Advent of the Archmage

Even though Link could now purchase a Legendary-level spell, he still had to consider all the possibilities before making a final decision.

Right now, he had two options before him.

Firstly, he could choose to run away. An Angel of Light had blessed his soul, all his attributes were now full, plus he had 100 Omni Points, so escaping shouldn't be too hard for him. Once they were safely out of here, they could then go back and gather reinforcements to kill the old turtle.

From the perspective of safety and survival, this would be the best plan because it involved the smallest risk. Except there was one hiccup – Bale and Shade weren't fools. The minute they found out that Link and Herrera had escaped, they wouldn't be foolish enough to stay here and wait for them to come back with reinforcements.

The world was vast, and they could hide anywhere and not be found again. Or they might go straight to the North, to the Dark Elf kingdom – they would surely be welcomed there. That would also mean that Norton kingdom's enemy would gain two more powerful Magicians.

The second option was to use the Legendary-level spell, enter this turtle shell of a Mage Tower with Herrera and face the Necromancer head on!

How hard can your shell be? Is it barbed with spikes too? Are you sure those spikes won't turn on you and stab you to death? Well I'll meet you inside your Mage Tower, and we'll see how soft and defenseless the old turtle is without its shell! These were the thoughts that ran through Link's mind as he considered the plan.

Although this strategy had the element of surprise going for it, it was also potentially dangerous. Indeed, it was possibly life-threatening.

The Mage Tower was the opponent's own territory. He'd most likely have a large number of magic seals that he could use. The only way they could defeat them was through a surprise attack where the opponents were caught off guard.

Right now, there were only 13 seconds left before the shield, Sacred Screen that Herrera had cast over both of them would collapse. And outside the shield the undead army was already surrounding them, waiting for the moment they could get to them to attack.

They must decide quickly!

"If I had a way to get us into the Mage Tower," said Link hastily, getting straight to the point, "And we join our forces together to fight against Bale and the Necromancer, do you think we have a chance of winning?"

Herrera's knowledge of magic was much deeper than Link's, so he regarded her views as highly valuable.

Herrera was taken aback by the question, but this time she didn't doubt Link's words. She considered his question for three seconds.

"You haven't used your Domingo crystal, have you?" she asked.

There was a sign of weakness and exhaustion in her voice. Although Link managed to interrupt her blessing just in time, it was obvious that her power was greatly reduced. She would probably need to recuperate for at least half a year before she could fully recover.

Link nodded; even in the direst of situations, he still reserved the fire elements stored inside the crystal, just in case. With it, Link could unleash a Flame Blast fireball in one second!

Herrera then took out a bottle of mid-level Mana potion and gulped it down. This restored 500 points of Mana to her body. She then turned to Link.

"Judging from the Mana fluctuations around the Mage Tower," she said, "The Necromancer should be a Level-5 Magician. Although Bale is a Level-6 Magician, he's old and frail, and his reaction time is much slower than ours. If we attack them when they least expect it, I think we can defeat them!"

In any magic battle, even slight advantages over the opponents could often decide victory or defeat!

The moment Link heard Herrera's words, Link knew no matter how big the risk was in attacking the Mage Tower, it was worth taking.

He immediately went to the spell menu and selected the list of Level-10 Legendary spells. The list then quickly appeared and Link skimmed through it and his eyes were immediately caught by a glowing spell card. There you are!

Dimensional Jump

Level-10 Legendary Spell

Mana Consumption: 1800

Effects: The spellcaster, along with other people or things connected to him will be teleported to any point in space chosen within half a mile.

(Note: This spell can override any magic barrier below the Legendary level.)

This spell was a high-level group teleportation spell, and it allowed for long-distance teleportation – even up to slightly more than half a mile. But what was most impressive about the spell was the fact that it was practically unchallenged and invincible.

This reason for this was simple – at this point there were very few Magicians who had reached Legendary level, so virtually no one could stop him. He could jump from one point to the next and back again as he wished and jump to wherever he wanted as no one was able to obstruct the spell.

Are you sure you want to learn this Legendary spell? The gaming system asked.

Yes! This was the last trick he had up his sleeve.

Ding! Link saw this bright Legendary-spell card disappear from the interface, and at the same time, he felt an intense heat spread throughout his body, then unimaginable pain all over.

Just as Link couldn't hold in his scream any longer, the pain quickly disappeared like a dream. Link assumed that it was some subtle but crucial modification of his body done by the gaming system to allow him to unleash a Legendary-level spell.

Three seconds later, a notification popped up on the interface.

Spell learning complete. The player has mastered Dimensional Jump.

Link could feel the change within his body. He then turned to Herrera.

"My lady," said Link jokingly, "Do you still have any mid-level Mana potions left?"

"Of course." Herrera then took out a bottle. She knew Link's body could withstand the toxicity of one potion now.

"No," said Link, shaking his head as he reached out for the potion, "I need three of them."

Because of Herrera's blessing on his soul, his body was now a blank slate and he could definitely handle a bottle of Mana potion. The second and third bottle might cause some damage to his body, but in this situation, it would be a necessary sacrifice.

What does he need so much Mana for? Herrera was bemused, but this was no time to be asking questions now. She saw how persistent and resolute Link was, so she relented and gave him three Mana potions.

The moment the bottles reached his hand, Link gulped them down without any hesitation. He didn't feel any changes when he drank the first one, but by the second bottle his stomach began to burst into a pain that was so intense that he almost doubled over.

"You're out of your mind, it's going to kill you!" said Herrera, appalled.

"Don't worry, I can handle it!" assured Link with a chuckle, his hand rubbing his stomach. He then cast the Blizzard spell on his belly to freeze it momentarily.

Link's stomach started to feel numb under the spell, and the pain gradually subsided.

He checked his Mana again and found that it had been fully replenished. He then turned to Herrera and said, "Let's prepare for battle!"

"Yes!" Herrera nodded, she wasn't sure what kind of trick Link was going to use, nonetheless she'd made up her mind that she would trust him.

With her wand in hand and her Mana surging, she was ready to unleash a Level-4 spell in 1.2 seconds as soon as she encountered the opponents.

A Level-4 spell in 1.2 seconds – that was the miraculous skill she developed thanks to her innate ability as an Angel of Light and her own hard work in creating a Supreme Magic Skill. The only catch was that she could only do it once a day.

Nonetheless, this spell, combined with Link's lightning-speed Flame Blast, had given her the confidence that they could defeat their opponents.

Two powerful Level-4 spells both cast in little more than a second – any Magician in the world, no matter how mighty they were, would be hard-pressed to defend themselves against that. And any Magician below the Legendary level would be brought to their knees if they were taken completely off guard by these attacks. In fact, Herrera was sure even the Dean Anthony wouldn't be able to defend himself in this case.

Link smiled then wrapped his hand around Herrera's waist. Her waist felt soft and delicate in his hand and he thought it felt quite comfortable to be holding her like that.

"Hold on tight! We're finally going to meet that turtle of a Necromancer in his shell!"

Herrera took a deep breath and braced herself for whatever she was going to face next. But even so, nothing could've prepared her for what happened next.

"Oh, the glorious Lord of Light!" she couldn't help but whisper.

She saw Link suddenly put the wand away, then stretch his hands out and form into knife-hands. His hands glowed in a transparent water-like aura, but when it extended out into the air, a light blue electric arc appeared.

Soon after, the electric arc began to expand until Link and Herrera were surrounded by it, creating a light sphere. Then the electric arc was dispersed out from the light sphere and into the surroundings.

Then the space outside of the light sphere began to undergo a peculiar change. It got darker and darker, like day turning into night. Then, in the darkness a white feather-like light emerged and it glowed and glimmered like a beautiful aurora.

This fantastical aurora lasted for about half a second and then it disappeared completely—they found that they were now somewhere else.

The dense white mist had disappeared and was replaced by a dark hall instead. There was a dark green pool in the center of the hall, gurgling and bubbling and releasing a purple gas. There was no sign of Bale, but in the corner of the hall there was a brightly shining magic seal, of which in the center stood a man. He was wearing a large cloak and where his eyes should be there were two green glowing flames that looked like will-o'-wisps.

At this moment, Herrera stood there motionless with a thousand thoughts spinning in her mind.

Wasn't that a dimensional spell? But how did Link cast it with his bare hands? How could he bring another person with him? Didn't we just got teleported from more than half a mile away? But that's an impossibly huge distance!

Herrera was completely dumbstruck. She couldn't understand how it was possible for Link to use a Legendary-level spell. Everything about what just happened had simply undermined all the knowledge about magic that she had acquired so far.

Inside the Mage Tower, the Necromancer was similarly astounded. He had seen everything on the Magic Mirror – from the moment Link cast the Legendary spell to the moment they disappeared in the midst of the dense white mist more than half a mile away out of thin air. And now, just moments later, they had materialized right in his hall, right before his eyes.

"No, it's impossible!" Shade was so flabbergasted he stood there with his eyes staring fixedly at the two opponents materializing before him.

This Mage Tower, like any regular Mage Tower, was protected by a magic barrier that would prevent intrusion from dimensional spells and teleportation. And that was why he had been confidently looking through the Magic Mirror to monitor their movements without worrying about the possibility of being attacked himself.

But right now, the two Magicians had successfully broken into his Mage Tower when he was in a virtually defenseless state!