Chapter 205 (1/2)
Chapter 205: The Invincible Magic Puppet (Part 5)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
It took ten points of Mana per second to sustain the Storm Eagle, which meant that 36,000 points of Mana would’ve been consumed within an hour. Link’s current maximum Mana limit was 5200 points, but because of the series of attacks he unleashed earlier, he was now left with only about 2400 points of Mana.
In other words, if he were to keep on maintaining the Storm Eagle in the air, he’d be completely depleted of Mana in less than four minutes. The Mana consumption rate of a high-level flying spell was simply astronomical. This was one of the crucial reasons why flying spells weren’t the most practical spells to use in battles.
Fortunately, though, Link had come up with a way to deal with the magic puppet Nana.
Link made the Storm Eagle climb higher up into the sky.
“How much time do you need to cast Metal Decay?” Link turned around to ask Vance.
“Ummm…about 1.8 seconds,” answered Vance while scratching his smooth skull. He could guess what Link was planning to do. “While the spell can really cause damage to Nana, she’d never give me enough time to cast it on her.”
“I suppose so,” said Link, nodding his head. “That’s why you must increase your spellcasting speed.”
Vance was speechless for a moment.
“How do you expect me to cast a spell faster than that?” he asked Link. “That’s my limit!”
“Do you remember Morestern’s wand Dark Arbiter?” asked Link. “It’s in the underground palace, and right now the only one who is there is the weakened Dorians—”
“Link and I will distract Nana,” said Celine immediately as she caught up to Link’s plans, “and you’ll go get the wand!”
“Exactly!” Link glanced at Celine with gratefulness in his eyes. It felt great to have someone on his team who could quickly understand what he intended to do.
Vance’s teeth clattered for a few seconds, and he said nothing as he considered the plan.
“That sounds like a decent plan,” he finally said. “But that wand needs a whole day’s time to recharge after casting a Level-7 spell. Besides, you don’t have much Mana left; are you sure you’ll be able to hold Nana at bay?”
“I can carry him,” said Celine. She could easily stay in flight for as long as ten hours or more without expending much energy anyway.
“That’s unnecessary,” said Link. “I’ve got a way to stall her. Celine, the wand is the key to our victory. You must go get it with Vance.”
It would be too risky for one person to venture into the underground palace due to its labyrinthine structure. If Dorians had a functional brain between his ears, he could easily defeat Vance with sneak attacks. With Celine’s help, though, there shouldn’t be any problem for them to get the wand.
Although Celine was anxious of Link’s safety, she saw how resolute he was and thought there wouldn’t be any point in making protests, so she nodded in agreement with the plan.
At that point, the Storm Eagle had reached the highest limit of its flight at about 20,000 feet which took it 20 seconds to ascend. Looking down from here, the inky dark sea looked vast and endless. Wads of cottony clouds floated all around them. If it hadn’t been for the dangerous situation that they were in, they would’ve appreciated the sublime view very much.
“Let’s do it then,” said Link. “Celine, take Vance back to the underground palace and get the wand. Take this rune tag with you, and you’ll know my precise location wherever you are.”
“Be careful, Link,” Celine said as she took the rune tag from Link.
Link nodded. Then, Celine spread out her black wings and grabbed the almost weightless Vance and flew away from the Storm Eagle.
Immediately afterwards, Link canceled the Storm Eagle spell and cast a levitating spell on himself.
Levitation
Level-0 Spell
Mana Consumption: 2 Points
Effects: Makes the spellcaster’s body as light as a feather, light enough to walk on water. When in the air, the spellcaster will fall at the maximum speed of 1.6 feet per second for about ten minutes.
Why 1.6 feet per second? This speed was as slow as the average walking pace, and it would take about three and a half hours to fall from the height of 20,000 feet to the surface of the sea. With this leisurely speed, Link could easily summon the Storm Eagle again and use it to climb up 20,000 feet within 20 seconds before he hit the surface of the water. Using this technique, Link would have no problem floating in the sky forever!
Moreover, Link wasn’t that far away from the underground palace, probably about 20 miles, so it shouldn’t take too long for Celine and Vance to return with the wand. Once they returned, all they needed to do was stall Nana for a day to wait for the Dark Arbiter wand to recharge. Then they’d defeat the terrifying puppet.
As he was floating in the air, Link used the spell Eagle’s Eye to check the situation on the surface of the sea. He must make sure that Nana was still following him, otherwise it would mean that Vance and Celine were in serious danger.
From what they’d seen so far, the magic puppet clearly possessed near-perfect combat skills, but her strategic planning still left something to be desired. From there Link could spot her weak points where he could utilize to defeat her.
Nana was still following Link at high speed. She’s obviously locked her target on Link, as she thought that he was the most dangerous opponent with a threat level of 5 stars. Therefore, her primary goal must be to eliminate Link.
Haha, keep on following me, then, thought Link.
The Level-0 Levitation spell consumed only two points of Mana and required no additional Mana to sustain at all. With nothing to do and all this time on his hands, Link nonchalantly slipped out Bryant’s Scroll of Enlightenment and began to calmly study it.
He’d studied more than half of the scroll and had made many great discoveries from it. According to Eleanor, the person who managed to study the whole scroll thoroughly would experience a doubling in the rate of Mana recovery. That would surely come in handy for Link now as his Mana was running quite low. That’s why he decided to study the scroll now.
After having drifted in the air for a while, luck seemed to be on his side as a storm started to brew on the surface of the sea. With a body that was as feathery light as Link’s now that he was under the Levitation spell, the slightest gust of wind from the storm kept him aloft for much longer and even helped him gain a bit of height as well.
He then used the spell, Eagle’s Eye and watched the surface of the sea beneath him. He noticed how Nana struggled to catch up with him and couldn’t help but laugh at her. What an adamant puppet she was!
Soon, though, Link found that the situation wasn’t so funny anymore.
The wind was getting stronger and stronger as the storm brewed on. The clouds got much thicker now and had transformed from white fluffy puffs to dark, menacing clouds that harbored thunder.
A bitter smile cropped up on Link’s face as he realized that he’d forgotten the most crucial fact when he meticulously planned his strategy to fight Nana. He’d failed to take into account the fact that they were in the coastal area of the Ferde Wilderness where the climate was notoriously temperamental.
Lightning soon flashed in the clouds, and the sound of thunder rumbled Link’s guts. Before the sublime majesty of mother nature, Link was as insignificant as a speck of dust. The average flash of lightning was equivalent to the power of a Level-7 spell. He’d die instantly if he ever got hit by one of these lightning flashes.
Just in case, Link cast the spell Edelweiss to protect himself, then he summoned the Storm Eagle and began to ascend to its highest limit at 20,000 feet where he would be safe from being struck by lightning. Yet, the storm was just as violent there as it was below, and Link’s body was blown about like a leaf. There was no way for him to check the situation down there on the surface of the sea at all. Neither did he know where the wind of the storm would blow him to.
And so, Link drifted in the sky for about three hours when he was finally blown out from the storm, and the clouds gradually cleared out, once again allowing him to see the dark blue sea below. Then, Link immediately cast the Eagle’s Eye spell and checked the situation below him. After a while, he sighed in relief at the sight of Nana still chasing after him from below.
What a relentless magic puppet, he thought. And she still hadn’t lost sight of me after all this time. Not bad at all.
At that point, Link noticed a cluster of islands in front of him. There were about 30 or so islands there of different sizes. Among them, the biggest one probably had an area of about five miles. Lush forest covered most of the islands and colorful birds danced around, filling the air with bird calls and chirpy bird songs. Then, in one corner of the forest, Link saw a wild Griffin catching its prey.
Link had no intention of landing on the island. He just slowly floated above it, taking his time enjoying the beautiful view.
What a strange island, he thought.
Most of the islands were full of wildlife, yet on the southeastern corner, there was a black island where even grass and weeds wouldn’t grow. It seemed as if the whole island was cursed. Link tried to sense the aura of the strange island, but he couldn’t detect anything out of the ordinary coming from the place.
How odd. If no one were chasing him then, he’d dive straight down and explore the place from corner to corner. Unfortunately, Nana was still hot on his trails, so he couldn’t afford to go down there.
Right at that moment, a shocking sight caught Link’s eyes. He saw how Nana came up on the shores of the island where her speed increased miraculously on land. There was no sign of fatigue in her movements at all. Link was shocked. He was only hovering at 2,000 feet above the island. Nana could easily leap up from the ground and reach him at this height! Thus, Link swiftly summoned the Storm Eagle and ascended higher up into the sky.
He soon reached the height of 20,000 feet. The cluster of islands had shrunk into the size of pebbles at this height and Link could no longer see the magic puppet.