Advent of the Archmage

"Your Majesty, may I know what brings you here?" Link asked awkwardly.　　

Link had not fully repaired Nana, and she was laying on the table completely naked. Although Nana's body was not gender-differentiated, her smooth skin and delicate features were clearly more feminine. Link was already used to this sight. However, this was still slightly awkward in front of a stranger.

Link had still underestimated the Red Dragon Queen. She had already lived for thousands of years. What else had she not seen?

Gretel walked beside the table and observed Nana carefully. After a few minutes, she smiled and said, "It is an impressive magic puppet. Although the durability of her body is too low."

In fact, it was already strong for a magic puppet. To be able to withstand a blow from a Level-8 Dragon Warrior was already the maximum one could expect from mortal materials. Although Nana was injured in the battle with the Dragon Warrior, she was still able to defeat him, clearly showing her capabilities.　　

Although in the eyes of a Legendary individual like Gretel, Nana was definitely still too weak.

Link would naturally nor argue against her words at that moment. That would bring him no benefit. He followed Gretel's train of thought and said, "This is indeed Nana's weakness. However, I have already done all I could."

Link realized that Nana was looking at him all this time. He then smiled back at her apologetically.

Following which, he saw Gretel took out a red glowing light ball around the size of a fist.

This ball of light was peculiar. After Gretel let go of it, it levitated in the air motionlessly. One would almost think that it was a stationary red ball in the air. However, closer inspection would reveal that this ball was a congregation of many small red spots, where each red spot was composed by a cluster of runes. Each rune had a role to play individually and resonated with the other runes in a specific and strange manner. This unimpressive small red ball was actually insanely complicated.

Upon seeing such an object, Link subconsciously exclaimed, "The Origin Substance?"

The Origin was where all life began. Conversely, it could also turn into anything and breathe life to objects. From another perspective, the Origin could also be described as the Principle.

The Origin Substance was basically the power of principles in a solid form, made from high-level alchemic techniques. It gave a form to the power of principles, making it tangible. This form subsequently became known as the Origin Substance.

This was slightly similar to the Breakpoint dagger which had fixed a point of singularity. The only difference was that the principles governing the dagger came from a broader and more complex Sea of Void, while the Origin Substance was merely a form of the principles governing the World of Firuman. There was a difference in the quality of these two objects.

This time, Link could identify this substance, not because of his in-game memory, but because he had read about it in a book named Law of Alchemy.

That magic book was part of the treasured collection of Master Grenci. It described the Origin Substance in great detail. Neither the humans nor the Yabbas and the High Elves had possession of this object. The only masters who knew how to create this substance came from the dragon race.

Link could not help but harbor the intention to research into this treasure.

On the other hand, Gretel stared at Link's glimmering eyes and laughed. "This is indeed termed as the Origin Substance in the human race. However, the dragon race calls it by a different name. We call it the Essence of Life."

"Oh, the dragon race sure is particular." Link no longer thought of this person as the Red Dragon Queen, but his mentor.

Gretel had also recognized Link's wisdom and replied to him seriously in kind. She pointed to Nana and explained, "Look at her. Is she really not strong enough?"　

"Truth to be told, I think she is already pretty darn strong," Link said.

"Yes, for a mortal object, reaching around Level-8 in strength is probably the limit. But that is not true for living things. For us, even Level-9 is not the limit. We still have the revered Legendary status and after which, the Sacred Realm and finally, the ultimate Realm of Gods. Why is that so?"

This was something Link had never thought about. His eyes brightened up and continued along that line of thought, "This is because every part of their body is alive. Their bodies can be damaged, but at the same time, they can heal. They can heal even faster than they are damaged, which explains why they can exist indefinitely."

Gretel nodded her head in satisfaction. She had taken a liking to this human's mind. He was well-read and reacted fast to new knowledge. He also had a flair for understanding the most complicated of theories. From what she knew, he was merely 19 years old. It was unimaginable how a person could reach this level of wisdom in such a short time.　

She applauded and said, "Yes, that is the case. Living things have almost absolute control over every part of their bodies. We will attempt to repair whatever is broken and even try to improve on it! I created the Essence of Life based on this very principle."

As she said those words, she waved to the floating ball of red light. This light ball immediately turned into a long thread of light, returning back to her hands.

Link's vision was brought along by this thread of light to Queen Gretel's hands. He stared at it for a few seconds before the impulse to bring this smooth and silky hand home to caress almost overwhelmed him.

What am I thinking about! Link forcibly retracted his gaze.

"This Essence of Life cannot increase the durability of your magic puppet immediately. However, it will bestow upon her the properties of life. Not only can her wounds heal, but she can also absorb energy. After absorbing enough energy, she might even be able to defend herself against the attack of a person who has reached the Sacred Realm.

Gretel played with the Essence of Life on her fingers flexibly. In her hands, that Origin Substance simply looked like a dark red ribbon, encircling her ever so gracefully.

Link naturally knew what to do after hearing her words. He asked, "What do I have to do to get it?"　

There is no such thing as free lunch in this world. If he wanted to obtain this Essence of Life, he had to give something in return. This was a principle Link held dear.

The moment he said those words, Gretel squinted her eyes as she teased, "You exposed Osiris' plot. That alone is a huge favor I have to repay. I was planning to give this to you. However, seeing that you have taken extra rewards without my permission, I cannot give you this for free anymore."

She then put the Essence of Life away.

Link reacted fast to those words. He understood exactly what Gretel meant by "extra rewards." She was referring to the two drops of tears he had taken from the Dragon Temple!

Even Link who had cultivated a thick skin could not withstand the embarrassment. His face turned red as he said awkwardly, "I simply felt that it would be a waste if I just left it on the ground. Many of them were crushed by the feet of other dragons. If you want it, I can always return it to you. Is that okay?"

Gretel was just about to poke fun at Link when she was reminded of Osiris. Her mood immediately sunk and lost all interest in making jokes. She sighed, "Forget it. Those were simply painful memories. Take what you want. You may also have this Origin Substance. However, it is the treasure of the dragon race. You cannot research into it."

She then placed her hands on Nana's heart, causing the Essence of Life to flow into her body as though it was alive.　

Following which, Nana's body started showing minor changes.

Originally, although her skin was flawless and white, it did not possess the texture of real skin. If one were to inspect closely, one would realize that Nana was not so human after all. However, clear skin texture could be felt and even seen after the integration of the Essence of Life. That was not all. Her eyes were originally of a uniform color. However, her pupils seemed to be slightly darker than the surrounding parts now, giving her gaze a sort of warmth previously not present.

Nana's body also underwent other changes that made her more life-like. Her mouth was originally just a sound box. However, it had now turned into a real mouth with teeth and a tongue. Something even appeared in between her pristine white legs…Link averted his gaze after taking a glance at it.　

"This is beyond my imagination," Link smiled awkwardly. He would not have to help Nana with the healing of her wounds from now on, nor could he request for her to undress as conveniently as he did.

Gretel, on the other hand, did not feel that anything was inappropriate. She smiled as she said, "Life is the greatest miracle in the world. Each of the body parts is perfect. The Essence of Life my race had created is borne from our respect for these miracles. They are not merely aesthetic, but also useful. It can help the magic puppet obtain energy from the outside world, replenishing whatever that is lacking within its own."

Link imagined the scene in his head. If Nana were to see a rare mineral, she could simply gobble it down to replenish the loss of any body parts…This would be convenient. It would also present Nana with infinite evolutionary possibilities. The transformation process would take some time.

The Red Dragon Queen then made use of this time to get to the main topic, "I came to discuss the Dark Serpent."　　

Link's face immediately turned serious as he said, "Please continue."

Red Dragon Gretel started taking care of Nana's transformation by hand as she said, "Our race had defended against the Dark Serpent for a total of three times in history. Although the Dark Serpent would change form every time it enters the World of Firuman, there is a being in this world that could accurately determine the principles governing the Dark Serpent and offer countermeasures to it. Apart from my race, no one knows about his existence."　

This was something new to Link. In the game, the Dark Serpent was rejected from the World of Firuman after running out of energy. No one could stand up to it while it was present. Naturally, he would not know about the presence of such a being.

However, if this being was as strong as the Red Dragon Queen made him out to be, he would definitely be the bane of the Dark Serpent. Link was slightly agitated as he asked, "This being is...?"

"You might have heard about his alias in the human world," Gretel stuck out her finger and wrote a name in the air, "Elodim Fen Sendac."

Link was reminded of something when he saw that name. He exclaimed, "Isn't this the name of a renowned Spatial Magician 800 years ago? I even read a book that he wrote. It was called…um…Son of A Gun and Son of a Bitch…"

"Son of a Gun" was how he termed space, while "son of a bitch" was what he referred to as time…This Magician was truly a peculiar one, though his thoughts were brilliant and intricate. He had provided Link with much inspiration.

Gretel nodded helplessly and said, "That name sounds like something he would come up with. He is actually a God, though he lost all his powers after losing a bet to the God of Light. He was then exiled to the World of Firuman."　

"Exiled after losing a bet?" Link felt that this was atrocious.

Gretel waved her hands and said, "Alright, that is not the main point. Most importantly, he had a good knowledge of the Divine Gear. If you can find him, and he is willing to help, the Dark Serpent will no longer be a threat."

Upon hearing these words, Link fell speechless and muttered, "He was exiled by the God of Light. He must be fuming mad! Why would he want to help us?"　

Gretel then chuckled, "To each their own."

"How do I find him when Firuman is so huge?"

"Felina will accompany you. He had a contract with my race. Although 3000 years have passed, the contract is still valid. People of my race can still sense his existence and location."

Link could only nod as he said, "I understand. I will find him as fast as possible."　　

Following which, a message appeared in his field of vision.

Activate Mission: Exile

Content: Search for the god that was exiled to the World of Firuman

Reward: 200 Omni Points

What else could Link do? He accepted it begrudgingly.　

Red Dragon Queen Gretel had finally completed the transformation as well. She retracted her hand from Nana's body.

Nana then sat up with her new body. Link was extremely satisfied with the transformation except for one part. There were two excess pieces of meat in front of her chest. This was an insult to Nana's speed! It was blasphemy!

This was simply too wicked!

"Your Majesty, this will affect her agility," Link whispered.　

"Oh no. I have considered this. In fact, this will greatly reduce the impact of any external forces on Nana's body and will not negatively affect her durability at all. It will only affect her speed slightly. However, you have to admit that even if she was slightly slower, it would not affect her battle capabilities. She is already fast enough as it is."

Link could not rebut against that point. He dressed Nana in her armor before he said, "We will set off after Felina recovers."

"Three days would be enough. Take this time to rest. Elodim will not be easy to find."