Chapter 48 (1/2)

Chapter 48: An Unprecedented Question!

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

Link returned to the River Cove Inn and tossed a stack of about thirty copper coins in the direction of the inn servant. The servant stared at him in alarm. Link laughed and said, “Three pieces of oatmeal bread with butter and a cup of milk, sent to my room, please.”

He now had 300 gold coins in his pouch and he could afford a nice meal. There was no need to overindulge, though, since his body didn’t need a lot of food to subsist. A small meal would suffice.

“So, you’re rich now, Link?” the inn servant joked.

Link chuckled but explained nothing. He went back up to the attic. While waiting for his food to be served, he took the goatskin papers which contained his thesis from his pendant and then by sheer force of habit checked it for any mistakes.

It turned out that his thesis wasn’t bad at all. What he had written was a basic paper that had omitted nothing essential. The edited parts had smooth flowing logic and elegance; the whole thing even had an ineffable sense of beauty that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Even as the author himself, as Link pored over the thesis a sense of incredulity arose. Did I really write this? Or did the God of Light borrow my hands to do it?

This might be the case, but even so, Link didn’t take it to heart. To compare himself to a supreme being in a higher plane of existence was simply a foolish thing to do.

Not long after, the food was sent to his room. Link savored each bite and he soon felt reinvigorated. Then, he slipped out the new goatskin papers he bought and continued working on this thesis.

His recent exploit in the Cove of Echoes had possibly transformed his brain because when he began to re-write his thesis, Link discovered that he had a torrent of new ideas. Soon after, he was completely immersed in the task.

This time, he had secured enough gold coins and, so, was not interrupted by thoughts of materialistic woes. He freely spent his whole day writing the thesis and working on his spells.

One week later, Link had already improved three Level-0 spells: Earth Spike, Illumination, and Mud Marsh.

After improving these three spells, Link renamed them as: Spiral Spike, Spark, and Sticky Marsh. These three spells only used up one Mana point. The scale of the spells decreased, but their energy was condensed to the level comparable to that of Level-1 spells. When combined with Link’s accuracy, these spells could develop shocking levels of power.

However, after having improved these spells, Link lost all interest in Level-0 spells. Magic of this level was just too simple for him now; it posed absolutely no challenge to him and he now yearned for a more advanced knowledge of magic.

And so, his heart was even more set to get into the East Cove Magic Academy.

What was left was the thesis. Link’s determination was as strong as steel, once he set out to do something, he would make sure that he finished it. So, he continued to work on his paper and in his spare time, he would write letters to Eliard. Lately, the questions he asked Eliard in the letters were becoming more and more complicated.

Link himself did not notice this change. He was unaware that the questions he asked had surpassed the level of a Magician’s Apprentice.

While Link buried himself in the task of writing his thesis, Eliard received Link’s letter. He could only shake his head in bafflement after reading it since out of all the questions Link asked this time he could only understand one. The rest was all an enigma to him.

I give up, I’ll just ask the tutor. Eliard copied the question in the letter on a goatskin paper, then climbed the spiral staircase up the Magic Tower until he reached the big hall on the top floor where his tutor resided.

His tutor, Moira, had a sweet and gentle character, except when in class. The fact that she didn’t like to be disturbed in her spare time was a common knowledge among the students in the Magic Tower. But the rule did not apply to Eliard.

He could find Moira any time he pleased, to ask her anything he didn’t understand or had doubts about. In the beginning, Eliard felt uncomfortable about this, but after Moira’s insistence, he gradually became more at ease about it.

Now, he would go straight to Moira whenever there were any questions. And that was what he was doing now.

When he reached the door, he knocked. “Tutor, may I come in?” he said to the Sonicator on the door.

Just as he had finished his sentence, he heard a soft click sound. The magic runes on the door glowed in a dim light and the door opened automatically.

This indicated that the tutor had given him permission to go inside.

As he pushed the door and walked in, there was another click coming from behind him and the door automatically closed. Eliard was now used to all this.

Behind the room door was a wall, and on the wall, there was a colorful painting. This wall completely blocked the view of the hall behind it. On two sides of the wall were passages that entered the large hall. As Eliard walked in, he found himself in a round hall of about 50 feet in diameter. In the middle there was a luxurious set of furniture and the floor was covered in luscious camel fur carpet. Glass windows surrounded the hall, and the glass of the windows was inlaid with precious crystals.

Rays of light shone in through the windows, making the big hall look spacious and airy. Picturesque views around the East Cove made themselves present through the inlaid crystals. Bookshelves lined the walls, and they were packed with rows and rows of books. In front of one bookshelf sat a lady Magician of around 30 years old, reading a book about magic.

She was Eliard’s tutor, Moira.

Moira was a Level-5 Magician, age 35. She was the academy dean’s proud student and East Cove Magic Academy’s top genius.

She had a head full of lustrous blonde hair and her body emanated a thick aura of magic as if she was emanating light. She was wearing a deep blue Magician’s robe with silver linings and she was comfortably settled down in a chair quietly reading her book. She was calm and relaxed; sunshine was scattered through the crystals, shining a shimmering light on Moira’s delicate features, making her look impalpably elegant.

But Eliard was completely oblivious and unmoved by all this. There was nothing in his mind except magic, and this lady in front of him was just a tutor that he respected.

“Tutor,” he calmly said,