Advent of the Archmage

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Oh, ah! My arm! My leg!

Bryant shuddered and was shocked awake from his nightmare. After regaining consciousness, he felt that he was under the covers of a bed. It felt warm and soft. His broken limbs weren’t in pain either. They didn’t seem to be hurt; he could even move them.

He found this strange. What’s going on? Were they all nightmares? And now I’m awake, so none of that had happened?

Opening his eyes, Bryant looked around. He was lying in an open and bright room. The furniture inside looked familiar. At closer inspection, he seemed to be in the courtyard from before.

Sitting up, he looked at his hands. He realized that there were many subtle runes on his skin. Immediately, he recognized that his hands and feet weren’t actually his. This was a flesh magic puppet spell.

Oh, seems that everything that had happened was real. Bryant sighed.

“You’re awake?” a voice asked.

Bryant looked over. There was a table by the illuminated window. Link, clad in casual clothing, sat there. He closed his book and looked over.

Ferde now was bright and sunny. Golden sunlight shone in from the window like a gold beam inside the room that was dim in comparison. Link was half bathed in sunlight and half covered in shadows. Because of the light, Bryant couldn’t see his expression clearly. He just felt like the other was very calm.

“How long did I sleep?” Bryant clutched his head. It felt heavy like there was cotton stuffed inside. His thoughts couldn’t flow smoothly.

“Not long, 75 hours.” Link’s voice was light and emotionless.

Bryant suddenly discovered something. All his power had disappeared, not a shred left behind. His body was empty; he was no different from a regular person.

“You sealed my power?” he asked. He wasn’t surprised.

“No, I didn’t,” Link said. But just as Bryant sighed in relief, Link continued, “I just separated it completely from your body… What I truly sealed was your soul.”

Bryant was shocked. He subconsciously clutched his head, trying to think of a spell to cast. But when he tried it, he discovered something even more shocking. “Where are my spells? Why can’t I remember them? What did you do?!”

Only spells under Level-2 were in his memory, and they weren’t much either. Thinking carefully, he only knew five or six harmless spells. Everything else was gone. Like a book soaked in water. His memory was like the words in the book. There were some imprints, but he couldn’t think of anything if he tried.

“No, you can’t do this to me! Magic is my everything. You must return it to me!” Bryant used all his might to sit up in bed, but he discovered that some power had restrained his limbs. All struggle was in vain.

Link didn’t speak or even look at Bryant. He just sat in the chair and read his book, completely focused.

After struggling, Bryant finally realized that right now, he was just an insect to Link. All his struggling, growls, and roars were useless. Link could isolate him from the outside world with a small spell. The world wouldn’t even be able to notice his situation.

Understanding this, Bryant gave up. He leaned against the bed, panting heavily. When he caught his breath, he said, “Alright, what do you plan on doing to me?”

Link closed his book again. “While you were sleeping, we read all your memories, including your cooperation with the Army of Destruction, the Isle of Dawn’s plan, as well as the exact actors, their personalities and characteristics, and even the names of some young talents. Basically, we know everything that you know. Right now, you’re useless to Ferde.”

Bryant’s heart went cold. “So you’ll kill me?”

“No, you’re wrong.” Link shook his head. He waved at the door, and two beautiful magic puppets walked in. One was slender and delicate; the other was curvy and full. Both were attractive.

“Your explosion destroyed hundreds of homes. As the lord, I should give you the death penalty. However, we also received a great amount of information from you. As an exchange, you kept your life. Now, you can only live in this courtyard, unable to step outside forever. You can’t interact with anyone. If you have any needs, these two magic puppets will do their best to satisfy you… Don’t try escaping with the magic puppets either. They’re different from typical war puppets. They’re only slightly stronger than a regular human…”

“You’re holding me captive!” Bryant was furious. No matter what, he was at the Legendary level. Now, he was being imprisoned by a junior for life. He had to be angry.

Link ignored his reaction and continued, “There is no room for you to fight back. As a disabled man, no one will risk things to save you. Enjoy the rest of your life, Bryant.”

He didn’t care about Bryant’s reaction. After speaking, white light flashed around him. When the light faded, he’d already left the courtyard.

Bryant felt the magic restraints on him disappear as well. He lay on the bed without moving like a soulless puppet.

After a long while, his stomach grumbled. The feeling of hunger traveled to his mind. He was hungry.

The curvy puppet immediately said, “Master, I will go prepare your meal.” Her voice was smooth and lovely.

After she left, the slender puppet walked over with some clothing from the bedside. “Master, I will help you change,” she said softly. Her voice was gentle and unique, very lovely as well.

When the puppet got closer, Bryant smelled a clean fragrance. This reminded him of his first woman. She was a human girl of 19 years old called Lilian. The smell was similar to Lilian’s. It was filled with youthfulness but was still so different.

For a moment, Bryant felt like he’d gone back hundreds of years. At that time, he was still a human. He was still a hero worshipped by thousands of humans… Ah, that was all in the past.

He’d always heard that Ferde’s puppets were top-tier. Earlier, he was busy with saving the Naga and didn’t focus on the magic puppets. Now, he realized that they were also made with flesh magic puppet techniques. This one looked exactly like a real human. Her movements were gentle too. When she helped him change, her pressure was just right. He didn’t feel any discomfort.

After changing clothes, he waited a few minutes before the plump servant walked over with food. The delicious smell floated over, tempting him.

“Master, I will help you,” the puppet said. After that, Bryant didn’t have to move at all. He just had to sit on the chair.

He drank some of the soup made by the puppet. It was very fresh and brought his appetite to life. After finishing all the food, he burped happily and stretched. The plump puppet started clearing the dishes. The slender one began massaging him. Her pressure was just right, and her technique was great. Bryant was close to moaning in pleasure.

His anger slowly extinguished under this enjoyment. Fine, whatever. Without my power, I won’t be able to live much longer. I’ll just retire here.

Sighing, Bryant gave up.

…

Mage Tower

Link’s group was watching Bryant. When he started enjoying himself, Eliard said, “He’s no longer a threat to us.”

“Who would have thought of this ending?” Evelina scoffed.

Celine only had one word. “Karma!”

Bryant’s matter was over now. Next, they had to deal with the High Elves’ crazy plan.

“Judging from Bryant’s memories,” Link said, “the confluence between the two realms is unavoidable. What we must do now is accumulate power for the new challenge.”

The High Elves used the World Tree to fuse the realms. They were crazy and should be stopped if it was possible. Unfortunately, the World Tree was too big. Not only was it at Level-19, its scope was unimaginable. Even a Legendary Magician was as insignificant as an ant before it.

Once this plan was activated, it would be like a mortal facing an avalanche. They could only watch as it moved forward and then follow the current. If they tried to stop it, they would be pulverized.

Anyway, judging from Bryant’s memory of the World Tree, Link couldn’t think of any ways to stop the confluence. Even if there was, it would be extremely risky. In that case, he could only prepare for self-defense.

As for how exactly to respond, they had to discuss it.

While Ferde was having a critical meeting, the other forces in Ferde also felt the giant shake.

Dragon Valley, the Golden Plains, the northern Black Forest, the southern Syndicate, and some hermits were all alerted. While they were shocked, they also tried finding the source.

The second day after Ferde started acting, two unexpected guests came to Link. They were familiar—Light Magician Halino and Dark Magician Eugene.

They’d fought and seemed to have gotten back together. Their relationship was really confusing. When they saw Link, Magician Halino’s first words were, “The High Elves have gone crazy. We must stop them!”