Chapter 426: Former Traitor
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The High Elf before him looked like a 23- or 24-year-old human. Since High Elves had twice the lifespan, she should be around 40 years old.
As for looks, High Elves all had delicate features. Link felt that she was pretty. She wore the dark green robe with golden designs that High Elf Magicians wore. Her forehead was adorned with a leafy frontlet that High Elves loved. Her power aura was fleeting but very obscure. It should be around Level-9.
This meant that this young High Elf was somehow a Level-9 Nature Magician.
Even if the Mana density had been rising and it was easier for Magicians to level up, Level-9 was still very high. As far as Link knew, even the High Elf Queen hadn"t reached the Legendary level.
So this was definitely someone in the upper cla.s.s of the High Elves. But why would someone like that come to steal his notes?
Link didn"t want to believe it.
Whether it was from the queen and Princess Milda"s personalities or the High Elves in the game, this was a proud and restrained race. They might do some small tricks, but they would only do so when they couldn"t reach their goal with regular tactics. Usually, they would exchange fairly.
If the High Elves gave Link a magic book in exchange for his notes, he would definitely agree. Milda had also said that she always carried Legendary magic books with her. This meant that the High Elves had sufficient Legendary knowledge.
If they could use regular methods to get it, why would they steal it? Wouldn"t they lose all dignity if discovered?
Link didn"t understand, so he didn"t hurry out. He just watched from the shadows.
Below the lighthouse, the High Elf picked up the magic book and read carefully. At first, she was very serious. After a while, her brows knitted. She stabbed forward with her hands and light appeared, burning the book to dust.
She looked up and said to the air, "The book is fake. I"m sure you came, right? Stop hiding and come out."
There was no point in hiding anymore. Link walked out of the shadows. He stopped around 100 feet away and said, "I don"t understand."
The woman sneered. "You are just a lowly human. Three thousand years ago, you were still our slaves. Mundane blood flows in your veins. You think that you know my race well just because you learned some magic and know Milda? Let me tell you; you know nothing!"
Her words were pure insults without any logic. She was venting her feelings. But because of these vile words, the pretty High Elf instantly turned ugly.
If she wasn"t a High Elf Magician, Link would cast a Spatial Rend immediately to let her know the consequence of humiliating a Legendary Magician. However, she was an upper-cla.s.s High Elf. Someone like that would definitely not steal a book for no reason. If he was going to punish her, he needed to know the reason.
Of course, he couldn"t not do anything either.
Relaxing his control of his Dragon Power, heat waves flared in the air 50 feet around him with a whoosh. Crystal-red light spun like flames at the edge of the waves. The Dragon Power covered Link"s body and vaguely formed a dragon"s apparition.
The apparition looked down on the High Elf like a G.o.d looking down on mortals.
"High Elf, watch your words!" Link"s voice was dark and heavy, rumbling like thunder.
This was crus.h.i.+ng power. The High Elf didn"t expect Link"s sudden outburst. She paled and stumbled backwards, almost falling. However, what shocked Link was that after she steadied herself, she still stared back at Link and sneered.
"Link, do you know who I am?"
Link furrowed his brows. He watched the High Elf, waiting for her to speak.
The High Elf puffed up her chest and took a deep breath. Facing Link"s Legendary might, she announced, "I am Ravenna. My mother is Ogna, and my father is Lazun. My grandfather is Bryant. If you dare harm me, you will pay greatly for it. Your Ferde Territory will definitely turn into as.h.!.+"
"Ravenna? The Prophet Bryant?" Link as shaken by these two names. He"d heard of them in the game; they were all famous figures.
The first was the most infamous High Elf traitor. Royal High Elf blood ran through her veins. In the game, she"d joined the Light Army, but she looked down on the other races, especially humans. She humiliated and beat her human soldiers and had a horrible reputation in the army.
During a battle, her Magician legion was attacked by demons, and everyone else died. They had protected her, so she survived and was taken captive. No one knew what happened after that, but in the end, she appeared in a demon fortress and became a boss.
She was a disgrace to the High Elves.
The other was Bryant, the Prophet. In the game, this character was very hidden and rarely appeared before the players. Even if he did, he had a heavy cloak that hid his face.
Other than his name, there was no direct evidence that he was related to the human Magician Bryant from 300 years ago. The High Elves never revealed Bryant"s specific ident.i.ty either.
But the players still determined his ident.i.ty through various details. He was probably that the former, the most powerful human.
Thinking of this, Link collected his Dragon Power. "That"s strange. Three hundred years ago, your grandfather was a Legendary human Magician too. You also have human blood—"
"Shut up!" Ravenna roared. She waved her wand and green light shot towards Link. It was a Level-7 Disa.s.sociation Ray. It was a cruel move.
Of course, this couldn"t hurt Link. He felt when Ravenna started using her mind. The instant the ray appeared, the s.p.a.ce before Link already distorted and the ray veered to the side.
This move was just an outburst, and Ravenna stopped after Link blocked it. "My grandfather was blessed by the World Tree," she roared. "He was purified of human blood long ago."
Link squinted. He realized that Ravenna was horrible at controlling her emotions and she despised humans. Her arrogance actually stemmed from her low self-esteem.
The reason was simple: Ravenna was a half-elf.
Faced with her personality, Link obviously wouldn"t debate about the cla.s.ses of bloodlines with her. He collected his Dragon Power and said coldly, "No matter what, thievery is shameful, and you must pay. As the lord of Ferde, I must resolve this. Go back to Scorched Ridge with me, and I"ll contact the High Elf Queen for her suggestion."
If Ravenna was just curious and wanted to see his notes, Link would let her go if she apologized now. He would pretend nothing had happened. At most, he would just tell the High Elf Queen to watch her people.
But Ravenna was different. She came with negative intentions and was filled with insults and disdain. Link had to get to the bottom of this. Otherwise, if news of this spread, the High Elves would think he could be bullied.
"Never!" Ravenna didn"t budge. She continued staring at Link with disdain. "I will never step into a dirty human city. Your city is practically buried in feces. Don"t think I will step into it."
"I"m afraid you don"t have a choice." Link was emotionless.
"Shallow!" Ravenna started stepping backwards. "I admit defeat that I couldn"t get your notes this time. But if you stop me from leaving, don"t blame me if I fight back. Others fear your power, but I don"t."
Link didn"t understand why she was still so stubborn. He frowned. "I will say this one more time. Go back to Scorched Ridge with me."
"No, no, lowly human. You have no right to order me. I possess power you can"t even imagine. Don"t force me to fight you." Ravenna was still retreating but had slowed down. She seemed to be unwilling to fight as well.
This was understandable. Even though Ravenna was racist against humans, she wasn"t stupid enough to really anger a Legendary Magician.
It was obvious she didn"t want to be discovered. She"d stolen the notes sneakily and very cautiously disguised herself. Now that she was discovered, she wanted to escape.
She was acting like a little kid—stubborn. She did whatever she wanted but didn"t want to take any responsibility when she failed.
Hearing this, Link remembered that her grandfather was Bryant. Maybe she really did have some powerful magic tool. She wasn"t really stable either and could easily become uncontrollable. Considering all this, he decided to let her go.
This was an unhappy encounter, but he didn"t have to push it to the extreme.
"Seeing as your grandfather helped me once, just go. Don"t let me see you again."
Ravenna wasn"t even grateful. "Heh," she mocked. "You coward." As she retreated, she continued, "You won"t tell the queen, right?"
Link shook his head. "Sorry, I must let her know."
Ravenna laughed. "Heh, you don"t have evidence. No one will believe you."
Link chuckled. How could he make such a mistake? When he realized the thief was a High Elf, he"d activated his memory crystal. But unexpectedly, Ravenna realized this. She stopped.
"Give me your memory crystal."
"That"s pus.h.i.+ng it." Link narrowed his eyes. A flicker of anger had been lit inside him.
Ravenna stopped speaking but also stopped retreating. A few seconds later, she said, "It"s meaningless to leave now. I"ll go to Scorched Ridge with you."
"That is a wise choice. Follow me." Link didn"t expect her to surrender. He turned and started walking towards Scorched Ridge.
The moment he turned, he felt his heart tighten. There"s danger…you"re that vicious?! That ignorant? You want to kill me when I"m not paying attention?
He realized this at once.
That moment, he also made a response. A thought flashed through his mind. I was careless. She"s not just scared of being humiliated after people find out about this. There"s most likely some other unspeakable reason!