Chapter 578 - Rescuing the Naga (5) (2/4) (2/2)

“I… won’t argue with you over that,” said Eliard as he pointed at the reflection. “The mouse is a Magical Beast. It’s extremely intelligent, and it’s not as weak as it looks. This little fellow managed to sneak into the Mage Tower when the place was in chaos for at least two seconds. It had slipped into the first basement without even tripping the detection seals in its path. Despite its size, its speed and observational powers are extraordinary. I estimate that its power may be above Level-8.”

Evelina had listened to Eliard’s evaluation of the creature with a solemn face. When he gave his estimation of the creature’s power, she said incredulously, “Isn’t it a bit of a stretch to assume that such a tiny creature has Level-8 power?”

“Not at all. Have you read Magician Opello’s magic book called Big and Small? asked Eliard.

“No, what’s it about?” Evelina felt a bit awkward. Half the time, she did not understand a word of what Eliard said, and this was not the first time. Was she getting old?

“You should give it a read. Opello’s a Level-5 Magician in the Mage Tower. He’s quite imaginative. The book’s filled with all of his wondrous ideas and imaginings. In the book, Opello presented his theory that an object’s size does not have any substantial value. For instance, through spatial manipulation, a person can be shrunk into the size of a peanut, without affecting his strength in the slightest.”

“Alright, I believe you. I’ll read it when I’m free. Right now, what should we do?”

Evelina was aware that new books were being added into the Mage Tower’s library collection every day. Before, she did not really think too much about it. She had always assumed that these low-level Magicians had nothing to offer her since she had surpassed them all in terms of knowledge and power. But now, she saw them in a new light.

Eliard had already thought of a plan. “This little fellow hasn’t realized that it’s been found out. It hasn’t moved from its hiding spot all this time, probably waiting for us to lower our defenses. It must be heading towards the laboratory where the Naga Katyusha is being held prisoner. If that’s the case, we could lay a trap ahead of it through a portal. When the Mage Tower’s defenses are sufficiently lowered, and the magic door is opened, it will walk right into our trap…”

Before he could finish, a white light filled the great hall. Link’s figure appeared when it subsided.

Eliard clapped his hands and said, “Link, you’re back just in time. I’ve discovered an intruder in the Mage Tower.”

Link had just finished inspecting the site of the explosion. The culprit was cautious. He did not gain much information from the scene. At the moment, he only knew that the culprit had used a delayed-action magical spell. It had been triggered using a Level-9 runestone. He had spent half a day searching for other clues, but even with the aid of a Focus spell, he did not find anything else.

All evidence clearly pointed to the fact that the culprit’s method was extremely advanced and was not at all an inferior to Link.

When he heard what Eliard said, his eyes lit up. “Intruder? What intruder?”

Eliard began explaining his discovery to Link in great detail. When he got to the part about the eyes on the mural, Link immediately said, “You were able to spot it from its reflection in the mural’s eyes? Not bad, not bad at all.”

Eliard seemed pleased with himself, then gestured at Evelina. “See, I told you Link would understand immediately. You still have a long way to go.”

Evelina’s mouth contorted with irritation.

When Link listened to Eliard’s plan, he pondered it for a while before saying, “I see nothing wrong with your plan. It’s just a bit too risky. You may even alert the Magical Beast’s owner. There’s still a lot of room for improvement.”

“Hmm, let me think it through again.” Eliard frowned, deep in thought.

Link smiled. He already had a plan ready. “How about this? Let’s not try to catch the Magical Beast. Instead, we’ll pull a trick on it.”

“A trick?” Eliard was silent for a few seconds. He then immediately said, “Are you suggesting that we let it find its target and then contact its owner in order to bring him or her out of hiding?”

Link nodded. “It’s still too risky to let the beast reach its intended target. We may be in trouble if its owner has some powerful technique up their sleeve. As a safety precaution, we’ll set up an illusion and fool the Magical Beast into thinking that it’s found its mark. At that point, it will make contact with its owner. We’ll be able to trace the connection back to the real culprit hiding in the shadows!”

Eliard’s eyes were glowing as he listened. He nodded furiously. “It’s definitely a better plan than mine. What are we waiting for? Let’s get started! This guy sure has some nerve, causing so much trouble in Ferde! He’s gonna pay for his actions, big time!”