Advent of the Archmage
chapter-261

In the hall of the Administrative Building.

Link, Jacker, Lucy, Gildern, and Celine all had arrived at the hall. The magic projection Merchant Warter brought with him was placed on the table right in front of them.

Link tapped his fingers lightly on the table and suddenly said, "It is merely a magic projection that suggests Roy the Fifth might be in cahoots with Dark Magicians. However, this cannot prove that this incident indeed happened, unless we can find Aymons himself."

It was horrible news that Roy the Fifth was working with the Dark Magicians. This meant that his future behavior would become extremely unpredictable. He might even become a serial killer like the Dark Elves.　

The Ferde Wilderness and the Delonga Kingdom were only separated by a body of water. If this magic projection was true, it meant that the Ferde Wilderness had made a dangerous enemy out of the blue.　　

The magic projection was extremely clear. The red-eyed Magician looked familiar. His stature was 70% similar to Wavier, though Link still could not confirm his suspicions.

It would be too hasty to jump to conclusions based on just a magic projection, especially when the issue was this serious.　　

Gildern immediately said, "My lord, we should set up a rescue team straight away and cross the Black River to rescue Magician Emmandel from the Delonga Kingdom."

He was already a Level-4 Archer and was in charge of the scout system in the Ferde Wilderness. This system was the equivalent of the MI3 of the Norton Kingdom. It was tasked with eliminating any spies and gathering of information. If needed, it would also be sent for rescue missions.　

After some consideration, Link nodded and agreed. He said, "Just do your best for this issue. Don't make our soldiers lose their lives over this matter. Time will tell us whether Roy the Fifth is truly working with the Dark Magicians."

After which, Link then turned to Jacker and said, "We have to defend against the possible attack from the Delonga Kingdom. It is time to expand the scale of our troops. Didn't another batch of slaves just arrive? Grab the strong ones to become our Warriors."

"Yes, my lord."

Link then stared at Merchant Warter and said, "As you can see, my territory is still very empty when I have a large land area. Everything is under construction which requires a large number of resources and manpower. It is still too slow if you work alone. Perhaps you can find someone to cooperate with you. I can promise that all the goods transported to the Ferde Wilderness will be acquired at a price twenty percent higher than the average market price, as long as it is from a Merchant firm that you recommended. Of course, the quality of the goods cannot be compromised."　

Link was not being generous by increasing the price of the goods he acquired by a good twenty percent of the original price. He was running out of time and by purchasing the goods at a premium, he would naturally be given the priority for these goods.

If not for the profit margins, who would go out of their way to come to the Ferde Wilderness?

Upon hearing those words, Warter was elated and immediately patted his chest with confidence, saying, "That is no problem. I will form a Merchant Alliance immediately after I leave and increase the speed of resource delivery. I promise that the delivery speed will increase ten-fold in one month's time! You would also be getting ten times—no twenty times more slaves!"

Merchants chased profits for a living, for Link to have increased the profit margins by a good twenty percent, he would definitely get all the businesses in the region.　

Before he understood more about the situation, this was all the preparations Link could do. He then said, "You guys can discuss the specific things later. Lucy, remember to send me a report after you are done."

"I understand, my lord." Lucy was becoming more capable by the day. She was now the administrative chief of the Ferde Wilderness. She was a truly strong, independent woman holding the reigns.

Link then stood up and left.　

In one swooping motion, everyone in the hall stood up to show their respect as Link left. They only sat down after he went out of sight and started discussing the specific details of the plan.

As he exited the administrative building, Link gave a long sigh. He could feel that the World of Firuman was slipping into the abyss at a terrifying speed. The powers of the darkness had already infiltrated into every single crack they could find.

Link could not help but stare into the sky as he whispered, "Oh God of Light. Herrera mentioned that I am your Chosen One. Lady Fortuna thinks that I can save the world. However, can I really hold up this wheel of glory and brilliance that is sinking into the depths of despair?"

As expected, he received no answer. The ever-present sun in the sky still shone mercilessly onto the Ferde Wilderness, bringing light and heat to the world. Link then sighed, feeling unconfident in his abilities.

He then heard light footsteps behind him. He knew that Celine had snuck up behind him. He did not turn his body but merely stretched his hand backward. After a while, a small and warm hand held his fingers gently.

"Link, everything is going to be alright. No one can do this better than you can."

She seemed to be able to guess Link's exact thoughts every single time. The soft whispers were like clear spring water surging into his heart, nourishing his tired and worried being. Link immediately felt better and grabbed Celine's hand with a bit more force. The smile once again appeared on his face as he asked, "How is my Huge Fire Gun?"

"It is indeed powerful, but it is way too expensive. How much did those Khorium bullets cost?"　

"Not a lot, just 500 gold coins," Link said as he grinned.　

Celine was startled by this answer and swore not to use the gun that often anymore. Link then smiled as he said, "While 500 gold coins may seem like a lot of money, every bullet can help me eliminate a powerful enemy. If you think about it this way, it will be extremely worth it, isn't it?"　　　　

Celine hugged the Huge Fire Gun tightly. Although she had only fired one shot, this weapon had already become her treasured possession. Upon listening to Link's words, she glanced at him before saying, "How can you be sure that I will land every shot?"　

"You mean you can't?" Link said while maintaining his warm smile.

"Alright then, I will have to do some training."　　

"I will craft some training bullets for you. Each of them only requires 10 gold coins. I assume that will be acceptable?"　　

Celine nodded her head. Ten gold coins per bullet was the limit for the price of a practice bullet. She would still have to concentrate during her practice sessions, striving to get acquainted with the workings of this gun using the least amount of bullets.

Link did not idle for long as well. He soon went back to his own little magic hut and started using ordinary materials to craft a few training bullets.　

The structure of these bullets was simple. As Link was still unfamiliar with the process, he merely spent five minutes on each bullet. By the time Link reached the tenth bullet, his speed had increased to one bullet per minute. Alas, this was menial labor, and he quickly grew tired of it. Link still persevered through the process and managed to craft 100 bullets in one sitting before he stopped.

Good marksmanship has to be trained using a large number of bullets. It's not possible for me to craft all the bullets Celine needs by myself. Luckily, the process of crafting these bullets is not complex. When the Mage Tower is completed, I will find a few helpers to do this task.

With this thought, Link then handed the bullets over to Celine.　

Celine was naturally elated. After making sure that no one was looking, she gave Link a light peck on the forehead before heading over to train with her new batch of bullets.　

Link felt as though all his fatigue instantly dissipated with that single kiss. He returned back to his room and crafted yet another 50 bullets before stopping to rest and read the magic puppet book he had borrowed from Milda.

Link was extremely focused when studying magic theories. Time seemed to pass extremely quickly when he was doing so.

On average, Link could finish a book regarding magic puppet theory within a day and a half. He even had the spare time to craft 50 of those training bullets for Celine every day.

Link had run out of books to read after ten days. However, by this time, his understanding of the magic puppet had already undergone a qualitative change. His view on the domain had also changed drastically.

Half a month earlier, Vance's creation, Nana, was nearly a perfect Warrior in Link's eyes. It seemed impossible to make her any better. However, now armed with a treasure trove of knowledge regarding magic puppets, Link had thought of nearly 30 ways to easily deal with Nana.　　

Link had not gotten stronger. He simply saw many flaws in Nana that he could not notice before after broadening his horizons.　　　　

"It is time to find that old guy Vance." Link decided to take a trip to the coastline.　　

Link was just about to return the final magic puppet book that Milda had lent him. However, when he reached his doorstep, he realized that the Scorched Ridge was exceptionally lively. There were also many people gathered around the East gate of the camp.

Link even found Jacker amongst the crowd.　　

"What is happening?" Link was curious and walked towards the commotion.　　　　

Jacker saw Link and brushed aside the crowd to get closer. When he reached in front of Link, he pointed to a red-haired man in the crows and said, "My lord, do you see that guy?"　

Link nodded.

This person was around 27 years old and had shiny red hair. He was extremely handsome, especially the way his slender eyes squinted when he smiled. He had the presence and aura of a vagabond free-spirited individual. He had only been here for a while, but many young women were already attracted to him, casting him seductive glances every so often.　　

"His name is Skinorse. He has completed your mission."　　

Skinorse?

Link was slightly surprised. In the game, this person was extremely famous in the mid-late game period. He had many aliases such as the "Red-Haired Flirt," the "Lady Killer,""King of the Assassins,""Legendary Samurai" and so on.

He was born to a noble family from the Doska Kingdom. However, he chose to give up his right to the inheritance and live a life roaming the world. His strength was formidable, and he was one of those who managed to attain the Legendary status in the game. He still had room to grow even further when he died. His character was wild and free-spirited. He gained countless victories in battle and also gathered many negative rumors about his private life.

Eventually, when the Lord of the Deep, Nozama descended into the world, he joined the Army of Light and infiltrated the Demon Fortress to gather information. However, due to him having a complicated relationship with a succubus, he exposed himself and was surrounded by demons. During the chaos of battle, Nozama managed to take advantage of one mistake he made and reduced him to a pile of mushy meat in just one attack.

Well, it was not very noble to have died in that way if you were a well-known Assassin.

Link then carefully observed the Assassin's aura. It did not take him long to have a gage of his strength. Level-7 strength and extremely close to a breakthrough to Level-8. He does not possess a huge amount of Battle Aura, though that which he possesses is very pure in nature. He is indeed qualified enough to kill the Assassin leader.

Skinorse was extremely sensitive and immediately turned around. Upon seeing Link, he smiled heartily, revealing a neat row of glistening white teeth. He then bowed elegantly towards Link in the style of a noble and spoke in a charming tone, "Ah, are you the lord of this Land of Light? It is an honor to meet you."