormous force that Nana would clearly be unable to handle alone.

Link turned to look at the ruined sentinel’s cabin. He could feel Melinda’s aura which, although faint, was still there. Skinorse, though, was gone. Nearby, he could see the tracks where Skinorse had snuck away during the mess.

Skinorse had made use of the chaos to escape with Link’s message.

This made Link feel relieved. Right now, what he had to do was to attract the Winged Howler’s attention to distract them from Skinorse, giving Skinorse enough time to safely escape.

Link took a deep breath, trying to suppress the discomfort he felt. Step by step, he walked towards the Nightingale.

The stallion had been blown away by the shockwaves from the clash earlier. Fortunately, it wasn’t damaged but only collapsed onto the ground. Link staggered over, ignoring his splitting headache, sending Mana into the Nightingale.

However, Link’s condition was much worse than he had anticipated. Just the simple act of sending out Mana caused his head to split and his vision to turn black. He very nearly fainted.

After Link inputted Mana, the Nightingale started moving. It climbed up to a standing position. Link took the chance to settle himself onto the saddle.

Controlling Nightingale, Link turned to face Misamier. He needed to kill this powerful demon. Nana stuck close by his side, Breakpoint Dagger grasped tightly in her hand.

Watching him approach, the Winged Howlers surrounding Misamier immediately dispersed, flying into the air. They were terrified of Link.

Misamier lay unmoving on the floor. However, she was clearly not dead. Link could detect her breathing and noticed that she was still grasping tightly onto the Burning Wrath of Heaven’s staff.

Thirty feet away from Misamier, Link stopped Nightingale. Then, biting his lip, he determinedly used the Magician’s Hand spell to snatch the Burning Wrath of Heavens wand from Misamier’s hand.

After obtaining the wand, Link instructed Nana, “Kill her!”

Nana walked forward, preparing to attack. Suddenly, the Winged Howlers started moving, seemingly prepared to come up to defend Misamier.

Link’s heart tightened, however, his face remained calm. Straightening his back, maintaining a serious expression, he looked coldly at the Wing Howlers, smirking. “Haven’t had enough of my lightning yet?”

Immediately, the Winged Howlers started backing up. Nana took the opportunity to close in to Misamier, planning to cut off her head.

Ting. Nana’s attack was suddenly blocked by Misamier.

Misamier clutched a small dagger in her hand and managed to block Nana’s attack. Somehow, she managed to avoid hitting the sharp edge of the Breakpoint Dagger. In order to block this attack, she exerted all her remaining strength. Currently, her body, clad completely in black, was trembling.

However, a Level-9 expert was no weakling. Even as Nana attacked a second time, her attack was once again blocked by Misamier.

“He’s extremely weak now! Don’t waste time, attack and kill him!” Misamier screeched. She had seen through Link’s facade.

Link clenched his teeth and said, “Let’s go!”

With that said, he poured even more Mana into the Nightingale. Whoosh. Nightingale burst off, dashing southwards. Nana did not get onto the horse but dashed alongside the Nightingale, easily managing to keep up.

“When you catch him, immediately kill him. Don’t let him run again,” Misamier said weakly.

However, hearing her instructions, the Winged Howlers did not move. They glanced at each other, hesitating.

This Magician is far too crafty. Earlier, he even managed to trick Misamier. If he has any more tricks left to play, then what seemed like an escape might instead be an attempt to split them up.

Based on the opponent’s speed, wouldn’t they be toyed with to death?

Besides, Nana was accompanying Link. Earlier, she had very nearly slain Aymons. With someone as terrifying as her around, wouldn’t they simply be courting death if they chased Link?

Misamier was not surprised by this. She once again shouted, “This is the Lord of the Deep’s orders. Whoever kills him will be greatly rewarded by the Lord of the Deep. Anyone who dares to retreat will be known by the Lord, and they can just wait for their punishment.”

After looking at each other for a bit, the Winged Howlers decided to pursue Link.

Misamier lay on the ground for another half a minute, recovering her strength. Then, she slowly crawled up, heading in Link’s direction.

At first, she struggled to walk. A minute later, she managed to jog slowly. Two minutes later, she started running faster, exhibiting the strength of a Level-6 expert. Her recovery speed was truly impressive!

Of course, this was just on the surface.

Misamier herself knew that with her injuries, running would not be much of a problem but to recover her battle strength would require at least five days.

Nonetheless, while she was weak, her opponent was definitely weaker than her.

Link, this time, your life will be mine!

Chapter 351: I Will Go Save Him!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

All the Winged Howlers and Misamier chased after Link. The ruins of the sentinel’s cabin were suddenly silent. It was silent as death until one hour later when a hesitant bird started calling.

Crack. The crack of wood sounded abruptly. A wooden board in the ruins suddenly cracked, and a dirty little hand reached out.

The commotion scared the bird that thought everything was over. It snuck back in fright.

The little hand reached around on the board and clung onto something. With a big push, a small hole appeared in the board. What followed immediately after was the muzzle of the musket.

After a while, a little girl climbed out from the hole. Her hair and face were all streaked with dirt. Her leg seemed hurt too, and she had to walk.

It was Melinda, the Yabba woman who had hid in the cellar.

The surroundings were all ruined, and all the trees had fallen. Smoke rose from the dirt, and the demon bodies were like burnt cinder. The air was filled with a faint acrid odor.

Melinda was completely shocked. What happened here? Where’s Master Link? Where’s Skinorse? Where’s Nana?

Before she’d passed out, she heard Master Link choose death and order Nana to commit suicide but other than the dead demons; everyone else was gone.

Melinda walked around the ruins, trying to find some clues but to no avail. While in a daze, she suddenly heard weak meows.

“Meow.” The breath was rapid yet weak and came from under a fallen tree more than 60 feet away. Frightened, Melinda crouched down and propped up her musket. She looked side to side cautiously.

“Meow.” Here it was again. This time, Melinda heard it clearly. She timidly walked towards the source.

One minute later, she saw the pitiful black cat trapped by the tree. There was a sturdy slab of stone under the tree and the tiny crack it created helped the cat escape from being turned into a meat pie. Even so, it still looked tragic.

The shiny dark blueish fur now looked dirty from the blood and was rumpled. Its two hind legs had turned into mush, and only a bloody piece of skin was still connected to the body.

The cat had closed its eyes earlier but cracked them open at the commotion. After seeing Melinda, joy flashed past its eyes. It meowed quietly, appearing extremely pitiful.

Crack! Melinda forced the muzzle of the musket to the black cat’s head. She wasn’t stupid. They could have escaped safely but were forced into this situation because of this horrible black cat.

She was going to kill this cute but demonic little thing.

“Melinda, don’t shoot yet. I have something to tell you.” The black cat’s voice was very weak.

“What do you have to say? Traitor! Demon! Bastard! Master Link treated you so well!” Melinda yelled though she still didn’t pull the trigger.

“As long as you save me, I can give you the power to overlook the entire world,” the cat said softly.

But as soon as it finished, Melinda started laughing. “You’re all talk but you can’t even save yourself, and you want to give me power? Go die, liar!”

She really did pull the trigger decisively. With a muffled bang, the bullet shot out. However, it hit the dirt. The black cat moved its head aside at the last moment and escaped from the fatal hit.

It wouldn’t die if its physical body was ruined but it would still be tragic to become a wandering soul. Its soul would still be imprisoned, and it wouldn’t even be able to leave this body. It could only watch as the body decayed and rotted.

It had already experienced this disgusting thing 300 years ago, and it didn’t want to do it again.

After dodging the bullet, it was entirely freaked out. It immediately realized that it wasn’t easy to fool this Yabba woman. “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” it yelled. “Master Link is in danger now. He’s being pursued by demons, and only I can save him!”

Melinda fell silent. The surrounding ruins and dead demons made her believe the black cat. After she’d fallen unconscious, Master Link definitely attacked and escaped after killing a portion of the demons.

This explained why the bodies of Skinorse and the others weren’t here. They were probably fine. Master Link had saved them again!

But even though Master Link was powerful, he was still a mortal, and his strength was limited. With so many demons here, he must be in danger now.

At this moment, Melinda thought of Link’s care for them along the way, how he’d comforted her when she cried, and his gentleness when he tended to her wound. Despite the fact that she was a burden, Link had never abandoned her, even at the most dangerous times. He didn’t even show any thought of that. Now, he was in danger.

Melinda suddenly felt that she wasn’t scared anymore!

A resolute decision grew in her. She must go help him—save him—even if it meant giving up her life.

Half a year ago, she was just a regular Yabba girl. Now, she was a soldier, a musketeer!

Her expression grew determined. Pointing the musket at the black cat’s head, she glared unblinkingly at it and “threateningly” said, “Little thing, I’ll save you!”

The black cat was relieved. “Move away this tree first. It’s a bit heavy. Can you lift it?”

“Of course! Us Yabbas are the best at using our brains!” Melinda found a wooden stick and brought a large rock over. She rested the stick on the rock and forced the stick under the tree. She pressed down on the stick, and the tree budged a little.

The black cat cried out immediately. “Ah! Lighter, lighter! My leg hurts!”

“I hope you die from the pain!” Melinda continued to pry without caring about the cat at all.

She was a soldier after all and met the basic physical requirements. Her strength was equal to a Level-0 human Warrior. Using a wooden stick as a lever to move a 30-centimeter-wide tree was no problem.

Ten minutes later, Melinda moved the half-dead cat out from the tree.

“Thank you for saving me…huh? Ah! My leg…you—you’re so cruel!” The cat’s first sentence was in gratitude while the second had become pained howls.

The reason was none other than the fact that Melinda had cut off its broken legs. Not only that, she even cut off the paws of its two front legs.

“You like running, huh? Let me see you run now!” Melinda spat out. Then she found a rag and wrapped the cat up.

Cutting off its paws wasn’t enough. Its teeth were weapons too and must be removed. Melinda opened the cat’s mouth and pried the sharp teeth out with her dagger.

“No, don’t do that. I need…tho…eath…thoo,” the black cat said with a lisp as it continued to struggle. It was much weaker now and, wrapped in the rag, it was no match for Melinda.

Melinda ignored its cries and pried out all four fangs before feeling settled.

“I don’t trust you, kitty. From now on, I’ll pull out another tooth every time you dare lie to me, and I find out. When all your teeth are gone, I’ll dig out your eyes. When your eyes are gone, I’ll cut off your nose and ears!” Melinda threatened loudly. She stared at the cat with her big eyes and waved her dagger.

The black cat’s mouth was filled with blood. It nodded weakly. “Mortal, I surrender!”

Now it was really regretful. Link was troublesome, but at least he was logical and would never use force. This Yabba girl, on the other hand, looked cute but didn’t even hesitate when she did things. She was terrifying.

Now, great. It didn’t have its legs, its teeth had been pulled out, and it was gravely injured. Even if it regained some strength from the world cracking, what use was it if its body was this broken?

Melinda obviously didn’t care about its opinion. She put away her dagger, hoisted up her magic musket, and stood up. “Alright, where should I go now?”

The black cat closed its eyes to gather its bearings and weakly pointed in a direction. “That way. They went that way.”

Melinda ran in that direction without hesitation.

…

Link was running low on Mana. With a whoosh, he collected the Nightingale Statue. The statue started shrinking and folding. He also fell off from the Nightingale. Nana rushed up and caught him. She also caught the statue afterwards and handed it to Link.

Link put it away in his spatial bag.

“Master, I’ll carry you!” Nana said.

Nodding, Link closed his eyes. Bearing the immense pain in his head, he said softly, “The pursuers are all Winged Howlers. There is one flaw in the combat of these high-level demons. They like dive attacks. If they don’t hit the target each time, their bodies will stiffen temporarily due to stopping abruptly at high speed. This is the best opening for an attack.”

“I understand.” Nana nodded. She ran very fast at more than 650 feet per second. That speed was equal to the Winged Howlers at their tails.

On her back, Link could only feel that his entire body was extremely sore and that his head was about to crack open. It practically felt like he was about to die. Nana ran smoothly, and without realizing, Link grew drowsy and became half-unconscious.

In this dazed state, he vaguely felt a strange warm current appear in his body. It started in his abdomen and flowed through his entire body before finally returning to his lower abdomen.

After that cycle, Link felt that he was much more comfortable. The intense migraine had lessened as well.

Another cycle, another cycle, Link thought in anticipation.

The warm current didn’t disappoint. It came a second time, and a third, and a fourth… It seemed ready to go on forever.

Link could clearly feel his body recovering.

What kind of strength is this? Is it the game system helping? But there hadn’t been any messages in my vision. That’s strange.

Chapter 352: A Vague Calling

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Master, there’s a strange looking mountain up ahead with smoke coming from the top,” Nana said while running, sounding a little out of breath.

Link was still groggy, but under the influence of the warm feeling coursing through his body, he was starting to feel much better. Hearing what Nana said, he forced his eyes open to look at the mountain.

They were currently surrounded by a plain, with grass about half a human’s height. Far away, there was a city while directly in front of them was a forest with sparse trees. The forest extended up to half the side of the mountain.

Going further up, there were no more trees, only grass, moss, and stones. Even further up, the grass disappeared. Only the black rocks remained. Beyond that was the peak of the mountain, and as Nana said, there was a column of smoke coming from the peak.

It was a truly unique shape, and Link immediately recognized the place. “This is a live volcano. We have reached the central regions of the Norton Kingdom. This volcano is called the Azzaro Volcano, and it erupts once every ten years. At its peak is a lava hole with hot magma inside. That’s why it is constantly emitting smoke.”

“Oh.” Nana looked very interested. However, they were currently being pursued by flying demons and climbing the hill would cause them to lose a lot of speed. She prepared to circle around the mountain.

“Don’t circle around it. Just go right up. There are magma holes on the way up; we’ll use it to shake them off!” Link said. He was very familiar with the complex network of tunnels within the volcano.

In the game, there was an entry level duplicate of the Azzaro mountain. In his previous life, Link had explored it over 200 times and was so familiar with the paths that he could close his eyes and walk through it without getting lost. This was definitely the best place to get rid of their pursuers.

Getting rid of the pursuers was one reason. There was actually something else that Link desired from this place.

When he first laid eyes on the mountain, he thought of the high temperatures of the lava inside it. For some reason, he felt that he had to go and take a look at it, as though there was something summoning him there.

It was a very strange feeling, and as a Magician, Link’s emotions were usually calm and controlled. With the exception of the excitement that comes with studying new spells, his heart was always as cool and calm as still water.

This feeling that suddenly arose in his heart was very unusual, and despite there being no explanation for it, Link decided to trust the feeling.

Anyway, there was no harm in taking a look at the lava.

Nana originally wanted to head there anyway, so once Link instructed her to go up the mountain, she continued on a straight path heading up the mountain.

The Winged Howlers were already less than 1500 feet away. Although the two parties were traveling at roughly the same speed, Nana was restricted by the geography of the land and also had to consider Link’s safety. Gradually, the demons were catching up.

At this point, the demons noticed Nana heading towards the mountain peak. They laughed uproariously. “Come on brothers! We’ll go ahead to surround them!”

Climbing up the hill would definitely take more time and cause Nana to slow down. Furthermore, they had to go up a winding path. Compared to her, the demons could fly, so the mountain terrain was definitely no problem for them.

They would easily catch up at this rate.

When Nana brought Link to the side of the mountain, the demons had already caught up to within 600 feet and were quickly gaining on them.

“To the left, about 600 feet away, do you see that grey rock?” Link pointed.

Nana nodded.

“Dash right there.”

In two seconds, Nana circled around numerous mountain rocks to reach the place where Link had pointed out. By this time, the Winged Howlers were already 300 feet closer.

“Go around to the back of this stone. There is a flat piece of wall… See it? Kick it down as hard as you can!” Link instructed.

Nana kicked it with her foot. Crash. The wall crumbled to reveal a gaping wide tunnel mouth. She dashed into the cave.

Link cast a Level-0 Light Spell to light the way, conserving his Mana as much as possible.

Just this beginner level magic spell made Link’s head hurt. If not for the game system giving him the weakened soul status notification, he would have thought that his mana was forever ruined.

The moment they entered the cave, the Winged Howlers arrived at the tunnel entrance.

There were 11 demons in total gathered outside the 6-foot-tall cave. They looked at each other.

“Is this Magician a mouse? Why is he always running into caves?” The previous time in the Wailing Gorge as well as this time, Link had escaped through cave tunnels that they, being 12 feet tall, had no way to enter.

“The tunnel is actually not that small. We could destroy the entrance and enter. More importantly, how did they know there was a cave here?” One of the demons gestured, pondering.

“They must have been here before and are very familiar with the place. In that case, if we enter, we’re definitely in trouble.”

“Then what do we do?”

“Let’s wait for the commander.”

Therefore, the group of demons waited outside the tunnel for charm demon Misamier.

Misamier’s wings were broken by Link. She had to travel here on foot, and her speed was much slower. The demons waited for over an hour before Misamier finally arrived.

“What are you doing? Where’s the Magician?”

One demon pointed at the tunnel entrance. “They’re inside. They clearly know this place very well. We had no other choice but to wait for your orders.”

At this moment, Misamier had recovered her battle strength. She walked towards the cave entrance to check it out. Looking at the dark tunnel mouth, she bit her lip. “The Magician is struggling to even cast a spell. He’s extremely weak now, and the only thing we need to beware of is his puppet. No matter how strong the puppet is, there’s only one of it. We’ll just follow him in!”

This chance to kill Link was definitely hard to come by. If they missed it, once Link recovered, they might have to face a Legendary-level Magician!

Upon hearing her orders, the Winged Howlers glanced at each other. Then, one of them walked up and slashed through the stone wall. Crash. In an instant, the tunnel entrance expanded to 24 feet tall and 15 feet wide.

“Since it’s so broad, I’m relieved!” One Winged Howler said. He was worried that the space would be too narrow and that his opponents would make use of their small size to hide and launch sneak attacks. He wouldn’t even know how he died. Seeing that the space was broad, he would be able to make use of his body size and strength and was less afraid.

“Go, go in,” Misamier ordered.

The Winged Howlers lined up in a row and entered the tunnel. After 150 feet, the demon at the front said, “Commander, there is a fork up ahead.”

“Can you smell which way they’ve gone?” Misamier asked from the middle of the party.

The sound of people sniffing came from the front. After a while, the demon replied, “There’s the smell of humans on both sides. Furthermore, this tunnel is open, and there’s wind coming through. There’s no way to know which way they’ve gone.”

“Well, we’ve got 12 people here including myself. That’s six a side. We’ll split up and search,” Misamier said after some consideration.

Then, she immediately started splitting the demons up.

Among the demons, six were Level-7, and five were Level-8. After splitting them up, there were four Level-8 and two Level-7 demons on one side, and one Level-8 and four Level-7 demons on the other as well as herself. The battle strength of both teams was equal.

“Alright, let’s go. If you find anything, call out immediately. We’ll rush over.”

“Understood, commander!”

The two teams of demons walked into the left and right lava tunnels respectively.

After about another 300 feet, the demon in the lead position called out again, irritated, “Commander, there’s another fork in the road. This time, there are three paths.”

Misamier walked forward to take a look. Up ahead was a wide chamber with 4 paths leading into it. One of those paths was the one they were currently on, while the other three paths led deeper into the mountain. There was a smell of sulfur coming out of every tunnel, as well as the scent of humans.

Right now, they had only 6 people. If they were to split themselves up into three teams like before, they would not be able to deal with a sneak attack from the magic puppet.

“This damn hole!”

Misamier cursed silently. After thinking for a moment, she said to the other Level-8 demon, “We’ll take two demons each and search two routes. You take that one, I’ll take this. Remember to leave down markings along the way and don’t get lost. Call if you find anything.”

Misamier had fought against Nana before. She knew that Nana possessed the strength of a Level-8 Warrior, therefore, with a Level-8 demon in the team, even if they could not defeat Nana, they could drag for time for her to arrive.

“Okay.” The demon had some reservations, but he had no choice.

The two teams proceeded into their respective tunnels.

…

Outside the tunnel, a small figure appeared. It was the female Yabba Melinda. She carried a cannon about the size of a human. There was also a bag attached to her waist with a black cat inside. At the moment, she was struggling to climb up a large rock.

“Where did they go?” Melinda wiped the sweat off her forehead. After rushing the entire way here, she was truly exhausted. The wound on her leg was also hurting and seemed to be opening up, and blood could be seen flowing out of it.

However, she did not care. She was only concerned with one thing, saving Link! If she could, she wouldn’t mind sacrificing her soul to do it.

“It’s jusshhtt up ahead. Look, there’sh a tunnel entranshe up ahead. Jushhtt go in there. But you musshhtt be careful, the demonsh also entered the tunnel,” said the black cat. Due to its teeth being broken, the black cat’s speech was airy and unclear. Its mouth was covered in blood, and the fur on its head was also crumpled and messy. It looked somewhat pitiful.

Right now, it had only one thought, and that was to find Link. Once it found Link, it would quickly get far away from this crazy Yabba woman and return to his side.

Although Link’s methods were harsh, he was willing to negotiate with the cat, unlike the Yabba woman. For no apparent reason, she had started abusing it. How pitiful!

Chapter 353: Let’s Die Together!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Gloomy cave.

With a soft poof, a Level-7 Winged Howler suddenly shook and collapsed, eyes rolling to the back of its skull. He convulsed a few times and then died.

There was a fist-sized hole in the back of his head. Silver liquid flowed from it—Sacred Silver. Behind it, a small figure hid in the darkness like a wraith.

It was Nana.

“Dammit, I said to be careful when you turn corners. Be careful! These idiots just don’t care,” the Level-8 Winged Howler cursed at the front.

When the enemy had performed the sneak attack, he’d clearly felt the signs. Unfortunately, he was at the very front of the line and couldn’t turn around in time. By the time he did so, Nana had already succeeded and retreated.

“Head, what should we do now?” There was another Level-7 Winged Howler of the trio. He was shaking in fright.

Only two were left in the group now. If the enemy attacked again, he would be the one on the ground.

The Level-8 Winged Howler mused for a while. He was scared too. This messed up place connected in all directions, and the enemy seemed to be really familiar with the tunnels. They’ll get toyed to death before long. “Let’s get out of the cave.”

Fck the mission and fck the Magician. He wanted to stay alive.

The two Winged Howlers retreated along the original path.

Thankfully, they’d left marks along the way. Otherwise, they would probably get lost while retreating. After going down the confusing paths for around 1000 feet, another turn appeared. This was different from before—it was more spacious, without many places to hide.

“I’ll go forward, and you follow. Be careful this time!” the Level-8 Winged Howler said.

“Got it.”

The Level-8 Winged Howler brandished his huge sword and walked forward guardedly. After making the turn, he looked back and forth before turning to the Level-7 Winged Howler. “Coast is clear.”

The path after the turn was very wide with unobstructed sight. It was very safe.

But just then, there was a tiny sound. The pop was completely unnoticeable. The next moment, the Level-8 Winged Howler seemed to be hit by something in the head and was thrown to one side.

His temple suddenly exploded and his pupils, flesh, broken bones, and brains splattered in all directions. The Level-8 Winged Howler instinctively pushed off, and he flew sideways. He crashed against the stone wall and then rolled back down. Then he started convulsing on the ground.

Half of his head was gone, and even a demon couldn’t withstand this injury. He was just struggling for his life now.

At this sight, the Level-7 Winged Howler began shaking. He didn’t know who the attacker was and definitely didn’t know how they attacked. All he could do was be scared.

There was a magic puppet behind them, and now, there was a mysterious killer before them. He didn’t even know where to run. This practically 14-foot-tall giant curled up against the tunnel’s side. He hugged his knees, curled his wings around him, and just shook in fear.

On the other side of the turn, Melinda hid behind a rock barely three feet tall. Seeing the demon on the ground, she shook her fist excitedly.

The black cat was reliable for once. After its modifications, the musket was at least five times more powerful and barely made any sound! Back in the day, her musket could only scratch these big demons, and they’d recover soon after. This time, she’d blown out half of the demon’s skull with one bullet!

“Master Link, I can help you now!”

“Okay, leave now,” the black cat urged. “Go towards the left tunnel!”

Melinda immediately stood up from the rock. Hugging the musket, she limped down the tunnel. Because of her good mood, she was pretty fast and scurried past like a little mouse.

…

The other side.

After finding the chance to kill some Winged Howlers, Nana returned to Link’s side. She picked him up and started forward again.

“That way,” Link said, pointing at a tunnel. This was the path to the heart of the flames in the center of the mountain. It was very dangerous, with all sorts of fire element beasts and extremely high temperature. But for some reason, Link’s thirst was getting clearer. He wanted to go somewhere hot right now.

Rather than making him uncomfortable, hot air made him indescribably happy.

Nana obviously didn’t care because she couldn’t feel the heat. Even if she jumped into lava, it would be like a bath for her.

The further they went, the wider the tunnel and higher the temperature. It was already above 120 degrees, and a faint red glow even appeared at the end of the tunnel.

Link actually felt more comfortable. He could clearly feel waves of heat dig into his skin, seeping into his body and merging with the mysterious warm current.

After that, the warm current grew even larger. Its speed quickened as well. Link felt his body temperature rise continuously like he was on fire, but he didn’t feel any discomfort at all. Instead, it felt insufficient. It would never be enough.

It’s only a spark. It’s too weak. I need a blazing fire!

“Nana, hurry forward. Walk against the right of the wall and be careful. There’s a fire-bellied salamander on the left. Do you see it?”

The tunnel was very spacious now. It was more than 100 feet wide and 65 feet high. The six-foot-long salamander curled in a small lava shaft without moving. It looked just like a withered tree.

Nana’s movements grew lighter.

Fire-bellied salamanders were easy to deal with but would cause a large commotion. It could alert the demons chasing them.

After traveling more than 150 feet like that, Nana brought Link halfway up the Azzaro Volcano. It was very wide and spacious here. Everywhere was filled with a dark red glow. There were patches of lava here and there, while a lava pond made up the center.

The lava bubbled and gurgled, spitting out plumes of fire and smoke. Occasionally, a burst of heat would rush out before white-hot lava would spew out like the prominence on the surface of the sun. The heat here was unbelievable, distorting the air. Waves of fire were everywhere. Link’s Flame Controller robe and Nana’s leather armor couldn’t withstand this temperature. They started to curl and singe. Then a ball of lava spouted, and a drop fell on the clothing, burning it up.

Nana was alright, obviously. Strangely enough, Link didn’t feel any pain in the fire either. His skin didn’t even burn. Lava dropped onto him and rolled down like water.

“Master, are you okay?” Nana asked.

“I’m okay. Do you see the tall podium?”

Nana nodded. The podium was 150 feet away. There was a rock protruding from the lava lake, and it glowed red from being baked by the extreme temperature. The heat was truly unimaginable.

“There aren’t any fire element beasts along the way. Put me there, and I’ll rest for a bit.” Link was feeling much better than when they’d entered the cave.

“Okay.” Nana walked over.

But before she walked 60 feet, a voice rang out behind them. “Link, where are you going?”

Link turned around. It was Misamier. She was hundreds of feet away with two Level-8 demons beside her. Seeing Link, she took out her long whip and strode over.

It was extremely hot here, but it was nothing to demons.

Here, Misamier’s strength had recovered a lot. Though she was far from the pinnacle of Level-9, she was still around the pinnacle of Level-8. With her two Level-8 helpers, they were enough to deal with Link.

“Ignore her and continue forward. Put me on the podium first.”

As he spoke, Link picked up his wand. Bracing the searing pain in his head, he cast a Level-0 scream spell on the fire sharks swimming in the lava.

After that, he immediately cast a Level-0 lesser invisibility spell on him and Nana.

“Ah!” The scream scared the large 15-foot-long shark. It instinctively rose out of the water and instantly saw the sprinting Misamier.

“Grr!” The fire shark immediately charged at the intruders.

“F*ck, stop him!” Misamier said to her helpers.

As soon as she spoke, a Level-8 Winged Howler standing at the entrance fell forward and stopped moving. There was a gaping hole on the back of his head.

Misamier’s pupils constricted. This is bad. Link actually has reinforcements—strong reinforcements!

She gritted her teeth. At this point, she had no way back. She had to kill Link!

The other Level-8 Winged Howler was frightened. He’d heard the noise. It had come from the tunnel behind them. He immediately left the entrance and ran over to Misamier.

The fire shark pounced at this time. The Winged Howler waved his sword, meeting the shark.

The shark was only a Level-6 Magical Beast. Misamier knew that her subordinate could easily kill it, so she just warned, “Watch out for sneak attacks. I’m going to kill that Magician!”

With that, she strode over to Link.

At this time, Nana had already put Link on the high podium. Link lay on the ground, and to him, the rock wasn’t scalding. Instead, it was warm—very comfortably warm.

It’s comfortable but still not quite enough. I’m still a little cold. Link instinctively looked at the hottest lava lake. He had the urge to jump in, but this was psychologically challenging. He was still a bit hesitant.

Nana turned around to stop Misamier.

The succubus sneered. “Little girl, you’re not my match anymore!”

Though injured, her power was much stronger than last time at the Necropolis.

Nana didn’t speak. Her leather armor was already damaged by the lava. She tore it off and threw her swords down too. She only had the Breakpoint dagger in her hands.

“Come at me!” Nana blocked the path. Instead of attacking first, she started provoking.

Crack! Misamier cast the whip at Nana, whose reaction was simple. She cut lightly with the Breakpoint dagger.

The attack was simple but also greatly threatening. Misamier was forced to pull her whip back. She knew how sharp the dagger was and her whip was no match. However, she had other solutions.

“Heh, you have a dagger, but sadly, you’re only a Warrior!”

As she spoke, Misamier suddenly reached out. A dark red ball of light appeared in her palm. She hurled it at Nana, and it exploded with a boom.

This was her talent spell!

Caught by surprise, Nana was forced back by the ball of light. She lost balance and fell into the lava.

In that moment, she knew she’d made a mistake. With extremely fast reaction speed, Nana threw the dagger toward Misamier.

Misamier had just cast her talent spell and reacted a bit slowly. Her left leg was hit by the dagger. With a crack, the entire calf fell off from her body.

Plop! Nana was thrown 150 feet away by the explosion and fell into the lava.

Plop! Without her left calf, Miamier lost her balance and also fell to the ground.

It was okay though. A calf didn’t matter much. She was now less than 100 feet away from Link. Before Nana swam back, she could end Link even if she had to crawl!

Misamier began crawling.

After around 60 feet, her heart suddenly tremored. She rolled forward without time to look behind. If her body was undamaged, she could definitely dodge it. However, her calf was gone, so she moved slower.

Poof. Her back shuddered, and she spat out a mouthful of blood. Looking down, she discovered a clear hole in her chest. Then she looked back. At the entrance, a small figure was looking at her with a magic musket.

It was too hot here, and Melinda couldn’t come in. But it was okay because her musket had long range. She could stand far away and fire it.

It’s that Yabba woman. Dammit! Misamier didn’t expect the little thing she’d overlooked would ruin everything.

She looked back at Link. He was still lying on the podium without moving.

Gritting her teeth, Misamier gathered her remaining strength and leaped forward. She grabbed Link and then jumped into the lava.

“Let’s die together!”

Chapter 354: Great Fortune

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Splash! Misamier dragged Link with her and fell into the boiling lava.

Watching this, everyone was stunned.

The Level-8 Winged Howler cut off the fire shark’s head in one strike. Hearing the noise, he turned to look only to find that Misamier’s body had fallen into the lava. Not wanting to fight, he immediately ran.

This time, the Magician will definitely die, right? Commander, I’ll report this to the Lord of the Deep. I’m sure he’ll remember your service! The Winged Howler thought to himself.

The space above this cavern was wide, and there was a hole leading into the sky. This was the hole that lava would emerge from when the volcano erupts. The demon spread his wings and prepared to fly.

Bang. He heard a soft sound and saw a bullet flying, headed straight towards him. It was from Melinda.

Rip! The bullet shredded one of his wings just as he flew above the lava. As his wing broke, he spiraled down from the air and fell into the lava. Splash!

“Aaah! Aaaah!” He screamed. He struggled fiercely as he tried to escape from the lava, but it was all in vain.

The temperature of the lava was simply too high.

After Nana fell in, she immediately swam as quickly as she could to the edge of the lava. Even if it was her, she could not last for very long. How could a flesh and blood demon compare?

In but a moment, the demon’s body was on fire. The screaming gradually faded until it disappeared.

The mountain finally quieted down, and Melinda put down her musket. She stared stupidly at the spot in which Link had fallen into the lava, mind blanked.

Splash, splash. Nana had swum to the edge of the lava and got out. Her body was now bright red, and many parts were deformed. If she took any longer, she would also have melted.

After reaching the shore, she too stared at the lava. She was waiting for her body to cool down so that she could jump in to look for her master.

At this moment, the one who was calmest was the black cat. Seated inside the bag around Melinda’s waist, it poked out its head and stared at the lava pool. “Interesting. How interesting.”

“Interesting your head!” Melinda immediately shouted when she heard the cat. She was incensed. If not for this damn cat, Master Link would never have died. It was all the fault of this cat!

Therefore, the cat which had experienced a few lucky moments of calm was once again subjected to indescribable torture. Painful sounds of mewing resounded through the mountain.

At this moment, deep within the lava pool was a very different scenery.

After being pulled into the lava by Misamier, Link found himself slowly drifting down.

The temperature of the boiling lava was extremely high. This could be seen from how even Nana could not handle being inside for too long. Strangely, Link only found it slightly warm, and not the least bit scalding.

Streams of warm currents flowed into his body and joined into the warm current inside it, making it flow faster and stronger.

Mysteriously, under the influence of the warm current, Link found that even as he descended deeper into the lava, he was not suffocating even though there was no air around.

He simply did not need to breathe.

Misamier was also still alive. Demonic power spread out from her body, protecting her from the insane heat. She hugged Link tightly, planning to drag him deep into the lava.

Not just that, she opened her mouth wide and bit savagely at Link. Link instinctively twisted to the side, causing Misamier to bite onto his shoulder.

Misamier was now just like an octopus. Not only did she latch onto Link with her teeth, but her arms were also wrapped tightly around Link, as were her legs. She wanted to thoroughly trap him and kill him!

If Misamier was at her full strength, Link’s body would definitely be twisted to death by her. However, right now, she was severely weakened and her strength diminished. Also, there was a strange force circulating within Link’s body helping him resist Misamier’s grip.

The two of them had sunk down over 90 feet into the lava. The temperature was getting increasingly hot. Link no longer felt cold. Now, he felt hot, extremely hot!

The current within his body was now raging fiercely, and Link could feel an enormous force that he could not describe. It was as though the power was trapped inside his body and was trying to force its way out. Link’s body had become the battleground in this struggle, turning into something like a pressure cooker and causing Link to be in burning pain.

If this thing gets any stronger, I’m going to die! I’ll definitely explode to death! I need to suppress it.

Under constant attack by the intense struggle within his body, Link’s mind was spinning, and he could not think properly. At some point, he detected a cool presence beside his body, an icy cooling sensation.

It must be Misamier. She’s actually still alive!

By now, Link could no longer feel Misamier’s twisting grip. However, he could still feel the cooling presence beside his body. It was precisely because of this presence that he was still alive and not destroyed by the power within himself.

There’s a wound on my shoulder. It can let the power escape!

Link attempted to circulate and direct the path of the current. He actually did not have much control and could only hope that some of it leaked out from his shoulder wound.

Somehow, he succeeded. Although the current was circulating rapidly in his body, he could somehow direct it. A portion of it separated and flowed towards the wound on his shoulder.

The cool feeling from his shoulder came from where Misamier’s sharp teeth were still clamped onto him. The coldness came from the demonic power of Misamier and was slowly seeping into Link’s body.

Under normal circumstances, this demonic power was more than enough to kill Link. However, right now, things were different. The power in Link’s body was much stronger, and in fact, it was still growing.

This power was like an incinerator. In front of it, whatever demonic power that entered Link’s body could only be dissolved.

Unexpectedly, not only did this exchange not have any negative effects, but it also gave Link some benefits. It was like a regulator, as the heat within Link’s body dissolved the cold demonic power, the pressure from the heat also reduced.

However, this demonic power was not enough. It was far too little! He needed a lot more of it to achieve a balance.

As Link struggled, he found that his strength had increased. He easily shook off Misamier’s grip on him. Not only that, he even hugged her tightly and bit down onto her neck.

Filled with thick demonic power, blood started flowing out of Misamier’s neck and into Link’s belly. It was icy cold, and as it entered Link’s body, it dissolved the immense pressure within him.

Link instantly felt much better.

Misamier started struggling. However, it was no use. This time, it was Link who held onto her tightly, and Link’s strength was much greater than hers. He gulped down her cool blood greedily.

The blistering hot energy was still entering into Link’s body, and the warm current was getting larger. However, under the influence of the demonic energy, the current was a lot warmer and manageable.

If the power earlier was likened to blistering lava, the power now could be described as a gentle water flow. As it gently coursed through Link’s body, it helped him recover his internal injuries.

These injuries were the result of forcefully using the Legendary level magic spell. Link’s head had cleared up by now, and he could “see” these injuries. He saw numerous torn arteries and tendons, as well as fractured bones.

Looking at his wounds, Link suddenly came to a realization. No wonder the Legendary Magicians were so much rarer than the Warriors. Besides the requirement of magic, the strength of one’s body was definitely another restriction.

Warriors’ bodies were naturally strong. After reaching the peak of Level-9, it was easy for them to attain Legendary power. However, Magicians could not. Their bodies were too weak such that even if they were enlightened on the mysteries of the Legendary power, their bodies were unable to bear the load of such a force unless they had a way to raise their bodies’ strength.

This point, therefore, demonstrated the superiority of the dragon race.

The gentle current washed over each wound, and with every second that passed, the wounds gradually recovered. The torn blood vessels slowly reformed like leaves growing on a plant, sprouting little by little.

Link had no idea how much time had passed, but he detected that within his embrace, the body he was hugging had crumbled. He had completely sucked Misamier’s demonic power dry.

The hot energy from the lava was still entering his body. Without the demonic power to balance out the heat, Link’s body started to heat up again.

However, there was no longer anything constricting his movements. He moved his arms and legs and rapidly swam towards the surface of the lava. As he got higher, the temperature of the lava decreased. Consequently, the heat of the energy entering his body decreased as well. After swimming up for about a minute, Link reached a depth where he felt comfortable.

The temperature at this depth was neither too high nor too low. Surrounded by the lava, he felt warm and comfortable.

At this point, Link was happy to stay in his current position and float there, letting his body absorb the heat from the lava.

As time passed, the power in his body got thicker and thicker, and Link’s mind felt clearer and clearer. The effect of the injury to his soul was also fading.

He carefully assessed the power within his body.

Based on Link’s intuition, the power had a crystal red color and was extremely hot. It was bursting with energy and furthermore, was unimaginably clear.

How could he describe this?

The power was exactly like the most brilliant ruby that would make everyone desire it… Hold on… Link recalled seeing power this pure only once before. That’s right, he had seen it once in the Red Dragon Queen Gretel. That was the impression her dragon power gave Link.

At this point, Link’s heart was pounding. Could it be that the power within me is dragon energy? But how did I come to have it?

He suddenly remembered what happened in the Dragon Temple. At that time, she had demonstrated a few mysterious magic spells for him. After every demonstration, his fatigue always disappeared, and he was always full of vigor.

Don’t tell me that she was doing Dragonification on me? But if it were Dragonification, wouldn’t I have detected it before? Why would it be hidden until now?

Link could not understand.

There was one other thing he could not comprehend. Earlier, to reduce the pressure, he had to absorb demonic power from Misamier to balance the power inside him. Based on that logic, his power should be mixed with demonic power. However, not only did the power within him not have the slightest bit of evil, it was pure beyond comparison. In fact, it was comparable even to the Red Dragon Queen Gretel.

This is truly mysterious! Could it be the game system? Link guessed wildly before rejecting the hypothesis. If this was the work of the game system, he would have received a notification window. However, the notification window did not appear.

Since he could not figure it out, he would rather not bother with it. He focused on absorbing the energy.

As the energy continued flowing into his body, Link noticed that his body was no longer feeling as “thirsty” as it was before.

Before, it was as though he hadn’t eaten for half a year. He had greedily absorbed all the flame energy around him and secreted all the waste from his body.

Something flashed in his vision, and the notification window popped up. This fellow finally appeared.

Link looked and saw a row of words.

Player Link has obtained “Flawless Dragon Power.”

Flawless Dragon Power (Growth)

Level: 7

Effect: Boosts the life force, strength, speed, etc. of the user, and power increases as skill level increases.

(Note: Ability gained from multiple coincidences.)

Coincidences?

Link asked, What coincidences?

The system displayed another message. Link looked at it and was pleasantly surprised. This is fortunate. Truly fortune!

Chapter 355: Not a Personal Problem Between Us

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The game system display recorded the entire process.

When Link fell into the lava lake, there were three types of power within him: Mana, Light power, and Dragon Power.

Mana went without saying. Every Magician had it.

The Light power…it was the soul blessing from the angel Herrera. After dealing with fallen Magician Bale, Link possessed the power to absorb sunlight. This ability was very weak and only made Link’s body slightly stronger than the average Magician. But after all this time, he’d accumulated much Light power.

The Dragon Power came from the Red Dragon Queen.

According to the game system, the Red Dragon Queen actually didn’t cast any spell on Link. She’d put pure Dragon Power into Link. Under its influence, Link naturally grew much more spirited.

After a few times, Link retained some of her power.

Of the three powers, he had the most Mana, followed by Light power, and finally, Dragon Power. The Dragon Power had been sealed by the Red Dragon Queen so it could only help him regain energy.

But this time, Link had cast a Legendary Spell and damaged his body. The Dragon Power naturally started acting and helped heal his wounds. As the saying went, failure was the mother of success.

During this process, the Dragon Power started fusing with Link’s body. Part of the power that the Red Dragon Queen had sealed offhandedly was awakened too. Not only did it heal Link’s body, but it also started absorbing from the surroundings to strengthen itself.

According to rumors, after a dragon was hurt, they could recover speedily no matter how serious the injury was, as long as they were given enough energy and weren’t killed on the spot.

Reality proved that the rumors were credible.

However, there was another problem after the Dragon Power was awakened. It wasn’t very cohesive with Link’s body and instinctively started absorbing strength without caring if Link’s body could withstand it.

Similarly, the Dragon Power clashed with the other powers within Link. It was practically a three-way war.

At this time, Link introduced the demon power.

Demon power was very dark. After it appeared, it immediately clashed against the Light power within Link. One light and one dark, they tried to destroy each other into the purest form of energy.

This energy didn’t go anywhere. It was all absorbed by the Dragon Power. After it strengthened, it swallowed the neutral Mana. After another series of serendipities, Link came to possess flawless Level-7 Dragon Power with a pretty good future of growth.

This really is fortune born from misfortune, Link couldn’t help but think.

Thinking back on his experiences in the World of Firuman, he’d had some good luck, but only this achievement was completely out of his expectations. It was also the most satisfactory.

However, there was another problem. He only had Dragon Power left, so how could he cast spells in the future?

Getting an idea, Link chose see character information.

His vision flashed faintly, and Link’s profile appeared.

Link Morani (Noble)

Level-7 Dragon Mage

Flawless Dragon Power: 6500

Dragon Power Recovery Speed: 5-100 points per seconds (changes according to energy in the environment)

Current Dragon Power Recovery Speed: 66 points per second

Weapon: Burning Wrath of Heaven

How can I cast spells without Mana? Link discovered that all his power had changed.

The game system replied with a message.

The Flawless Dragon Power can be used as Mana.

Two Mana points = one Dragon Power point.

One Omni Point can raise the upper limit of Dragon Power by one point.

Omni Points will not be able to change the Dragon Power recovery speed.

Reading it all, Link gained a basic understanding of his new power. He looked back at the Mana cards that he could buy and realized that the Mana cost had turned into Dragon Power cost.

Seeing this, Link mostly got it. It was like opening a hidden career in the game. He’d changed his job and even changed his power bar.

The biggest advantage of becoming a Dragon Mage was that he didn’t have to worry about using up Mana anymore. The Dragon Power recovery speed was honestly too fast. Even at the lowest speed of five points per second, it was 300 points in a minute, and he would be at the max within 20 minutes. Currently inside the volcano, the recovery speed was at 66 points per second.

Feeling the unprecedented strength, Link was happy but also felt a bit regretful.

Even if one Dragon Power point equaled two Mana points, his Mana upper limit was only 13,000. He couldn’t use either of the two Legendary Spells—Miracle Aura and Thunder God Descent.

The Dragon Power was the flawless strength of dragons, but the functions still weren’t complete. Link couldn’t use it to shapeshift.

The exchange rate of Omni Points had lowered as well. Before, one Omni Point could exchange for 10 Mana. Now, it was a one to one ratio. He’d lost a lot on this but thinking of all the benefits of Dragon Power, Link felt better.

Whatever, it’s still pretty good. The upper limit is low, so I’ll just have to do more missions, Link comforted himself.

His body was fine now, and the Dragon Power’s absorption speed had slowed down considerably. Link moved his limbs and started swimming upward.

With a splash, Link broke out of the lava’s surface and started swimming towards land. Before he reached it, Nana came over. After seeing him, her big eyes turned into crescents, and she smiled. “Master, are you alright now?”

“No big problems.” Link nodded.

He climbed onto land and heard the black cat’s pained cries. Turning his head, he saw Melinda standing by the entrance. She cried while also hitting an extremely pathetic-looking black cat.

“All your fault! All your fault! All your fault!” she kept saying. If it wasn’t for the cat’s betrayal, Master Link wouldn’t have died.

She hadn’t discovered Link yet.

Uh, isn’t that Elodim? Why is he with Melinda and looks so pitiful? Link found it very strange. He got up and walked over.

When the black cat saw Link, its yowling grew twice as loud. “Stop…hitting! Stop…hitting! Link…still…alive. Look, there he is!”

It was really scared of that Yabba girl. She didn’t listen to it at all and just blamed everything on it. No matter what it said, she would keep hitting. Its head was hit dozens of times while it said those words. Her hits weren’t strong, but it made it feel pathetic.

She was so barbaric!

When it finished speaking, Melinda finally stopped and raised her teary eyes. She really saw Link walk over with Nana behind him.

Because of the lava, neither of them had clothes on. Melinda yelped in pleasant surprise, and then her face turned beet red. She hid back behind the corner.

Link walked out of the hot place and into the tunnel. He covered himself and Nana with a simple cape. After dressing, he called, “Melinda, it’s fine now. Come out.”

So Melinda finally came out with a red face. Seeing Link, her happiness quickly overcame her shyness. “Master Link,” she called quietly.

Link nodded. He saw that the girl’s leg was bloody and realized that her wound had opened again. He walked over to clean the wound. After wrapping it again, he tried to put in some Dragon Power.

Melinda immediately yelped.

“Does it hurt?” Link asked.

“No, it’s warm. The wound feels kind of numb and itchy like it’s about to heal soon. It’s comfortable,” Melinda said, feeling curious.

Hearing that the Dragon Power was effective, Link was relieved. After pouring Dragon Power into Melinda’s wound, he said to Nana, “Carry her.”

After Nana picked Melinda up, Link finally asked, “How did you catch the black cat?”

“It was hit by a big tree, and its back legs were flattened. I saved it and then cut off its front paws and pulled out its teeth. It can’t hurt people anymore.”

Link put Elodim in his hands. The cat really looked pathetic. It was covered in blood and talked with a lisp. Its fur was matted, and its limbs were all missing. It was even more pathetic than a stray cat.

With its ears flattened, it said weakly, “Link, let’s make a deal. I won’t have any bad ideas from now on. Will you forgive me?”

Looking at it, Link thought for five seconds before shaking his head. “No.”

“Why not? I saved you this time. If not for me, you’d be dead meat. I helped you gain dragon power too!” The black cat was stunned.

It knew Link well. His words meant that he would end things once and for all. He was ten times crueler than the Yabba girl when he wanted to be!

Link smiled thinly. “It’s not a personal problem between the two of us… Without further ado, goodbye Elodim. Nana, dagger!”

As soon as he spoke, the Breakpoint dagger in Nana’s hand glowed faintly. She pierced it into Elodim’s head.

Colorful lights flashed. This was a god’s soul, and it tried to block the Breakpoint dagger. However, the dagger was an agglomeration of destructive singularity. Merely a god’s soul was useless. After three seconds, the dagger pierced into the light.

“Ah!” A horribly painful cry rang out in everyone’s mind. Then the colorful glow scattered into countless light spots. There were so many spots that the entire spacious tunnel was colored.

The light didn’t fade for five whole seconds. By then, the dagger had sunk into the black cat’s skull.

Elodim, a god that wanted nothing more than escape from Firuman, died under the destructive singularity just like that. Perhaps there were remnants of his soul, but this was unimportant.

The betrayal was only a small part of why Link killed it.

This black cat posed too big of a danger. The World of Firuman had already cracked, and it would only get stronger. With a god’s wisdom, it would have endless tricks. A damaged physical body couldn’t restrict it for long.

No one could know what a god would do at that time to the cage that had imprisoned it for thousands of years.

Link didn’t dare take the risk, so he decided to get rid of the problem once and for all.

After that, Link tossed the black cat’s corpse into the lava. With a soft pop, the corpse turned into smoke and disappeared.

Seeing that Melinda was a bit dazed, Link realized that his cruelty had shocked her, so he explained, “His existence has already caused the losses of countless lives. More lives will die because of him in the future. His strength is quickly growing and will soon surpass us. I can only take the chance to kill him now.”

Melinda nodded lightly. She saw another side of Link—cruel and decisive. She was a bit scared but also felt safer. Her feelings were contradictory.

After leaving the cave, Link checked the direction and summoned the Nightingale. They climbed on and started flying towards the Orida Fortress.

This time, there was still a twinge of pain in his head, but he could bear it. After flying at a regular high speed for around 100 miles, not only was he not tired, his headache even disappeared.

A dragon’s physique is so weird.

They were within the Norton Kingdom now and were around 250 miles from the Orida Fortress. It wasn’t too far. With the Nightingale’s speed, the fortress’s outer walls appeared in Link’s vision after three hours.

For 2000 years, the Northern human race had gone through eight dynasties. Each one had spent countless money and manpower on building and expanding the walls. At this time, it was undoubtedly the top strategic pass for the Northern humans.

When Link was three miles away, he was stopped by a scout.

“Magician, report your name!”

“Ferde Lord, Baron Link Morani.” Link reported his noble title to the common soldier because it was easier to make a commoner respect a noble while a Magician would receive reverence and fear. The former was much better.

Once he said his name, the scout instantly became ecstatic, and he saluted to Link. “Lord, welcome to the Orida Fortress!”

Chapter 356: Eve of the Final Battle (1/3)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Outside the defensive line of Orida fortress

Skinorse dragged himself back covered in wounds.

At that time, Link had unleashed a Legendary magical spell, the Thunder God’s Descent. He was facing a Level-9 expert as well as the user of the Dark Serpent. He simply could not afford to pay attention to his surroundings.

When the shockwaves of their fight hit him, Skinorse did what he could to find cover. Nonetheless, a rock the size of a small head still smashed into his back.

He did not have the tenacity of a demon’s body, so after getting hit, he forcefully used his Battle Art to keep himself going.

He covered 200 miles in only half an hour!

Normally, even in an uninjured condition, he would not be able to do this. However, this time, he truly gave it his all.

Link staked his life to prevent the demons from pursuing him. If he didn’t finish the mission, Skinorse felt that he would be letting himself down.

He didn’t want future historians to record this section of history sadly, in this manner. “Link risked his life to stop the demons, but an unknown person wasted his sacrifice.”

He wanted historians to write, “Skinorse successfully completed Link’s mission, delivering the magic note to Orida Fortress, leading to a reversal of the war!”

That would be his glory!

Therefore, when the 150-foot-tall Orida Fortress appeared in his vision, Skinorse felt all his organs heating up. Every breath he took felt like torture as his throat was choked with blood. Even the phlegm he spit out was red in color. His legs too felt like they were made of lead, and his Battle Art was all run out. He was essentially on his last leg.

His vision grew blurry, and the objects in his vision looked darker than they actually were.

A Scout outside the fortress barricade noticed him and shouted, “Who are you? Report your rank!”

Hearing this, Skinorse knew that he had accomplished his mission. He breathed deeply and spat out a glob of blood that he had been suppressing inside his throat. Then, his legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the floor.

“Major! It’s Major Skinorse!” Someone had recognized him.

“Huff huff, bring me to the fortress… pant … to see Duke Abel. I carry an important magic note!” Skinorse said, lying on the ground and breathing deeply. Every breath carried the stench of blood.

After saying this, Skinorse felt extremely faint and almost lost consciousness.

In his stupor, he felt someone carry him up and feed him something that tasted like medicine. After drinking a few mouthfuls, he felt a cool feeling in his chest. He could also hear people talking beside him. He was then placed onto a warhorse, which slowly trotted forward.

Before the magic note was delivered, Skinorse did not dare to let himself lose consciousness. All the way here, he bit his lip to keep himself awake. Fortunately, he was a Level-7 expert, so after resting on the horseback for a bit, his spirit had recovered, and his mind had cleared up significantly.

He found that he was going through a dark tunnel-like passageway about 120 feet long. This was part of Orida Fortress’s magic defenses.

After passing through the tunnel, Skinorse was carried off the horse and into a stretcher.

The relief of the ground had increased, and 300 feet later, there was a second wall. Because of the high terrain, the wall rose even higher. This also gave defenders a greater range of vision.

In the second tunnel, a priest appeared chanting incantations. Divine light shone onto Skinorse’s body.

Skinorse felt waves of warmth entering his body and the pain he was feeling gradually decreased. Following that, he felt an itch in his throat and his chest. It was a very familiar feeling that came whenever his wounds healed up.

Oddly, this time, his vital organs were the ones that were damaged this time. These organs weren’t typically sensitive, therefore, for them to itch was very strange for Skinorse. This showed how fast the recovery was.

Skinorse’s injuries were not considered too heavy, and his body constitution was originally strong. With the divine healing from the priest, he felt as though he was revived, and although he still felt weak, he was essentially fine.

As he sat up in the saddle, he re-stated his mission. “I need to see Duke Abel, now.”

The priest gently replied. “Warrior, we’re going to see the duke now.”

“I’m fine; I can walk by myself.”

After getting out of the stretcher, Skinorse checked the magic note in his bracelet. Even though he knew that it would not be affected, he couldn’t help but check to make sure it was there. He took it out and stored it safely in his pocket.

The fortress was on an upslope. After the second wall, it was a stone ramp. The stone ramp was surrounded on both sides by tall walls which were protected by magic barriers. The walls had soldiers stationed on the top.

Even if enemies could make it through the two walls in front, they would still have to fight up this tightly defended ramp.

When they did, they would find themselves sandwiched between two walls of defenders in a kill-zone.

The ramp was very long and lead into a small city stronghold. The city was made of a few levels. At the fourth level of the city was the center of Orida Fortress.

This stronghold was almost completely made of anti-magic metals.

Even if enemies made it here, the stronghold gate was at least three-feet-thick and thoroughly defended. Breaking through the gate was not easy.

At this point, the hall in the stronghold was the center of command. In there was gathered Duke Abel, Elf Princess Milda, Dwarf Mountain King, as well as the formation commander of the third Yabba airship contingent.

They all knew that Skinorse had gone to deliver a letter to Link. Seeing that he had just returned without Link, they suddenly got a bad feeling.

“Major, report,” Duke Abel instructed.

Skinorse saluted towards everyone in the room. Although it was not too appropriate, nobody was in the mood to care. Then, he began to recount his experiences from when he met Link at the Golden Plains till the Hengduan Mountain Range. He talked about how they had discovered the Yabba airship, as well as the final confrontation at the Sentinel Cabin and the magic note Link, had bade him to bring back.

He spoke simply and finished his recount in under ten sentences. After that, he retrieved the magic note from Link.

The room was silent as everyone held their tongues. The magic note was received by an officer and handed over to Elf Princess Milda, who was most proficient in the use of magic.

Rustle. The hall was so silent that the only thing that could be heard was the sound of pages flipping.

The handwriting on the magic-encoded note was very familiar to everyone—it was Link’s. The Mana coming from the note exuded an aura of calm. Looking at the handwriting, Elf Princess Milda could not help but recall a particular black-haired young man.

The magic note indicated that he had stayed back to face an ambush of 50 demons and Aymons who was in possession of the Divine Gear. Facing a force like this, even her mother, the Elf Queen, could only escape for her life.

Therefore, most likely, Link was dead.

Although the note did not state the final conclusion of the battle, Elf Princess Milda, as well as everyone else in the hall, could guess what had happened.

Drip. At some point, a tear dropped onto the book in front of her, smudging a row of words. Elf Princess Milda hastily dried the page before continuing to look at it.

No one broke the silence in the hall. They were too afraid to break Elf Princess Milda’s concentration. Everyone knew of the importance of the magic note in her hands. Not only was it a message, but it also contained notes on a particular magic formation. It concerned the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Essentially, she held the fate of the continent in her hands.

Half an hour later, Elf Princess Milda closed the notebook. She nodded her head and said, “Magician Link has written very clearly. I believe that as long as we have enough Magicians, we can activate the spell formation contained within this letter. Using it, we can fight against the Divine Spells of the Dark Serpent. However…”

“However what?” Duke Abel immediately asked.

“In order to activate this magic formation, it needs to be directed by a Master Magician. Originally, Link would have been the best person for the job, but he…. Well, I will make a trip back to the Isle of Dawn to recruit at least a hundred Level-6 Magicians. Besides that, we will also need to begin training them to use the formation. I don’t know if we have enough time.”

Regardless of whether or not there was enough time, it was something that needed to be done.

“Damn!” Duke Abel smacked the table, anguish in his heart. Now that things had come to this, he didn’t know how to feel.

Link had already done all he could, and he had even given up his life for the cause. In the end, he found a way to fight back against the Divine Gear. However, compared to this magic formation, Duke Abel would much rather have Link back.

The magic formation was dead; the Magician was the true treasure.

For a Magician like Link who had the potential to become a Legendary Magician, Duke Abel actually might consider him more valuable than over a hundred thousand soldiers.

“Alright. Lord Link has already completed his mission. Moving on, it is up to those of us who are still alive,” the Yabba airship formation commander said, standing up from his chair. He looked at Elf Princess Milda and said, “Princess, our airships can speedily fly us to the Isle of Dawn. I would like to ask; would the Elf Queen lead the magic formation?”

Elf Princess Milda shook her head. “No, my mother cannot join the battle. She needs to protect our World Tree.”

“Alright. Let’s head out!” The Yabba commander said anxiously. He was obviously anxious. The Yabba capital city, Lariel, was currently besieged by the demons. Only the human army of their alliance could help them break through the siege. However, they needed a way to defend against the Divine Gear before they could move out.

Therefore, this magic formation still concerned the fate of the Yabbas.

“Yes, we’ll set out now,” Elf Princess Milda said.

However, it was at this point that another soldier rushed in. When he came in, he did not even bother with the formalities and shouted, “The Demon Slayer has returned!”

The Demon Slayer was Link’s title amongst the soldiers.

Everyone in the hall was stunned. They looked at each other in silence. Then, Duke Abel stood up. His actions were sharp and quick, and he even knocked over the chair that he was seated on.

“How is he? Is he injured?”

“He looks to be fine,” the soldier reported, beaming.

“Whew…” Everyone in the hall let out a sigh of relief. The serious atmosphere from earlier was now completely dispersed.

Chapter 357: Eve of the Final Battle

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After Link’s message arrived, Duke Abel stood up, losing his cool a bit. This wasn’t that bad. Someone stood up from their seats and ran out of the room.

Everyone stared at each other, speechless. The one who ran out was none other than the High Elf Princess Milda. She ran so quickly that her body even glowed faintly and disappeared out the door in a blink.

She’d used an acceleration spell.

Everyone had seen Milda’s tears earlier, but that was when everyone thought Link had died. They’d all felt heavy, so no one had thought much. Now, Link was alright, and they were all relieved, but Milda’s reaction was so dramatic. They thought more into this.

Apparently, Milda had run into trouble at Ferde before, and Master Link saved her. After that, Milda stayed in Ferde instead of returning to the Isle of Dawn. She even had her own house in Ferde.

These weren’t secrets. Anyone would know if they asked.

As a Magician, she didn’t even control her emotions and cried when they’d heard the news of Link’s death. Now, she was this emotional… Was there something between them?

Everyone was relaxed at this time.

Riel, the king of the Dwarf Mountain, was very straightforward. He slammed a fist on the table and laughed, saying, “The princess is in love with the Magician? Haha, that’s great!”

The Yabba airship commander also giggled. “I bet this would be written in epic poems.”

Duke Abel and the other deputy officers exchanged glances awkwardly. They all knew that Link had a woman in the Ferde Territory named Celine or something. Those two were apparently very in love. The High Elf Princess’ reaction made things awkward.

The duke chuckled. “Aha, that’s Master Link’s private matters. Let’s stop discussing it and go welcome him.”

Everyone rose and walked out of the hall.

Along the way, the more Duke Abel thought about it, the more he found it odd. When he walked past the first checkpoint, he finally understood. “Princess Milda’s matter is Link’s own private thing,” he whispered to the officers beside him. “It’s forbidden to discuss. We’ll pretend we didn’t see anything and don’t know anything. If any of the soldiers gossip, punish them! Understood?”

By the end, Duke Abel’s eyes grew harsh, and his lips were pressed thinly. His expression was very strict.

“Yes, General!” The officers didn’t know why their general was like this, but they obeyed anyway.

Abel actually had very deep thoughts behind this action.

The dwarves and Yabba were foreign races. Outsiders didn’t care and had no qualms about causing some drama. However, Abel knew that Princess Milda’s tears were genuine but rushing out to welcome him after learning that Link was still alive was a bit purposeful.

She was the princess of the High Elves and her each move was critical. After living in the fortress together these days, Abel knew that Milda was clear about her duties. She might not be a mature politician yet, but she was already on the way to maturity. She was stronger than most people.

How could she lose her cool like this?

Bryant had a messy relationship with a High Elf back then and even died in the Isle of Dawn… Hmph, do the High Elves want to get all our human geniuses? What a good plan! Thinking of this, Abel’s heart turned cold.

He was known as the iron duke and had a strong personality. The wellbeing of humanity was always first for him. In his opinion, the High Elves and Dark Elves were both foreigners. They could work together but must be cautious!

Of course, even though he was unhappy about Milda’s actions, he was a political figure, and they were allies. Abel quickly adjusted his emotions and put a smile on.

On the other side, Link had just crossed the first wall of the fortress and soldiers already filled the square. They were all there just to see the infamous Magician up close.

There were so many people. Thankfully, the soldiers mostly kept order and there were officers present. No chaos erupted.

While walking, the crowd at the front grew loud. There were gasps and cries.

“The High Elf Princess is here!”

“Oh my god, how can there be such a beautiful woman in this world?”

“She must be the incarnate of the moon!”

The High Elf Princess had been at the Orida Fortress for more than a month, but when she’d first appeared, she wore a veil. Later, she mostly stayed at the Mage Tower, so most regular soldiers had no chance to see her true appearance. There were rumors that she was beautiful but as to just how beautiful, no one knew.

Now, she appeared right in the crowd and didn’t hide her face at all.

Her features were the stunning type and were quite offensive. Just a glance could make someone go blind from the beauty and stop breathing.

Barely any beauties of this extent appeared before the males. In a war fortress where even a female pig was stared at, it was no surprise a commotion was stirred.

Seeing this scene, Link obviously knew what was up. His brows furrowed slightly, feeling that Milda’s actions were improper.

At this time, Milda had arrived before him.

She wore a long ivory dress of the High Elf style decorated with many silver magic runes. She had a snow bear cape on her back and a snow fox throw on her shoulder. Her golden hair fell down her shoulders like sunlight. There was a flame-like silver mark painted on her forehead as well. When she walked over, the elegant and glamorous aura was overpowering.

Such a fine beauty appeared among all the sweaty and ragged soldiers. In comparison, Milda was like a goddess.

Link’s eyes brightened too, but he quickly looked down and bowed. “Princess—”

Before he could finish, Milda walked up and hugged him tightly. “Link!” she cried happily. “You’re still alive. That’s great!”

“Woah!” All the surrounding soldiers started to jeer and cheer. This was legendary.

Without thinking much, someone yelled, “Master, kiss her!”

“Marry the High Elf Princess!”

“Master, the princess likes you!”

Link was even more shocked. He felt Milda’s body tremor as if she was really excited, but it still felt odd. In his memory, Milda’s every move was like a true princess. She would never do something that could be misunderstood before so many soldiers.

They weren’t that close either.

It felt wrong.

Hugged so tightly, Link couldn’t push her away either. He could only mutter, “Your Highness, it was dangerous indeed, but I’m already back…Can you let go now?”

It was nice to hug a beauty, but Link was passed that. The High Elf Princess’ beauty was unparalleled, even prettier than the Red Dragon Queen. However, Link had marked her with the “political alliance, no other relationships” tag in his mind.

There was no other reason save that she was the High Elf Princess. No matter how innocent and naive she was, after a few years, she would still mature. They could become allies but as for love…that wasn’t an option.

Link’s tone was calm and devoid of extra emotions. Milda stiffened and instantly let go. With red eyes, she whispered, “I thought you died, but you came back alive. Sorry, I lost my composure.”

“It’s alright, no need to apologize.” Link immediately changed the subject. “Does that mean Skinorse is back?”

“He’s back and also brought back your magic notes. But now it seems that the notebook can be returned to its owner.” Milda had already recomposed herself. She took out the notebook and handed it to Link.

Link accepted it. Just as he was about to speak, Duke Abel and the others arrived.

Duke Abel’s smile was a bit forced. He suddenly sped up as he got to Link and forced Milda to the side. Opening his arms wide, he laughed heartily and gave Link a warm embrace. Then he patted Link’s back and lamented, “Master, it’s so great that you’re back.”

Link could only reply out of courtesy. He’d already felt the subtle vortex as soon as he’d arrived. He couldn’t help but sigh. This is politics. It’s far less interesting than magic.

He pretended he couldn’t tell the subtle jabs. After a bunch of polite small talk, Link arrived at the iron stronghold at the mountain peak.

Milda had mostly returned to normal now. She explained the situation of the Magicians at the Orida Fortress.

In the fortress, there were more than 300 Magicians. Two hundred and thirty-four were humans. The highest level was Level-6, and there were three Magicians. Seventy-six Magicians were High Elves with the lowest at Level-6. There were two at Level-7—Milda and Romilson.

After hearing this, Link thought carefully and said, “There are enough Level-6 Magicians. Start training now…How about ten days? After ten days, the magic seal will be able to be used officially.”

These words roused everyone present. “Master, how is your health right now?” Duke Abel asked.

“No problem at all. We can start now!”

“Great!” Duke Abel had already forgotten the earlier problems. The frustrations built up in his heart due to the Dark Divine Gear were all wiped clean.

…

Four hours ago

Whoosh. Aymons appeared in the forest.

Riding the Dark Serpent, he flew northwestward while thinking about the war situation.

When I left, Misamier was gravely injured. She’s probably dead now. The surviving demons probably aren’t Link’s match. He’ll definitely reach the Orida Fortress alive. That man is too frightening. He actually used a Legendary Spell. He might be able to think of a way against the godly techniques. No, I can’t drag it on any longer!

Conquering the Yabba capital would take at least one more month. This was too long, and he couldn’t wait.

Chapter 358: Eve of the Final Battle (3/3)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Rumble, Rumble!

Half a mile outside the scientific capital of Lariel City, the magic cannons belonging to the Dark Elves were bombarding Lariel’s magic defenses.

Lariel had no city walls. Instead, the city was surrounded by a magic dome barrier. This barrier was extremely strong and possessed the strength of a Level-9 expert. It was extraordinary, at least 30 feet thick, with a diameter of over 2.5 miles.

Every shot from the magic cannon was equivalent to the power of an expert Level-6 attack. Yet, although the Dark Elves had continuously bombarded the city for three days and expended over a thousand cannon shells, the magic barrier had only thinned slightly.

When Aymons arrived at the scene, the cannons were still going off without stopping.

“What’s the situation?” Aymons immediately went to the commander’s camp to ask his disciple, Lawndale.

In this sneak attack on the Yabbas, Aymons was the overall commander. The commander amongst the demons was Misamier, while Lawndale was Aymons’s deputy commander, as well as his greatest assistant.

“The strength of the barrier has decreased by 8.3% from three days ago. At this rate, we will be able to reduce its strength to under 50% in 20 days. At that time, with the strength of the alliance between the demons and us Dark Elves, we will successfully break into and conquer Lariel City,” Lawndale reported, being very precise with the estimates.

“Twenty days? Can the magic crystal keep up with the consumption?” Aymons asked.

The magic cannons were powered by special magic crystals obtained from the Yabbas. They had obtained this technology from previous Yabba cities that they conquered, and as for the magic crystals, the only way to obtain them was from the sky city Pollol. Because that was the only factory that produced these crystals, the crystals were extremely limited.

If it weren’t for the limitation because of the crystals, they would have fired way more than a thousand shots in the last three days. In fact, they might even have broken through the barrier by now.

Lawndale replied confidently, “There shouldn’t be any problems. Actually, I’ve discovered the blueprints for the crystal factory and am constructing one such crystal factory for our clan. It should be ready to begin production in half a month. At that time, our rate of attack can increase by one fold!”

Aymons revealed a slight smile. He loved to see his disciple’s confident demeanor. Then, he asked, “How many cannons we have now? What about airships? I want an exact number.”

Lawndale found this queries strange, but he reported the numbers nonetheless. “We have 500 cannons, of which 200 are being used in battle. Among them, 50 were built by us, although they aren’t as effective. We also have five airships, and each airship contains 50 more cannons. Although we can maneuver them in the air now, it will take a bit more practice to properly use them in battle.”

“The airships can’t be deployed yet? Isn’t there a team of Yabba pilots?”

Lawndale replied, “Teacher, I was just about to report this to you. The Yabba puppets that are controlled by the Dark Serpent are completely useless. Operating the airships is a very delicate process. These puppets’ minds are not in perfect condition, and they can’t do it. In fact, they’ve already ruined one airship.”

Hearing this report, Aymons pondered in silence.

Then, Aymons went to the frontlines of battle. The moment he revealed himself, multiple musket shots were fired in his direction by Yabba musketeers. They were very fierce and precise, and it was because of them that the Dark Army had taken such damage.

Of course, this attack was ineffective against Aymons. Around his body appeared a barrier. Clang clang clang. Upon hitting the barrier, the bullets simply dropped to the ground.

Aymons inspected the thick magic barrier around Lariel and sighed.

The Yabba’s magic barrier was not only incomparably thick, but it was also extremely well-designed.

It was not simply one thick piece of barrier which would collapse upon breaking. No, it was made of multiple layers of small barriers, such that even if a few were destroyed, the other layers would still be unaffected.

With this kind of defense, it would be useless even if Aymons used the Divine Gear to attack. All he could do was to open an isolated hole that, were his forces to use to enter, would incite an attack from the Yabbas all around it. Such an attack was doomed to fail.

Over the course of history, the ancient Yabba people had faced many such attacks. Their history was only slightly shorter than the even more ancient Yabba people.

After observing for another ten seconds, Aymons turned around and said to Lawndale, “Prepare to retreat!”

Lawndale was shocked. “Teacher, but why?”

Aymons responded with an explanation that was not really an explanation. However, he knew that his disciple would understand. “Link has mastered a Legendary magic spell. Furthermore, he has returned to Orida Fortress with news of our attack.”

Lawndale immediately shut his mouth.

He knew that this attack on the Yabbas was a covert operation. This was why they had done all they could to prevent information from leaking out. Once the alliance got wind of their activities, the Dark Army would have to face an attack from two sides. Furthermore, Link had unexpectedly mastered a Legendary spell. That would make him a Legendary-level Magician. How could he have ascended so quickly?

Aymons continued, “Misamier and I went to subdue him. In the end, Misamier was killed, and I had no choice but to teleport away. Not only has he mastered a Legendary spell, but his puppet also possesses enough power to oppose the Divine Gear. I suspect that Link gained some knowledge on how to fight against the Divine Gear from the dragons.”

Lawndale was shocked, but his mind still ran through his plans quickly. “In that case, we’ve got to take down Orida Fortress before our opponents are ready. No matter what, we need to take down this stronghold.”

“Exactly.” Aymons was pleased with his disciple. Whatever he entrusted to his disciple, it would be completed to his satisfaction, with no gaps left behind.

“Teacher, there will certainly be no problems for our army to retreat. But what about the demons…?” The demons weren’t under the control of the Dark Elves, and since Misamier was dead, they had lost their chain of command.

“Leave that to me. I will contact Nozama, Lord of the Deep.”

After leaving the frontlines, Aymons immediately went to the summoning blood pool.

The entrance to the blood pool was deep in the forest. Around it were numerous high-leveled demons guarding it. It was so heavily guarded that not even a fly could enter. Even Aymons who was the summoner of the demons could not simply enter as he wished.

As he approached the forest, he was stopped by a fear demon. “Sir Aymons, now is not the time for summoning. What business have you?”

Aymons knew that this fear demon was not the only guard in the area. Around them were hidden at least three-dimensional demons. If he made any suspicious moves, he would immediately come under attack by these demons. Maintaining his composure, he said, “I have something important to discuss with your lord. Please lead the way.”

The fear demon was silent for a while. In fact, he seemed to be distracted. Aymons knew that the demon was using some secret art to communicate with the demon guarding by the side of the summoning blood pool, and so he waited quietly.

After a moment, the fear demon asked, “Where is commander Misamier? Why isn’t she here?”

“I was going to discuss that with your lord. Misamier has met a bad end.”

The fear demon was shocked. “What! How could she have died? Who killed her?”

Aymons was beginning to lose his patience. “This is exactly what I am going to discuss with your lord!”

The fear demon looked distracted again, and finally, after a while, he moved aside. “Please enter.”

Aymons walked forward, entering into a thick fog. In the fog was a mysterious passage, and as he walked into the passage, Aymons had a sense that time and space was being distorted.

He knew that this was a teleportation portal. Although it looked short, it was actually over 250 miles long and lead into a deep valley within the Black Forest.

Just like this, in five minutes, he found himself in a wide-open field. From the ground wafted up black and red columns of smoke which filled the air with a thick scent of sulfur and helium. The sky was painted a blood red, and within it could be seen waves of ripples, as though it were a sea of blood.

In this field, there was a circular blood pond over 90 feet wide. The blood within the pond bubbled, emitting white gases. As these white gases spread out, they formed into a miserable looking face.

It was very horrifying.

Maintaining his composure, Aymons manipulated the Dark Serpent, using it to carry himself forward. After walking forward 30 feet, a black figure soundlessly appeared by his side.

This black figure was 5’5”l which, by demon standards, was rather small. Its body was cloaked in an oversized mantle, and it made absolutely no sound as it moved, as though it were made completely of gas.

Aymons did not dare to take this fellow lightly. He could feel the strength of a Level-9 expert from this figure. At the same time, he knew that this was Lord Nozama’s strongest Assassin Noyo, also nicknamed “The Guide to the Netherworld.”

According to history, this Assassin had appeared only three times in the world of Firuman. Each time he appeared, he had either directly or indirectly caused the collapse of various northern human dynasties. His most acclaimed achievement was the assassination of a certain Elf Queen and his subsequent retreat, which left him unscathed.

After Noyo appeared, he didn’t say anything but merely followed beside Aymons. After a short distance, he vanished completely into thin air. How he came and how he went, as well as when he went was something Aymons would never know.

In front of the summoning blood pool, Aymons stopped and took a deep breath. Then, he started to chant a contract spell.

As he chanted the spell, the bubbling in the blood pool grew faster, even starting to rise up. After a minute, a blood-colored figure stood in the middle of the pool.

“Why did you summon me, Aymons?” The voice shook Aymons out of his trance. The voice was sonorous, deep, and made one feel extremely comfortable listening to it.

If not for this creepy environment, just based on the voice alone, Aymons would never have imagined that it belonged to Firuman’s most vicious demon lord.

“Lord, Misamier has been killed by Link.”

“I already know that. I collected the remains of Misamier’s soul. She told me everything. It’s not pleasant news.”

Aymons had nothing to reply. He kept his silence for a while. Then, he continued, “Our sneak attack on the Yabbas has been discovered. I plan to immediately converge our forces onto Orida fortress. I hope your army can support me.”

The blood figure stared intently at Aymons and asked. “Hmmm? Aren’t you afraid that the Yabbas will go to aid the Orida Fortress?”

“The Yabbas have already been cowed by our army. As long as we leave our magic cannons at their city to continue the bombardment, they wouldn’t know that we have left, at least not for a short while. Once we reach Orida Fortress, using the power of the Dark Serpent, I believe we can quickly take down the fortress,” Aymons explained the plan he had long prepared.

Originally, Aymons had planned to gather their strength before heading to Orida Fortress. This way, once they took Orida Fortress, they could rapidly expand their warfront and achieve a swift victory. However, now, that was not possible.

Lord Nozama did not respond to agree or disagree. He sank into silence.

Looking at the blood figure, Aymons could not read what the demon lord was thinking. He could only wait.

After a few minutes, Lord Nozama’s voice sounded once again. “Let Noyo follow you. Send some Assassins with him; he will help you get rid of Link. This way, they would be unable to deal with the Dark Serpent at least.”

Aymons let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you very much!”

Chapter 359: Too Much Energy, Need a Way to Let It Out

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Orida Fortress

To reinforce the Yabba race getting attacked up north, the entire defensive line went into action. Soldiers were brought over, and supplies were transported. As the core of the defensive line, the Orida Fortress was obviously the busiest. Everyone was up to their necks in work.

Of course, those matters had nothing to do with Link. He only had one task—to train Magicians and complete the Soul Slalom Magic Seal to combat the Dark Serpent.

The Orida Fortress contained three Mage Towers. The two subordinate towers were similar to the Mage Tower of the East Cove Higher Magic Academy. The main tower was practically equal to the Heaven’s Thorn Mage Tower.

There was a 300-square-foot garden between the three Mage Towers surrounded by a low wall. This was the Magicians’ independent area.

Link practiced the magic seal with the Magicians here.

One had to be at least Level-6 to join the magic seal, so most of them were High Elves. There were only five humans, including Link. The High Elves were honestly much more advanced in magic than humans.

The magic seal was very tedious. Every Magician had to multitask while operating it. While casting the spell, they must keep an eye on the Mana of the other Magicians at the same time and adjust their own Mana output accordingly.

The intensity of the training was like having a Magician continuously cast spells at the pinnacle of Level-6.

These tasks were practically beyond the limits of the Magicians and were tedious. However, this directly influenced the result of the battle, and there was no way to back out. Every Magician gritted their teeth and put in all their effort.

But even the strongest determination had a limit. On average, Magicians were physically weak as well. During training, Link paid attention to the physical state of each Magician. Once someone approached their limit, he would immediately end training for the day and take a break.

Every Magician in the Soul Slalom was precious and indispensable.

The result was that Link could only train them for three hours per day.

After each session, the Magicians were all exhausted. They would hurriedly cast a healing spell for themselves and sleep like the dead as soon as they returned to their rooms.

High Elf Princess Milda and Level-7 Magician Romilson were slightly better but not by much. They went to bed early to save energy. In actuality, they had to sleep 16 hours every day.

Only Link would be left.

Before this, he would be like Milda and the others, but it was different now. After receiving the Dragon Power, Link’s vitality was extremely high. This training was just like a warmup for him.

After training for three hours, there was still much of the day left. What should he do?

Naturally, he started studying magic books.

Link had many books and scrolls at hand. The most valuable were the Wonders of Space from the Night King and Bryant’s Revelations Scroll IV rewarded by the system.

With Link’s current strength, it was difficult to improve in regards to spatial magic. On the other hand, Bryant’s Revelations Scroll gave him many benefits.

After weighing the choices, Link focused his attention on Bryant’s Revelations Scroll. He became obsessed as soon as he started. After training ended each day, he would return to the Mage Tower and start reading the scroll. He would read for 15 hours per day, sleep six hours, and be filled with energy the next day.

There wasn’t much content in one scroll. Because of his endless energy, Link could maintain his thought operation at the highest level.

He finished the scroll two days later.

The technique explained in this scroll is so interesting. If I cast spells using this, the power of the spell increases by at least 50 percent and the speed rises by five percent too. It’s like having a high-quality wand.

Link was very satisfied. There were still some things that he hadn’t completely understood. He didn’t have anything else to do and had so much energy, so he just read through casually, absorbing the wisdom of the Legendary Magician.

This would definitely be torture for the average man, but to Link, it was relaxing.

While reading, someone knocked on the door. Link could tell who it was by the aura. He activated the Magician’s Hand and opened the door.

Dressed in an officer’s leather armor, Princess Annie stood prettily by the door. She saluted to Link casually and asked with a smile, “Master Magician, are you busy?”

Link put away his scroll and replied, “No, no, come in and have a seat.”

With that, he used the Magician’s Hand to bring fire wine over and poured a cup for Annie. “It’s cold out. Have a cup to warm yourself.”

A year passed in a blink. It was now early winter, and the first snow was the day before yesterday. The wind cut into one’s bones while walking outside. Annie’s cheeks were red from the wind.

She walked in, sat down, and took a sip of wine. Letting out a long sigh, she said, “I heard you’re all practicing the magic seal. It’s really hard, and many Magicians are ill from the fatigue. I thought you would have a hard time, but I guess I was worrying for nothing.”

Link chuckled. He pointed at his head and said, “The mysteries of magic are endless. I received some secret spells from the dragons, and my body is much better now. You might not even be my match in terms of strength.”

Nourished by the Dragon Power, Link’s outer appearance didn’t change much, but his strength had risen greatly. His physical strength was probably equal to a regular Level-5 Warrior now, and he didn’t even train.

If he underwent the rigorous Warrior training, he could definitely reach a Warrior’s Level-7.

“Really?” Annie didn’t believe him. After returning from the Black Forest, she’d broken into Level-5, and her strength started improving rapidly. She was now at the pinnacle and would soon enter Level-6.

She specialized in assassination and power wasn’t her strongest suit. But if she couldn’t beat a Magician, that would be embarrassing.

“Want to try?” Link was interested. He pulled a chair before Annie and rolled up his sleeves. He reached his hand out for a simple match of arm wrestling.

Annie was amused too. “Fine but I might crush your bones,” she joked. “But I won’t use my Battle Aura so you can’t use spells either!”

If Link cast something like a Titan spell for himself, Annie would definitely lose.

“Sure.”

Link grasped Annie’s hand. Her hand was small, but her palm was rough. There were thick calluses from using a dagger yearlong. Link’s hand was a typical Magician’s Hand—soft and fine without any calluses or scars.

After holding hands, Link said, “I’m going to apply force. Be careful.”

Annie felt the warmth of Link’s palm and couldn’t control her heart. She blushed involuntarily and calmed herself down with difficulty. “Come at me,” she said seriously.

They used their power at the same time, and something cracked. No one won, but the wooden table under their elbows met its demise. It cracked under the immense power and almost collapsed.

With the table damaged, the match couldn’t go on. Annie gaped at Link’s hand. She didn’t expect this. “Link, the dragon spell is so powerful. With your power, you can go practice martial arts.”

Link shrugged instinctively. “I’m a Magician. Why should I learn martial arts? I don’t have time and my energy…Hey, actually that’s not a bad idea.”

In Firuman, no Magician practiced martial arts. Other than the bias against physical combat, they also didn’t have the energy.

For a Magician, the endless and boundless spells were enough to take up all their time and effort. They were usually physically weak too. Even if they trained, it wouldn’t be of much use. They’d also be laughed at by other Magicians so who would do it?

But actually, there was no rule against Magicians training in martial arts.

Back in the day, Link faced the same problems as other Magicians. Now, he had the physique of a dragon. Practicing martial arts while he had no inspiration for studying spells could help relax his mind. He might even become accomplished after training every day.

To Link, martial arts was just for relaxing his mind. Before, he would walk everywhere but now, his body was too strong. Strolling around was a waste. Why not practice martial arts?

Thinking of this, Link smiled. “Annie, you reminded me. After receiving the dragon spell, I’m full of energy, and I shouldn’t waste it. Let me think…How about I learn swordsmanship? Can you find me a teacher?”

Annie laughed. “That’s easy. Kanorse, the Dawn Swordsman, is in the fortress too. I’ll call him over.”

What human could surpass the Dawn Swordsman in terms of swordsmanship?

Link’s interest deepened. He chuckled and said, “Oh, don’t. Since I’m asking him to be my teacher, I should be the one to find him. I owe him a magic sword too. How about tomorrow? After training tomorrow, can you take me to him?”

If not for her duties, Annie would rather be with Link at all times. Now that she had a legit reason, she would obviously agree. Smiling, she replied, “Of course. I’ll come find you tomorrow.”

The two made the plan and chatted for a while. Annie was now a high-level commander of the MI3 and was quite busy. She left soon. Link glanced at the sky and realized it was only two in the afternoon. It was still early, so he started forging the magic sword.

This would be his gift to his teacher.

Chapter 360: Too Simple

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Link had plenty of materials on hand. Previously, when the Beastman Warlord commissioned Link to craft his axe, there were many leftover materials. There was plenty left to craft a magic sword.

Link once crafted a Khorium sword for Kanorse. Kanorse had provided Link with the design for the sword, so it was very simple. Therefore, right now, based on a similar design, all Link needed to consider was the magical component of the sword.

After thinking about it for a while, Link decided to use talismans to inscribe the sword with magic. He had plenty of experience with using talismans, and based on his experience with it, he could create profound effects.

He had a few high-grade talismans with him, ones that he had gotten from High Elf Lord Derrac’s Lightning Wand.

He took out one lightning talisman from his dimensional pendant.

When no energy was being inputted into the talisman, it looked like a transparent crystal, beautiful to look at. It would definitely make a good necklace for a gift to one’s wife, and would absolutely fetch a high price on the market.

This lightning talisman was originally designed for the wand, and not for a sword. Therefore, some adjustments would have to be made.

At this stage, Link already had an idea of the things he’d need to change. After casting an Eagle’s Eye spell on himself, Link began to modify the talisman.

Hmm, my eyesight has also improved. Previously, these minute markings weren’t so clear before. Now, I can see everything clearly, Link mused to himself in surprise.

In the past, he truly envied Felina’s eyesight. Right now, his body had improved to the point that it was comparable to the best.

With plenty of spirit, outstanding eyesight, Link’s modifications to the talisman were completed quickly.

Three hours later, a brand new talisman lay in his hand. Information about this new talisman appeared in his vision.

Lightning Tempest Talisman.

Level: Epic

Effect: After channeling Mana into the talisman, the talisman will convert the Mana into lightning energy.

(Note: Priceless gemstone)

The talisman thus formed the core of the sword. The next step was to construct the carrier, the sword that would support it.

Whether or not the talisman could fully utilize its power would depend on the grade of the sword. The sword was fundamentally many times easier than the talisman and was simply no challenge to Link.

Modifying the talisman took Link three hours, whereas constructing the carrier took only half an hour. Very soon, a shape similar to the Khorium sword was produced.

Link inlaid the talisman into the base of the sword blade, aligning the talisman with the lines on the sword. The lightning talisman sword was created!

The process was extremely fast, taking only about 3.5 hours.

If I had used traditional methods to create this sword, it would take me at least a week. Using talismans to do it is a much better way!

Picking up the blade, Link made some adjustments to the body of the sword. Now, the sword was considered complete.

Since this sword was a gift, it would not be appropriate to simply hand it over like this. Link created an elegant ebony box for the sword which he then placed the sword into. Suddenly, Link had a flash of inspiration. He quickly put away the sword and began studying the Flame and Purification spell.

Very quickly, a day passed by.

The next day, after conducting the regular training for the Magicians, Link chose not to leave from the training grounds. Annie walked over, accompanied by Kanorse.

Annie waved her hand helplessly, saying, “Link, I told Kanorse about your request, and he immediately came over.”

Kanorse laughed and said, “I heard that you were preparing a magic sword as a gift. I was curious and couldn’t resist coming to take a look.”

Well, fine. He’s already here, Link thought. He retrieved the box from within his dimensional pendant and handed it over to Kanorse.

The box was simple but incredibly elegant. Looking at it, Kanorse’s eyes lit up. He carefully opened the box and laid his eyes upon the sword within.

The exterior of the sword was a silvery white. Along the body of the sword was carved exquisite flowing runic lines which sparked with electricity. At the base of the sword was inlaid a brilliant gemstone which emanated a thick aura of lightning energy. It made the entire sword feel very electrifying.

Kanorse held his breath as he kept the sword aside. Immediately, the electricity disappeared, causing the sword glow to fade away. Kanorse was puzzled by this effect. Link explained, “When you’re not channeling your energy into the sword, the sword will automatically stop releasing energy so that it doesn’t appear too eye-catching. Now, try channeling your Battle Aura into the sword.”

Kanorse followed Link’s instructions. Immediately, the sword lit up with electricity as small explosions of lightning went off around them. Kanorse did not control his strength earlier and used too much force, causing the sword to explode with energy, transforming a nine-foot area around them into a lightning field.

Link and Annie were surrounded by a defensive barrier that Link had prepared earlier. He said, “Your power is too strong, but it is also too dispersed. You need to control the direction of your power on the sword. I can’t advise you much with this; you’ll need to figure it out yourself.”

However, Kanorse’s attention was completely focused on the magic sword in his hands. Who knew if he had heard Link’s advice.

Kanorse was completely engrossed with the sword. At first, the electricity on the sword still striking randomly around the area. Ten minutes later, he managed to contain the electricity onto the body of the sword. Yet another ten minutes later, he was starting to be able to release the electricity as he willed it.

This rate of improvement was stunning, to say the least. It was no wonder that Kanorse was the human race’s strongest champion.

Nonetheless, time was passing by quickly. Annie reminded, “Hey, Link is still waiting to learn swordsmanship from you.”

“Oh? Oh right, I completely forgot! This sword is just too amazing; it’s the best and most beautiful magic sword I’ve ever used. I was just too engrossed in trying it out. It handles well too!” Kanorse praised as he admired the magic sword in his hand. No matter how he looked at it, there were no aesthetic flaws in this sword, and the more he looked at it, the more he liked it.

Of course, since he already received the tuition, Kanorse had to teach Link properly too. He took out a pair of wooden swords that he had prepared beforehand and tossed one over to Link. Holding the other sword in his hand, his expression became serious. “Sir Link, I know that you only want to learn some basic swordsmanship to train your body. Yet, it is the basics that are the most important to build a good foundation. Not only is a proper mastery of basics important for learning advanced techniques, but it is also important to ensure you don’t hurt yourself. So, Sir Link, you must learn this properly.”

Link understood the seriousness of this. He had never looked lightly upon the skills of Warriors. For their skills to last so long in this world, it certainly had to have its own mysteries and strengths.

Kanorse used the wooden sword to demonstrate some basic sword forms. He knew that Link’s eyesight was good, so he moved rapidly. After running through the forms, he asked, “Sir Link, did you understand?”

Link closed his eyes for a few minutes before opening them. “Let me try,” he said.

Link slowly repeated the motions that Kanorse demonstrated—chopping, slashing, stabbing, parrying, so on and so forth. Because he wasn’t familiar with the moves, he took a much longer time going through them. What took Kanorse half a minute took him two full minutes.

Actually, the moves were very simple. Link memorized them all after looking at them once. However, when he actually did it himself, he found that his body could not keep up with his thoughts and would constantly make mistakes.

After he was done, Kanorse nodded his head in satisfaction. “Well done, the overall form is there. However, there are many areas that need to be worked on. Continue training; I’ll correct you as you go along.”

Link nodded his head and repeated the sequence.

Kanorse was a strict teacher. He would shout at Link to stop the moment he noticed a slight mistake to correct the mistake. The basic sword forms comprised of 20 strokes. He took half a minute to demonstrate them, but now, he spent almost an entire hour correcting Link’s form.

An hour later, Link ran through the sequence of forms once more, going very slowly this time.

He didn’t dare to go through the forms quickly. When he did, he found that he could not control his movements properly and would make many mistakes.

Kanorse nodded his head, pleased. “This is it. From here, you need to work on the speed of the movements. Sir Link, even though you are only doing this as a form of exercise, I hope that you would still take it seriously. Based on your current physical capabilities, as long as you train constantly and become familiar with these basic sword moves, they can still become very useful. It is also better for tempering your body.”

Initially, Link had only planned to learn this as a pastime. However, after going through that session with Kanorse, he was beginning to find swordsmanship interesting. Hearing what Kanorse said, he nodded, saying, “Don’t worry. This is really interesting; I will continue to train seriously.”

Kanorse continued, “Over the next week, I will constantly come to check on you until the point where you are able to run through the sequence of forms without making a single mistake. If you have any doubts, feel free to send someone to look for me. I will immediately come over to help you clarify your doubts.”

For such a valuable magic sword, Kanorse was only teaching Link the basics of swordsmanship. Kanorse felt that this trade was too much in his favor, so much so that if he didn’t take responsibility for Link’s training, he would feel guilty.

Of course, Link was not likely to make many mistakes. With his photogenic memory, it would not even be a problem for him. Nonetheless, he still said sincerely to Kanorse, “My utmost gratitude.”

Following that, Link continued practicing.

Annie and Kanorse stood by the side watching him. After watching for a while, Kanorse waved his hand and said to Annie, “I have a feeling that if Sir Link continues to train like this, he could become a very formidable Assassin.”

Annie was skeptical. “That can’t be. Where would Link find the time? He still needs to study magic.”

“I can’t be wrong. Based on Sir Link’s intellect and focus, as long as he continues to train for just an hour every day, he would definitely make incredible progress with the sword within a year.

“This…” Annie was speechless. She had no doubts about Kanorse’s appraisal. It was just that it was simply too unbelievable. Would a Magician that mastered swordsmanship still be a Magician?

The two of them stood in silence for a while. After observing Link for a while more, they left.

Link continued to train.

In the next few days, Kanorse continued to come daily to observe. However, after three days, he decided to stop coming. It was simply pointless. Link did not need Kanorse around, every motion he made was simply flawless.

Link had reached the point where he could feel his own progress.

Every day, after practicing with the magic formation, he would study his magic books, burying himself deep into the books. Then, when he found himself stumped by a problem, he would practice his swordsmanship in the study room of the magic tower. As he practiced, his inspiration would come back, and he would return to his books. Then, soon after, he would return to training the sword, alternating between the two. Surprisingly, his efficiency increased while doing this, and he had unexpectedly found the answer to many problems that were confounding him.

In fact, due to Link training his body, not only was his body getting stronger, the maximum limit of his Dragon Power was rising as well, increasing 20 points every day.

His Dragon Power which started off at Level- 7 quickly rose to Level-8 within half a month.

How interesting. I should’ve done this earlier instead of just strolling. Link found it a real pity and decided to step up the intensity of his training.

A week later, Link’s Soul Slalom magic formation was starting to show signs of being effective. The coordination between the individual Magicians was improving, and right now, they could actually unleash some magic spells. Unfortunately, there was a high possibility that they would make a mistake and needed more time to become familiar with it.

Based on this rate of progress, it seemed likely that Link’s deadline of mastering the magic formation within ten days would be met.

On the other hand, Link’s swordsmanship practice was becoming more fluent, to the point where he had almost mastered it. He no longer needed to use a wooden sword. Now, he used the Storm Lord’s sword.

The sword spirit in the Storm Lord’s sword ignored him, letting Link swing it around without making noise. After practicing for a day, Link found it pointless. Swordsmanship was originally meant for slaying opponents. Where was the fun in practicing it alone?

Link looked at Nana.