Advent of the Archmage

Kanorse was careful but dared to take risks to. He was a natural leader. Faced with this stranger with weird clothing and odd features, he didn’t lose his temper despite the man’s words. A few seconds later, Kanorse said, “The Ferde lord is busy. I’m afraid he doesn’t have time to see you.”

“I know.” The person nodded and smiled. “He’s busy making a magic arm for you.”

This made Kanorse furrow his brows. Not many knew what Link was doing. It was practically a secret. Thus, it put him on edge that a stranger said it like that.

“Who are you?!” Kanorse raised his voice. The Warriors beside him unsheathed their swords. If this mysterious guy answered incorrectly, they would behead him immediately.

The army wasn’t a place for jokes.

This guy probably knew he was pushing it. Wiping away his smile, he said seriously, “I am Magician Dylosen from the Aragu Empire. As for what I know… It isn’t hard for a Legendary Magician to find out these things.”

When the man reported his background, the Warriors were all confused, especially at the word Aragu. However, Kanorse knew confidential matters. Heart jumping, he immediately ordered, “Leave us!”

“General, what about your safety?” One Warrior was worried.

Kanorse looked very clear headed. “Dylosen is a guest and means no harm. Plus, even if he did, you wouldn’t be able to stop him.”

“Very wise,” Dylosen praised. The belittlement in his eyes faded a bit.

When the soldiers all left and only Kanorse and Dylosen were left, Kanorse finally said, “Master Link is very busy. As a fellow Magician, you should know that Magicians hate being disturbed the most when they’re fully focused on something.”

Dylosen smiled. “You’re right. That’s why I chose to come now.”

“What do you mean?” This raised alarms in Kanorse’s mind. He interpreted it as the other coming to take advantage of loopholes. Then he felt a commotion from the Mage Tower’s direction. Link seemed to have come out.

Dylosen seemed to know everything. “Congratulations, young general.” He smiled. “Your arm is here.”

Less than ten seconds after he spoke, Link appeared at the entrance. He looked as he always did. His hair was tied carelessly, he wore a dark silver battle robe, and a magic sword that looked normal but glowed faintly hung at his waist.

Link didn’t come alone. Eliard and Princess Annie followed him. After entering, Link froze when he saw Dylosen, but joy flashed past his eyes afterward.

However, he ignored this foreign Magician for now. He tossed up two thumb-sized metallic balls. They floated and flew to either side of Kanorse. At the same time, Link advised, “General, it may hurt, but don’t fight back. Try not to move your body.”

Kanorse obviously trusted Link. Hearing this, he sat in his chair without moving. The two balls flew to where his arm had been cut off and sped up, digging into the damaged flesh.

It was obviously very painful, but Kanorse just grunted and didn’t move. After the spheres entered him, they expanded, grew, and transformed. The process was impossibly precise. After a while, two steel-gray arms actually grew out of Kanorse’s shoulder. They were the exact size of Kanorse’s original arms.

“Try moving them,” Link said.

Kanorse tried moving his arms, but he discovered that he couldn’t control them. He could only feel that his shoulder was cold. “I can’t control it.”

“No, your finger just twitched. It means that it succeeded,” Link said, smiling.

“Succeeded? So?” Kanorse smiled bitterly. This was only a bit better than before. At least he didn’t look as pathetic anymore.

Smiling without speaking, Link looked to the foreign Magician.

Dylosen had been watching from aside. Now, he’d mostly figured it out. When Link looked over, he understood and explained, “General, the most powerful part about these arms is that it will grow according to your wishes. You can only control it a bit because it hasn’t been long enough. If you don’t give up and keep using them, they’ll become stronger and more agile. They might even become stronger than your original arms!”

Kanorse understood now, but he still didn’t dare believe it. He looked to Link for confirmation.

Link nodded. “Indeed. If you work hard, they will completely belong to you.”

He didn’t create prosthetics that could be used immediately because those were too stiff and would greatly restrict Kanorse’s room for improvement. These arms now used magic knowledge ten times more advanced than the other kind. He’d put in 100 times more effort too and it paid off. The effect was shockingly perfect.

Just as Dylosen said, the most critical thing was that it would grow like a flesh arm. It could keep strengthening and adjust to Kanorse’s needs.

Kanorse laughed heartily. “I only need to work hard. That’s easy!” To him, having arms again was the same as being reborn. Standing up from his chair, he bowed deeply to Link. “Thank you, master.”

Link accepted the gratitude and said, “You deserve it and it was my duty… Alright. General, shouldn’t you introduce this gentleman?”

He could feel deep and obscure Mana surge within the Magician. He was Level-14 and was definitely a powerful figure.

Kanorse nodded. “His name is Dylosen. He says he’s from Aragu.”

“Oh.” Link grew more excited. If he was from Aragu, he must be related to the Fire Sect of the Aragu Realm. Judging from his attitude, he wasn’t a foe.

There was nothing better than finding a powerful ally right now.

By now, the disdain in Dylosen’s eyes was gone. He smiled. “I heard countless stories about you along the way. I thought I had an idea about your magic, but seeing those arms, I realized I was wrong. Your accomplishments in enchantments, at least, are far beyond my imagination.”

Link already viewed this Magician as a future ally. Since he was praising him, Link returned the gesture. “We all have our specialties. For example, I don’t understand your wand at all. It must be a masterpiece.”

“Oh no, no, no. Haha.” Dylosen had made this wand himself and it was his proudest work. Link’s words hit his sweet spot.

The exchange made the atmosphere very comfortable.

Having gotten new arms, Kanorse held hope for the future again and was in a great mood. “Your Highness,” he said to Princess Annie, “The masters have things to discuss. I don’t understand magic, so how about we go patrol the fortress?”

Annie had no objections. She smiled and nodded.

After they left, only the three Legendary Magicians remained.

Link composed himself and cast a soundproof barrier. Then he asked, “Did the Aragu Empire run into trouble?”

Dylosen had learned about Link and knew some things about Link’s past with Milda, Holy Maiden of the Fire Sect. When Link asked this, he realized that Link already knew the basic situation of Aragu. Skipping the nonsense, he said, “It isn’t trouble. It’s that we’re at the last juncture between life and death!”

Link was shocked. “It’s that bad? What about the Snow Mountain Archmage?”

“He is old. Now, he is already 596 years old and can only live around 20 to 50 more years. Even if we use a Secret spell, it can only be pushed to ten years. He can’t use spells easily either. If he dies, the Aragu Empire will collapse. By then…” Speaking of Aragu’s situation, Dylosen’s expression was serious.

“Why doesn’t the Snow Mountain Archmage become a god?” Link asked.

Dylosen chuckled bitterly. “It’s not that easy. The Fire Archmage became a god because he received the Divine Fragment from an ancient fire god when he was young and strong. Throughout history, one has always needed an outside force to become a god. No Archmage has done it alone. No one.”

From the side, Eliard said, “Since the Fire Archmage can’t be defeated, it’s useless to ask us for help too.”

Archmages were at Level-19 and this was an Archmage with a Divine Fragment. That made him a demi-god. Going against someone like that was suicide.

“It’s obviously impossible with only you, but Firuman has what we need. To be honest…” Dylosen looked at Link, hesitating whether he should speak or not. In the end, he said it. “Firuman is a very old realm and had an era of gods in the ancient times. Countless gods had died here. There are obviously many Divine Fragments too. If we find one and give it to the Snow Mountain Archmage, we will turn the tides.”

“So you have a target?” Link asked directly.

“There’s a Shadow Stalker in the South,” Dylosen answered simply.

“Shadow Stalker Morpheus is Level-19 and a demi-godlike figure. What did you prepare? How do we benefit?” Link was more straightforward.

“I have Level-19 attack equipment from the Snow Mountain Archmage. If you help me defeat the Shadow Stalker and get the fragment, the Snow Mountain Archmage will do his best to stop the realms from fusing. You will also receive three pieces of Level-19 magic equipment.”

The reward was hearty. Link and Eliard met eyes. Eliard nodded in agreement, but Link still had doubts. “One last question. Why would the Snow Mountain Archmage give such an important mission to a Level-14 Magician?”

“Ha.” Dylosen chuckled wryly. “Because I’m the only one who was fortunate enough to escape from the Fire Archmage and his Magicians. Those stronger than me were all killed. I must thank them for attracting all the attention.”

Looking at the subtle marks on Dylosen’s wand, Link decided to believe this explanation. “Alright. Let’s sign the contract.”

He would trust Dylosen now. As for the truth, it would naturally be exposed while they worked together.