Advent of the Archmage

Stone house in the woods

As soon as the Ethereal Warrior moved, there was a crisp ding in the air. Two 20-centimeter-long, silver-white daggers shot out from his arms. His entire arm changed strangely.

The daggers were strange too. The material looked like crystal while rings of silver runes wrapped around it. It was intimidating.

"Blade of Time: Fate! Die!"

As this guy roared, he crossed his arms and went into the attack position. His body turned into an illusory streak that shot towards Link.

This incredible speed was equivalent to that of a Level-8 Assassin. Paired with the power of time, basically anyone under the Legendary level would be helpless against him. Even a Legendary figure might be caught by surprise and be at a disadvantage when faced with a time attack.

But it was ineffective against Link.

He’d faced the Spear of Victory from the Nagas before. The time power within that spear was far greater than this Ethereal Magician. The Dragon King’s Fury sword could slice apart this type of casual attack. He wouldn’t need much more effort when faced with this weaker attack.

When the silver Blade of Time reached him, Link didn’t even bother to use a spell. He just blocked it with his sword.

Cling, clang, cling. There were a few consecutive hits. Link could easily block the Ethereal Warrior’s silver-white dagger with only a bit of his strength.

After blocking three moves in a row, he sped up with the fourth move. When the opponent switched to another move, he swept his sword over.

Thud. There was a muffled sound as he slapped the opponent’s chest. His strength was just enough to force the Ethereal back.

"Argh!" the Ethereal Warrior roared, wanting to charge again.

"Enough, stop fooling around."

Link was too lazy to mess with him. The moment the other moved, Link stuck his left hand out. Semi-transparent ripples appeared in the air and crashed towards the Ethereal like a tidal wave. When it reached the Ethereal, it turned into four circular shackles that wrapped around him and lifted him to the sky.

The Ethereal Warrior struggled but to no avail.

Of course, his ability with time was very unique. He’d even surpassed the understanding of some Legendary Warriors, but that was it. He was like a regular man with an assault rifle. He had a powerful weapon but was still just an average person. A truly powerful opponent could easily defeat him.

Coincidentally, Link was that type of powerful opponent. His Dragon King’s Fury sword was an even better "assault rifle." Under this situation, there was no way the Ethereal Warrior could win.

Using his mind, Link nudged the spatial shackles. The Ethereal Warrior in the sky was dragged to the stone platform and prostrated.

"Who are you?" The Ethereal Warrior was so shocked. Link had changed completely now and looked like a regular mercenary, so the Ethereal couldn’t recognize him.

Link obviously wouldn’t answer. He walked up and jabbed the Ethereal’s head, neck, limbs, waist, and other places. Semi-transparent spatial shackles popped out of nowhere to anchor and immobilize the person on the stone.

"What are you doing?!" The Ethereal had a bad feeling.

Link tapped his mouth to shut it. "Quiet."

"Mmmm, mmm!" The Ethereal’s shock and terror grew heavier. He struggled with all his might, but it was in vain.

Link ignored him. He walked over and flipped the man’s eyelids to check his eyes. The possessed Magician had deep blue eyes that were actually quite pretty. Of course, Link wasn’t appreciating his eyes. He studied the deep blue orbs and saw faint green light deep inside.

"Aha, so there are abnormal signs." Link chuckled.

If Ethereals really wanted to hide, they could do it quite well. The possessed basically wouldn’t have any visible signs. Link had to use the Vision of Truth to find abnormalities before. After looking closely, he realized that even a regular person could discover what was amiss.

The Ethereal was even more terrified. His pupils constricted to a point.

Link ignored him. To him, the Ethereal in this Magician’s body was something to be eradicated and used. There was no pity to be had.

He didn’t know the Secret spell to drive away the Ethereal, but he could use alchemy. Thinking of this, Link stepped back. He grabbed downward, and Dragon Power surged out. Another boulder rose up from the ground. He started taking out all his alchemy tools one by one, placing them neatly on the stone.

"Mmm, mhm!" The Ethereal struggled crazily, but it was no use. Before Link, his strength was like an ant’s.

First, Link pulled out a small knife and sliced the Magician’s arm. He let out half a cup of blood and started testing for its attributes.

The foundation of an Ethereal’s existence is in the host’s blood. This was what an alchemist from the Southern Magician Alliance said in the game. Of course, it was a game, so the master just explained it that simply.

Before, it would have been useless even if Link knew about this. Now, his attainments in alchemy were comparable to that master alchemist. He only needed this breakthrough point; everything else was easy.

Cling, cling, clang, clang. After a bunch of noises, Link completed the blood test ten minutes later. A thin layer of blue appeared on the bottom of the crystal cup. He sniffed it; it smelled like garlic. He shook it and discovered the liquid was viscous. At closer inspection, it glowed faintly too.

Link extinguished the magic light on the ceiling. Now, the glow was even more obvious. The blue viscous liquid under the light glowed green in the dark. Through this light green glow, Link could see the physical attributes of the liquid even more clearly. Paired with the previous test, he knew what the liquid was made up of.

"It’s a Soul Drug made with mink, thorn flower, and gold antlers, right?"

He saw the Ethereal Warrior shudder and Link knew instantly that he was right.

Smiling, he continued, "Using the Soul Drug to repress the host’s soul is a good idea. Sadly, you can’t do it yourself. It must be the trick of some Secret Magician. Where is he? Can you tell me?"

As he spoke, he loosened the shackles on the Ethereal. He immediately shook his head and exclaimed, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Answer my question!" Link said harshly.

The Ethereal Warrior shuddered. He felt great pressure come from the Soul Realm. It felt like he was a candle facing a hurricane. If he tried to resist it, he would immediately shatter into pieces.

"I won’t say it... I won’t say it." He gritted his teeth; his consciousness was wavering already.

"Fine. I’ll find him anyway. But first, let me take care of you."

"What are you—"

Before he could finish, his mouth was sealed again. Link picked up more alchemy material and went to work. Half an hour later, he’d concocted dark yellow liquid with a sharp odor. The liquid bubbled, looking like horse piss.

"Yeah, it doesn’t smell good, but it should get rid of Soul Drug."

Link carried the cup of yellow liquid to the Ethereal Warrior. He pointed at the man’s mouth, and the force field there opened his mouth. The Ethereal’s muscles kept shaking; he was still struggling even though it was useless.

Ten seconds later, the cup had emptied down his throat. Ten more seconds later, he started trembling uncontrollably. As he shook, green smoke expanded from his body.

The smoke spread for more than ten minutes. Then a shadow appeared above the body like something rushing out of it.

It was obvious that this thing was doing everything to stay inside the Magician’s body. But without the Soul Drug’s restrictive effect, the Magician’s own soul was waking up and forcing the invader out.

Link was well-prepared. He took out a colorless fist-sized crystal. This was a Soul Crystal that Eleanor gave him specifically to store souls. As long as it wasn’t used to store souls of intelligent beings, this crystal was part of the field of Secret Magic. If he went past that, it would become black magic.

Now, Link was using it against an Ethereal from another realm. This was a gray area. Technically, he’d stepped over the boundary, but this guy was an invader so it should be fine.

Dragon Power surged into the crystal, and it emitted an attractive force. The illusory shadow on the Magician was sucked towards the crystal.

It struggled so hard, but it was to no avail. Five seconds later, it was completely inside the crystal. The crystal had also turned silver-white, just like the Ethereal’s Blade of Time.

The crystal wasn’t flesh, after all. It couldn’t provide the energy or environment needed for operation. Thus, the soul could only exist quietly inside the crystal.

Link added some Dragon Power in to test the soul’s other structures. Three minutes later, he found the part with time.

Haha, this is nice.

Link poured Dragon Power into this structure. An instant later, the silver-white light glowed around the crystal. Rings of overlapping runes appeared in the glow. The aura of time thickened in the air. It was just like when he’d used the Blade of Time.

The world’s imagination is boundless, Link couldn’t help but lament. An organism can evolve to have such a peculiar type of power.

At this time, the Magician that had been possessed moaned from the stone. He was about to wake up. Link put the Ethereal time crystal away and walked up, waiting patiently for the Magician to awaken.

He should be able to provide a lot of valuable information.