Advent of the Archmage

In the blink of an eye, two weeks had passed. 　　

Link was sitting in the corner of the hall listening intently to a lecture by a Level-4 Magician on the technique of magic control. Much of this knowledge could not be found in the books that he read and thus were extremely valuable. Link was inspired. 　　

He did not want to miss a single detail. 　　

This Magician went by the name of Darris. He was Bale's chief disciple and was a very high level. As Bale was usually busy, most of the time classes would be lectured by him instead. 　　

As a Level-4 Magician, he was the strongest Magician an apprentice could hope to meet at the Level-1 hall.

Link listened while comparing to his own spellcasting experience, and found things that he could improve on.　　

After the lesson, many of the apprentices rushed forward to bring up the burning questions they had. Link listened to some of them and could not help himself from chuckling.　

These were some very basic and simple theories—to think that the apprentices in this academy could not figure them out.　

He shook his head and headed back to his room to write some magic scrolls.　

On the podium, Darris was extremely patient and answered every one of the apprentice's questions with a gentle smile on his face.　　

At the corner of his eye, he noticed a calm and almost nonchalant Link sitting at the side of the hall. He did not seem to have the passion that the other apprentices had for magic.　　

What a strange person. As Bale's chief disciple, Darris knew of Link's existence, although he did not get much information either. He simply knew that his teacher received a letter from an old friend and subsequently agreed to take this "talentless and taciturn" young man under the watch of his Mage Tower.

Magic requires a conversation to generate sparks. What good does it do if he just leaves after listening every lesson? Darris was perplexed. However, he was tied up right now and decided that he would find a time to talk to this young man later.　

Link, on the other hand, was unaware that he had been noticed by Darris. After going back to his room, he sat on the little stool in front of his bed and took out the low-level scrolls, silver ink, and rune brush, laying them in front of him. He took a look at the blank scroll and adjusted his concentration to be fully on the task before starting to write the Earth Spike spell.

During the process, a complete image of the Earth Spike spell formed in Link's mind. He penned every stroke with an extremely clear mind.

When Link was completely focused, the rune images in his mind seemed to slowly materialize in front of his eyes. Under his control, this image would then project itself onto the blank scroll. 　　

Following which, Link only had to trace the rune images he saw and complete the scroll easily. In about five minutes, Link placed the last stroke on the blank scroll.　

The whole process was smooth and natural, with confident strokes and no pauses in between. The Mana surging through the strokes was tranquil and the completed product was enveloped in a warm trickling light of Mana.　　

As usual, it was a success! 　　

Now, as long as the user didn't erase the activating rune from the scroll, the Earth Spike spell stored within would be activated. This was true even for ordinary people without any abilities.　　

This convenience was what created a market for magic scrolls. 　　

It was the easiest way for a Magician to earn his keep.　

Link was tasked with completing three magic scrolls every day. From his observations these past two weeks, an ordinary apprentice would take around one to two hours to complete a Level-0 magic scroll. If he was unlucky and failed in one or two scrolls, the whole process of writing three magic scrolls could take seven to eight hours.　

Hence, for an ordinary apprentice, three magic scrolls per day was an extremely tiring task—Link did not even break a sweat. Link continued with the production process and wrote nine magic scrolls within an hour. Only then did he start feeling lethargic.

He only had to give three magic scrolls out of the nine, meaning that he could keep the remaining six for himself. Link was taking advantage of the two free empty scrolls per success given by Derek. 　

This was a great chance for Link to stock up some magic scrolls for sale. 　　

Link then started reading a book. Naturally, this was not just any other basic magic book, but one he borrowed from Herrera called The Magician's Armor. It offered an in-depth discussion of defensive magic.　

After Jacques' ambush, Link had been focusing his research on defensive magic so as to create armor for self-protection.　　

However, he was unable to conduct experiments as he did not want to attract Bale's unwanted attention. 　　

After an hour of reading, Link was struck by an idea. He immediately took out his thesis and expanded on his current idea.

Link was well aware of the difficulty of his thesis, which discussed the nature of space itself. He did not expect to complete this thesis by himself, but he did not feel like giving up either.　　

As he delved deeper into this topic, the progress of his thesis became exponentially slower, but there would come a day where he would finally reach his goal.

Two hours passed since Link immersed himself into writing his thesis. Link grabbed his books and magic scrolls and headed out to hand his magic scrolls to Warwick.　　　

Link now had a rough idea of how interpersonal relationships worked in the Mage Tower.

Every apprentice in the tower would take up an extra role other than studying magic. Some would help in brewing basic potions, some with enchanting and others with the writing of magic scrolls.　　　

Warwick was in charge of the magic scroll branch and Derek was, overall, in charge of low-level magic items.

The magic items created would then be sold. Naturally, most of the income would go to Bale, but a substantial amount would also be given to the apprentices. This was one way apprentices could earn a stable income while studying in the Mage Tower.

When Link appeared, Warwick greeted him with a smile, "Done in less than five hours? That's pretty fast, Link."　　

Warwick received the scrolls with glee and made a special marking on the scrolls that Link made. As one of the strongest apprentices, Warwick was currently learning Level-1 fire elemental magic. If he succeeded, he would be considered an official Magician.　

He was considered a genius based on his current achievements and had an eye for good quality magic items. The scrolls submitted to him were all successful, but he realized that even within these scrolls, they would be marked with a difference in quality.

Link's magic scrolls would almost always end up in the batch of highest quality scrolls. The scrolls he wrote were of extremely good quality, with stable output and 20% stronger magic power.

And to their largest group of customers, the mercenaries, a strong and stable magic scroll was well worth the few extra silver coins they had to pay. After all, this scroll could save their lives in times of need!　　

Link's scroll could be sold for eight silver coins, while Warwick only had to give six silver coins to Derek for every magic scroll sold. The remaining two silver coins were naturally pocketed by him.　　

Most low-level Magicians were in need of money. As Link could bring him extra income, Warwick was especially nice to him and overlooked certain strange occurrences, such as the fact that Link always needed to consume three blank scrolls before he could create a successful one, despite the quality of his scrolls.　　

Link also knew of the situation on the ground. However, this was a mutually beneficial situation where both Warwick and himself would earn extra income. It was a pleasant cooperation. 　　

Who would complain of having too much money anyway? 　　

"This scroll took me around one hour, how can that be considered fast," Link laughed and started walking off. He needed to discuss his reflections for the day with Eliard.　　

Darris was wrong about Link. It was not true that Link didn't like to converse with others, but that he was unwilling to converse with the apprentices in the Mage Tower. Only by talking to exceptional geniuses like Eliard would he truly benefit.

"Hey, wait a minute," Warwick stopped him. 　　

"Is there a problem?" Link asked.　　

Warwick looked around before whispering, "Do you want to earn even more?"　　

"Of course," Link nodded. He was interested in what Warwick wanted to say. 　　

"Then I recommend that you learn Lesser Armor and Lesser Sharpness. They are both Level-0 support spells and a high-quality support magic scroll can sell for a maximum of 12 silver coins (1.2 gold coins). As you know, we only have to give six silver coins to Derek...we can split the remaining between us."　

Warwick was extremely clear. Link was bought over immediately and nodded, "They are two simple spells, I will master them as soon as possible."

To mercenaries, an attacking spell was merely a spontaneous burst of energy and would rarely change the tide of a battle. It was true that supporting spells that could enhance their capabilities for an extended period of time would be more practical.

Link would be happy with whatever percentage of the money he got. Anyway, his main source of income would be from the extra scrolls he would be making.　

"I have high expectations." Warwick was confident of Link. He knew that some people had been looking down on this taciturn young Magician, but he had a feeling that Link was not someone to be trifled with. 　　

Link nodded and headed towards the academy plaza.　　

Eliard should already be there waiting for him.