Chapter 246: Spatial Magicians Are All Monsters
Advent of the Archmage
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After the conference, Link politely rejected Anthonyâs invitation. He prepared to return directly to his territory and find Vance. He needed Vanceâs help if he wanted to repair Nana.
Coming out of the Heavenâs Thorn, Link began thinking of how to repair Nana.
He had dealt with Nana before and was certain about this magic puppetâs strength. She was extremely fast and had almost 700 years of battle experience. She reacted quickly and was exceedingly sensitive to enemiesâ weaknesses. Her body was strong; basic elemental magic was mostly ineffective on her. Bottom line, she was practically a perfect soldier.
Link thought for the entire way but could not think of any areas to fix. Vance had spent twenty years creating this magic puppet, and it definitely couldnât be underestimated.
That simplified things. Since he couldnât fix it, he would just strengthen it, pushing Nanaâs limits as far as he could.
She was fast, wasnât she? Then heâd make her even faster!
She couldnât turn at her max speed, right? Then heâd think of a way to make her turn!
She wasnât sturdy enough and was destroyed by the Divine Gear, right? Then heâd make her even stronger!
Following this train of thought, countless ideas immediately appeared in Linkâs mind. The magic knowledge he had learned recently popped up like bubbles. They combined, burst, and combined again, creating various crazy and unique ideas.
"Yes, Iâll hurry back and recreate Nana!" Link was excited now. He sped up and went towards the stable of the East Cove Magic Academy.
Halfway there, a voice suddenly sounded behind him, "Mr. Link, wait for me."
The voice was crisp like marbles rolling on a plate. This unique and beautiful voice belonged to the Elf Princess Milda.
Link slowed down. He turned to see Milda jog over alone. Probably due to the running, her translucent cheeks were now pinkish. She was as beautiful as a painting.
"How may I help you?" Link was confused. He hadnât really interacted with the princess yet.
Milda reached Linkâs side. She exhaled deeply and adjusted her breathing. She quickly recovered her ladylike composure and smiled, saying, "Iâm here because of the spatial magic spell you just used. The spell is very unique. From what I know, there are no books about spatial magic in the East Cove Magic Academy. Where did you get the knowledge?"
Link continued walking towards the horse stable. Rather than keeping it a secret, he admitted, "The academy doesnât have any, but Iâve been deducing a spatial thesis for a year. Iâve had some results recently. The spatial magic spell is one of them."
Milda followed Link. Hearing this, she was shocked. "So you created the spell yourself?"
In the field of magic, improving spells and acquiring super spell techniques was already very difficult. Creating spells was even harder. If he was able to create an obscure spatial magic spell, it was a bit frightening.
This meant he had a shocking amount of magical insight. This man had surpassed countless Magicians!
Milda was forced to admit that this young man truly had a special characteristic. "Can I see your thesis?" She was curious about the thesis Link was deducing.
"Now?" Link glanced at the stable in the near distance. "Iâm preparing to return to my territory. Now might not be the time."
"Oh..." Milda glanced at the stable as well. She wanted to use her status as a princess to make Link stay here longer. However, she remembered that this wasnât the Isle of Dawn and Link wasnât her citizen. If she used her status but Link ignored her, she would be embarrassed.
Thinking more, Milda said, "Wait for half an hour, alright?"
"Fine." Link nodded. Half an hour was not long.
Milda lifted her skirt and jogged back. After around twenty minutes, she returned. There were two High Elf Magicians; one of them was Morrowson.
Running back and forth, Mildaâs face was even redder now and sweat beaded on her forehead. Panting, she said, "Letâs go. Iâm returning to the Isle of Dawn. I heard that thereâs a port on your territory, so Iâll just go from there."
At the moment, she was so beautiful that Link had to lower his eyes. He nodded. "Iâm honored."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
The two High Elf Magicians, Milda, and Link arrived at the stable where Link found a large carriage. There was a small table inside. It was usually up against the wall and could be flipped down when needed.
After the four settled in, Milda flipped the table down and reached out her slender hands at Link. "Whereâs your thesis? Show me." Worried that Link would be unwilling, she added, "I wonât read it for free. I heard from your dean that you want to repair your magic puppet. I have The Heart of a Puppet written by a Level-9 Master Magician. How about we trade?"
As she spoke, she pulled the book out. Link flipped through it and was captivated.
Earlier, he had read the magic puppet material Vance gave him when he had time and was mostly done with it all. There were only some details he needed to purify. This book before him explored an entirely different train of thought. He only looked at a few pages, but Link could already sense the authorâs unique intelligence.
"This is a very good book," Link praised. He took out the spatial thesis from his dimensional storage gear.
The thesis was no longer the few pages it once was. Now, it was at least one hundred sheets of intuitive breakthroughs, most of it containing Linkâs own symbols, markings, and various changes. It was extremely complicated, but it was Linkâs simplified version. If he wanted to write each deduction step in detail, it would probably be 300 pages.
Of course, Link would never do that. He had already written the critical steps. Those who could understand would naturally understand. Those who couldnât...probably had no talent for spatial magic to begin with.
After handing over the thesis, Link started focusing on The Heart of the Puppet. Milda opened the thesis and started reading with her two Magicians.
The carriage fell silent. The only sounds were the clacking of hooves and wheels.
After around half an hour, Link had completely immersed himself in the wisdom of The Heart of the Puppet. The three High Elves, however, had knitted brows and painful expressions. They seemed to be enduring the worldâs cruelest torture.
The Magician whose name Link didnât know had already given up. He started looking at the scenery outside the window. Compared to the obscure and incomprehensible thesis, the scenery was much more enjoyable. At least his head wouldnât burst.
Milda and Morrowson were still at it. Using the symbol index Link had made, they studied the thesis bit by bit.
It was pretty simple in the beginning. They felt comfortable, but this easiness only lasted around ten minutes. Ten minutes later, the content had entered a purely rational territory. What did that mean? It meant that it was logical, but many conclusions were completely opposite of the common knowledge that one received by perceiving the world. (See the Theory of Relativity.)
As Level-7 Magicians, Milda and Morrowson could understand purely rational theories. But there were so many changes and Mana equationsâhow could someone deduce this?
The logic in this was incomprehensible!
After struggling for half an hour, Milda gave up. As a Level-7 Magician, she could sense the deep wisdom in this thesis, but it made her head hurt. She felt like she would die if she kept reading.
She checked her progress; sheâd only read a portion, around twenty pages. There was still a lot more left, but Milda did not have the courage to look.
Only Morrowson was still persevering. He had been humiliated by Link once and was still upset over it.
He thought, Itâs just spatial magic, isnât it? The thesis is right here, and weâre all Magicians. You can write a thesis; youâre skilled. I canât but does that mean I canât read it?
With this supporting him, he read...one page more than Princess Milda.
That single page took him one hour before he could kind of understand it. Halfway through, the thesis had taken some kind of drug and suddenly became extremely obscure.
"Mr. Link, how did you deduce this Mana equation? I donât think itâs right," Morrowson said, pointing at an equation.
Link did not reply. He was focused on the book in his hand.
"Mr. Link? Mr. Link?" Morrowson called.
"Ah, whatâs wrong?"
"I asked if thereâs a mistake here," Morrowson said, pointing at the equation. Beside him, Princess Milda glanced in curiosity. She hoped Morrowson had found a flaw so they wouldnât be completely defeated.
Link glanced at the equation and asked in confusion, "Where?"
How could it be wrong? If it was wrong, how could he use the inaccurate result and perform the spatial magic?
"Look here...here...the change is illogical. Doing this will cause turbulence in the Mana," Morrowson said decisively.
Link took another glance and pointed at the parameters. "Youâve underestimated them."
"Uh...oh!" Morrowson hit his forehead. It suddenly made sense and his face reddened. He had misunderstood the writing; it was totally embarrassing.
Link ignored him and went back to his book.
This made Morrowson feel slightly better. Gritting his teeth, he continued reading. After another half hour, it felt like his head was splitting. He was going to break down. Looking up, he saw that Link was still immersed in the magic puppet book.
He whispered to the princess, "Your Highness, the thesis is getting harder and harder. I canât finish it."
Milda also snuck a glance at Link. Seeing that he wasnât paying attention, she whispered, "Shh, donât say it aloud. Itâs embarrassing. You two, use the magic image and make a copy. Iâll bring it back to the Isle of Dawn."
This thesis was valuable; that much was obvious. They just didnât have the talent to understand it.
"Okay." The two High Elves got to work on copying the thesis.
It was around 150 miles from the East Cove Magic Academy to the Scorched Ridge of the Ferde Wilderness. The carriage was quite fast as well. Even at a slow pace, it could travel thirty miles in one hour. After four hours, the Scorched Ridge was in the near distance.
Here, Link had finished The Heart of the Puppet. He sighed in satisfaction. "Such a good book. There are some flaws, but it doesnât affect the wisdom contained."
Mildaâs beautiful lilac eyes widened. "You finished it?"
"Mostly. There are some specifics that I must look into with detail when I get back."
Hearing this, the two High Elf Magicians stared at each other and then gaped at Link as if he were a strange beast.
The Heart of the Puppet was written by a renowned High Elf Master Magician. He was Level-9, and this book was infamous for being obscure in the Isle of Dawn. Most Magicians had to read it with a mindset of going on an arduous journey. They needed at least half a year to get a basic idea.
Now, this human Magician had only spent four hours reading it. It was frightening.
Milda was reading this book too, but she struggled with it. Seeing how relaxed Link was, she was in disbelief. Taking the book, she pointed at a Mana equation and asked, "What do you use this isometric Mana equation for?"
"To manage the magic puppetâs intelligence," Link answered matter-of-factly. Then he said, "Actually, it has a small error. Magic puppet intelligence created with this equation will occasionally have locked logic. I think if you change it like this, it might be useful, but this is just a thought for now..."
Link began talking happily while the three High Elves listened in confusion. Milda could understand some of it. From what she comprehended, Link was right.
"Okay, spatial Magicians are all monsters!" Milda closed the book. She completely acknowledged Linkâs magic talent now.
Morrowson felt the same. Clutching his head, he asked painfully, "Mr. Link, what equation did you get the spatial magic from?"
Link shrugged. "To be honest, my spell involved all the results from the last twenty pages. If youâre interested, I can point them out..."
Morrowson quickly stopped him. "Thanks, but no thanks. Iâll take my time, really."
He had given up deep down. If the first half was this hard, he felt a migraine coming just from imagining what the results of the last twenty pages were like. He would have to apply the difficult theories to the spells and use it with ease too.
Iâll just continue learning my elemental magic then. I never want to touch spatial stuff again in my life! So what if I embarrassed myself in the East Cove Magic Academy? Itâs better than killing myself over this.
At this time, the carriage arrived at the Scorched Ridge. After a week of absence, there were many changes.
The surrounding stone lands had been plowed into the soil, people had already started planting crops, and there was more foliage on the barren earth. The plowed soil was very fertile, and weeds and saplings all thrived.
There were more residents in the surrounding area as well. Crude houses had appeared, including cabins and tents made of hide. At a glance, it seemed like a small town.
In the distance, the foundation of the Mage Tower had been established. Dozens of Magicians and workers bustled around it. Everything was prospering.
Milda and the High Elves also saw the Mage Tower. Milda mused and said, "You donât seem to have enough workers. Morrowson, Alar, you two stay here and help."
Since it was the princessâs order, the two High Elves nodded.
Link needed this too, and he thanked her profusely. Looking up at the sky, he realized night was falling. He said, "Your Highness, it is getting late. Since weâve arrived at my village, why donât you rest for the night and set off tomorrow?"
Milda naturally agreed.
The carriage rode into the Scorched Ridge and stopped before the Administrative Building. When they got off, Joshua, the clerk, welcomed them. He said to Link, "Lord, youâre finally back. Thereâs a magic letter for you."
Joshua handed a cowhide envelope to Link. Glancing at it, Linkâs brows knitted because there was a dark rune on it. A dark aura permeated it.
Who would send a letter like this to him? Vance? No, that old guy would never do something so unreliable because it would give Link trouble. Being involved with dark magic would be troublesome for him.
While he was still figuring it out, Milda had also descended from the carriage. Her gaze was attracted by the letter.
"Thereâs a problem with this letter," Milda said discreetly, waiting for Linkâs explanation.
It was not just Milda. Morrowson and Alar also looked at Link with instinctive suspicion.