Advent of the Archmage - Chapter 375

Chapter 375: Aragu Empire

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

Mysterious forest

Dwarf Riel held two battle axes and muttered to Link, “These are the poorest elves I’ve ever seen. Master Link, do you know what they’re talking about?”

They were indeed poor. Not only were they thin as bags of bones, but their clothes also couldn’t cover their bodies. Some only had a piece of hide while others just wrapped leaves around their waist. The one who jumped out was in the best state. Other than the fur hide, he also had a metal spear and a damaged metal ring around his neck.

Link activated the Dragon King’s Fury magic sword in preparation. “I can’t really understand. I think it’s a dialect, but it seems they’re here to rob us. Milda, can you understand?”

Unexpectedly, Milda nodded. “They’re speaking the ancient elven language, a really ancient one. I’ll cast a Consonance Spell.”

Consonance Spell

Level-2 Secret Spell

Effect: The receiver of the spell will instantly learn the elven language.

(Note: Spell unique to the elves.)

She lightly tapped Link and Riel with her want. Two thumb-sized balls of light melted into their bodies. A few seconds later, they could understand the screaming of the elven robbers.

“Brother, I think they’re Magicians!” an elf whispered to the leader.

“The leader seems to be from Aragu. From his clothes, he looks to be a noble,” another robber said.

The leader lost confidence. He waved his spear and said to Link, “My friend from a faraway place, I’ve decided to let you go this time. Leave your wealth behind and go.”

Link was curious about this world; they seemed to all be really powerful. For example, these robbers were extremely thin, but from their auras, the weakest was at Level-4. The leader was even at Level-6.

That wasn’t too strong, but they were robbers in the lowest class. If there was an elven kingdom here, the strongest would be impossibly powerful.

The leader was losing patience but didn’t dare act brashly. Brandishing his spear, he urged, “Hey, say something. Are you gonna give or not?”

Link thought for a moment and quietly took out a few dozen coins. He squeezed them and cast an enchantment, melting all the coins into a fist-sized block of gold. Then he flicked his finger while activating the Magician’s Hand. The gold slowly floated towards the leader.

“We are just travelers from a faraway place. Coming here was purely coincidental. We want to know the specific situation inside. Who is the king? Who does this land belong to? Are there any cities nearby? If you answer, this gold is yours.”

Gold was clearly also the currency in this world. When it appeared, the elves all stared unblinkingly at it. It seemed that gold was quite valuable.

When the gold flew beside the leader, he reached out to take it. But there was a soft sound and the gold stopped moving. Link had used Spatial Restraint and added 1000 Dragon Power points, making the spatial frequency very high.

The leader grasped the gold to tug it back. But no matter how he tried, the gold wouldn’t move. It was like it was stuck there. He activated Battle Aura, and his body shimmered. He used all his might, and his face turned black and red. He even yelled loudly, but the gold still wouldn’t move. He hung all his weight from the gold, but it wouldn’t even budge.

The trick was marvelous and incomprehensible.

The other elves looked at Link with terror. The leader seemed to sense something. He shuddered a bit and let go from the cold. “Friend, is that for real?” he pushed on. “If I answer the questions, this gold will be ours?”

He didn’t mention the robbery anymore. Only an idiot would try to rob someone so powerful.

“Of course. After my questions, this is yours.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you now. We’re in the Great Beast Forest as you can see, everything is huge. But we’re at the edge, so it’s not that dangerous. Go east from here for 30 miles, and there’s a small town called Spring Leaf Village. The lord is the Bloody Butcher Balha. The Spring Leaf Village is a small place of the Aragu Empire… Oh, right, let me tell you, we’re in the Aragu Empire right now. There’s no king, just an emperor. The emperor is Calagu XVI. He lives in the City of Gold.”

The robber rambled on. Link’s group learned a lot about this world.

“You said that this gentleman looks like an Araguan noble,” Milda said. “What do Araguans look like?”

The leader looked at Milda and was mesmerized. However, he was scared of Link, so he quickly looked away. Then he said fiercely, “The Araguans are similar to us from Lagu, but their ears are different. They have round ears like this gentleman. They enslave us Laguans!”

With that, he turned to Link and said, “Sir, I must remind you that your slave is too beautiful, like the moon in the sky. You should cover her up, or else people will come to take the moon. It’ll be really, really troublesome then.”

Link didn’t expect that the elves would become slaves. It was so interesting.

Milda didn’t find it odd though. She covered her face with a veil and then put on a hat. At the same time, she whispered an explanation to Link. “In our historical records, the ancient Araguans were extremely powerful. They ruled over most races in the continent. In addition to my face, the dwarves and Yabba were all slaves. I think that not only did we teleport, we also time traveled. We’ve returned to ancient times.”

Link had this feeling too, but it was all a guess now. He needed more information to prove it.

“What year is it?” he continued asking.

“Year?” The leader was confused.

“Epoch. What epoch is it?” Link tried again.

The leader was still confused. He thought for a while, scratching his head, and said, “You’re probably asking about the Aragu calendar, right? It’s the year 3162.”

The Aragu calendar was nothing like the later Holy calendar. As for year 3162, there was no reference number, and this number had no meaning.

“It seems that we’re in a new world,” Riel said softly.

“That’s possible, or we just came to a new land or realm. Or we traveled through time. We can’t get much information from the robbers, and we’re short on time. Let’s go to the Spring Leaf Village.”

It would be best if they time traveled. Otherwise, they only had two months. Within the two months, they must find reinforcements and return to the Orida Fortress. That was their mission.

The three nodded seriously.

Link canceled the Spatial Restraint on the block of gold. “It’s yours.”

The gold dropped down, and the leader caught it with two hands. A smile bloomed on his face. The gold was the size of a fist. It was enough for them to live off of for half a year.

Link’s group turned and left, walking eastward.

Seeing them leave, an elf asked quietly, “Brother, should we tell them there’s a group of Blood-eyed Robbers on that road?”

The leader smacked his head. “Shut up! He didn’t ask, so we won’t say it. Why should we look for trouble? Come, let’s go to Spring Leaf Village to buy a goat. We’ll feat.”

“Yeah!” The elven robbers were immediately in a good mood. All of them started drooling.

…

The other side

Plop! Saroviny rushed into the hole of a large tree. As soon as she entered it, there was a series of tut-tuts. The flock of strange birds arrived and started pecking at the tree. Thankfully, the tree was strong. Even though wood splinters flew crazily, it protected Saroviny inside.

The birds went crazy around the tree for a long while, cawing for a whole half hour before leaving unhappily.

Inside the tree, Saroviny clutched her chest, still unsettled. What place is this? It’s too scary!

The birds actually had Level-8 strength, and there were many of them. At first, only a dozen attacked her, and she didn’t mind. She even killed some, but it was like hitting a beehive. Hundreds came all of a sudden.

She was frightened and could only escape frantically. After a while, she finally discovered the tree. She ran with all her might into it and escaped.

Relieved now, she suddenly heard a hiss. Turning around, she saw a black spotted snake thicker than her waist inside the tree. Its eyes were green and about the size of her fist. They were like two will-o-wisps.

Seeing Saroviny turn around, the snake hissed again. Then there was a poof, and green mist sprayed towards Saroviny’s face.

She reacted quickly and immediately held her breath. Simultaneously, she activated her demon power and blocked the mist.

But the snake reacted quickly too. During this, it curled and wrapped around Saroviny. Then it started squeezing, instantly stealing Saroviny’s breath. The snake was abnormally powerful, and she couldn’t struggle free. Both her hands were entangled and couldn’t move.

No, I’m going to die like this! Gritting her teeth, Saroviny screamed. Demon power spun wildly and exploded!

Boom! With a muffled boom, the snake swelled up and fell down from Saroviny’s body.

Ack, this mist is so poisonous! Saroviny was in bad shape too. To use her power, she had to take a breath of the poison. Now, she felt dizzy. Everything doubled in her vision. After struggling, she actually lost consciousness.

When Saroviny woke up again after some time, she found herself in a small cage. It hung on some long-haired demon. There were many other cages on the demon, all filled with people. Most were elves, but there were also dwarves. The snake had now been skinned and was being grilled over a fire. Humans dressed in leather hide sat around the fire, eating the snake while laughing.

They put me in a cage. How horrible! Saroviny’s fury was about to explode, but then she discovered that her power was sealed by something. She couldn’t control it at all. There was something cold on her neck. Touching it, she realized it was a metal ring.

The ring had a mysterious power that locked all her demon power.

I’m…a slave now? Saroviny never imagined that she would be in this state. Even scarier, she’d lost all power.

After a while, the humans had their fill. One walked towards the demon. He tossed a bundle of hay to the demon, and it started eating quietly.

“Let me go! Let me go!” Saroviny yelled.

The human heard. He walked over and looked at the cat-like black-haired girl. He reached into the cage and patted the girl’s cheeks with a smile. “Pretty girl, don’t be scared. When we get to Spring Leaf Village, I’ll sell you to a good home. You’ll have a good life.”

Saroviny tried to bite the hand, but there was a crack. She missed. The human retracted his hand, fast as lightning.

“Kitty, you have to change your attitude. Otherwise, you’ll have a hard time in the future.” The human was still smiling but stopped paying attention to Saroviny. He walked to his bedroll by the fire and fell asleep.

Saroviny stared at him in shock. The reasoning was simple: a slave trader in such crude leather had Level-9 power!

This world was terrifying!

Chapter 376: This Place Was Really Shitty

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

Hiss hiss. From deep in the grass came a soft hiss and suddenly, a figure flew by.

“That seemed like a person,” Riel said, tiptoeing. He shaded his eyes with his hands as he looked at the direction he saw the figure disappear in.

He was roughly only about four feet tall, and the grass was a bit taller than him at four and a half feet. Despite all his efforts to make himself taller, he still could not see past the grass.

“Nana, catch him!” Link ordered.

He had seen it too. After getting his Dragon Power, his eyesight had improved greatly. He had seen the figure in a grey leather armor and a mask. The figure looked highly skilled.

That figure appeared in the forest, leaving no traces. After it saw them, it turned and disappeared. That was very suspicious, and Link had to find out why.

Nana immediately put down Princess Milda before shooting towards the figure. Half a second later, Nana had crossed a distance of 900 feet and had caught up to the figure. She stretched out her hand to grab onto him.

That person’s reaction was instantaneous. He ducked, rolled on the floor and jumped up, turning back with dagger in hand. His body flashed and all of a sudden, he had his dagger stabbing towards Nana’s neck.

Clang. Nana withdrew her Breakpoint dagger and countered, slicing through her opponent’s dagger. Then, she punched towards the figure’s head.

That person was shocked. Nonetheless, he reacted and blocked Nana’s arm, retaliating with a punch towards her chest.

Nana retreated backwards, dodging his punch, then shot forward once more, stabbing with her dagger.

Unexpectedly, he dodged again. Although he had lost his dagger and was at a disadvantage in a fight with weapons, he was still able to fight back. He crouched low, punching, clawing, and kicking at Nana’s lower body. Every strike was extremely vicious.

Nana had never faced an attack like this before. In the face of this attack, she could only dodge and retreat. Even though she held her dagger in her hand, she was unexpectedly on the receiving end of the attacks.

Bamm. Suddenly, a dimensional ball exploded, stopping the enemy in his tracks. Link had arrived. However, immediately after that, the person’s body shone with white light. Link felt his Spatial Shackles becoming unstable as the person struggled to escape.

Link was shocked. This person has to be Level-8 at least. This is ridiculous.

Nana had charged back in, landing a punch in the person’s belly, knocking him to the ground. Then, she stepped heavily onto his head, preventing him from moving.

Link, Princess Milda and Riel walked towards the person, expressions of surprise and shock on their face.

“This fellow wearing tattered leather armor is actually a Level-8 expert?” Riel asked, eyes wide. He almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

What kind of shitty place is this? A regular thief was a Level-6 expert. Then, a random suspicious looking fellow appeared and he was Level-8. Unfathomable!

Princess Milda carefully assessed this person. He was about 30 years of age and wore a mask that hid all his features. However, his ears were sharp and pointy, although not quite as sharp as an elf, but just a bit more rounded. She turned back to look at Link, saying, “This is a Halfling.”

Link used his Magician’s Hand to remove the person’s mask.

His looks were ordinary. He didn’t have the same features as other Halflings. On his forehead, in between his eyes was a tattoo, a blood red eye. From afar, it looked like a third eye.

Although his head was being stepped on, his expression was twisted with hatred. He squinted at Link and laughed coldly. “Magician, don’t even dream of leaving the Great Beast Forest!”

He spoke in the same elven language as the thief from earlier. Link and the rest could naturally understand.

Link frowned as he asked, “Are you together with those bandits?”

“Nonsense! I am from the Blood Eye Mercenaries. I’m a mercenary. You guys better release me quickly, otherwise, you’ll regret ever coming to this world.”

Riel laughed coldly. “Hmph, bandits are bandits. Once you open your mouth, you give away your identity. Sir Link, let me smash his arm with my hammer, he won’t talk so much nonsense after that.”

Who would have thought that the bandit actually laughed at this. “Hahaha, Sir? With such weak magic, you actually call him sir? Hilarious. Little dwarf, if you are lucky enough not to die, you can visit the Yellow Golden City. This Magician won’t amount to anything there.”

Even after he was captured, he was still as arrogant as ever and did not tone down his taunting. It was as though he knew Link and the others wouldn’t dare to do anything to him.

Evidently, Link and the rest weren’t worth anything in his eyes.

Riel was infuriated at his words and was about to attack him.

Link stopped him. From what had happened, he could feel that this world was not simple. At this moment, he laughed. “Sir is just a title we use as a joke between ourselves. We’re just passing through and we’re sorry to have disturbed you. This is just a misunderstanding. What say you forget about all this?”

“Hmph, it’s too late for that now!” He laughed coldly, then stared at Princess Milda. “Legu woman, there’s no use hiding. I could smell out a beauty like you no matter how you hide. Heehee, my leader will surely savor you.”

This caused the three of them to frown.

For a scout to possess Level-8 strength would mean that his leader must be incredibly strong as well. He would definitely be at least Level-9, right?

Riel grumbled, “We just escaped a wolf, but find ourselves in a tiger’s den. How unlucky!”

Princess Milda looked at Link. “What do we do now?”

Link was silent. He was considering his options.

The scout had seen that Link was the leader. He smirked as he said, “Are you thinking of killing me to keep me silent? My Blood Eye Mercenaries take vengeance very seriously. If you kill me, they will definitely seek you out and then use the most horrible methods to torture you for a hundred days!”

In the past, he had always used his mercenary troop name to scare people. Anyone who heard that would immediately release him and escape for their lives.

However, he had ran into the wrong people this time.

After hearing his words, Link immediately gestured towards Nana. Nana used force to stamp down on his head, and the scout’s head exploded like a watermelon. The blood splattered all over the ground.

Since they had already provoked the enemy and there was no way to avoid the trouble, then they might as well do a clean job of killing them. As for this fellow’s threats, this was something to worry about later. They would deal with whatever came later.

Link threw out a dimensional ball, and softly said, “Rend!”

Zaaap. The scout’s body soon turned into a crystal like white powder.

After having done all of this, Link said, “Legends say that in ancient times, Legendary figures were common. It seems like we’ve returned such a time. In here, we cannot rely on such a strength anymore. This means that things are only going to become more dangerous.”

He then said to Princess Milda, “Disguise yourself well, make yourself look as ugly as possible. Riel, your hammers and armor look too valuable, hide them and wear plain armor. I’ve got to hide my wand too. This sword…”

Before he finished what he was saying, the Dragon King’s Wrath sword suddenly turned dull. The dragon-like scales on the sword became ordinary looking lines. It looked like a regular factory-made sword.

“Seems like I can still use this,” Link said.

The reality was right in front of them. Riel and Princess Milda didn’t argue further and immediately got to work.

Riel’s armor clanked as he took it off and changed into his most ordinary armor. As for his weapons, he took out a large iron hammer from his dimensional bracelet.

“This was the hammer I used when I was training, never thought I’d use it again,” Riel reminisced, moved.

Princess Milda was a woman and still had to care about her modesty. She walked behind a large leaf to change, speedily taking off her outfit.

As this was happening, Link asked the Dragon King’s Wrath sword spirit.

Is this the ancient century?

The sword spirit replied, although a bit hesitant. “It is somewhat similar, but not quite. Do you feel that? The Mana here is thick and bountiful, at least ten times more than on Firuman. It is higher than it was even in my time.”

Link was now a bit confused. Have you heard of the Aragu Empire?

“I’ve heard about it before but I can’t remember clearly.”

There was no point in asking anymore. Link only became more and more confused.

About five minutes later, Princess Milda emerged from behind the grass.

She wore a simple pale green leather armor which looked simple and not very eye-catching. However, upon closer inspection, you would discover that the armor was more than it seemed.

Princess Milda also let down her braided hair, changing to a simple ponytail. Still, it could not hide her beauty, from her light purple eyes and flawless skin, sharp features and her diva like figure.

She simply could not hide her beauty and brilliance. Even if a female goddess dressed in simple clothes, she would still be a female goddess. In fact, it gave her a simple charm.

King Riel shook his head. “No, no, no, Princess Milda, you’ll give us away like this.”

Princess Milda replied in frustration, “This is already the outfit I like the least. There’s nothing worse.”

She was a princess, well-respected by everyone. Every single one of her outfits was worth 100 gold. This was her cheapest set of leather armor, but it was still worth over 50 gold. She simply didn’t own any simple common clothing.

Link also didn’t have any. He was no longer the poor simple Magician from the past. He was the Lord of Ferde, a great Magician. His clothes were similarly top grade.

Riel was the King of the mountains. With that kind of status, how could he wear torn and tattered clothing?

As much as the three of them tried to change into something common, it could not hide the truth from people with keen eyes.

Link also could not do anything about it. “Let’s just go on like this. We’ll try to stay as hidden as possible. We’ll decide what to do when we get to Spring Leaf Village.

In order to avoid danger, the four of them moved inconspicuously, carefully proceeding eastwards.

Fortunately, they didn’t meet any unexpected situations on this journey. After walking for about half a day, they reached a stone wall that was 60 feet high. This entire wall was made out of anti-magic rock. Both sides of the wall were guarded by soldiers. The guards wore seemingly normal battle armor, but they themselves exuded an aura that was exceedingly shocking.

King Riel eyed them, swallowing his saliva. “This is Spring Leaf Village? It has a 60-foot-tall stone wall and such strong guards guarding the city wall!”

He instinctively felt that the soldier could kill him with one slash.

Link could accurately gauge the opponent’s strength. He reported, “Level-8 strength, two of them.”

Riel was beginning to miss the demons in Firuman. At least those demons were a low level and easy to deal with, even though they were numerous beyond compare. He, the King of the Mountains, could barely deal with mountain bandits.

Princess Milda sighed. “We’re just nameless pawns now.”

Even as she sighed, the four of them caught sight of a huge beast. On the beast’s back hung cages filled with people as it swaggered towards Spring Leaf Village.

Link casually glanced over, then blink and focused his gaze once again on one of the cages. “Look, over there. That demon has been captured.”

As they looked over, they found that, indeed, in one particular cage, there was a black-haired young woman hugging her legs as she knelt on the wooden cage floor. Her face was extremely depressed and down-spirited.

Hey, wasn’t that the one that had chased them to death? The demon commander famed for being half a step into the Legendary realm.

“Hmmm…” Riel looked at Link with a serious concerned expression on his face. “There is too many people on the road up ahead. Let’s steal some normal looking clothes. These clothes make me fearful.

This place was really shitty. Just within half a day, they had been eyed by other people more than twice. It was the feeling when a weak young woman walked naked into a pirate den. Just thinking about it was enough to make people too afraid to fight.

Princess Milda’s heart was jumping right out of her chest. “I need to touch up my disguise. This is too dangerous!”

Even a Level-9 demon was captured.

Link nodded his head. “Yes, let’s go steal some clothing.”

…

In the mountain forest

Two halflings appeared, standing around a pile of white powder. One of the Halflings carefully studied the pile of white powder. After a while, he stood up. “This was done by a Magician. They have four people, two male and two female.

“Rohan cannot die in vain. Ollie, report this to the chief. I’m gonna circle around and see if I can get any leads.”

“Okay,” said the other, as he turned and ran into the distance.

Chapter 377: The First Legendary Magician

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

Scrape, scrape.

Riel dragged the fourth unconscious passerby into the tall grass beside the road to the Spring Leaf Village from the Great Beast Forest.

This passerby was a rare fat man. He wasn’t too tall either—barely past 5’3” and wore a short dirty flaxen robe. Riel removed the clothing and put it on himself. While doing so, he muttered, “I, the King of the Mountains, have become a robber. What did I do in my past life to deserve this?”

He finally put the clothes on. The sleeves and pants were still too long. He looked like a circus clown and had to roll the cuffs.

Link walked over. He tossed some coins beside the unconscious fatty and said, “Alright, we should be able to go to the town now.”

Right now, Link wore an old cowhide armor. He had a plain red craft sword at his waist. His hair was messy and tied carelessly behind him. Nana wore patched leather armor. She’d put away her elegant Epic swords and only held the Breakpoint dagger that Link had modified.

Milda looked the most different. She lowered her hair and mussed it up. Forcefully bearing the disgust, she rubbed dirt in her hair, face, neck, and every other patch of bare skin. She wore a short dress and baggy pants that regular women wore. There were even two ugly patches by her butt.

The dirt covered the luster of her hair and skin. The baggy clothing completely covered her beautiful figure. Now, she was a slightly attractive village girl.

“Okay, this should be enough. Let’s go.”

The four walked towards Spring Leaf Village. Though it was a village, it was similar in size to one of Firuman’s average cities. The roads outside the village were wide and smooth. People passed to and fro. Most were adventurers and looked like humans. There were occasionally elves and dwarves, but they either had bronze rings around their necks or were dressed in rags. They looked utterly abject.

Link’s group’s disguises were successful. No one looked at them strangely along the road as if they were regular passersby.

At the entrance of the village, the guard looked at Link and then at Milda and Riel. “Are they your slaves?” he asked.

“Ah…yes, my slaves.” Link quickly reacted and nodded, following the guard’s flow.

“Why aren’t they wearing collar rings?”

Along the way, Link had some idea of the customs here. Now, he nodded and said, “I just bought them. I was preparing to put the rings on inside the village.”

Surprisingly, the guard shook his head. “Slaves can’t enter the village without rings!”

“Ah, then what should I do?” Link asked. He’d already seen that the guard had rings hanging from his waist.

As expected, the guard took these rings off. “Three coins for one. If you don’t put them on, it’ll be seen as your slave breaking the law! The Spring Leaf Village has the right to punish all slaves breaking the law!”

It was only two copper rings; it wasn’t that big of a deal. Link had the currency used here, taken from the passersby they’d knocked out. However, he only had two coins. He couldn’t take out coins from the Norton Kingdom either and he’d only taken a few dozens of those too. He secretly made a few golden nuggets and gave it to the guard with the coins. “This is all I have. Is it enough?”

The guard wasn’t too picky. Golden coins and nuggets were the same and Link had obviously given more than needed. He weighed the gold and smiled, handing two rings to Link. “Take them. Recently bought slaves are wild, and you have to be stricter. Don’t be a pushover!”

Stared at by the guard, Link had to put the rings onto Milda and Riel. Strangely, the rings seemed just like regular copper rings, but once on the neck, they immediately closed seamlessly. Milda and Riel’s expressions turned odd, and Link knew that something was wrong. But this was the city gate, and the guard was there. He couldn’t say anything and just walked in.

Inside the city, Milda said, “This ring is strange. My power is completely sealed.”

“Me too, I can’t use any Battle Aura!”

Link had checked the rings earlier. He hadn’t noticed anything strange and was surprised to find out it had this effect. Thinking a bit, he said, “After we find an inn, I’ll study this closely.”

The streets of the Spring Leaf Village were similarly busy. People walked to and fro, just like outside the village. Humans were the majority; there were elves and dwarves, but they were all slaves. Each one wore copper rings; there was no exception.

There was a variety of roadside stores—daily products, weaponry, armor, magic equipment, and more. Link looked at a few magic equipment stores and discovered the craftsmanship was similar to the present. Other than the method and style of enchantments, there was nothing special.

Especially for material, the rare materials in Firuman were also rare here.

“At least we won’t go hungry.” Link had many rare materials in his dimensional storage, as well as many coins. From the prices he’d seen, his stuff was worth at least 10000 coins. They could live by selling material.

As they walked, a bookstore appeared. Link’s eyes brightened. “Let’s take a look.”

Books were the best aid in quickly understanding this world.

The group walked in, but at the door, a human worker stopped them. “Sir, slaves can’t enter the bookstore. Have them wait outside.”

Link knitted his brows. What was wrong with this world? Did they discriminate against the slaves of other races so badly?

He was forced to say to Milda and Riel, “Wait here for me. I’ll be out soon. Nana, you wait for me too.”

In the bookstore, Link walked around and quickly found The Encyclopedia of Aragu. After paying, he walked out and said, “Let’s go find an inn now.”

Milda and Riel were pissed now but couldn’t show their anger. This world was too horrible to them; there was discrimination everywhere. Just then, they saw an elf get beaten to death by his master. The surrounding people didn’t bat an eyelash as if it were a normal thing.

It was terrifying. They could only stick close to Link.

After walking for a bit longer, Link suddenly heard a strange conversation.

“Hey, did you hear? Magician Rockham is going to accept apprentices again.”

“Psh, apprentice my ass. They just work for him and barely learn anything after three years. It’s a complete waste of time.”

“That’s true. I’ve never seen anyone stingier than Magician Rockham. He’s a complete slave to money!”

Link was interested. From these words, he received two important pieces of information. First, Magician Rockham was an important figure and very famous. Second, he didn’t have a great reputation. He was stingy and lacked Apprentices.

In this strange place, any random mercenary was at Level-7 or Level-8. There were a few at Level-9 too. As a foreigner, he didn’t know anything and could easily get into trouble. It would be much safer with support.

Thinking of this, Link walked towards the speakers. “Hello sirs,” he said. “I am a Magician from out of town. I’m not quite familiar with here… Did you say that Magician Rockham is looking for apprentices?”

The two exchanged glances, and one laughed. “Foreigner, I’ll advise you against this. Rockham isn’t easy to deal with.”

“If you can learn anything from him, then you’re this!” The other man gave him thumbs up.

Link smiled and continued asking, “Can you tell me his address?”

One man pointed towards the village center. Chuckling, he said, “You don’t have to look around. See, the tall tower in the village center is Rockham’s factory of blood, sweat, and tears.”

Link looked over. There indeed was a tall tower in a completely different style from the Norton Kingdom. It was a round white tower, like a lamppost from Earth. The tube was very simple.

When he looked back, the two were already walking away, chuckling. They looked at Link as if he was an idiot.

Milda walked up and whispered, “Are you planning on relying on him?”

She was a princess and was most familiar with these tactics. She obviously knew Link’s motive after hearing his question.

Link nodded. “It’s too dangerous here. They’re so cruel to the slaves and are too violent. They probably won’t be too nice to humans either. We have no authority or power here. If we get the wrong attention, it’ll be bad news.”

If this was Firuman, like in Creekwood Village, Link wouldn’t have these worries. In the Norton Kingdom, laws were still effective, but here, Link was completely unfamiliar. He didn’t feel safe at all.

Milda nodded. “That’s the only solution.”

It looked to be only two in the afternoon. It was still early, so they walked towards the round tower in the village center. Spring Leaf Village wasn’t too big. After around twenty minutes, the group stood outside the tower.

Looking in from the fence, they could see that the tower was only a small portion of the magic field. There were many other beautiful buildings and a huge garden square. Many young Magicians walked on the square, all looking stressed and frazzled.

“It looks like a magic academy,” Milda said.

Riel was too short to see what was inside. His strength had been locked too so he could only jump up and down. “Tell me what’s inside.”

Just then, Link suddenly felt someone looking at him. He turned around and saw an old man with a pointed hat and white beard. Seeing Link look at him, the old man asked with a smile, “Young man, do you want to learn magic from me?”

Link was completely shaken. He could feel an overpowering Mana aura from the elder. It was almost endless. Standing beside him, it felt like a black hole. The Mana’s attractive force made one dizzy. It told Link clearly that this elder was a true Legendary Magician!

This was the first mortal Legendary Magician Link had met after coming to Firuman!

Chapter 378: Hourglass Plane

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

Spring Leaf Village

“Are you Great Magician Rockman?” Link asked.

The old man’s smile widened. A glint appeared in his eyes.

Magician Rockman shook his head. “Young man, please don’t call me a great Magician. I’m still far from being a great Magician. However, I can see that you have great potential! How about this, would you like to study magic from me?”

Link didn’t rush to answer him. He waved his hands helplessly and said, “But I have no money.”

Rockman pulled Link’s hand warmly. “Haha, why talk about money? I, Rockman, have never asked for money from students learning magic. Come come, follow me. Are these your slaves? Follow me… Oh hey! This is a magic puppet! Not bad.”

He dragged Link by the arm as he walked into the yard. When he reached the yard, Link saw a person standing there.

It was a black-haired young girl. Her skin was fair, and her features were delicate. On her neck was a slave collar, but Link immediately recognized her as the demon princess Savoriny.

“This is??” Link jumped backwards in shock. Princess Milda and Riel also retreated behind Link as though they were facing a strong enemy.

Rockman laughed as he introduced, “Her? She’s a new slave a bought. Pretty isn’t she? Don’t mind her, I’ll gift her to someone soon.”

As he said this, the white-bearded old Magician shouted, “Fu, Fu!”

Soon, a fat-faced middle-aged man walked out. This middle-aged man was also wearing a slave collar. When he saw Rockman, he bowed and asked, “Master, you called?”

“See this pretty lady? Send her as a gift to Great Lord Bal. Bring her away and train her.”

Newly bought slaves were unusable. They were disobedient and rough and didn’t know how to serve people. They needed to be trained. This was especially so for a slave that was being given as a gift to a great lord. Such a slave needed even more training so as not to lose face for the giver.

Once Fu heard that this was to be a gift for the Great Lord, he respectfully acknowledged the order. “Master, rest assured. Give this slave three months, I guarantee that she will be as tame and gentle as a sheep.”

“Okay, go on,” Rockman said, pleased.

Fu beckoned towards Savoriny. Although her face was bitter, she didn’t dare to resist. She obediently followed along.

Link and the others were shocked speechless. They simply couldn’t believe that this was the ferocious demon commander that they knew.

Princess Milda and Riel were even more afraid. They had slave collars on them too. Could it be that there was no way to break the collar? Otherwise, why would the demon princess still be so obedient?

Meanwhile, Rockman turned back to look at Link. “Young man, your two slaves don’t look like they have been trained. Would you like Fu to train them for you? He’s a great slave trainer.”

Link hurriedly refused. “No thank you, I’m already used to them.”

“Okay then. Come with me, let me find you your accommodations.”

Link said, “Sir, could you arrange for my slaves to stay with me? I grew up with them around and would like them nearby.”

Rockman’s face was neutral. “Haha, that’s no problem. You decide what to do with your slaves. I’ll find you a comfortable place to your liking!”

He dragged Link along with him into the yard.

There was no reason for Rockman to be so welcoming. It seemed like he really was looking for a student to teach magic to. Furthermore, he was surely extremely stingy. However, for Link, that didn’t matter. Link needed someone to depend on to find a place to settle down and understand this world better. Therefore, Link let Magician Rockman pull him into the yard.

Princess Milda, Riel, and Nana naturally followed behind Link.

Along the way, Link realized that although this fellow was old, he was still strong. He seemed to be equivalent to a Level-7 Warrior. He also didn’t use a wand but a magic sword instead, just like Link.

The sword gave off a mysterious aura, something that could not be underestimated. Surely, it was a Legendary weapon. However, its appearance was crude, even pathetic. It looked like the work of a three-legged cat.

On his way in, Link also met many students of magic. However, none of them were as welcoming as Rockman. Many of them look disinterested. In fact, there were even those that looked over at Link with a sneer. There was a cold laugh on their face, as though saying, “Look at that, another fool has been tricked by Rockman.”

Rockman pulled Link to a solitary stone building in the side of the yard. “Here, this is yours. Doesn’t it look comfortable?”

The stone building was about 860 square feet wide, with two floors. On the upper floor, there was a balcony. Outside, there was also a small garden that looked rather beautiful.

“It is beautiful. But I haven’t even done anything!” Link responded. He turned back to look at all the other Magicians. Once in a while, they would enter their wooden huts. Compared to his stone building, the difference was just too great.

He wasn’t a kid who would believe that a random old stranger would treat him so nicely for no good reason. That person must have some kind of motive.

Rockman laughed. He pointed at the Magic Ring that Link wore. “Did you make that ring?”

Link nodded.

“The handiwork is not bad. I’ll give you materials and talisman blueprints. If you help me create talismans, I’ll teach you magic. What do you think?” So, Rockman was attracted to Link because of the magic items he wore.

Whether it was the magic sword on his waist or the ring on his hands or even the magic puppet by his side, they all looked flawless.

Perhaps the magic on these items wasn’t particularly strong, but because of their appearance, their value would increase by at least 50%.

To Rockman, as long as that person could help him earn money, that person was a talent that deserved privileged treatment!

Link now knew his intentions. Link immediately agreed. “No problem! I just wanted to learn magic from you.”

“Great, great!” Rockman laughed uproariously. The wrinkles on his face bloomed like a flower. “Truly a young man with determination! Here, this is a Tier-1 talisman. See if you can do it.”

Link received the talisman blueprint from Rockman. Princess Milda curiously looked over, wanting to see the blueprint. Immediately, Rockman frowned and shouted, “How unruly! Get back to your position!”

This was Princess Milda’s first time being scolded like this. Her face was flushed, but she could not talk back either. She bowed her head and retreated.

Link did not say anything to interfere. He simply continued looking at the blueprints.

He realized that what Rockman called a Tier-1 talisman was actually not that complex. The magic knowledge inside was similar to that of Level-4 magic on Firuman. However, the way it was used and arranged was almost like that of a Level-8 magic spell. It required huge amounts of patience and meticulousness. The smallest mistake could ruin the whole talisman.

“This shouldn’t be too difficult…” Link said.

“Not difficult? Hahaha, you’re truly someone with talent. Young man, what is your name?” This old man was one of a kind. It was only now that he asked Link for his name.

“I’m Link, this is Mil…”

Before he could finish, Rockman interrupted him. “Don’t tell me the names of your slaves. Even if you did, I wouldn’t remember them. How long would it take you to finish the talisman? Is two weeks enough?”

Link was at a loss. They take two weeks for a talisman like this?

Before, Link would take about an hour for one talisman. After obtaining his pure Dragon Power, he could maintain a state of high concentration for longer periods of time. Three days was enough for him to craft one talisman. In response to Rockman’s offer of two weeks, Link thought for a moment before saying, “Ten days is enough for me.”

Unexpectedly, Rockman frowned and said, “Ten days? Young man, it’s good to be ambitious but do not be overly ambitious. How do you expect me to believe your big words?”

It seems like two weeks was already a high expectation. This talisman would take over two weeks on average. Link wracked his brains to find a suitable reply. “Sir, ten days is the time I take if I expend all my energy. I cannot do it for too long. I need to rest for a week after each talisman. So on average, it takes me about 18 days.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is. There’s no need to rush so, two weeks is fine. After two weeks, if you give me the talisman equipment, I’ll give you a Tier-1 magic book and answer three questions on Tier-1 magic for you.”

“No problem,” Link agreed, nodding.

“That’s good. Then I won’t bother you. This is the key to your lodgings. Everything has been prepared inside for you. There’s also a special room for doing talismans. You can begin anytime.”

After handing the keys to Link, Rockman turned and left. On his way out, he saw another student walking slowly. Rockman kicked him, causing the student to stumble. “What are you wasting time for? You’ve got no talent and only know how to skive. Hurry and help me wash the Winter Night Grass!” Rockman scolded.

His attitude towards this student and Link were two worlds apart.

Riel whispered quietly, “Link, how confident are you? I feel that if you can’t complete what you promised, we’d be chased out after two weeks.”

“Of course I’m sure. Let’s go inside. I’ll try to figure out what’s the deal with the collar,” Link said.

After entering the room, Link began inspecting the collar.

He found that the collar had no seam lines to show where it was connected. After knocking on it, it produced a thick sound that didn’t seem like either metal or wood. Furthermore, there were no talisman markings whatsoever on it. It was as though it was completely natural.

“This workmanship is amazing,” Link praised.

He gestured to Nana. “Try using the dagger to cut it.”

The Breakpoint Dagger could cut through all items. It probably shouldn’t have trouble cutting through this three-ringed collar.

Nana was just about to use the Breakpoint Dagger to test out Riel’s collar when Riel immediately panicked. “Wait wait wait, stop! It hurts, my head hurts. Don’t poke at it anymore, please.”

His face was pale.

Nana helplessly pulled back her dagger.

Riel let out a sigh of relief. “That was really scary. It felt like my soul was tearing apart.”

“It seems like this collar cannot be broken with force. No wonder the demon commander was like a cat after being captured. I need to study this more.”

Link was full of regret. If he knew this would happen, he wouldn’t have made them wear this collar.

Princess Milda consoled him. “This isn’t your fault. This is a new world, if we don’t wear this, we might not have even lived.”

Riel also said, “Sir Link, there will be a way. Don’t be anxious.”

Link nodded. He opened the book he just bought, the Encyclopedia of Aragu, flipping through the pages to understand more about the place.

At this point, a notification window popped up in his vision.

All this time, the system had been silent. Now that it appeared, it showed a message:

Anchor point in time has been discovered. Determining the current timeline. Player is in an hourglass plane.

Chapter 379: Hourglass Realm

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

“The Hourglass Realm?”

Link was taken aback. He’d never heard of this term—it didn’t appear in the game or in the books.

His vision flashed and an hourglass appeared. The top was labeled as the World of Firuman while the bottom was the Aragu Realm. The narrow neck area was marked with the Wind Vortex that they’d traveled through.

The two worlds are opposite one another yet are still connected. The current known passageway is the Wind Vortex. From the results of the time anchor calculation, time flows very quickly in the Aragu Realm. It’s more than 100 times that of Firuman.

This cheered Link a bit. If time flowed that fast, he could stay here for one year and it would only be three and a half days on Firuman. He didn’t have to worry about not having enough time. This way, he could focus on finding a way out of the world.

“But how can it be so fast?” Link asked.

The Mana density of Aragu is 20.5 times higher than in Firuman. Life controls great power and operates at high intensity, making time flow extremely fast.

Link thought about it but he still didn’t understand it. Time was too confusing. His abilities weren’t at that level yet. However, the flow of time was only meaningful to higher-level observers. The living organisms would feel nothing. For example, Link didn’t feel any difference from the World of Firuman. Everyone was going at the regular speed.

“Then how come Aragu appeared in the ancient legends of Firuman? Why do the elves, dwarves, and humans speak in the ancient elven language?”

There is not enough information to answer.

“Alright…” Link was helpless but knowing the speed of time now, he didn’t have to hurry. He had a lot of time to understand this world.

He opened the Encyclopedia of Aragu and started reading closely.

The book was also written in ancient elven and mostly described the customs and conditions of the land. Milda and Riel had nothing else to do so they read as well. As for Nana, she was playing with a small accessory on the table.

After reading for a bit, the three exchanged glances in shock.

There were many things in the book but it revealed clearly the Araguans’ superiority complex. They called themselves the “descendants of God” while the others were “scum of the earth.”

In Aragu, the elves, dwarves, and Northern Beastmen were even lower than horses. They could be sold, killed, and humiliated at will, treated like tools. Once a slave became sick, they would be killed immediately. Instead of burying the body, it would be sold to a butcher. There, it would be cooked and fed to hunting hounds, griffins, wolves, and other trained carnivorous beasts.

The encyclopedia also listed the prices of the different slave meats. Elves were the most expensive because they were the most tender. Amongst them, meat of elven girls was the most valuable. They were usually fed to the pets of nobles. Dwarves were the cheapest. Their meat was described to be rough as sandpaper. Even dogs weren’t willing to eat it.

“That’s too scary. These Araguans are so barbaric!” Riel exclaimed in fury.

“Sh!” Milda quickly shushed him. “Don’t say that in the future. Someone might hear!”

Riel wanted to argue but Link said, “Her Highness is right. Riel, remember this isn’t Firuman. We have an important mission and nothing can happen to us!”

“Alright. This f*cking place!” Riel muttered. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand what the others were saying. This place was just too horrible.

At this time, Link flipped to a passage about the slave collar ring. The three started reading closely.

The book explained that the ring’s scientific name was “Soul Shackle.” It was known as the most successful and powerful gear of the Aragu Empire. It was created by one of the emperor’s magic workshop, the God-given Wisdom. One million are made annually. The cost isn’t high but the effect is shocking.

The encyclopedia proudly declares that, this shackle is a gift from God. Perfect and flawless, it is the scepter for descendants of God to rule the scum!

That was it. Other than a bunch of bragging, there was nothing useful.

“Damn Araguans!” Riel muttered again.

Thankfully, this book wasn’t only bragging; there were also useful things, such as descriptions of the world’s power.

In this world, all power under the Legendary Level was known as Tier-1. Legendary Level-10 was Tier-2. Legendary Level-17 of Firuman was Tier-9 here and Magicians of that level were known as Masters. Level-18 was Saint. As for Level-19, that was almost God-like. It was the pinnacle of humanity and was known as the Archmage!

In Aragu, there was currently one Archmage, three Saints, and 18 Masters. They could easily destroy everything in the world. As for official Magicians, there were countless. An ordinary little town could produce someone like Rockham. Just imagine how many there were in the world!

After reading this, Link sighed. “No wonder the robbers laughed at us. The Masters of Aragu are Legendary Level-17.”

“I feel so weak after reading this.” Riel plopped onto the ground. He’d wanted to redeem himself and wait a few days before breaking free from his slave identity. But the Aragu Empire was like a mountain with no seeable peak.

Milda was much more optimistic. “It’s not all bad. Link, have you felt your power increase much more quickly? Not even a day after being here, I’ve already entered Level-8.”

Her Mana had been at the pinnacle of Level-7. In Firuman, leveling up required a good opportunity but she passed through it naturally here. Link could feel it too so he checked his information.

Link Morani (Firuman Noble)

Level-8 Pinnacle Dragon Mage

Flawless Dragon Power Maximum: 7100

Dragon Power Recovery Speed: 18-110 points per seconds

Current Dragon Power Recovery Speed: 40 points per second

It hadn’t even been a day but his Dragon Power had already risen more than 100 points. The speed was shocking.

“It’s the same for me. I feel that I can break into Level-9 soon…I’m afraid the demon commander will break into the Legendary state soon.”

“So what? She’s just a slave now,” Riel leered. This was probably the only good news.

The encyclopedia was quite thick but the descriptions weren’t too deep so they finished it within half a day. They all had a general idea about Aragu. At least, they won’t do anything taboo when they go out now.

“I’m going to start with the enchantment now.” Link took the paper towards the enchantment room. “I prepare to make the bracelet on this paper. Milda, Riel, don’t go outside during this to avoid trouble.”

“I’m too scared to go outside. It’s too dangerous out there,” Riel sighed.

“I’ll clean up the room,” Milda said.

“Okay. If you feel bored, you can come help me.”

“Of course.” Milda would love to do that. She wanted to learn Aragu’s magic too.

Inside the enchantment room, Link found that there were many mid-level materials here. There were also many tools that were similar to those in Firuman and weren’t too complicated. Link could use them after studying for a bit.

He placed the paper on the table and started working.

Link barely left the room in the next few days; he had people bring him his meals. His magic bracelet came into shape bit by bit.

In order to complete within two weeks, Link purposely slowed down his speed. This way, he had time to perfect the details and work more intricately on the bracelet.

The first two days, Rockham would come check. After that, he was reassured and left satisfied after saying some encouragements.

Two weeks later, Link completed the magic bracelet as expected. Putting it in a wooden box, Link went to find Rockham.

He first went to the concierge to find guard Afu.

“Master is in the round tower. He said that you can go to him directly.”

“Oh, okay.”

Link walked straight towards the round tower. It was in the back of the courtyard. Along the way, he would pass by the apprentices’ dormitories, magic workshops, the library, and other buildings. When he passed by a small yard, he saw Demon Princess Saroviny by chance.

The yard was closed with a locked door. There were many beautiful girls inside that Rockham bought to give to important figures as “gifts.” Saroviny dressed scantily. She had a bra and a semi-transparent muslin dress. One could see through the muslin that she didn’t wear anything under it. The details of her body could be seen fleetingly. She even had a Mithril accessory hanging from her belly button.

When Link saw her, she was learning a sexy dance with the other slave girls in the yard. Clearly, she was not doing well; she kept making mistakes.

Crack! The whip fell onto her, making her stumble. A halfling with a slave ring around her neck yelled, “Idiot! Is your body made of wood? Move your waist! Shake your ass! I’ve never seen a slave as stupid as you. You should be chopped up to feed the dogs!”

Without making a sound, Saroviny stood up and continued. Link was sure she saw him but her eyes looked straight ahead.

Link was slightly relieved. At least this demon was completely submissive in this world. He should be safe… No, this wasn’t enough. He was mistaken as an Araguan now and had a great advantage. He had to get rid of this girl.

With that in mind, Link walked towards the tower. Rockham was about to go out and saw Link at the entrance. He smiled immediately. “What, did you finish the bracelet?”

“Yes. Here you go.” Link offered up the wooden box.

Rockham opened it. He glanced at it and his eyes brightened greatly. “Good! Amazing! Perfect! This artistry is incredible! Tsk, this artistry deserves a spell book as a reward. Come, come. Go to my library and choose any Tier-1 book. And three Tier-1 questions are still free.”

He was so excited. Looking at Link was like looking at a mountain of gold.

“Tutor,” Link said politely. “Can I change my reward?”

“Oh, what do you want?” Rockham asked.

“I saw a slave girl in the yard, a black-haired one. Can I have her as a reward?”