Chapter 665 - Target: Shadow Divine Fragment
Advent of the Archmage
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Kanorse was careful but dared to take risks to. He was a natural leader. Faced with this stranger with weird clothing and odd features, he didnât lose his temper despite the manâs words. A few seconds later, Kanorse said, âThe Ferde lord is busy. Iâm afraid he doesnât have time to see you.â
âI know.â The person nodded and smiled. âHeâs busy making a magic arm for you.â
This made Kanorse furrow his brows. Not many knew what Link was doing. It was practically a secret. Thus, it put him on edge that a stranger said it like that.
âWho are you?!â Kanorse raised his voice. The Warriors beside him unsheathed their swords. If this mysterious guy answered incorrectly, they would behead him immediately.
The army wasnât a place for jokes.
This guy probably knew he was pushing it. Wiping away his smile, he said seriously, âI am Magician Dylosen from the Aragu Empire. As for what I know... It isnât hard for a Legendary Magician to find out these things.â
When the man reported his background, the Warriors were all confused, especially at the word Aragu. However, Kanorse knew confidential matters. Heart jumping, he immediately ordered, âLeave us!â
âGeneral, what about your safety?â One Warrior was worried.
Kanorse looked very clear headed. âDylosen is a guest and means no harm. Plus, even if he did, you wouldnât be able to stop him.â
âVery wise,â Dylosen praised. The belittlement in his eyes faded a bit.
When the soldiers all left and only Kanorse and Dylosen were left, Kanorse finally said, âMaster Link is very busy. As a fellow Magician, you should know that Magicians hate being disturbed the most when theyâre fully focused on something.â
Dylosen smiled. âYouâre right. Thatâs why I chose to come now.â
âWhat do you mean?â This raised alarms in Kanorseâs mind. He interpreted it as the other coming to take advantage of loopholes. Then he felt a commotion from the Mage Towerâs direction. Link seemed to have come out.
Dylosen seemed to know everything. âCongratulations, young general.â He smiled. âYour arm is here.â
Less than ten seconds after he spoke, Link appeared at the entrance. He looked as he always did. His hair was tied carelessly, he wore a dark silver battle robe, and a magic sword that looked normal but glowed faintly hung at his waist.
Link didnât come alone. Eliard and Princess Annie followed him. After entering, Link froze when he saw Dylosen, but joy flashed past his eyes afterward.
However, he ignored this foreign Magician for now. He tossed up two thumb-sized metallic balls. They floated and flew to either side of Kanorse. At the same time, Link advised, âGeneral, it may hurt, but donât fight back. Try not to move your body.â
Kanorse obviously trusted Link. Hearing this, he sat in his chair without moving. The two balls flew to where his arm had been cut off and sped up, digging into the damaged flesh.
It was obviously very painful, but Kanorse just grunted and didnât move. After the spheres entered him, they expanded, grew, and transformed. The process was impossibly precise. After a while, two steel-gray arms actually grew out of Kanorseâs shoulder. They were the exact size of Kanorseâs original arms.
âTry moving them,â Link said.
Kanorse tried moving his arms, but he discovered that he couldnât control them. He could only feel that his shoulder was cold. âI canât control it.â
âNo, your finger just twitched. It means that it succeeded,â Link said, smiling.
âSucceeded? So?â Kanorse smiled bitterly. This was only a bit better than before. At least he didnât look as pathetic anymore.
Smiling without speaking, Link looked to the foreign Magician.
Dylosen had been watching from aside. Now, heâd mostly figured it out. When Link looked over, he understood and explained, âGeneral, the most powerful part about these arms is that it will grow according to your wishes. You can only control it a bit because it hasnât been long enough. If you donât give up and keep using them, theyâll become stronger and more agile. They might even become stronger than your original arms!â
Kanorse understood now, but he still didnât dare believe it. He looked to Link for confirmation.
Link nodded. âIndeed. If you work hard, they will completely belong to you.â
He didnât create prosthetics that could be used immediately because those were too stiff and would greatly restrict Kanorseâs room for improvement. These arms now used magic knowledge ten times more advanced than the other kind. Heâd put in 100 times more effort too and it paid off. The effect was shockingly perfect.
Just as Dylosen said, the most critical thing was that it would grow like a flesh arm. It could keep strengthening and adjust to Kanorseâs needs.
Kanorse laughed heartily. âI only need to work hard. Thatâs easy!â To him, having arms again was the same as being reborn. Standing up from his chair, he bowed deeply to Link. âThank you, master.â
Link accepted the gratitude and said, âYou deserve it and it was my duty... Alright. General, shouldnât you introduce this gentleman?â
He could feel deep and obscure Mana surge within the Magician. He was Level-14 and was definitely a powerful figure.
Kanorse nodded. âHis name is Dylosen. He says heâs from Aragu.â
âOh.â Link grew more excited. If he was from Aragu, he must be related to the Fire Sect of the Aragu Realm. Judging from his attitude, he wasnât a foe.
There was nothing better than finding a powerful ally right now.
By now, the disdain in Dylosenâs eyes was gone. He smiled. âI heard countless stories about you along the way. I thought I had an idea about your magic, but seeing those arms, I realized I was wrong. Your accomplishments in enchantments, at least, are far beyond my imagination.â
Link already viewed this Magician as a future ally. Since he was praising him, Link returned the gesture. âWe all have our specialties. For example, I donât understand your wand at all. It must be a masterpiece.ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âOh no, no, no. Haha.â Dylosen had made this wand himself and it was his proudest work. Linkâs words hit his sweet spot.
The exchange made the atmosphere very comfortable.
Having gotten new arms, Kanorse held hope for the future again and was in a great mood. âYour Highness,â he said to Princess Annie, âThe masters have things to discuss. I donât understand magic, so how about we go patrol the fortress?â
Annie had no objections. She smiled and nodded.
After they left, only the three Legendary Magicians remained.
Link composed himself and cast a soundproof barrier. Then he asked, âDid the Aragu Empire run into trouble?â
Dylosen had learned about Link and knew some things about Linkâs past with Milda, Holy Maiden of the Fire Sect. When Link asked this, he realized that Link already knew the basic situation of Aragu. Skipping the nonsense, he said, âIt isnât trouble. Itâs that weâre at the last juncture between life and death!â
Link was shocked. âItâs that bad? What about the Snow Mountain Archmage?â
âHe is old. Now, he is already 596 years old and can only live around 20 to 50 more years. Even if we use a Secret spell, it can only be pushed to ten years. He canât use spells easily either. If he dies, the Aragu Empire will collapse. By then...â Speaking of Araguâs situation, Dylosenâs expression was serious.
âWhy doesnât the Snow Mountain Archmage become a god?â Link asked.
Dylosen chuckled bitterly. âItâs not that easy. The Fire Archmage became a god because he received the Divine Fragment from an ancient fire god when he was young and strong. Throughout history, one has always needed an outside force to become a god. No Archmage has done it alone. No one.â
From the side, Eliard said, âSince the Fire Archmage canât be defeated, itâs useless to ask us for help too.â
Archmages were at Level-19 and this was an Archmage with a Divine Fragment. That made him a demi-god. Going against someone like that was suicide.
âItâs obviously impossible with only you, but Firuman has what we need. To be honest...â Dylosen looked at Link, hesitating whether he should speak or not. In the end, he said it. âFiruman is a very old realm and had an era of gods in the ancient times. Countless gods had died here. There are obviously many Divine Fragments too. If we find one and give it to the Snow Mountain Archmage, we will turn the tides.â
âSo you have a target?â Link asked directly.
âThereâs a Shadow Stalker in the South,â Dylosen answered simply.
âShadow Stalker Morpheus is Level-19 and a demi-godlike figure. What did you prepare? How do we benefit?â Link was more straightforward.
âI have Level-19 attack equipment from the Snow Mountain Archmage. If you help me defeat the Shadow Stalker and get the fragment, the Snow Mountain Archmage will do his best to stop the realms from fusing. You will also receive three pieces of Level-19 magic equipment.â
The reward was hearty. Link and Eliard met eyes. Eliard nodded in agreement, but Link still had doubts. âOne last question. Why would the Snow Mountain Archmage give such an important mission to a Level-14 Magician?â
âHa.â Dylosen chuckled wryly. âBecause Iâm the only one who was fortunate enough to escape from the Fire Archmage and his Magicians. Those stronger than me were all killed. I must thank them for attracting all the attention.â
Looking at the subtle marks on Dylosenâs wand, Link decided to believe this explanation. âAlright. Letâs sign the contract.â
He would trust Dylosen now. As for the truth, it would naturally be exposed while they worked together.