Advent of the Archmage

Two days later, Link's group returned from the South, fully loaded.

This time, they brought back 569 Ethereal Crystals. They'd practically wiped out all the Ethereal Warriors around the Syndicate.

After returning to Ferde, Link didn't rest. He immediately gathered the core Magicians of the territory to start producing Ethereal magic equipment.

This equipment could transform into Legendary-level power, making up for the lack of high-level martial combat in Ferde. In other words, these were strategic resources. They had to be perfect and flawless.

Naturally, this required powerful Magicians.

At the present, there were six core Magicians in Ferde. Other than Link, there was Eliard, Vance, Alloa, and Celine.

Celine especially had studied Link's enchantments for about half a year without rest. Paired with Link's obvious help, she was very advanced in enchantments now. She was practically equal to Vance and the others.

Other than Alloa who used Link's Dragon Power due to her special circumstances, the other five were all above Level-8. Eliard's Sunlight Power was even in the upper stages of Level-9. His power was quite active too. Soon, he would reach Level-10.

This was the most powerful force in the history of humanity; they could look over any other human territory arrogantly. However, compared to the 80,000-strong Magician army of at least Level-6 Magicians from the Isle of Dawn, they were still far off.

Just these few hundred Ethereal Crystals was already stretching them thin, let alone being able to deal with the Isle of Dawn. Each Ethereal Crystal had a unique function. They couldn't use mass production. Due to the high level, they also couldn't get help from ordinary Magicians.

Thus, the six had to process the crystals one by one. It was very inefficient.

The bottom line was that Ferde needed top-level Magicians. Thus, after working for a day, Link and Eliard walked to Evelina's imprisonment room.

Even though she'd gone to the South and had worked hard, she was still technically Ferde's prisoner. Plus, her many subconscious reactions along the way had showed that she didn't really want to join Ferde. She was just staying here due to fear of Link's power.

This wasn't a good thing, because once she had the ability to escape from Link's control or was intimidated by someone stronger, Evelina would sell Ferde out. It was just like how she'd betrayed the Syndicate.

Halfway there, Link asked, "Eliard, what do you think of Evelina?"

Link's knowledge of her was limited to the game. There, Evelina had been a wandering vigilante. She'd walked around and sometimes joined important battles but never joined the core of the alliance.

In reality, Eliard was always with Evelina. He would be more familiar with her.

Eliard flinched and then nodded. "She's good. I would sometimes discuss magic with her, like secret spells and techniques. She would answer straightforwardly without keeping anything back."

"Oh." Link seemed to have some thoughts.

Since she was at the point of sharing secret spells with Eliard, there was something to be considered. Just like technology from earth, there were two levels of spells.

The first was magic theory. This was the basics and there was nothing to hide. Even if you figured it out first, others wouldn't be too far off.

For example, Link had created the spatial theory. There must be other spatial Magicians in the world that reached similar levels but were just a bit off. There wasn't a really significant gap.

The second level was in specific applications. This was the specific spells and techniques. These were secrets—the things that could cause the gap in abilities.

For example, everyone knew the principle of leverage. However, some would use a wooden stick to throw stones while others would use a catapult. The difference was too big to put in words.

It could be said that secret spells were a Magician's best tricks. They wouldn't tell people who weren't close or trusted. Since Evelina shared them with Eliard so straightforwardly, she either had feelings for Eliard or Ferde. They were both good things.

These thoughts flashed through Link's mind. "I see," he said. "Later, you persuade her. I'll just stand to the side."

Eliard nodded. He'd been wanting Evelina to join Ferde. He had said this many times before, but Evelina never gave a definite answer. She always had some worry. He didn't mind trying to persuade her again. If she didn't agree, he would come a second or third time. He felt that if he tried enough times, she would agree.

The place where Evelina was "imprisoned" wasn't far. It was a guest room in Eliard's sub-tower. The two arrived quickly.

At the entrance, Link stood to the side while Eliard knocked. "Eve, are you free?"

"Of course. Come in," Evelina said.

Eliard opened the door and entered.

Evelina was only imprisoned in name. In reality, Eliard didn't put any restrictions on Evelina. As long as she wasn't walking around on the street, she could use all the resources in the tower, such as the Elemental Pool and alchemy room.

The guest room had everything necessary too. Eliard had even remodeled the room in the style of the High Elves.

Entering the room, one could see many fine silver veins on the doorframe. Going further in, there was a sturdy and smooth wood floor and a deer head hanging on the wall. The living room had an elven warmer. The bedroom, bathroom, and toilet were all decorated sincerely too.

Link followed Eliard into the living room and felt that he was in a different world. It wasn't like a room in a Mage Tower at all. It was more like a house in the woods.

In the room, Evelina was lying lazily on a leather chair, reading a magic book. Link peered at it and discovered it was the enchantment book he'd written.

Seeing Link and Eliard come, Evelina set the book down. Her hand twitched and an innocent-looking magic puppet brought two cups of hot water over.

This magic puppet was a top-class product of the Gold Rune Workshop. They were mass-produced now and were popular with the nobles. Many people would come to Ferde just to order a pretty servant. The price was good too. The workshop had a list of specific prices, clearly stating the different materials and functions. The price went from 500 to 10,000 gold coins.

Evelina smiled. "You two must be busy. How come you're here?"

Link sat on the side without replying. He just blew at his hot drink. Eliard cleared his throat and said straightforwardly, "Evelina, here's the deal. We sincerely invite you to join Ferde."

Evelina arched an eyebrow. Smiling at Eliard, she said, "Aren't I already in Ferde?"

Eliard shook his head. "No, not just like this… What I mean is, we're inviting you to join the core group of Magicians."

He was being very clear. Evelina fell silent and glanced at the quiet Link. Then she looked back at Eliard. "You and the lord are both here. Is this the ultimatum something?"

Eliard shook his head. "Of course not. We just need you."

Evelina pursed her lips. After a pregnant pause, she confessed, "To be honest, even if you have the Ethereal Crystals and Link, I still don't see Ferde's future. The Isle of Dawn won't let you develop like this. When none of the overt tricks can solve a problem, it'll lead to an outright war."

Eliard didn't give up. "That's why we need you… I need you."

His words were direct and his tone was earnest.

This wasn't just Ferde wanting a strong figure to join. After all these days, Eliard felt that he really wanted to be with this half-elf. He didn't want to become enemies trying to kill each other someday.

Evelina laughed instinctively. Before, she would definitely scoff at something like this. She would sneer and say mockingly, "Who are you to interfere with my fate?"

But this time, her laugh cut off halfway. She saw the fervent anticipation in Eliard's eyes. For some reason, she felt deep inside that if she missed this chance, she would never find anyone who fit with her so well.

She couldn't face that heated gaze. After two seconds, she couldn't do it anymore and averted her eyes.

Lowering her head, she murmured, "Eliard, I'm not as good as you think. I can't meet all of your expectations—"

Before she could finish, Eliard wanted to try again, but Link reached out to stop him. He stared at Evelina and uttered, "You fear the Isle of Dawn."

He got straight to the point!

Evelina's head shot up. "Should I not? The power of an 80,000-strong Magician army can wipe Ferde off the face of the planet. Who can stop them?"

Link shook his head. "No," he said seriously. "Evelina, you're too obsessed with the comparison of power. It's not that important."

Seeing that Evelina wanted to refute him, Link continued, "I have a sword and the Isle of Dawn has 1000 swords. They can use 1000 swords to kill me, but I also have the opportunity to use one sword to defeat the Isle of Dawn. The number of swords isn't actually that significant."

Right now, they were both afraid of each other. Of course, Ferde's power wasn't real, but as time went on, they would only grow stronger.

"But the Isle of Dawn has the Level-19 World Tree. You won't have a chance." Evelina shook her head.

Link chuckled. "Then why am I still alive?" he asked.

"Uh…"

"I'm alive because the Isle of Dawn can't handle me. Since they can't kill me, they'll be afraid of my reaction. During this time, Ferde will keep strengthening. There are close to 300 million humans. There is unlimited potential. But the Isle of Dawn only has three million people. So what if their power reaches the pinnacle?"

Evelina had never thought of this.

Link continued without stopping, "The High Elves have a stable tradition and they're used to peace. Their power won't change too much in the near future, but as you've seen, Ferde will keep going. It's possible that we'll reach the Isle of Dawn's level within five or ten years!"

Link didn't add any fervent emotion while speaking. His tone didn't change either. He was just stating facts with a cool gaze. It made him seem indescribably confident, like he grasped the truth.

Evelina was a bit swayed.

Seeing her soften, Eliard walked up and grasped her hand. "Eve, why did you leave the Isle of Dawn? Wasn't it because of the arrogance of those pure elves? Ferde doesn't have that. Here, the only thing that matters is your magic. No one will look down on you because of your bloodline or background. Ferde is developing quickly, but it's still fragile. Stay and protect it."

Conation appeared on Evelina's face. Her lips quivered; she wanted to say something.

Link chose this time to add, "Eve, the current power difference isn't that important."

"Then what is important?"

"Who's growing."

As long as they kept growing, they would surpass the other someday.

Evelina's mouth opened a bit. She looked dazed. Being in Ferde for these days, she indeed saw that the territory was changing. Something new was created almost every day. In the Mage Tower, new spells would be invented daily.

This kind of place was growing indeed. Right now, it may just be a small tree, but as long as it wasn't destroyed, it would rise to the sky one day.

Then she looked to Eliard. Something warm flowed through her heart.

People were strange. You would feel disgusted by some people at first glance; but for other people, your heart would speed up. To Evelina, Eliard was the type that sped up her heart. In her eyes, this half-elf was practically perfect.

Finally, Evelina held Eliard's hand too. "You asked me this question more than ten times. This time, I'll agree."

Ecstasy filled Eliard's eyes. If Link wasn't there, he probably would've kissed Evelina hard now.

Link wasn't stupid. "Eliard, I'll go now. You can take care of everything else."

As he spoke, white light surged around him and he disappeared. A short while later, he was inside the main tower. After sitting down, Link took out the Moon Stone reward from the mission. Just as he was about to study it, someone knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Gildern walked in with a letter. It had a glowing red magic seal. Seeing it, Link's brows furrowed.

"Lord, this letter is handwritten by General Kanorse of the Orida Fortress."