Orida Fortress
To reinforce the Yabba race getting attacked up north, the entire defensive line went into action. Soldiers were brought over, and supplies were transported. As the core of the defensive line, the Orida Fortress was obviously the busiest. Everyone was up to their necks in work.
Of course, those matters had nothing to do with Link. He only had one task—to train Magicians and complete the Soul Slalom Magic Seal to combat the Dark Serpent.
The Orida Fortress contained three Mage Towers. The two subordinate towers were similar to the Mage Tower of the East Cove Higher Magic Academy. The main tower was practically equal to the Heaven's Thorn Mage Tower.
There was a 300-square-foot garden between the three Mage Towers surrounded by a low wall. This was the Magicians' independent area.
Link practiced the magic seal with the Magicians here.
One had to be at least Level-6 to join the magic seal, so most of them were High Elves. There were only five humans, including Link. The High Elves were honestly much more advanced in magic than humans.
The magic seal was very tedious. Every Magician had to multitask while operating it. While casting the spell, they must keep an eye on the Mana of the other Magicians at the same time and adjust their own Mana output accordingly.
The intensity of the training was like having a Magician continuously cast spells at the pinnacle of Level-6.
These tasks were practically beyond the limits of the Magicians and were tedious. However, this directly influenced the result of the battle, and there was no way to back out. Every Magician gritted their teeth and put in all their effort.
But even the strongest determination had a limit. On average, Magicians were physically weak as well. During training, Link paid attention to the physical state of each Magician. Once someone approached their limit, he would immediately end training for the day and take a break.
Every Magician in the Soul Slalom was precious and indispensable.
The result was that Link could only train them for three hours per day.
After each session, the Magicians were all exhausted. They would hurriedly cast a healing spell for themselves and sleep like the dead as soon as they returned to their rooms.
High Elf Princess Milda and Level-7 Magician Romilson were slightly better but not by much. They went to bed early to save energy. In actuality, they had to sleep 16 hours every day.
Only Link would be left.
Before this, he would be like Milda and the others, but it was different now. After receiving the Dragon Power, Link's vitality was extremely high. This training was just like a warmup for him.
After training for three hours, there was still much of the day left. What should he do?
Naturally, he started studying magic books.
Link had many books and scrolls at hand. The most valuable were the Wonders of Space from the Night King and Bryant's Revelations Scroll IV rewarded by the system.
With Link's current strength, it was difficult to improve in regards to spatial magic. On the other hand, Bryant's Revelations Scroll gave him many benefits.
After weighing the choices, Link focused his attention on Bryant's Revelations Scroll. He became obsessed as soon as he started. After training ended each day, he would return to the Mage Tower and start reading the scroll. He would read for 15 hours per day, sleep six hours, and be filled with energy the next day.
There wasn't much content in one scroll. Because of his endless energy, Link could maintain his thought operation at the highest level.
He finished the scroll two days later.
The technique explained in this scroll is so interesting. If I cast spells using this, the power of the spell increases by at least 50 percent and the speed rises by five percent too. It's like having a high-quality wand.
Link was very satisfied. There were still some things that he hadn't completely understood. He didn't have anything else to do and had so much energy, so he just read through casually, absorbing the wisdom of the Legendary Magician.
This would definitely be torture for the average man, but to Link, it was relaxing.
While reading, someone knocked on the door. Link could tell who it was by the aura. He activated the Magician's Hand and opened the door.
Dressed in an officer's leather armor, Princess Annie stood prettily by the door. She saluted to Link casually and asked with a smile, "Master Magician, are you busy?"
Link put away his scroll and replied, "No, no, come in and have a seat."
With that, he used the Magician's Hand to bring fire wine over and poured a cup for Annie. "It's cold out. Have a cup to warm yourself."
A year passed in a blink. It was now early winter, and the first snow was the day before yesterday. The wind cut into one's bones while walking outside. Annie's cheeks were red from the wind.
She walked in, sat down, and took a sip of wine. Letting out a long sigh, she said, "I heard you're all practicing the magic seal. It's really hard, and many Magicians are ill from the fatigue. I thought you would have a hard time, but I guess I was worrying for nothing."
Link chuckled. He pointed at his head and said, "The mysteries of magic are endless. I received some secret spells from the dragons, and my body is much better now. You might not even be my match in terms of strength."
Nourished by the Dragon Power, Link's outer appearance didn't change much, but his strength had risen greatly. His physical strength was probably equal to a regular Level-5 Warrior now, and he didn't even train.
If he underwent the rigorous Warrior training, he could definitely reach a Warrior's Level-7.
"Really?" Annie didn't believe him. After returning from the Black Forest, she'd broken into Level-5, and her strength started improving rapidly. She was now at the pinnacle and would soon enter Level-6.
She specialized in assassination and power wasn't her strongest suit. But if she couldn't beat a Magician, that would be embarrassing.
"Want to try?" Link was interested. He pulled a chair before Annie and rolled up his sleeves. He reached his hand out for a simple match of arm wrestling.
Annie was amused too. "Fine but I might crush your bones," she joked. "But I won't use my Battle Aura so you can't use spells either!"
If Link cast something like a Titan spell for himself, Annie would definitely lose.
"Sure."
Link grasped Annie's hand. Her hand was small, but her palm was rough. There were thick calluses from using a dagger yearlong. Link's hand was a typical Magician's Hand—soft and fine without any calluses or scars.
After holding hands, Link said, "I'm going to apply force. Be careful."
Annie felt the warmth of Link's palm and couldn't control her heart. She blushed involuntarily and calmed herself down with difficulty. "Come at me," she said seriously.
They used their power at the same time, and something cracked. No one won, but the wooden table under their elbows met its demise. It cracked under the immense power and almost collapsed.
With the table damaged, the match couldn't go on. Annie gaped at Link's hand. She didn't expect this. "Link, the dragon spell is so powerful. With your power, you can go practice martial arts."
Link shrugged instinctively. "I'm a Magician. Why should I learn martial arts? I don't have time and my energy…Hey, actually that's not a bad idea."
In Firuman, no Magician practiced martial arts. Other than the bias against physical combat, they also didn't have the energy.
For a Magician, the endless and boundless spells were enough to take up all their time and effort. They were usually physically weak too. Even if they trained, it wouldn't be of much use. They'd also be laughed at by other Magicians so who would do it?
But actually, there was no rule against Magicians training in martial arts.
Back in the day, Link faced the same problems as other Magicians. Now, he had the physique of a dragon. Practicing martial arts while he had no inspiration for studying spells could help relax his mind. He might even become accomplished after training every day.
To Link, martial arts was just for relaxing his mind. Before, he would walk everywhere but now, his body was too strong. Strolling around was a waste. Why not practice martial arts?
Thinking of this, Link smiled. "Annie, you reminded me. After receiving the dragon spell, I'm full of energy, and I shouldn't waste it. Let me think…How about I learn swordsmanship? Can you find me a teacher?"
Annie laughed. "That's easy. Kanorse, the Dawn Swordsman, is in the fortress too. I'll call him over."
What human could surpass the Dawn Swordsman in terms of swordsmanship?
Link's interest deepened. He chuckled and said, "Oh, don't. Since I'm asking him to be my teacher, I should be the one to find him. I owe him a magic sword too. How about tomorrow? After training tomorrow, can you take me to him?"
If not for her duties, Annie would rather be with Link at all times. Now that she had a legit reason, she would obviously agree. Smiling, she replied, "Of course. I'll come find you tomorrow."
The two made the plan and chatted for a while. Annie was now a high-level commander of the MI3 and was quite busy. She left soon. Link glanced at the sky and realized it was only two in the afternoon. It was still early, so he started forging the magic sword.
This would be his gift to his teacher.