Advent of the Archmage Chapter 295: All for a Good Cause

Chapter 295: All for a Good Cause
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
High Elf Grave
Crack! Another rumbling sound could be heard. Derrac seemed to be catching up with them. He was only one corner away.
There were a couple of protruding pillars at the corridor after the turn. Link and company then hid behind these pillars.
"Link, he is coming!" Felina was extremely soft, though one could clearly tell how anxious she was.
Morrigan was hiding behind another pillar. He kept his eyes on the trap on the ground and said, "Master, can this trap really defeat him? This is something that he himself planned!"
Link squinted his eyes as he carefully felt the magic fluctuations from his Spatial Shackle spell. He then said, "In fact, Derrac is no longer an opponent we have to fear."
"Why do you say so?" Felina asked with a confused expression.
Link then explained, "I placed a total of 35 Spatial Shackles balls along the way. Derrac was able to break through the first one in a hundredth of a second; it did not affect his progress a single bit. However, he took at least a full second to break through the most recent one."
When Derrac encountered the first spatial shackle ball, he was a lot more powerful. He could then break through it easily. If the three of them had tried to fight him at that moment, they would be thoroughly defeated. Even if Nana were to assist them, she would also be turned into molten metal by the powerful lightning attacks.
However, now that Derrac needed a full second to break through the spatial shackle ball, it meant that he had grown weak. From the magic fluctuations that Link received from his spells, he could clearly determine the strength of his opponent.
Derrac's strength had dropped from a Level-9 to a Level-7. Although he was still strong, he was no longer an opponent they would fear.
Felina then reacted to this situation and said, "You are saying that…"
"Yes, you are right. We can retaliate." Link nodded to confirm her suspicions. He then turned to order Nana, "Nana, prepare to attack the moment our opponent steps onto the magic trap!"
"I understand!" Nana would never object to Link's orders.
At that moment, Derrac appeared from the corner. He did not feel his power weakening at all, his voice still filled with condescension and disdain. He said, "Ah, little creatures, I can sense your presence. Stop hiding; come out."
Naturally, the four of them would not come out of their hiding place. Instead, they hid even deeper into the corners.
Derrac then continued walking forward. He slowly approached then magic trap—30 feet…15 feet…three feet. He was just about to step on the magic trap when he stopped in his tracks.
"Hmm, something seems to be wrong." Derrac looked around. His memory seemed to be telling him that there was imminent danger.
It was an unexpected turn of events. Link thought for a moment, and he was just about to order Nana to lure him forward when Morrigan stuck out half his body from their hiding place and released an illumination spell. He then waved his wand brazenly and shouted, "Hey, old guy, this way, your grandfather is right here.
"Hmm? You arrogant creature! My family is long dead!" Derrac shouted back in rage and stepped into the magic trap without hesitation.
Upon seeing the magic runes on the surrounding walls light up, Morrigan retreated back into his hiding spot.
Half a second later, dense crackling explosion sounds appeared along the corridor. There was also the sound of burning flames. Accompanying these sounds was the show stealer—a smell of spice and barbecued meat.
The smell of spice should understandably be the smell of lightning after it had passed through the area. However, barbecued meat…This should be how roasting a corpse more than a few thousand years old smelled like. One would rather cut off their own nose than to experience such an odor.
"So this is how a barbecued corpse smells like…" Morrigan muttered and took a deep breath. He had to remember this smell. It would be beneficial for his future adventures.
Felina rolled her eyes as she stared at Morrigan. This human seemed to have strange habits. He tasted urine and seemed to find interest in the smell of burning corpses. She was getting more disgusted by the moment!
The fire and lightning attacks continued for five seconds. Derrac was surprisingly still alive after the attack. His raspy voice echoed through the corridor once again, "Hmm, not too bad! But it is not enough!"
Link took a look at Derrac using a mirror spell. He saw a charred figure with a few burned pieces of cloth stuck to its body. The jeweled crown on his head was also destroyed by the lightning. His skin seemed to have been completely destroyed by the assault, and a faint green smoke emitted from his body.
Clearly, a large scale Level-7 spell was not easy to deal with.
This attack had dealt great damage to Derrac. The chilling blue glow in his eyes became extremely dim. One could hardly see the glow in his eyes anymore. The majestic magic presence that once surrounded him also became extremely weak, making him no different from a true corpse.
At that moment, Derrac was no longer threatening. An ordinary person could probably defeat him with physical attacks. However, Derrac seemed to not notice his dwindling strength and still felt confident about his abilities. He moved forward while limping as he shouted, "Come out you tiny creatures, I already know where you people are hiding!"
Link then appeared from his hiding spot.
The moment Derrac saw him, he pointed his staff at Link and said, "Despicable people, die!"
His staff glowed slightly, and a tiny bolt of lightning appeared in the air. This lightning traveled for around 1.5 feet before disappearing.
Derrac had used up all his energy.
"Hm, what is going on?"
Link waved his hands at Nana. Upon receiving the signal, Nana charged forward and severed Derrac's head before he got the chance to say another word.
"And, a Level-9 Magician was defeated just like that?" Morrigan walked out as well. What happened today was truly baffling to him.
Link shook his head and said, "He cannot be considered a Level-9 Magician. This is only a small consciousness of the past Derrac. He merely had the raw power of a Level-9 Magician, but alas, he was an empty vessel."
It would be easy for such an undead to deal with a bunch of grave robbers. However, if they could get past his terrifying presence and not be intimidated, they could simply chip off his power and prolong the battle to easily obtain a victory.
If a true Level-9 Magician were to appear, they would have died at least ten times along the way.
Link then walked forward to pick up Derrac's staff. He then observed it carefully and realized that this staff was truly a product made using the Talisman Enchanting technique.
It was around 5'9'' in length, and its body was made from high-quality purple sandalwood. It was carved into the shape of an extremely lifelike giant serpent. However, there were not many magic runes carved into the body of the staff. Almost all of the magic runes were concentrated in the talismans attached to the back and eyes of the serpent.
There were a total of nine indents on this staff, each of the indents for a talisman gem. On closer inspection, one would realize that the talisman gems were filled with countless magic runes. They were the true pillars of the staff, the nucleus of its strength.
After a moment, the information for the talisman gems appeared in Link's eyes.
Condensed Talisman
Quality: Epic
Effect: Strength of spells +40%
Wisdom Talisman
Quality: Epic
Effect: Mana Recovery Speed +40%
Lightning Talisman
Quality: Epic
Effect: Increases strength of lightning elemental spells by 50%.
There were a total of nine such talisman gems. If one were to combine all their attributes together. It would look as such.
Roaring Lightning Staff
Quality: Epic
Effect 1: Strength of spells +160% (Three Condensed Talisman)
Effect 2: Mana Recovery Speed +170% (Three Wisdom Talisman)
Effect 3: Strength of lightning elemental spells +180% (Three Lightning Talisman)
(Note: The masterpiece was created with Talisman Enchanting techniques!)
It was truly a perfect piece of work. The runes on the body of the staff were merely there to hold the power of these talismans together while giving the user a few additional buffs.
If one wanted a different weapon, they could simply take down these talismans and engrave the ones that suited their battle style. They would then obtain a completely new magic weapon with starkly different attributes.
If one of the talisman gems was damaged, the user could simply replace them. It was a lot simpler and more cost-efficient than the enchanting techniques used currently in the World of Firuman.
A Magician's Apprentice could even craft an epic quality wand if they were taught the most basic engraving techniques and given an epic quality talisman gem!
It was highly flexible, reliable, cost-efficient and even skill-efficient. The bar for enchanting would be lowered, and many people could even manufacture their own equipment without problems. There were simply too many advantages to this technique!
Link was extremely excited. He wanted to rush to the huge underground chamber and claim all the books for himself, bringing Talisman Enchanting technique back to the world.
Just as he was feeling hyped up, Felina's voice rang, "Link, let's think of how to get out."
"Oh, alright." Link then quietly placed the staff into his dimensional pendant.
Felina felt a little uncomfortable after seeing it. She was just about to stop Link when she realized that there was no reason to do so. They finally defeated Derrac after putting in so much effort. It seemed reasonable to take a few things with them.
However, this would mean that they were grave robbers as well…Felina was troubled.
The moment Link saw Felina's expression, he knew that she was anxious. He then took out the Roaring Lightning Staff again and explained seriously, "Felina, this staff is extremely peculiar. There is a lost enchanting technique used on this staff. If we leave it here, it will definitely land into Isendilan's hands. This will then greatly increase the power of his forces. If we are the ones who get a hold of this knowledge, we can research into its wisdom and bring the glory of the ancestors back to life. At the same time, our powers will increase as well. What do you think we should do?"
Felina was startled by Link's words. Link was right. If they do not claim these treasures, Isendilan would also do it. This way, Isendilan would become even more difficult to deal with. She then nodded as she said, "You are right, we have to take them."
Link then waved his hands as he said righteously, "Let's go, we will take a look around the underground chamber. There is a large volume of magic books which contains a huge amount of wisdom. We cannot let it land into the hands of Isendilan."
"Yes!" Felina was suddenly all for taking the magic books.
Morrigan stared at the scene with his mouth agape. He was speechless. Wasn't this exactly the same as robbing graves?
How then, could it sound so righteous and majestic when Link was saying it? Even he felt that it was his duty to rob this grave after listening to those words. Not doing so would mean he was helping the enemy!
This young man is truly something else. He is so much more persuasive. Heck, he even made grave robbing seem like a righteous thing! Morrigan sighed as he followed both of them forward.