The races who worshipped the God of Light in the World of Firuman had a term for all dark creatures who hailed from the abyss. They were collectively termed as demons.
Just as how there were many races in the World of Firuman, there were also different kinds of demons in the abyss varying in strength. Not all demons were as strong as Tarviss or the Lord of the Deep, Nozama.
However, there was still no denying that demons possessed combat capabilities way above that of the races in Firuman. This applied to every single demon, more specifically, it was termed the "Abyssal Attribute".
In most cases, it would be difficult for a Firuman race to defeat a demon if they were of the same level of strength.
In the room of the Blue Hermit, Eleanor's face sank upon hearing that she had encountered a pure-blooded demon. She panicked and said with the tears rolling down her face, "I've heard that it is impossible to dispel the demonic forces and the victim will be continuously eroded by it till they become a demonic puppet. What do I do now?"
Eleanor was speaking the truth. If she did not find Link in time, the situation might have been unsalvageable. At this point in the timeline, demons had not begun their large-scale invasion into the World of Firuman. People hence had no idea how to deal with damage and wounds caused by demons. Usually, those who were corroded by demonic forces were met with tragic deaths.
In the game, players could often see an entire village of demonic puppets caused solely by the corrosion from the demonic forces.
This situation continued until a brilliant bishop named Diego Benson discovered a strange metal that could restrain the powers of the demonic forces.
This strange metal could not be found naturally. It was created synthetically and was called Sacred Silver.
Sacred Silver
The general term for all holy metals.
Effect: The flawless product from the fusion of silver metal and the power of light. Has the ability to restrain demonic forces.
(Note: The higher the quality of the metal, the better the effect of the Sacred Silver.)
What were silver metals? Normal silver and Thorium could all be considered under the umbrella term, silver metals. After one processed them using some secret techniques, they would then become Sacred Silver.
If Eleanor had been injured a month ago, Link would have been clueless on how to dispel the demonic forces. Although he knew that Sacred Silver worked wonders in restraining demonic forces, he had no idea how to refine them.
However, in the past month, he had been researching on methods to help him gain an advantage over Tarviss. Naturally, he would also have taken time to research on Sacred Silver. Coupled with the help of Anthony's extensive library of magic books, he had successfully made his first batch of Sacred Silver.
Upon seeing Eleanor's pitiful expression, he then comforted, "Don't worry, I can cure you."
"Really?" Eleanor was elated. She would have treated those words with suspicion if anyone else had said them. However, Link was different.
"Rest assured that you'll be alright," Link said once again with confidence. He then took out the bracelet that he promised to craft for Eleanor previously and handed it over. "Here, the bracelet that I promised. It contains a Level-4 Edelweiss spell that I recently modified."
Link put in a lot of effort into this bracelet. Under the stressful circumstances of learning a Level-6 spell, he still took half an hour every day and half a month in total to complete the product.
The body of the bracelet was made of pure gold, while 80% of the runes were made from ordinary Thorium. The remaining 20% were made from the extremely precious Fire Star Thorium.
The bracelet also had an intricate design. The bracelet was in the shape of a dragon with its wings tucked in. This dragon had a slender and long body instead of the giant and bulky ones people were used to. It was somewhat similar to an oriental dragon. The runes carved onto the bracelet were mostly silver in color and contrasted well with the dark gold main body of the bracelet, making them shine like the dragon's scales. One could also see crimson hues being reflected off the bracelet due to the runes made from Fire Star Thorium.
As the effect of Fire Star Thorium was extremely strong, the bracelet emitted a light crimson hue that sparkled with silver brilliance. One look at the bracelet was all someone needed to determine its quality.
Eleanor's attention was immediately captured by it and she seemed to have momentarily forgotten about the pain from her wounds. She took the bracelet and observed it carefully. Upon seeing the Fire Star Thorium, she gasped, surprised at Link's generosity.
"What is it called?" Eleanor could not help but ask. She would not name it herself this time. Such a work of art should only be named by its creator.
"Since you have one that is called the Phoenix Bracelet, let's name this the Dragon Bracelet," Link laughed.
In his eyes, the bracelet had these statistics.
Dragon Bracelet
Quality: Epic
Effect: Contains the Level-4 Defensive spell Crimson Edelweiss. Able to defend against both magical and physical damage. At the same time, the burning forcefield generated can damage enemies that come within a 15-foot radius of the user. The offensive power of the flames is Level-4 in strength.
(Note: Link's gift)
Eleanor was in love with the bracelet. She immediately wore it on her arm and concentrated her mana into the bracelet. When the Edelweiss spell was activated, a translucent crimson circle surrounded her body.
As the crimson circle began to increase in size, it came into contact with a desk on its side. Upon collision, the crimson circle burned through the desk without any resistance, leaving a huge circular gap in its wake. There were also sparks generated from the process and in an instant, the entire desk was burned to ashes.
Eleanor kept silent as she observed the full power of the defensive spell. After which, she exclaimed, "Link, your enchanting magic is just extraordinary, this is close to a miracle!"
This was the first time she saw anything like this after living for a century.
Link smiled with not a hint of complacency. After seeing the complexity of the Prophet's White Stone, the pride that he had generated ever since he stepped into the World of Firuman was completely shattered.
He said, "We need to treat your injury immediately. I'll purchase the ingredients needed for the treatment. Be back in a while."
"Oh, how long will it take?" Eleanor's attention shifted from the bracelet immediately.
"Around one to two hours."
"One or two hours?" Eleanor was persistent.
Link felt that it was a strange question and something unbecoming of a Master Magician. However, considering that she was afflicted with what would be deemed a mortal injury, he patiently replied, "I will try my best to come back earlier. No promises though."
"Alright then. Please be quick." Eleanor nodded reluctantly.
Link then left the room. Almost immediately after the door closed, Eleanor began to look forward to Link's knock on the door.
That was of course, impossible. She then pranced around in the room, flipped through a few pages of a magic book before throwing it to the side and staring out of the window. She hoped to see Link in the crowd, but alas, she was unsuccessful.
Overwhelmed by disappointment, Eleanor sat down on her chair again and different scenarios flashed through her mind. On one hand, she was afraid that Link might have lied and left her alone, defenseless and injured. On the other hand, she was also afraid that Link might encounter the demon or even get knocked down by a carriage along the way.
All kinds of strange ideas began popping out of her head, causing her to feel extremely uneasy. In the entire Hot Springs City, Link was the only person she trusted.
After what seemed like an eternity, she heard a knocking on the door. Link's voice echoed through the room, "I am back."
Eleanor heaved a sigh of relief and rushed for the door.
"How was it?" She asked.
"It went very well." Link shook the bags of ingredients in his hands. They were a bottle of scared water, a piece of silver and many different bottles of strange liquids respectively.
Link then placed the items on the desk and started mixing them together while explaining to Eleanor the principal behind Sacred Silver.
"Sacred water contains the power of light, the nemesis of all demonic forces. However, scared water has its limitations. The power of light will be greatly diminished by the soft and gentle properties of the water elements. It would thus be futile if you applied sacred water directly onto the wounds."
Link then poured the sacred water into a huge cup and submerged the silver into the solution. He then poured a bottle of blue liquid into the cup which caused the entire solution to boil. Before long, the silver was melting at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Is this blue liquid a solution that decomposes metallic substances?" Eleanor was after all, a Magician with some background in enchanting magic.
"Yes, it's role is to break down the silver particles into gold particles. However, that alone is not enough." Link then poured a few other bottles of liquid into the cup and started shaking them.
As the cup moved, the solution inside the cup started changing. After around ten minutes, the liquid had divided into two clear layers. The upper layer was a clear and transparent liquid like ordinary water. The lower layer was a silver viscous liquid similar to mercury.
Link cast the Magician's Hand and carefully extracted the upper layer of clear water, leaving only the viscous silver liquid in the cup. Upon closer inspection, one could see a faint glow being emitted from the liquid, exuding a cold and sacred presence.
"This is Sacred Silver, the fusion of the power of light and silver metal. Borrowing the sharp characteristics of the gold element, the power of light within the sacred water can be heightened to its limits."
As Link spoke. He cast the Higgs field spell and fished the ball of viscous silver liquid out of the cup. He then began to shape the liquid until it became the shape of a scalpel before hardening it. The liquid had then transformed into a little silver knife shining with brilliance.
"Here, lie on the chair while I treat your wounds. It will be slightly painful, please endure it."
"Alright." Eleanor had complete faith in Link. She sat on the chair and lifted her chin, exposing the horrible wound on her neck.
Link then used the Magician's Hand to control the Sacred Silver knife and cut off the dead flesh surrounding the wound piece by piece. This process was extremely painful, especially when the power of light on the knife clashed with the demonic forces in the wounds. As the knife made contact with the wound, sizzling sounds could be heard and green smoke would emerge. It was a terrible scene.
Eleanor gritted her teeth as she stayed motionless. Tears started flowing out from her beautiful pair of eyes.
It took Link over 30 cuts before he removed the corroded flesh from the wounds. Now that the demonic forces had been completely dispelled, he then put away the knife and asked, "How do you feel?"
"There is this burning sensation. However, the numb feeling is already gone," Eleanor said. She knew that this meant the demonic forces had completely been dispelled.
"That sounds great." Link then took out a bottle of clear sacred water and used the Magician's Hand to create a ball of water. He then used it to gently rub Eleanor's wound until the blood and dirt were completely removed before bandaging the wound with a clean white towel.
Eleanor heaved a sigh of relief after all was done. She wiped her tears and said in an embarrassing tone, "I have cried more today than in my entire life. It was really painful."
Link then put away his tools and laughed, "I have heard that women are made of water. I used to not believe it, but maybe now I do."
"Tsk. You are still young, don't talk like an adult." Eleanor glanced at Link in displeasure.
Link shrugged his shoulders and stayed silent. He did not want to continue the subject and said, "You mentioned that a soul was reborn using a corpse in the Girvent Forest around a month ago. Can you bring me to the village?"
The moment he asked the question, Link felt a flash of light in his field of vision. It was the previous task that required him to investigate the details of the Black Moon Conspiracy.
This was an obvious clue. The soul that was resurrected was related to the Black Moon Conspiracy!
"There might be a demon outside of town…"
"I have the Sacred Silver. Furthermore, my fire elemental magic is extremely effective in restraining these abyssal creatures." Link was never afraid of demons. No matter how strong they were, they would still be burned to ashes under the wrath of his flames.
"Alright then. I'll take you there. The person made me so miserable, I need my revenge!" Eleanor said with vengeance.