Chapter 100 (2/2)

“How did you know Flame Blast? How did you cast it so quickly?” he deliriously asked in a hoarse voice.

Link couldn’t be any older than 17, how was it possible that he could master a Level-4 spell? And how did he manage to cast it in such a frightening speed?

None of it made sense to Darris. He never thought that he would be defeated by attacks that he didn’t even understand!

If it had been any other magician, a Flame Blast would require 3 seconds to cast. That would be more than enough time for Darris to counter the opponent’s spell, or even kill them before the completion of the spellcasting. At the very least, he would’ve had the time to escape from the center of explosion and he would not have ended up as badly injured as he was now.

But everything happened too fast.

He had just unleashed the Storm of Daggers and didn’t even have time to see the results of his attack before he was attacked by the Flame Blast. He initially thought that it was just a very big Level-3 Fireball. If he didn’t cast a Level-2 Guarding Barrier on himself before he unleashed the Storm of Daggers, by now he would’ve been blown to pieces.

It was as if he’d been assuming that his opponent was a defenseless pig waiting to be slaughtered, only to find out that the pig was in fact a powerful dragon that could finish him off in one move!

Link’s gaze, however, was fixed on the broken wand in his hand.

“Are you Darris?” he asked.

This greenish wand was made of a special wooden material and Link clearly recalled seeing Darris wielding it in Bale’s Mage Tower, so he naturally recognized it at a glance.

Darris ignored the question, his blood-red eyes were staring fixedly at Link.

“You answer my questions first!” Darris then said.

Although it wasn’t a direct answer, the response had nonetheless confirmed Link’s suspicion. He’d also seen through Darris’ plans by the actions he took.

“Since you’ve made a move against me, that means you must’ve found out about what I did in River Cove Town,” said Link, “I’d only ever used Level-2 spells there, so you must’ve thought that I was a Level-2 Magician. You used the Level-3 spell Storm of Daggers to attack me and even ambushed me in the carriage – but I don’t think you intended to kill me at all, you only meant to incapacitate me then squeeze out as much information from me as you could, especially about the identity of the person who sent me to investigate Bale in the first place. The fact that you didn’t hesitate to kill the coachman showed that you were out for blood…You were going to get rid of me and those behind me once and for all, am I right?”

Darris stared at Link in horror as he spelled out his plans step by step, as if he could see through his soul and read his mind.

Link knew that the look on Darris’ face proved that he was right. So he smiled and said, “The only mistake you made was to underestimate my strength.”

Then, Link lifted his wand and pointed it at Darris’ forehead. His face was cold and emotionless when he said, “Darris, am I right in saying that your tutor is messing with black magic and that you are assisting him?”

“So what if that’s true?” answered Darris, “Master Bale is only searching for a way to live forever, he never did any harm to anyone, so why should he be punished?”

Darris didn’t want to die, but logic and experience told him that it was all over for him. Driven by fear, he began to scream hysterically.

“Are you sure what you’re doing is truly harmless?” said Link, shaking his head. “Look at what you did! What did that coachman do to deserve that fate? When he was alive, he was a woman’s husband, a child’s father, a father’s son, he might even be the sole pillar of support for his family, and yet you killed him without even batting an eye! Do you see how cold-blooded you’ve become?”

“He’s just a peasant! So what if I killed a peasant?” Darris pressed on, though there was now much less conviction in his words.

“Oh, yes, you’re right. He was indeed just a peasant. Need I remind you who else was just a peasant, Darris? Have you completely forgotten your roots now that you’ve learned to cast a few spells?” said Link, sneering.

Darris was speechless. Link’s words had hit his soft spot.

“Just kill me, then,” Darris finally said, “You’re the winner, so you can say whatever you want!”

“Oh, you’re wrong again, Darris, I’m not going to kill you!” said Link, shaking his head, “Your actions today are the iron-clad proof that Bale was involved in black magic. I will take you back to the academy!”

The moment Link finished his sentence, Darris finally lost all control and shouted in fear.

“No, please, I can’t go back,” he begged, “I can’t betray my tutor! Please just kill me now!”

If he was brought back to the East Cove Magic Academy, he would then receive the punishments for disobeying the rules of the academy and his name would forever be condemned there. He would also be stripped of his magical powers and become an ordinary man who, because of the murder, would then be tried by the civil courts and his neck would eventually end up on a guillotine.

Then, his name would be disgraced for centuries after his own death, and to him, this fate was much worse than death itself!

As it happened, the Mana in his body started to boil up. He was attempting to use magic to commit suicide.

Link sneered at the sight, then kicked him in the neck, which knocked him out straight away.

“What a selfish and hypocritical scum. You can’t betray your tutor? Ha! It’s your own hide that you can’t betray!”

As Link was kicking Darris, a notification popped up suddenly on the interface. It was announcing that the mission of investigating Bale was completed.

Investigation Mission Completed.

Player Rewarded with 25 Omni Points.

New Mission Activated: Expose.

Mission Details: Expose the Magician Bale’s involvement with black magic without tarnishing the East Cove Magic Academy’s good reputation.

Mission Rewards: 40 Omni Points.

This was another mission that Link was more than happy to accept.