Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Slowing down, Link cast an invisibility spell on all three of them. He then began to slowly let his altitude drop as he flew straight for the aura that he just felt.
“What is it?” asked Eliard when he saw the grave expression on Link’s face.
“There’s someone in the woods. His aura is extraordinarily powerful. It may even be at Level-13. What’s strange is that I seem to have felt it somewhere before.”
“A Level-13 master?” said Milose, aghast.
Milose was a High Elf. Before the Mana Disaster, numerous masters had existed when there was still a high Mana concentration in all of Firuman. The High Elves had a complete record of their own history and lineages; as such, they knew more about Legendary masters than the humans did.
For most professions across the continent, Level-10 was a huge bottleneck. This meant that subsequent promotions after Level-10 would become progressively harder.
For instance, a hundred years ago, the former High Elf prophet Bryant had reached Level-12. A hundred years later, though his power was still increasing, he still had yet to reach Level-13.
Despite the difficulties of a promotion, its payoff was huge. After reaching a new level, the extent of one’s power would increase drastically. His or her body would also be one step closer to perfection.
Of course, this was what normally would happen for most races. Legendary races like the dragons who were blessed by their ancestors’ wisdom were a different story.
Though power did not necessarily equate to combat power, if someone had actually attained such power, they would most certainly not be a pushover.
As far as Milose knew, among the natives of Firuman, only two Level-13 masters existed. One was the Light Magician; the other was the Dark Magician. Next was the Level-12 High Elf prophet Bryant. After him was the Lord of Ferde himself, the Red Dragon Queen and the Dwarf Mountain Sage, who were all Level-11 masters.
Last but not least were the High Elf Legendary prodigies who had only recently reached Level-10 at the bottom of this hierarchy.
Right now, Milose’s heart was thumping in apprehension at this sudden appearance of another Level-13 master.
“My lord, should we prepare for battle?” asked Milose. A master of such caliber would not be hanging around near Orida Fortress without any reason. He must have come all the way here to fulfill a mission. If all three of them blindly rushed in, there might be trouble.
Link thought for a while, then nodded. “Alright, prepare yourselves then.”
Saying this, he slightly made some adjustments to their formation, placing Eliard in a position where he could do the most damage.
Half a minute later, the three of them landed on a clearing in the middle of the woods. Link narrowed his eyes and felt for the enemy’s aura. It was extremely weak. He probably would not be able to sense it if he only had Dragon Power at his disposal like before.
“He’s approximately 300 feet in front of us. I think he’s resting.” Link was troubled by this. He sensed that the person was weak as if wounded.
What on earth would be able to injure a master like him? Was he injured by someone? If so, who was his assailant?
Things had become complicated.
Link raised a hand for the other two to stop. He then mouthed out silently to them what he had sensed from the other person. When he was done, he then said, “This does not look too good. If this Level-13 master was really injured by someone, that means that there’s an even more dangerous being lurking in the vicinity. What’s worse is that I can’t even feel this other being’s presence.”
The fact that he could not sense the presence of this assailant could only mean that either such a person did not exist, or that the person had used a technique to camouflage his or her own presence that surpassed even Link’s current level. If it was the latter, this unseen enemy would be able to easily to flatten all three of them like ants.
Eliard did not know much about the masters in the continent. He looked at Milose.
Milose looked even more apprehensive. “There was no way such a powerful being existed on the Firuman continent. It’s just impossible. The World Tree would be able to pick up his or her presence right away. Unless…”
“Unless what?” asked Eliard.
Link already had the answer. “Unless this person was from another realm. The Aragu Realm, perhaps?”
Milose nodded. “When Princess Ariel brought us to the plains, the High Elf Queen had revealed her intention to seek help from Aragu. She had also contacted Princess Milda in Aragu numerous times, asking her to send over masters there to assist the Isle of Dawn, but the princess refused her mother’s requests each time. However, with Princess Ariel gone, I fear that…”
This seemed possible.
Link knew Aragu’s state all too well.
There were countless masters in the Aragu realm. Masters above Level-13 were no more than a lord there. For instance, the Bloody Butcher Balha back then was a Tier-3 master, whose power was only Level-12 in Firuman terms.
Time worked differently in Aragu. A hundred years had probably passed there ever since Link came back to Firuman. No one knew what had changed during that time. If Milda was still alive and also knew that Link had killed her sister Ariel, then her sending over a master to assist the High Elves was just a matter of time.
Teleporting a Legendary master across the two realms would only cause a tiny splash, which would not be enough to trigger Link’s Eye of the Realm.
Link still could not grasp the situation they were in at the moment.
Finally, Link said, “Things have gotten out of control. Let’s retreat for now. We’ll go back to Orida Fortress and convince Marshal Kanorse to dispatch a squadron to investigate the woods… Wait, something’s changed. The injured master’s spotted me. He’s heading towards us!”
Milose was stunned. “He’ll draw the attention of his attacker to us! My lord, let us retreat, quick!”
Eliard had also sensed how serious things had become. Though he was already panicking on the inside, he did not dare interrupt Link’s thoughts. Eliard immediately waved a hand at Milose, stopping him from saying another word.
Eliard might not understand the state of the world as much as Milose, but he was a hundred times more familiar with Link’s ways than the latter. He had known Link for almost four years and had personally witnessed his strength and powers of judgment. He deeply believed that Link would be able to lead the two of them out of there safely.
However, Link did not move a muscle.
He silently stood there, feeling the other master’s aura closely. The other master seemed to be hesitating, his movements tentative. He was making his way towards them inch by inch. As he got closer and closer, Link had an even clearer sense of his aura.
Everything about this master was extremely familiar to Link. The person’s aura, the frequency of his footsteps, the heft of each step he took, and even the soft sound the wind made as it grazed past the person’s body were all coming together to form a familiar image in Link’s memory.
Though these characteristics gave Link an indescribable sense of familiarity, there was still a stark difference between the approaching master and the person he remembered. In the end, he could not come to a final conclusion as to who the mysterious master was.
He decided not to make any further judgments and waited patiently for the other party to arrive.
As Link waited, he placed a hand on the Ode of a Full Moon sword hanging from his waist. This way, he would be able to lash out first at the first sign of trouble.
Milose and Eliard too readied themselves for a confrontation. Their eyes were fixed on Link the whole time.
In front of them was a dense forest. The cold air in the North was unable to fly down south due to the iron wall blocking off the region. The climate here resembled the South’s. As a result, the woods were thicker, and all kinds of plant life grew uninhibited in every corner of the forest.
Five minutes later, footsteps sounded from the woods up front. All three had heard them. Link was now able to gather more information on their mystery guest.
A woman. She doesn’t seem tall, perhaps 4 feet. She has a slim physique, but she feels heavier than her body’s supposed weight. Is it due to the armor that she’s wearing?
Her footsteps seem to be in disorder. Even if her body had been considerably weakened, judging by her current power level, she should still be able to retain some control over her movements… No, she’s lost control of her own emotions.
Who is it? Link now had a clearer image of who he was dealing with. He slowly let his hand slide off the pommel of his sword.
When the other party exited the woods and revealed her face and pair of huge eyes to everyone, Link let out a sigh.
It really was her!
