Chapter 90 (2/2)

The Magician’s robe on her body hugged her waist line snugly and she seemed to have spent a great deal of time and effort on her exquisite hairstyle. Finally, there was that affected curiosity she put on when she’s around Eliard. Considering how fast she was able to get familiar with Eliard, it seemed she must’ve understood Eliard’s obsessive devotion to magic learning and used it to her advantage. Her only fault was that she was still quite young, so her inexperience had made her acts obvious to Link’s scrutinizing eyes. Link thought this innocent-looking girl was not to be underestimated.

Elena, Elena… What a familiar name. Link couldn’t quite put a finger on where he’d heard that name before, though he felt it was uncannily familiar.

Then, Eliard turned to Link, wordlessly asking for his permission before he introduced Link to everyone in the hall, to which Link nodded in assent. He had no need to hide his identity here.

“Everyone,” Eliard began. “This is Link, the magic scroll genius from Bale’s Mage Tower. You’ve all heard about him, haven’t you?”

“Oh…!” Before Eliard could finish his sentence, gasps echoed through the hall. The apprentices all turned their eyes to Link. They examined Link up and down, eager to find out what a genius looked like.

The apprentices were soon disappointed, though. Because of the greatly improved living conditions in the academy, Link had actually gained some weight and grown slightly taller too, but that did nothing to improve his terribly plain and unremarkable appearance.

“I wouldn’t know him from Adam,” said one apprentice in a deflated tone.

“He’s got a very weak aura,” said another, “Honestly, I’m not sure how his Mana could sustain him through the process of preparing 15 magic scrolls.”

“I guess the rumors were exaggerated,” one of them concluded.

“No, you’re all wrong! Eliard is a true genius, so his friend must be great as well!”

That was Elena. She managed to refute the previous remarks while simultaneously flattering Eliard without offending Link.

With all the clamoring voices that erupted after that, Eliard was getting irritated. He thought they were all too tactless and wanted to say a few words in Link’s defense.

“Eliard, I don’t have much time, let’s go,” said Link before Eliard could say anything. Link had actually snuck out of the Mage Tower and only had two hours before he must go back.

“Right, follow me.” Eliard walked towards the stairs and Link followed him closely behind. No one else was around once they reached the second floor.

“Tell me about Elena. You both seem very intimate with each other. So you’ve found yourself a lover, huh?” joked Link.

“What are you talking about? I never thought of her that way,” replied Eliard, with a wry smile on his face, “But Elena is a nice girl, she’s helped me a lot, so I…well…”

“Fine, I get it,” said Link, nodding his head. It seemed that Elena really was a sly fox who had identified Eliard’s weakness. Shrewdness in a woman wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it depended on how she used that strength. Link wasn’t sure what was going on exactly between Eliard and Elena, so he thought it best to stay away and not to meddle.

The two finally reached the third floor where the Elemental Pool was.

The role of an Element Pool was to control the scale and limit the power of magic spells. When magic spells were cast within the zone of the Elemental Pool, even high-level spells would have the power equivalent to that of Level-0 spells.

This allowed the Magicians to conduct high-energy experiments without having to worry about causing dangerous accidents.

There were three Elemental Pools in Herrera’s Mage Tower. The main pool could contain Level-5 magic spells and below, while the other two could contain magic spells that were Level-3 and below. One of the smaller Elemental Pools was open to the apprentices and there was time allotted each week when the apprentices could use it for free. Eliard held the key to this Elemental Pool.

Eliard had 20 hours of free Elemental Pool usage per week. He never used up all the time himself, so Link borrowed his allotted time to conduct his experiment here.

The experiment Link had in mind today was a relatively simple one. He’d only used the Elemental Pool just to be extra cautious, so in the end Link only spent half an hour in there.

Half an hour later, Link’s newly-modified defensive spell was fully developed.

The new spell was drastically different from the original Guarding Barrier. After casting the spell, Link’s clothes were no longer covered in a glass-like film but was shrouded in a nebulous light instead. The light extended about three feet away from his body. The elemental barrier mingled within the light and when seen from a distance, it had an appearance of a fuzzy white cotton ball.

I’ll call it Edelweiss, then, thought Link.

Edelweiss

Level-3 Elite Defensive Spell

Mana Consumption: 25 points.

Spellcasting Time: 0.9 seconds

Effects: Effectively resists both physical and magic spell attacks.

(Note: This is Link’s Edelweiss.)

When he was done testing out the new spell, a rather familiar notification popped up, containing two messages:

Player Link successfully created a new Level-2 Supreme Magical Skill. 10 Omni Points rewarded.

The other one was an upgrade mission.

Player has successfully mastered a Level-3 spell and advanced to Level-3. 40 Omni Points rewarded.

Level-4 Upgrade Mission Activated.

Mission Details: Master a Level-4 spell and become a Level-4 Magician.

Mission Rewards: 70 Omni Points

Link’s total Omni Points was now at 125 points and there were less than 20 days left before the effects of Ailing Mana would disappear.

By that time, his Maximum Mana would be 1480 points, which meant he could then use the Level-4 Flame Blast spell again. Plus, he even had a Level-5 Universal Crystal now, so he would no doubt experience an exponential leap in his strength soon!

Link was very much looking forward to this.

After leaving the Elemental Pool, Link bid farewell to Eliard and immediately headed back to Bale’s Mage Tower. As soon as he opened the front door, Warwick was already there waiting for him.

“Link, Derek wants to see you,” said Warwick.

Now’s my chance! The moment that Link anticipated had arrived.