Advent of the Archmage

Link's small cottage

There was a library on the second floor of the cottage. The table was originally very small, but Link had now become Magician Rockham's official disciple. He was also in charge of the magic workshop now. There were many things to do. Link exchanged the table for a long one quickly. Four to five people could sit and work at the same time with no problem.

By the table, Milda was carefully looking at the production documents of the workshop. She was a princess and had now become a Level-8 Magician. This was a small matter for her.

Link, on the other hand, was studying a book while studiously taking notes. The best thing about becoming Rockham's disciple was that he could read whatever he wanted. He definitely wouldn't let such a good opportunity pass. He'd been reading like crazy for the past three days.

He was spirited and read very quickly. With the additional aid of the system, he wouldn't forget anything. Even if he didn't understand, he would write it down first and then deal with it.

Rockham was at Legendary Level-13. There were around 35 books pertaining to power. Link stood before the bookshelf and scanned them voraciously. Rockham knew about this, and he didn't mind. What could one learn by just flipping through it? He thought Link was just scanning it out of curiosity.

Riel practiced martial arts with Nana as before. Though his power was locked, he found that after practicing a lot, his inner strength could rise faster.

In Firuman, he was stuck in Level-7 and hadn't improved in a long while. Now, there was obvious improvement every day. This made him happy every day.

Everyone was focused on their own work. Time passed quickly and half a day passed in a blink.

While organizing the workshop documents, Milda said to Link, "I'm mostly done. The situation is quite good. On average, the workshop can make a profit of 100 gold coins every day. What is your plan? Maintain the current situation or raise earnings?"

Link put down his book and thought. "Just maintain it. We need to figure out how to get back to Firuman. Magic is the necessity. There's no point in wasting effort on other things."

Even though time passed slowly and they had enough time to think, it didn't mean they should just stay here without moving.

"Then there isn't much to do with the workshop—just ordering raw material and supervising the apprentices to complete the orders on time. There are people in charge of that now. We just have to make sure nothing goes wrong."

Link nodded. He pushed his notes to Milda. "This is Analysis of Time-Space Structure that I borrowed. It's Level-10 and explains the hypothesis of realm transportation. It should be able to take us back to Firuman."

"Oh, what does it say?" Milda was immediately interested. She took Link's notes and started reading earnestly.

In the notes, Link described two ideas of realm transportation.

The first was direct. He drew two bubbles, representing Firuman and Aragu. The center was connected by a thin neck. It was empty outside the realms. Link marked it as the Sea of Void.

The other was Link's specific calculations. There was a string of obscure spatial structure changes beside the picture. Milda glanced at it and gave up on understanding the specificities. She only checked if the equation was complete or not.

It was, meaning Link had come to a specific conclusion.

"You really found a way back?" Milda was slightly excited. This world was too scary. For her especially, it was like hell. Once people found out about her beauty, she couldn't even imagine what kind of future awaited her. She'd already had many nightmares about this.

Link nodded. "Speculated from everything we've seen, I realized that Aragu and Firuman are actually one entity."

Of course, it was mainly due to the game system's reminder, but Link couldn't say that. As he spoke, he snapped his finger. A head-sized Spatial Sphere appeared in the air. Link manipulated it, and the center grew thinner until it turned into an hourglass.

"Now, for some reason, the connection has become thinner and thinner to the point of almost breaking. I've pretty much found the reason too."

Link waved his hand. The Spatial Sphere disappeared. He took out another book titled Genesis. It recorded an Araguan legend.

Flipping to page ten, Link pointed at a line and read aloud, "Moses had a vision of a disaster. He brought his people south to the Promised Land. Halfway there, the world-ending disaster occurred. The saint (Moses) waved his staff and used his power to split the sea of the world. Everyone was safe, and they made a home in the new world."

After reading that, Link took out another book. This was the Aragu Annals. He had also taken this from Rockham's library. Official disciples had no restrictions in borrowing books. He also took unimportant books, so Rockham didn't care at all.

"This annal was written officially by the Aragu Empire. I read it. Even though it glorifies the Aragu Empire at times, it's still reliable." Link flipped it open and pointed at a passage. "It records here that Moses was a real person. It's unknown when he was alive, and there are practically no records of his life. However, one part is clear. Look at this description. 'Moses may be the most powerful Archmage in the history of Aragu. It is said that he has the power to break through realms.'"

Here, Milda finally understood. Excited, she said, "I know what you're saying. This matches my race's records of the Aragu Empire. Taking both into account, this means that a catastrophe happened to the World of Firuman in the ancient times. During this, a powerful Magician named Moses retreated with a portion of Araguans. Finally, he split Firuman into two halves… Oh, if this is true, that power must be unimaginably incredible!"

Link nodded. "There are many details that must be confirmed, but the general idea is right. I did some spatial experiments these days. The data matches the spatial thesis I worked on with the Red Dragon Queen. I received the spatial variant—"

Milda shrugged and stopped him. "I don't understand that. Just tell me the conclusion. How do we return?"

"There are two requirements. First, we must find a spatial coordinate—Firuman's spatial coordinate. Second, we must have Legendary Level-10 power. All of us must. My portal will pass the Sea of Void. Without Legendary power, we'll die from the void's corrosion."

Milda thought and said, "With our rate now, it won't be hard to reach Level-10. But how can we find Firuman's spatial coordinate? Link, do you have an idea?"

To be honest, when she asked that question, she didn't think Link could reply immediately. But as soon as she asked, Link took out another book.

This book was called Continental Natural History.

Smiling, Link said, "This is the best part about being Rockham's disciple. He's only a regular Magician, but he's lived more than 70 years. He has many interesting books and quite a few rare ones. For example, this book is the only copy, written by an explorer named Eurosan. He made a record here. Look."

He flipped to a page that included a short story. He read aloud, "This person is very interesting. She's not even three feet, even shorter than dwarves. But strangely, her secondary sexual characteristics are mature. Her possessor tried to impregnate her to produce more small creatures, but sadly, he failed. His anatomy was too big, and she was too small. She was tormented to death."

Milda overlooked the crude content and asked, "The Yabba race?"

Link nodded. "Yes, the Yabba race. There are Yabba in Aragu, and this one appeared suddenly. I believe the Yabba came from Firuman. Look here."

Milda's interest grew because of Link. She became excited and forgot about the customs. She got close to Link and continued reading.

Without a doubt, this is a new race. I am very interested. When the little thing was alive, I asked where she came from. She said that she didn't know how she got here. She crossed through a cave. When she came out, she couldn't go back again and came to this terrifying world…

Yes, she described our world as "terrifying." I think that in her eyes, it is just like hell while her owner is a demon of this hell… I used five gold coins to find the specific position of the cave. I hoped to find something special but was disappointed. The cave is nothing different from a regular cave. I searched for a long time but gave up in the end—Eurosan, 3142 Spring.

"It's Year 3162 now. This was from 20 years ago?" Milda's eyes brightened, and her heart started pounding. She could feel hope now.

Link nodded. "Eurosan is quite famous. I believe the cave is just like the wind vortex we traveled through. It's a connection between Firuman and Aragu. It's temporary, but as long as it had existed, it'll leave a mark in space. I can find Firuman's spatial coordinates."

Milda thought for a bit and asked in confusion, "Why don't we try to find the entrance we came from?"

Link shook his head. "I can't do it. I also did a test. Look here, I invented this spatial cross chord."

Link took four runic spheres from the dimensional storage gear. He added Mana and tossed the balls in the air. They hovered immediately. Two faced each other with a beam of light between them. The two beams intersected, creating a stable cross.

"This spatial chord can sense spatial disruptions within 60 miles. The place we came from is approximately 30 miles away, two miles in the air. If a spatial disturbance of that scale appears, the spatial chord will definitely vibrate, but it didn't. That means that the tunnel we came from has probably closed now."

Link put it away. He sighed and shook his head. Milda slightly knew about spatial magic but could still understand Link's words. "Okay, so when will we go look for the cave?" she asked.

"How long do you think you need to level up to Legendary?" Link asked.

"Probably one month is enough."

"Riel is probably the same. During this month, we'll make some preparations and set out," Link said.

Now, they were very familiar with Aragu. Even if they didn't have enough power, nothing bad should happen if they're careful.

A bell suddenly rang outside the window.

Ring, ring! Ring, ring! Ring, ring! It was very loud and spread throughout the entire village.

"It's midday now. Does the bell mean something happened?" Milda asked curiously.

Link frowned. "No, it's a mourning bell!"

He had specifically checked Aragu's customs, which included the meaning of bells. Rapid bells meant incoming enemy. A long bell was welcoming. If it was two rapid rings and a pause, it was a mourning bell. Someone important had died.