Chapter 448 - The Winds of Change (1/2)
Chapter 448: The Winds of Change
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Dragon Temple
Link followed the Red Dragon Queen to Lucia Silverstar’s room, and in great strides, reached the side of her bed. He then cast the Detection Spell that he had recently mastered.
“Void Eye!”
Void Eye
Level-11 Detection Spell
Energy Cost: 300 Dragon Energy
Effect: Will dye any trace of the Void’s aura in one’s surroundings.
(Note: One’s power level determines one’s field of vision.)
A point of bright red light shone forth from Link’s hand, which began scanning the air in circles.
In the first few rounds, the air remained unchanged, but Link had felt something in the room.
The Void Eye scanned the place a few more times, and the faint traces of the Void began surfacing in the air in red. Gradually, a thin red mist began forming around the bed in front of Link, where a distinct red human-shaped silhouette could now be seen.
Gretel had then entered the room, and seeing the hazy red silhouette, she understood immediately what Link’s spell was used for. She whispered in disbelief, “The Void Tyrant was brought in by Silverstar?”
“It was probably her,” said Link, nodding, as he began scanning other parts of the room with his Detection spell. “The Void Tyrant had cleverly concealed himself; there was barely any trace of the Void’s aura to be picked up here. I suspect she must have been under its influence when she summoned the Void Tyrant into our world.”
At this, Link’s train of thought cleared up even more, as he recalled what he had seen back in the woods that day. “Back in the woods, I came across the body of a Yabba half-dragon. Did you manage to find out who she was?”
“Yes, her name was Emilia, a member of the Emerald Circle as well. Silverstar had explained that the half-dragon was under the influence of a Void presence, and so she was forced to kill her and her underlings with the help of the Void Tyrant. We did not suspect a single thing then,” said Gretel, clearly troubled by all this.
Link had already checked most of the room but was unable to find any further clues that could be of use. “What’s important right now, is finding Silverstar. But she’s a threat to everyone around, so it’s best if it’s just the two of us going after her. I hear that there are four other Legendary Magicians here, maybe they could provide their assistance.”
Gretel shook her head. “No, they’re still busy crafting the anti-crack rune, they probably won’t be able to help us.”
“Anti-crack rune?” Link did not quite understand.
Gretel began explaining the whole affair to Link. When she had finished, Link was silent for a few seconds. Then, he spoke, “I think it’s best to put off the matter with the spatial crack. Right now, we need to deal with the Void Tyrant as soon as possible, or it will become far too strong for us to handle if left unchecked. The way I see it, the Void Tyrant holds a higher priority than the spatial crack.”
Link then turned to leave the room, and asked, “Where are they now? I’ll meet them personally.”
Gretel quickened her pace to catch up to him. “No, you don’t understand, the Emerald Circle is a loose collective that exists solely to safeguard the safety of the whole realm. To them, anything else is of little to no importance. They won’t intervene in things they deem not worthy of their time.”
Link was stunned for a moment. Of course, how could he have forgotten?
Even in the previous game world, Link had been one of the high-level members of the Emerald Circle and understood the underlying principle of this organization better than anyone else. The Astral Magicians there were shrouded in mystery. Their existences were virtually unknown to any other player, though Link had only met these enigmatic characters maybe two or three times.
These Legendary Magicians had pierced through the inner workings of the world, and as a rule, did not meddle in earthly affairs. Right now, as the Void Tyrant was an internal issue among the dragon race, they would simply watch the whole thing unfold as mere observers on the sidelines.
But Link did not believe in absolutes. If done right, anyone in this world could be persuaded to accept his point of view.
After much thinking, an idea came to him, and he asked, “You were saying you had been perfecting a spatial crack-stabilizing spell. Can I take a look at it?”
“Of course.” Gretel gently flicked her fingers, and an overly complicated three-dimensional magical structure appeared in the air.
If he had remained as he was back in the East Cove Magic Academy or even the last time he was in the Dragon Valley, he would not have made head or tails of any of this; but now, he had no problem understanding every inch of the magical structure before him.
Walking around the magical structure as it floated in mid-air, Link was able to understand the key sections of the spatial stabilizing spell. After walking around it again, and with another closer look, he finally said, “Not bad for a spatial spell, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement… Let’s go, you lead the way, I’m confident that I can convince them to aid our cause.”
Gretel headed for the great hall, not entirely reassured by Link’s words. “Are you sure? Bryant had said that he would only help in exchange for the art of dragonification.”
Link started at this. “Bryant was made a member of the Emerald Circle?”
“Yes, he has already been a member for the past 150 years as a representative of the High Elves.”
“Well then, now I’m sure I can convince all of them!” Link smiled inwardly.
Gretel could not fathom what Link was planning, but seeing the confidence in his eyes, she did not press any further. Should he fail, Link risked only disgrace, but the dragon race would be able to hedge their losses should he succeed.
In a few minutes, they had reached the entrance of the great hall. Despite bracing herself for the humiliation to come, the Red Dragon Queen was still not used to this. In all her lifetime, this may be one of the few times she had to beg for help from someone else.
Still trying to keep her emotions under control, she felt someone patting on her shoulder and saw Link smiling reassuringly at her.
“Don’t worry; besides, I’m the one who has much to lose from this.”
Slightly stunned, she felt her face growing hotter from embarrassment. How could she be thinking of herself at a moment like this? Link was the one who would be doing the convincing, and the one who would be on the receiving end of any mockery should this backfire would be Link himself as well. What did she have to lose?