Chapter 98 (1/2)

Chapter 98: The Turning Point of a Girl’s Fate (Part 1)

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

That day, he stretched out his hand and pulled me out of the swamps of my fate – Frost Queen Rylai Gassling.

At the Flamingo Band of Mercenary’s headquarters.

…

Link was naturally unaware that he was dragged into someone’s secret schemes. In this cabin, he was surrounded by loyal followers who all respected him and even revered him, so he let his guard down completely here.

Upon noticing that the beautiful girl was so frightened that she couldn’t move a muscle, Link used Magician’s Hand to gently take the small wooden bow from her hands and place it on a weapon shelf near him. Then, he took out a short wooden stick that was engraved with a web of silver magic runes.

It was a basic wand and it could enhance the power of spells by about 20%. He had created it from scratch when he first started learning the art of enchantment.

Link then handed the wand to the stunned girl.

“A bow and arrow doesn’t suit you,” he told her, “From today onwards, you’ll learn magic with me.”

The girl was in awe. Her bright eyes suddenly widened to the size of saucers; she couldn’t believe what she just heard.

Rylai stared at the wand that Link handed her but didn’t dare stretch her hand out to reach it.

“My lord, is it true?” the girl heard herself saying, her voice as quiet as a mosquito.

Learning magic required a lot of money—only the aristocrats had the resources needed to do it. She never imagined that one day a mighty Magician would be willing to accept her as a disciple and give her a wand as soon as they met.

It’s a real magic wand!

When she was nine-years-old, her father had taken her to the Southern Free Paradise of Mollendan. There, they passed by a shop run by a Magician. At that moment, the young Rylai gazed into the shop, only to see a well-dressed Magician arranging a pile of golden coins into neat rows on the table. There must’ve been more than 30 gold coins there, yet the only thing he bought was a single magic scroll.

Her father had seen it too, and she remembered how he had turned away from the sight of such unimaginable wealth in regret and sorrow.

This incident had left a deep impression on her young mind. Since then, she had assumed that all things related to magic were settled in gold coins. She was born in an ordinary trader’s family; it was impossible for someone like her to reach such heights.

In fact, her father had once told her that even the cheapest magic wands cost more than 50 gold coins. Their family’s income, even at their most prosperous, was no more than 15 gold coins a year.

And yet, right now, this strange man with a gentle smile on his face had offered to teach her magic and give her an expensive wand. It was all so incredible that she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

“Take it. It belongs to you now,” Link insisted.

The beautiful girl was as timid as a rabbit, so Link made sure he spoke only in the gentlest tone to her and even remembered to put on a smile. He then placed the wand into the girl’s hands.

As he did so, he noticed how even her hands were so delicate and lovely. Each of her fingers was as long and slender like the green tops of a spring onion. Her hands were so fair and so soft that Link felt sorely tempted to hold them in his own and caress them gently.

Such a lovely girl—how could she not be famous in the game? Link wondered.

But when he thought of it, he could understand why the girl wouldn’t appear in the game at all. Had it not been thanks to Lucy’s intervention, she would have been sold to a rich man in Springs City as a slave. The beautiful yet completely powerless girl would be treated as the rich merchants’ goods that could be bought and sold by anyone who was willing to pay the price. Link was sure that the girl wouldn’t survive such a life for long, though, and she would’ve died after two or three years and end up buried in someone’s garden with no name to her grave.

Rylai herself still couldn’t believe that any of this was true. Link’s assurance had finally given her the courage and though she hesitated for a while, she finally closed her hand around the wand. The moment the wand touched her hand, she felt an inexplicable affinity to it and she clasped the wand to her bosom as if embracing an old friend.