Advent of the Archmage - Chapter 310

Chapter 310: Will the Queen Fall to Darkness?

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

The Dragon Temple had a characteristic—it was big. Everything seemed huge, such as the passageway that the Red Dragon Elder Pettalong was leading Link down. It was 300 feet wide, and it felt like he was walking in an empty town square.

After walking with Elder Pettalong for a while, Link and Elin realized that they were walking toward the backyard of the Holy Temple. They exchanged glances, their spirits low.

They had last seen the queen in the huge square behind the Holy Temple. Now, she was meeting the guests there. This meant that the Red Dragon Queen was very weak and couldn’t even move.

The situation was horrible.

After walking for five or six minutes, the passageway ended. A 150-foot-tall arch appeared. A 30-foot-tall Warrior stood on either side of the entrance.

They grasped huge battle swords and were covered fully in dark red body armor. Only their silvery eyes were revealed. Their auras were obscure and deep. When they looked down at someone, there was an indescribable pressure.

Link recognized this type of Warrior. Called Apocalypse Dragon Guards, they were currently at Level-8. Later, when the Mana density rose, they all passed the Legendary State and had terrifying combat ability.

Before, Apocalypse Dragon Guards had appeared on the battlefield and were like doomsday war chariots. Anyone who tried to block them would die. Only the Abyssal Horn, a high-level demon of similar physique, could stop them.

Even more frightening, there were at least 100 of them in this Dragon Temple. Clearly, the title of legendary race was veritable for the dragons.

Stared at by these Warriors, Elin shrunk into herself and looked like a little bird. Hunched over, she followed Link and was too scared to even breathe loudly.

At the entrance, Pettalong stopped. “The queen is not feeling well recently,” he said quietly. “In order for her health not to be damaged further, pay attention to how you speak when reporting the truth to the queen, understood?”

Link and Elin exchanged glances. The Red Dragon Queen was a legendary force, but now she was in the state where her mood could affect her body. How horrible was the situation?

Pettalong’s gaze was sharp, and Link could only nod. “We will do our best to take care of the queen’s emotions.”

“Okay, come with me.” The dragon elder continued to guide them.

The group passed under the tall arch and saw the huge square of thousands of feet wide. The Red Dragon Queen was sprawled in the center quietly.

This scene was almost identical to that of the Soul Realm. The only difference was that the black light sphere that represented the Equal Scale was gone. The dragons had probably concealed it.

There were at least 30 dragons beside the queen. They were all over 60 feet tall, and the weakest one was above Level-8. They were all streaming crystal-red dragon power into the queen’s body.

The queen’s head drooped limply on the ground. The huge golden eyes were half-closed. When she saw Link’s group, a gentle yet omnipresent voice sounded. “Apologies, my friends. There is a problem with my health, so I can only welcome you like this.”

Her mouth didn’t move as she spoke while her eyes stared at Link and Elin. She was speaking with a spell. Despite being so weak, the elegancy she emanated was still suffocating.

Elin didn’t dare to breathe too loudly. She walked up, bowed seriously, and said softly, “Elin, Yabba Magician, greets Your Majesty.”

Observing from the distance in the Soul Realm was one thing; actually facing the Red Dragon Queen was another. To Elin, the queen was like a mountain while she was just a small bunny.

She felt huge pressure, and her voice was tiny when she spoke. Elin had become a Yabba lady, nothing like the frustrated and furious girl at the Night of the Dragon Inn.

Link, on the other hand, had seen the Red Dragon Queen many times in the past life, so his expression was still normal. He bowed and greeted her to follow customs. “Your Majesty.”

The Red Dragon Queen gazed at Link and continued, “I’ve heard of you. You’ve been investigating Duke Osiris recently. Do you have any results?”

“Of course,” Link replied. Then he saw Pettalong’s warning glance, telling him to pay attention to his speaking technique. This was quite annoying. He had to describe the truth, and the only technique was to be as objective as possible. What other techniques were there?

He decided to ignore Pettalong. Link stepped forward and took out the letters from Osiris’ table. He used the Magician’s Hand to open them in the air. Compared to the queen’s body, the envelopes were very small, and the words were even smaller. However, Link knew the queen could read it.

The queen focused on the letters, reading them one by one. She was expressionless. During this time, Link was also reading the letters, as well as the dragon elders nearby. Dragons had very good vision. They could see clearly from a few hundred feet away.

These letters were mostly written to Osiris by Isendilan after the latter was banished from the Dragon Valley. The contents were simple. He urged Osiris to hurt the queen, and in return, he would give Osiris the Heart of Dramos.

“Dramos” was a word from the dragon language. It meant “legendary,” or “holy.” In the common language, it was the Heart of the Legendary. It could help Osiris enter the Legendary State.

The envelope also contained the unfinished reply from Osiris. It was clear from the letter that he’d already completed the task and wanted Isendilan to pay him.

The entire square was silent after the dragons finished reading the letter. Link didn’t speak either. He placed the papers on the ground. Almost simultaneously, a message appeared in his vision. It was about the mission.

Mission reveal complete. Mission set completed.

Player receives Magic Surge Talisman (enchantment)

A light spot flashed in Link’s vision, and a six-sided pale purple gem appeared. It flashed and stopped in the bottom right corner of his vision with the description awaiting materialization after it.

Link didn’t have time to care about this reward. He was waiting for the Red Dragon Queen’s reaction.

At this time, he suddenly realized that the queen’s expression was strange. Nothing had changed except the two large golden eyes. A translucent teardrop formed and rolled down.

When the teardrop fell to the ground, it shattered into countless grains that converged and solidified into pearls. They rolled in all directions; one rolled to Link’s foot.

He looked from side to side. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he collected this “pearl” the size of an infant’s fist. He looked at it, and its statistics showed up in his vision.

Red Dragon’s Tears

Quality: Epic

Effect: A dragon’s tears can change a mortal’s physique, allowing them forge a closer relationship with Mana. The queen’s tears are the most effective and are known as the “legendary seed.”

(Note: one can only come across this object serendipitously.)

Isendilan and Osiris’ betrayals truly hurt the queen’s heart, but Link felt nothing towards these lovey-dovey things. He was secretly so happy at receiving this teardrop. Of course, he couldn’t reveal this. Otherwise, he’d be despised by all the dragons.

After a long while, the queen spoke again. Her voice was not calm like before and sounded a bit waterlogged. “This is very unfortunate news. Mortal, thank you for letting me know the truth. I—”

Before she could finish, a young dragon burst through the arch. He’d rushed here and was panting for his breath.

Elder Pettalong immediately reprimanded him. “Oro, why are you like this? Where are your manners?”

The young dragon in question tried to catch his breath. He looked terrified. “Something horrible happened. Duke Osiris and Duke Davosus are all dead. They…they’re all dead!”

“What?!” all the dragons present uttered in unison.

Link and Elin looked at each other. This was unbelievable, and neither of them had thought things would progress to this state. Weren’t the dragons known for their hardy vitality? How could two dukes with such powerful Level-9 strength die?

The dragons at the square were all shocked.

Osiris and Davosus were pillars of the dragons. They were geniuses and had the potential of entering the Legendary State.

Osiris’ betrayal was already a huge blow, but now Davosus was dead? He’d died with Osiris too. This was a disaster!

This meant that of the three grand dukes of the Red Dragons, one had betrayed, and two had died. The Red Dragons’ power was reduced by at least 30%!

The Red Dragon Queen finally lost her calm. Shaking, her voice trembled as she asked, “Explain clearly. What exactly happened?”

Seeing that something was wrong, Pettalong gestured at the young dragon with his eyes to take care of the queen’s emotions. However, the dragon was extremely panicked as well. He didn’t even notice Pettalong’s warning.

“When we found them, they were at the border of the Dragon Valley,” he said hurriedly. “Duke Osiris’ neck was broken by Duke Davosus, but he’d paid heavily for it too. His internal organs all exploded…it was a battle to the death.”

Hearing this, the queen began moving. She pushed herself up with her front claws, her eyes filled with disbelief. “Why did they do this? Why did this happen? Why did they betray me?”

“Your Majesty, this is Isendilan’s fault. Please take care of your health!” Pettalong advised anxiously.

The queen paid him no heed. “I treated Isendilan and Osiris genuinely,” she muttered. “Osiris, I’d already prepared to choose you. Why did you do this? Why?”

“Your Highness. Your Highness?” Pettalong was still trying to comfort the queen.

Throwing her head back, the Red Dragon Queen let out a long roar. It was filled with sadness and anger. Under that was complete despair and hopelessness. The emotion was so strong that even the foreigners, Link, and Elin, could feel it clearly.

While roaring, the queen suddenly unfurled her wings. They flapped violently, and under the screaming wind, she flew up unsteadily.

But a few hundred feet up in the air, a black net of light suddenly appeared above the square. It tangled onto the queen like a spider web, dragging her down. She struggled but to no avail.

With a loud boom, she crashed to the ground pathetically. Then she laid there without moving. Her eyes were blank as if she’d died.

Even scarier, veins of dark aura snaked across her dark red body. It was corroding her body at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Pettalong panicked. “What are you waiting for?” he roared. “Help the queen scatter the dark aura! Dammit, hurry!”

He charged forward and transmitted power into the Red Dragon Queen with all his might. The other dragons did the same, but this could only slightly slow down the speed of corrosion.

The queen seemed to have completely given up. Her consciousness and legendary power were gone. She was just like a regular dragon.

The Red Dragon Queen’s corrosion seemed to be irreversible.

Chapter 311: I Did Not Expect This

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

Dragon Temple

The Red Dragon Queen was in an exceptionally unstable state. The dragons were all busy trying to suppress the dark forces corroding the consciousness of their queen. No one had any time to care about Link and Elin.

The situation was indeed dire. Streams of dark forces could be seen emerging from the void, spinning itself around Red Dragon Queen as though it was weaving a web, pulling her bit by bit into the abyss of darkness.

Under the corrosion of the dark forces, the efforts of the Red Dragon elders were simply futile. They were like insects trying to stop the advancement of a war chariot, whose fate was to be completely obliterated.

Elin whispered, “Shall we run?”

There were at least 30 Red Dragon elders. The weakest one was at least Level-8 in strength. If even such a powerful team could not resolve this issue, what could the both of them do?

The best course of action now was to leave this place quickly. As for the fallen Red Dragon Queen—they would find a way to deal with it next time.

Link felt that he did not have the ability to intervene in this issue just yet. Although it was disastrous that the Red Dragon Queen had fallen, his power was limited. Furthermore, the fight with Osiris had completely depleted his Mana Points.

He slowly retreated as he whispered, “We will find Felina and take her with us.”

He could care less about the other dragons. However, Felina was a friend. They also needed her instincts to show them out of his terrifying Dragon Valley.

Elin had no opinions on that. She nodded and said, “Be quiet, we will leave quietly.

In order to not attract attention, the two of them retreated slowly while keeping their eyes on the elders. Link then waved at Nana, a signal for her to follow them.

Time was tight, and Link still had not fixed the damages on Nana’s body. She did not possess the terrifying outburst of speed that she usually had, though she could still walk normally. If she put in her best effort, she could probably still travel at a speed of 300 feet per second.

Growl! The Red Dragon Queen howled loudly again. Her voice was filled with agony and insanity. It sent chills down the spine of everyone present.

More dragons appeared, arriving from all directions of the Dragon Temple. They turned into their dragon form and quickly transferred energy to the Red Dragon Queen in a bid to help her resist the dark forces of corrosion.

The Dragon Temple became increasingly chaotic. In front of these huge figures, Link, Elin, and Nana were like two small mice amongst a herd of elephants. They looked as if they were going to be trampled anytime.

Suddenly, Link saw a condensed drop of tears at the feet. He quickly glanced around, and after making sure that no one was keeping tabs on him, he picked up the tear stealthily. That was his second one! What a harvest!

As time passed, the situation became extremely grim.

The scales on the Red Dragon Queen’s body was originally crimson red in color while shining with a crystal-like exterior. However, it was now turning sinister black. Her eyes, which were originally shining with golden brilliance, were now smoking with a black aura around them. Her claws which used to be metallic-gold had become dull-grey.

Almost all the dragons in the Dragon Temple had arrived. There were around thousands of them. This included the Apocalypse Dragon Guards. Their numbers and strength were simply unimaginable. However, even this amount of strength was insufficient in the face of a Sacred Gear. Their attempts were futile.

The Red Dragon Queen continued to howl in pain. Her motionless body started stirring and jerking uncontrollably. She was not trying to resist the corrosion of the Dark Sacred Gear but trying to unshackle herself from the control of the Red Dragon elders.

The strength of a Legendary individual was terrifying. Even with the entire group of Red Dragon elders who were Level-8 in strength and three of them who were Level-9 in strength, they could not even pin her down. They were blown away by the constant struggles of the Red Dragon Queen even when she had not unleashed her full power.

The situation was getting out of hand.

Link and Elin were horrified at the scene. They stopped caring about stealth and ran for their lives.

They had no choice. Elin was only Level-7 in strength and specialized in Secret Magic. This type of magic was completely useless against a dragon. On the other hand, Link had only 400 Mana Points left. It was not even enough for self-protection.

It would be dumb to not escape when the Red Dragon Queen was about to go insane!

However, the Dragon Temple was simply too huge. They not only had to run at full speed but also dodge the huge claws of the dragons which threatened to trample them every step of the way. They were out of breath by the time they reached the entrance.

They were just about to escape from the Dragon Temple when they were forced to stop. A huge magic barrier appeared at the entrance to the Dragon Temple. It stood in the way of their escape.

This magic barrier was black in color and almost opaque. Countless black runes encircled the barrier, and an intense principle-based aura surged through the spell.

Elin tried casting a Fireball spell onto the magic barrier. However, before the fireball reached the barrier, it fizzled out.

Link then walked forward and checked the runes on the barrier carefully. After a few minutes, he shook his head as he said bitterly, “This barrier contains the power of the principles. If I am not wrong, this should be the power of the Balanced Scale. We are trapped, together with all the dragons.”

At that moment, the red dragons were still helping their queen. They seemed to not realize their predicament. However, the truth was that the moment their queen descends into insanity, everyone present would die!

Many screams could be heard, including the cries of the Red Dragon Queen and the bellows of the Red Dragon elders.

“Your Majesty, you cannot give up!”

“Your Majesty, please stay sane. You cannot be controlled by the Balanced Scale!”

“My Queen, our race needs you!”

However, these cries of desperation were to no avail. The Red Dragon Queen continued slipping into the abyss of darkness.

From Link’s observations, the Red Dragon Queen must have already recognized the severity of the situation and wished to fight against the dark forces. However, the moment of carelessness had already allowed the forces of darkness to break through her psychological defenses.

She was powerless now.

“What do we do?” Elin shouted.

As she said those words, her small body disappeared for a moment. After a split second, she appeared again and said in a tone of despair, “The Soul Realm has been sealed as well. We have no way out!”

Link was calmer as he still had one last method he had not tried!

He walked towards Nana and unsheathed the dagger she kept tied at the side of her thighs. He then charged the dagger with mana, causing the space around the dagger to distort.

This distortion was not necessary. In fact, this was only a disguise, to conceal the true power of this dagger.

“Do you have a way to destroy this barrier? Does Spatial Magic work?” Elin thought that Link was going to try out some novel Spatial spells again. She did not even think about the special powers the dagger wielded.

From her perspective, this dagger might be sharp and of epic quality, but Link’s Spatial Magic was still the fundamental force at work.

“I’ll give it a try!” Link muttered. He then walked towards the dark barrier and slashed at it with full force.

A light clinking sound could be heard. An opening could be seen on the sturdy and impenetrable Legendary Barrier!

That was not all.

When the opening appeared, the dark forces within the Dragon Temple trembled slightly. There was complete silence for a moment. Even the howls of the Red Dragon Queen seemed to have stopped.

“It worked!” Link was elated. The Breakpoint dagger could really sever anything in the world, true to its name!

Link then made another attack on the dark barrier. Another opening then appeared, causing black smog to appear. Closer inspection would reveal that this smog was formed from countless tiny black runes.

As the smog dissipated into the air, the black barrier became dimmer and more transparent.

The Red Dragon Queen seemed to be coping better as well. The Red Dragon Elders who were suppressing the dark forces also felt the diminishing pressure from the Dark Sacred Gear.

“What is going on?” The elders were confused. There were too many huge dragons in the temple. They did not even see Link and company who were hiding behind one of them.

“Has the queen come around?”

“No matter what, this calls for a celebration. Increase the intensity of the power transfer, help the queen at all cost!” Chancellor Pettalong shouted. This instilled faith and hope in the dragons at the scene. They then increased the rate of power transfer to the Red Dragon Queen.

Link was extremely excited as well. The Breakpoint dagger was truly a weapon comparable to that of the Divine Gear. To think that it could destroy a structure made by a Sacred Gear so easily. The power of the singularity was truly terrifying.

He then made use of the Cheetah’s Agility spell and leaped high into the air, before plunging the Breakpoint dagger into the barrier. Following which, he slashed downwards with full force.

Psshh! Like a curtain that was completely torn apart, the Breakpoint dagger left a deep crack on the barrier. More smog then escaped into the atmosphere.

A Legendary Barrier was indeed different from an ordinary one.

If an ordinary barrier were to suffer such damage, the structure would have disintegrated a long time ago. However, the Legendary Barrier was different. This barrier had already suffered many cracks, and opening’s from Link’s attacks and could still hold its integrity. It even attempted to repair the damage done to it.

Link would not give it the chance. He could only think about escaping at this point. He slashed with fervor and insanity, chipping away its strength bit by bit.

Elin stared at the scene in disbelief. Her eyes were wide opened as she asked, “Link, what kind of power is this? Is Spatial Magic really so powerful?”

Link then spouted some nonsense, “I am using a type of Spatial slash. This attack can destroy any being on the World of Firuman. However, my Mana is limited, which reduces the scale of the attack. That doesn’t matter though! I will be able to destroy this barrier. When that time comes, we will be able to escape.”

“Yes!” Elin was extremely inspired. She then praised heartily, “Link, you are so powerful!”

Her eyes blinked in admiration as she said those words. Elin thought, This human is undoubtedly the Chosen One! His power is out of this world!

On the other side, the Red Dragon elders could clearly feel the weakening of the dark forces.

Pettalong shouted in excitement, “The dark forces are being suppressed. It is weakening fast. Quick! The Queen will be saved! Press on, my brothers!”

This Red Dragon elder lost all his indifference and became extremely passionate. He transferred his dragon force to the queen without hesitation. He seemed to believe that this was due to the combined efforts of the red dragons.

This situation lasted for three minutes.

Three minutes later, a cracking sound could be heard. Something had been destroyed. Following which, a ragged and torn Balanced Scale fell from the void. It landed on the ground before shattering into fragments. Its surface seemed to be ridden with dents and cuts, as though it were sliced mercilessly before its destruction.

“This is…?” The dragons stared at the Balanced Scale in shock.

“Could this be the proverbial Balanced Scale? It does not look like it,” a voice rang.

“The scale is broken?”

At that moment, the Red Dragon Queen had awakened. The dark forces corroding her had been completely dispelled, and she had returned to her normal state.

“What happened to me?” The queen shook her head and was still in a trance.

This immediately caught the attention of the red dragons at the scene. Pettalong exclaimed, “My queen, are you alright?”

“I have a slight headache, but that should be all. Hey…Why did the Balanced Scale turn out like this?” She said as she fixed her gaze onto the debris on the ground. The exquisite and immaculate Sacred Gear was now heavily deformed and damaged. The light enveloping it had also disappeared. It was simply a pile of scrap metal now.

The red dragons exchanged glances apprehensively.

“Does this mean that we destroyed the Sacred Gear?” a voice rang. This was unimaginable.

“Do we even possess such power? This does not make sense.”

“It should be due to the power of the queen.”

Everyone on site, including the Red Dragon Queen, was confused by the destroyed Sacred Gear. They also felt an inexplicable sadness. After all, this was the only Sacred Gear the dragon race possessed. It was such a waste that it was destroyed.

At that moment, none of the dragons realized that two small figures had left the temple stealthily.

“Elin, when the queen asks about the Sacred Gear later, do not mention anything about me. I cannot afford to repay the dragon race another Sacred Gear,” Link hid behind the door to the temple and whispered into Elin’s ear.

“Alright, but this Sacred Gear doesn’t seem all that impressive,” Elin seemed to have forgotten her fears. She hid behind the door and peeked through the gap between a thick dragon leg. She simply saw a pile of scrap metal on the ground with no resemblance to a majestic Sacred Gear.

Link fell speechless. He was just trying to break out of the dark barrier. Little did he know that his dark barrier was the Balanced Scale itself. To think that he destroyed a Sacred Gear just like that while saving the Red Dragon Queen at the same time.

He did not expect it at all. He was just trying to escape.

Looking at the dagger in his hand, Link gulped nervously and quickly handed the dagger back to Nana. After witnessing the Breakpoint dagger’s true power, Nana seemed to have taken a liking to it. She put it away carefully.

At that moment, Red Dragon Queen Gretel’s voice could be heard, “Where did our guests go?”

She seemed to have remembered Link and Elin.

Chapter 312: I Just Look at You and You Worship Me

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

It was a pity that the Balanced Scale was destroyed but the Red Dragon Queen was finally freed from its encroachment.

She still appeared weak and dispirited. Her giant body lumbered on the ground, her eyes half-closed. Seeing the two tiny ones before her, she sighed softly. “I’m sorry you have to see me like this.”

“It’s nothing, Your Majesty. Actually, I’m very impressed by your strong will!” Link said seriously. Probably only he knew the entire truth of what had just happened and he planned on keeping it that way.

Elin only knew a portion. She just thought that Link used magic to destroy the Sacred Gear. Link was powerful—that much was undeniable—but the destroyed Sacred Gear and the Red Dragon Queen who was tormented by it weren’t very impressive.

With that thought, she wasn’t as reverent of the queen as before. Her clever look came back. Pouting and opening her arms wide, she said dramatically, “Hmph, Your Majesty, you really scared me!”

Usually, the Red Dragon Queen would find this Yabba girl interesting but now, she was exhausted. She just sighed and said, “I’m sorry, my friend, but I want some peace and quiet.”

Isendilan’s betrayal, followed by Osiris’ betrayal, and death of Davosus all impacted her greatly. Right now, she just wanted to be alone.

Red Dragon elder Pettalong was the queen’s right-hand man. Hearing this, he immediately said, “I’m sure you all are tired as well. Let me take you to rest.”

Link and Elin obviously had no complaints. They followed Pettalong away.

The queen looked to the other dragons. “I’m alright now. I just want to rest.”

The dragons left quickly and soon, only Queen Gretel remained. She sprawled on the ground quietly without moving and suddenly sighed. “Isendilan, Osiris, and Davomos are all in the past now. Gretel, you’re the Red Dragon Queen. You must compose yourself!”

The three dukes were her husbands in name but in reality, they were only candidates. This was related to extending the royal bloodline.

Red Dragon bloodlines were very powerful. Amongst them, the royal bloodline was even more flawless. Once mature, the dragon would reach Legendary strength.

However, the world was fair. A great amount of time was needed to possess a perfect bloodline and great strength.

Regular high-level dragons would start reproducing at year 1000. However, the royalty had to wait until year 2000 before they were mature and able to search for a mate to bear the next Red Dragon Queen.

Gretel was 1990 years old this year. There were still ten more years before her body reached the perfect state and the peak of her power.

According to dragon tradition, the three most talented male dragons would automatically become dukes before this. Ten years later, the on that the queen liked the most would become her lifelong companion.

This meant nothing now.

But she was a huge beast that had lived almost two millenniums and was the leader of a race. She wouldn’t become heartbroken and depressed like a regular woman.

After sighing, Gretel accepted everything and moved on.

The Red Dragons needed a strong, persevering, and wise queen, not a weakling who would get hurt by these setbacks.

She shook her head and buried all the pain in her heart. She gazed at the remains of the Balanced Scale.

The Sacred Gear was shaped like a finely-made scale. One side was dark while the other end was light. Usually, the two sides would cancel each other out and be balanced. After Osiris messed with it, he sealed the light end, leaving only the dark end behind.

Gretel didn’t realize it and she fell into the trap when she checked it.

The Sacred Gear’s power was as immense as the sea. Even she couldn’t fight against it and almost died.

Reaching out a claw, she pulled at the remains. Her confusion grew. How can such a powerful Legendary Sacred Gear become damaged? Who made these fine scratches? The elders can’t do it and the younglings obviously can’t either. How strange.

The regular dragons might think that they worked together to destroy the Balanced Scale but it wasn’t so. If it was so easy to destroy, why would she be unable to escape from it?

Gretel thought long and hard to no avail but she had another solution. She raised a claw. A crystal red glow lit up at the tip and she pointed at the air lightly—Time Reverse.

Time Reverse

Level-15 Legendary Spell

Effect: Check all information from a period in the past. The stronger the user is, the wider the range and longer the duration.

(Note: an extraordinary time spell!)

The next moment, a projection appeared before the Red Dragon Queen’s eyes like a thin veil being pulled aside slowly. Figures appeared from within. All their movements were reversed. Advancing became retreating, getting up became lying down, and releasing power became collecting power. Everything that had just happened was shown again.

The charging Red Dragon Warriors who helped her push back the Dark power at all costs warmed Gretel’s heart. No matter what, she still had many loyal Warriors.

That wasn’t the main focus though. She continued searching for the reason why the Sacred Gear was destroyed.

The elders? She looked at all of them. They were all pushing back the Dark power with all their might and nothing was amiss. The regular Warriors? Like the elders, they had no time to do anything else. Who was left? There were still three people: the magic puppet, the Yabba, and the human Magician.

I found it. I knew something’s wrong!

Gretel’s eyes focused on the human Magician. In the Time Reversal, his figure was a bit blurry but she could still see what he was doing.

At that time, Gretel had completed the spell and was viewing it for the second time. The figures’ movements weren’t reversed anymore.

At first, the human Magician retreated with the Yabba. While retreating, they dodged to avoid being trampled by the dragons. For a time, he suddenly did something strange. At closer inspection, it seemed that he picked something up.

Gretel couldn’t see clearly but she could guess what he was doing. She didn’t mind but looked down on him. What an opportunist.

She continued watching.

The human continued retreating until he was blocked by a black screen by the arch. Gretel obviously recognized the screen. It was the materialized power of the Balanced Scale.

The Balanced Scale existed in a strange way. It was combined with the space of the entire square and was omnipresent. Thus, one usually couldn’t see its true body. In a way, the entire square was a huge scale.

Up to now, everything was normal.

Gretel saw that the Yabba was panicked while the human Magician appeared calm. He seemed to be thinking. This lasted for two seconds and then something changed.

In the Time Reversal recording, the human suddenly disappeared, replaced by an insubstantial black shadow.

This shadow approached the black screen and continued to touch it. Then Gretel saw cracks appear on the screen. After a few minutes, there was a crack. The Balanced Scale completely broke and fell away from the space.

After another three seconds, the black shadow disappeared. The Yabba, human, and magic puppet were outside the arch, peeking in at the square.

Gretel knitted her brows. Who exactly is this human Magician? How does he have the power to break time? What did he do to the Sacred Gear?

Checking the remains of the Balanced Scale again, the overlapping cracks made her heart tremble.

Breaking the flow of time and carving the Balanced Scale out of space was such a powerful move. How wise must he be?

Felina said this human was a Spatial Magician but I didn’t believe her. I can’t believe that not only does he have spatial power, he can also manipulate time. At his young age, he’s already a Level-8 Magician. The Mana density of Firuman is rising, but his accomplishments are still quite scary.

Gretel felt that she needed to talk to him personally.

The Dark Elves had summoned the Dark Serpent. This greatly damaged the balance of Firuman. If the humans had such wisdom, she really had to visit him.

At this time, Gretel had completely forgotten about her pain. As a queen, she didn’t have time to be depressed. She must think of the Red Dragons’ future.

On the other hand, Link and Elin had each been given a large room.

This room was like a human’s church. It was 65 feet tall and 150 feet wide. Thankfully, the beds were designed for dragons in human shape and were regular sizes.

It was just strange to live in a room like this.

Link sighed and gathered his thoughts to repair Nana’s body.

A Red Dragon duke at the pinnacle of Level-9 was truly powerful. Not only was Nana’s body warped, there were also many cracks. Thankfully, Link had designed many backup plans. Otherwise, Nana would be paralyzed now.

During the repair, Nana was still lying there without moving. Her bright eyes stared unblinkingly at Link, making him even more careful.

The repair took quite some time but Link had patience. When he found somewhere that could be improved on, he would do it. When he found a material that wasn’t right, he would find a better one.

“Master, Nana is becoming useless. I keep getting hurt,” Nana suddenly said. Her voice was as chirpy as before.

Link smiled. “No, you’re really useful. Otherwise, I’d be dead already.”

Nana truly helped him greatly. She was a magic puppet but Link saw her as his most reliable comrade.

Hearing this, Nana smiled. Her smile was very realistic and not at all like a magic puppet. She was getting smarter.

When Link got busy, he would forget the time. As he worked, a voice suddenly came from the door. “May I come in?”

The voice was melodious with a tinge of natural arrogance. It was hard to describe. There was just a confidence as if the speaker controlled everything from above.

Link turned around and saw a woman dressed in an elegant dress.

She was beautiful with red lips, long and thin eyebrows, and unique features. She had a great figure and there were no flaws. It was hard to tell her age. She could be 18 but also 30. Basically, she had all the positive characteristics of a woman. Innocence, loveliness, maturity, sexiness… everything could be found on her.

Just glancing at her would make one feel that the entire world had lost color. All light was focused on this woman. At this time, one only wanted to kneel down before her and submissively kiss her feet… But this was only an urge. You didn’t have to do that.

But in the game, at least tens of thousands of players actually did it. This woman was known as the most elegant queen of Firuman that you would want to worship at first glance. She was Gretel.

Chapter 313: Simply Too Wicked!

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

“Your Majesty, may I know what brings you here?” Link asked awkwardly.

Link had not fully repaired Nana, and she was laying on the table completely naked. Although Nana’s body was not gender-differentiated, her smooth skin and delicate features were clearly more feminine. Link was already used to this sight. However, this was still slightly awkward in front of a stranger.

Link had still underestimated the Red Dragon Queen. She had already lived for thousands of years. What else had she not seen?

Gretel walked beside the table and observed Nana carefully. After a few minutes, she smiled and said, “It is an impressive magic puppet. Although the durability of her body is too low.”

In fact, it was already strong for a magic puppet. To be able to withstand a blow from a Level-8 Dragon Warrior was already the maximum one could expect from mortal materials. Although Nana was injured in the battle with the Dragon Warrior, she was still able to defeat him, clearly showing her capabilities.

Although in the eyes of a Legendary individual like Gretel, Nana was definitely still too weak.

Link would naturally nor argue against her words at that moment. That would bring him no benefit. He followed Gretel’s train of thought and said, “This is indeed Nana’s weakness. However, I have already done all I could.”

Link realized that Nana was looking at him all this time. He then smiled back at her apologetically.

Following which, he saw Gretel took out a red glowing light ball around the size of a fist.

This ball of light was peculiar. After Gretel let go of it, it levitated in the air motionlessly. One would almost think that it was a stationary red ball in the air. However, closer inspection would reveal that this ball was a congregation of many small red spots, where each red spot was composed by a cluster of runes. Each rune had a role to play individually and resonated with the other runes in a specific and strange manner. This unimpressive small red ball was actually insanely complicated.

Upon seeing such an object, Link subconsciously exclaimed, “The Origin Substance?”

The Origin was where all life began. Conversely, it could also turn into anything and breathe life to objects. From another perspective, the Origin could also be described as the Principle.

The Origin Substance was basically the power of principles in a solid form, made from high-level alchemic techniques. It gave a form to the power of principles, making it tangible. This form subsequently became known as the Origin Substance.

This was slightly similar to the Breakpoint dagger which had fixed a point of singularity. The only difference was that the principles governing the dagger came from a broader and more complex Sea of Void, while the Origin Substance was merely a form of the principles governing the World of Firuman. There was a difference in the quality of these two objects.

This time, Link could identify this substance, not because of his in-game memory, but because he had read about it in a book named Law of Alchemy.

That magic book was part of the treasured collection of Master Grenci. It described the Origin Substance in great detail. Neither the humans nor the Yabbas and the High Elves had possession of this object. The only masters who knew how to create this substance came from the dragon race.

Link could not help but harbor the intention to research into this treasure.

On the other hand, Gretel stared at Link’s glimmering eyes and laughed. “This is indeed termed as the Origin Substance in the human race. However, the dragon race calls it by a different name. We call it the Essence of Life.”

“Oh, the dragon race sure is particular.” Link no longer thought of this person as the Red Dragon Queen, but his mentor.

Gretel had also recognized Link’s wisdom and replied to him seriously in kind. She pointed to Nana and explained, “Look at her. Is she really not strong enough?”

“Truth to be told, I think she is already pretty darn strong,” Link said.

“Yes, for a mortal object, reaching around Level-8 in strength is probably the limit. But that is not true for living things. For us, even Level-9 is not the limit. We still have the revered Legendary status and after which, the Sacred Realm and finally, the ultimate Realm of Gods. Why is that so?”

This was something Link had never thought about. His eyes brightened up and continued along that line of thought, “This is because every part of their body is alive. Their bodies can be damaged, but at the same time, they can heal. They can heal even faster than they are damaged, which explains why they can exist indefinitely.”

Gretel nodded her head in satisfaction. She had taken a liking to this human’s mind. He was well-read and reacted fast to new knowledge. He also had a flair for understanding the most complicated of theories. From what she knew, he was merely 19 years old. It was unimaginable how a person could reach this level of wisdom in such a short time.

She applauded and said, “Yes, that is the case. Living things have almost absolute control over every part of their bodies. We will attempt to repair whatever is broken and even try to improve on it! I created the Essence of Life based on this very principle.”

As she said those words, she waved to the floating ball of red light. This light ball immediately turned into a long thread of light, returning back to her hands.

Link’s vision was brought along by this thread of light to Queen Gretel’s hands. He stared at it for a few seconds before the impulse to bring this smooth and silky hand home to caress almost overwhelmed him.

What am I thinking about! Link forcibly retracted his gaze.

“This Essence of Life cannot increase the durability of your magic puppet immediately. However, it will bestow upon her the properties of life. Not only can her wounds heal, but she can also absorb energy. After absorbing enough energy, she might even be able to defend herself against the attack of a person who has reached the Sacred Realm.

Gretel played with the Essence of Life on her fingers flexibly. In her hands, that Origin Substance simply looked like a dark red ribbon, encircling her ever so gracefully.

Link naturally knew what to do after hearing her words. He asked, “What do I have to do to get it?”

There is no such thing as free lunch in this world. If he wanted to obtain this Essence of Life, he had to give something in return. This was a principle Link held dear.

The moment he said those words, Gretel squinted her eyes as she teased, “You exposed Osiris’ plot. That alone is a huge favor I have to repay. I was planning to give this to you. However, seeing that you have taken extra rewards without my permission, I cannot give you this for free anymore.”

She then put the Essence of Life away.

Link reacted fast to those words. He understood exactly what Gretel meant by “extra rewards.” She was referring to the two drops of tears he had taken from the Dragon Temple!

Even Link who had cultivated a thick skin could not withstand the embarrassment. His face turned red as he said awkwardly, “I simply felt that it would be a waste if I just left it on the ground. Many of them were crushed by the feet of other dragons. If you want it, I can always return it to you. Is that okay?”

Gretel was just about to poke fun at Link when she was reminded of Osiris. Her mood immediately sunk and lost all interest in making jokes. She sighed, “Forget it. Those were simply painful memories. Take what you want. You may also have this Origin Substance. However, it is the treasure of the dragon race. You cannot research into it.”

She then placed her hands on Nana’s heart, causing the Essence of Life to flow into her body as though it was alive.

Following which, Nana’s body started showing minor changes.

Originally, although her skin was flawless and white, it did not possess the texture of real skin. If one were to inspect closely, one would realize that Nana was not so human after all. However, clear skin texture could be felt and even seen after the integration of the Essence of Life. That was not all. Her eyes were originally of a uniform color. However, her pupils seemed to be slightly darker than the surrounding parts now, giving her gaze a sort of warmth previously not present.

Nana’s body also underwent other changes that made her more life-like. Her mouth was originally just a sound box. However, it had now turned into a real mouth with teeth and a tongue. Something even appeared in between her pristine white legs…Link averted his gaze after taking a glance at it.

“This is beyond my imagination,” Link smiled awkwardly. He would not have to help Nana with the healing of her wounds from now on, nor could he request for her to undress as conveniently as he did.

Gretel, on the other hand, did not feel that anything was inappropriate. She smiled as she said, “Life is the greatest miracle in the world. Each of the body parts is perfect. The Essence of Life my race had created is borne from our respect for these miracles. They are not merely aesthetic, but also useful. It can help the magic puppet obtain energy from the outside world, replenishing whatever that is lacking within its own.”

Link imagined the scene in his head. If Nana were to see a rare mineral, she could simply gobble it down to replenish the loss of any body parts…This would be convenient. It would also present Nana with infinite evolutionary possibilities. The transformation process would take some time.

The Red Dragon Queen then made use of this time to get to the main topic, “I came to discuss the Dark Serpent.”

Link’s face immediately turned serious as he said, “Please continue.”

Red Dragon Gretel started taking care of Nana’s transformation by hand as she said, “Our race had defended against the Dark Serpent for a total of three times in history. Although the Dark Serpent would change form every time it enters the World of Firuman, there is a being in this world that could accurately determine the principles governing the Dark Serpent and offer countermeasures to it. Apart from my race, no one knows about his existence.”

This was something new to Link. In the game, the Dark Serpent was rejected from the World of Firuman after running out of energy. No one could stand up to it while it was present. Naturally, he would not know about the presence of such a being.

However, if this being was as strong as the Red Dragon Queen made him out to be, he would definitely be the bane of the Dark Serpent. Link was slightly agitated as he asked, “This being is…?”

“You might have heard about his alias in the human world,” Gretel stuck out her finger and wrote a name in the air, “Elodim Fen Sendac.”

Link was reminded of something when he saw that name. He exclaimed, “Isn’t this the name of a renowned Spatial Magician 800 years ago? I even read a book that he wrote. It was called…um…Son of A Gun and Son of a Bitch…”

“Son of a Gun” was how he termed space, while “son of a bitch” was what he referred to as time…This Magician was truly a peculiar one, though his thoughts were brilliant and intricate. He had provided Link with much inspiration.

Gretel nodded helplessly and said, “That name sounds like something he would come up with. He is actually a God, though he lost all his powers after losing a bet to the God of Light. He was then exiled to the World of Firuman.”

“Exiled after losing a bet?” Link felt that this was atrocious.

Gretel waved her hands and said, “Alright, that is not the main point. Most importantly, he had a good knowledge of the Divine Gear. If you can find him, and he is willing to help, the Dark Serpent will no longer be a threat.”

Upon hearing these words, Link fell speechless and muttered, “He was exiled by the God of Light. He must be fuming mad! Why would he want to help us?”

Gretel then chuckled, “To each their own.”

“How do I find him when Firuman is so huge?”

“Felina will accompany you. He had a contract with my race. Although 3000 years have passed, the contract is still valid. People of my race can still sense his existence and location.”

Link could only nod as he said, “I understand. I will find him as fast as possible.”

Following which, a message appeared in his field of vision.

Activate Mission: Exile

Content: Search for the god that was exiled to the World of Firuman

Reward: 200 Omni Points

What else could Link do? He accepted it begrudgingly.

Red Dragon Queen Gretel had finally completed the transformation as well. She retracted her hand from Nana’s body.

Nana then sat up with her new body. Link was extremely satisfied with the transformation except for one part. There were two excess pieces of meat in front of her chest. This was an insult to Nana’s speed! It was blasphemy!

This was simply too wicked!

“Your Majesty, this will affect her agility,” Link whispered.

“Oh no. I have considered this. In fact, this will greatly reduce the impact of any external forces on Nana’s body and will not negatively affect her durability at all. It will only affect her speed slightly. However, you have to admit that even if she was slightly slower, it would not affect her battle capabilities. She is already fast enough as it is.”

Link could not rebut against that point. He dressed Nana in her armor before he said, “We will set off after Felina recovers.”

“Three days would be enough. Take this time to rest. Elodim will not be easy to find.”

Chapter 314: The Yabba Race Joins

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

“Ha, Nana grew bigger.” The tiny Elin entered the Dragon Temple’s huge room and immediately saw Nana who’d increased in size. Elin circled her and then giggled at Link.

“Uh, this wasn’t my idea. It’s the result of the queen’s help.” Link awkwardly put down the Talisman Magic book in his hands.

“No wonder. I was thinking that someone so obsessed with magic as you wouldn’t do something so unnecessary.” Elin nodded, showing that she understood. Then, she climbed onto a giant chair with some difficulty. Standing up, her head managed to peek out above the tabletop. “Link, I’m going back.”

This time, she came to bid farewell.

Link smiled. “Tell Merlin I said hi. He helped us greatly last time.”

“Uh, there’s actually something I need your help with,” Elin said with hesitation.

“Speak freely.” Link really liked this little thing. All of her expressions were cute, and when she spoke, her big bright eyes would stare at him unblinkingly. She looked really serious, but it made Link want to pinch her adorable cheeks.

Elin was still hesitant. After half a minute, she finally made up her mind. “I heard from many of my people who returned from your territory that there are a lot of islands alongside Ferde? And some are really big?”

“Yes. One of the islands is called Sea Pearl. It’s more than 12 miles in radius and only 30 miles from land. It technically belongs to me, but it’s a barren island with nothing other than forests.

“Uh…oh…” Elin couldn’t speak again. Her brows scrunched up, looking really embarrassed.

“We’re friends and even defeated the scary Red Dragon duke together. What’s there that you can’t say?” Link encouraged.

“Alright.” Elin got onto her tiptoes so she would look taller above the table. “You know, I’m actually a lord too. It’s an inherited title, and there are more than 10,000 citizens of my territory…I feel that the North isn’t safe and want to establish a new gathering in the South. Do you think…”

Actually, she wanted her entire race to migrate south, but that was unrealistic. She’d thought for a long time about taking her citizens south but before, but she didn’t know where to go. After her experiences in the Dragon Valley, she thought that Link was reliable—not only his personality but more so his exceptional abilities.

Elin believed he absolutely had the ability to protect them.

“Of course I welcome you!” Link answered without even thinking.

The Yabba were an ancient race. They were the best engineers in the world and had unmatchable attainments in Mana mechanics. They had great knowledge of magic as well. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that they were a more advanced species than humans.

If an advanced civilization was willing to live in his territory, on the surface, it seemed that Link had to give up the control of an island. At the same time, the entire human race, especially his territory, could absorb wisdom from the Yabba race. This was definitely a deal without losses.

Elin was so happy she jumped up. “Don’t worry. My citizens are just temporarily residing on your island. During this time, we’ll continue looking for a new island. If we can find a large one like the Isle of Dawn, we’ll move there…For compensation, I’ll open a college of engineering in your territory. My engineering team will also do everything to help you construct a new city.”

Link nodded. He took out paper and started writing a letter. This was for the upper level of the territory, and the content was simple. After finishing, he added the lord’s stamp and sealed it with wax and a spell. He handed it to Elin. “I still have matters to take care of, so I won’t be back soon. For the specifics of the migration, take this letter to find the director Lucy and discuss with her.”

At this time, Elin grew serious too. This pertained to the future of more than 10,000 citizens. She accepted the letter and then continued, “This counts as an alliance. As for the use of the Sea Pearl Island, should we discuss the specific authorities and responsibilities? For example, if we build a port, what happens to the money made? Or if we discover some type of mine on the island, how would the profit be distributed? This should all be made clear.”

This really had to be made clear. With the Yabba’s magic abilities, it was easy for them to construct a flourishing port. It would involve a great about of interest in the future. If they didn’t set a logical rule now, it would be a mess later.

Thinking it through, Link felt that he wasn’t that familiar with the matters of his territory. He was a loose controller. At this time, he wasn’t able to come up with a profit distribution solution that really suited the realistic situation with Elin.

They were friends, but this was a private relationship between him and Elin. This wasn’t the friendship between his citizens and the Yabba race. If he brashly decided something that involved great interests like this, it was most likely a seed for future trouble.

Once there were disputes between different races, anything could happen. There could even be racial massacres. This type of thing happened on Earth all the time.

Thus, Link was cautious.

After thinking a bit, he wrote another authorization letter. “You know, I’ve always been studying magic, and I’m not that familiar with the specific matters. However, my territory already has a complete administration institution. I authorize them to deal with this in my place. You can discuss with them. When you have a plan, try to follow it, and we can revise it if there are any problems, alright?”

Elin shrugged and pouted. “You really have it easy as a lord. However, this actually reassures me. I’ll go discuss with them, but you must ensure that they won’t bully me.”

Link smiled. “I’ll return to the territory after I finish some things. I’ll do my best to fix any problems that may exist.”

“Alright, thanks. I’ll go now.”

With that, Elin took Link’s two letters and skipped out of the room. Link watched her off. Though Elin looked cute, it was totally wrong to overlook her intelligence because of her appearance.

After I return, I’ll have to spend some time on this, Link thought.

Of course, these were all trivial matters about territory. Link quickly refocused and went back to the Talisman Magic book.

Now, he had an epic Magic Surge Talisman from a mission reward. It was a good thing, and he decided to embed it into his Burning Wrath of Heavens wand. Before doing so, he naturally had to deeply research the technique of embedding talismans.

This time, he read quietly for three hours before someone else walked in. It was the Red Dragon Queen Gretel.

“Why are you always reading in your room? Is my palace not attractive enough for you?” she asked with a laugh.

She had light steps, and Link had been focused on the book, so he didn’t realize her arrival. When she spoke, he was shocked out of his reverie. Looking up at the newcomer, he quickly got up to bow. “I didn’t notice Your Majesty. My apologies.”

“No need to be so formal.” Gretel walked over. Glancing at Link’s book and the light purple talisman in his hands, she chuckled. “The talisman enchantments of the High Elves are very interesting. Your talisman is very powerful as well. How do you plan on using it?”

“I’ll fuse it into my wand,” Link answered honestly. There was no point in hiding it.

Gretel looked from the wand to the talisman and smiled. “Felina’s wounds are mostly healed, and you’ll depart tomorrow. Will you have the time?”

“There’s no hurry. I haven’t studied this book deeply enough yet,” Link replied truthfully. The book was quite simple, but it was very thick. They were all knowledge related to application, so Link estimated that he’d need to focus for at least one month to fully grasp the technology within.

“Let me try,” Gretel volunteered to help.

As she spoke, she waved lightly. The wand and talisman flew to her. Link didn’t know how she did it, but she picked up the Magic Surge Talisman and knocked it against the wand lightly. It fused perfectly into the wand, becoming a pale purple gemstone at the tip of the wand.

“Done.” She returned the wand to Link. It had happened so quickly—not even three seconds—and Link gulped. The legendary dragon’s techniques were truly unordinary.

Others couldn’t learn these tricks. Dragons had a long lifespan and had great amounts of time to practice all sorts of spell-casting techniques. The other races didn’t have this time, especially humans with their short lives.

Link studied the wand, and the information quickly appeared in his vision.

Burning Wrath of Heaven, Wand of the Flame Controller

Quality: Epic

Effect One: Increases power of spells by 200%

Effect Two: Spell caster instantly consumes 1500 Mana Points and activates the “Flood of Fire” effect. The next flame spell under Level-9 will be cast simultaneously with its power increased by 400%.

Effect Three: Magic Surge. This effect must be charged with 2000 Mana Points. After activation, the spell caster’s casting speed increases by 100%, and all Mortal Realm spells’ power increases by 200%. (Can be overlapped with the Flood of Fire effect.)

(Note: gifted by the Red Dragon Queen.)

The nature of this wand had increased greatly. The elemental gathering effect had been canceled, but it was replaced by the Magic Surge effect, which was much stronger. The scariest thing was that all the effects would raise the power of spells. If Link cast a flame spell and activated both effects simultaneously, his spell’s power would rise by 800%.

This was terrifying power!

Of course, the Mana consumption was terrifying to match. Thankfully, Link’s top limit for Mana was very high already. It was at 17100 points. This was comparable to the Level-9 dragon elders. If Link returned to the human world, his Mana would be impossible to calculate for the average human Magician.

“You have rich Mana. This wand suits you.” Gretel was a bit shocked as well. Even she couldn’t overlook Mana that could be compared to the dragon race.

One must know, the Red Dragon elders lived for a few millenniums while this young man was only around 20 years old. How powerful would he become in another 20 years?

Gretel found that she was in disbelief. This terrifying Mana talent is even stronger than Bryant from before. His personality is more open and brighter as well. He’ll become very accomplished in the future. My race must form a good relationship with him.

This was the original motive for helping Link create the wand, but this wasn’t enough. After Link finished studying the Talisman Magic book, he could do it himself. What she did was just icing on the cake.

I must make him feel gratitude towards me, Gretel thought.

Chapter 315: Not the Queen’s Opponent

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

The best way to make someone grateful was to give them what they wanted. However, one must not be too generous else they would be taken as a fool.

Gretel had done an in-depth investigation into Link before she arrived. After thinking for a moment, an idea formed in her mind.

She said, “Link, I heard that you are doing research into Spatial Magic. If I am not mistaken, you are writing a thesis on the principle of space. Is that so?”

Link looked at Gretel with a perplexed expression. He did not understand her intentions, though this was not a thing he wanted to conceal. He then nodded and said, “Indeed.”

“May I take a look at the draft?”

Link was elated upon hearing those words.

He remembered that Gretel was a Master Spatial Magician herself in game. In fact, the dragon race was known to be particularly talented at Spatial Magic. This was evident from the mist maze covering the Dragon Valley.

Her intention was to guide him along in his thesis!

“That would be my honor,” Link said.

Following which, Link took out his thesis. This thesis was slightly thicker than the one he showed Milda. He had obviously made progress.

Link did not give up on the research of space. He would still delve into it in his free time. There were now 20 new pages to this thesis.

Gretel studied the thesis carefully. At the start, she read with ease, commenting on a few areas casually. Her analysis was specific and valuable, each of them providing Link with new inspiration.

Her reading speed started decreasing after she reached the middle portion. It took her around two minutes per page. However, her analysis also became more in-depth and exquisite. Link could only understand some of them. He then took note of the points that he was confused on for future research.

There were a total of 150 pages in this thesis. At the last 20 pages, Gretel’s reading speed slowed significantly. It would take her half an hour to read a page. After the second page of the final portion, she exclaimed, “To think that you have already reached this level. This is an extremely delicate portion of the thesis. I need some time to think before I can offer any suggestions. How about this, you get busy while I read your thesis. I will come back tomorrow with more advice.”

“That would be great.”

Gretel then walked away with his thesis. On the other hand, Link continued reading the Talisman Magic book. When he was struck by an epiphany, he would then turn to his thesis and continue developing it.

Gretel arrived early the next morning. She was accompanied by Felina. Felina was already completely healed. She would leave the Dragon Valley together with Link and Nana to search for the exiled God after the Red Dragon Queen discussed the relevant issues with Link.

Felina was a beautiful and attractive lady. She was undoubtedly eye-catching. However, when she stood beside the Red Dragon Queen, her brilliance immediately dulled in comparison.

Gretel was simply like a magnet, drawing all the attention to herself.

Naturally, this attraction was merely an instinct. Link’s gaze only hovered around Gretel for a moment before he recollected himself. After greeting Gretel, he then looked at Felina with a concerned gaze and asked, “You still look pale. Do you want a few more days of rest?”

Felina then smiled gratefully and said, “There is no need to. The queen has offered to treat my wounds herself. I feel better than ever.”

“That’s great,” Link muttered, though, in his mind, he had also decided to rest more frequently along the way to ease Felina’s burden.

Gretel merely smiled as she waited for their conversation to end. Following which, she handed the thesis back to Link and commended, “I have to say that your thoughts are extremely intricate and ground-breaking. Many of the theories you have put forward are original and exquisite nonetheless. I have tried my best to complement them. Hope they are of some help.”

At that moment, all her contempt for this human had dissipated. She had already viewed Link as a being that was able to communicate with her on an equal footing.

Link took over the thesis and flipped through it briefly. He realized that the thesis had five full pages added to it. He then glanced through the added content and was shocked to find that he could only understand a portion of what was written. This piqued his curiosity and propelled him to read it carefully on the spot. As he read, his eyes widened and glimmered with excitement. Eventually, he could not help but slam the table in euphoria.

Link the realized that he had lost his cool. He then said, “I’m sorry. your Majesty, these magic equations are simply too exquisite. They shine as brightly as the stars on the horizon!”

Gretel then smiled and seemed to glow even more radiantly.

She felt nothing when people complimented her looks. She had long grown numb to these superficial compliments after living for 2000 years. If someone were to stare at her face permanently, she would be disgusted and annoyed. However, she felt accomplished and valued when Link commended her intellect and wisdom.

Furthermore, this human knew his boundaries as well. He merely stared at her for a moment before averting his gaze. He had also treated Felina with the utmost respect.

Gretel then replied, “I am honored that you appreciate them.”

Felina was startled at this scene. She looked between Link and Gretel with a curious gaze. She wondered what Link did to make the queen so happy.

The death and betrayal of the three dukes and the destruction of the Balanced Scale should have made her extremely depressed. However, Gretel was acting as if none of that ever happened.

On the other hand, Link knew that they were about to leave and this was his last few chances at getting valuable advice from Gretel. He then took advantage of the opportunity to consult this Master Spatial Magician.

As Gretel was in an exceptionally good mood, she answered him patiently.

There were some areas that were more controversial, and Link would question Gretel’s conclusion. He would do this based purely on logic and precise analysis. As usual, his thoughts are extremely sharp and impactful, resulting in acute questions. Gretel had to ponder for a long time before she could answer him.

Most of the time, Link was the one who was wrong. However, there were two areas where Gretel was indeed mistaken.

“How could I be wrong?” Gretel was shocked. She had studied magic for 2000 years and had developed a strong logical mind. To think that this treasured set of wisdom she had trained over the years had made a mistake! Furthermore, she was corrected by a mere mortal! She had really met her match.

The two of them quickly became immersed in their discussion and lost track of time. At times, they would fall silent thinking about the magic equations. When the discussion gets heated, they would then shout at the top of their lungs to prove their point. Felina stared at the peculiar scene in confusion.

One day passed quickly. This was the day Link was supposed to set off.

Gretel only recollected herself at midnight. However, she was still craving for more intellectual discourse. After some thought, she said, “Felina, why not you rest for a few more days?”

“My Queen… alright then,” Felina was about to say they were running out of time when she saw Gretel’s glimmering eyes. It was rare that Gretel could find something she was interested in to take her mind off the depressing thoughts. Felina could not bear to rob her of this happiness and nodded begrudgingly.

Following which, Gretel then cast her glance back onto Link and said, “Although your hypothesis on this Folded Spatial Extension theory is intricate, it is definitely flawed. I still cannot point out where exactly the problem lies, but it is definitely wrong. Let’s rest for the night. I will definitely prove it to you tomorrow morning!”

Link was a madman when it came to magic. Having immersed himself too deep into the discussion, he had long forgotten that Gretel was the revered Queen of the Red Dragons and rebutted, “I don’t think there is a problem! I will prove it to you as well!”

“Hmph, there is no point in being stubborn. We’ll see!” Gretel shot him a glance before she left.

Link then took advantage of the time to rest. The Red Dragon Queen was a Legendary individual and required little to no rest. However, he was still a mortal and was already feeling the fatigue from a full day of mind-boggling discussion. He still pressed on as chances to discuss magic with such powerful figures would not come often.

The next morning, Gretel came knocking on his door extremely early. She shouted, “Link, wake up. My instincts were right! Your equation was wrong!”

Knock! The knocking sound echoed through the room, rudely waking Link up from his sleep.

“Nana, please open the door.”

After giving a long yawn, Link sat up with his eyes still half-closed. He then looked at his watch and realized that it was only four o’clock in the morning. He had only slept for four hours.

He then placed his hands on his head as he sat motionless on his bed. He could feel a throbbing sensation in his head and also the fatigue from yesterday’s discussion.

Gretel then arrived in front of him excitedly. She then said, “Link, Link… alright, a mortal’s body is still too fragile.”

Link’s appearance had doused all her passion and excitement. She did not rest even after she left Link’s room nor did she need any. She worked through the night and finally found a flaw in the equation. She could not hold in her excitement and rushed down to inform Link immediately. It had never crossed her mind that Link would be resting. This was a downer.

Even if she had won this intellectual discourse, she did not feel accomplished.

It would only be fulfilling if both of them were performing at their best, their minds whirling at high speed, sparking intelligent arguments and discussions. Only those engaging discourse would take her mind off the depressing things that happened recently.

However, there was no one in the dragon race who could offer her such fulfillment. Most dragons were talented Warriors with strong battle capabilities. Alas, they were not well-versed in the complicated theories of Spatial Magic. Dabbling in Spatial Magic theories would be suicidal to them.

It was such a waste that a rare prodigy like Link had such a weak physical body.

At that moment, Gretel had completely forgotten about her original intention of getting on Link’s good side. She only wished to immerse herself in the research of Spatial Magic so as to distance herself from the pain in her heart.

“I can find someone else… probably not, a Spatial Magician is not easy to find! Furthermore, a prodigy like Link is not such easily obtainable. He is probably the only person in the World of Firuman with such intellect.”

After a moment of thought, an idea sprung into Gretel’s mind. She then blurted out, “Link, why don’t you undergo the dragonification process?”

Chapter 316: Pretty Much Deduced to the Max

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

Dragon Temple.

Inside the room, Link wasn’t fully awake yet. Hearing the Red Dragon Queen’s words, he couldn’t quite process it yet. “What? Dragonification?”

He’d seen the word “dragonification” earlier. Oh, right. There was a book called The Pros and Cons of Dragonification Spells on Dragon Magician Olisa’s dresser in Duke Osiris’ castle.

This word had appeared in the previous game too.

In actuality, these dragonified creatures were another hidden race. The player must complete a series of difficult epic dragon missions, be revered by the dragons, and complete the dragonification spells to advance from being a newbie player.

After dragonification, the player’s physique would strengthen in all aspects, especially vitality. They would practically become as hard to kill as a cockroach and were the best choice for Warriors. In the previous game, almost every main tank of a guild was a dragonified Warrior.

They were also excellent in terms of magic. Each one had a talent called Dragon Sense. It allowed them to quickly recover 30% of their Mana, and it could be used once per day. It was a fatal weapon in battle!

However, everything in the world had its pros and cons. It was the law.

The vitality of dragonified players was too strong. A side effect was becoming impulsive and greedy. In the game, they would have an extra desire bar. If the player couldn’t complete a special mission in time to lower the desire count and it overfilled, the player’s body would become uncontrollable. They would do all sorts of weird things. Dropping in experience or exploding equipment were everyday things.

In the previous game, the missions to lower the desire bar weren’t hard, but they were frequent. They had to be completed daily. The bar would overflow if the player missed one day. It was very annoying.

Naturally, many dragonified players would experience that, and it lead to tragedy.

Some nosy people had calculated the 1000 ways to die as a dragonified Warrior. These included challenging the general of the allied army and being stabbed in the head; charging into a demon’s fortress alone and getting blown up by countless demons; flirting with the Red Dragon Queen, resulting in getting burnt to dust; having sex with their horse in the wilderness, getting filmed, and having that video go viral…There were countless ways, and they were all abnormally unlucky.

If it was like this in a game, it would be even worse in real life.

Link didn’t want to experience these cons. He was much more clear-headed now and shook his head furiously. “No, no, no. Magicians must have a calm and logical mind. Dragonification spells aren’t suitable for me.”

“Dragonification spells?” Gretel was taken aback and took a while to react. “I think you misunderstood. I was speaking of advanced dragonification technology, not regular dragonification spells.”

“Is there a difference?” Link was interested.

“The explanation starts with the dragon bloodline. Our body contains the ancient and powerful dragon magic. This is very special and continuously grows with the dragon. It never stops modifying, and the dragon never stops strengthening. The completeness of the dragon bloodline magic determines the ultimate success of the dragon.”

Here, the Red Dragon Queen took out a vial of a crystal red potion. There was a light spiral submerged inside. It actually looked similar to the double strands of DNA from Earth.

“True dragon bloodline magic is combined with the soul. It grows very slowly; that’s one of the reasons why we have longevity. Regular dragonification spells just puts crude dragon magic into the person’s blood. This affects the user greatly and torments them for life. The potion I have here is called the Red Dragon Password. Drink it, and a mortal can become a dragon—a true dragon.”

“I can transform into dragon form?” Link was doubtful.

“It’s possible, but it depends on the completeness of the fusion. It won’t be effective immediately either. Like a true dragon, it requires a long period of time.”

If it was true, it would be great, but Link still felt strange. “Your Majesty, why did you suddenly choose me?”

Gretel blanched at the question. Yes, the Red Dragon Password was so rare and precious. Why would she give it to a human she’d just met? She thought for a while and realized she hadn’t seriously considered this idea. It was the result of an impulsive moment.

However, she couldn’t take the potion back now. It was awkward.

Link could tell too. Chuckling, he said, “Your Majesty, it seems that you hadn’t fully thought about this. We can talk about it in the future…Come, let me see the results of your deduction. I’d like to see where I went wrong.”

The potion was a good thing—really, really good. In fact, it was like a godly object. Link also knew that receiving it for no reason would be troublesome in the future. If he became a dragon, he would also be subordinate to the queen. If she commanded him to do something in the future, would he be forced to do it?

Gretel felt even more awkward. She even felt her cheeks burn. As a leader, she’d been too brash…This wasn’t the level she should be at. Chuckling wryly, she took the potion back.

Looking at Link, he seemed totally unaffected. He was already immersed in her deduction and didn’t notice her actions. She let out a sigh of relief.

This was still annoying though. I really embarrassed myself today. Ah, how can I show my royal power before this human in the future? This is horrible!

On the other hand, Link was already focused. The queen’s suggestion was only a small interruption in his mind. It didn’t even cause a ripple. Now, all that remained in his eyes were the spatial laws.

After reading for half an hour, Link suddenly hit the table and laughed. “Your Majesty, I think I won this round!”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Gretel was stunned.

“Look at your Mana transformation here. It’s very clean and peculiar, but you overlooked the sudden changes of spatial curvature in extreme situations…Look, this is correct.”

Link took out a pen and started scribbling on the scroll. His writing was crude, but it was okay. The queen could understand and followed his train of thought. At first, she was still feeling awkward, but she quickly forgot about it, refocusing on Link’s deduction process instead.

She read the whole thing while Link continued writing. After filling one scroll, he switched to a fresh one. This went on for more than one hour before Link finally stopped. He breathed deeply and smiled victoriously. “See, the final result shows that my idea is right while yours is flawed.”

Gretel was in disbelief. She took the scroll and checked multiple times. Finally, she muttered, “Fine. You win this time.”

Link was full of pride. He didn’t win against some nameless person this time. He’d won against the ruler of the Red Dragons, and this boosted his ego to the max. He laughed loudly. “Don’t feel down, Your Majesty. You still have the chance to beat me.”

“Look how proud you are! If you were a dog, your tail would be wagging like crazy.” Gretel wasn’t willing to admit defeat, but she’d truly lost. She was ready to make a comeback. “Come, let’s continue.”

Link refocused. He pushed away all extra emotions and grew serious.

The two started discussing the spatial problems again and quickly forgot about time. They didn’t even waste time eating and just used a spell for it. Link was now in the Elemental Rejection state and couldn’t use Elemental Healing, so Gretel had to help him.

Her spell was very powerful. Link didn’t know what specific spell she’d used, but whenever she used it, he would instantly become spirited and stronger physically as well.

A week passed in the blink of an eye. Link’s spatial thesis was unrecognizable from before and had improved greatly. At this point, even the Red Dragon Queen felt unable to help anymore. Many of the theories had become crazily obscure.

Link felt the same. He knew that it had reached some kind of extreme.

“Your Majesty, I think it’s pretty much done.”

“Indeed.” Gretel understood what Link meant without him saying it. They’d deduced this thesis together for one week and knew each other well now. Many times, they could guess what the other was thinking with just a look.

“It’s time for you to leave.”

All things had to end. Gretel found that she was a bit unwilling for this to end. Shaking her head slightly to get rid of the emotions, she eyed Link and sighed inwardly. He’s just a mortal, in the end, with a limited life. I don’t know if there’ll be another chance to see him after this.

One hundred years was a lifetime to humans but just a snap of the finger for dragons.

Link didn’t know what Gretel was thinking. He was still immersed in the new conclusion, thinking about how he could apply these results to his spells. He believed that before long, there would be a huge breakthrough in his spatial magic.

As for his life, he was only 20 years old now. He still had a long time.

Without him realizing, Gretel left. After a while, Felina walked over. She’d completely healed now, and her abilities seemed to have improved as well.

“Link, shall we go now?”

“Ah? Okay.” Link finally snapped back into reality. He organized his luggage and followed Felina out of his room.

At the inner square of the temple, Felina transformed into her dragon shape. Link and Nana climbed onto her back. She flapped her wings, and with a low whistle, soared into the air.

Inside the temple, Gretel watched as Link left. She waited until he disappeared into the fog barrier of the Dragon Valley before looking away.

Sighing, she glanced back at the scroll of spatial laws. About half of the words were written by her while more than half were written by the human who’d just left. His thoughts were filled with spirit. Near the end, it was mostly him who guided the direction of the deduction.

She put the scroll away carefully, sealing it away with the weeklong memories. Her sadness had mostly faded through this week of willfulness.

With a long sigh, Gretel recovered the majesty of the Red Dragon Queen.

…

Ten thousand feet in the air.

“Felina, where are we going?” Link asked.

“My induction tells me that the exiled god Elodim is in the Golden Plains up ahead. He’s not far from us, only around 300 miles,” Felina said with a laugh.

It was much easier for her to take Link and Nana this time. Fighting with the Red Dragon duke had helped her break into Level-8. With her speed now, 300 miles was only around half an hour. Link waited patiently.

The Golden Plains was very open. The grassland reached as far as one could see while the sky was all blue. The color was pure, and the view was vast.

Link had worked for more than one week and was exhausted. Now, he looked around, enjoying the view. Suddenly, he made a curious sound and pointed into the distance. “Felina, that’s the Beastmen city, right? I think it’s on fire?”

Chapter 317: The Red Dragon That Revives

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

Golden Plains.

Felina was originally focused on searching for Elodim and neglected her surroundings. Upon Link’s words, she immediately turned her attention towards the town of the Beastman.

The dragon race had much better vision than humans. Felina’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the scene.

“What happened?” Link asked.

Felina then started circling the air as she said in an incredulous tone, “I saw Todelron! He saw me too!”

Todelron?

Link seemed to have remembered something from the distant past. Wasn’t Todelron the Red Dragon Warrior that died in the High Elves Tomb? How could he have revived himself?

Everyone present clearly caught the fragrance of barbecued meat when he was getting electrified. If he could still live after those merciless attacks, his vitality would be insane.

“Are you sure he is alive and not an Undead Warrior?” Link had not seen such tactics before, even in the game. There had been many instances where souls would possess another body to revive themselves, but never one where a full and complete revival was done.

Felina said in an affirming tone, “He is not an undead. He is alive! As alive as how we saw him last time. If not for the fact that I recognized him, I would have thought that I had the wrong person!”

From afar, Link could only see that the town was going up in flames. However, he could not see the details of the incident. He then cast an Eagle Eye’s spell on himself.

With the help of the spell, he could see that the town was already immersed in a sea of fire. The architecture within the town was built from the bones of beasts and covered in beast hide. It looked similar to a Mongolian yurt. They seemed to be splashed with oil to help with the combustion, causing the fire to burn fiercely.

Outside of the small town, over two thousand ordinary Beastman were surrounded by Todelron and his over 300 berserk Beastman underlings.

In fact, these Beastmen looked extremely similar to humans. They only had a slightly darker skin tone and had a larger physique, though they were still largely human-shaped. The only stark difference was the four sharp beast fangs that they possessed.

Link could see that amongst the Beastman surrounded, more than half of them were elderly and children. There were even a few unlucky humans.

The humans seemed to be protected by the Beastman. They were in the very center of the circle. There were five of them, four of which were mercenaries while the last one was probably a merchant. They huddled amongst the crowd with a pale expression on their faces.

At that moment, Todelron was commanding the berserk Beastman to pull the strong and healthy Beastman out from the crowd, separating them from the children and elderly.

None of them knew what awaited them. They kept silent and merely stared at the huge dragon in fear.

A young child was just about to wail loudly when her mother clasped her mouth swiftly. A young boy was huddling in his grandmother’s embrace, only revealing his pair of small and innocent dark eyes. He was still too young to know fear. He was merely curious about what was happening.

“Todelron is choosing his Warriors. The children and women are of no use to him. He has also burned down the entire town…I’m afraid he will kill off all the people he deems useless.”

If he was not going to exterminate them, there was no reason to burn off all that they had. He was obviously not planning to leave anyone alive.

These Beastmen showed no resistance at all. The reason was simple. They were too weak.

The Beastman were, on average, only around Level-2 in strength. The strongest one was Level-5 in strength, though the berserk Beastman surrounding them were mostly Level-5 in strength as well. The strongest berserk Beastman was Level-7. Todelron seemed to have achieved a breakthrough as well, reaching Level-8.

Link frowned as he observed this scene. He could feel the mana concentration of Firuman increasing, resulting in the birth of more powerful individuals.

Although Felina did not wish to believe that someone of her race would be so ruthless, the situation was dire. She whispered, “What do we do now? Should we try to save them?”

Link nodded as he said, “Since we have already met them, we have to interfere! Although we cannot simply barge in… let’s leave them first.”

“Leave?” Felina was unable to keep up with Link’s thoughts, though she obeyed Link’s command immediately and started flying in the opposite direction.

On the side of the small town. Todelron had also discovered Link and company; he even recognized that red dragon. He seemed to have spotted a tiny figure on top of it, though he could not make out the exact features.

He had been keeping tabs on them ever since they appeared. Now that they had gone in the opposite direction, he felt slightly relieved.

“Accelerate!” He bellowed. He walked on the outer perimeter of the encircled Beastman as the loud rumble of his footsteps echoed through the area.

The actions of the Beastman suddenly became extremely ruthless. One young Beastman was unwilling to leave his family, grabbing the hands of his pregnant wife and parents as he wept.

“Scram!” A ferocious berserk Beastman shouted as he kicked the wife with full force. This blow landed on the abdomen, which caused her to curl up in pain as she lay helplessly on the ground with her hands around her unborn child.

“No! I will not let you get away with that!” The young Beastmen growled in rage as he charged towards the berserk Beastman.

The berserk Beastman then unsheathed his sword and plunged it into the young Beastman’s chest without hesitation. Three seconds later, he then pulled out the sword as he chuckled, “Those who rebel, will die!”

This sent shivers down the spine of the Beastman present.

In the center of the Beastman, Masos looked around with a pale expression. He was a merchant who had traveled far and wide. This situation was not exactly the most optimistic one.

“They will probably start killing people afterward. You guys should run if you can, don’t bother about me,” he told the few mercenaries beside him. Along the way, they had done well fending against the ordinary bandits. However, they were definitely no match for a dragon. It seemed like the God of Light was summoning him back to the heavens.

The four mercenaries smiled bitterly at one another. If they could escape, they would have already done so.

“I am seriously unlucky. The Dark Elves are in the North, and I thought the Golden Plains would be a safe place. To think I would meet a goddamn dragon!” A mercenary swore to relieve the fear in his heart.

The female mercenary then said, “We might not be dead. There are so many of them. We can simply fake our deaths later on. We are not important to those berserk Beastmen.”

“Faking death? Alright then, let’s see which of us has better luck.”

On the other side.

After flying for around a mile, Link looked behind him and realized that Todelron was no longer concerned with them. He then cast a Traceless spell, causing the three of them to disappear in mid-air.

“Alright, we will descend and go back in. We must be quick,” Link said. They could, of course, fly back in, but Link believed that Todelron would definitely use those Beastmen as hostages. They would then be harming them instead of saving their lives.

“I understand.” Felina then flew towards the ground and landed after ten seconds.

“Nana, you will sneak up on them and delay their actions while attracting their attention,” Link commanded.

They were still around six miles away from their opponents. If they were to travel at their current speed, it would be too late by the time they reached the scene.

“I know, relax,” Nana’s voice is crisp and even warm. She sounded no different from a normal human. Following which, she bolted off and disappeared.

“Let’s go. When we reach there, you will fight while I will protect the Beastman,” Link said.

“I understand,” Felina took a deep breath as she said.

Nana’s speed was not compromised by her bodily changes. Link estimated that her top speed should be at 2300 feet per second, only a bit slower than her previous 2400 feet per second.

At such speed, she would only take ten seconds to cover a distance of six miles.

…

Outside the small town.

Todelron and the berserk Beastmen seemed to have not felt the incoming threat. Just when they were getting bust, a berserk Beastman suddenly pointed to a plain some distance away and said, “Hey, why is the sandstorm so intense today?”

His compatriots then looked in that direction. Sure enough, on the distant plain, a huge sandstorm was approaching them at an unimaginable speed. It was terrifying to watch.

The only person who knew what was going on was Todelron. He was the only one who saw the blurry figure charging in front of the sandstorm.

“Who could be this fast?” He was confused for a moment. He then gave up on his bulky dragon form and turned back into his agiler human form.

Three seconds later, he became a Red Dragon Warrior as he unsheathed his Dragonfang Sword.

“Caution; defend!”

He shouted. Although this person looked intimidating, they were alone. He believed that with the help of the berserk Beastman, it would be an easy victory.

The sandstorm quickly closed in and came to a distance of 300 feet away from them swiftly before coming to an abrupt stop. A beautiful young girl with a ponytail clad in brown leather armor appeared in front of their eyes.

Hm? A young girl? Todelron was even more confused. Although Nana appeared in the High Elves Tomb, he was on the verge of death at that time. He even suffered the damage of a Level-9 spell which caused him to lose consciousness. It was natural for him to not have any recollection of Nana.

Nana walked forward as she smiled, saying, “Todelron, I don’t have any other motives today. I have heard about your perfect swordsmanship and was just thinking if you would like to battle?”

Although there were people on the streets who would indeed issue a challenge so flippantly, Todelron was clear that he did not have much of a reputation. His swordsmanship was definitely strong, but he had stayed in the Dragon Valley his entire life. Why would anyone outside of Dragon Valley hear about his name?

She was definitely up to something.

“Scram. I am not free,” Todelron was still clinging on to the last ray of hope as he did not wish to be engaged in a battle. He merely wished to settle his mission swiftly and smoothly.

The duke was already unhappy with him for the failure of his previous mission. He had to make sure this one was executed perfectly.

“That will not do. I have to challenge you today. Are you afraid?” Nana’s voice was just like a small little girl. If not for her flashy debut, one would have thought that she was simply a girl-next-door who was out for grocery shopping.

Todelron was immediately reminded of something as a terrible premonition struck him. He recognized that red dragon who was flying towards him just now. She was Felina! Judging from her character, she would never be able to ignore this violent and immoral scene.

Todelron was horrified at the thought and immediately bellowed, “Defend! It is a sneak attack!”

But he was too late!

Chapter 318: Is He Crazy?

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

As soon as Todelron finished, a dark red figure appeared behind him. The figure rushed into the crowd of Wild Beastmen and started killing!

Wild Beastmen were powerful compared to regular Beastmen, but their opponent was a Level-8 Red Dragon Warrior covered entirely in sturdy, dark red armor and possessing an immense amount of dragon power. She was a war machine comparable to high-level demons!

The Wild Beastmen was numerous. Surrounded by them, some attacks landed on Felina. However, they were too weak and unable to break past her armor. The Wild Beastmen wanted to surround them, but she was alert and quick. It was difficult to keep up.

Even if they managed to catch up, she would release a powerful Battle Aura Cut just as they were about to be surrounded, foiling the Wild Beastmen’s plan.

Indeed, the Wild Beastmen were very brave and never retreated. They roared, charging towards Felina. However, all who charged would die. They died in waves, and the sight was shocking.

Three hundred Wild Beastmen weren’t enough to tire Felina out. Maybe thousands could.

Todelron recognized her at once. “Felina!” he roared. “You again!”

He couldn’t recognize Nana last time at the High Elf Tomb, but he’d sensed Felina’s presence. It was her who ruined everything last time. Now, she was here again, and Todelron was furious. Grasping the Dragonfang sword, he charged at Felina.

“Don’t go. I’m your opponent!” Nana’s voice rang out. Then there was an explosive sound in the air.

Todelron instantly felt the murderous intent behind him. The back of his heart thumped furiously. Not daring to be careless, he immediately blocked with his sword.

Clang. The explosive sound was almost tangible. A white shockwave spread in all directions. In a close call, Todelron’s Dragonfang blocked Nana’s blade.

When this shockwave appeared, merchant Masos in the crowd speedily covered his ears and shrank behind the mercenary beside him. “Be careful!” he said.

Both sides of the battle were rarely seen as powerful forces. Their strengths were impossible to calculate. Even the aftershocks of their battle were unbearable for the average man. They could go deaf if swept by it.

Just as the shockwave was about to flatten the regular Beastmen, a semi-circular Spatial Lens appeared in the sky. Almost 300 feet wide and 150 feet tall, the lens was huge. Like a giant shield, it enveloped all the gathered regular Beastmen.

The next moment, the shockwave arrived, crashing against the Spatial Lens. There was a muffled thud, and then it disappeared. Shockwaves continued coming, but the situation was the same.

The mercenaries beside Masos had covered their ears on instinct. Seeing this, their hands dropped down. Masos was the same. He was very knowledgeable about things and immediately let out a breath of relief seeing this shield. “Seems like we’re saved.”

“Is this a spell? I’ve never seen a large magic shield before,” a mercenary said.

“I think my prayers have been realized. The Light Lord is here to save us.”

“Huh, look at that little girl. Same age as my daughter but she’s this powerful. Hmph, incredible.”

The mercenaries weren’t stupid. If these Warriors didn’t care about them at all, it meant that this was a dog-eat-dog matter. Even if this newcomer won against the evil Red Dragon, they still might not survive.

However, the Magician had helped them block the aftershock. This meant that they were here to save them.

…

The battle on the other side.

Not only did the Spatial Lens block the aftershock, but it also separated the Wild Beastmen from the regular Beastmen.

Outside the lens, Felina snaked in and out of the Wild Beastmen. Within moments, she killed hundreds of them. However, she also paid for it. Some parts of her armor were shattered, and she’d used up a lot of her dragon power. She would be injured by the end of the battle, but this wasn’t much. She was used to it.

Todelron was caught up by Nana who was on him like a leech. He was definitely a good fighter, but this little girl’s swordsmanship was frighteningly advanced. She was also so fast he couldn’t see her movements clearly. They’d already made hundreds of moves against each other, but Todelron couldn’t get a bit of an upper hand. Instead, he was at a disadvantage!

From the corner of his vision, he saw that his subordinates were reducing quickly. There was also a powerful Magician observing from the background while he was forced to defend himself against this eerie girl. Todelron prepared himself to go all out!

This mission was probably going to fail. He must die in battle or else he wouldn’t be able to report to the duke!

With a roar, he hurled a Battle Aura Arc at Nana, forcing her back temporarily. With another growl, he decisively transformed into a dragon. His dragon shape was around 50 feet tall. After transforming, he spat out dragon breath at Nana.

The dragon’s cry swept past everything and traveled into the distance.

Amidst this roar, dark red flames burst from his mouth. They shot towards Nana like a jet stream from a high-pressure water gun.

Nana hadn’t experienced this type of attack before. She didn’t dare use her body to test the strength of it. She applied force and made short bursts in a small proximity. Nana flashed within the dragon breath, dodging each attack at the most critical point while maintaining the distance to attack. Once Todelron exhausted his resources, she would rush up immediately for a counterattack.

“Damn little bug!” Todelron didn’t think this little thing would be so troublesome. His mouth was getting dried up from all the spitting, but he couldn’t even force the enemy back.

He roared again, even more determined to die. He didn’t fear dying because the duke could resurrect him, so his movements became very violent. Turning, he swept Nana away with his tail, slightly disrupting her pursuit, and charged towards Felina.

Today, he must drag at least one person into death with him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to report to the duke. The little thing was too fast for him to catch but he was confident in killing Felina quickly!

This fellow dragon was a genius of the younger generation, but she was no match for him. Felina wasn’t as strong as him, and if he used all his might, he could definitely get her!

Boom, boom, boom! The earth shook from Todelron’s speed.

Seeing this, Felina let out a long breath. A ring of the Dragon Aura Cut came slicing down, getting rid of all the Wild Beastmen around her. Then, she shrieked, and dragon power surged in her. Her body swelled up and instantly, a Red Dragon of similar size to Todelron appeared.

She went to meet him halfway without hesitation.

Three seconds later, there was an earth-shattering boom. The two beasts collided and the soil underfoot curled up. Some Wild Beastmen tried to attack Felina but were thrown into the air from the shockwave.

Felina fell to a disadvantage after this collision, and she lost balance. She wasn’t Todelron’s match in terms of strength.

Roaring, Todelron took the chance to breathe out dragon breath. In a hurry, Felina just lowered her head and released her own dragon breath. Two beams of dark red fire crashed in the air. Fiery streaks flew to the side, keeping the Wild Beastmen away in fear!

Ordinary Warriors could only watch the Level-8 battle. They would die if they got too close.

Todelron still had the upper hand. He continued to attack without caring about the wounds brought on by the dragon breath.

Is he crazy? Felina was utterly shocked. She didn’t understand why her opponent would be so aggressive.

Within five seconds, Todelron and Felina made five attacks. With each one, Todelron received a sizeable gain. Felina had started to stumble. She’d also been clawed by Todelron and had a bloody wound. After another attack, he’d be able to go for the kill!

But just as this thought appeared, Nana suddenly started laughing behind Todelron. “Big guy, I know all your moves now!”

“What?” Surprised, Todelron looked back.

Nana had already jumped up. Thirty feet in the air, the force fields on her feet erupted, and there was a bang in the air. She disappeared from the line of sight and reappeared 100 feet away half a second later.

Todelron immediately slapped with his tail with all his might. It was so powerful that there were cracks and pops, but he missed.

With a boom, Nana disappeared again at the last moment. When she re-appeared, she was already on Todelron’s back. Here, she paused for a second. Todelron’s tail followed over immediately, but she giggled. With a bang, she dodged it easily.

Nana reappeared at Felina’s side. Behind her, Todelron suddenly froze. Half a second later, there was a deep gash on his neck, practically breaking it.

“Such a fast sword!” Todelron said before he toppled to the ground with a rumble and died.

Nana breathed in deeply and then let out a long exhale. She could have done that burst of movement before, but it damaged her body greatly. If she didn’t kill the opponent, she would have to defend passively, so she didn’t dare use it too often.

Now, she was still damaged. Nana felt that her limbs were less agile, but the numbness was decreasing rapidly. After around two seconds, the unnatural feeling disappeared completely.

This was the recovery effect of the Essence of Life.

Now that even Todelron was dead, the remaining 150 or so Wild Beastmen exchanged glances awkwardly. Then someone yelled, “Retreat!”

They’d lost the will to fight, so they turned and started fleeing.

“Want to run?” Felina rushed over and let out many blows of dragon breath. Seeing that she was still attacking, Nana also followed over to kill more.

They had terrifying combat ability, and Nana’s speed was unbeatable. Her rate of killing was two times that of Felina’s!

In the end, all the Wild Beastmen met their demise. When the last one died, the Spatial Lens around the regular Beastmen disappeared as well. They were all terrified. Too scared to make a sound, they looked reverently at the Red Dragon and the girl beside her.

Felina walked over slowly and tried to lower her voice as she said, “Alright, you’re safe.”

As she spoke, a red light flashed over her body, and she quickly turned back into a human. She was much less imposing now. The crowd rustled, and after a while, an aged Beastman with white hair walked out followed by some strong Beastmen. Some humans were in the distance.

The old Beastman walked shakily to Felina and Nana. Without speaking, he knelt down, prostrating himself. The Beastmen behind him did so as well, and the other Beastmen on the grassland all followed suit. The few humans bowed as well.

“Thank you two for saving Uda Town. Thank you for saving our lives. Mighty dragon, beautiful maiden, may I know your names?”

Felina had never seen something like this before and panicked. “Stand up, don’t kneel,” she said hurriedly. “The bad guy is someone from my own race. I should be apologizing.”

As she spoke, she looked around for Link. This was too big of an occasion, and she couldn’t handle it.

Link didn’t appear, but his voice traveled over. “Their home is destroyed. Ask them where they’ll go now.”

Knowing that Link was nearby, Felina was relieved. “Uda Town is burnt to ashes,” she said. “Elder, what will you do now?”

The old Beastman was dejected. “There’s no other way. We can only go south. Around 250 miles south is White Cloud City. We plan to seek refuge there.”

Felina was stunned at this. Link’s voice immediately sounded in her ear. “The remaining one is at White Cloud City, right?”

Felina nodded and replied softly, “It’s that area.”

“Great. Then let’s travel with these Beastmen for a while.” Isendilan had his eyes on these Beastmen and probably wouldn’t let them go so easily. Since they were going to the same place, they could continue being the good guys and protect them for a while. It wouldn’t be too much to ensure their safety before speeding up.

Felina agreed. “Elder,” she said. “I’m going to White Cloud City too. We’re going to the same place.”

Chapter 319: Simply Unimaginable!

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

Although Uda Town was destroyed, there must still be some resources that were left intact. These were necessities for the Beastman if they wished to migrate.

Just as the Beastman were salvaging the last of their resources, Link appeared in an exceptionally humble manner. He simply looked too ordinary when compared to Felina and Nana. He was even wearing a grey cape, making him even more inconspicuous.

Felina and him were circling Todelron’s body, observing this guy who appeared to have been resurrected from the dead.

“He seemed to have died for real this time,” Link circled Todelron as he said. He could not feel any vitality from the body.

Felina then checked Todelron’s oral cavity. He was simply way too reckless when using the dragon breath attack, as though he was doing it at a complete disregard of his body.

Upon opening Todelron’s mouth, one could tell that he was obviously seriously injured from his own attack. His oral cavity was completely charred, and blisters could be seen lining up along his throat.

Link was confused at this sight as well. He frowned as he said, “Judging from his insane actions, he must have been prepared to die.”

Felina sighed. “Indeed. He could actually have escaped. I cannot understand why he is going to this extent for Isendilan.”

Link said, “Perhaps it is some sort of contract. That is strange. I did not feel any peculiar presence on his body. He seemed like just an ordinary dragon. How did he revive himself the first time?”

It was not impossible to resurrect oneself in the World of Firuman, though it was bounded by a set of strict rules.

For example, Dean Anthony’s Arbiter’s Wand could revive the dead. However, he had once told Link that a resurrection spell was simply an extremely strong healing spell.

Only those who had just died and managed to keep most of their body intact could be revived. They also must not have suffered too devastating damage. Furthermore, it was only a possibility that they could be revived. Those who were revived would also be branded with a weakened status for half a year as compensation.

In the game, the archbishops were also bounded by a strict set of rules if they wished to revive someone within the church. The player would be in a weakened state for a day after he was revived.

However, Todelron’s body was first heavily damaged by the traps before he was roasted by a Level-9 Lightning spell in the High Elf Tomb. He should not have fulfilled the conditions to be revived. It was peculiar that he achieved a breakthrough in strength even after he was resurrected.

This was not making any sense.

“Is he only being so reckless because he knows that he will be resurrected?” Link predicted.

“That is possible,” Felina agreed with Link. While she was fighting Todelron, that was the exact feeling that she experienced. Todelron seemed to be fearless. Such brazenness was rarely seen in the dragon race who were known for their longevity.

There was still too little information for Link to come to a conclusion. He then said, “Perhaps we were too careless last time and gave him a chance to escape. Let’s prevent it this time around.”

Link then took out his wand and pointed it at Todelron’s body. He then cast his newest spell, Spatial Rend.

Spatial Rend

Ungraded Spatial Spell

Effect: Causes spatial frequency to change at an extremely fast rate in an unpredictable manner. This would create countless forcefields in the affected space, disintegrating all matter in the area.

Link spent 2000 Mana Points without hesitation and boosted the power of this spell to a Level-6 equivalent. This should be more than enough to deal with a corpse.

A few extremely faint rumblings could be felt. This continued for three seconds before a terrifying thing happened.

The gigantic body of the dragon started to expand, and after two seconds, the dragon’s skin tore, causing large amounts of fine white powder to flow out of the ruptured area.

The destruction had not ended. Following which, even the dragon’s skin started disintegrating, becoming a fine, white powder.

The gigantic dragon had been reduced to a pile of white powder. A cool breeze then scattered that powder across the area.

“His ashes have been buried and integrated into this plot of land. He should not be coming back this time around.”

Felina still felt a tinge of pain in her heart watching a member of her race subjected to such treatment, though she agreed with Link’s method. This would also completely destroy his corpse, removing the physical evidence of a dragon committing such a heinous crime.

By that time, the Beastman had salvaged most of what was left. An old Beastman walked forward and stopped when he saw the pile of ashes on the ground. He then stared at Link defensively though he tried to contain his wariness. He greeted Felina as he said, “Oh mighty red dragon, we are prepared.”

From their perspective, Felina was the leader of the group.

Felina then stared at Link for help. Link whispered, “It is best for a Magician to stay under the shadows. I feel that this is not the end of our problems. I have to stay low.”

Felina understood Link’s words. Todelron was the one who committed these heinous acts. As a red dragon herself, she naturally felt apologetic towards the Beastman. She then replied gently, “Let’s go.”

The old Beastman then retreated and hollered a few words at the rest of the group. They then started moving.

“He is slightly wary of us,” Link said as he stared at the old Beastman.

“That is normal. There have been many instances of red dragons attacking Beastman towns and village recently,” a voice rang. Link looked in that direction and realized that it came from a human merchant.

“I am Masos, a merchant. Greetings to the respectable Magician,” He bowed to Link before he continued, “The red dragons destroyed their hometowns. They do not trust any red dragons. Oh, beautiful lady of the dragon race, they are merely respecting you out of fear and self-protection.”

Felina looked at the Beastmen once more and realized that their gazes were indeed filled with suspicion and fear. Some of them immediately averted their gaze the moment she looked over.

She was not angry. Instead, she felt helpless and dejected. She muttered, “Isendilan is truly ruining the reputation of the dragon race!”

“So that’s why. I was wondering why the dragons would resort to such insane acts. So a scum of the race has appeared,” Masos said as he nodded.

Link could feel that this merchant was exceptional from this short conversation. Unlike ordinary humans, he seemed to not fear Magicians and red dragons. He seemed extremely casual when speaking to them. Although he was powerless, he could be considered a talent with his demeanor and insight.

Link then thought back on how the Beastmen seemed to be protecting him during the battle and laughed, “We will be depending on you to resolve any awkward situations along the way.”

Masos smiled as he said, “I’ll try my best.”

The large group then headed south.

Four hours later, a black figure appeared in the sky above Uda Town. He hovered in the sky for a moment before descending.

Amongst the strong gale created from the flapping of his wings, a dragon with a physique larger than Todelron landed on the ground.

Bodies of the berserk Beastmen were strewn all over the ground. Green smoke was still appearing out of the Uda Town ruins. On the side of a road was a small pile of fine white powder.

The giant dragon sniffed his way forward and eventually stopped in front of the white powder.

He grabbed a bunch of it in his hands and allowed the powder to slide slowly through the cracks in his claws. His face sank and stood motionless for around ten seconds before flying up into the air once again.

He started flying south for about five minutes before he saw a group of Beastman resting along a running stream. He then looked from afar for any peculiarities.

“There are around 2300 people. That is a lot of people. However, it is hardly enough to defeat Todelron. Who did it?” He muttered.

He then observed the crowd closely but alas, he could not find the culprit.

“Has the troublemaker left? Haha, oh Beastmen, you are doomed, you are in for something,” The huge dragon circled the area for a moment before he left for the Colorado Mountain Range.

After he disappeared, Link canceled the Traceless spell he had cast over himself.

He was eating barbecued beef beside a stream together with merchant Masos and four mercenaries.

This cow was something that Felina hunted along the way. In fact, this giant cow weighed over ten tons, alleviating the food scarcity problem all at once.

Merchant Masos was an incredibly easy-going person. He was eloquent and humorous. Under his guidance and praises for the mercenaries wonderful culinary skills, they quickly warmed up to Link and company.

Masos seemed to have seen the black spot hovering the air previously as well. He was slightly worried and whispered, “I’m afraid more threats are coming for us.”

Link looked at Felina and asked, “Do you recognize that dragon?”

The barbecued beef was extremely tender and well-seasoned. Felina took a bite of the juicy meat as she nodded and said, “His name is Theron and is currently third in the battle rankings for the most powerful young red dragon. He is also Isendilan’s most trusted aide. His strength should be around Level-8. In human form, he likes to use the spear and is extremely adept in it. If I were to fight against him, I can at most exchange ten moves with him before I will start losing my tempo. Nana will probably have problems dealing with him as well.”

Theron was a troublesome figure. If Felina was alone, she would not be eating this barbecued beef so leisurely. She would have escaped the moment she saw Theron. However, she had Link and Nana with her. She would not be too afraid with the support of a powerful Magician by her side.

“That will be slightly troublesome. However, it would be impossible for us to hide. We have so many Beastmen with us. Furthermore, most of them are ordinary citizens with no powers. We can only increase our security and surveillance,” Link then turned to Masos and said, “Sir, you seem to have a good relationship with them. I would like some Beastmen to survey the area. Would that be possible?”

Masos immediately agreed, “Of course! Wait a moment, I will find the shaman right now…That old man is the shaman.”

Following which, Masos cleaned the oil off his hands and got to work.

No one knew how Masos did it, but not long after, 50 young Beastmen were already on their way to their respective positions.

Felina had just finished eating an entire beef thigh. She went to the running stream nearby to wash her hands and stopped by to visit the mercenary cook, patting her shoulders as she said, “That was delicious. Here, take this.”

She gave this mercenary around ten red dragon gold coins. The mercenary was elated at the sight of the gold coins and thanked Felina profusely.

Felina then turned to Link and said, “I will be patrolling the skies. I will not let them succeed in an ambush with me around.”

“That would be perfect,” Link said. He was all up for that idea.

Felina then turned into her dragon form and rushed into the sky. The dragon race had amazing gliding ability. When they were not weighed down by extra weights or injuries, they could make use of the air currents to stay airborne for a long time. Hence, Link would not have to worry about Felina getting tired.

After an hour of rest, the Beastmen continued on their journey.

Around five hours later, Felina dived down from the sky in a hurry and rushed towards Link. She then said with an incredulous expression, “Link, this is preposterous! I saw Todelron again!”

Link was extremely confused as he asked, “Are you sure?”

“I know this will not make sense, but it’s definitely him. He is currently heading for us together with Theron. He had also brought many berserk Beastmen with him. His power also seems to have increased. This is strange!”

To revive after dying in such a horrible fashion was already a miracle. How could he even have his powers increased? Was this even possible?

If he were to die for a hundred times, wouldn’t his strength reach the level of a god?

Link had never encountered such a peculiar situation before, even in the game! This was simply unimaginable!