End of the Magic Era

Lin Yun left. Myers was not really surprised at the result of the visit. He was still wearing a smile, but there was frustration in his eyes.

It seems that Sir Merlin hasn't decided to accept us yet. I didn't really understand it before, but after I returned to Noscent and the Thorny Crown, I realized that the Thorny Crown is no longer what it used to be. It's getting controlled by maniacs who pursue strength no matter the cost.

The power of the organization is being concentrated. A lot of mages, warlocks, and Sword Saints have perished because of bloodline transplantation over the years. Most of them were actually caught by maniacs for experiment purposes.

That was no different from the doing of evil necromancers. No wonder the Thorny Crown is getting infamous, and many organizations are angry with us.

Eliminating the members who have sold their souls for greater power, the Thorny Crown has suffered a heavy loss too. But that's a good thing anyway. The Thorny Crown has to pledge loyalty to someone now. If this continues, the organizations that are angry with us will probably take action.

It's a shame that Sir Merlin is unwilling to accept us. If he accepts us, the Thorny Crown will be able to survive the crisis, and we'll be able to learn bloodline transplantation from Sir Merlin…

Myers left the Gilded Rose with a bitter smile. The internal purge of the Thorny Crown had caused a huge loss to the Thorny Crown. Many organizations were probably going to seize this opportunity and do something.

Covering his empty eye socket with his hood, and only showing his single eye that was no different from a normal eye, Myers left the Gilded Rose. He looked back at the store with determination in his eyes, deep in thought.

The Blue Demon Potion of the Gilded Rose had been so well advertised that everybody in Neverwinter City knew it. At the beginning, a random customer was picked on a fixed day every week, and given a bottle of Blue Demon Potion for free.

When it was to be released, a bottle of it was even offered for free every day. In such a way, many mages were already looking forward to the Blue Demon Potion before it was released. Everybody knew who received the free Blue Demon Potions, and was eager to find out if the potions were as effective as described.

After all, ever since the Gilded Rose opened, the new potions that it released had all proven to be no less effective than described. It already had a good reputation. Most people who had never used the Blue Demon Potion believed that they would only be more effective than described.

Also, according to the Gilded Rose's convention, every potion was further divided based on its quality, and their descriptions were only the effects of the worst-quality version. The higher-quality Blue Demon Potions hadn't been released yet. According to the Gilded Rose, it was too costly and difficult to make higher-quality Blue Demon Potions, so they wouldn't be sold normally.

However, everybody understood the implication. The higher-quality Blue Demon Potions were too few to be sold in the store, but they did exist…

The release date of the Blue Demon Potion was drawing near. The people who received the Blue Demon Potions reported their experience of using the potions. Many people and organizations were reaching out to the Gilded Rose, hoping to strike an agreement.

A few days before the release, a level-9 Archmage, who received the Blue Demon Potion the earliest, appeared in the sea to the east of the Odin Kingdom. It was the Boundless Sea, the biggest sea in Noscent, and contained infinite treasures. Also, it was home to a lot of strong sea life forms, and had a mysterious special environment.

As a result, the Boundless Sea became the best place for mages to look for treasures and opportunities. Everybody knew the dangerousness of the sea. The death rate of the travelers was never lower than 30 percent, meaning that every time 100 people set sail, 30 would stay in the Boundless Sea forever.

However, there had always been people who returned from the Boundless Sea with a fortune. Tom, as a level-9 Archmage, was taking a ship that was more than 50 meters long for the gifts of fate in the Boundless Sea.

He had been stuck as a level-9 Archmage for more than 100 years. Judging by the trend, he probably couldn't make further progress on the path of magic in another century. Therefore, Tom decided to take his chances. He bought a bunch of potions that might be useful from the Gilded Rose.

August was the most peaceful time of the year on the sea. It was also the best time to embark on a voyage. The sea was less dangerous, and had fewer tides. It was also warmer during the day. If he sailed from the middle part of the Boundless Sea, he would be able to travel far, and find great treasures.

Most powerful life forms in the Boundless Sea didn't like to appear on the surface during the day when it was hot. They were usually hiding in the deep sea. The creatures in the shallow sea weren't too strong.

The ship sailed normally for seven days, and was already very far away from the continent. The experts on the continent could only control the 200 kilometers near the shore at best. That was the reason why none of the formidable sea creatures liked approaching the seashore.

In a peaceful noon, Tom reached his first destination that he was going to explore. All of a sudden, waves arose on the tranquil sea, and reached almost 10 meters high in only a couple of seconds, as if a storm was taking place. But it was still sunny in the sky, without any sign of a storm.

A terrifying aura of mana surged from underneath the surface of the sea. Tom was rather solemn as the mana waves were clearly more powerful than what an Archmage could resist.

In only a couple of seconds, a huge bump had risen on the surface of the sea 1,000 meters ahead. The bump rose 100 meters, and then suddenly exploded, revealing a monster that was almost 100 meters long and looked like a crocodile. It jumped from the surface, and flew almost 300 meters high.

"A Deep Sea Crocodile! Damn it, how can a Deep Sea Crocodile be here?" Tom cried in panic. Then, he jumped from the ship without thinking, and cast a short spell. He was then pushed in the opposite direction by the power of wind.

The enormous Deep Sea Crocodile flew in the sky, with ferocity in its eyes. Yet, it didn't notice the big boat not far away at all, and was looking down with fear.

Only two seconds later, another explosion burst out on the surface, and a strange fish that was almost 300 meters erupted. The fish had an abnormally huge head, which took up half of its length. It seemed that the fish didn't have a torso, just a head and a tail. The fish's tail was shivering quickly. There were also two arms that were dozens of meters long underneath its body, and its three-fingered hands looked like the claws of a ferocious beast.

The strange fish charged at the falling Deep Sea Crocodile, and opened its horrifying mouth that was at least 100 meters in diameter, with three rows of sharp teeth inside.

The falling Deep Sea Crocodile screamed in fright, just like a helpless kid, but it couldn't stop its body from sinking into the fish's mouth.

The moment it fell into the strange fish's mouth, the Deep Sea Crocodile swatted the mouth with its tail, pushing its upper half body from the mouth. But then, the strange fish closed its mouth, causing a dull explosion. There was even mist around the mouth because it had bitten so fast that it squeezed apart the air…

The lower half body of the Deep Sea Crocodile was bitten off and swallowed. Its remaining upper half body had been caught by the fish's arms before it could escape. Then, the rest of the screaming Deep Sea Crocodile was stuffed into the mouth.

With a dull noise, the level-40 Deep Sea Crocodile, which was almost 100 meters long and in level 40, was swallowed alive. The fish fell from the sky, raising a wave almost 100 meters tall.

In only a couple of seconds, waves hit the ship, each higher than the last. The ship, like a poor canoe, capsized easily. Everything on the ship was turned upside down. Only a few Archmages were able to escape in time, but the waves slapped them brutally.

A second later, the enormous strange fish emerged from underneath the sea, and swallowed the entire ship. Blood was spreading out, but the strange fish didn't stop at all. It chased after the Archmages who luckily survived, and swallowed each and every one of them.

The power of ice, wind, and fire was invoked at the same time. A tremendous number of spells rained on the strange fish, but they couldn't cause any damage. Many of the spells were even swallowed by the monster.

In no more than 10 seconds, the fish had swallowed everything in this place. Even the floating pieces on the surface were eaten too. After everything was swallowed, the fish finally looked at Tom, who had flown away. It immediately shivered its tail, and chased after him.

The fish opened its mouth and shrieked, raising a wave that was more than 200 meters tall. The wave moved towards Tom quickly. The latter chanted a spell and unfolded a rune shield, trying to fly faster, but the wave still hit him.

The green rune shield was shattered easily like a bubble, and exploded into countless runes. Tom was slapped away too. His blood gushed out, and almost 10 of his bones were broken by the enormous strength, yet the fish was still chasing after him.

In the emergency, Tom turned pale, and gritted his teeth, swallowing a bottle of Clarity Potion. Then, he let go of his defense, and chanted a spell while flying. A green tornado arose and enshrouded Tom, carrying him to the continent fast.

The fish burst into fury when the prey escaped, and chased him relentlessly. A few minutes later, the distance between them increased, but the monster still didn't let him go.

Half an hour later, Tom became pale. His mana had almost been exhausted. Not seeing the fish anymore, he actually lowered his mana output, and the green tornado that was carrying him slowed down significantly.

This was a spell that was purely for escape. It would continue as long as he sent mana into it. The more mana he outputted, the faster he would be. But if he kept himself at a high speed, his mana would be exhausted quickly.

Having flown at full speed for half an hour, he had used up almost 80% of his mana, and he had to slow down.

But only a couple of minutes later, the surface of the sea exploded, and the strange fish jumped at Tom from down below, with its mouth wide open…

He narrowly escaped again, but the fish still wouldn't let him go. Gradually, Tom found the optimal speed that prevented him from being caught without exhausting his mana. He flew onwards, hoping that he could reach the continent.

The fish swam very fast in the sea, and kept up with Tom, who was flying with the tornado. After a day of flying, Tom had covered half of the distance, but there was still a long way left to reach the continent. At this moment, he was running out of his mana…

He had been replenishing the mana he used on his way. Even the mana in his magic tools had been exhausted. In half an hour at most, he would be out of mana, and be caught up with by the fish.

The potions in his ring had been used up. None of the other potions could refill his mana. He was going to take them nonetheless, when he noticed the Blue Demon Potion among them.

Immediately, there was excitement, eagerness, and worry on Tom's face.

Damn it, I almost forgot that the Gilded Rose offered me a Blue Demon Potion for free. I kept it among the healing potions.

The Gilded Rose's products have always been great. But is the Blue Demon Potion really as effective as they promised? Never mind. It's my last hope anyway. I hope it's as good as the Gilded Rose described. If so, I will be able to finish the trip.

Tom took out the Blue Demon Potion, and poured it into his mouth without hesitation. When he finished only half of the bottle, he detected that a stream of mana emerged inside his body. 30 percent of his mana was refilled, and in only three seconds, 80 percent was restored.

Instantly, the tornado was moving three times faster, and carried Tom away quickly. The strange fish roared and chased him, raising waves and air explosions, but couldn't catch up with Tom.

During the flight, Tom felt that his mana was being exhausted again, but as it was being exhausted, there was new mana that was being generated. Although less and less mana was generated, it was possible for him to keep himself in his best condition.

After flying for an hour at the highest speed possible, he finally ran out of his mana again. Then, he swallowed the other half bottle of the Blue Demon Potion. Not daring to stop, he rushed for another hour, and finally saw the continent on the horizon. The fish had been left far behind.

A dozen minutes after Tom landed, waves that were moving at a high speed finally arrived on the sea behind him. The guards on the shore, detecting a strong sea beast, became vigilant. Energy cannons, ray spells, and large bows were all deployed.

The fish weathered through all the attacks, without really being hurt. It certainly wouldn't retreat, not after seeing so much prey on the shore. However, waves of extraordinary power burst out from several places not far away from the shore. Feeling the waves, the fish finally calmed down and left.

Pale, Tom sat on the ground. He looked at where the fish disappeared in relief, and was still clenching the bottle of the Blue Demon Potion. There was still a tiny pit of potion left in it. Tom quickly closed the bottle.

After the Heaven Rank fish left, someone finally came to Tom, and asked him what happened.

"Oh, poor Tom, I didn't expect that you would encounter such a strong beast on your first trip. You were truly unlucky. Under normal circumstances, such strong beasts won't appear on the surface of the sea or approach the shore in this sea. How did you come back? You left on the ship more than a week ago, didn't you?"

Everybody else looked at Tom with a different expression after hearing that. They were not mocking him, but rather were shocked. A lot of experts had set sail from here. There were even Heaven Rank experts among them. However, the majority of them were Archmages—mostly level-9 ones.

Such level-9 Archmages mostly didn't have any prospects, and probably couldn't reach the Heaven Rank their entire life. Some of them were also reaching the end of their life. They were not uncommon here.

Having been sailing for more than a week, Tom should've been thousands of kilometers away considering the speed of the ship. If the ship had been faster, he could've been ten thousand kilometers away.

Tom had flown back to the continent, which meant that the ship had to have fallen victim to the terrifying sea beast. Not everybody could've escaped over such a long distance. At least, none of the level-9 Archmages here was capable of doing that.

Looking at their reaction, Tom put on a bitter smile. Many of the guards here were his friends, and knew that the task was too difficult for him to accomplish. It was extremely challenging to escape from a Heaven Rank beast and fly all the way back here.