Advent of the Archmage

Sleeping Giants Inn.

The black cat’s words shocked Link. He couldn’t help but ask, "Will it be useless even if we kill Isendilan?"

"Yes. It’s too late." The black cat shook his head and uttered the answer that threw them into despair.

Link couldn’t accept it. "Even if the divine spell has damaged the World of Firuman, the world is able to repair itself. How can it be useless?"

The black cat laughed. "Heh, Magician, you know quite a lot, huh? But you must know that some poisons will only weaken someone while others are fatal. This divine spell belongs to the latter."

Seeing that Link still hadn’t given up, he continued, "Let me explain it like this. The World of Firuman is a piece of glass. My divine spell has made a tiny fissure in the glass. It looks fine, but as long as the world continues to operate, the fissure will continue growing and growing until it covers the entire world. Then, boom, Firuman will shatter like glass. The difference between Isendilan using the resurrection spell once or ten times is just how soon the world will fall apart."

"Is there no way to fix it?" Link asked.

The black cat shook his head. "Perhaps, but what does it matter to me? I wish this cage would have shattered earlier. Anyways, I can’t do anything."

Link’s brows knitted slightly. "How much longer do we have?" His voice was frigid.

The cat shrunk subconsciously and then relaxed. This was just a mortal, and he had nothing to be afraid of. "Based off of the current situation, there are at most 20 years. That means that even if I don’t do anything, I’ll regain my freedom in 20 years."

With that, the black cat grew happy. He meowed at Link a few times. "Mortal, even if you kill me, you’ll only live 20 more years than me, and you’ll only destroy my physical body at most, hehe."

Link lowered his head in deep thought.

He could search for a way to repair the crack within the 20 years. If he couldn’t do so, the game would be over. That was his situation now.

During this time, Isendilan couldn’t continue to cast the divine spell or else the rate of damage would increase.

Under these circumstances, Link had two choices: The first was run from the Golden Plains and have the Beastmen leave as well to reduce clashes with Isendilan. This was obviously unrealistic.

Isendilan had legendary power. If one became his enemy, they couldn’t just escape if they wanted. Furthermore, the Beastmen wouldn’t listen to his orders.

That left the second solution: kill him as soon as possible.

As for this black cat...Link sighed. He should commit his all at this critical moment.

"Hey, what are you spacing out for? Too scared?"

The black cat laughed. His voice was crisp like a little girl, and his face was round. When he spoke, his tail swished, making him look adorable. However, this was an ancient creature that had been alive for who knew how long. The cuter he looked, the stranger Link felt.

"Don’t be scared, mortal. The world ending is a very fast process. It’ll be over in a bit. You won’t feel any pain, and it would already be over so don’t worry about all that. Give me some fish, won’t you?"

Link didn’t refuse this time. He filled a bowl with fish and placed it before the cage. "One bowl of fish for one of Isendilan’s lives."

The cat agreed quickly. "Sure!"

It wasn’t his life, so he didn’t care. It just meant that he would have to wait longer to escape the cage and he could wait. Tasting the fish, he couldn’t help but let out a meow and start gorging.

Link’s voice sounded again. It had no inflections and was neither slow nor fast. He just spoke very casually. "I’ll have Nana bring you around. From now on, no matter what happens, if I die, Nana will stab a dagger into your brain. If I get hurt, she’ll stab you in the same place as my injury. Nana, will you remember that?"

The black cat had very ordinary strength, and Nana was on a totally different level. Hurting him was as easy as squashing an ant.

"Nana will remember!" Nana said in her lovely voice, nodding seriously.

The black cat froze. He suddenly felt extremely frustrated, and even the delicious fish became tasteless. "Mortal, you’re so evil!"

This meant that even if the world fell apart, he would still get killed. Then what was the point of doing all this?

Link played with his wand and smiled. "If I’m going to die, then let’s die together."

"I’m done eating!" The black cat waved his paw and smacked the wooden bowl to the side. Then he ran to one side of the cage, curled into a ball, and growled angrily to himself.

Ignoring his temper, Link took the bowl from the cage. Then he used the Magician’s hand to pick up all the spilled fish and soup and said, "The Spider Queen Lolth’s Divine Gear, the Dark Serpent, has entered Firuman again. Its soul swallowing skill is too powerful. I need a way to stop it."

"Go away! Don’t talk to me!" The black cat was pissed.

Link didn’t lose his patience. He cleaned up the soup and said to Nana, "Watch him. If he runs out, stab him through the head. From now on, he can’t be more than 100 feet away from me. If he does, kill him. That is your most important mission now."

"Understood." Nana nodded and stared unblinkingly at the cat with her big eyes. It looked like she was ready to stare at him until death.

Reassured, Link turned and walked to his room. Not long after he lay down, a "little girl" started screaming from the living room. "Ah! Damn you magic puppet! Damn you, Magician! Damn Firuman!"

Link flipped over and ignored him. He continued sleeping.

Nothing was said the entire night.

The next morning, as soon as Link opened his bedroom door, Elodim walked over obediently. He rubbed his head against Link’s heel and meowed sweetly. "Magician, you win," he said. "Give me a bowl of well-made blue nightfin snapper in exchange for the solution against the Dark Serpent."

Link smiled instantly. He bent over to pat the cat’s head. "That’s the way, little thing."

The cat would rather claw Link’s face, but there was a scary magic puppet standing beside him with a dagger. He didn’t dare do anything impulsive.

He could only cry in his mind, Ah, whatever. I can’t believe that someone as wise as me would fail so completely. When can I make a comeback?

After washing up, Link went to eat breakfast in the main hall of the inn. Nana reached out, and the cat sighed. He jumped into her arms and Nana, holding the cat, followed behind Link.

Whatever, at least she’s pretty. If it was an ugly hag magic puppet holding me, it would be even more torturous, Elodim thought weakly.

In the main hall, Link saw Masos and Felina.

Seeing the obedient black cat, Masos opened his eyes so wide they almost fell out. "Master, how did you tame it? It wasn’t like this yesterday."

Isn’t this a god? he thought. Can gods be tamed too?

Link didn’t explain his exact tactics and just smiled. "Felina, he agreed to help."

"Really?" Felina was happy. "I knew you’d have a way."

Meow. The black cat sighed and squirmed. He rubbed softly against Nana’s breasts. They weren’t much, but they were still soft. He could manage in this place.

Link stayed in the inn for the next few days. He didn’t do anything other than learn how to undo Isendilan’s divine spell from the black cat Elodim.

The black cat was powerless, but he was sharp, intelligent, and had bottomless knowledge. If he wasn’t evil, he would definitely be the best Magician advisor in the world.

Sadly, this guy liked being tricky even when threatened. Link had to be guarded when communicating with him. Even though he learned a lot, it was exhausting to be so cautious all the time.

Three days later, the black cat was finally satisfied. "You can finally use your brain. If you use this solution, you can fight against the divine spell I gave Isendilan."

"Perhaps." Link was still doubtful. He didn’t know the theories behind divine spells at all. Knowing the effect without knowing the cause was the most annoying thing in the world. He couldn’t trust the black cat at all.

Isendilan’s matter was finally settled, but Link didn’t allow the cat to rest. He made the cat start calculating the principle power of the Dark Serpent.

He had the data left behind by the Maiden of Truth integration gear. With this, the black cat could calculate the Dark Serpent’s strength. Of course, this required time.

While he was busy, Holun returned.

The moment he got back to the territory where Link was resting, he yelled, "Master, where’s my axe?"

Link was at his table reading. Nana stood beside the table with the bored cat. The scene was the definition of calm.

Hearing the door open, Link took out his wand and waved lightly. The axe that had been rested against the wall flew at Holun.

Holun caught it and started studying it.

The axe looked similar to his previous black light axe, but he felt like something was different. After checking carefully, he realized that it had become prettier, but he didn’t know how. It just felt like the chest of the city lord’s wife, Charlotte. Once he got his hands on it, he couldn’t let go.

He made some mock slices, and it whistled through the air. The weight was suitable and basically had no difference from before. Anyway, it felt right in his hands.

After a few more swings, his hand itched to try it, so he hacked at the stone wall. There was a soft thud, and the axe met some resistance before slicing out of the wall.

Holun looked at the wall. There was a millimeter-wide cut in the wall. Touching the hole, it was smooth as glass. Holun gulped and swallowed heavily. He hugged the axe tightly as if it was his lover.

"Master—"

"Are you done testing it?" Link interrupted.

"Yes, yes, I’m so satisfied."

"Good. Then get out and close the door." Link waved his hand. This big Beastman was too noisy.

"Ah, ah, I’ll go now. You do you," Holun said timidly. He snuck out of the room and gently closed the door. Then he tiptoed out of the hallway until he left the inn. Finally, he couldn’t keep it in anymore, and he exploded like thunder.

"Hahaha, come, come, come. Come look at my axe! I’m telling you, it’s like divine gear! Avatar, come, come, look at my divine gear! Hey, Shaman, come look at my sacred battle axe!"

Hearing this, Link couldn’t help but bury his face in his hands. This was so awkward. If an enchantment Magician heard Holun, he would laugh until his jaw dislocated.

The black cat couldn’t stand it. He reached out, combed his whiskers, and licked his paws. Then he uttered, "Huh, Beastmen are all idiots!"