In the game, Link knew where the Dragon Valley was. In the middle of the game, he was even a frequent guest there, but in real life, he only knew an approximate location.
This time, Felina transformed into a dragon again for Link to ride. Nana also went with because she was now his personal guard.
Felina flew west at an incredible speed, at around 400 miles per hour.
"How long will we fly for?" Link knew that the Red Dragon Valley was in a mountain range in the extreme west, far from the Norton Kingdom. He estimated it was around 2500 miles away.
"If we don't stop, it might be around eight hours, but with two people, I can't keep up for that long. I must rest a few times." The distance Felina said was much farther than Link had estimated.
Flying was physical work. Taking any bit of weight into the sky required great physical input. Link was around 150 pounds while Nana's full-metal body was more than 200 pounds. These were all extra burdens on Felina. More importantly, her body had just recovered from a serious injury. Her vigor had not recovered fully yet.
It was a long time, and Felina didn't seem to want to talk. Link was bored, so he looked around. Suddenly, he discovered some odd details on Felina's body.
The scales under her neck used to be organized, but now there was a disorganized mark. At closer inspection, Link confirmed that it had been damaged by an aggressive force. From the look of it, it seemed like a beast's claws.
After discovering this, Link observed left and right. He found more healed wounds that weren't there before.
Dragon's had 360-degree vision, so Felina caught Link's stare. "The dark force has affected all the races in the world," she explained. "Like Wavier, someone of my race also betrayed us. A powerful Red Dragon was lured by the demon god, and dozens of young ones followed him. They led a surprise attack to kill our queen. The attack was very sudden, but thankfully, we forced them back."
It dawned on Link why Felina seemed more anxious and exhausted at first glance. There had been a disaster in the Dragon Valley.
He noticed that Felina had said "forced them back" rather than "defeated."
"You weren't completely successful?" Link asked.
"Yes. Isendilan was once the queen's husband. He was very powerful, becoming even more so after receiving the demon god's power. Even the queen could only fight against him for a short period…The situation was very bad."
Link fell silent. He knew Isendilan!
In the game, Isendilan had many names, such as "Wings of Destruction," the "Fallen Dragon," and the "Destructor of the World." The scariest thing about him was that, even though he'd fallen, he didn't fully obey the demon god. He still had a level head. He had sunk into sober madness!
That was the scariest thing.
His abilities were shocking as well. In the game, he had fallen near the middle. At that time, the density of Mana had started rising. Isendilan's power shot up to the Legendary Pinnacle!
Yes, he reached the Legendary Pinnacle, and he was a Dragon, meaning he had nearly endless strength. Even Eliard, who also reached the Legendary Pinnacle in this life, was no match for Isendilan.
If the Red Dragon Queen Gretel didn't fight against him with the Red Dragon Army, his damage to Firuman would be comparable to the Lord of the Deep, Nozama.
"How powerful is he now?" Link asked.
"The same as the queen. He has broken through the Legendary State, and he has seven subordinates left. The weakest is at the pinnacle of Level-6; the strongest is at the pinnacle of Level-8. There's also a Dragon Magician…They're all difficult!"
Here, it dawned on Link. "Isendilan is the main force you said that broke the equilibrium, right? But I just used the Red Dragon Queen's Blessing potion, and my strength is restricted. I might…"
Even if he was at his strongest point, he would probably die from just the Dragon's breath if faced with such a legendary Dragon.
Felina shook her head. "No, no, we don't need you to fight directly. We just want to use your attainments in spatial magic and your deep insight into magic."
After a short pause, Felina said with slight embarrassment, "Actually, you're not the only mortal we invited. People from other races have also accepted the invitation…If you can help, the queen will reward you handsomely."
These words assured Link.
This trip was dangerous, but Isendilan was a big demon king who could easily destroy the world if he wanted. Link should help however he could. Plus, the Red Dragon Queen was generous and wouldn't let him work for free.
"Alright, I'll do my best." Link nodded, agreeing to it.
"Thank you. I believe in your wisdom." Felina was happy that Link did not reject the request.
From what she knew, many of the geniuses of other races were upset at the invitation. Their reason was simple—this was the Dragons' problem, so the Dragon race should solve it. It had nothing to do with them, and they had a bunch of things to deal with in their own race. They had no time!
Only half of the invitations were successful.
The journey was long. In order to save her energy for the rest, Felina stopped talking. Link had some free time. "Go on alert," he told Nana who was behind him. "I want to rest."
"Understood." Nana immediately started looking left and right vigilantly.
Link found a comfortable position and closed his eyes. He summoned the flame spell books in his vision and began reading. After studying them for five or six days, he had a general understanding of the three books.
The first one, Essence of the Flame, was purely theoretical. The second, Flame and Purification, was about specific application techniques. The third, Slayer of Demons, introduced an abnormally advanced flame spell.
The spell was a bit odd. From the surface, it was a Level-8 spell, but it involved some power of the flame laws. In reality, it was a semi-Legendary spell!
Another name for a Legendary spell was a law spell.
The more advanced a Legendary spell was, the deeper the understanding and grasp of the world's laws were. The Legendary Pinnacle represented that a Magician's understanding of a type of law had reached the Heavenly Realm.
At this time, titles such as dominator or lord would be added. For example, the Storm Lord from the prehistoric times had an unbelievable understanding of the wind laws.
Of these three flame spell books, Link thought, the third is a spell, the second is supreme magic skills, and the first is a theory outline…The theory is too long, and the skills require a specific spell to bear it. I'll start with the Slayer of Demons then!
Link changed the order of his research and started scanning the Slayer of Demons first. The first page had a specific introduction to the spell.
Demon Slayer
Level-8 Flame Law Spell
Basic cost: 50 Mana Points per second
Battle cost: Number of attack points* 400
Effect: Summons a 300-foot-long flame whip with both fire and solid characteristics. Within 300 feet, this flame whip can change shape at the thought of the summoner. When it shakes, each wave is a point of attack. The stronger the user is, the more attack points there are.
(Note: this spell can be so powerful it makes the enemy fall into despair, but it can also turn into a joke.)
The spell's description was complicated. Link thought for a while, and the specific appearance of the Demon Slayer spell appeared in his mind.
It was a long whip made of fire. Strength spread through the whip, and it was shaken into an S-shape. The peaks and troughs of the waves were the strongest points. It had the attack power of a Level-8 spell.
Theoretically, a long whip could have countless attack points from a shake. Of course, this was impossible because then the Mana cost would be terrifying. Link's Mana had increased to 8500 points, but if each attack point was 400 Mana points, he only had enough for 20 attacks.
However, 20 Level-8 attacks was already very imposing. If he added various supreme magic skills, this spell could become undefeatable by spells of the same level!
Even more tempting was that this spell didn't require summoning flame elements. Its power came from a certain flame law. This bypassed the restrictions of Elemental Rejection.
Then let's start learning. Link focused and began reading seriously.
A Level-8 spell was very advanced, but it wasn't hard to understand with Link's current attainment in magic. When he ran into something he truly didn't understand, he would look for the answer in the Essence of the Flame. He used each as reference and confirmation for the other.
Time flew by as he was deeply focused.
After a while, Link suddenly realized that Felina was descending and he snapped back into reality. "What, we're here…Oh, you're resting?"
"We aren't even one-third the way there. You've rested, but I'm exhausted." There was some resentment in Felina's voice. She had just recovered from a serious injury. Now, someone's sleeping on her back while she had to cross the entire mainland. The difference in treatment was too big.
There was a boundless grassland below them. It was the Golden Plains in the western part of the mainland. There were apparently many Beastmen here, but Link hadn't seen any sign of them nearby.
From the distance, the grassland had a clear view and was very safe. After landing, Felina rested for half a day before setting off again.
During that time, Link took out his book to read. When he returned to Felina's back, he continued resting with his eyes closed but was actually studying the book in his vision.
They flew and stopped. By the time of the third rest, it was the evening of the second day. "We're already at the Colorado Mountain Range," Felina said. "The Red Dragon Valley is in these mountains, and we have around 300 miles left. This time, I must rest longer because there might be dangers during the rest of the journey."
"Alright." Link nodded and took out a book again. He was halfway done with it. Though there was still a long way to go to grasp the Demon Slayer spell, he had learned much and found it interesting to read.
The two rested in a low cave away from the wind. Link took out the travel blankets that Celine had prepared for him. He gave one to Felina and used one himself.
Felina was clearly exhausted. She wrapped the blanket around herself and fell asleep quickly. Link continued reading while Nana knelt at the entrance. She grasped her short sword and maintained alert.
At midnight, Link was tired too. He ate some dry food and prepared to rest. Just then, Nana moved and whispered, "Master, there are footsteps."
Link heard them too. The footsteps were light and steady. The person was probably a passerby who hadn't noticed them. "We'll see," he whispered.
This was the barren Colorado Mountain Range at midnight. Appearing here at this time was most likely for a reason. They must be cautious.