Advent of the Archmage

In the forest

Boom! Boom! Explosions sounded out one after another as the lightning flashed and blasted out in all directions. Link's legendary magic spell continuously clashed with the Divine Gear.

The Dark Serpent was already just a few feet away from Link.

At this moment, 15 seconds had already passed. There were only five seconds left before Link's legendary spell ended. After that, Link would have no method to deal with the Dark Serpent.

However, what made Aymons anxious was that he had noticed that Link's expression hadn't changed from before. After slaying the fallen angel, Link constantly attacked more enemies with the one hand while blocking the attacks from the Dark Serpent with another.

Boom! The Winged Howlers that were shot down from the sky simply had no chance to fly back up. Any demon who was within 450 feet of Link would be bombarded by the lightning.

The power of the lightning was simply too incredible. Even Level-8 demons stood no chance against it, and every single one of the Winged Howlers that was hit was eventually burnt to a pile of ashes.

Very quickly, only ten Winged Howlers were left of the initial 50 that came, and none of them dared to get close. They maintained their distance far away from Link, afraid that they too would be struck by the lightning.

Unfortunately for Link, when Misamier escaped, she landed behind a large rock where she was then carried out of Link's kill zone by another Winged Howler.

"Link, you will pay for this recklessness!" Aymons bellowed.

Facing the Divine Gear and daring to split his attention, Link was truly being very reckless.

Aymons increased the output of the Divine Gear. Roaaar! In an instant, the Dark Serpent Whip closed in about one foot and was only about two more feet from Link. It looked like it was about to break through his defenses and strike his body.

If it hit, even if it just barely scraped Link's body, he would immediately be killed, his body disintegrated, and his soul dispersed.

Aymons just needed one more push to succeed.

However, it was at this moment that he noticed a silhouette in the corner of his eye. The moment this figure appeared, his heart constricted, and a sense of immense danger welled up within him. He didn't dare to waste time consider and immediately retracted the Dark Serpent, dodging to the side.

Whoosh. The sudden strike hit nothing but air.

Aymons's reaction was truly fast. Seeing his chance, he immediately activated the Divine Gear's protection. Whoosh! His body was surrounded by a dark glowing barrier.

Almost in the same instant that the barrier materialized, Aymons saw the figure clearly. It was Link's magic puppet, Nana!

Nana held a dagger in her hand and was stabbing into the barrier. What made Aymons afraid was that the barrier created by the Divine Gear was actually unable to block the dagger. Inch by inch, the dagger edged towards his forehead.

Aymons could not understand what was happening. Wasn't the Dark Serpent a Divine Gear? Earlier, when he was blocked by Link's legendary magic spell, he could believe that it was a restriction on the Divine Gear by the laws of the world of Firuman. However, right now, what was going on?!

If a normal looking dagger could penetrate the Divine Gear's defenses, wouldn't that mean that the magic puppet was abnormally strong?

Watching the dagger approach his head, Aymons didn't dare to dally any longer. He immediately controlled the Dark Serpent to attack Nana.

Boom, boom! The Dark Serpent was blocked! It was Link's lightning!

The lightning branched out, flashing through the air and forming a net of lightning and destruction. Under attack by the lightning web, the Dark Serpent's attack speed was sharply reduced.

At this rate, the dagger would hit his forehead first.

Even with the Divine Gear, I'm being pushed back by this Magician? Aymons couldn't believe it. However, in the face of the imminent danger, he had no choice to believe it. Without daring to hold anything back, he activated a teleportation spell powered by the Divine Gear. His body was surrounded by a white light.

Previously, when Auselia controlled the Divine Gear, she could only use its extreme speed and barrier abilities. In Aymons's hands, the Divine Gear could exhibit even greater power in attack and defense. Furthermore, this teleportation spell could achieve a range of up to 25 miles and could be activated instantaneously. It was essentially unstoppable.

The next instant, Aymons disappeared.

As he disappeared, a voice remained that said, "Link, don't be happy too quickly. You will soon experience the true power of the Divine Gear!"

After the voice vanished, Link's legendary magic spell also came to an end. The lightning flashing across his body also dimmed. Meanwhile, his Flame Controller's Robe had become torn and tattered, just like an old piece of rag. His eyes were dark. He had only 4000 Mana points remaining, and he could feel his head splitting as though someone had used a hammer to bash his head. It hurt so bad that Link couldn't concentrate to cast any spell. In fact, it took all Link had just to remain standing.

Link instinctively knew that this was a weakness that came from overexertion.

In his previous life, while playing the game, Link had meticulously trained his character into a Legendary Magician. Every time he leveled up, not only did he raise his magic, but he also raised his body's tenacity. This was just like the characters in the game increasing their hp.

However, right now in reality, his body was just slightly stronger than an average human. It was about the same standard as a Level-1 Warrior. With this kind of body, there was no way for him to withstand the might of lightning. If not for the Mana protecting his body, he would have long been burnt to a pile of ashes.

Something flashed in his vision. Link squinted his eyes to look. It was a system notification.

Player has forcefully activated a Legendary Magic Spell and is now in a state of "Soul Weakness."

This status will be in effect for 720 hours. Under this status, the player's ability to cast spells is drastically reduced.

Link was speechless. Earlier, when he had purchased the Legendary spell, this wasn't stated. This unexpected side effect was truly perilous.

He couldn't help but curse in his heart. Thank goodness Aymons is gone. If he had stayed for just a few more seconds, it would be really troublesome.

Looking around, there were still over ten Winged Howlers around. Because of Link's earlier display of power, even though he looked extremely weak right now, none of them dared to approach him, instead choosing to observe from afar.

These demons would definitely pose a problem once they realized that Link was in a weakened state. Just Nana alone would be insufficient to defend against them.

Among these demons, six were Level-7, and five were Level-8. This was an enormous force that Nana would clearly be unable to handle alone.

Link turned to look at the ruined sentinel's cabin. He could feel Melinda's aura which, although faint, was still there. Skinorse, though, was gone. Nearby, he could see the tracks where Skinorse had snuck away during the mess.

Skinorse had made use of the chaos to escape with Link's message.

This made Link feel relieved. Right now, what he had to do was to attract the Winged Howler's attention to distract them from Skinorse, giving Skinorse enough time to safely escape.

Link took a deep breath, trying to suppress the discomfort he felt. Step by step, he walked towards the Nightingale.

The stallion had been blown away by the shockwaves from the clash earlier. Fortunately, it wasn't damaged but only collapsed onto the ground. Link staggered over, ignoring his splitting headache, sending Mana into the Nightingale.

However, Link's condition was much worse than he had anticipated. Just the simple act of sending out Mana caused his head to split and his vision to turn black. He very nearly fainted.

After Link inputted Mana, the Nightingale started moving. It climbed up to a standing position. Link took the chance to settle himself onto the saddle.

Controlling Nightingale, Link turned to face Misamier. He needed to kill this powerful demon. Nana stuck close by his side, Breakpoint Dagger grasped tightly in her hand.

Watching him approach, the Winged Howlers surrounding Misamier immediately dispersed, flying into the air. They were terrified of Link.

Misamier lay unmoving on the floor. However, she was clearly not dead. Link could detect her breathing and noticed that she was still grasping tightly onto the Burning Wrath of Heaven's staff.

Thirty feet away from Misamier, Link stopped Nightingale. Then, biting his lip, he determinedly used the Magician's Hand spell to snatch the Burning Wrath of Heavens wand from Misamier's hand.

After obtaining the wand, Link instructed Nana, "Kill her!"

Nana walked forward, preparing to attack. Suddenly, the Winged Howlers started moving, seemingly prepared to come up to defend Misamier.

Link's heart tightened, however, his face remained calm. Straightening his back, maintaining a serious expression, he looked coldly at the Wing Howlers, smirking. "Haven't had enough of my lightning yet?"

Immediately, the Winged Howlers started backing up. Nana took the opportunity to close in to Misamier, planning to cut off her head.

Ting. Nana's attack was suddenly blocked by Misamier.

Misamier clutched a small dagger in her hand and managed to block Nana's attack. Somehow, she managed to avoid hitting the sharp edge of the Breakpoint Dagger. In order to block this attack, she exerted all her remaining strength. Currently, her body, clad completely in black, was trembling.

However, a Level-9 expert was no weakling. Even as Nana attacked a second time, her attack was once again blocked by Misamier.

"He's extremely weak now! Don't waste time, attack and kill him!" Misamier screeched. She had seen through Link's facade.

Link clenched his teeth and said, "Let's go!"

With that said, he poured even more Mana into the Nightingale. Whoosh. Nightingale burst off, dashing southwards. Nana did not get onto the horse but dashed alongside the Nightingale, easily managing to keep up.

"When you catch him, immediately kill him. Don't let him run again," Misamier said weakly.

However, hearing her instructions, the Winged Howlers did not move. They glanced at each other, hesitating.

This Magician is far too crafty. Earlier, he even managed to trick Misamier. If he has any more tricks left to play, then what seemed like an escape might instead be an attempt to split them up.

Based on the opponent's speed, wouldn't they be toyed with to death?

Besides, Nana was accompanying Link. Earlier, she had very nearly slain Aymons. With someone as terrifying as her around, wouldn't they simply be courting death if they chased Link?

Misamier was not surprised by this. She once again shouted, "This is the Lord of the Deep's orders. Whoever kills him will be greatly rewarded by the Lord of the Deep. Anyone who dares to retreat will be known by the Lord, and they can just wait for their punishment."

After looking at each other for a bit, the Winged Howlers decided to pursue Link.

Misamier lay on the ground for another half a minute, recovering her strength. Then, she slowly crawled up, heading in Link's direction.

At first, she struggled to walk. A minute later, she managed to jog slowly. Two minutes later, she started running faster, exhibiting the strength of a Level-6 expert. Her recovery speed was truly impressive!

Of course, this was just on the surface.

Misamier herself knew that with her injuries, running would not be much of a problem but to recover her battle strength would require at least five days.

Nonetheless, while she was weak, her opponent was definitely weaker than her.

Link, this time, your life will be mine!