Chapter 30 (2/2)

By this point, Link knew all about Eliard’s circumstances from the conversations they’d shared. He strode up and placed a gold coin on the counter. “Two of your best rooms, please and thank you.”

Turning to Eliard, he casually said, “Don’t argue. Just take it as my repaying you for the drinks from last time.”

He knew that Eliard was in a tight spot financially. And the reason they had come to the inn, despite Eliard having expressed his preference to travel through the night, was that Link hadn’t slept properly in almost two days.

The so-called ‘returning of money’ was so as not to humiliate Eliard.

Eliard was taken aback for a moment. Then, he understood. Gratitude filled his heart as he nodded. Though he remained silent, he would remember the favor in the future.

The years he had spent wandering had taught him the cold and evil things of this world. Pure and good intentions like Link’s were hard to come by, and he remembered each and every one, hoping that he would be able to repay them someday.

The two of them had their dinner in the inn’s hall. Link paid the bill before both of them retired to their rooms.

Back in his room, Link went to bed after washing up. But he tossed and turned and was unable to fall asleep. He decided to look through the items in the pendant Celine had given him.

The pendant was too precious, too valuable for Link to display it to everyone. He could only look at in private.

His consciousness, entering the pendant, found itself within a murky gray place, around 30 feet tall and 30 feet wide where items floated around in piles.

The first thing he saw was a stack of magic books, up to 64 of them. The Flemmings Magic Academy’s most valuable books were all there.

Then came some low-level potions. There weren’t many, only seven or eight bottles, all which he had gotten from the Alchemy Tower. The only other things left in the murky space was a pile of gold coins. He counted 1315 of them. Celine had left him all the gold.

Though they’d only been apart for less than a day, Link already missed her very much.

I wonder if she’s managed to get rid of the demons from the Deep? Is she well now? Questions filled Link’s head as he felt the new sensation of longing and worry for the first time.

I’m still too weak! Link sighed. Even if he was by her side, he would only be a burden to her.

He rubbed the pendant with one hand as he clasped the feathers that he had hidden next to his chest. It was comforting—it made him feel like Celine was right there beside him.

He was extremely tired and fell asleep after half an hour. When he opened his eyes, he found that the sky was still pitch black. Link pulled out his pocket watch. It was two in the morning. He’d slept for around six hours.

But those six hours made him feel completely refreshed. He felt the warmth return to his fingertips as if he were in a hot spring. It was comforting, and his mind was clearer and sharper than ever, no longer dazed as it had been in sleep before.

He could analyze whatever problems popped up in his mind quickly and systematically. The questions his body’s original owner had regarding magic were solved with little thought paid to them.

Is this what I’m like at my peak? If I were to take an IQ examination, the original Link would probably get a maximum of 90 points. I would probably have gotten about 130 as I was back on Earth, just a little better than average. But now, I’d definitely get more than 250…No, 260. Whatever. But this mind is invincible!

It’d be a waste if such a sharp mind wasn’t put to good use!

Link pulled out a magic book from the pendant. It was called “Spell Structure”. He flipped to the index. It listed the common Level-0 Spells: Earth Spike, Fireball, Wind Blade, Grease, Lesser Invisibility. The book explained each in detail.

It was just what Link needed.

“As the idiom goes, ‘an hour in the morning is worth two in the evening’. I’ll start my studies of magic now!”

Putting his nose in the book, he began to read diligently.