Chapter 264 - Secret Plans (2/2)

“Oh no, it’s the lord’s home! It’s on fire!”

“What are you waiting for? Put out the fire! Put it out!”

Where’s the lord? Is he okay? This was what the soldiers and common folk thought.

The Magicians of Scorched Ridge rushed to the scene as soon as possible. The two at the front were the two Masters from the East Cove Magic Academy—Grenci and Ferdinand.

They were nervous because they sensed huge Mana waves before the fire appeared. Rather than the typical waves, they had been uncontrolled and scattered. Waves like that meant a Magician’s experiment had failed, and there was a high chance of spell backlash.

To a Magician, there was nothing more dangerous than this. When the two rushed to the scene, there was only blazing fire. There was no trace of Link.

“No way,” Grenci murmured. How could a genius Magician die from spell backlash? This was unrealistic.

He would believe other people, but it was impossible for Link. He had such fast reflexes that he would definitely realize his Mana was losing control and save himself.

“Do you think he used Burst to escape?” Ferdinand guessed.

“No, I didn’t feel the Mana for Burst,” a voice said. It was light and lovely with a hint of worry. The voice came from Princess Milda.

“I didn’t sense it either. Did something really happen?” Romilson was here too.

More and more people hurried over. They surrounded the blazing cabin, but Link still didn’t appear.

“No, we must run in to save him!” Jacker had arrived. He was more straightforward and had a damp blanket over him. The Battle Aura around him was explosive; he was ready to run into the fire to find Link.

But then, something moved inside the fire.

“Jacker, wait. Look, someone’s coming out,” Eliard said.

The situation inside the fire was very clear now. Everyone could see a blurry figure walk from the blazing flames. When he came out, flames still covered his body. Five seconds later, the flames finally extinguished, revealing Link.

His face was as white as paper, and a patch of his hair had been burnt to crisp. He was covered with burns as well. In the empty space, he couldn’t stand anymore. He staggered, almost falling over.

Countless people rushed over to steady him. The fastest one, the least hesitant, and the closest to Link was Celine. She held onto him and asked anxiously, “Lord, how are you?”

“My body is okay, but my Mana is a bit uncontrolled.” Link smiled wryly.

Seeing that Link was okay, Grenci felt assured. He looked at Link’s pathetic state and walked up to reprimand him. “After two days, the Mage Tower will be finished. If you want to experiment with new spells, you should go to the elemental pool of the Mage Tower. What are you hurrying for?”

“Stop,” Ferdinand advised from the side. “Everything’s alright as long as he’s alright.” Then he turned to Link and asked, “How are you now?”

“My Mana is very chaotic. I think I must recuperate quietly and organize my Mana.” With that, Link coughed lightly. There was blood at the corner of his lips. It was clear that he was badly injured.

Milda walked over from the side. “The injuries look grave,” she said caringly. “I have some Elf Nectar here. Drink it.”

Link didn’t reject her. He took the crystal bottle and drank all of the holy medicine.

At the side, Jacker and others saw that Link was alright and the fire had only burned Link’s home. It hadn’t spread further. Jacker waved a hand and said, “Let’s disperse now. There’s nothing wrong. The lord was experimenting with a new spell, and it’s a small mishap. This won’t happen after the Mage Tower is finished. Let’s go now.”

It had made a big commotion, but it actually wasn’t that big of a deal. Under the soldiers’ urging, the residents of Scorched Ridge all went back to their homes to rest.

On the side, Link smiled wryly at the Magicians. “It was a bit dangerous,” he explained. “My mind is quite messy right now, and I must rest quietly for a while. I’m not sure if I can be better within half a month. Two Masters, all Magic-related matters of Scorched Ridge will need your help while I’m resting.”

“No problem, these are all small things. Your health is most important,” Grenci said. Ferdinand nodded.

Then Link said to Lucy, “There aren’t any big matters on the territory these days. You can make decisions for me for everyday tasks. Jacker, Gildern, it’s the same for you. If there’s something important, tell Celine, and she’ll notify me.”

“Yes, Lord.” The three weren’t quite familiar with spell backlash, so they agreed without suspicion.

Link then smiled apologetically at Princess Milda. “I’m sorry for disturbing Your Highness’s rest so late at night.”

“It’s nothing, but were you experimenting with a Level-7 Spell?”

“Yes, but I failed.” Link’s face was filled with regret.

At the side, Romilson comforted him. “Failing is normal. Back in the day, I failed at least seven times and had spell backlash four times. Once, it was even a serious injury, and I had to rest for half a year. But I’m seriously impressed that you dared to experiment without the Mage Tower!”

Link chuckled. He didn’t dare; this was all a show.

“Then everyone, I’ll go rest now.”

“Go, go. Rest well and don’t take risks like this again!” Grenci chided.

Link nodded. Celine helped him toward her own cabin. The people of the territory no longer saw this as strange. Link and Celine’s close relationship was old news.

Once Link entered Celine’s cabin, Milda turned to rest too. After a few steps, Romilson caught up. He asked softly, “Your Highness, this was weird. How can spell backlash happen to Link? It’s so weird!”

Milda smiled. “Isn’t spell backlash normal?”

“No, it’s not the same. For other people, it’s normal, but he’s different. Back then, he helped detoxify Your Highness while controlling the Wind Fenrir to run smoothly and talking to me at the same time. He was doing three things at once. If this spell backlash didn’t really happen, I would never believe it.”

Milda still didn’t feel any suspicion. She smiled and said, “Okay, stop feeling strange. Link is a human and humans can make mistakes. There’s nothing weird about that. Go rest.”

Seeing that Her Highness wasn’t supporting his idea, Romilson couldn’t do anything about it. Though he was suspicious, he didn’t look too deep into it. He turned and went back to his cabin to rest.

On the other hand, Link waited patiently for two hours. When the territory fell quiet again, he whispered to Celine, “I’ll be relying on you for the next few days.”

“Don’t worry. It’s all on me,” Celine promised seriously.

Link left the Flame Controller robe in Celine’s room, using the aura from that robe as a disguise. He cast the Traceless spell and slipped out of Scorched Ridge.