Advent of the Archmage

The wind roared in Eliard’s ears as the world below blurred past him. He had never experienced such speed.

"Ahhh! This is way too fast! How is this even possible?" he screamed into the howling wind. He was always the first to express his awe and excitement whenever he saw something new and exciting.

His excited screams continued on for about an hour, before Fullmoon City, the capital of Southmoon Kingdom, finally appeared in front of them.

When the two of them landed, Eliard’s head was still spinning. He said incredulously, "That was really fast."

Southmoon Kingdom was 1500 miles away from Scorched City. Still, they managed to reach there in no more than an hour.

Link laughed. "The speed I was traveling at just now was 600 feet per second, which translates to more than 2000 miles per hour. I’d say we made it just in time."

Eliard exclaimed breathlessly, "So this is Legendary power? This is quite an eye-opener for me."

Despite having flown at such blinding speed and at such a height, Link did not seem exhausted whatsoever. One could not help but marvel at the power he possessed.

Link chuckled. "No need to look at me like that. Work hard, and you’ll reach Level-10 one day as well. When that day comes, I’ll teach you the Void Walk technique myself."

"It’s a spatial spell, isn’t it? I don’t think I’ll be able to learn it right." Eliard wanted to, but knowing the obscene difficulty of spatial magic, he feared that he might not be up to the task.

"It’s just a spell that lets you get from one place to another quickly. It’s not that difficult... Up ahead is Full Moon City. Here, take this runestone." Link landed beside Eliard and handed him a communication rune.

Eliard took it and then asked strangely, "Why? Aren’t we going in together?"

"Of course not, this will be your personal mission. You’ll need to make contact with representatives of Grinth Magical Academy. Then, after presenting yourself to the king of Southmoon Kingdom, see if there’s anything strange happening within the city. You’ll need to do all this yourself. As for me, I’ll be carrying out my own investigations from the shadows of the city. If you think you can’t handle any of it any longer, just use the runestone to contact me."

His responsibilities as the Lord of Ferde, as well as the fact that his every action was always under scrutiny, was starting to wear on Link. As Eliard was now a fully-fledged Magician, this was the perfect opportunity to train Eliard on the job while also letting him handle some of Link’s more tedious tasks.

Eliard did not expect to be given such a task. This was the Syndicate they were dealing with after all; he should not expect Link to take care of everything himself. Besides, this should not pose a problem to a Level-8 Magician with Level-9 power like himself.

Eliard and Link were different in a number of ways.

Ever since coming to this world, Link had been all over the place without stopping to rest. To him, the world of Firuman held no secrets at this point. Now, he simply wished to put everything down and rest for a bit. On the other hand, Eliard had spent much of his time cooped up in the Mage Tower, studying magic diligently. To him, there was still a lot to be seen in the outside world. This diplomatic visit to Southmoon Kingdom was also his first time seeing the outside world from a Pinnacle master’s point of view.

"Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything beautifully on your behalf," said Eliard confidently.

Link smiled. "Good. Now go. If there’s any trouble, don’t forget the defensive runestone I just gave you."

"Don’t worry too much about me, haha. Well, I’m off." The enthusiastic look on Eliard’s face evoked in Link the image of a child who was just raring to leave his nest and venture off into the great unknown.

When he finished speaking, Eliard cast a Level-5 Mongoose Agility spell on himself and sped towards the gates of Full Moon City.

Link finally heaved a sigh as he saw Eliard reach the city gates in the distance. He puffed up his chest, then jumped for a bit on the spot, feeling a lot lighter and freer all of a sudden.

Right now, he was neither the Lord of Ferde nor a Legendary Magician. He was simply Link, a normal tourist who had come to Full Moon City looking for fun and adventure. Of course, this was all in jest. Ethereal Warriors were not to be trifled with. He needed to concentrate on the matter at hand.

He realized that his clothing was a bit too gaudy. A black battle robe with silver linings and a dark red cape might not look too distracting, but an attentive observer would be able to sense that he was no ordinary traveler. He needed to change it a bit.

With a nudge of his will, his body began to shimmer. The light instantly transformed into form-fitting, dark green, leather armor. Dangling from his waist was the Dragon King’s Fury sword.

When he was done, Link conjured a mirror in front of him to check on his new clothes.

Armor’s too new. Better give it a bit of wear here and there. Signet’s too conspicuous as well, better keep it. The Dragon King’s Fury sword looks a bit too elegant, better change it up a bit. Body’s way too clean to resemble an ordinary wanderer. Let’s dirty myself up a bit... almost there.

When he was done with his makeover, Link was now wearing somewhat worn-out leather armor. A normal steel sword dangled from his waist in place of the Dragon King’s Fury sword. He had also cut an inch of his hair. With his face covered with dust, he now looked like a run-of-the-mill mercenary.

When everything was settled, Link began walking towards Full Moon City.

After entering the city, Link strolled around the place and hung out at a local tavern where mercenaries from all walks of life had gathered for drinks and gossip. Two hours later, he had a better understanding of what was going on recently in Full Moon City.

On the surface, everything seemed in order, but there was also talk of a gang of fearsome bandits terrorizing the mercantile route on the city’s south side.

These bandits had appeared half a month ago. They came and went as they pleased. Any unfortunate traveling merchants passing through the area were all brutalized by them.

Before, this particular stretch of road was always busy with people and caravans. It was one of the most important passages leading towards Southmoon Kingdom. Now, the road was completely sealed off by these bandits.

Of course, the king did not succumb to their demands.

For the past month, he had used up all kinds of methods to flush out these hooligans. He had even resorted to dispatching a thousand cavalrymen to resolve the problem, but they all returned unsuccessful. The bandits had simply avoided direct confrontation with the king’s soldiers.

Left with no other choice, the king had put up a bounty on the heads of these bandits. When Link came to the city, the bounty had risen to 3000 gold pieces.

As a result, many mercenaries had flocked to Full Moon City, ready to do whatever it took to lay their hands on that bounty.

Right now, Link was in a bar called "Gear Up Tavern" on the south side of the city. Though the tavern might seem small, the mercenaries who had gathered here had an above average power level, the weakest among them being Level-4. If there was anyone in this city who could pull this job off, it would certainly be any one of the mercenaries in this tavern.

Link sat in a corner of the tavern at the moment, a glass of beer and a plate of fried green beans set in front of him. As he absently chewed on his food, he listened closely to the gossiping mercenaries around him. The other portion of his concentration was directed to the Dragon King’s Fury sword on his waist.

His Dragon Power’s recovery rate was now at 45 points per second, which was almost equal to the Red Dragon Queen’s. As he had no use for his Dragon Power at the moment, he thought it would be better to recharge the Dragon King’s Fury sword with it. With enough Dragon Power, the sword might be able to unlock a new level.

The mercenaries in the tavern were all busy chatting about the bandits.

"I hear these bandits have some mysterious power. I heard from one of the cavalrymen that they could shapeshift. When he stabbed his sword at one of the bandits, his body instantly turned into water. When he pulled his sword out, the bandit came out unharmed."

"Isn’t that magic? What’s so mysterious about that?"

"If any one of them turns into water, we’ll just chuck one of those dwarven explosives at them. Even if he turns completely into water, he’ll still be blown into pieces by the explosion."

"Your talk is cheap. If they’re giving even the kingdom’s calvarymen a hard time, these bandits must be something. I don’t know if any of us will be able to get the bounty this time."

"There’s got to be someone capable around here. What’s to fear?"

Everyone nodded in agreement at that and then poured their beers down their throats. When they were done, the mercenaries opened up a new topic between themselves.

There was a silence in the tavern for a moment. Then, someone said, "I hear the North is preparing for war again."

"Oh?"

"I see."

"Hmm."

All kinds of noises were raised in response to the news. Then, everyone waited for the mercenary from the North to elaborate further on the subject.

The mercenary took another gulp of his beer and sighed. "A month ago, I was in Gladstone City. I saw with my own two eyes a large number of Warriors and cargo being transported towards the iron line of defense. I also heard from the folks who had just gotten back from the Black Forest that the Dark Elf scum had started summoning creatures from the Isomerism Realm."

The tavern fell silent again. Then one of them angrily cursed, "Dark Elf scum!"

"Nothing good ever came from them pointy ears, I’ll tell ya! The other day, I met this High Elf wanderer. With that haughty look of his, I really wanted to pull his head down!"

"Are you talking about..."

The conversation had gone off in all kinds of directions among the mercenaries. Link could not care less about them at this point. He had gotten what he wanted. He was now sure that the bandits they were talking about were Ethereal Warriors, and from the mercenaries’ accounts, they only seemed to have a normal power level.

The bandits were simply testing how far the Lord of Ferde himself would meddle with Southmoon Kingdom’s affairs.

Link decided that his best course of action for now was to wait for the enemy to make their first move. If Eliard could not deal with things on his own, Link would need to step in and take matters into his own hands.

Right now, he deserved all the rest he could get. He had been way too occupied with things back in Ferde.

He rested the back of his head against his hands, propped his legs up on the table and continued eating his green beans as he listened to the mercenaries’ chatter almost nonchalantly.

He then saw a 30-year-old archer enter the tavern.

The man’s face was extremely handsome. It was also adorned with a pair of sideburns that exuded virility. His eyes belonged to someone who had seen much of the world. His Battle Aura was Level-7, befitting his weathered look, and his long gorilla arms that indicated his mastery of the bow.

With such power, he must have quite the reputation as a mercenary.

As he entered, the tavern went silent. Link then heard someone mutter, "Look, Eagle-eye Irvan’s here."

Eagle-eye Irvan?

Link had heard of this name before. In the game world, he was an excellent mercenary. However, in one mission, he had the misfortune of coming across a Fodor Flaming Demon who tore him up and swallowed him whole, leaving nothing but a boot behind. Link’s mission back then had been to track the Fodor Flaming Demon by following the aura left on Irvan’s boot.

In this world, the demons did not make their way down south which meant that Irvan was still alive and well.

The man looked around him and walked towards Link, as his table was the only one left with an empty seat. He said to Link, "Put your foot down, mate!"

Link did not move an inch and instead just looked at him sideways. "There’s plenty of space here. Sit wherever you like."

He was now one of the vulgar mercenaries in the tavern, and normal mercenaries had no business with decorum or manners. The only thing that mattered to these people was the size of their fists, and only those with big fists had the right to speak.

Right now, he wanted to know a bit more about this Eagle-eye fellow, and what better way to make a friend here than a good old-fashioned bout of fisticuffs?