Advent of the Archmage
chapter-380

"You want the slave girl?" Rockman was shocked.

"That's right. I've taken a liking to her," Link pleaded.

Rockman found himself facing a dilemma. Before seeing the magic bracelet, he would have instantaneously rejected Link. The slave had cost him 1000 gold, and she was meant as a gift for Great Lord Bal. Most importantly, he had informed Lord Bal about the news and Bal was very excited. He couldn't simply swap her out like this!

However, the magic bracelet was worth at least 300 gold. He would make a profit of 200 gold, and could easily cover the cost of 1000 gold. He needed to take good care of this golden goose that could help him earn big money.

Pondering the matter, Rockman decided on a compromise. "I can't give her to you, she's been promised to Great Lord Bal. How about this, I'll let you have any two others to your liking."

Link was stunned. He now knew who Great Lord Bal was. He was the lord of this region of about 77 square miles. In Firuman, that would be the equivalent of a Duke. His son, Bloody-Butcher Balha was the lord of Spring Leaf City.

Not only did Great Lord Bal have a high status, but his personal strength was also terrifying. He was the strongest in the region and was a Level-15 Legendary Expert.

It was said that Bal was hot-tempered. He would kill over slight disagreements. The slaves killed by his hand numbered over 5000. His nasty personality was inherited by his son, Bloody-Butcher Balha.

No one would dare to provoke a person like this in the whole realm. Link's face was immediately full of "disappointment," and he shook his head in regret. "It's alright then, I'll go with the magic book."

Rockman let out a sigh of relief. "Haha, young man, if you want to go far in life, you must properly study magic. Don't get caught up by lust. Come with me, I'll give you two Tier-1 magic books. As for that girl, don't think about her anymore. I'll get you another pretty one soon."

He opened the door to the circular pagoda and led Link inside.

The first floor of the pagoda was a spacious hall. Along its walls were bookshelves, forming half a circle around the room. The shelves were stacked with books.

"Here, the Tier-1 books are on this side. You already have some knowledge of magic, so you can choose any two books that are suitable for you," Rockman said generously.

Link nodded and walked towards the bookshelf. Rockman did not bother Link while Link browsed through the books. He was engrossed with the magic bracelet that Link had made.

It was a truly splendid piece of work!

He had only given the blueprints for the talismans to be built into the bracelet but did not specify any shape or design. That was left entirely up to Link.

The final product was a simple, flawless circular band. However, the various colors blended to create a magnificent scene of two Red Spear Birds locked in battle. The birds looked lively and full of vigor, emanating the ferociousness of a live bird.

He used magic to magnify the details and couldn't find a single flaw in all the details. Even the wrinkles and curls along the birds' eyes could be seen, making them appear extremely realistic.

He channeled Mana into the magic bracelet and felt keenly for the changes. He could detect that the magic flowed smoothly into the bracelet, encountering no hindrances or obstruction. The entire bracelet emanated a warm and rhythmic magic aura.

This rhythm indicated that the magic formation in this bracelet was almost perfect!

Aesthetically pleasing and flawless, it was the most perfect thing ever. Rockman found that even he himself was reluctant to part with it now.

This thing is truly unique, one of a kind. Rather than selling it, I could give it as a gift to the Great Lord's daughter. She loves collecting these kinds of things to play with. I'm sure she'll like it. Who knows, I may even be able to get a Tier-3 magic book as a reward.

By now, Link had decided on two magic books. They were The Basics of Magic Analysis and Top Skills of Tier-1 Magic.

"Teacher, I've selected the books," Link said.

Rockman brought his attention back to Link. He looked at the magic books that Link had selected and instructed, "You can bring these two books back with you. Return them after two weeks. Also, here is the blueprint for the new talisman, this time, I want a magic sword. Do you have confidence?"

Link received the blueprints from Rockman.

The basic formations in the blueprint were simple, although they were slightly harder than the magic bracelet. They were equivalent to Level-6 magic. However, the way they were arranged was also more complicated, roughly possessing the complexity of Level-9 spells.

Link looked at it for a moment. He thought about it for a while. He knew that it would only take him a week if he tried. He nodded and said, "Teacher, this is a little more difficult. I think I will need three weeks."

Unexpectedly, Rockman was delighted. "Only three weeks? Great! Truly someone with potential. Okay, you don't have to tire yourself out, I'll give you a month."

"Thank you, teacher."

Just then, Fu appeared at the entrance to the pagoda. "Master, Lord Balha's men are here."

"What do they want? Haven't I already given this month's medicinal tribute to the army quartermaster?" Rockman frowned.

"It seems like the Great Beast Forest's Blood Eyes goons are up to something again."

Rockman's expression turned dark. He turned and said to Link, "Alright, you may return. Good luck with your studies, and don't forget the sword!"

"I got it, teacher," Link nodded his head. He now knew what kind of people he had provoked in the Great Beast Forest. The Blood Eye Mercenaries were formed from a group of oppressed and outcast halflings. They were the scourge of the Spring Leaf Village.

Their members numbered over 500, with 50 core members possessing over Level-10 strength. Their chief was known by his name Blood Pupil and possessed Level-13 strength. His strength was similar to Spring Leaf Village's Balha and Magician Rockman.

It was said that Balha and Blood Pupil had fought before, resulting in Balha's loss. If Balha hadn't escaped fast enough, he would now be dead.

"Go on," Rockman frowned. His mood was solemn.

Link left the pagoda. Before leaving, he saw Rockman walk away with a fully armored soldier. The soldier seemed extremely sturdy. Standing there, Link felt like he was an unmovable mountain.

Hmmm, another Legendary Warrior. Probably Level-10. Link thought. He was starting to get numb.

In this world, the Mana density was high. It was easy for all living things to grow. Without much effort, one could easily reach Legendary level. However, there was a drawback. Perhaps because they gained strength too quickly, they didn't have a good foundation and understanding of skills.

For example, among Rockman's students, there were many who possessed enough strength to reach Level-6, however, because of a poor understanding of magic, they were stuck at Level-2 and could only use a few simple spells.

Therefore, Link's control of magic was far greater than his peers of the same age. In fact, in some ways, he was even superior to Rockman.

Of course, power was still power. With enough power, it doesn't matter even if you had no skills. A simple punch could unleash incredible destruction. Link would probably be killed by any random punch from Rockman. This was just winning by force.

Thinking about this, Link was anxious to quickly raise his strength.

He followed the path back to his residence, passing by the slave training yard along the way. He could see Saroviny still learning to dance. Then, he stared, stunned. He realized that in just a short period of time, Saroviny had gotten much better at the dance. Earlier, she was like a wooden block with stiff movements. Now though, her body flowed like water, her limb movements were supple and smooth. There was something about her that now captured people's attention.

Did she have a change of heart?

At this moment, the halfling instructor praised. "Good, good. At least you're not wasting your good looks. Continue working hard, considering your good looks, I'm sure Great Lord Bal will treat you well.

Link's heart clenched. Bal ruled the lands around here. If Saroviny got his favor and influenced him, wouldn't that become a great threat for him?

Link felt Saroviny's gaze and detected a trace of cold killing intent. The moment he looked over though, the killing intent vanished and was replaced by a warm smile.

Link knew that he wasn't mistaken though. He didn't tarry a second longer and quickly headed back to his own residence.

In this world, he couldn't remain a small and unimportant person. He needed to quickly become strong and create a name for himself so that Bal couldn't simply kill him when he liked.

Over the next few days, Link entered his previous state of fervor when creating the magic bracelet and began constructing the magic sword.

When he was free, he would study the two books of magic. Princess Milda would look at the books with him. As for Riel, he would use wooden swords to train against Nana.

After a few days, Princess Milda said, "The content in these books is somewhat normal. However, the discussion about magic is very in-depth. This book on magic analysis is still alright, it's about Level-8. This book on top skills, however, is more difficult and requires at least Level-9 magic knowledge to be able to make use of it."

"It is something like that. I've looked at it and gained a lot from it. Furthermore, this is only a Tier-1 magic book in this world. After that, there's still the Saint and Archmage level. There's no end to their field of vision," Link sighed.

After possessing enough strength, your field of vision would naturally increase. Perhaps they might be lacking in some ways in their magic foundation, but the world in their eyes was surely something that Link could never imagine.

Without standing on the mountain peak, you would never understand how wide the view from the peak is!

Link tried his utmost to absorb the magic knowledge from this world.

Two weeks passed by in a flash. Link's magic sword was completed three days ago. His dragon power now reached 7500 points, successfully pushing him to Level-9 while Princess Milda and Riel reached Level-8.

Here, there were no barriers to increasing their strength. Naturally, they would grow quickly.

Perhaps it was because there were no barriers to their growth which was why the Aragu people considered everything under the Legendary Level as Level-1.

This day, Link was practicing the new magic knowledge he had learned when he heard a clamor from outside the building. Something had happened.

As Link was still thinking about it, Riel's voice came from the second-floor balcony. "Link, Link! Something's up. Rockman was carried back by some people. His body is covered in blood."