Advent of the Archmage

Usually, Link would never enter a portal without being clear with the situation. But now, strong curiosity had accumulated in his heart. He really wanted to know what was behind the door.

Further, he’d seen the other display extremely high-level skills along the way. Some even surpassed his understanding. If the other wanted to hurt him, it would be easy. None of this was needed.

After seconds of hesitation, Link chose to fly through the Gates of the True Self.

Strangely enough, the moment he made the choice, the other two portals disappeared. The Gates of the True Self took up his entire vision and was immediately before him.

Link had no more hesitation; he dived in.

The sight changed before him. After a while, the light around him became gentle. Link discovered that his dragon form was gone, and he’d returned to human form.

Warm sunlight shone on him, and the smell of books filled his nose. He looked around. He was surrounded by a circle of shelves filled with all types of magic books. There was a Magician beside him too. His features were identical to the one from the epic that created the six-sided gear. Even his clothes were the same.

“Why are you here?” Link gasped. “Aren’t you dead? Sorry, but I…” When the endless light had burst, he’d seen the Magician evaporate with his own eyes.

The Magician smiled. “I did die, but I came back to life. The God of Light revived me.”

“The God of Light? Are you talking about that gear?” Link froze.

The Magician was slightly confused. “The gear? Oh, it does look like it, but it’s only the appearance. In reality, he is the God of Light.”

Link was even more shocked. “The epic says that you created it. So you’re saying that you created a god?”

“Create a god?” The Magician arched an eyebrow. Then he smiled and shook his head. “No, no, no. You didn’t see the entire story. What happened is that the God of Light has always existed, but he was hurt. I just helped bring him back to life and accidentally purified the darkness in the god’s soul. What you just saw was the process of the God of Light reincarnating.”

This made more sense. If someone could create a god, then their wisdom must be so deep. Before someone like that, Link would feel like nothing more than an ant.

After a pause, he looked at the books around him. “I chose the Gates of the True Self. Is the truth in question the different spells in these books?”

The Magician nodded. “When you entered this place of new life, the God of Light felt it. He told me to take care of things, so I had that guy Romeon lead you here. You really did come and chose the Gates of the True Self, just as how I’d expected. It was hard for you to come. To give you a gift, you can choose any of these books and copy it. Remember, only one book. This is what the God of Light wishes too.”

Only one book… Link looked at the hundreds upon thousands of books around him. It felt like he’d gone into a mountain of treasures but could only return empty-handed. He really wanted to read everything before leaving.

The Magician could tell what he was thinking. He smiled and shook his head. “I’m not being stingy. It’s just that these books don’t belong to me. I’m just the manager. I can’t read these books at will either. The God of Light is the true owner. Each book contains extremely valuable knowledge. A mortal might not comprehend one book even after a century. Giving you one book is already a great blessing.”

Hearing that, Link felt that he’d been greedy. “I understand,” he said seriously.

“Go choose one.” The Magician gestured invitingly.

Link took a deep breath, composing himself, and walked toward the bookshelf reverently. Looking at all the books shimmering with magic light, the titles all tempted him.

The Mystery of Light, Light, and Darkness, Trinity, Spell-casting Techniques of a Super Magician, Sacred Realm, Macro Elements… All the books made Link’s head spin. Each one was tempting, and he didn’t want to miss anyone. Just like a regular person who could only take one gem from Alibaba’s treasures, this was impossible to choose.

While he was conflicted, Link was suddenly attracted by one book—Sacred Realm. “Sacred” meant “Legendary,” so this book would describe spells in the Legendary level. With Link’s current level, he would be able to understand it and benefit from it.

The book looked thick too. It was thicker than other books, so it probably had a lot of content too. For books of this level, there wouldn’t be a single useless word in it. Every word was important. Since there were more words, there would be more content, and he would get more out of it.

Thinking of this, Link got rid of the disorganized thoughts from being in a true god’s archive. He pointed at the Sacred Realm and said, “I will copy this one.”

The Magician didn’t react when he saw Link’s choice. It was as if he wouldn’t feel strange no matter what book Link chose.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

The Magician grasped towards the magic book. A shadow appeared from the shelf. When it flew around three feet, it turned solid and flew towards Link.

Link reached out and caught it. He looked to the shelf; the Sacred Realm was still in its original spot. This kind of copying method was almost godly. Link couldn’t do it.

“Young man,” the Magician said. “You should return to where you came from after receiving the book.”

Link was a bit hesitant again. He’d wanted to go search for the mysterious gear that was the God of Light in the Sea of Void. After all, the demon army was still waiting for him in the Sea of Void. The God of Destruction was also looking for him. If he left this realm, he would definitely die.

As if reading his mind, the Magician shook his head. “You’ve already been welcomed by the God of Light. There’s no reason to look for him anymore. As for the enemies in the Sea of Void… I only have one thing for you. There are true gods in this world, but it doesn’t include the Pale Hunter Fegnoni.”

Link froze. “What do you mean?”

The Magician smiled. “You already have the mental image. In that case, it isn’t hard to see the truth. As for the truth, you must find it yourself. This is the path you must walk yourself… Go now.”

As soon as he finished, Link felt himself float. The scenery around him spun quickly. Three seconds later, the scenery stopped, but it had become a dark green fog. Energy vortices would occasionally pass by, pressing down on him with chaotic power.

This was the Sea of Void.

Link quickly changed into his dragon form to fend off the Void Power. At the same time, a message popped up.

Mission Complete: View Ancient Epic

Player Received: Blessing of Immortality

Use now?

“Use,” Link chose without hesitation.

There was no true immortality in the world. Even the God of Light had once died. So-called immortality was just immortality in a world without outside force. Since he could have something so good, he wouldn’t refuse it.

As soon as he spoke, Link felt his body tremor. An indescribable force flew through him, instantly washing over his entire body. He saw that the silver-black scales on him had changed slightly. Looking closely, he saw that there were ancient magic veins on the surface. They looked similar to the veins on the mysterious gear.

Next, the details appeared in his vision.

Player Received: Blessing of Immortality

Blessing of Immortality

Divine Spell

Effect 1: When blessed, all effects from the realm on the target will be erased.

Effect 2: The target’s recovery rate will increase by 100%. This effect will never end.

Excited, Link checked his current status. He saw that his Realm Essence recovery rate had gone back to normal. It was once again 180 points per second.

This is great. Now, I have practically endless power, and my body can recover quickly. I won’t have to worry about tiring out even if I use my max speed. Even if Nozama uses the Void Ferry to chase me, I can still escape.

Thinking of Nozama, Link shivered. Fedaro was right behind him while Nozama and the God of Destruction were nearby. He couldn’t stay here.

With that in mind, he immediately flapped his dragon wings. Void Power spewed out, and he shot toward Fedaro like a rocket. As he flew, Link also checked the other reward from the mission: the Energy Crystal.

This translucent crystal had 28 sides and contained an energy vortex that kept spinning. It radiated with pure power aura. Link could feel that if he could absorb this power, his power limit would definitely rise. He might even get to Level-14.

He got an idea. When I get to Firuman and settle down, I’ll start absorbing.

…

Just as Link left Fedaro, Nozama who had been pursuing him received a message from the God of Destruction at almost the same time. “Stop chasing and come back. He’s in the Sea of Void!”

Nozama was shocked. “When did he leave? Where?”

“I can only vaguely sense his location. We still need to use your Void Ferry to chase him,” the God of Destruction replied.

Nozama was still hesitant. He turned around. He could see the huge cloud cluster with the gear’s imprint right now. That was the existence he’d been searching. Compared to it, Link was a lesser mission. No, it was more like an accident.

Chase him or continue?

After thinking a few more seconds, Nozama ignored the God of Destruction. He rushed into the white clouds, ducking in without more hesitation.

At that moment, the bloody light had disappeared from his eyes, turning them pitch black. “God of Light, I’ve searched for you for countless years. So you’ve been hiding here, huh. This time, you can’t run anymore!”