Chapter 162: Anthony’s Confidence
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Link had just gotten a stable source of income and settled the export for his future magic equipment. This would mean that the initial funding for the building of his territory was solved. He was naturally in a good mood. On the other hand, in the Heaven's Thorn, Dean Anthony was deeply troubled.
In the parliament hall on the third floor of the Mage Tower, the Dark Elves' equipment was laid out on a circular table. On the other side of the table sat Anthony and Herrera.
"Premium gold magic sword, an anti-magic dagger and a Spiral Focus Wand. These are all very valuable equipment." Anthony carefully checked the Dark Elven equipment one-by-one. He then frowned tightly.
"Master, did you find something?" Herrera asked.
Anthony nodded and floated the golden sword gradually towards Herrera. He carefully positioned it such that the hilt was right in front of her eyes.
"Look carefully. Do you see the iris flower carved onto the hilt?"
Herrera took the sword into her hands and squinted her eyes. Indeed, she saw an exquisite and secretive marking of an iris flower. There were even miniscule petals surrounding the marking and each petal was engraved with another set of complex magic runes.
"The magic runes on the petals are extremely complex. This marking is almost impossible to forge. It belongs to the Norigan Familia, one of the three big Silver Moon Families. The dagger and the staff were all engraved with the same marking. These weapons are extremely well-made, probably produced for the core members of the Norigan Familia."
Anthony then waved his hand and the golden sword floated back towards him. He held the blade of the sword with his two fingers and the hilt with his other hand and did a snapping movement. His hands suddenly glowed with a blinding light and the sword was broken cleanly into two parts the next instant. It was as though he was breaking a loaf of bread.
The fractured surface of the sword was still smooth, showing no signs of violent and deliberate destruction.
Anthony wore the reading glasses hanging on his chest and squinted his eyes, carefully observing the fractured surface. After half a minute, he nodded and did the same with the dagger and staff. He then declared, "The flow of power left certain special traces that could be detected from their weapon. It is often possible to tell the strength of the wielder simply through observation of their weapon. I can determine that the owner of these weapons were all Level-5 professionals."
"Level-5? Three of them? How did Link achieve victory?" Herrera was shocked. Link merely told her that there were three Dark Elves who were slightly powerful. However, she had never expected them to be this strong!
She had once fought alongside Link and knew his strength first hand, especially his insane spellcasting speed. He once destroyed a huge group of undead Warriors that could easily overwhelm any professional Magician. However, those undead Warriors were merely Level-1 to Level-2 in strength. This time, he was confronted by three Level-5 professionals of different classes. If she was the one in that predicament, she would be lucky enough to make it back alive. How did Link return to the academy as though nothing serious had happened?
Anthony smiled and continued, "You have underestimated him. Look at this sword. The outer layer of the sword shows traces of melted metal. This would at least take the power of a Level-5 fire elemental spell to achieve."
"Master, are you saying that Link has already mastered a level-5 spell?" Herrera was once again startled. Link had just reached Level-4 a month ago. To think that he had learned a Level-5 spell in just a month.
Anthony kept silent and put down the weapons. He then turned his attention to the dimensional bracelet and quickly found the iris flower marking on it. He then opened the bracelet and saw a magic book in it.
The book was titled Fusion Techniques of Dark Elementals. He then smiled. "This crafty boy took away all the valuable stuff and deliberately left the dark magic book inside to show his innocence. How cunning."
Anthony then concentrated the fire elements in the air and engulfed the magic book in flames, instantly burning it to ashes.
He then told Herrera, "Link has undoubtedly become a Level-5 Magician. He has at least mastered a Level-5 spell and has the capabilities to stand up to three Level-5 professionals from the Norigan Familia. This can only mean that Link has an extraordinary understanding of magic."
Anthony's mind was on the northern battlefield as he said those words.
More than half of the Magicians should have already reached the battlefront. The incident at Jade Street seemed to have thoroughly enraged the king and catalyzed the attack against the Dark Forest. The Magicians of the academy had also participated in the attack.
In the most recent battle, three Level-2 Magicians form the kingdom were engaged in a battle with one Level-3 Dark Elf Magician. It was reported that the Dark Elf Magician managed to escape with heavy injuries despite being outnumbered, killing one Magician and heavily injuring another in the process. The injured Magician also seemed to be in trauma, and would not be able to battle for the next month.
This was almost too embarrassing.
In comparison, Link was so much more valuable.
Anthony could not help but exclaim, "The Kingdom has been too peaceful. The younger generation simply does not have enough battle power. The academy's goal is to develop Magicians who are both wise and powerful. However, the truth is that very few people are interested in the latter, many of whom do not even know how to apply the knowledge they have learned. The gap between us and the Dark Elves is widening."
Herrera then reminded him, "Master, Link also mentioned something about the demon, Tarviss. Didn't he get banished a long time ago?"
This jolted Anthony out of his thoughts. He nodded, "The truth is that he didn't. He was way too strong and Bryant did not have the power to banish him back to the abyss. He could only choose to seal him away, and the sealing spot is none other than the East Cove Higher Magic Academy."
As the dean, he was well informed about the secrets the academy kept through the generations. The information regarding Tarviss was one of them.
This gave Herrera a shock. She said, "Link mentioned that the Dark Elves were planning to break the seal and destroy the academy. This is the essence of their Black Moon Conspiracy. Master, is this situation very serious?"
Strangely enough, there was not a hint of worry on Anthony's face. He shook his head, "That is not possible. Even I do not know the exact location of the seal. The location had been lost through the generations. If I do not know, there is no way the Dark Elves could know."
"What if they chanced upon it?" Herrera was still worried.
Anthony smiled and shook his head once again. "Even if they got the exact location, they would not be able to break the seal. The power of the seal is extremely strong. The academy has a total of 36 Mage Towers and every single Mage Tower is a part of the seal. Unless the Dark Elves have the capability to destroy half of these Mage Towers, the seal will definitely remain intact."
This would mean that the Dark Elves had to destroy 18 Mage Towers. Every Mage Tower at least had a Level-4 Magician residing within, and the total number of official Magicians in the academy was well above 200.
Furthermore, Dean Anthony's predecessors had been strengthening the defense of the academy every generation. One such example was the massive Level-7 defensive magic formation that could be instantly activated.
This defense was almost unassailable. Even if all the Dark Elf Magicians from the Silver Moon Alliance came, the academy would still be able to hold its ground.
This was the source of Anthony's confidence.
"This Black Moon Conspiracy is purely a plan that the Dark Elves took for granted. There is no need to worry too much about it. What we should focus on now is the war in the North. The king is eager to achieve a victory to offset the negative impact from the Jade Street massacre. The first wave of soldiers has already set off. However, the operation is very hastily planned and executed. I am worried that something might happen."
As one of the strongest Magicians in the Norton Kingdom, Anthony was informed first hand of the situation in the North. There had been a mix of good and bad news amongst the messages that he got. However, he could never feel truly at ease.
He had been keeping this uneasiness within him the past few days. Now that his most precious disciple was here, he took the chance to voice out his discomfort and changed the topic to the war in the North. He was not exactly worried about the Black Moon Conspiracy information that Herrera brought up.
Herrera, on the other hand, was optimistic about the situation in the North. "Master, the situation is not that bad. Our attack this time is also a surprise for the Dark Elves. They should also be unprepared for it."
"I hope that is the case," Anthony sighed.
Anthony then put the fragments of the weapons into the dimensional bracelet and handed it over to Herrera. "Link did well this time. I have already placed the reward in the bracelet. Tell him that while developing his territory is important, he should not delay the progress of his magic research. If not, I will personally request for the king to reclaim the territory!"
"Yes, Master." Herrera took the bracelet and stared inside it curiously. She was immediately at a loss for words.
She had no idea when her master placed the rewards into the bracelet. It was filled to the brim with premium gold ore that could be refined into tens of thousands of gold coins. Apart from money, he also included a huge pile of Mithril ore which would probably become seven pounds of pure Mithril after extraction. All these items were worth at least 30000 gold coins in total.
"Master seems to have a lot of confidence in Link. He is so generous this time." Herrera felt extremely happy for Link. Link should probably have enough money for the development of his land after this.
Herrera was just planning to leave when she stopped in her tracks and said, "There is one more thing I have to tell you. Lady Fortuna Elin met Link just now."
"Oh, how were the results?" Anthony was slightly interested. He had heard many things about her gift in prophecy magic. However, he was not a fan of such magic. He had always thought they were slightly lunatic in nature and not dependable.
"She seemed to have seen something incredible. Her attitude towards Link completely changed." Herrera was incredibly sensitive. She would not be easily fooled by Elin's words.
Anthony laughed loudly and gave a casual comment, "It seems like the young man has gotten himself a new tiny little ally."