Chapter 185 (1/2)
Chapter 185: Conquering the East Cove Academy
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
On the Mage Tower rooftop.
Link leaned back against the railing and almost slumped down to the floor. The process of killing the Level-8 demon might seem easy to an onlooker, but in truth, the attack Link had just unleashed had cost him an unimaginably immense amount of energy that left him completely drained.
Tarviss was incessantly bursting with power, so Link must continuously direct his Mana into the Titan’s Hand to maintain it as well. The Mana consumption rate, in this case, had soared up to 200 points per second!
In less than two minutes of fighting, Link had spent 220 Omni points to obtain an unlimited maximum Mana limit. He then drank two bottles of a mid-level Mana potion. Only then did he manage to kill the demon Tarviss, and even then, the demon had died right before the moment Link completely exhausted his store of Mana.
Mission: Investigate Black Moon Conspiracy (Failed)
Player successfully killed the demon Tarviss. 200 Omni Points rewarded.
These two notifications flashed into his view on the interface. Link now had 200 Omni Points, yet instead of celebrating he didn’t even want to move an inch. He had overexerted himself in draining his Mana, and he was sure that the Mana potion he’d drank was now poisoning his body. All this had left him without even an ounce of energy to lift a finger at the moment. Maintaining a powerful Level-9 spell had been taxing his spirits as well, and he felt it was too much effort to even stay awake.
After some time, Link heard sounds of rushing footsteps approaching. It was followed by a familiar voice that was full of worry and anxiety.
“Link!” said Herrera. “Are you alright?”
Link didn’t have the strength to even turn towards her at this point. All he could manage was curl up his lips slightly in an effort to smile, but before that could happen, he was overcome by a sudden hazy sensation and blacked out immediately. But just before he completely collapsed, he heard Herrera’s panicked voice again.
“Oh no!” said Herrera. “He drank two bottles of Mana potion! The toxins have spread into his bloodstream!”
Herrera had helped him the last time he drank too much Mana potion. She was now in the academy where she could get help from other people easily, so Link was sure that there wouldn’t be any problem for her to help him this time. As a result, he fainted knowing that he was already in safe hands.
…
When Link woke up again, he found himself lying on a bed. He looked around and realized that he was in his room in Herrera’s Mage Tower. He could feel that the bed sheets and the blanket that were covering his body were clean and crisp as if they had been recently changed. They even smelled fresh and fragrant. Link then noticed that he felt fine apart from feeling a little weakened and dizzy.
Link then sat up in the bed and discovered that the clothes on his body had been changed as well. His storage pendant and his protective spell magic ring were both still on his body, while his wand was placed on the table right beside the bed. Just as Link was about to climb out of bed, the door was pushed open, and Herrera walked in. She was pleasantly surprised to see Link already awake and rushed towards him immediately.
“How are you feeling?” she asked with concern.
“Not too bad,” answered Link. By then, he was already out of bed pacing slowly back and forth in the room. “I feel a little dizzy, but that’s about it.”
As soon as he said that, Herrera’s face turned slightly angry.
“Of course you’d feel dizzy,” she said, gently but firmly reprimanding Link. “You overdosed on Mana potions again. This time you didn’t use a spell to freeze your stomach, so the poison had spread into your bloodstream and flowed to the rest of your body. If it weren’t for Master Grenci who managed to cure you with the Hundred Herbs medicine in time, you would’ve surely died!”
Master Grenci was one of the six members of the academy’s high council. He was the best Alchemist in the entire East Cove Magic Academy. A Hundred Herbs medicine was his most treasured possession which was an epic-level poison antidote. It was an item so priceless that no amount of money would be able to buy it, and Master Grenci had treasured it more than any other of his creations.
“I must go thank him personally,” said Link, full of gratitude.
“There’s no need to hurry,” said Herrera. “You can do that once you’ve fully recovered. I hope this will teach you not to do anything so risky next time…but I’m afraid that wouldn’t ever happen.”
Herrera’s eyes began to redden. She knew more than anyone else how dangerous a situation Link had put himself in on that fateful night was. She still shuddered in terror as she thought about it. God of Light only knew how much anxiety this young man, who had no thought of his own safety, had caused her!
Link noticed the genuine concern in Herrera’s expressions and felt both grateful to her and ashamed of himself for having put her through this. He walked slowly to the window and pushed the curtain aside to look out.
The weather was excellent this day. The sky was as bright as a blue jewel, rays of sunlight shone down like a heavenly golden waterfall, basking the whole academy in its shimmering glory and warmth.
From this point of view, Link could see the scars of destruction left by the demon Tarviss on the academy. Several Mage Towers had fallen and were reduced to rubble, and a large number of workers were busy clearing the space. A handful of Magicians stood aside guiding and helping the process with some magic spells. He could hear the sounds of their chattering voices sometimes while the workers were all hard at work sweating profusely; even the Magicians were covered in dirt and dust.
Further away, Link could see that the hole in the middle of Bryant’s Inspiration Courtyard was filled up while some Magicians were busy dispelling the traces of demonic aura left by Tarviss there.
At this moment, the East Cove Magic Academy was just like a wounded old tiger licking its wounds and taking its time recuperating.
“Tutor,” said Link after a while, “the dean…”
It was pure chaos at the time, so Link had no idea what had befallen the dean other than the fact that he sensed the sudden disappearance of Anthony’s aura that night. Still, Link was unwilling to believe that a mighty Level-7 Master Magician would be killed so quickly and easily.
Herrera walked towards the window and smiled gently.
“The dean survived,” she said. “He used Burst to escape in the nick of time. He has lost both of his legs, though.”
“Oh, thank goodness!” exclaimed Link, visibly relieved now. To a soldier, losing limbs would be a great tragedy as they would have some difficulty in taking care of themself. Yet, to a Magician, this was nothing but a cause of mere inconvenience.
“The academy lost six Mage Towers that night,” Herrera continued, “the Heaven’s Thorn was one of them. Nineteen full-fledged Magicians died in battle, 130 Magician’s Apprentices were killed, and countless other people were injured. But in the end, it was not all in vain because the demon Tarviss had finally been killed!”
As she spoke, she turned her head towards Link and her eyes shone with gratitude.
“It was all thanks to you, Master Link!” she exclaimed.
“It was only my duty,” answered Link who was slightly unnerved by Herrera’s gentle and crystalline eyes staring straight at him. “Besides, you are my tutor; you shouldn’t call me Master.”
“I’m no longer your tutor, Link,” she replied. “You have graduated. You are the most outstanding Magician the East Cove Magic Academy had ever produced!”
Link was stunned at Herrera’s generous praise, but then she interrupted him before he could make any reply.
“It’s almost noon now,” she said. “Go put on your Magician’s robe and get yourself ready for lunch.”
“Yes, tutor,” said Link, suddenly realizing that he was quite hungry. He turned around and took a glance at the garnet Magician’s robe laid out on the table. As he approached it, he was immediately taken aback by its superior quality.
“Is this for me, tutor?” he asked incredulously.
He recognized the astounding quality of the robe’s material at a glance. After further inspection, he discovered that it was made with Golden Fire Silk with many mysterious looking magic runes made with the world’s softest Mana-conductive metal, Oester Silver. When he examined it more closely, he discovered that the spell structure on the robe was a Level-6 booster spell called Clear Thoughts.
Just as he was looking at the robe, a notification popped up on the interface.
Flame Controller
Quality: Epic