Advent of the Archmage
chapter-23

The Lower Magic Academy of Flemmings.

Some Dark Elf Assassins still milled around the academy, but Celine disposed of each of them with just a swipe of her sword.

Then, she and Link foraged through the entire academy. They searched the library, the dean's tower and all the other mysterious towers around the school. Yet they found not a single piece of valuable gear. Even the low-level magic wands in the Apprentice Dorm were nowhere to be found.

"We're really unlucky. The Dark Elf Assassins took everything," Link sighed.

Almost everything of value was gone. Throughout their search, all they had found was a stack of basic magic books and a small pile of around 1300 gold coins.

They had found more than 50 magic books and more than 20 pounds worth of gold coins. Link couldn't carry all that, so he just left them in the care of Celine. The demon princess had dimensional storage items, and so could hold as many items as she wanted.

This world had dimensional storage items that could be used as portable storage, but such gear was extremely expensive. The most basic dimensional storage ring cost 3000 gold. Link didn't even dare to think about such a thing at this point.

They left the Alchemy Tower for last.

The doors to the Alchemy Tower had been broken down. When they walked in, they saw a mess and several corpses lying on the ground. The Dark Elves hadn't managed to take most of the alchemy equipment as they were too large and heavy, so they had just destroyed it instead. The cabinet that stored the alchemy materials had been left in disarray, excluding the valuable materials, which were all gone.

But since the Dark Elves hadn't had much time, they'd left some things behind in their haste.

One of the drawers in the potions cabinet was only half open. Link walked over, pulled it out, and saw a crystal vial containing a light blue liquid.

The interface showed its information:　　

Low-level Mana Potion

Quality: Normal

Effect: Raises a Magician's Mana by 100 Points after drinking it.

(Note: The potion is slightly toxic. Do not consume more than 1 vial per day.)

Link took a vial out, pulled off the cork, and chugged it down.

He felt some discomfort in his stomach once he swallowed it, a side effect of the potion. But at the same time, a cool sensation spread across his body and finally concentrated within his head. His mind instantly felt much clearer.

He checked his stats again. He now had 145 Mana Points.　　

Not bad. It was enough to deal with just a few opponents, but far from enough to slow the advance of the Dark Elf Army. Link foraged further and found another crystal vial full of a light green solution.

Low-level Mana Recovery Potion.

Quality: Normal

Effect: After drinking, Mana Recovery Speed doubles for two hours.

(Note: Drinking multiple vials does not further increase effect.)

Link drank it without hesitation. His Mana Recovery Speed became 27.6 Points per hour.

But it still wasn't enough!

The alchemy hall only had basic potions. Flemmings Magic Academy was a Lower Academy that only served to provide introductory studies after all.

But no matter how inferior, all magic institutions had treasures of their own!

The Alchemy Tower held the Flemmings Magic Academy's prized possession, Link's target and ultimate objective of returning here!

He walked around inside the Alchemy Tower, finally stopping before a tapestry. A smooth wall stood behind it. If his senses weren't wrong, it was probably a magic door!

Magic Door

Level-3 Magic

Effect: Creates a flawless, solid screen—the ideal way to seal a passage.

The Magic Door was cleverly concealed. It blended perfectly into the walls beside it. Finding it would have been an impossible task for one not familiar with magic.

The Dark Elves were all outsiders to magic, so the magic door had been left untouched. This made Link rather relieved. The door being intact meant that the academy's Magicians hadn't had time to use what was behind it.

"Celine, can you open this door?" Link asked.

"Of course. Not a problem," she smiled. Taking out her crystal, blue sword, she strode over and swung it at the door.

With a loud boom, the jade-like, smooth magic door leading to the hall on the second floor was forced open.

With Celine's power, destroying the Level-3 Spell protecting the door had been as easy as crushing an egg.

A spiral staircase appeared behind the door. Link strode in and followed the stairs up into a small, secret room on the second floor.

The room was empty except for a square cabinet three feet wide, sitting in the middle. The cabinet was dark purple, the color of precious mahogany, and had gold wire embellishing its edges. It looked extremely grand.

Link heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of the cabinet. Despite the game having been made much more crudely, it looked as if the crucial details were still the same.

He had read about the treasure chest in the game forums.

There was a novice Magician who had somehow managed to break down the hidden, Level-3 Magic Door and found the secret room behind it. There had been a grand chest in the room.

When the game player had opened the chest, he had found an incredible potion inside it. After drinking it, the game player's strength had increased exponentially, allowing him to defeat and slay all the Dark Elves on the academy grounds, including the Magician Holmes!

Link quickly walked up to the chest and tried to open it, but the thin, clear film of light indicating the presence of a magic seal enveloped it. There was no way he could open it with his current powers.

"Let me." Celine walked over, preparing to break it open by force.

"Don't!" Link stopped her hastily.

Though he didn't recognize the seal, he could feel the Mana flowing within it. He had the feeling that if they destroyed it with brute force, the Mana in the seal would explode. The explosion wouldn't be strong, but it would be enough to destroy the contents of the chest, leaving him with nothing.

"Then what should we do?" There was no way such a beautiful chest didn't contain anything.

"Let me see."

Link closed his eyes and made a mental map of the flow of Mana within the chest. After about five seconds, he used his wand to tap three of the magic runes. "These three runes are probably the key to it. If we can destroy them at the same time, the magic seal should disappear."

He had no real proof for this course of action, but they were the meridians where the channels of Mana met each other.

"Destroy them… at the same time?" Celine asked, uncertain.

"It probably won't cause a chain reaction if you manage to destroy them all within a split second," Link said.

"That's easy."

Celine walked up to it, the blue crystal sword in her hand moving so fast it blurred.

She struck three times within a split second, making a small cut on each of the runes, immediately rendering them ineffective.

The magic seal started to break down a second later. A dent appeared in the film of light, growing larger and larger until the whole seal disappeared altogether.

Link sighed in relief and walked up to open the chest.

It was almost empty. The only object within it had been placed in the middle—a crystal bottle of amber potion that glowed like the moon. It was beautiful.

The game interface refreshed to show the potion's information.

Magical Murmurs: An Epic Potion. The prized possession of The Lower Magic Academy of Flemmings.

Effect: The one who drinks it shall receive the "Blessing of Magical Murmurs". With it, all spells cast will have a 100% increase in power and a 30% increase in speed. Player's Maximum Mana Points will be restored, along with an increase of 1000 Points, and Mana Recovery Speed will increase by 1000 Points per hour. At the same time, the one who drinks it shall receive the protection of the mid-level Mage's Armor. This "blessing" lasts for two hours, after which the bearer shall enter a state of "ailing mana" for three months, during which all Mana stats shall be reduced by 90%.

What a potion!

Though the side effects were formidable, within those two hours, he would be able to gain unbelievable strength. No wonder the novice had been undefeatable after drinking it!

Link, who had already learned many spells and still had 40 Omni Points tucked away, would be like a tiger sprouting wings with the potion!

But instead of drinking it, Link passed it to Celine.

"You are stronger than I am. You drink it!" If Link could be compared to a winged tiger with the potion's effects, then Celine, at least a Level-5 now, would be akin to a nuclear weapon.

Unexpectedly, Celine seemed ashamed. "I don't actually know magic," she admitted.

"What about the Obsidian Barrier from earlier?" Link asked, surprised.

"That's a Bloodline Talent. I rely mainly on battle skills… This is a magic potion, right? It's not going to be of much use if you give it to me, and I'm a demon… I'm afraid…"

"I didn't think that through properly." Link understood what she was saying. Celine's demon identity couldn't be exposed, or it would bring her great trouble.

So only he could drink the potion.

Pulling out the cork, he poured the contents of the small crystal bottle into his mouth. He felt a boiling sensation. The feeling was somewhat like drinking fizzy drinks, but the fizz was far stronger than anything he'd ever experienced.　

The potion was still boiling by the time it hit his throat. It rushed into Link's stomach like a ball of fire.

Boom.

Link felt something explode within his stomach, but it was painless. Then, immense, uncontrollable waves of power surged into his limbs. At the same time, his mind became clearer than it had ever been before.

The add-on effect of the potion, the mid-level Mage's Armor, also appeared on him. Runes, covered by an inch of glass-like, yellow crystals, appeared on the surface of Link's robes.

The mid-level Mage's Armor was Level-5 Magic. It looked similar to the Guarding Barrier, but the color and shape of the runes were very different. Their properties, too, lay on opposite ends of the spectrum. This particular armor wasn't very effective against magical attacks despite being exceptionally good at defending against physical ones.

Wearing the spell was as good as wearing thick metal armor!

For a moment, Link felt that he was untouchable.　　

He checked his current stats.

Link Morani (Noble)

Level-2 Normal Magician

Mana Recovery Speed: 1027.6 MP per hour

Maximum Mana: 1241

Current Mana 1241

Current Gear: Fire Crystal Staff

Current Condition: Low-level Mana Recovery Potion, Magical Murmurs

Currently in use: Mid-level Mage's Armor

With such a high Mana Recovery Speed and Maximum Mana Points, and with the potion's effects lasting for two whole hours, Link suddenly felt the long-lost sensation he had had as an Archmage in his last life.

With this newfound power, what spells should he exchange his remaining 40 Omni Points for?　　

Link looked at the rapid recovery speed of his Mana. Without hesitating, he exchanged the Omni Points for the Level-4 Spell, Flame Blast!

Flame Blast

Level 4 Spell

Mana Cost: 320

Effect: Create a large, powerful ball of flame that can shoot beyond 50 meters!

(Note: Causes everything to burn!)

Without Supreme Magical Skills, even Link needed more than 3 seconds to cast a Level-4 Spell, at a cost of 320 Mana Points each time.

But the harsh casting requirements were definitely worthy of the spell's terrifying power!

Link also had the Fire Crystal Magic Staff which increased casting speed by 10% on top of the 30% increase from Magical Murmurs. When it came down to it, he would only need 1.8 seconds to cast each Flame Blast.

At the same time, the power of his Flame Blast would increase by 130%, far more than the Basic version and almost as good as having a Supreme Magical Skill.

Yes, Link wouldn't be able to use the Spell for a long time after the effects of the potion wore off, but tonight, his enemies would burn.

Let everything burn!