Advent of the Archmage

Chapter 450: Was it an Illusion?

Dragon Valley, Mist Maze.

Whoosh, whoosh. A red dragon carrying two figures hurtled out of the Mist Maze.

Once outside the maze, the two figures jumped down from the dragon’s back and began racing across the Korora Mountain range.

One of them, a black shadow, streaked across the ground while being followed closely by a shape of pure light floating ten feet above the ground.

From within the light, a voice rang out, “Eugene, I know what you’re thinking. The dragons are weakened, and you’re planning something up north, aren’t you?”

“Halino, stop sticking your nose into my business all the time! I’m just going to settle a deal with that upstart Morpheus. I am capable of restraint, you know!”

“Restraint? Who was the one responsible for the destruction of the city of Veron 200 years ago? Who was the one who caused that ruckus with the merfolk 130 years ago? Wasn’t it you who brought that epidemic to the city of Tanreau 80 years ago? Let’s talk about something a bit more recent, then. It was you, wasn’t it, who had taught the Dark Elves how to summon Divine Gear? I can tell when you’re up to something!”

In front of him, the black figure laughed bitterly. “Halino, your words do not mean a thing to me. There’s no point in hanging onto such trivial things. What do the lives and deaths of mortals have to do with us? As long as there’s still a realm to live in, everyone’s happy. Don’t you agree?”

“That’s what you think!” The apparition of light laughed coldly. “I was given this power by the realm of Firuman just so that I can deal with someone like you!”

“You really should keep your nose out of people’s business!” Eugene shouted back angrily, his pace quickening even more.

“Yes, and your business just happens to fall into my territory!”

“Screw you, Halino!” Eugene exploded in anger.

In the Emerald Council, they were able to put aside their differences for the sake of sealing up the spatial crack, but once outside the Council, they resumed their almost 300-year rivalry.

In a flash, they vanished into the woods.

After a while, another red dragon came out of the maze, this time with the Mountain Sage Heroto on it. Once outside the Mist Maze, he leaped down from the dragon’s back, patted on its head and spoke with a sigh, “Little one, tell your queen to stop being stubborn and just give up on fighting that thing head-on.”

He then scampered towards the woods and sank into the earth.

Not long after, Bryant exited from the Mist Maze. He turned back to give one last look at the maze and chuckled bitterly. “Oh Link, you attaining dragonification may not be a good thing. Your infatuation with the Red Dragon Queen will most certainly spell your doom.”

He, too, patted the head of the Red Dragon Warrior who had flown him across and said with a smile, “Little one, there’s no hope left for the Dragon Valley. Come with me to the Isle of Dawn; I’m sure you’ll get along fine with the emerald dragons there.”

The emerald dragons were descendants of those who had left Dragon Valley centuries ago to live with the High Elves. Some of their ancestors had fallen in love with the High Elves there, some were drawn to the peaceful way of life in the Isle of Dawn, while there were others who gained the elves’ magical affinity to nature from the World Tree.

As of now, the number of emerald dragons had reached no less than 500.

The Red Dragon Warrior hesitated, pondering the High Elf’s words. The situation in Dragon Valley had indeed worsened, and its future did not look too promising.

Sensing the hesitation in the dragon, Bryant laughed encouragingly. “Young one, with your strength, you’ll be treated like a king. For someone with your potential, there’s just no other way to go but up. Dragon Valley is doomed anyway, so shouldn’t you start looking for greener pastures now?”

“I… won’t be able to face the queen.”

“Ah… You’re already an adult, and the Red Dragon Queen isn’t even your mother. Shouldn’t you be the one deciding your own future? Also, given the state she’s led the Dragon Valley into, I don’t think she’s a leader worth following.”

The Red Dragon Warrior hesitated for a long while, then bit his lip and began flying towards the Isle of Dawn.

On his back, Bryant’s face lit up with a satisfied smile at his newest recruit for the army of the Isle of Dawn.

…

In the Dragon Valley.

Outside the city walls, the Red Dragon Elders had assembled before their queen who was explaining the details of the city’s evacuation to them.

“We’ll be going into the Soul Realm to deal with the Void Tyrant. Even if there doesn’t seem to be any way to take it down, we’ll at least try to buy some time. Pettalong, I’ll leave the evacuation arrangements for the Warriors and commoners to you.”

“Understood.” Pettalong nodded. He glanced at Link, was about to say something, and then stopped himself.

Link knew what he was going to say, and waved a hand casually at him. “You go, I’ll protect the queen.”

There was a look of relief on Pettalong’s face, and he turned back to begin the evacuation of the Dragon Valley.

Link turned to Gretel. “Time is of the essence, this thing is about to move. We should start right now.”

“Okay!”

In his current state, entering the Soul Realm was no longer a problem for Link. With ease, he mentally cast the Soul Conversion Spell.

Whoosh. In an instant, the colors of the world before him faded into black and white. The space around him was dotted with points of red light, which were the souls of the Red Dragons.

Among these lights, the Red Dragon Queen’s stood out the brightest, dying even the grey sky in a dim reddish hue.

Coming in second was Link’s soul, whose light was different from the others. It was neither red nor black, but transparent like water. It was also extremely concentrated, almost solid-like, and did not stand out as much.

Then there were the crimson lights of the Red Dragon Elders and the Dragon Soul Guard. They were not Legendary Magicians, and so their lights seemed far weaker. Compared to the Red Dragon Queen’s, theirs were like little stars overshadowed by the sun itself, rendered almost invisible.

At that point, the city up ahead had turned into a hell on earth. While there were no tentacles in the Soul Realm, it was however filled with a thick fog, where the souls of the people could vaguely be seen.These souls seemed to be on the verge of going out. Their first instinct had been to escape the fog, but they were pulled back by some dark force in it, making it impossible to escape.

Aghast at the sight of all this, the Red Dragon Queen said tremblingly, “This fog must be the doing of the Void Tyrant. He’s still consuming these souls! His soul is simply too strong!”

Everyone felt almost too clearly the oppressive aura of its power. The black fog in front had covered both sky and ground, shutting out all light in the world.

In the face of such incredible power, a look of hesitation hung on each Warrior’s face.

Link furrowed his brows. In the Soul Realm, if one lacked the confidence to win, one would not be able to bring out the most of their abilities, and the battle would have been lost before it had even started.

He turned to everyone and spoke out loud, “Everyone, listen to me!”

When he had all the dragon Warriors’ attention, he continued, “Ever since I became a Magician, I have seen countless battles, fought many powerful enemies, and never have I known defeat. This time, I intend to make sure that my win streak remains unbroken. Follow me, and I’ll guide you all to victory!”

Link’s voice was powerful, but not too loud. Though he had exaggerated his words a bit, no one doubted them. The dragon Warriors were confident in Link’s combat capabilities.

The Red Dragons were all looking at Link, and raising their weapons in the air, they roared in unison, “To victory!”

The light coming off their bodies shone even brighter, and their souls became even more concentrated, their conviction greatly fortified. This was what Link had wanted to see.

He beckoned at them, “Onward!”

He led the way, with the Red Dragon Queen on his side, and the Red Dragons following behind him.

Soon, they arrived before the black fog. Link reached into it and felt the power within. “The power is faint, mixed with the Void’s aura. It may be harmful to the souls of normal beings, but not to us. Everyone, this is only the Void Tyrant’s spirit aura. Its true body lies within this fog.”

Saying this, Link stepped into the fog, and the others followed suit.

Once inside the fog, visibility worsened almost immediately. Their field of vision was no more than 30 feet, as there was nothing but darkness in all directions. From time to time, the soul of a commoner would appear in the fog. Everything felt unreal.

In the Soul Realm, magical power was drastically weakened. Link unconsciously tightened his grip on his magic sword. The Red Dragon Queen had a sword and a shield in both hands as well, giving off the impression of a mighty female Warrior.

After walking 100 feet into the city, the fog gradually thickened, and their field of vision was reduced to two feet. Link could only see at this point the Red Dragon Queen beside him and a few other Red Dragon Warriors behind him. But he could still sense the presence of the others, so there was not much else to worry about.

Suddenly, Link sensed movement in front of him and drew out his sword in a flash.

A black figure swooped at him, which he blocked with his sword. With a clink, the unknown object was sliced in two by the Dragon King’s Fury. Quickly, Link reached out and seized one of its dismembered sections.

As soon as he grabbed it, Link’s hand went cold. A snake-like thing squirmed in his hand and coiled instinctively around his wrist.

Link looked at it and saw that it was a translucent black band as thick as his wrist. It seemed to have the same properties as the black tentacles in the material realm. The only thing different was that the band-like creature was by itself, unlike the throng of tentacles that was the Void Tyrant. This tentacle was also weak. It probably would be around Level-6 in the material realm.

This shocked Link somewhat, as it meant that the Void Tyrant had started reproducing. He immediately shouted back, “Ambush!”

At that same moment, shouts could be heard from the Warriors behind him. They were also ambushed, but no one got hurt, as the enemy did not present much of a threat.

With visibility being greatly reduced, they were in a great disadvantage and susceptible to further ambushes. At this point, Link activated the Assassin’s Vision of Truth.

With the Vision of Truth activated, everything before them lit up. More than half of the black fog had faded away, and Link’s field of vision had increased to 300 feet instantly.

They were now near the entrance of the city. The road in front of them ran straight, with houses lining both sides. Link saw that there were transparent tentacles everywhere, swimming about in the air like fish, and in the sky hung an impenetrable cloud of darkness.

“That must be where the Void Tyrant’s real body is; Silverstar must also be in that direction.”

“Come on, keep up! Follow me!” Link shouted back, and the Warriors returned into a formation as they followed him on.

Right, the Warriors still can’t see much. They can only rely on their senses to follow my lead, and their senses can easily be influenced by emotion, thought Link. I’ll need to keep making sounds so that they’ll be able to hear at all times.

And so, Link announced to the party behind him the places they had passed as they moved on. He explained everything in detail, from the conditions of the road to the floating tentacles around them.

This had brought on a clear effect. Though the black fog obstructed much of their sight, the Red Dragon Warriors were still able to move in formation. Even when they were ambushed by the transparent tentacles, they were able to deal with them without too much trouble.

After half an hour, the party had advanced more than 500 feet, and they were getting closer to the cloud of darkness. Just then, Link heard a feeble voice. “Help me, help me…”

Link was shaken for a moment, but knowing the Soul Realm, he feared that this might be an illusion. He then spoke to the Red Dragon Queen beside him, “Did you hear that? Someone’s calling for help.”

Gretel cocked an ear for any sound and then shook her head. “I didn’t hear anything.”

“Could it have been an illusion?” Link raised his voice, calling for everyone to stop, as he listened again.

“I’m right here! Link, I’m right here, save me!”

He heard the voice again, even more clearly than before. Link turned to look at Gretel, who met his gaze and asked in a low voice, “You heard it again?”

Link nodded.

Gretel frowned. She listened intently again but shook her head still. “I still hear nothing.”

Link then asked some of the Warriors behind him, and they all gave him the same answer.

He was the only one who could hear the voice calling for help.

Chapter 451: Following the Guidance of the Soul

Link’s mission was to save Silverstar’s soul, but he couldn’t reveal that because it was an alert from the game system. He also couldn’t prove that Silverstar’s soul was still alive. No one would believe him if he said that, so he had planned to complete this mission while the entire team was fighting against the Void Tyrant.

But now, there was a cry for help, and he couldn’t determine if it was real or not. Link was conflicted.

What if it was a trap and he led the entire team there? But if he didn’t go—what if it was real? Silverstar understood the Void Tyrant well. If Link could save her, it would be much more possible to defeat the Void Tyrant.

There was another question. Why did Silverstar only call to him for help?

There were many possible explanations. For example, maybe she was too weak, or Link had saved her before, so he received her soul’s recognition. Or maybe this was the Void Tyrant’s evil plan. Link couldn’t determine the validity with pure logic.

He needed to follow the guidance of his own heart. Just like that time at the Dragon Valley’s Mist Maze, he should let his soul tell him the correct choice.

His soul’s voice was very weak; it couldn’t be disturbed at all. Link took a deep breath. Without thinking about anything, he calmed his mind and continued to listen.

After a few seconds, Link’s mind was completely still. All worries, fears, and other emotions had smoothed over. He entered a state of complete peace.

Then he suddenly heard the cries. I’m here, I’m here, I’m here. Save me.

The voice was wispy, lost, and very soft. It was like a spider web floating in the wind; it could be broken at any time.

Now, Link was sure that this was definitely Silverstar’s soul!

He turned to look at Gretel and saw her brows tightly knitted. There was worry in her eyes. She was definitely worrying about the future of the dragon race and the power of the enemy. She was worrying… There were too many distracting thoughts in her mind.

If the queen was like that, the elders and Dragon Soul Guards must be even worse off. They must be anxious and unsettled. How could they hear these soft cries for help in that state?

He understood. Silverstar must have started off calling to everyone, but only I could hear her, so she only calls to me now.

Thinking of this, Link said to Gretel, “A voice in my heart tells me that Silverstar is still alive. We must save her. This will be a great help in defeating against the Void Tyrant.”

“Are you sure?” Gretel stared into Link’s eyes. Her crystal-red eyes were unblinking behind the dragon helmet.

Link was technically the commander of the team. At this time, his one mistake could kill all of them. Gretel was already showing great trust in him by not directly disagreeing with him.

Link looked back confidently. “I’m sure!”

Gretel nodded. “Alright. Take us to her.”

She was handing him the fate of her race. Taking a deep breath, Link called, “Warriors, follow me!”

The voice was coming from the south of the small city. Link led the team southward.

There was a small lake near the south of the city, so there were many creeks. After a while, Link discovered that the black aura was much thinner by the creeks. He could see up to 30 feet. There were less translucent dancing tentacles too.

He didn’t know why but he could still take advantage of it.

“Follow the river. Do you hear the water? Follow the sound of the water and don’t get lost!” Link called.

The creek wasn’t very long—only around 3000 feet. The soldiers walked along the bank. With the target clear, they finished within ten minutes. A lake appeared at the end of the creek.

There was a small dam between the creek and lake; the group walked over to the dam. The black fog in the air had thinned more. The visibility was up to 60 feet.

Here, Link could hear the cries very clearly. Silverstar’s soul must be around here!

At that time, a Warrior pointed at the water below the dam and called, “Look, there’s something in the water!”

Everyone looked over, including Link. Using the Vision of Truth for help, he could see more clearly than the others.

He saw a mess of semi-transparent tentacles near the top of the water. There were at least 3000 tentacles. They flew around and practically covered the entire water surface. However, using the Vision of Truth, Link still saw a ball of weak light in the water under the tentacles.

“Those tentacles are afraid of water. Did Silverstar use the water to escape death?” Link was excited. He could clearly feel the strong soul aura from the water.

Gretel felt this too. She looked to Link with some happiness in her eyes.

“There’s something there. I’ll go check!”

And then plop, Link jumped straight into the water from the dam.

The water in the Soul Realm was freezing in an eerie, bone-chilling way. Despite his physical strength, Link still shuddered when he entered the water. The tentacles on the surface discovered him and sped over. Link immediately went underwater.

Whoosh, whoosh. There was wind from above the water, but no tentacle entered to attack him. These guys really were scared of water!

The Vision of Truth was equally effective underwater. Link looked side to side and saw the faintly glowing soul floating before him. At the same time, the voice in his mind was clearer. I’m here, I’m here.

Link swam over with all his might. When he was closer, he was even surer that this was Lucia Silverstar!

She had silver hair, silver eyes, and snowy-white skin. Her body was slightly transparent, showing this was a soul, but she was much solidified and had clear contours. Only a Legendary figure could reach this extent.

Because she was a soul, she had no clothes. Floating in the water without moving in a fetal position, she looked like a corpse at first glance.

Link continued swimming. Beside the sacred soul, he discovered that she was half-asleep. She didn’t react to him at all. The only change was that the voice in Link’s mind grew much stronger.

I’m here, I’m here, the voice kept calling. She seemed to be repeating it subconsciously.

Link wasn’t worried. He had found her. As long as he brought her back, he’d find a way to save her.

He touched the soul lightly. It felt like he touched something soft, like jello or glue. If Link used a bit more pressure, his entire hand would sink in.

So this is a soul’s substance. An ordinary mortal’s soul would probably just be a puff of smoke, right? Link thought. He carefully cupped his hand around the soul and swam away from the city without breaking through the surface.

At the dam, Gretel sensed Link’s movements, as well as Silverstar’s soul. Looking at the dancing tentacles on the surface, she waved her hand. “Let’s go,” she said to the Warriors. “We’ll go into the water too and leave this place first.”

Plop, plop. The dozens of Red Dragon Warriors and the queen jumped in together. They followed Link and swam forward.

After around 3000 feet, there was a small island. Link carried Silverstar’s soul up. The Red Dragon Queen followed him onto land too.

Link wasn’t familiar with souls. The soul wasn’t wearing any clothes either, so Silverstar was naked now. He carried her and looked awkwardly at Gretel. “I got her, but she seems to be hurt. Do you know what to do?”

He had not looked deep into the category of souls. The only knowledge Link had was from Secret Magicians like Vance and Eleanor, but it was all basic stuff.

“Hand her to me.”

Gretel took Silverstar’s soul from Link’s hands. At the same time, a watery crystal-red light appeared in her hands. The light dripped into the soul. Slowly, a red haze appeared in the white soul.

Ah, save me, save me, save me. She started struggling and instinctively cried for help.

Gretel patted Silverstar’s cheeks gently and murmured, “Wake up, wake up. It’s safe.”

After a dozen taps, Silverstar’s body convulsed, and she finally woke up. Opening her eyes, she yelled, “Hurry, stop him! He’s starting to split!”

“Split?” Gretel was terrified at that.

“Yes!” Silverstar urged. “His body is at the limit already. He’ll split into a new body and continue sucking power. You have to kill him before he finishes splitting!”

With that, a message flashed past Link’s vision.

Mission Completed: Rescue

Player receives 10 Jogu.

Player receives 100 Omni Points.

Activate Second Step: Restriction Transfer

Mission Content: Use Magician Lucia Silverstar’s knowledge to restrain the Void Tyrant’s power and mobility.

Mission Reward 1: 10 Jogu

Mission Reward 2: 200 Omni Points

Link immediately accepted it.

Here, the Red Dragon Queen smiled helplessly. “Unfortunately, we might not be the Void Tyrant’s match,” she told Silverstar. “He’s very strong now.”

Link quickly said, “No, there’s a way!”

The game system had given a clear prompt. Things had to be done step by step. With their current power, they indeed couldn’t go face to face with the Void Tyrant. However, this guy was splitting now and couldn’t move around.

They could take advantage of this time to complete the restraint on him and lower his power. Then they could do the next step. This was the correct way.

Hearing this, Gretel’s eyes brightened. She looked at Link hopefully. “Tell us.”

Link pointed at Silverstar in Gretel’s arms. “Our success depends on her!”

Chapter 452: It’s Trapped

Translator:Nyoi-Bo Studio | Editor: Vicky_

Dragon Valley, Soul Realm.

Link told his plan to Lucia, who shook her head. “No, I can’t do it. I don’t have enough power right now. Even at full strength, I don’t think I could restrain it. Also, my runes only work in the material realm. It’s useless here, but I can’t go back to the material realm.”

Any normal human would have been desperate at this point. Even an ordinary Magician, upon hearing this, would have thought, ‘That’s it, it’s hopeless.’ But Link’s first response to this was to think, ‘There has to be something we can still do.’

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke. “Miss Silverstar, do you mind sharing the details of your Rune of Principle with me? We’ll take it from here. This is Dragon Valley, after all. With the thousands of Red Dragon warriors here, power is something we have in abundance right now.”

“No, I don’t mind sharing,” said Silverstar. “You rescued me, and also, because of me, the Void Tyrant is now rampaging through Dragon Valley. This is the least that I can do, but the structure of my rune is extremely complicated. I fear there may not be enough time for you to master it completely.”

“There’s no need for us to master it completely. You guide us through it, and we’ll follow your lead,” said Link.

“But I can’t enter the material realm.”

On one side, Gretel said reassuringly, “Don’t worry, I know a spell called the Spiritual Cloak. It will protect you from any energy turbulence in the material realm.”

Uplifted by this, Link motioned at them and said, “If that’s the case, let’s get started now, shall we?”

With a swoosh, their surroundings regained color once more as they returned to the material realm.

They were on an island in the middle of the lake south of the city. Looking to the north, the could see endless black vines whipping about, though they still remained in place. It seemed that the Void Tyrant, as Silverstar had explained, was splitting itself into multiple bodies.

Once they were in the material realm again, Silverstar’s body suddenly began flickering like a candle in the wind. When exposed to sunlight, her body began emitting green smoke, like she was being roasted alive. Under these circumstances, it seemed that she would only last a minute at most.

“Spiritual Cloak!” Gretel cast the spell in time.

‘Hum!’ With a soft whir, a thin, red film spread out across Silverstar’s spirit. Gleaming slightly, it twisted its shape around her spirit to form a deep red cloak with a hood, completely shielding Silverstar.

Silverstar’s body regained stability. Underneath the cloak, she looked almost invisible, like a mere transparent shape beneath the hood.

“Okay, I’m alright.” The voice that came from the mantle sounded distant.

With a plan already in mind, Link turned to face the Red Dragon Elders. “This binding spell is large scale, so it will require a considerable amount of power to activate. I’ll need all the Red Dragon warriors here, the more the merrier!”

Some of the Red Dragon Elders nodded in reply without question, while others pondered for a bit, looking at the Red Dragon Queen.

Gretel did not immediately give her answer. Instead, she asked Link, “The warriors’ power levels are too low. Are you sure that will help?”

“Yes, it will!” said Link confidently. At the same time, he tapped in the air and conjured a lens of Spatial Distortion. “Using the principle of Spatial Collapse, I’ll be able to compress anything, other than one’s soul, in the realm of Firuman, including Dragon Power!” he explained.

He had once used the distortion of space to level up the power stored within the Light Rune Stone Herrera had given him back in the Skeletal Fort.

At that time, Link had only been a Level-6 Magician, but now, he had reached Legendary, and his accomplishments in Spatial Magic had more than doubled since. Right now, he was confident he could promote normal Dragon Power to Legendary level with ease in order to activate the Rune of Principle.

All Gretel’s hesitation faded. “Alright, assemble all our warriors!”

The Red Dragon Elders nodded and transformed into their dragon forms before flying off in all directions to carry out the order.

Link then spoke to SIlverstar. “Now then, let’s begin.”

Silverstar nodded. She had no more strength in her, so she was only able to explain the basis of her spell orally while Link and Gretel listened attentively.

The underlying principle was meticulous. After listening to much of it, Gretel frowned. She was able to understand most of it, but to actually grasp the rune structure and implement it would take more than a few days of practice.

And the thing she lacked most now was time.

She began panicking and soon could not keep up with Lucia’s explanations.

‘What do we do? What do we do?’ As she began to panic, she looked at Link, who was still focused on Lucia’s words, just like the time he had proposed his version of the spatial rune back in the great hall.

Seeing this side of Link, Gretel managed to calm down and forced herself to focus and continue paying attention to Lucia’s explanations.

Just then, Link whipped out his magic wand and began drawing out thirty-six different types of runes in the air with it. He asked, “Are these the basic rune structures you explained just now?”

Silverstar took a closer look at them, then nodded. “Yes, they’re all correct.”

Link then added another layer of runes onto the first one, letting them interlace with each other to create a web. “And is this construction of the spell correct?”

SIlverstar checked again and nodded, slightly startled. “Yes, it’s correct. Have you learned it before?”

This also drew a curious look from Gretel. Had Link already understood the spell, when Lucia Silverstar had only just explained the basic principles of it to them? His learning speed was simply incredible.

Link shook his head and explained, “Didn’t we battle the Void Tyrant not too long ago? Back then, your binding rune was floating in the air, and I was able to memorize all of it.”

He tapped his head and gave a sly smile. “I have a really good memory.”

In truth, it was actually the game system that had scanned the whole thing, but to everyone else in the world, it seemed like he was capable of extraordinary feats of memorization.

Silverstar’s eyes lit up at this, but just to be sure that Link wasn’t making it up, she said, “Show me again, let me see if you have everything right.”

Link then proceeded to draw out the rune structure down with every detail that he remembered seeing before. When he drew the 20th rune layer, Silverstar shouted with glee, “That’s enough, now all that’s left is to redraw the whole structure. I don’t see anything wrong with the structures you’ve drawn. With them, you’ll be able to recreate the binding spell that I cast the other day.”

Link sighed in relief and turned to face Gretel. “Your Highness, do you remember everything?”

After ten minutes of careful studying Link’s runes, she nodded. “No problem. I’ll draw them out, see if there’s anything wrong with them.”

At this point, Link had finished his runes. Watching him take the lead, Gretel had loosened up considerably and began drawing the runes out herself with rapt attention.

Five minutes had passed, and she had finished the 20th layer of runes. Checking her work carefully, she pointed out a few mistakes here and there, letting Gretel fix them. Another five minutes passed, and Silverstar finally nodded in satisfaction. “That’s it. You’ve got it now.”

Gretel went through the runes again in her head. She didn’t have Link’s photographic memory, and so the only thing she could do to make up for it was continuously go through the runes in her head.

Ten minutes later, she nodded, saying, “I’m good.”

Link clapped his hands. “We’d best hurry. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

The city’s diameter was at least 1,000 feet. This meant that two of them would have to cast a binding spell circle with a diameter of more than 1,500 feet in order to catch the Void Tyrant by surprise.

There was also a certain difficulty to casting rune structures; each rune would have to be imprinted on space itself, and in order to do this, a certain level of spatial power would be required from the caster.

This was not a problem for either Link or Gretel.

Still, it remained an extremely demanding task.

“According to my calculations, the binding formation must be completed in three hours, or else this will all be for nothing,” said Lucia. With a time limit hanging over their heads, the difficulty of their task had spiked.

Link and Gretel looked at each other. Without another moment’s delay, they began working on the rune structure.

Dragon Power flowed out of them, sending ripples out through the space that then began twisting themselves into runes. The runes flashed for a moment, then dissolved completely in the air.

The two Magicians began weaving the runes together on an invisible canvas like master seamstresses while Lucia Silverstar looked on, watching out for any mistakes they might have made.

Three minutes later, the difference in speed between Link and Gretel became apparent. Link had already finished more than a hundred feet, while Gretel had completed less than thirty feet.

The reason why Link was able to work so quickly was his solid foundation in enchantment magic, as well as some help from the game system. From his perspective, he was able to see virtual images of the runes exactly as they had been placed in the entire rune structure previously. Link simply followed the images without thinking too much about it.

It made everything that much easier.

Inspecting twenty feet or so of the runes beside Link, Silverstar was able to put her worries to rest. These runes, judging from their detail and arrangement, were nothing short of a masterpiece, and she could not have done any better herself.

She went back to check on Gretel and nodded at her work. Though the Red Dragon Queen’s runes were not as elegant as Link’s, they met her expectations. Halfway through, she pointed out a couple of mistakes to the queen and waited for her to fix them.

She calculated the likely time of completion. The rune binding circle was approximately 1,500 feet in diameter and 4,700 feet in length, and the rate at which the two were working was sixty feet per minute. If everything went smoothly, they would be able to finish it in half an hour, which would be quick enough.

Time went by, and Link’s pace increased gradually, until he was jogging around the circle while working on the runes. Both Silverstar and Gretel looked on in utter horror.

On the other side, Gretel had gotten used to the task and was able to draw out a hundred feet of runes per minute, which was still not enough to catch up to Link.

She then spoke to Lucia. “You better check his work, see if there’s nothing wrong with it.”

With a look of concern, Silverstar went to check on Link.

Three minutes later, she returned to Gretel’s side and spread her hands out. “He’s drawing everything way better than I ever could. I couldn’t find any fault in his work. Ah, you got this one wrong.”

“…” Speechless, Gretel returned to her work.

At this time, the Red Dragon Elders returned with a large number of Red Dragon warriors and a couple of normal dragon masters.

Among the 3,000 people assembled. Most of them were around Level-5, including 1,000 of the high level dragon warriors. The average power level was around Level-6, with Level-7 and Level-8 being the outliers of the group.

Everyone had grouped around the rune circle and waited for its completion, ready to infuse their power into it.

Silverstar then proposed to Gretel, “Link is close to completion on his end, why don’t we go back and fix some of the errors you made just now?”

“Okay,” said Gretel apologetically. Her pace had been slow, and she had made a lot of mistakes; there was a stark gap between her work and Link’s.

Gretel went back to tidy up her work, fixing some of her mistakes here and there. When everything was in order, she continued working on the rest of her runes.

This time, to prevent making any more mistakes, she slowed down her pace, with Silverstar constantly checking her work by her side.

Link, who had already covered half of the city, began approaching Gretel from the other direction.

The two ladies looked at each other in bewilderment.

Within half a minute, Link’s runes finally met up with Gretel’s.

With a low hum, the runes joined together on both sides, and the whole rune circle lit up slightly, sending a small tremor through the encircled space.

Silver exclaimed excitedly, “You’ve done it!”

The sudden tremor had startled the Void Tyrant, who was still splitting himself within the city. He let out a roar, “You dare plot against me?”

Silverstar shouted immediately, “Quick, power the rune circle up, he’s noticed us!”

Without being powered up, the rune circle was nothing more than an invisible decoration hanging in the air.

Link rushed out of the rune circle and tapped the air with his wand. “Spatial Distortion!”

In an instant, a ball of Spatial Distortion with a diameter of ten feet appeared twenty feet above ground.

He shouted to the Red Dragon warriors, “Attack the distorted space with all your might! Hold nothing back!”

The Red Dragon warriors were stunned for a moment. They had never received such an order before.

Watching as the black tentacles lashed out from within the city, Gretel herself screamed out an order. “Attack! Use Dragon Slash on it!”

A Red Dragon Elder leapt forward and swung a powerful Dragon Slash at the ball of Spatial Distortion with his sword. A red streak of Dragon Power rushed into the ball, which shimmered for a moment before letting out a highly concentrated thread of Legendary Dragon Power from the other side, directly into the rune circle.

A layer of dim red light spread out across the rune circle. The enclosed space trembled at the same time, and the circle’s binding strength increased as a result.

It was effective!

The Red Dragon warriors began directing their attacks into it, while the circle’s binding strength increased more and more as a continuous stream of red Dragon Power flowed into it.

But this was not enough. Judging from the Void Tyrant’s speed, it was possible he might burst out of the rune circle before its activation. Keeping a wary eye on the black tentacles, Link shouted to the queen, “Your Highness, you must slow down the Void Tyrant by any means necessary! He’s too fast!”

The Red Dragon Queen transformed into her dragon form without hesitation, spread her wings in the air, and spewed out an explosive jet of Dragonfire at the front tentacles.

She flew around the outer circle of the city at an incredible speed, continuously pouring Dragonfire down on the mass of tentacles.

The black tentacles regenerated back almost as quickly as they were being burned to crisps, but were still unable to move any closer to the rune circle.

A minute had passed, and all the Red Dragon warriors had tired themselves out, including the Red Dragon Elders, who laid on the ground. They had all used up a great deal of their Dragon Power in their assault.

The rune circle still needed a little more juice to be fully activated. Luckily, Link had enough strength left in him to pick up where the Red Dragons had left off.

With a hum, the air within the circle began to shiver as the rune formation rotated slowly like a gear. The space within the circle then visibly became viscous. The black tentacles that had been lunging outwards moments ago now slowed down considerably, as all their energy had been sapped dry by the rune circle the moment they made contact with it.

“It’s trapped! It’s finally trapped!” Silverstar shouted excitedly.

Link shared her excitement, too, but his face remained grave, for this was only the beginning. There was still a long way to go until their ultimate victory over the creature!

Chapter 453: Void Hunter

Translator:Nyoi-Bo Studio | Editor: Vicky_

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The moment the Void Tyrant was restrained, Link heard clear dings in his mind. At the same time, a red light flashed in his vision.

Link glanced and saw a bunch of messages.

Mission Complete: Restrain

Player received 10 Jogu

Player received 200 Omni Points

Activate Third Step: Exterminate!

Mission Content: The Void Tyrant is very powerful and can split infinitely. Use the power of the Void ferry to kill it once and for all!

Mission Reward 1: 50 Jogu

Mission Reward 2: Assassin’s Dragon King Belt (Legendary)

Note: Complete before the restraint time ends.

Time Remaining: 120 seconds

The Legendary set had re-appeared, along with a countdown of seconds. Each second was precious. Link immediately accepted the mission and ran towards the small city.

As he ran, the Dragon Power inside his body started surging. His body expanded as well. Two seconds later, he transformed into the black dragon.

Whoosh! Link unfurled his wings and soared into the air. During this, there were various clinks and clanks. Crystal thorns shining like white frost snapped out of his various body parts.

One moment Link’s dragon body still looked a bit gentle. The next, he was filled with an aggressive aura.

This time, almost all the strong dragons were present. They all saw the black dragon whose size was comparable to the Red Dragon Queen.

“Black Dragon King?!”

“Master Link is a black dragon?”

“When did we get another powerful dragon?”

Other than the elders who knew the details, the rest were all shocked. They had felt the Dragon Power within Link and found it strange. Now, this sudden plot twist was too hard to accept.

The only happy one in the crowd was probably Felina. She waved her fist, filled with excitement. She was most familiar with Link and knew how powerful he was. It was definitely a good thing for him to be part of the dragon race.

Soaring into the sky, Link charged towards the city center. At the same time, he exclaimed, “Your Highness, use the Void Destructor to clear the way!”

Gretel immediately rose up. While rising, a 30-foot-wide purple ball appeared in the air before her. This was the largest flame spell she’d ever cast.

“Get ready!” She understood Link’s plan without needing his explanation.

That moment, Link communicated with the sword spirit inside the Dragon King’s Fury in his mind. I need even more powerful strength. Does the Dragon King’s Fury effect work on my body?

“Yes, but it’s not as effective as your human body. It can only double your strength and raise speed by 50%,” said the sword spirit.

That’s enough. I’ll need it later. Get ready!

“Understood!”

This took less than one-tenth of a second. Then Link called to Gretel in the air, “Your Highness, attack!”

Whoosh! The dark purple Legendary fireball fell from the sky like a meteorite.

On the ground, the Void Tyrant laughed. “Giant lizard, your tricks can’t kill me!”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Countless black tentacles shot out from all directions, flying towards the fireball’s trajectory. Half a second later, they formed a shield 300 feet wide!

The next moment, the Void Destruction fireball crashed onto the shield.

Boom! The collision shook the earth. Flames splashed in all directions, lighting the sky and dying it red. A tidal wave of shockwaves spread out. It crashed into Gretel, sending her tumbling through the sky and almost falling down.

Link was further away from the explosion. He quickly retracted his wings and faced the shockwaves as a front-facing streamline. When the shockwaves reached him, his body shook. He felt numb as if getting struck by lightning. Thankfully, the dragon’s body was strong, and he wasn’t greatly affected.

He didn’t worry about the Red Dragon Warriors outside the city. The restraint runes would quickly weaken the shockwaves.

There was a sea of fire before him now. The black tentacle shield was evaporated by the flames, but they’d blocked most of the fireball’s power!

Squinting, Link looked through the flames and saw that the entire city was on fire. The shockwave had turned all the buildings into flatland. However, countless tentacles were still growing in the fire.

They absorbed the fire’s energy and shot up like plant shoots after rain. Their speed was dumbfounding. Dealing with these tentacles was useless. They could only defeat this Void creature by getting to the heart.

The Void Tyrant’s voice rang out. “Haha, you insects, what other tricks do you have?”

Not only were the tentacles regenerating, but they were also moving eastward. The movement was strange. From the sky, the tentacles formed a black tide that flew towards the restraint runes. While moving, tentacles in the tide constantly shot towards the runes.

After shooting out, the tentacles would weaken from the rune array. They would slow down and turn limp. However, it also used up much of the rune array’s energy.

Snick, snick, snick. There were countless sounds, like tens of thousands of arrows shooting out.

The fire in the air thinned. However, the Red Dragon Queen’s attack had a great benefit. It cleared almost half of the tentacles, greatly reducing Link’s obstacles.

The flames quickly lowered to a safe level. Link took a deep breath; the Dragon Power rumbled inside him. Instantly, he felt that his body was like a gunpowder barrel that was already ignited.

He used all his power!

Flapping his wings, there was a boom, and a ripple visible to the naked eye appeared. It was the powerful air current created by his wings! With the powerful push, Link’s speed skyrocketed to the max. The world blurred in his vision. Wind sliced at his body but was stopped by the sturdy dragon scales.

At this moment, he was light; he was electricity; he was a black sword of holy judgment!

Link had a clear target—the 100-foot-wide lump of tentacles wriggling like worms at the heart. He planned to destroy it, enter the Sea of Void, and kill the head hiding there.

While charging, Link saw a body appear in the tentacle ball. The upper half was Lucia Silverstar; the lower half was connected to the tentacles. They had become one.

A crisp woman’s voice came from Silverstar’s body. “Hehe, are you on a suicide mission?”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Countless tentacles instantly shot into the sky, some grappling at Link. Others blocked Link’s path, entangling into each other and forming a net.

“You’re a little bird, and I’m the bird-catcher, hehe!”

Link was huge at almost 230 feet long. However, the tentacle net was even bigger. It was more than 300 feet wide and had many levels. With so many interlocking levels of tentacles, he couldn’t break through with brute force.

If Link was caught, he would definitely become the little bird that the Void Tyrant spoke of.

“Link, don’t be brash!” Gretel yelled, seeing that Link was about to force it. She couldn’t stop him though. She’d just cast the Void Destructor and hadn’t recovered yet.

Link didn’t seem to hear. Just as he was about to crash, he thought, Dragon King’s Fury!

He activated the effect. His power doubled, and his speed rose by 50%. Instantly, it felt like he would explode. Destructive force tore violently through his body. He could even hear his blood whistling.

Whoosh, whoosh. It was like a tidal wave!

Boom! Under this extreme speed, another wave rippled in the air behind him. At first, he was flying at more than 3000 feet per second. Now, he was 50% faster.

This wasn’t all! He expanded all his dragon scales and retracted his wings. His body started spinning like a rotating cluster of blades!

Then he crashed into the tentacle net.

Snick, snick, snick, snick. It was the sound of blades cutting vines. Link easily tore through the black web of tentacles layer after layer. There were three layers, but he sliced through all three.

Link broke free from the web and reached the heart!

“I’m not a bird, and you’re not the bird-catcher. Right now, you’re my prey!”

His power was at the max, and his voice was a deafening roar. It rumbled through the entire battlefield.

Roar. Blazing dragon breath created a path, burning a hole in the black ball. Silverstar’s body evaporated directly. Without waiting for the Void Tyrant to react, Link ducked into the hole. At the same time, he activated the ultimate secret of the dragon body.

Void Ferry, realm teleportation!

Watery light appeared on Link. His body quickly turned transparent and soon disappeared from Firuman.

At the same time, a huge body rushed into the Sea of Void.

The Sea of Void was endless and boundless. It was filled with terrible vortexes and wild currents everywhere. This was the forbidden land for all mortal lives.

Link had once gone through the Sea of Void. He’d almost died that time and suffered from the side effects for a long while. This time, he didn’t feel any pressure, thanks to the dragon body.

His body was the Void Ferry. It helped him fend off all dangers here.

Link saw the Void Tyrant’s head. It was right next to him! It was like an octopus’s head with countless tentacles under it. The tentacles were deep into the glowing World of Firuman.

Suddenly seeing Link in the Sea of Void, the Void Tyrant was shocked too. His bloody eyes stared at Link. Thought waves traveled over, saying, How did you get here? How can you move in the Sea of Void?

He wanted to defend himself, but he didn’t have many tentacles in the Sea of Void. Most of his power was in Firuman, and he couldn’t move them over fast enough. More terrifying was that Link wasn’t far from him. He didn’t have time to escape, and he couldn’t hide!

Link flapped his wings. He discovered that the Sea of Void was really like a sea to the dragon body. When he flapped his wings, he could still use the power to push forward.

This didn’t mean the Sea of Void was actual water. The dragon body was designed to be able to use its power.

Dragon King’s Fury! Link activated it again.

Boom! His wings pushed a bunch of Void power behind, and he shot towards the Void Tyrant.

Roar! Dragon breath cut the path for him. It wasn’t fire now; instead, it was a frosty white flood of Void.

The dragon breath hit the Void Tyrant’s face, and it yelled uncontrollably.

Link took the chance to pounce. He didn’t care about tactics and used his claws, thorns, and teeth, wildly attacking the Void Tyrant’s head.

He couldn’t use magic in the Sea of Void. He could only use the mysterious Sea of Void to attack. The Void Tyrant struggled violently too. The tentacles slapped against Link, cutting apart scales and breaking thorns, but Link didn’t care. He wanted to kill this thing.

After who knew how long, Link ripped off the Void Tyrant’s head. He was covered in wounds too. The worst injury was where a tentacle had dug into his back, straight to his inner organs.

His vision flashed; he’d completed the mission.

Epic Mission Series Complete: Exterminate

Player received 50 Jogu.

Player received Assassin’s Dragon King Belt (Legendary)

Seeing this, Link’s tense nerves relaxed. He finally killed this damn thing.

Chapter 454: The Secret Duke

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

Dragon Valley

Not long after Link plunged into the Sea of Void, Gretel watched as the black tentacles in the city began moving even more erratically.

At first, the tentacles had been whipping against the binding rune circle in an orderly fashion, like a black tidal wave. Now, it seemed that they were beginning to retreat from the circle in a state of complete disorder.

It was like watching a pack of dogs running away in defeat with their tails tucked between their legs.

This lasted for more than a minute, and then, all of a sudden, the tentacles slackened and fell to the ground limply, as if they had lost all the life in them.

This went on for another ten seconds, and by that time, Gretel was sure that the Void Tyrant was dead.

Outside the city

Lucia Silverstar noticed this as well. Upon seeing the state of the tentacles, she immediately shouted ecstatically, “The Void Tyrant is dead! It’s finally been killed!”

“Really?” The Red Dragon Elders all looked at her in disbelief. Their enemy was immense, its tentacles covering both ground and sky. Even a Legendary Flame spell from the Red Dragon Queen couldn’t burn it down. How on earth could it have been killed?

“It’s true! Link went into the Sea of Void, he must have destroyed the Void Tyrant’s brain!” Lucia Silverstar excitedly replied. She was, after all, a Legendary Magician, and she knew exactly what Link had planned on doing there.

One of the Red Dragon Elders asked, “What about Master Link, has he not returned?”

“Well…” SIlverstar could not think of an answer. The Void Tyrant was dead, but Link had not yet returned to the material realm. Surely he must have been all right?

Worried about Link, Gretel immediately leapt into action.

She flew to where Link had disappeared, then entered the Void by activating Spatial Transference.

Once within the Sea of Void, all she could see was a blur of gray. There were energy whirlpools everywhere, and from time to time, flashes of light erupted close by.

A sudden energy turbulence flowed past her in one direction.

The reason was simple: dimensions were not stationary objects in the Sea of Void. On the contrary, they were like bubbles floating on the surface of an ocean, rotating as dictated by the physical laws of their surroundings.

But no one actually knew what those laws were.

“Link, where are you? Link!” Gretel could not find Link at all; for now, the most she could do was send her thought waves out into the Void.

She continued shouting for Link, but no response came from him, wherever he was.

Time went by, and Gretel began to despair, fearing that Link had been killed during his battle with the Void Tyrant, his corpse now being carried away by the eddies in the Void.

But she still needed to thank him for what he had done!

“Link! Link!” Gretel did not want to believe that he was already dead. She continued to fly about aimlessly, searching for any hint of life.

She could not stop thinking about Link.

They had first met each other in the Dragon Square, where he and that Yabba dwarf had destroyed the Worthdamk in secret.

When they had been discussing their theses on spatial magic, he had said to her with a smug smile, “You’ve made a mistake here, Your Highness.”

When they had been walking in the woods in the Korora Mountain Range, he had cleared the path of the brambles and vines for her with much decorum and had even built a stone bridge across a stream for her. On the Ancestor Altar, their sudden change in behavior towards him had not fazed him, and even in her time of need, Link had been the first to step up to her aid.

Now, he had saved Dragon Valley, but at the cost of his life.

She should not have neglected Lucia Silverstar, she should not have associated the Black Dragon King with Link. That was ancient history. Link had nothing to do with it!

She was the one who had sent Link to his death!

“Link! Link!” Gretel’s voice had now turned into a sob.

Just when she was on the brink of giving up hope, a weak mental presence reached out to her. “Stop crying, I’m not dead yet! I’m right here!”

Gretel was overjoyed. She immediately flew where the consciousness guided her. Soon, she found Link lying motionless at the outer reaches of the dimensional barrier. Black tentacles wrapped around him, one of them deeply embedded in his back.

“My dragon body was severely injured. I couldn’t use Spatial Transference with it,” said Link. He had almost been carried away by a strong eddy to the deeper regions of the Void. It was fortunate that he had still had some strength left in him, so he had been able to hang on to the dimensional barrier just in time.

“You’re safe now, I’m here.” Gretel flew to his side, and embraced Link’s body in her arms as she activated Spatial Transference.

A watery film of light began enveloping them, and the two slowly floated and once again resurfaced back into the realm of Firuman.

The light blinded Link’s eyes as he returned to the realm of Firuman, up in the air above Dragon Valley, not too far from where he had first entered the Sea of Void.

Looking down, he could see the lifeless mass of black tentacles and the crowd of dragon warriors outside the city.

Gretel slowly hovered to the ground and let him down gently when she landed.

The dragon warriors surrounded them immediately, looking at Link with a mix of respect, dread, and confusion.

“All right, give us some space. Master Link is heavily injured and needs immediate attention,” shouted the Red Dragon Queen.

Everyone scattered in an instant, as ordered.

Link had received severe damage on his back. The tentacles had pierced through the abdomen of his dragon body. Unbearable pain seized his body at even the slightest movement.

Gretel grabbed onto the tentacle and infused her Dragon Power into Link’s body. She then whispered to him, “All right, this will all be over before you know it, just relax.”

She proceeded to pull the black tentacle fiercely out of his back.

“Owww,” Link roared in pain, and his surroundings went black.

Gretel began sealing up the internal wounds in Link’s body with her Dragon Power, then gently touched his dragon’s heart. A few seconds later, Link’s body began pulling back its dragon form, and he finally returned to his human form.

While there were no traces of blood on his human body, she noticed a bloody wound on his back when taking off his clothes. Though it had stopped bleeding, it definitely stood out like a sore thumb.

Gently picking up Link’s body with her dragon claw, Gretel took off into the sky again and hurled down a Void Destructor Fireball at the black tentacles on the ground.

‘Boom!’ The fire engulfed the ruins below, the lifeless black tentacles disintegrating into ash.

She then ordered her subjects, “Clear the place thoroughly, I want every tentacle burned!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” said the Red Dragon Elders in unison.

Gretel began flying towards Dragon Temple for further treatment of Link’s injuries.

…….

Link’s heart was racing hard as he lay on his bed, unconscious.

The blurry visions he had seen in his state of unconsciousness had been of the land of Felde.

He had seen the place bathed in a sea of fire, children in tears as they knelt beside the corpses of their parents.There were countless corpses of the Yabba people, practically covering the whole island. He had even seen the port engulfed in flames and bodies floating on the sea, its waters running red with their blood.

In the ruins, he had seen black, shadowy figures flitting about. Their pointed ears had resembled those of elves, but they had also had blood-red eyes, and Link had not been able to tell what they were.

It was then that a black shadow had swooped down at him. He had heard a sharp laughter overhead and seen that the black figure was baring its sharp teeth at him. From its mouth, strands of glistening saliva had dripped down to the ground, and he had seen bits of fresh, bloody meat hanging off its teeth.

Link immediately woke up from his sleep when the thing swooped down at him.

Upon waking up, he found himself lying on a large bed eight feet off the ground and staring at a ceiling. Only the interior of the Dragon Temple possessed such a unique architectural style.

He wiped the cold sweat off of his forehead and carefully felt the rest of his body. He felt weak, but there was no pain. There was a tightness around his chest, and he noticed that it was wrapped in bandages.

“You’re awake?” a familiar voice called out. It was Gretel.

“How long have I been sleeping?” Link struggled to sit up. His mind kept going back to the nightmare he had seen just before. The details of it were vague, and it didn’t feel quite like a premonition, but still, he couldn’t help but worry about it.

“Not long. Three days.” Gretel rushed to the bed and helped Link to lean on the headboard of the bed.

A sudden pain shot through Link’s body, reminding him that he had not yet healed fully. “How’s Dragon Valley?”

“The Void Tyrant is dead. The new bodies that had split off from the original were destroyed before they even had a chance to mature. Thanks to you, order has been restored to Dragon Valley.” Gretel sat on the bed and squeezed Link’s hand in gratitude.

“Oh, that’s great then.” Link nodded, indifferently pulling his hand out of Gretel’s.

“When will my wounds be fully healed?” asked Link again.

“Your injuries will need at least half a month to recover fully. However, your dragon body took some serious damage, and while it is capable of self-repair, it may take half a year before you can transform into it again. Don’t worry too much about it. Take as long as you need to rest here in Dragon Valley. I’ve already sent word to Felde. Oh, and I’ve also sent thirty dragon warriors there. Pettalong will be flying there as well in a few days, which should be enough to dissuade any attempts at an invasion.”

The Red Dragon Queen kneeled down beside Link’s bed and raised her eyes to look at Link. “I heard you speaking in your sleep. Don’t worry, nothing will happen to Felde.”

Thirty Red Dragon warriors and a Level-9 Elder would be strong enough to deal with any non-Legendary being. Link let out a soft sigh and nodded at the queen. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

“You just get some rest. If you need anything, call for me, I won’t be far.”

“Okay.”

Gretel gave a few orders to the attendants nearby and was about to leave, but after taking a few steps towards the door, she turned back to Link and stuffed a black seal into Link’s hand. “You are now officially a duke of the Dragon race.”

Without waiting for a reply from Link, she hurriedly exited the room.

Link scratched his head in confusion. This was certainly a peculiar way of conferring the title of duke to someone. She hadn’t even given him the chance to refuse her.

Chapter 455: Use It Now, But Don’t Wear It Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The black seal was a magic ring. Link studied it carefully, and information appeared in his vision.

Dragon Duke’s Obsidian Seal (Rechargeable)

Legendary

Effect 1: Instantaneously creates a Level-12 shield after activating (3/3)

Effect 2: Teleportation from five to 50 miles (3/3)

Effect 3: Summon the Red Dragon Queen!

(Note: According to dragon tradition, dragons who possess the black seal will automatically become the only candidate for the Red Dragon Queen’s companion.)

This seal was useful. It was a shield that could transport him—it was practically lifesaving. The note made Link speechless though. Didn’t “only candidate” basically mean future husband?

The Red Dragon Queen did something like this without telling him again.

No, I can’t take this. It’ll cause problems. How will I explain to Celine later?

Link troubled over this for a long while. Finally, he used the Magician’s Hand to place the seal on the table beside him. With the soft clack, he stopped thinking about it.

Materialize rewards, he told the game system.

Ding! His vision flashed, and a money pouch-like thing appeared in his hands. He opened it to see 50 Jogu that looked like white Go pieces.

He got 50 from this mission. With the 25 from the last mission, he now had 75 Jogu. Aisenis had said that if Link gave him 300 Jogu, he would provide the way to mend the crack.

It wasn’t far away now.

However, he wouldn’t get Epic missions every day. Link decided that after his body recovered, he would go to relics to find Jogu. Right, he could also give rewards for people to help him look.

Other than Jogu, there was also a heavy dark blue belt. Looking at it, the messages appeared.

Assassin’s Dragon King Belt

Lower-Order Legendary (11)

Effect: Activates the Infinite Dragon Power effect. The user’s Dragon Power recovery rate increases by 1000% for 20 seconds. This effect can be used once per month.

(Note: With this, you no longer have to worry about using up Dragon Power.)

“Great.” Link put away the belt.

He didn’t have anything else to do, so he took out the book Dragon to read. He’d been studying the contents for half a month but still only knew the basics. If he wanted to study it all, it would take one or two years.

Link had an idea. Dragons and humans are from the same source. If I can find the secret to Dragon Power and transform it into a battle art, there will be many more powerful humans. At that time, they won’t be bullied by others anymore.

With this goal in mind, Link grew even more serious.

Time flew by and half a day passed. There was a sudden sound by the door. Link looked over to see Gretel walk in with some food.

She took a few steps and saw the black seal Link put on the table. Her steps faltered, but she didn’t stop. Gretel continued forward and placed the food on the table. Picking up the seal, she asked casually, “How come you put it here?”

Link was still focused on the book. Hearing the question, he looked up. Seeing Gretel holding the seal, he instantly felt awkward. After a pregnant pause, he shrugged. “I saw a book in the library, called Traditional Power. It introduced the seal. I don’t think I’m suitable for a duke.”

He actually hadn’t read that book, but he’d seen the title at the library, so he just stole it.

“A mortal’s life is short. I can wait for 100 years later.” Since Link knew, Gretel didn’t have to hide it anymore. She handed the seal to him.

Link felt awkward. This was his first time in a situation like this, but the Red Dragon Queen had lived for 2000 years. She could calmly face these things but Link couldn’t.

He didn’t know what to do. If he rejected her, he would feel heartless. If he accepted, he would be heartless to Celine. He was caught.

Seeing him like this, Gretel burst into laughter. She suddenly realized that this powerful Legendary Magician was only a 20-year-old young man and she had been so scared of getting rejected.

This gave her a psychological advantage. She tossed the seal into Link’s lap, saying, “Take it, kid. Only the elders know this tradition. Even the younger dragons don’t know. Just take it. You don’t have to wear it; just protect yourself. When you think it through, wear it on your left middle finger, and I’ll sense it.”

This was well-said and immediately soothed Link’s troubles. He was realistic. Hearing the queen’s words, he quickly put the seal away. “Then I’ll take it.”

Grinning, Gretel brought over a bowl of soup and set the spoon down. “I was ready to feed you. So many people want me to feed them, but I know you won’t accept it. Here, do it yourself. This soup is made from the purple moon cassava grown in the Moonlight Forest in the south of the Dragon Valley. It’s miraculous for healing. Drink it while it’s still hot.”

“Oh, okay.” Link sniffed, and a rich aroma hit his nose. His appetite was awakened. He took a sip; the aromatic softness tasted great. He quickly slurped the soup down.

Gretel sat beside the bed. Seeing how happy Link was while eating, she couldn’t help but smile. As expected, under the Legendary Magician, he was just a kid who hadn’t experienced much.

This bratty kid.

When Link was done, Gretel asked, “How was it?”

Link felt a warm current flow through his stomach. He rubbed his stomach gently. It had hurt before, but with this warmth, the pain was gone.

He nodded continuously. “It’s delicious.”

“There will be more but the cassava it’s only for me. I gave it to you now, so I don’t have any left. You have to pay me back.”

“Uh…how?”

“You’re an Enchantment Magician. Those guys took the Emerald Circle. And those stabilizing runes…”

Link chuckled. “Oh, that? That’s easy. How about tomorrow? I can start tomorrow.”

Gretel quickly shook her head. “No need to hurry. You can rest a few more days, and I’ll finish the easier parts. I’ll leave the difficult things to you.”

“No problem.”

“Oh, there’s also this.” Gretel took out a magic book for Link. “Lucia Silverstar told me to give this to you. It’s her notes.”

Hearing this, Link ignored his injuries and sat up, reaching for the book. This was a Legendary figure’s gains. It was more valuable than a whole country!

The words Secret Power was written in delicate font. Lucia Silverstar seemed to specialize in Secret spells. It happened to be just what Link lacked.

He flipped through and scanned roughly. Link’s eyes brightened. He hadn’t heard of many of the knowledge introduced in the book. These notes will definitely widen his view of the Secret spells. He’d been at a disadvantage because of this before.

Putting the book away carefully, Link asked, “How is Silverstar now?”

“She went to the Neanderthals’ ancestral place to rest. I sent a Warrior to escort her. We won’t see her anymore.” Gretel was a bit sad. Silverstar was her old friend, but only her soul was left now. This was the same as dying.

Link felt it was unfortunate too. With Silverstar, Firuman was one Legendary figure fewer. It was a pity.

“Alright, rest well. You’ll be busy in a few days.”

Link spent the days recovering in the Dragon Temple. Three days later, his wounds were mostly healed, so he started working on the stabilizing runes.

These runes were very complicated. Non-Legendary figures couldn’t do them. Even with Link and Gretel working together, one runestone required three days, but they needed at least ten. This meant it would take one month to complete.

Link just took it as Enchantment practice.

While creating these runestones, he also discussed some magic questions with Gretel. He was especially interested in the healing properties of Dragon Power.

Naturally, Gretel didn’t hold anything back in answering.

One month later, the runes were complete, and Link had learned a few healing spells. They weren’t very effective on his body, but that was because his body was too strong. The spells would be like divine spells on regular people.

After completing the runes, they went to Korora Mountain Range to set them. It was also a success. After setting the runes, the cracked region was completely sealed inside a dome. It was practically isolated from the Firuman Realm.

However, this only solved the surface instead of the core. Mana would continue accumulating in that region. Once the density surpassed the limit of the runes, there would be a pop and Mana would flood out. The Mana density of the entire Firuman Realm would instantly multiply many times.

Mana’s sudden explosion wouldn’t cause much damage, but it wasn’t good either. To counter this, Link and Gretel also worked to set up alarm equipment around the runes. Once the Mana was about to reach the limit, the alarm would go off automatically.

Looking at the isolated area in the mountain, Link predicted, “It should last ten years. During this time, I’ll look for a way to mend the crack.”

“I can tell that you already have an idea, right?” Gretel asked, chuckling. After spending so much time together, she knew Link better. For example, his brows were relaxed while talking now. Even though he didn’t say anything definite, Gretel knew that he already had a plan in mind.

Link smiled. “I can’t fool you. I know a very powerful Travel Magician. He said that he has a plan, but he needs some things in exchange.”

With that, Link took out a Jogu to give Gretel. “He needs 300 of this. Have you seen this before?”

Gretel studied the Jogu and shook her head. “It only looks like a pretty stone to me. Where did you find it?”

“In relics. Some ancient people used it as decorations.”

Hearing this, the Red Dragon Queen chuckled wryly. “You want to rob tombs?”

Link shrugged. “Compared to the safety of the realm, that’s nothing.”

“You’re right. Give me one as a sample. I’ll send my Warriors to look all over the continent. Once it’s enough, I’ll send it to you.”

“No problem.”

Seeing that it was getting late, Link said, “My injuries are all healed. I won’t spend more time in the Dragon Valley. Felina, I’ll have to bother you again.”

“It’s nothing, Duke,” Felina said, chuckling. She transformed into dragon form, and Link climbed onto her.

“Come visit when you’re free.” Gretel waved at Link.

“I will.” Link waved as well.

Felina began flying. This time, she wouldn’t get tired. When she did, Link would pump Flawless Dragon Power into her, and she would instantly become revitalized.

She brought Link eastward and landed in Ferde within half a day. Felina didn’t go back to the Dragon Valley. She stayed in Ferde as the guard of Duke Link.

Yes, Link was now a duke of the Dragon Valley. This wasn’t just an honorary title. He had true authority and was also recognized by the entire dragon race.

Of course, he wouldn’t use this authority unless he had no other choice.

Link walked towards his Mage Tower. At the entrance, he saw a familiar man. It was Skinorse of MI3. He was disguised as a regular wandering vigilante.

“How come you have time to see me?” Link asked, smiling.

Skinorse’s expression was off. He looked side to side and muttered, “Lord, I’ve been waiting for a long time. I need to talk to you in private!”

Chapter 456: There’s Something Wrong with the Iron Duke

Skinorse had dressed himself up so extravagantly that anyone else would have a hard time recognizing him. Link figured that he had something important to talk about.

Link calmly flicked a finger at Skinorse, sending a speck of light flying towards him.

Traceless Invisibility.

Skinorse instantly vanished on the spot.

Link gestured at him to enter into the magic tower with him. He could sense the light stirring of air as Skinorse followed him from behind.

The number of students on the first floor of the Mage Tower had increased to around eighty. As soon as he stepped through the door, the students noticed him immediately, and everyone stood at attention before him in a flurry.

Before, Link had not been used to such courteous treatment; now, he did not mind it as much. He greeted the young students with a wave of his hand before striding off towards the higher levels of the Mage Tower.

When they finally reached the attic at the top of the tower, Link snapped his fingers, removing the invisibility spell from Skinorse’s body.

The attic was cluttered with all kinds of everyday objects. Leaning on something wrapped in fur, Link waited until Skinorse had entered the room, then proceeded to cast a soundproof spell on the door.

“All right, you can talk.”

Skinorse handed a Memory Crystal to Link. “Lord Link, you’d better take a look at this.”

Link took the crystal from him. Upon activating it, an indistinct image was projected into the air. From the low angle the image was taken at, it was evident that the user of the Memory Crystal was exercising great caution while using it in a crowded area.

The backs of a group of soldiers could be seen in the image. Then, a voice spoke out. “This Magician was practising black magic. When he was found out, not only did he refuse to make public the contents of his magic, he even assaulted the investigators, severely injuring two warriors in the process. He must be an agent of the dark forces!”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a terrible thud. Though the image did not show what had made the sound, Link was familiar enough with it to know that someone had been decapitated.

“That voice, was it Duke Abel?”

“Yes, it was him.”

In the image, when the deed was done, the surrounding soldiers began to scatter from the place. The Magician who had been hiding in the crowd gave the execution grounds one last sweep with the Memory Crystal before putting it away.

At this point, Link paused the image.

On the execution ground lay four headless corpses, which meant that three other people had been executed before the Magician. Duke Abel and a few other generals sat on a high bench in the distance, stern expressions on their faces.

Looking at this, Link deactivated the Memory Crystal and told Skinorse, “The army was handing out executions to those guilty of insubordination. I don’t think that’s important enough to bring it to me.”

The voice from the Memory Crystal had already stated the reasons for the execution clearly: illegal practice of black magic and assault on one’s fellow officers. After the Orida Fortress’ confrontation with the Dark Army, they had been on high alert for any sign of black magic. What this Magician did was no different from suicide.

Skinorse nodded. “Purely based on what you’ve seen from the image, it may seem normal. But I feel that the duke himself has been a bit aggressive as of late.”

“What do you mean?” Link knew that Skinorse would not have come to him with just a hunch; he must have had concrete evidence with him.

Skinorse gazed out the window. After the confrontation in the north, his handsome face had wizened a great deal, and there were a few more tufts of white hair growing out of his temples. He frowned and said in a gravelly voice, “Not long after you left, the duke began a purge of the army through a special unit that was tasked with carrying out investigations on every warrior, including their backgrounds. As for Magicians, they were required to make public the findings of their research on magic. This doesn’t seem like much at first thought, but after a month into the operation, they began taking a more excessive approach, to the point that there was no turning back.”

Skinorse turned to look at Link. “I once saw an officer who was hung on the gallows just because he had a demon fang in his possession. There was even a warrior who thought it would be fun to carve a wooden statue of a succubus and was then beheaded for it. The Magician that was executed in the image, the ‘black magic’ that he was practicing was a Level-4 Eye of the Soul spell, a practically harmless detection spell, and the reason he assaulted those warriors was because they had torn up his research in front of him. It’s as if the duke has already gone off the deep end. He’s basically mad at this point.”

Link furrowed his brows at this. This did indeed seem a bit excessive. He asked, “Has anyone approached him about this?”

“The dean of the East Cove Magic Academy went over to exchange words with him, but they still parted with ill will. The duke remained quiet for a few days, but resumed his inquisition not long after.”

“Does King Leon know about this?” asked Link.

“Yes, he does. The king has written a few letters to him, but you know, after the destruction of Hot Spring City, the king’s authority has been at an all-time low.The duke didn’t seem too concerned about him,” Skinorse replied.

Finally, Link asked, “Barring all those things, how is Duke Abel faring in the affairs of defense lately?”

“Though far more aggressive than before, he has also been very productive in that regard. More than thirty demons are being exterminated every day in the Black Forest. At first, we were even killing more than 100 Dark Elves almost every day; now, we can’t even find a single Dark Elf within the area 200 miles north of Orida Fortress. There was also one time Kanorse slayed a Level-8 demon. He was then greatly rewarded by the duke and made leader of the first legion.”

All this was truth. Skinorse reported all that he had witnessed to Link without any omission.

“I see.” Link fell silent.

To normal people like Skinorse, what Duke Abel had done may have seemed cruel and excessive, but in Link’s eyes, the duke had simply been fulfilling his duties, no more, no less.

Duke Abel’s primary task had been to defend the fortress from the demons and Dark Elves of the Black Forest. He should not have been reprimanded for doing so well.

More importantly, Link was only a lord of Ferde. These matters had nothing to do with him.

It was also pointless for him to write a letter to the duke or meet him personally at this point, since King Leon and Master Magician Anthony had already done both those things, but to no avail. Any further action from him would probably elicit anger from the duke, maybe even backfiring on Link himself.

However, this was something he could not ignore. Duke Abel may have been traumatised by the great war, and given the current circumstances, he may not have been of sound mind, which was not a good thing.

After thinking about it for a while, Link decided that the wisest course of action for now was to simply wait and see.

He took out a piece of Thorium and a Black Kun rock and began casting an enchantment on both of them. Around ten minutes later, he was able to forge a rune stone out of both materials, then infused his Dragon Power into it. Link handed the rune stone to Skinorse. “This is something I don’t think I’m able to intervene in freely. Take the rune stone back north and continue your observations. Report back to me if there are any new advancements. If you find yourself in danger, activate this rune stone to cast a one-time 2,000-feet teleportation spell.”

Skinorse accepted the runestone and opened his mouth as if to say something before closing it again.

“Is there something on your mind?”

Skinorse let out a sigh. “As a matter of fact, I do not plan on going back this time. Now that the Divine Gear is gone, and the Dark Elves have been defeated, I do not feel like staying in the army any longer. Things have become too oppressive. I’m only here to bring you this message, then I’ll be off to do my own adventuring across the continent.”

Link was rendered speechless. “So you’re a deserter?”

This fellow sure was cunning, to have the nerve to leave out such an important piece of information and abscond after receiving a rune stone from him!

Skinorse became apprehensive. “You won’t force me back to the fortress, will you?”

Decapitation was the fate that awaited all deserters.

Link shook his head. “I won’t. Since you won’t be going back, I’ll just have to send for someone else to continue observing things in the north… You said something about going off on an adventure?”

“Yes, it’s what I’ve always dreamed of.” As soon as he said those words, Skinorse’s face lit up in excitement.

A bit startled by this, Link asked, “Oh, I remember the first time you came to me, you were saying something about looking for the tomb of some late dwarf king. What happened to your other companions?”

“They didn’t fare too well. The priestess is still alive, though the others fell in battle. Truth be told, she’s coming with me down south. How about it, do you still want to come along with us?”

Link was now a Legendary master. Why would he lower himself to robbing graves with him?

Link shook his head, smiling. “No, I can’t. I’m still busy with the affairs of Ferde. But if you’re going, I do have a few things I would like you to find for me. You’ll be handsomely compensated for your troubles.”

Skinorse’s eyes lit up. “I don’t want money, I deal only in magical equipment! I’ll steal even the Red Dragon Queen’s underwear for you if you’re able to give me some magical gear in exchange!”

“…” Link’s face went blank at this, finding it difficult to believe what he was hearing. What would he need the queen’s underwear for anyway? The man had changed into an entirely different person upon announcing he was deserting the army.

Link took out a piece of Jogu and gave it to him. “I want a stone like this one. Find as much as you can in your travels. Also, you may come across some members of the dragon race who are searching for the same kind of stone in your path. Just show this to them, and they’ll let you have the stone.”

Link then gave Skinorse a piece of silver-black dragon scale, which would serve as proof of his identity among the dragon race.

“I understand.” Skinorse toyed with the scale a little, curious about its composition.

“As for your reward, if you’re able to give me a hundred Jogus, I’ll forge you a piece of Legendary equipment of your own choosing.”

Skinorse was already nodding furiously before Link had even finished. “What about a Legendary dagger? Whatever, I’ll do it. Er, what about my priestess friend?”

“She will be rewarded as well. You just bring her here, and she’ll receive a piece of magical equipment from me, too.”

“That won’t be a problem. I’ll hold onto this scale and bring back 101 Jogus for you before you know it.”

“Bring as much as you can. Remember, 100 Jogus for one piece of magical gear.”

Skinorse heaved a long sigh. “Oh, you really know how to work someone to the bone.”

When all was said and done, Skinorse realized that he had not a single gold coin on him, what with being a thief who didn’t steal for gold. He then put aside all sense of shame and asked for a bag of gold coins before leaving the room with an air of satisfaction.

Link returned to his quarters and rested for a bit. It wasn’t long before Lucy barged into the room.

“My lord, our anti-magic soil mines have been dug empty, and the city hall is almost out of money.”

Lucy spread an account book out in front of Link, who saw that everything was in red. They had been running a deficit for a long while.

Chapter 457: Cannot Give Up This Island!

Lucy’s records were very clear. Every expense and income was easily seen. Link quickly flipped through and had a detailed understanding of the territory’s financial situation.

Because of the clay mine, Ferde’s town hall had a high income but also spent money quickly. They developed the city quickly and also had a skirmish with the southern Kingdom of Delonga.

Another big expense was for the Orida Fortress. During the final battle, various types of material were sent south, and Ferde had been responsible for 60% of it.

It wasn’t a stream of money going out; it was more like a flood.

Under these circumstances, Ferde developed the clay mines wildly to export to every corner of Firuman.

From the records, Link could see that the biggest buyers were the Beastmen of the Golden Plains. They steered shabby merchant ships and traveled more than half of the world’s coastlines. They really traveled thousands of miles for the trade.

Thus, within one and a half years, the clay mines were practically empty.

“Lord,” Lucy said seriously. “With the current speed, we can only mine for two more months. If we don’t have a new source of income after that, we will have to reduce developments. Otherwise, we will go bankrupt.”

“Oh, this is truly a problem.” Link placed the records down and looked out the window. This was the top floor of the Mage Tower. With his great vision, he could see all the way to the ocean from here.

“Last time I left, I talked about the Magnetic Magic Island. Did you send ships to investigate it?”

Lucy nodded and took out another scroll. “This is the second thing I wanted to talk about. We found the island, but the situation isn’t great. When we went, we saw the yew ships of the High Elves. They were mining on the island…”

Link was shocked at this and cursed inwardly. These High Elves were troublesome. He couldn’t help but slap his forehead. “Oh, this is my fault. I should’ve told you earlier… What is this scroll?”

“It’s the precise marine chart of the continent that our sailors drew. Please take a look.”

Link opened the scroll. It indeed was a marine chart. The shape of the coastline looked familiar. Thinking a bit, he realized it was exactly like the map in the game. It was very precise and lived up to the name.

The map noted all the explored islands near Ferde, as well as trade winds, currents, and more. This was extremely valuable for the captains.

Link also saw the Isle of Dawn, Ferde Territory, and the Magnetic Magic Island. He estimated that the Magnetic Magic Island was around 310 miles from Ferde and 300 miles from the Isle of Dawn. It was practically in the middle but just a bit closer to the Isle of Dawn.

This was annoying. If they really got into the specifics, this island belonged to the High Elves. But the mines there were so valuable. How could he just give up?

Link placed the map on the table and tapped it rhythmically. Lucy subconsciously held her breath, waiting for Link’s decision with her hands folded over chest. She was the general manager of Scorched City, but before Link, she still felt like the female mercenary. Her young master was getting more and more powerful.

After around two minutes, Link had decided. “This island,” he uttered, “is ours.”

Lucy’s expression froze. “Are we going to war?”

Ferde had been developing their navy for more than one year and was quite powerful. It now had seven three-masted magic warships. With the Yabbas’ arrival, many magic cannons and muskets were added to the ships, strengthening them.

Now, the Ferde Navy was a force to be reckoned with in the seas. However, they didn’t have much status. They hadn’t experienced battle yet, let alone shed any blood. The other territory lords nearby called them boy scouts. They weren’t too intimidating for pirates either.

If they could fight even a small skirmish with the High Elves and their powerful navy, the Ferde Navy’s reputation would rise as long as they didn’t lose terribly.

Link shook his head. “No, no, we can’t declare war so easily.”

“Then how do we get it? The High Elves have started mining already,” Lucy said. The metals were valuable, and they weren’t stupid. How could they hand it over without putting up a fight?

Link shook his head with a smile. Rising, he walked to the window and looked at the dark clouds in the sky. “Another year has passed,” he lamented. “It’s early summer again.”

Lucy was confused and reflexively replied, “Yeah, time passes quickly.”

“Looking at the weather, I think a hurricane will come soon. Send my order to the general and tell him to prepare a fleet to go towards the island at any time.”

Lucy was still confused. “But Master Grenci said earlier that there wouldn’t be any hurricanes at this time.”

Master Grenci was quite well-versed in the changes of weather and had practically become the weatherman of Ferde. He would send alerts of any bad weather. This helped to prevent losses for the territory. Now, many captains would ask Master Grenci for weather predictions before going out to sea.

Link chuckled. “No, no. Master Grenci is wrong this time.”

Lucy couldn’t refute him. Link was a Legendary Magician while Grenci was at Level-7. There was such a big difference between them. If he said Grenci was wrong, then Grenci was wrong.

“Then I’ll go send the warning.”

“Okay, go. Remember to tell the navy to get ready. Once the hurricane passes, we’ll go to the island.”

Hearing this, a lightbulb went off in Lucy’s mind. She seemed to grasp something, but she couldn’t figure out the details. After a blank moment, it clicked. Eyes flashing, she asked, “Do you mean—”

Link waved his hand. “Good that you understand but don’t say anything. Remember, we don’t know anything. We just have good luck. Of course, we move fast too!”

“Understood!” Lucy walked away, deeply impressed.

After Lucy left, Link went back to the table and continued looking at the map. After a moment, he hit his forehead, sighing. Natural resources will always be used up. If we want to keep up the development, Ferde must have its own specialty.

Leaning back in the lounge chair, he used the Magician’s Hand to rock it. Link looked out at the window at the activity and fell into deep thought.

After a long time, he suddenly stood up and took out a blank scroll. He wrote, “enchantment” on the cover with runes and “Link Morani” in small font on the bottom right corner.

He had decided to develop enchantment workshops in Ferde and steal the High Elves’ business!

After writing, Link opened the scroll. He was calm now. His enchantment skills were known throughout the continent for being detailed and perfect. Even the enchanters in the Isle of Dawn couldn’t compare.

In magic theory, Link had dealt with Talisman Enchanting, modern High Elf enchanting, dragon enchanting, and more. He had a wide range, and these theories had been fermenting in his mind. After becoming a Legendary Magician, the enchantment systems matured too.

Brainstorming for a bit, Link began writing.

He didn’t write a foreword because this was his first book. He wanted his first advisor Herrera to write it to show his respect.

Right now, the enchantment was already mature in his mind. Moving his pen, his thoughts streamed out like water.

The framework was completed within an hour. Link went back to revise it. After two revisions, it was complete with 36873 words. Every word was needed—it couldn’t be a word more or less.

After that, Link started writing the second book. This was titled Beginner Enchantment Magic. This book was easy as well, but the content was more cumbersome. Link calmed himself down and wrote it down bit by bit. He tried to make it clear-cut so people could understand easily.

Time flew by. When Link finished the first draft, it was already night. His ears twitched, and he heard familiar footsteps.

There are three people: Celine, Jacker, and Lucy. Yes, they’re ready.

From the sounds, Link knew that the three were at the door. Using his thoughts, he opened the door.

Celine had her big fire gun. She walked in with a blooming smile. Seeing Link, she sped up and kissed him on the lips before Lucy and Jacker. The two felt so awkward.

After a while, Celine finally let go and complained, “You didn’t even tell me when you came back. I missed you so much.”

“Aw, I only left for about a month.” Link patted Celine’s back and chuckled. “Sit down. Lucy, Jacker, you two sit too.”

When everyone took their seats, Jacker said, “Lord, everything is ready. When should we start?”

After learning that the extremely valuable Magnetic Magic Island had been taken by the High Elves when Link was the one to discover it, Jacker had almost exploded. He’d wanted to fight the High Elves right then and there.

He was a Level-7 Warrior now, and Ferde was rich. He wasn’t afraid! However, Link wasn’t there, and the High Elves were still powerful. He could only restrain himself.

Now that Link said he was going to take the island, Jacker was so excited. He couldn’t stand those arrogant High Elves.

Link put away his incomplete enchantment and smiled. “I think now’s a good time. Let’s start now.”

From the side, Celine said, “Just saying, I’m taking part too. How can I not be part of this?”

“Okay, okay, you can join too. You won’t miss out.”

Link made four communication runestones. He gave Jacker and Celine one each and kept one for himself. The last one would be for the navy general that would stay at the harbor.

“Go get ready. Lucy, the High Elves in Ferde might go to you to protest. You must be prepared.”

“No problem. I don’t know anything,” Lucy replied, grinning.

“Okay, then we’ll start now. I’ll go out first. Wait for my signal.”

With that, Link stood up. White light flashed and an instant later, he was at the rooftop. He whistled softly. One minute later, an invisible dragon descended from the sky. It was Felina.

“How may I be at your service, Duke?”

“Take me to the sea.” Link jumped onto Felina’s back and cast the Invisibility spell for himself so he wouldn’t scare people.

Whoosh! Felina spread her wings and flew towards the sea.

Chapter 458: The Shepherd of the Storm

The ocean waters of Ferde

Felina soared through the sky in disorderly spirals with Link on her back. In truth, Felina had no idea where Link wanted her to go. For now, she simply flew in whatever direction Link pointed.

Link held in his hand the Dragon King’s Fury, a sharp red light on the tip of the magical sword. His eyes were closed, but in his mind, he was perfectly aware of everything around him.

Everything was depicted clearly in his head in a fantastic blend of colors and shapes, including temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and humidity.

“Fly to your left, yes, just keep going. Do you see that bunch of clouds up front?” asked Link.

Felina did indeed see a huge cluster of clouds coming up ahead of them, its diameter approximately 2,000 feet. Aware that Link had his eyes closed this whole time, she figured that he must be using some sort of vision spell. “I saw it, but the wind’s getting stronger here. It’s a mini-typhoon. Should we still go on?”

“No, head for the surface of the ocean, where the center of the vortex is. The wind’s all right, but it’s too small. I’ll need to give it a bit more juice.”

Felina plunged headfirst towards the sea. When she reached ten feet above sea level, Link suddenly stood up, leapt off of her back and floated in the air a foot above the surface of the sea.

He shouted back at her, “Felina, stay back a bit. That’s not far enough, stay at least ten miles away. That’s it, just keep flying!”

Once Felina was nothing more than a black speck against the sky in the distance, Link said to the Dragon King’s Fury in his hand, “You ready, partner?”

“Don’t get mushy on me, we’ve known each other no longer than a year,” growled the sword, but then he casually continued, “Well, blowing up a strong wind should be a piece of cake, so let’s go!”

Link began holding his breath for ten seconds, before opening his eyes suddenly.

“Vision of Truth!”

Everything in his eyes turned translucent, especially the big storm cloud before him. Fine strands of light emanated from it; this was the flow of energy around the cloud.

These energy currents were the critical points of the typhoon. Through them, Link could either easily disperse the entire column of cloud, or increase the strength of the typhoon.

Ten seconds later, Link found one of the typhoon’s energy points, and pointing the magical sword in his hand at the surface of the sea, spoke in a low voice, “Void Destructor!”

Void Destructor

Level-10 Master Level Flame Spell

Dragon Power Cost: 8900

Description: Concentrate the elemental energies around the user into an incredibly destructive ball of fire.

(Note: This was a gift from the Red Dragon Queen.)

Whoosh! Dazzling beams of light began gathering in the air around the magical sword, and with a continuous hum, a point of red light began growing on its tip. In the span of a second, the point of light expanded into a dark purple fireball with a diameter of more than eight feet.

Once the ball of fire materialized in the air, Link immediately activated the unlimited Dragon Power effect of his Dragon King’s belt, which began quickly replenishing his Dragon Power. At the same time, he held in his other hand the Burning Wrath of Heavens, which he pointed at the ocean beneath his feet.

“Distortion Field!”

Through the spell’s effect, the waters began rushing upward on both sides.

The scale of Link’s Distortion Field was massive, covering an area of approximately 1,000 square feet. From a distance, it looked as if a huge, ancient sword had split the water in two.

At the same time, Link was levitating in the air with the help of the Distortion Field itself, looking like some mystical, sword-wielding deity.

The wall of sea water on both sides reached as high as 500 feet. He then hurled the ball of fire towards the dry patch of ground in the middle. When it reached the ground, Link sharply pulled up his other hand, which was holding the Burning Wrath of Heavens.

At this moment, the sea water, which had parted and risen high on both sides, came crashing down deafeningly.

Fwoosh! The two towering waves collided against one another. Simultaneously, the Void Destructor fireball exploded in the sudden torrent of sea water.

In an instant, the once inky blue sea water turned a dazzling crimson.

The sea water beneath Link’s feet began to bulge up like a mountain at the sudden explosion of energy beneath the water’s surface. Link’s body floated along the undulations of the sea, weightless, like a butterfly fluttering in the middle of a storm.

Moments passed, and the energy of the Void Destructor was finally absorbed by the sea. Link could feel the water beginning to boil and steam rising from its surface.

Felina, who was watching all of this from a distance, saw a trail of white vapor rising towards the sky from the sea.

What was even more peculiar was the fact that the vapor trail seemed to have set something off in the typhoon, as the rotation of the pillar of clouds began picking up speed. The clouds thickened as well, expanding until they filled the sky almost completely.

The wind raged even more violently, and before long, Felina, who was hovering ten miles away, found it difficult to maintain her balance in the air. Felina had no choice then but to put even more distance between herself and Link.

Far away, she could see Link bobbing along the waves, his body in the midst of the storm radiating a blinding light that illuminated both heaven and sea like a sun.

From time to time, the magic wand and sword that occupied both his hands would let out rays of dark red light; some dissolved into the clouds and some into the sea, while others simply dispersed in the air.

The energy that Link was letting off had the effect of a giant invisible hand stirring up the air, to the point that the clouds were now spreading out at a terrifying rate, with the winds howling wildly like the cries of a thousand ghosts.

At this point, Link was like a god walking among mortal men, holding sway over the elemental forces of the world.

This scene would probably be etched in Felina’s memory for as long as she lived.

Whoo!

The pillar of clouds began to move straight for the Broken Isles not far away. At first, it slowly moved across the ocean at a speed of no more than ten feet per second, but as time passed, the cyclone began to accelerate, reaching an astonishing speed of 100 feet per second.

Link followed closely behind the massive cyclone. Like a shepherd, he would pull the world’s largest sheep in front of him back on the right track whenever it went off course.

“Felina!” The wind carried Link’s voice all the way to her.

Felina immediately flew to his side. Link, who had been levitating in the air all this time with the Distortion Field, returned to his spot on the dragon’s back and began focusing on herding the cyclone.

Like a top, the cyclone was now spinning faster and faster as it tore across more than 100 miles of ocean.

The negative pressure caused by the high-speed rotation of the cyclone had also begun pulling up sea water at the eye of the vortex until it finally formed a towering column of water.

Estimating that there were about ten miles of ocean left between the cyclone and the Magnetic Magic Island, Link gave his ‘sheep’ one last whip before casting an invisibility spell over himself and Felina. At the same time, he infused some of his energy into a rune stone in his hand, making contact with Ferde’s navy forces, who had been waiting at the harbor.

As they were high up in the air, Felina could see from afar that the High Elves on the island did not even realize the danger that they were in and were all looking for shelter from what they believed to merely be rain.

“Will they die?” Felina sounded somewhat worried.

Link, who could see the state of the island even more clearly than her, shook his head. “No. There are no more than a few hundred miners on the island. Also, there’s a Level-7 High Elf Magic Sentry. His magic should be enough to protect the High Elf miners. Of course, the wind will blow them all away.”

…

On the island

“This blasted weather. It was fine moments ago, what’s with the sudden storm?” A High Elf miner hurriedly made for one of the treehouses, and once inside, began squeezing his clothes dry.

Suddenly, there was a shriek from outside. “Come out quick, it’s a cyclone!

The miner poked his head out of the window, and gaped at the approaching pillar of wind and clouds that towered over the island like a heavenly spear piercing through the heavens.

“Quick, let’s get out of here!” He could hear the High Elf Magician’s voice in the wind.

Quickly regaining his senses, the miner began running after the Magician and saw that the other miners, too, had fled from their shelters and assembled around the Magician.

The Magician took out a seed and began pouring Nature Power into it. As he threw the seed into the sea, there was a sudden rumble, and from the water sprang forth a large amount of vines that twisted themselves into the shape of a long, narrow ship shaped like a spear.

“Quick, get on the boat, quick!” shouted the Magician, who got on the vessel first.

A few minutes later, all the miners had gotten on board.The Magician immediately focused his Nature Power into the ship, and the vine-made oars that lined the two sides of the ship began rowing themselves at top speed.

The ship then sent out a jet of Gyromagnetic Iron, propelling itself at a speed of more than fifty feet per second.

But it wasn’t fast enough.

Five minutes later, the cyclone had now come upon the whole island.

“Oh my god, everything is destroyed!”

“My tree effigy’s ruined!”

“This must be divine retribution!”

“Quick, Magician, it’s catching up to us!”

“Be silent, I’m already doing the best I can,” The Magician infused more of his energy into the ship desperately, accelerating it even more.

But it was no use. Six minutes passed, and the cyclone still did not let up its pursuit, reeling them in relentlessly with incredible suction, like the hand of a malevolent deity trying to scoop them all into the afterlife.

“Hold on tight!” The Magician madly infused the rest of his Nature Power into the ship, and vines began stretching out like tentacles from the ship, latching onto every member of the ship to hold them in place. At the same time, other vines arched above the ship, forming a sort of canopy over all of them.

There was a moment of weightlessness as the ship spun rapidly out of control and bobbed up and down, as if it was being carried off into the air.

This went on for half an hour before the ship finally fell to the sea. In the ball of vines, everyone’s heads were still spinning, and the air inside was filled with the putrid smell of vomit.

“Ew, who threw up on my face? Disgusting!” said someone weakly.

“Somebody peed on me!”

“Eilos, you literally soiled yourself!”

It was utter pandemonium in the ball of vines.

Drawing the vine canopy open from above, the High Elf Magician leaned on one side of the ship and took out his compass. “Thank the gods we weren’t blown too far away. Let’s head back to the island and rest ourselves.”

But just then, one of the High Elf miners shouted, “Look, there’s a fleet of ships.”

“It’s a three-leaf flag. That’s the fleet of Ferde. Oh, what do they want now?” said another miner, narrowing his eyes at the ships.

“Oh no, they’re heading for the island!” exclaimed the High Elf Magician. “We cannot let them reach the island!”

The Magician stood up and pointed his magic wand in the air, producing a ball of green mist. At the same time, he cast a Sound Amplification spell and shouted towards the ships, “Help! Help!”

After shouting, he said in a low voice to the miners, “When they reach us, we’ll let them escort us back to the Isle of Dawn, and not a word about our mines on the island, or there will be consequences!”

“Understood!” said the miners in unison, their faces grave.

Chapter 459: No Chance at All

Whoosh, splash. It was the sound of water splashing.

Ferde’s fleet quickly moved past the High Elves’ ships. Water splashed, drenching the High Elves that were crying for help.

Then the fleet of three large magic ships sailed away. The human sailors on the deck burst into laughter at how pathetic the High Elves looked. The fleet soon sailed away, ignoring them.

The drenched High Elves on the rattan ships were all dazed.

“They just sailed away?”

“They ignored us?”

“They saw us about to die, and they left?”

“I don’t think we’re gonna die…” someone said weakly.

The Magician finally processed everything. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Damn, they must’ve discovered the island!”

“What do we do now?” a miner asked.

The Magician shook his head. “We can’t do anything for now. We’re not their match and can’t stop them. Let’s go back to the Isle of Dawn and have our navy teach them a lesson!”

The High Elves had operated on the Isle of Dawn for many years, and their navy was the strongest. If they wanted to, they could defeat the navies of all the kingdoms as easily as the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

In Firuman, the High Elves were the bosses of the sea. No one could refute that.

The group of High Elves rowed the rattan paddles and grunted while going back to the Isle of Dawn.

After a while, a miner suddenly said, “Hey, don’t you think it’s coincidental? The storm just passed, and the Ferde fleet appeared, going straight to the island. Do you think they made that storm?”

“It’s possible. Their lord is a Legendary Magician. He really might have that ability.” Another miner grew suspicious too.

The High Elf Magician scoffed. “You know nothing!” he said derisively. “That storm isn’t something a mortal can control. No Magician in the world could cast a spell like that unless he was a god!”

“Oh, I see. Those damn Ferdians are so f*cking lucky!” a miner swore.

In the sky, Link looked at the High Elves in the distance and said to Felina, “Let’s go to the island too.”

“But those High Elves said they’re going to get the navy.” Felina could read lips, so she was a bit worried. However, she still changed direction and flew towards the Magnetic Island.

“Don’t worry. They won’t be able to cause conflict because of the island,” Link said with a laugh.

It would take one week for the High Elves to reach the Isle of Dawn. By then, it would be too late.

Felina quickly caught up with the fleet. She was still invisible. When they were above the fleet, Link jumped down from her back.

“Alright, your mission is complete. Go back to Ferde,” Link said from the deck.

“Okay.” Felina turned and left.

Link showed himself. Celine, Jacker, and the navy general were all on the deck. The three instantly went over to him.

The general’s name was Grayson. Apparently, he used to be a pirate in the southern seas and pillaged merchant ships but failed when attacking a Ferdian ship.

He was very skilled and didn’t have a bad reputation. He only stole goods and never killed anyone, so Jacker forgave him. In the end, he decided not to leave. He even joined Ferde’s guard and contributed greatly against the Delongan Royal Army.

When Ferde’s navy was established, he naturally became the general.

For questions about the sea, Link had to ask him. “With our current situation, how much longer until we get to the Broken Isles?”

“Sir, we’ll get there within two and a half hours!”

“Okay, good. I’ll go rest. Let me know when we get there.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Celine, stop staying outside. Come to the cabin with me.” Link waved at Celine. Ferde’s navy was very strict, and the sailors were on the seas for long stretches of time. They were all like voracious beasts. Even a sow could catch their eye. It was dangerous for Celine to stand there.

“Oh, coming.” Celine had felt uncomfortable this entire trip. She hurriedly hid inside the cabin with Link.

Once inside, Link sat down before the table. He took out the half-finished enchantment book and continued to write. After a while, he realized Celine felt bored, so he handed over a draft he’d finished. “This is the spell book I wrote. Help me punch holes on the side and string them together.”

“Okay.” Celine was happy to do this. She punched holes while reading and actually grew interested in the content. “Wow, so enchantments are this easy? I feel like even I can do it.”

Link chuckled. “This is just basic enchantments for apprentices.”

Celine had learned magic before, after all. Her level was even higher than most apprentices, and she was smart too. She would naturally find it easy.

She was stunned. “I see, but you make it sound interesting. It’s more attractive than those boring books I’ve read before. If you write books like this, I’ll definitely study it.”

Link’s style was to first write an interesting, simple, and easily applicable example. For example, this copy described a basic talisman. It only used a dozen runes. After creating it and adding in Mana, it would turn into a talisman.

After the reader’s interest was piqued, the book would start introducing the specific theory used. This process was interesting too. Link used common phenomena for comparison, and it was easy to understand.

Celine read three drafts and was ready to try. Hugging Link’s arm, she whined, “I wanna try right now. Can I string the papers later?”

Link couldn’t do anything. Since she liked it, he just said, “Fine, put the papers to the side. Here, experiment with these basic materials.”

Celine happily went to experiment, allowing Link to focus on writing. Time flew by and two and a half hours passed by quickly.

Jacker’s voice sounded from the outside. “Sir, we’re here.”

Link gathered his papers. He turned towards Celine but found her immersed in the enchantment, so he decided not to bother her. He snuck out of the cabin.

Outside, Link saw the Magnetic Magic Island that had been cleaned by the hurricane. The island was small—only 300 feet wide. It was actually just a piece of reef that had poked above the water surface.

“Throw the hooks,” Link ordered. “Latch onto the edge!”

The sailors did as they were told. Half an hour later, dozens of prepared cables were tied to the island. There was a big iron picket at the end of the cables. The sailors tied the cables to the edge of the reef tightly. Then they slammed the pickets into the cracks with hammers.

Soon, the three warships connected four giant cables to the tiny island.

Link stood on the island. When the sailors were pretty much done, he called, “Alright, back to the ship!”

The sailors didn’t know what Link was planning, but they immediately jumped back. Link stood in the center. He pressed down on the rock in the middle and poured in his Dragon Power. The Legendary Dragon Power dug into the rock and kept spreading, not stopping until it reached more than 1000 feet deep.

This distance wasn’t his limit. However, Link felt that the mine was already quite sparse in this range. It would be meaningless to keep digging.

Taking a deep breath, he cast a Spatial Rend. “Break!”

Crack! There was a huge noise. The entire reef corner was shaken off of the foundation from the Spatial Rend.

The huge broken-off ore started to slide down the foundation, but Link’s Dragon Power quickly extended across the entire reef. He activated the Higgs Force Field.

Under this force field, the entire piece of ore swelled like foam plastic. It somehow started floating, and the loose cables pulled tautly.

Everyone on the ship was dumbfounded.

“What are you waiting for? Start going back!” Link yelled.

He wouldn’t mine so delicately like the High Elves; he just took the entire gyromagnetic iron mine away. It actually wasn’t that big. He really wanted to make a spatial ring and put it all in.

However, this was good too. By the time the High Elves returned, the island would be gone, and the conflict would be unnecessary. Everything was gone. Heh.

Jacker finally reacted. Pushing down his shock, he yelled, “Hurry, hurry! Start going back!”

General Grayson ran to the captain’s room while yelling, “Pull the sails! Add wind Mana to the left full rudder at 20%!”

Whoosh! Mana flowed through, and the three warships started pulling the giant ore towards Ferde.

The ore began gaining speed. Finally, it was maintained at 100 feet per second. During this entire time, Link stood on it. He used the force field to maintain the mine’s balance so it wouldn’t capsize the three ships.

This was probably the most aggressive mining technique in the history of Firuman.

On the other hand, the High Elf Magician and more than 100 miners were still diligently rowing their ship, getting closer to the Dawn of Isle.

“Go! Go! Brothers, when we get to the Dawn of Isle, we’ll teach those lowly humans a lesson!”

“Hey, hey, we’re hard-working miners!”

“Hey, hey, we use our hands to create wealth!”

“Hey, hey!”

It was unknown who started it, but while these miners sweated over the paddles, they started singing. The ship sped up quite a bit.

They rowed like that for many hours, using up all their energy and spirit. All of them were as tired as dogs, panting with their tongues out.

Just then, a black dot suddenly appeared in the horizon. “Look,” a sailor pointed out. “I think it’s our merchant ship!”

The Isle of Dawn and Ferde Territory had a very close trade relationship. The Isle of Dawn produced magic equipment, valuable medicinal resources, and tonics. Ferde sold them natural resources from all over the world.

As of now, the Isle of Dawn earned twice as much as Ferde. They couldn’t help it. It wasn’t their fault the High Elves were so advanced.

The Magician immediately said, “That’s great. The ship will definitely have a white-tailed owl for sending messages. We’ll have them send a letter back!”

“Yes, have our warships come and teach those humans!” The miners waved their fists. Today was more frustrating than any other event in history!

Chapter 460: Unacceptable!

Whoosh!

The sound of waves crashing against each other could be heard as, like flying saucers, three magic warships raced across the surface of a seemingly boundless ocean.

The magic warships were fifty feet long, their streamlined bodies covered by a hazy layer of purple dotted by what looked like stars. On the deck stood a mast, on which hung a sail with a silver sparrow flower on it. Around the flower was a ring of brambles and thorns, which was in turn surrounded by countless magical runes.

The fleet belonged to the Silver Storm Sparrows, feared by all seafarers across the ocean of Firuman.

At this moment, their sails were full with the winds of the sea, propelling all three ships at an incredible speed.

On the deck of the foremost warship stood a well-built High Elf with a bit of white hair growing out of his temples who was busy inspecting the conditions of the ocean in front of them through a high-powered telescope.

They had received an order from their queen at ten in the morning.

The queen had ordered them to head straight for the Broken Isles, drive the Ferde warships off the isles, and gain control of the mines back from them.

She had also instructed her fleet to engage the enemy ships in combat, and if push came to shove, they were permitted to sink any of those warships, but only on the condition that the first strike came from the enemy, and that the whole thing was recorded in a Memory Crystal.

The Broken Isles finally appeared in the horizon, but what was startling was the fact that there did not seem to be any sign of the Ferde fleet.

On the deck, the High Elf put down his telescope and turned to another High Elf who was dressed like a Magician. “Master Vonhelon, do you feel any magical activity?”

The High Elf Magician Vonhelon was a Level-9 Pinnacle Spatial Magician, commander of the ninth Battle Magic Legion, as well as magical advisor of the queen for life.

He and 300 other Elite Battle Mages were on board as contingency against any magical confrontation.

Naturally, they were looking out for Link, the lord of Ferde, and the Legendary Magician himself.

The magic of the High Elves held unfathomable secrets. A Level-9 Pinnacle Magician and 300 other Level-7 Elite Battle Mages, equipped with an assortment of powerful magical gear and magical circles may not have had the flexibility of one Legendary Magician, but it would be enough to go toe to toe with him.

This was all proven and battle-tested by the prophet of this generation of High Elves, Bryant.

In truth, in the game world, the High Elves had once sent a few hundred Magicians in an assault on Orida Fortress, which was merely a small portion of the High Elves’ magical forces.

Only in the face of worsening circumstances in the later stages of the game did the High Elves begin dispatching thousands of their battle mages into the fray.

All in all, though the High Elves lived exclusively on the Isle of Dawn, they were the pinnacle of all of Firuman in terms of military strength. They simply didn’t have the manpower to efficiently rule all the races on the continent should they have decided to conquer all of Firuman.

Ever since the Mana Disaster 3,000 years before, the High Elves had adopted the policy of ‘Pride in Isolation.’

Through such a policy, they had established their stronghold on a massive island far away from the continent in order to gain a positional advantage over the rest of the continent. In the process, they managed to keep the humans on the continent under their thumb by intervening in any attempts of unification among the human race, which involved either instigating a rebellion or an assassination.

They would take such an approach against not only humans, but the other races of the continent, as well.

For 3,000 years, the High Elves had maintained their position at the top of all of Firuman by relying on their superiority in magical power and unequaled cunning.

The races of the continent had seen much war and bloodshed against one another for thousands of years, the lives of their people in constant poverty and pandemonium. Only the High Elves remained unsullied by any form of warfare, living on the Isle of Dawn in relative peace and luxury.

The High Elves had always been the lofty observers of every great change in history, sneering at the myopia of pitiful mortals constantly at war with one another on the main continent. To ordinary people, they were calm and dignified existences, untroubled by the affairs of the rest of the world.

Barring any prejudice one might have against them, there was no doubt that the High Elves were a terrifyingly intelligent race.

On the deck of the ship, Vonhelon shook his head. “Captain Langdon, I don’t sense any magical activity from the island. The Spatial Wheel has also indicated that everything is normal, and nobody has used any spatial magic there.”

Captain Langdon frowned, then raised a hand as he gave an order to his crew. “Ready the defense circles, prepare for battle!”

Things were a bit too quiet. There was the possibility that the enemy could be using a high-level spell to hide their presence, and any ambush from such a high-level opponent would cost them their lives if they were unprepared.

The three Silver Storm Sparrow warships spread out in a triangle formation, slowing down considerably. Magical energy swirled in the middle of the triangle, where an insubstantial magical bond began forming between the three ships.

If it was any other fleet from the continent, they wouldn’t be so cautious. However, the opponent they were up against was the lord of Ferde, who was also a Legendary Spatial Magician and definitely someone they should not let their guard down against.

Fwoosh! The waves now lapped gently against the warships, and the senses of the High Elves on board were all tautened, ready for any sign of an attack.

The warships were now slowly approaching the Broken Isles. Half an hour later, they had reached the outer region of the Broken Isles.

Throughout all this, Captain Langdon kept a wary eye out on his surroundings, not once putting his telescope down.

Gradually, he began to sense something was amiss. It was as if there was something missing from the picture, but he couldn’t quite tell what it was.

“Master Vonhelon, do you feel that?” he whispered, the telescope still attached to one eye. The feeling in him that something was wrong had not yet subsided.

“Strange, what’s missing here?” In all his years as captain, Langdon had passed by the Broken Isles many times and felt a sense of security every time he glanced at them.

He had been the first to discover the Magnetic Magic Island, which had suddenly emerged two years ago in the ocean. He figured it was probably a reef that had risen to the surface or a huge meteor that had landed in the ocean.

Wait a minute, where was the mining island?

Langdon finally realized what was wrong.

Vonhelon had made the same observation at the same time as him and cried out, “The mining island’s disappeared!”

How was this possible?

While the mining island was not too big, it wasn’t small enough to be carried off, either. At a size of more than 100 square feet, and weighing more than 1,000 tons, such a huge object could not have simply vanished into thin air!

The two High Elves stood on the deck looking at each other, flabbergasted. After a while, Langdon asked, “The Magnetic Magic Island only recently surfaced. Do you think it could have sunk back into the ocean?

“I have no idea. Let’s take a closer look.” Vonhelon’s brows knitted together, as he felt that things were not as simple as they seemed.

The three Silver Storm Sparrows began advancing slowly. Half an hour later, they finally reached where the Magnetic Magic Island used to be. A group of High Elves were dispatched to search the area for the island, but could not find a single hint as to where it could have possibly been.

“It’s gone.” Langdon took off his captain’s hat and ran his fingers through his thick mass of dark green hair. He still could not figure out what had happened.

Vonhelon stood on one side of the ship, his eyes filled with a silver glow as he began magically scanning as far as 200 feet beneath the ocean waters for any trace of the island, but still, he found nothing.

Two hundred feet was the limit of his underwater probing. Seeing nothing but the inky darkness of the ocean water, he finally gave up.

The loss of a such a valuable piece of land would have been a great hit to anyone.

Captain Langdon walked to the Magician’s side and asked with a frown, “Master, do you think the people of Ferde had something to do with this?”

Vonhelon shook his head. “I don’t know, I really don’t know what happened here.”

This had truly surpassed the limits of his imagination. If the people of Ferde had indeed made the whole island disappear, how had they done it? He could not think of any way they could have accomplished such a feat.

Langdon wasn’t content with the lack of answers. He ordered the fleet to circle around the area for something, but still, no one managed to turn up anything. The absence of the mining island and the fleet of Ferde was aggravating.

“Now what?” He looked at Vonhelon, open to all suggestions at this point.

At a loss himself regarding what to do next, Vonhelon pondered for a long time before saying, “I suppose there’s not much else to do here other than record everything and report back to the queen.”

“I guess that’s all we can do for now.”

The High Elves bustled about on the three ships, putting together an account of all they had seen and heard. When all was said and done, Captain Langdon finally gave the order to set course for home.

Two days later, the Silver Storm Sparrow reached the port of the Isle of Dawn. Vonhelon rushed immediately to the Jade Palace, bringing with him news of the island’s disappearance to the High Elf Queen.

He met the queen, who was with the Legendary Magician Bryant, at the Garden of Magic.

After seeing the contents of Vonhelon’s Memory Crystal, the High Elf Queen asked Bryant, “Who do you think is responsible for this?”

Bryant spread his hands out and answered her with certainty, “There’s no question about it. Be it a freak storm, or a vanishing mining Island, it has to be Link behind all this.”

As a Legendary Magician himself, Bryant was familiar with this level of power. Anyone at the Legendary power level would be capable of extraordinary feats that no ordinary being would even dream of.

Though he still didn’t know how Link had managed to pull it off, he was certain that with the correct method, he, too, could do something like this.

The High Elf Queen had drifted off into a reverie. After a while, she finally said, “The other party has not left any evidence of foul play. This may be troublesome.”

Their opponent had outsmarted them in such a way that the High Elves were not in a position to retaliate. To have a whole mining island stolen from them was a loss the High Elves had not experienced in over 3,000 years.

This really was unacceptable!