Advent of the Archmage

Panda Novel

A while later, a Naga disguised as a human merchant appeared in the tavern. She carried two machetes and snuck in. Looking around, she called outside, “Leader, it’s safe, but I don’t see Old Blindie. I don’t see the Beastman either.”

Figures flashed at the door. Then about a dozen of Nagas entered. The leader was someone at the pinnacle of Level-11. She’d been disguised as a man and took care of her actions outside the city. Here, she didn’t care anymore. Twisting her waist, she circled the tavern. She checked the various marks left here and re-checked the corpse pieces on the ground. Finally, she picked up the long battle ax in the center of the tavern. Looking at it, she fell into deep thought.

The other Nagas surrounded her, waiting for her next order.

About five or six minutes later, the leader came to a conclusion. “The Beastman stood at the entrance while Old Blindie was probably sitting here. He felt threatened, so he used a Dark Soul spell. The tavern instantly fell into chaos.”

She perused the tavern’s ground. She was explaining the situation to her underlings while also organizing her thoughts.

“People ran towards the door, but they were all halved by the Beastman’s ax… This Beastman has aggressive power. After killing five people in a row, he pounced towards Old Blindie… The marks disappeared here. They just vanished… Wait, I can feel slight distortions of the space. They must have transmitted away!”

“Leader, what do we do now?” a Naga asked.

“Old Blindie is very foxy while the transmission distance was quite far. That Beastman is probably killed already. There isn’t a corpse so all trails are cut off. It’s practically impossible to find him now.”

The Naga leader paced across the room. A few minutes later, she said, “This has surpassed our abilities. Let’s go back to tell the master.”

The others had no objections. They all nodded and cleared away quickly.

During this, Link and Darris were hiding in a corner, watching quietly. After the Nagas left, Darris looked at Link. “Are you going to kill me now?”

They were enemies while Link now had top power. Link just had to move a finger to kill him. He was basically waiting for death to come now.

Link didn’t agree or disagree. Instead, he asked in return, “What do you think about Dark Mana?”

“It’s powerful, but it can easily affect one’s mind. If you don’t use it carefully, you’ll most likely get controlled by the Mana and become darkness’ slave. You’ll destroy yourself while destroying others.”

Darris didn’t know why Link was asking, but he felt deeply while speaking. He was no longer that proud but ignorant young man from the East Cove Magic Academy. He’d experienced so many hardships to understand the cruel truth of the world.

After hearing his understanding of Dark Mana, Link smiled and patted his shoulder. “Dark power is a double-sided sword. It’s sharp, but not many people can use it well. It’s valuable that you can have these thoughts. As for our past conflicts, just let them pass.”

“Sir, are you forgiving me?” Darris was overjoyed. No one liked living in secret and fear.

Link nodded. He grabbed in the air and dark power appeared out of thin air again. It solidified into a black leather-bound book.

“Take this dark magic book. It contains some of my experience while using dark power. It can also protect your soul from not getting tainted.”

He’d practically created something out of nothing. Darris stared in respect. When he got the book, he knelt down in excitement, almost crying from joy. “Thank you for your mercy.”

Link patted his shoulder. “There are many demons controlled by darkness in the world. It’s rare for you to break free from the darkness.”

As for the rivalry from before, Link had moved on long ago. Right now, he was looking down from the top.

As soon as he finished, Link disappeared from the Bloody Tavern. The next instant, he re-appeared at the edge of the canyon, still in Beastman form. However, instead of a traveler, he was now a merchant selling on the side of the road.

About half a minute later, the group of Nagas hurriedly came out from the depths of the canyon. They passed Link by without noticing. Link didn’t do anything special either. He just looked up and then continued hawking.

When the Nagas were far away and almost disappeared from his line of sight, Link quickly got up to follow. The Nagas had mentioned a master. This must be the mastermind behind everything. He could go meet them.

The Nagas seemed very cautious. They looked around as they walked. When they exited the canyon and entered the withered grass, they put on invisible capes and disappeared.

Sadly, these capes only worked against normal people. To Link, these weak effects were like nothing.

Link followed for around one hour, traveling more than 100 miles, before a hill of rocks appeared. The Nagas circled a huge stone a few times and then just vanished. This time, Link realized that he’d lost them. The other’s tactics were at his level!

This is at the pinnacle of this realm too. The master must be at the pinnacle of Level-19! Link furrowed his brows, finding things a bit troublesome now. Thankfully, he’d been careful along the way. Otherwise, he would have alerted them.

Instead of rushing into the stones to look for them, he hid in the withered grass and waited patiently. He had a feeling that another opportunity would arise.

He also did something else. He tossed the valuable magic stone from Darris to somewhere 300 feet away. The Legendary Mana waves from the stone should make the other miscalculate.

Time passed bit by bit. Nothing abnormal happened. The wind blew and small animals would come by occasionally, but the Nagas still didn’t appear. Link remained in place and slowed down his breathing and heartbeat until they barely happened. His gut feeling didn’t change. He believed something would happen soon.

This was his confidence in his own power, as well as trust in Firuman. The other was inside Firuman now. Nothing can escape from the realm’s perception while Link was blessed by the realm. If the realm knew, he would know too.

He waited for three hours.

Three hours later, abnormal power waves suddenly came from the hill. Half a second later, a Naga in a dark red dress appeared from the stones. She looked really similar to Molina… No, more accurately, Molina looked like her. Her aura was chaotic and violent but she looked calm. She was like a sea with hidden currents.

It’s the God of Destruction! Link was even more grateful he hadn’t done anything brash.

After she appeared, she jumped to the top of a white boulder. Looking down at the withered grass, she sneered. “Come out. I see you.”

Link’s heart jumped, thinking that he was discovered, but he quickly calmed down. He still didn’t move. The other might not have seen him. She might have just discovered the magic stone he’d tossed.

A few seconds later, the God of Destruction scoffed. “You think you can escape from my eyes, Ferde lord?”

She looked forward while speaking, not looking either at the magic stone or in Link’s direction. This made it difficult to discern if she was speaking the truth.

Thinking for half a second, Link decided to just wait. As long as she didn’t point him out, he would just act like he didn’t hear anything.

After waiting for a few seconds without getting a reply, the God of Destruction furrowed her brows. She waved and a Naga appeared behind her. She rushed towards the magic stone.

A while later, the Naga found the magic stone and brought it back to the God of Destruction.

Her brows furrowed even more. Suddenly, she looked towards the grass and announced, “Ferde lord, I know you’re nearby and can hear me. Since you have this stone, you must know who I’m looking for. Let me tell you, I will definitely find her before you and I will destroy her. This is the wish of the Ruler of Light and Darkness. No one can resist!”

Link listened quietly. The God of Destruction seemed to be threatening him, but in reality, she was explaining the situation. She didn’t want to find Celine. It was the Ruler of Light and Darkness who forced her to.

But so what?

The God of Destruction couldn’t resist the Ruler of Light and Darkness, so she had to become Link’s enemy. When necessary, they would fight to the death.

The more important question was: where was Celine?

It was strange that Link was now at this level, but he still couldn’t sense Celine at all. She seemed to not even exist in the world.

This could only mean that Celine received the truth from the Book of Revelations. She received the true heritage of the Level-19 Soul Sovereign Rosso.

But fortunately, if he couldn’t find Celine, then the God of Destruction couldn’t either. Otherwise, she wouldn’t get fooled by a magic stone. However, she was still better off than Link. Her actions must have given Celine some pressure, forcing her to use this stone to distract her.

These thoughts flashed past Link’s mind. After he understood it all, he came up with a plan. He would secretly follow the God of Destruction to wherever she went. When she finally found Celine, he would do his best to save her.

On the other hand, the God of Destruction waited patiently for a while. When there was still no reply, she was angered. It was already difficult to find Celine, but now the Ferde lord was here too. It was like adding salt to her wounds.

“Master, what do we do now?” a Naga asked cautiously.

“What else can we do? Keep looking. It’s the wish of the Ruler of Light and Darkness!” The God of Destruction felt like she shouldn’t have come to Firuman. Nothing went right after she came. Now, she’d even become a tool in the battle between two powerful figures. What the hell?!

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