The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

Translator: Seven

The size of the last room was very small compared to the ones before.

On the left was a desk and chair and on the right was some shabby looking storage boxes.

If the rooms that he had seen so far were storage rooms, then this room seemed more like a room that someone lived in.

First Frey went to the boxes.

There were two of them, when Frey opened the first box, he found the item that he had been looking for.

Inside was a small bottle filled with a milk like substance.

Looking at it, Frey couldn’t help but say it’s name.

“Frozen River.”

It was a liquid that could only be found in the Wailing Cavern out of human reach and formed at the rate of one drop every thousand years.

Drinking just one drop would activate all the veins in the body and increase the maximum volume and sensitivity to mana explosively.

In addition, the size of one’s mana room would also increase by several times, if the original ‘Frey’ had taken a single drop then he would be able to directly reach the 4 star level in one leap.

Frozen River was one of the treasures that no one truly knew whether it actually existed or not.

It was also the thing that Frey needed to reach 7 star as quickly as he wanted.

He carefully put the bottle away in his bag. This was the only thing in the first box.

He opened the second box on the right of it.

What he found there was a pair of earrings, a blood red gem and a blue bracelet.

“…”

Frey closed his eyes.

On the way here, Frey had seen numerous magic items. These magic items were ones that wizards would exchange for even at the cost of their lives.

However, while looking at them, Frey had no reactions at all.

But now it was different.

The earrings in front of him now, were his own.

“Typhoon Earrings.”

It helped the mind concentrate smoothly and also contained barrier magic.

It was not an amazing item even though it was in the last room.

In the beginning Frey had made them just to pass time, but he had given them to Schweiser after he had said that he liked them for some reason. 𝗳𝘳𝐞e𝙬𝙚𝚋𝗻𝚘𝚟𝗲l.𝑐𝑜ｍ

Nevertheless, Frey lifted the earrings out of the box like they were a treasure.

‘I can’t believe you left this in the last room.’

Frey smiled and then looked at the bracelet.

This was something that transcended all of the magic items that he had seen so far.

“The Great Sage’s Staff.”

Although it was in the form of a bracelet right now, it was the staff that Schweiser loved dearly.

It was also his symbol.

It made your mana purer and concentrated it to the maximum, increasing your magic power by several times.

It also had the effect of storing 5 spells that could be used in emergency situations.

Frey didn’t use magic items, but now he decided to change his mind.

Because above all else, the item belonged to Schweiser so he wanted to use it.

Frey immediately wore the earring and put the bracelet on.

Then he picked up the red gem.

‘This…is a Golem’s core…’

He didn’t quite understand.

Schweiser was an excellent wizard but he also had a habit of creating dolls.

Just by looking at how much mana was in the core, he could tell just how much work had been put into it.

Finally, he looked at the desk.

It was warm as if someone had used it just moments ago. In fact there was a candle on that looked like it had just been lit.

What he found on the desk was a book.

Was it a diary?

He opened it and read it.

[Lucas is gone.]

This was just the first phrase, but Frey’s chest felt heavy.

The elegant handwriting that he was used to was completely disheveled, as if the writer could not control their emotions.

[It’s obviously the work of the Lord. No one else could make him disappear without leaving a trace.]

His judgement had been correct.

It was the Lord that Schweiser mentioned that had sent Lucas into the Abyss.

[Lucas was the peacemaker. It was a role only he could play and a job than no one else could take over. I tried to bear his burden, but there’s not a moment that I don’t feel that it is not enough. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Lucas, it’s impossible for me.] (Note: peacemaker as in the one keeping the group together and happy)

The words in the book ended there.

No, there seemed to be one last paragraph.

[If anyone sees this, please complete Anastasia. The clues are there…in my greatest masterpiece…Anastasia.]

Frey took out the gem again.

When he looked at it carefully, he could see letters engrave on the gem.

They formed a word.

[Anastasia]

* * *

“I see. So this is a golem created by Schweiser.”

Maybe he made it after he disappeared.

Frey was curious.

From what he could remember, Schweiser had reached the pinnacle of puppeteering.

He also loved every golem he made.

But he had never expressed such confidence in any of his golems.

‘A golem that Schweiser was able to call his masterpiece.’

How much power would it have?

“…”

Frey shook his head and put the Golem core back in his bag.

It was basically the nucleus. It was the most essential part, but it still wasn’t enough to create a Golem.

He knew almost nothing about making golems. The Golems that he had made while bored had been so disastrous that it drove Schweiser crazy.

Schweiser had even burst out laughing.

‘Never try to make a Golem again!’

He remembered that guy laughing so hard that he shed tears until he was hit in the face by a fireball.

Anyway, he didn’t have any ingredients and he didn’t know how to do it. So he would need to look for a talented puppeteer to make it for him later on.

‘If I make that Golem then I’ll have a clear picture of how things went after I disappeared.’

The information in the book was too sparse.

It was closer to Schweiser whining about his situation at the time.

Most of the information that Schweiser had left was probably with Anastasia.

Frey glanced around the room.

There was one more door which seemed to be the exit.

He looked around the room one more time to ensure that he had taken everything he needed.

Frey hesitated for a moment before putting the book and pen on the desk into his bag and leaving.

Krrrr…

Immediately after Frey left the room, the door closed.

Chang.

Defensive Magic also appeared to protect the room, this meant that one could not reenter the room after leaving it.

Of course, this didn’t matter because he’d gotten what he wanted anyway.

Frey walked through a dark cave and when he reached a few steps from the exit, he stopped, his expression becoming hard.

“…”

He looked back.

The cave he was in was a dead end so he’d have no choice but to go out.

He was sure that he knew this and was waiting for him outside.

Taking a deep breath, Frey left the cave.

[…]

It was a Drake.

Dozens of times the size of a normal Drake, staring at Frey with its fiery, red eyes.

Every one of its sharp teeth were about the size of Frey himself.

-Drake King.

He was the ruler of the mountains that Frey had not wanted to encounter.

It was not just him either.

As if guarding the king, there were dozens of Drakes hovering nearby.

Frey looked around.

‘This is the worst position.’

It was a sheer cliff, with nowhere for him to step properly.

The opponent was also a monster that could fly and had tough skin that magic would not work very well against.

Frey sighed and opened his mouth.

“Were you waiting for me?”

[…]

The Drake King’s bright eyes just kept staring at Frey.

Frey continued calmly.

“I know you have intelligence. Answer me. Were you waiting for me?”

[Kukuku.]

The Drake King laughed. The Drakes in the surroundings also screeched like they were responding.

[You’re a pretty interesting guy. Yeah, I was waiting for you. I was waiting for the human who entered the mountains of Torkunta without fear.]

The Drake King, Torkunta, let out another laugh.

[You’re here to gain the power that is hidden in this mountain.]

“…you know about the existence of this dungeon.”

[Oh oh. Of course. It has been a thousand years since I’ve ruled over this place. How can I not know even this?]

A thousand years.

Frey frowned.

He had felt it from the moment he saw it, but after hearing those words from the Drake itself, he was sure.

‘It has transcended its race.’

The ridiculous size, the human-like intellect and the long lifespan.

It must have taken a lot.

A mutant that stood out from the moment it was born, with superior intellect compared to others in its race and the luck to eat a few magic herbs or items.

If you were to compare him to an ordinary Drake, then Torkunta’s existence could only be attributed to a bunch of overlapping miracles that were impossible to replicate.

Frey realised it once again.

The monster in front of him was the first one that he had met since his return that had the ability to kill him.

[At first I wondered why humans that weren’t from around had come. I was curious about what they wanted, so I let them have their own way for a while.]

Those who came before Frey were probably looking for the remnants of Schweiser.

[I searched many places before I noticed this mountain. It was pretty easy to notice. I also knew that there was a space hidden inside…]

Torkunta spoke in a slightly offended way.

[But…I couldn’t get in there. I couldn’t even break it.]

Of course this would be the case.

No matter how smart Torkunta was when compared to normal Drakes, there was no way for him to compete with a human Sage Schweiser Straw who had created the dungeon on this mountain.

He wouldn’t have been able to solve this mountain unless a Dragon decided to give him a hand.

[So I waited. I watched what the humans were doing. They either got some kind of weapon from the hidden space or directly got stronger as they came out. From the very cave you just walked out from.]

Torkunta’s eyes curved into half moons.

[Of course since they were human. Majority of them became my prey.]

At that moment a faint hint of displeasure appeared on Torkunta’s face.

It was because he’d remembered a woman who had escaped his grasp.

She had purple hair and an ice cold gaze.

Torkunta kept talking to chase away the humiliating memories.

[It made me very happy. Some of them had weapons that even I couldn’t break. They were annoying to handle so I disposed of them. But what I paid most attention to weren’t the ones who came out with weapons.]

Torkunta let out a low laugh.

[The ones who took elixirs…they smelled so delicious. And as I ate them, I became stronger. From then on I waited for humans like you to come.]

Torkunta looked delighted.

Frey now understood how Torkunta had been able to get such an amazing life span.

‘When he ate the humans who chose to take elixirs, he also ate the elixirs that were in their possession.’

Or he ate the humans who had already consumed them. Either way would have the same result.

Torkunta was fishing humans this way.

He couldn’t go into the dungeon, so he waited for the humans who went into the dungeons and took elixirs then he killed and ate them.

Frey became angry.

His hair almost became white from anger.

This filthy monster was using his best friend’s precious dungeon as bait.

It was a disgrace to Schweiser who treated this dungeon as his own child.

At the same time, it was necessary for him to remain rational right now. He quickly assessed his current situation.

‘My spells can’t kill Torkunta.’

He could not defeat it.

It was just like how a 6 star wizard could never defeat a 7 star wizard.

Even if he used his strongest spells, he would not be able to kill it.

Using the Staff of the Great Sage would not help his situation at all.

‘Damn it.’

Frey tried his best to not show any expressions on his face, but the Torkunta’s presence was very shocking.

From a human perspective, this being had transcendental powers and was not impatient at all.

His cunning matched his age as he was in no hurry for his meal.

Pfft.

[Your eyes are pretty fierce. But that is all you can do. Come…you will be my nourishment.]

Torgunta opened his mouth wide and a lava like flame could be felt climbing up it’s throat.

Frey put his mana into the bracelet.

At that moment the Staff of the Great Mage materialized in his hand and he used one of the stored spells without hesitation.

“Earth Wall.”

Krrrr.

It was a simple spell which raised the ground in front of the caster and created a wall, but Frey was utilizing the terrain.

He used the angle of the sheer cliff to stab towards Torkunta’s neck like a spear.

It was so powerful that it no longer seemed like an Earth Wall.

Kwajik.

But it didn’t work.

The spear like Earth Wall, which should have been stronger than even a steel spear, couldn’t even leave a scratch on Torkunta’s neck.

Now it was Torkunta’s turn and his breath was coming.

Even the cliffs would melt like ice in a desert under his breath. (Note: sounds like someone I know)

Frey leapt into the air and activated flight magic.

Hooook.

Then he felt something hot flow past his back. But Frey did not pay much attention to it.

“Kueeek!”

The Drakes who had been watching from the air all began to swoop down.

Frey bit his lip and began casting spells with both hands.

“Ice Spear. Wind Storm.”

Ice spears appeared in the sky and empowered by the wind storm, flew with incredible power toward the Drakes.

The spears tore apart the Drakes’ thick skin like it was paper.

Frey was able to do triple casting now, but he did not have the time to do so.

‘There’s too many of them.’

Krrrk.

His barrier was scratched. It had been formed from his Typhoon Earrings.

If it wasn’t for the barrier, he would have been forced to cast defensive magic.

He didn’t want to waste time focusing on these little minions.

Unless he did something about Torkunta who was the core, the pack of Drakes would keep attacking him indefinitely.

Frey looked around furiously while killing the drakes that were nearby.

‘Could I cause an explosion within its body? If I coordinate it properly, I should be able to do it somehow. Maybe I should block his sight with fog or smoke…no. A simple flap of his wings would be able to get rid of such small tricks.’

Additionally, even if he was able to cause an internal explosion, he could not deal enough damage to knock it out of the air.

Torkunta was much too big for that.

He needed to escape, but the moment he thought about it, he knew it was impossible for him to get away.

They would never let him get away and he was still not at the stage where he could use the warp spell.

No, even if he could use it, he would still need 10 minutes to activate it.

‘Magic won’t work. Otherwise the other’s he hunted wouldn’t have been eaten. This…’

It was an absolute crisis.

To take Torkunta down, he would need one large powerful spell, not a bunch of small, weak ones.

But at this moment, Frey was unable to use any such magic.

‘If I can’t do it, I’ll need to take the Frozen River…’

But it would take at least a week for the Frozen River to stabilize.

He had come out because he would die if he didn’t get food and water.

‘I don’t have a choice.’

Frey made up his mind. He didn’t know how stable it would be.

If he made a single mistake, his body would be badly damaged, but anything was better than dying here.

With that thought, Frey took out the Frozen River from his bag.

“Kiieeek!”

From the distance, something flew toward them with a screech.

All the Drakes, including Torkunta, turned to focus their gazes on the figure that was coming.

Frey couldn’t help but mutter when he saw the creature’s shape.

“You…”

It was the Phoenix.

The same guy that Frey had healed using his mana was now screeching at Torkunta while exuding heat fueled by extreme rage.