Advent of the Archmage

This was the end of the canyon. The walls of this area were pure white in color and glistened when light was reflected off its surface. The area was also saturated with wind elements. They were so concentrated that they became visible to the naked eye, floating around Link like a thin veil.

In the center of the area, lay the origin of this spectacular phenomenon. Through the blinding brilliance, Link could see a magnificent and elegant rustic sword.

It was a one-handed sword!

It was suspended gracefully in the air and was around 3 feet long. It seemed to be formed from shimmering white crystals. There was an oval-shaped translucent dent in the center of the sword. Within this translucent area, glowing circular air currents stirred slowly while emanating a powerful presence. Around the sword, the wind elements were as docile as a sheep.

Link merely stared at the sword for a second before he felt a huge pressure coming from it. This pressure was so intimidating that he was almost forced to kneel on the ground to give respect to this almighty sword.

"What a strong presence!" Link was surprised and withstood the pressure with all his might. He did not avert his gaze, nor did he succumb to the intimidation.

Three seconds later, the information of the sword appeared in his field of vision.

Arbiter of Storms, Master of Lightning, Silencer of Realms! (Sword of the Storm Lord)

Quality: Legend

Status: Depleted (8/100) (Down to 20% power)

Effect: Owner of this sword will wield the power of storm and lightning. Any wind and lightning elemental spells or Battle Aura cast by the owner will see a 1000% increase in power and gain 30000 feet in attacking range. The offensive power of area of effect attacks will be 30% of the owner's attacking power.

(Note: Only a true master can fully control its power.)

Link was practically dumbfounded when he saw the sword. He knew this sword by name while he was playing the game.

In the game, this sword was not casually neglected on an island. Instead, it was segmented into three parts—namely the hilt, the damaged blade and the wind elemental core. One could only assemble these pieces as loot drops from the three final world bosses. Furthermore, the drop rate for these items was abysmal. Even after painstakingly collecting the parts, one would still have to spend a great deal of effort to clear a story called Prestige of the Dwarf Master repeatedly. Only when they had reached a certain level of mastery for the storyline would they be able to craft a sword completely depleted of energy.

Finally, the sword then had to be charged with mana points which would once again require a lot of time. The final in-game stats of the sword were also modified for balancing purposes, though there were similarities between the both of them.

In the game, the effects of the sword were to increase the strength of all wind and lightning elemental attacks by 300%, as well as increase the attacking range by 150 feet. Despite the great reduction in stats, it was already considered to be one of the strongest weapons of all time.

Amongst the billions of players who played the game, only around 20 of them managed to get ahold of the sword. If a wielder of the sword were to appear in town, they would immediately become the center of attention.

The power of this sword simply knew no bounds. No matter what profession you were, as long as your main element was wind or lightning, this sword would immediately make you one of the strongest players on the server. As long as one had basic playing skills, it would not be a problem to fight against three other players of the same level and supposedly same strength.

If the owner of this sword were to meet a bunch of rookies, he could even destroy a group of twenty easily.

The sword was already near perfect in the game. However, the beauty and incomparable brilliance it had in real life were simply astonishing. The sword had revealed the true terror and gloriousness of a top-tier Legendary weapon in reality!

When the sword was fully charged, it would grant the wielder a 1000% increase in strength and 30000 feet in attacking range. The wielder could then easily destroy an entire troop of soldiers with this weapon. They merely hand to swing the sword to call upon the surging thunder and howling winds. In a matter of seconds, a battalion of opponents would lay motionless on the ground.

That would be insanely cool.

Link felt a desire to walk up and claim the sword as his own. He suppressed the intense pressure emanating from the sword and stretched out his hand towards the hilt of the sword.

He succeeded! His hand wrapped around the hilt as a feeling of satisfaction overwhelmed him. However, a reprimanding voice suddenly rang, "Mortal, you are facing the weapon that once belonged to the Storm Lord. What qualifications do you have to wield me!"

"This is…a sword spirit!" Link was startled. What other surprises would this sword bring?

"I have broken through your wind elemental barrier and successfully grabbed the hilt of the sword. From that perspective, I am more than qualified," Link replied.

"Mortal, you have a strong soul. However, you are still too weak. That is really disappointing. If you were to wield me having such measly power, it would be a disgrace to my predecessor!" The voice rang again, not willing to admit that Link was qualified enough to wield him as of yet.

Link fell silent and tried to pull the sword out from its position. However, no matter how much strength he used, the sword merely levitated in the same spot and would not budge. He then started charging mana into the sword but to no avail. The moment any mana touched the sword, it would be greedily consumed by the sword which had a vast mana storage capacity, rendering it ineffective.

What a pity that he could not claim a powerful weapon that was right in front of him!

However, since a sword spirit was present, it meant that Link could strike a deal with him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Alright then, I will not attempt to wield you. The aim of my trip is to find the origin of the hurricanes, the menace that is destroying my territory. That origin is none other than you!"

"Origin of hurricanes? Menace?" The voice sounded doubtful.

Link did not speak and let images of the Ferde Wilderness flash through his mind. He believed that the sword spirit would be able to see these images as well.

"Do you see now? Because of you, my territory has become a barren land. As the lord, I have to improve the situation!"

The sword spirit fell silent for a while before speaking again, "This was not my intention."

"Then what is it?"

"My original intention was to release my power to search for the next Storm Lord. It is such a shame that mortals are getting weaker by the day. After waiting for ten thousand years, no one even managed to reach this place. You are the first one to have succeeded. But look at your measly power! What a disappointment!" the sword was clearly dejected.

The sword spirit seemed to be highly intelligent. This meant that it might be possible to reason with him.

Link then suggested, "You want to look for a new Storm Lord while I need to protect my territory. What do you say we make a deal? You will seal your powers while I will bring you around the mortal world. One day, when you find a suitable candidate, I will hand you over to that lucky person."

The sword spirit did not reply immediately, and Link waited nervously.

After around half a minute, the majestic voice once again sounded, "Your idea is not half bad."

Link then heard a light, clanging, metallic sound as the elegant blade suddenly lost all the brilliance it was emitting. The pure white crystals that used to glimmer were now pale white rocks, and the mysterious air ripples in the middle of the sword had disappeared. The veil-like layer of wind elements had also dissipated entirely. Link then picked up this sword from the ground.

This sword looked extremely ordinary now. It was simply a hand-crafted sword that looked slightly more aesthetic. If Link were to auction it in Hot Springs City, it would probably fetch at most ten gold coins.

"From now on, I will enter into a state of slumber. No matter what situation you are in, I will not offer my power to help. If you die in an accident, I will find another carrier myself. However, if you die of old age and happen to have any descendants, you may hand me over to them."

"It's a deal!" Link nodded as he tried to put the sword away into the dimensional pendant. However, he was not successful.

The voice the sounded again, "Don't humiliate me by putting me in such low-level magical equipment! Just carry me along on your waist like a normal sword."

Left with no choice, Link secured the sword onto his waist. Luckily, the sword was light and only weighed around two kilograms.

He then stared at the sky once again and felt the cooling sea breeze. The dark clouds and thundering bellows had all disappeared, revealing the clear blue skies that were supposed to have graced the island.

It seemed like the era of bad climate in the Ferde Wilderness was over.

Link heaved a sigh of relief as he walked out of the canyon. Halfway through, he saw Dorias walking towards him.

Dorias was unable to grasp the situation. Just a moment ago, he witnessed a storm that seemed to even tear a gap through the dimension. However, the next moment, the entire world seemed to be enveloped in warm fluffy clouds and comforting sunshine. The peculiar wind that once plagued this island had also disappeared without a trace. This was strange.

"Link, what happened?" Dorias asked.

"Do not reveal anything about me." Before Link could speak, the sword spirit gave a stern reminder.

Link needed to make up an excuse on the spot. "There is an extremely powerful Storm Lord in the depths of the canyon. I have already defeated him, and all is well."

Dorias was immediately overwhelmed with respect, "Is that true? You are really something! Is this sword the weapon of the Storm Lord in question?"

This was truly what Dorias felt. He had attempted many times to enter the canyon but only managed to reach the halfway point before he was forced to turn back. If the opponent was able to create such strong winds consistently, just how strong would he be in combat?

To think that Link was not only able to reach the end of the canyon but also defeat the Storm Lord. This was the strength of the man Dorias had chosen to follow!

Link was tickled by Dorias' reaction and nodded. "That's right. This is his weapon. What do you think? Beautiful isn't it?"

Dorias then shook his head. "It is a piece of crap. I have seen at least 10000 similar low-quality swords in my lifetime."

He then automatically squatted down to let Link mount onto him easily.

As Link mounted Dorias, the voice of the sword spirit once again appeared, "I don't like this hideous creature. Don't let me see him next time."

What is going on? Link was speechless. Didn't he mention he was going into a state of slumber? Why is he still so talkative?

"He has no manners!"

Link had nothing to say to the sword spirit's arrogance and pride.

Link then relaxed as Dorias brought him all the way back to the Ferde Wilderness. Along the way, Link admired the beautiful scenery while he appreciated the brilliant weather. With the issue of bad climate off the list, Link once again felt the passion and drive to develop his territory.

Half a day later, Link and Dorias reached the campsite. The moment they reached the outskirts of Scorched Ridge, they could hear many voices and saw a huge figure lying in wait for them. The moment Link saw the figure, he was elated. East Cove Higher Magic Academy was indeed efficient. They had already brought him the magic puppet that he had ordered.

It seemed like everything was going according to plan. Link smiled and said, "Let's speed up. I have to see how the magic puppet performs."