Advent of the Archmage

Boundless Void

The Void Ferry behind Link was faster than him. At first, they were around one million miles away from each other. Now, the other was 25,000 miles away.

It was hard to see in the Seaweed Cloud. Link looked back but could only see endless murky green. He couldn't see the other's location, but both were flying at extreme speeds. The power waves were very strong, and he could clearly sense the disc-shaped Void Ferry following relentlessly.

This couldn't continue. He had to find somewhere to hide and avoid the attack!

Link looked forward. He was more than one million miles into the Seaweed Cloud. The clouds seemed to get heavier before him. Visibility decreased, and the changes in the clouds became more complicated. Some places were thin, almost like a tunnel; other places had thick blocks of dark green clouds. From afar, they looked a fog-covered Firuman.

There might really be a realm hidden in the thick clouds. Who knew?

Link had read a paragraph in the Book of Revelations.

When a realm is first created, it is only an average ball of energy in the Sea of Void, usually a vortex of energy. As time passes, the energy vortex continuously condenses. The realm grows, evolves, and finally exchanges energy and material with the Sea of Void like a living organism. Gradually, heavy fog forms outside the realm. That is how the fog of the Firuman Realm was formed.

However, the dark blocks of clouds before him were too small. They were less than 30,000 miles wide while the white fog around Firuman was more than 300,000 miles. Even if a realm was hidden inside, it would still be in the early stages. They were too small, and Link couldn't hide in them.

He continued flying.

Time passed, and Link flew 30,000 more miles. The energy waves from the Void Ferry behind him thickened. He still couldn't see the other, but Link was sure that they weren't more than 20,000 miles apart. If the other sped up, he would catch up.

A dark cloud appeared before him. The vapor around it looked thinner. In order to not leave traces in the thick fog, Link moved around it. Just as he was about to speed up, his vision brightened a bit. He looked up and saw a huge patch of light.

The vapor obstructed his vision, but the light was still strong. The light source was huge as well. It looked to be more than 60,000 miles wide—practically twice the size of Firuman's cloud!

Light is moving energy. If a huge light appears in the Sea of Void, it's possible that it's a realm. These are usually advanced realms that have already evolved into life. These lights come from the core of the realm (the sun).

Something from Piasce's travel log flashed past Link's mind.

A realm? It also has such heavy fog. It's enough for me to hide in.

Link turned to look. The vapor was still thick, and he couldn't see the other at all. However, the power waves were stronger than before. If not for the vapor obstructing their vision, Link would probably be caught long ago.

He took a deep breath and pumped his wings with full force, rushing towards the majestic light.

It was around 150,000 miles away. After a while, it took up Link's vision. He could only see the dark green light. It was boundless.

The vapor here was abnormally heavy. His range of sight was only around 25 miles. The vapor only got worse as he got close, and his sight decreased rapidly too.

This phenomenon is identical to Firuman. There really might be a realm inside, Link thought. He stopped flapping his wings and pulled them back. Wrapping his wings around his body, he used the inertia to slide towards the realm.

The dragon wings were very strange. Not only were they great at pushing while flying in the Void, but they could also become the best disguise when wrapped around one's body. They could perfectly cover a dragon's energy waves, so the dragon looked just like a regular meteorite in the Sea of Void.

Link did this to stop the pursuer from tracing him and also because the surroundings were complicated. He had to be careful.

The free energy around a realm was very thick. Some souls would run out the realm at times too. These things were delicacies for Void creatures, so it was more likely for them to appear around here too. It wasn't good to alert these Void creatures.

Link floated for a while. Suddenly, a black shadow shot out from the corner of his eye. His heart jumped, and he stopped moving. His eyes followed the black shadow.

He saw that the shadow was shaped like a shuttle. It was more than 200 feet long and had something like fins in the middle. Its tail was really long too. It looked like a fish swimming in the sea.

It didn't notice Link who had weakened his energy. When it passed by Link, it twisted powerfully to the side and sped up abruptly. It was probably more than 5000 miles per second and instantly disappeared from Link's side.

Around ten seconds later, Link felt an abnormal commotion not too far behind him.

Buzz, buzz. The two sounds were like the whistle of a ship in the sea. They were very deep. At the same time, Link felt explosive energy ripple over.

Link's heart jumped. It's the power wave from that Void Ferry. It's very powerful—at least Level-15. That "fish" attacked the Void Ferry and was probably killed… The other isn't far from me now, but I don't know if they've noticed me.

As soon as this thought flashed through Link's mind, he realized that his surroundings brightened. He refocused his eyes and saw that a huge wall of light appeared before him.

This light wasn't the dark green he'd seen before. Instead, it was a burning white. It was similar to Firuman's, but it was brighter. At the same time, it looked very smooth. Link couldn't see any flaws. It looked like a glowing crystal similar to the surface of the Firuman realm.

It really is a realm. This is so big. Its light is vibrant too. It must be a powerful realm.

While thinking, Link had already floated to the wall of the realm. He reached out a claw and hooked lightly on the wall, stopping firmly. He was like a ship resting against the pier.

Stopping here, he looked back at the Sea of Void. All he could see was heavy dark-green vapor. His line of sight was less than 20 miles.

Link could sense the other Void Ferry was close. It was probably less than 6000 miles away. He didn't dare move now. Link just quietly hung on the realm's wall like a lizard, waiting patiently.

Time passed bit by bit. Passage of time in the Sea of Void was different from in realms. Time in realms usually flowed steadily without any disturbances. However, time in the Sea of Void was warped. It flowed faster in places with more energy and slower in places with less.

If Link had a mortal body without Legendary protection instead of using his dragon form as a Void Ferry, half of his body might become old while the other remained youthful. He wouldn't be able to live in that situation.

The Sea of Void was uninhabitable for mortals. If a non-Legendary person entered, their souls would scatter immediately. This wasn't an exaggeration.

Link didn't know how fast time flowed here, so he obviously didn't know how much time had passed. But after waiting for a long while, he could still sense the Void Ferry's energy waves.

The other is still circling this place. It probably knows my general location but can't pinpoint it… If this continues, they'll find me sooner or later. Then I'll be dead.

Thoughts flew past Link's mind as he tried to think of a way to escape. Soon, his eyes fell on the huge realm below him.

If I enter the realm and go to the other end, I should be able to escape safely. But how do I enter?

Flattened against the wall, he could clearly sense the principles and laws of this realm.

According to the feeling under his claws, the realm's wall was very soft, like a layer of old leather. But if he applied force, the feedback from his claws strengthened. There was also a strange power that kept pushing out. It was about to push him off the wall.

It was repelling him.

This realm wasn't Firuman. To Firuman, Link was part of it, so it wouldn't repel him. Going to Firuman was like going back home, while the realm beneath him was someone else's home. It had nothing to do with him. His relationship with this realm was like Nozama against Firuman. He was an invader.

Carefully sensing the force, Link had a general idea of the strength of this realm.

I should be able to forcefully break through this wall, but it will use up a lot of my energy and lead to the realm's violent defense. Even if I enter the realm, my power will be greatly repressed. It'll probably fall to around Level-7. There'll be other restrictions too. Even the natives find out, they'll try to kill me. The dangers aren't any lower than the Void Ferry. This isn't wise… Let me look for a realm crack.

The realm's surface was smooth, and there couldn't be any cracks, but everything had an exception. Because of some random reasons, there might be some temporary fissures. For example, perhaps something inside the realm was summoning a Void creature, or a Magician was stupidly studying the laws of the realm and created a temporary crack. These were all possible.

A realm had countless organisms. It was quite possible for there to be people who did idiotic things. Just take Firuman as an example. There was never a shortage of stupid people.

Of course, if he couldn't find one, he would have to enter forcefully. The Void Ferry was too powerful. Facing a Level-17 while in Level-13, Link had no confidence at all. But inside the realm, everyone's power would be restricted. The difference between them would close too. It would be much easier to escape.

Time is limited. I need to hurry.

Thinking of this, Link composed himself and carefully sensed for the realm wall.

Time kept flowing, and the Void Ferry's energy waves were even more obvious. It was getting closer to him. There were less than 3000 miles between them. The other would soon be able to pinpoint his exact location.

Once they're 1000 miles away, I'll have to break in forcefully and figure out the rest when I get into the realm!

Link was ready to break in at any time, but he still didn't give up on finding a crack. The latter could save him a lot of energy. He would face weaker repulsion inside the realm too.

Suddenly, there was a flash in the corner of his vision. This was the result of the realm's energy spewing out. It meant that the laws in that area were weakened by some force, causing the realm's energy to flow out.

In other words, there was a crack!

Such good luck!

A realm crack usually lasted for a short time. There were many complicated reasons—the distortion of time, the realm's self-healing abilities, and more. He must hurry.

Thus, Link immediately used all his limbs and wings to scurry across the wall. This caused a much bigger commotion.

In the Sea of Void, Dark Tutor Mysin, who had been searching for Link in the Void Ferry, immediately noticed the abnormality.

A few seconds later, he pointed at the wall of light. "Master, look there! Something's happening!"

Nozama squinted and looked. The light pulsing in his eyes abruptly strengthened. The bloody light that seeped out of his eye sockets were more than three feet long. His gaze passed through the vapor and saw the realm wall clearly.

There was a dragon with silvery black scales rushing towards a speck of light on the wall. Nozama was a master at passing through realms. He instantly realized that it was a realm crack. He also recognized the dragon.

He laughed in anger. "I was wondering who it was. It's the Ferde lord! He thinks he's powerful and dares to enter the Void alone… Kill him!"

The Void Ferry had already been rushing towards Link. A few seconds later, Mysin reported, "Master, we're too far away. He's already near the crack. We can't stop him from entering."

"It's alright. He can't escape even if he enters. Deploy the Void Ferry cluster and lock the realm. Glyn, my sub-commander!"

"Yes, Master!" Glyn flinched and walked out.

"Take 100 people and forcefully enter the realm. Chase—"

Before he could finish, Mysin yelled, "Master, Master! Another crack appeared in the realm! Someone's using a large-scale summoning spell! I've responded to the summoner!"

"Oh? Great!" Nozama praised. Half a second of thinking later, he turned to his sub-commander. "Glyn, take people into the realm, kill the summoner and quickly build a super-summoning seal. This time, I'm going to act personally!"

He was going to capture that guy and personally tell him the consequences of snatching his daughter and ruining his plans.

"Understood!"

Glyn immediately waved at his trusted men. More than 100 Legendary demons walked out. They jumped out of the Void Ferry and started falling towards the crack in the wall.

Whoosh! Glyn was the first to enter. It was like diving into water.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Three Level-13 demons followed. After that, the crack's light rippled and flickered like a candle in the wind.

"Master," Mysin yelled. "Too many demons passed the crack. They're too strong, and the crack can't take it. It's going to collapse!"

Before he could finish, the crack started mending and soon disappeared.

"Everyone else, come back." Nozama waved his hand. Glyn and three demons had entered. They should be enough. Now, he would wait for Glyn to reopen the crack. He trusted Glyn not to disappoint him.