Chapter 178 (1/2)

Chapter 178: The Final Step

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

They were unsuccessful in tracking the Dark Elves. However, they killed the demon and determined Elena’s true whereabouts. Link then bade farewell to Eleanor and returned to the academy to report the Lawndale incident to Herrera.

Herrera valued Link’s opinions and immediately reported the matter to the dean. Upon hearing the news, it was rumored that Anthony was so furious and shocked that the crystal glass he was holding fell out his hand and shattered into pieces.

The alert level of the entire academy was already very high. This time, they raised it even a notch higher, upgrading every single pivotal Mage Tower in the academy.

They seemed to be preparing for a formidable enemy.

The amount of attention the academy placed on this issue gave Link a peace of mind. In the days that followed, he simply charged the Prophet white stone whenever he could while continuing his magic research, trying to improve his knowledge as much as possible before the fated day.

He had a practical goal, which was to shorten the casting time of his Level-6 spell, the Titan’s Hand. While the spell had great offensive power, Link still needed at least five seconds to cast the spell even with the help of the in-game system. The combat utility of the spell was thus, heavily compromised.

This was the awkward part about being a Magician. The higher the level of the spell, the more complex the magic structure. Although the strength of the spell would increase exponentially each level, so would the casting time.

During a battle, the higher the level of the opponents, the lesser the advantage a Magician had over other professions. This was true all the way until a Magician attained the Legendary status.

Link simply needed to reduce his spellcasting time—even 0.1 seconds would be a significant reduction.

The East Cove Higher Magic Academy was recovering well from their minor setback.

On the other hand, Dark Elf Lawndale had just narrowly escaped from Link’s pursuit. He did not dare to stay in the Girvent Forest any longer and made his journey all the way back to the North.

Around half a month later, Lawndale returned to the Black Lake.

This was the core area of the Black Forest. Although the Norton Kingdom was advancing fast into the territory, their vanguard forces were still at least 500 miles away. Hence, this area was still safe.

After circling around the lake for half a mile, Lawndale saw a dock ahead. No boatman could be seen on the pier, although a few wooden canoes could be seen. Lawndale casually embarked onto a wooden canoe and tapped his toes gently onto the magic circle engraved on it. As mana surged into the magic circle, the water elemental spell that was enchanted onto the canoe was instantly activated.

The small wooden canoe darted out and headed towards the island in the center of the lake steadily but rapidly. There was a Mage Tower on the island called Horton Tower. This tower belonged to his mentor, Duke Aymons.

Aymons was a Level-7 Magician, and his parliamentary status in the Silver Moon was only secondary to the Chancellor. The demon that accompanied him to the Girvent Forest this time around was also summoned by his mentor.

After 20 minutes, Lawndale stepped onto the island. The island was filled with dense overgrowth, and one could vaguely see shadows drifting amongst the thick mist. These shadows were all tower guard demons who were summoned by his mentor. Their strength was around Level-3 to Level-4, and their battle abilities were almost three times higher than ordinary soldiers of their level.

Lawndale charged his staff with mana which caused it to glow in a light purple hue. This was a magic marking. Under the effect of this magic marking, he would not be attacked by these demonic creatures.

He then stepped cautiously into the forest. After ten minutes, a tower with a similar exterior to that of a castle appeared in his field of vision. The tower was surrounded by a circle of tall walls, and a 12-foot-tall demon stood aloofly at the entrance of the gate.

Not only was the demon tall, but there was also a thick layer of demonic scales surrounding his tough exterior. There were almost no gaps in this dense armor and a knife shaped horn grew from its skull. He looked extremely intimidating as he held two giant swords which were larger than Lawndale himself in his hands.

This demon was called Bruttan, a Level-7 Demon Warrior. He was the strongest demon his mentor had ever summoned, and probably had the power to crush the entire army of Firuman Warriors if he wanted to.

Lawndale greeted the demon with respect and said, “Dear Bruttan, I would like to speak to my mentor.”

The demon looked down condescendingly at Lawndale and rumbled with disdain, “Little one, didn’t you bring Nobi together with you? Where is he?”

“Nobi was met with misfortune. I was just about to report to my mentor regarding this issue.”

“What? Who could have killed Nobi? He might have been a bit of a joke, but his power is not something that you mortals can ever hope to match up to. Tell me who did it!” Bruttan stared at Lawndale with bloodshot eyes, his pupils burning with violent tendencies.

Lawndale felt pressured by the intimidating gaze, so much so that he felt difficulty breathing. He tried to remain calm and said, “Dear Bruttan, I need to see my mentor.”

At that moment, a voice rang from the Mage Tower, “Bruttan, let him in.”

Upon hearing the sound, Bruttan’s intimidating stature dissipated. He muttered a few words under his breath before obediently clearing the path for Lawndale.

Lawndale heaved a sigh of relief and entered the tower. Once he was inside the castle walls, he finally saw his fellow Dark Elves. Some of them were his direct seniors and juniors, while others were servants that he had grown close to in the past few years. He immediately felt a lot more at ease.

As one of the Magicians saw Lawndale, he pointed to the tower and said, “Mentor is waiting for you at the rooftop balcony. Please make your way there.”