Chapter 6 (1/2)

Chapter 6: The Mission—Or Survival

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

There were two types of Magicians.

The first were Scholar-Magicians. Such individuals had deep understandings of how magic worked. Normally, their spellcasting was excellent, but they were not fighters. Under pressure, they made all types of mistakes.

Unfortunately, the magic tutors of The Lower Magic Academy of Flemmings had all been Scholar-Magicians.

Link saw Grant’s corpse in one of the rooms. It lay on the floor, a deep, bloody hole in the middle of its chest. Grant had obviously been awake when he was murdered.

The floor had been littered with bodies, the air filled with the scent of their blood. Link mentally suppressed the urge to puke. What surprised him was that even though Celine’s face was still pale, it had regained most of its normal composure.

It seemed that the maiden’s soul and spirit were much stronger than her delicate appearance suggested.

Seeing a magic wand on the ground, Link picked it up. He passed it to Celine. “Take it.”

Celine nodded. Taking the wand, she took a deep breath and tried to cast a Fireball. She took just over a second to do it.

“Not bad,” Link praised her. It was an excellent attempt for the average Magician’s Apprentice.

“Far behind you.” Celine smiled faintly, looking much more at ease than before.

The two of them walked down the stairs. In the hall of the first floor, they saw Madame Fairfax’s corpse. She lay there with her eyes wide open, an arrow lodged in her chest.

Sighing to himself, Link walked past the old lady’s corpse and headed out of the Apprentice’s Dorm.

Just as he was about to reach the exit, some eye-catching, glowing text appeared in his mind.

Part Two of Mission: Stop The Signal

Mission Details: Destroy the Portal Tower of the Magic Academy. Stop the Dark Elves from using the Portal Tower to contact the Dark Elf Army outside the city.

Mission Reward: 20 Omni Points

Seeing it, Link laughed bitterly inside. A reward of 20 Omni Points. It was very high, but he wanted to escape via the Portal Tower. If he destroyed it, how would he escape?

Never mind, he thought. I’ll deal with it when the time comes. Let’s get to the Portal Tower first. As for the mission, I’ll just accept it for now. I’ll forfeit if the circumstances don’t allow it.

Omni Points were important, but his life was much more so. He had to act wisely.

After considering it thoroughly, Link chose to accept the mission for now.

Then, he trudged on with Celine.

The sounds of skirmishes from outside the academy had died down. The magic tutors were not good at battle techniques. Already at a disadvantage, their small numbers and being taken by surprise made them no match for the well-trained Dark Elf Assassins.

At the exit of the Apprentice’s Dorm, Link tapped Celine and himself with his magic wand. He cast the Spell of Lesser Invincibility twice.

Lesser Invincibility

Level-0 spell

Effect: Gathers a shroud of darkness around the bearer. Is very effective at concealment in the dark. User must beware of bright lights.

This was the most basic spell of invincibility, as it was unable to conceal the sound of footsteps and scents. Bright lights and hunting dogs easily rendered it ineffective. But deep in the night, it would be enough.

“Follow me closely.”

Link stepped into the darkness first, heading towards the direction of the Portal Tower. Celine followed closely behind him.

Not far from the Apprentice’s Dorm was the Magic Academy’s Starry Gardens. Flowers from all seasons were in full bloom under the nourishment of Mana. Peonies, roses, lilies, and tulips—the garden had every flower one could think of. It was beautiful. But the beauty of the scenery was destroyed by a corpse sprawled in the shrubs.

“It’s Mr. Glasse,” Celine said softly.

Mr. Glasse, a Level-3 Illusionist, skilled at transmutation magic and virtually harmless in battle. An arrow was buried deep in his back.

Evidently, his illusions hadn’t managed to fool the Dark Elves.

Link had prepared himself for this. If no unexpected changes had occurred, he knew that they would see many of his magic tutors’ bodies lying ahead of them.

And this was just the prelude to the massacre of Gladstone City.

As he thought, soon after, they came across the body of the young and beautiful lady teacher Vera. She wore only a thin gauze nightdress, most likely having escaped from her room hastily after hearing the commotion. But the Dark Elves had caught up to her.

The Dark Elves didn’t appreciate her beauty. Her smooth, flat belly had a stab wound in it. Her body lay twisted on the ground. She was still alive and breathing, blood gushing out of the wound in her abdomen. Her nightdress soaked up the blood. It looked no different from a bewitching, bloody-red rose at first sight.

As if hearing them, her beautiful eyes sought the source of the noise, glowing strangely with a strong will to live.

She was still young, less than 30 years old. With her strong magical talents, she was already a Level-2 Conjurer. Her future held much promise, and her beauty was well-known throughout the academy.

She didn’t want to die; her life had only just begun!

But her injury was fatal. No one could save her. Link was helpless.

Seeing corpses was one thing, but seeing someone on the brink of death was completely different—especially since that someone was a beloved teacher, struggling to live. It was too much.

Link’s pupils constricted. The hand holding Celine’s tightened.

In that moment, it suddenly struck him that he could never return to Earth. In the future, he would be just one amongst the countless creatures of the World of Firuman, struggling to survive in the Darkness.

I’m not a game player just watching from the sidelines anymore. I’m one of them. He’d really been disadvantaged by the God of Light!