Advent of the Archmage

Seaside cave.

After Nana woke up, she looked between Link and Vance. Finally, she looked at Link and opened her arms. "Clothes gone," she said. "Nana wants clothes."

Link was Nana's highest authority, and she would go to him whenever she needed something. Link quickly took out the feminine leather armor he had prepared beforehand. Nana was actually ungendered, but her outer appearance was feminine to fool the enemies. It wasn't good to let her run around naked.

Unexpectedly, Nana shook her head. "War kilt. I want war kilt."

Link didn't understand why a magic puppet would care about clothes.

Thinking for a bit, Vance said, "I got it. In battle, clothing greatly affects movement. The magic puppet's combat experience has gotten used to the variable of the war kilt. That's why it would make this choice instinctively."

However, a war kilt wasn't the best for movement. Link put the leather on Nana. "We wear this now."

This was the command from the highest authority, so Nana accepted it. What was interesting though was that she let Link put it on her without moving but she kept pouting, seemingly unhappy.

"You'll get used to it." Link knew this was programmed, but Nana was too mesmerizing. Seeing her like this, he comforted her reflexively.

The armor was blue too. It looked like leather, but it was actually a special type of metal. It was resilient and had high magic resistance. It had a high buffering capacity toward attacks from the outer world and was the first layer of defense for Nana's body.

After putting on the armor, Link helped Nana put on boots and gloves. He hung two swords on the weapon hook at her waist, and then he stepped back. "Okay," he said. "Get up and take a few steps."

Nana nimbly jumped from the enchantment podium. She landed on the ground and walked around.

She was now 5'5", and her curves were perfect. Wearing the dark blue and finely made leather armor with two magnificent weapons, she looked like a handsome warrior.

At the side, Vance commented, "Her movements are smooth. There isn't any sign of stiffness. Her eyes are coordinated too, and her skin looks no different than humans. From the outside, she basically looks like a regular person.

Link was satisfied as well. Turning toward Vance, he said, "I'll take her back to Scorched Ridge. My Mage Tower should be done now. I'll find time to make the Flesh Magic Puppet for you. Give me a sketch image of what you want the outside to look like."

"I'm flattered." Vance chuckled and thought for a moment. He pointed his wand in the air, and an image appeared. It was an average-looking man. "This is what I looked like in life. Just use it."

Link studied it and nodded. "Got it." Without wasting any more time, he waved at Nana. "Let's go."

"Yes, Master." Nana followed behind Link, steps in sync with his.

But just as Link reached the cave entrance, an unexpected voice rang out. "Lord, so you're hiding here! I had such a hard time looking for you!"

Link was shocked. Vance immediately got into a defensive position, ready to fight whoever was outside. Link stopped him with a wave. "Let's test Nana's abilities."

He could tell who it was from the voice, but he wanted to test Nana. Retreating, he said to Nana, "Send the guy outside to the ground but don't hurt him."

"Yes, Master."

With a clang, Nana grasped a short sword and activated. There was a boom, and she disappeared from Link. It was the speed and decisive actions he was familiar with.

Half a second later, there was a shocked cry outside. "Hey, who is this? No, what is this…!"

Mid-sentence, there were clangs of weapons, and after three seconds, there was a muffled thud. "Impossible!" the man wailed outside. "What is this? Let go! Let go of me! Ah!"

Link walked out at this time. He saw Nana dressed in her dark blue leather on the beach, her hair pulled in a ponytail (buffering the damage to the magic puppet's heart), with a foot on Skinorse's chest.

Her legs were long and curvy, looking even better in the leather pants. However, these slender legs had terrifying strength. Under her foot, Skinorse struggled in vain. He was immobile as if he had been nailed to the beach.

Seeing Link, he smiled wryly. "It's just a Lich, not a big deal. You won't kill me, right?"

"Nana, let him go." Nana stepped back and pouted with her red lips. "Master," she said, "This opponent is as weak as a chicken."

Skinorse was speechless. He clutched his chest, heartbroken.

Link was speechless too. He had designed this language set for Nana so she could communicate. These instigative phrases were used to destroy the opponent's confidence. He didn't expect Nana to use it now in such perfect context, completely destroying Skinorse's self-esteem.

Face pale, Skinorse looked cautiously at Nana as if scared she would do something. Nana glared and pursed her lips. She jutted her chin out in disdain. "Weakling, are you fearing me, the queen?"

Her voice was crisp and lovely. She was looking down on him but still seemed playful. Skinorse clutched his chest again. He looked mesmerized, and he sighed in regret. "If only she' wasn't a magic puppet!"

Link laughed. "Her name is Nana. As you can see, she's a magic puppet. She saved my life in the North."

"Nana? That's a good name. Her appearance has gone to waste. I was almost won over by her." With that, Skinorse walked around Nana to Link's side. He peered at Link suspiciously. "Why are you with a Lich? To be honest, the majority of these undying things aren't good news."

This interested Link. In the game, Skinorse had traveled the world and had vast knowledge. He was very open and would never judge someone too quickly. Now, based on his words, Link realized that his personality was the same as in the game.

He laughed. "You yourself said 'majority.' There's also a minority."

"Fine, that Lich does seem different." Skinorse glanced at Vance, who had exited the cave, and tipped his hat.

Vance was curious about this young Assassin. Smiling, he asked, "Boy, have you met good Lichs before?"

"Of course. It was in an ancient tomb when I was still young. I'd broken in without meaning to, and he helped me out in the end. He even gave me 100 gold. It was really memorable…But that's all unimportant stuff. Can I know your name?"

"I'm Vance."

"Oh, Vance. A good name," Skinorse said politely. He obviously didn't know the creator of the Battle Art. After the polite stuff, he turned to Link. "I finished investigating Delonga. Do you want to see?"

"Of course." Link nodded.

Skinorse tossed a scroll at him. "Everything's in there, so look by yourself. Notify me whenever you're free, and we'll set out."

Link opened the scroll and scanned it quickly. His pupils restricted, but his expression didn't change. "It probably can't be too soon," he said. "The northern battle needs me. I have to at least wait until the northern front is stabilized."

Skinorse was shocked. Brows furrowing, he said, "I heard the Northern Dark Elves had received the Dark Divine Gear. Is this true?"

Rumors had spread everywhere, but Skinorse rarely trusted rumors, so he didn't care for this one.

Link nodded. "Indeed. I had fought with it and barely survived."

"Are things that bad…?" Skinorse looked anxious. Others spread rumors, but from Link, it would definitely be the truth. After a few seconds, the red-haired Assassin glanced at Link. "So are you preparing to head north?"

"I'll set out soon. You know, the Iron Wall cannot be defeated." As Link spoke, he could feel that the Assassin wouldn't just stand to the side.

As expected, Skinorse fell silent again. After a while, he said, "Hey, Dark Elves are all crazy. Count me in…No, I'm not enough. I'll get a few of my friends too."

If the Iron Wall of the Norton Kingdom was breached, it would be a catastrophe to the mainland. Anyone with common sense understood the severity of this. Skinorse seemed unreliable and careless, but he actually had foresight.

At the side, Vance sighed, face filled with regret. "Ah, if only I wasn't like this. Otherwise, I'd go north too."

If he showed up in his undead state, he would probably be exterminated by the king before he could even do anything.

Link comforted him. "Don't worry, old guy. You won't have to worry after I make your Flesh Magic Puppet." Then he said to Skinorse, "I'm going back to the territory now. If you really want to go north with some friends, you can set out with me. At least I can speak to the higher-ups. You won't be looked down on after you go."

Skinorse nodded. "No problem. The time seems tight, so I'll go tell them now."

The Assassin moved quickly. As soon as he finished speaking, he jumped backwards, ready to leave in a flash. However, he hadn't changed. When he passed by Nana, he sent a flying kiss. "Hey, girl, chase me if you can!"

Nana saw that as a provocation. With a muffled boom, she burst forward without warning and kicked Skinorse's butt. Thankfully, she had control over her strength and didn't injure him.

Still, Skinorse was sent flying 300 feet. He landed pathetically with a plop in the water.

"I'll get back at you someday!" came the depressed roar from this silly Assassin. Then, he swam away.

On the other end, Vance looked at Link and asked, "Is the situation with the South bad?"

Link nodded and showed Vance the scroll. "Roy the Fifth has gone crazy," he said. "He's collecting bodies from the battlefield, and currently, he already has an undead army of around 30,000."

The most intimidating thing about the undead army was its numbers. Anyone who died in battle would become their soldier. In war, the undead army would grow with every battle. Like a snowball, it could turn into a super army of one million within a short time.

If this really happened, it would be a disaster even more terrifying than the Northern Dark Elves. The only solution against the undead army was to stop them before they started developing. Once it reached a certain state, it could defeat anyone purely with their numbers!

Vance looked at the scroll in disbelief. "I can't believe that the genius Wavier has become Demon God Tabinos' puppet and even joined the Syndicate. What a pity."

Demon God Tabinos was a demi-god of the Sea of Void. He was also known as the ruler of the dead and was the controller of death. He was powerful enough to be in the top ten of the demon gods.

Link sighed. "No matter what, I must do something about it. Before going north, I must visit the Southmoon Kingdom."

Nowadays, Delonga Kingdom's enemy was the Southmoon Kingdom. If the Southmoon Kingdom didn't have any measures against the undead army when they appeared, they would be unable to hold on. If Southmoon collapsed, the Ferde Wilderness would be next.

At that time, the Norton Kingdom would have to face the Dark Elves in the North and the undead army in the South. It would be checkmate! Therefore, he must stop the undead army before they could start developing!

Time was tight, and Link couldn't waste a second. He called to Nana and hurried back to his territory.

He could see the tip of the Mage Tower before he reached the territory. There was already a ten-foot wide Mana Light Ball at the top. Around the ball, dozens of Mana threads reached into the air. From a distance, it looked like a spider web. This meant that the Mage Tower had started operating and had successfully integrated with the Mana of the wilderness.

The Mage Tower has finally been completed. Good news. Link instantly felt better.

He sped up. As soon as he reached Scorched Ridge, someone recognized him. It was Eliard, who looked at Link with a pleasant surprise. "Link, you're better?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm okay now," Link muttered in reply.

"Then let me take you to tour the Mage Tower. I participated in the entire process this time," Eliard said with a smile.

Link had this intention too, so he naturally nodded.